Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-06-29
rnE SITUATION IN GERMANY.
slreng,A Of .As conlsnaIng rowels.
Prussia.

The area Of Prussia is at present lOSs2iz
English square miles, or about equal to the
: combined territory Of Georgia and Florida.
: The population according to the census OF
1864 was 9,304 S43, falling bat little
below that Of the Northern State.; Of the
Union. The great majority Of the popuia-
tion are Germans the total number OF per
sons belonging to n6n-German nationalltles
being 2. .5O4, ,I79. a considerable portion Of
the latter are feeble remnants of small tribes,
which are RAPIDLY being absorbed by the
German nationality. Within the last few
years che Government of Prussia made sew
eral important additions to the former
dominions, acquiring first the two Principal
tiles of Hohenzollern. next the important
seacoast district Of YahGe, which it purcha-
sed from 0ldenbuTg, and more recently the
Duchy of Lauenburg which was eeded to
1t by Austria for a pecuniary consideration.
1t holds, moreover, possession Of Schles9lg
and aYows It's intention to permanently
annex to Pussia both this Dachy and that
/ of IIolstein. In point Of administration,
Prussia is not inferior to ony other country
Of the world Its finances unlike those of
Austria and Italy, are in a sound condition;
its army discipline has long been the admi-
ration Of the entire civilized world The
army, ona war footing, numbers 700, 900,
and It's fleet consisted in 1865, Of 81 steam
ers, s sailing vessels, 40 rowing vessels !;
total IS war vessels The reigning King is
William l., born in 1897, who succeeded his
| brother Fredrick William ", in January
1861
AUSTRIA.
The Austrian Empire, as at present con
! stituted is divided into nineteen Provinces.
| the area of which is 336, ,3ll English square
miles, with a total population according to
| computation, Of Sc, 795 600 souls. This
population is divided, with respect to race
| aud language, into no fewer than twelve
| different nationalities, namely
Germans 200 ,o00 Bulgarians 600
| Bohemian, Niagara ........5, ,0JQ, ,090
Moravians', & $500, 900 Italians, (ineiasiye
| Slovaes, Of Latins and
,20q, 600 Friauis) ......-.3 $50 coo
Russians .........2, soc, 600 Eastern Ro-
Slavonians ,2lG,000 mans ..........2, 100000
| Croats. 1850, 900 Members of other
Seryians .,....l ,4GG, Geo races ......1 ,430 GOO
Austria is one of the great military pow
ers Of Europe, her army on the war footing
| being over half million of men The navy
however, is comparatively small, consisting
| in August 1864 of thirty-nine steamers
with 639 guns, and ii so horse power, and
| twenty sailing vessels with I45 guns. Great
| efforts have been made within the last few
years to raise the imperial navy to state of
high efficiency by the substitution Of steam
for sailing vessels, and the gradual forma-
| tion Of az iron-clad feet of war. Austria
! has become a constitutional monarchy since
| lS49, the-main features Of the constitution
consisting, first of the Provincial Diets, rep
| treseuting the States of the monarchy; sec
| ondly a Central Diet or Council of the
| Empire and thirdly, reduced form Of the
latter or Partial Council Of the Empire, as
1t is called. The public debt of the Empire
which at the commencement Of the French
revolution in 1889 was STA, 10000 had
grown in 1863 to S1,2l0, ,222,S From
1889 to the present time there has not been
single year in which the revenue of the
State has come up to the expenditure. The
present Emperor, Francis Joseph l., was
born August, 1880, and was proclaimed
Emperor and King IL consequence Of the
abdication of his uncle, Ferdinand l., and
the remuneration Of his father, Francis
Charles, December ,, 1S48 He was Com
mander-inC thief of the Austrian army in the
Italian campaign of 1859.
ITALY.
The Kingdom Of Italy has an area of
9S, 7S4 English square miles, with popula-
tiOlii dCcyi0Aug W bliS last CGuSuS Adh6u III
the spring oflS64, of 81, ,903, rs souls, being
on an average 220 inhabitants to the sq uare
mile a figure higher than that of France or
Germany, but lower than that Of England
There has been in some of the Provinces a
rapid increase of population Of late years
but the increase of wealth has been much
more rapid within the last century than the
increase Of population. The great mass Of
the peopleare devoted to agricultural pur-
SUITS and the town population is compare
lively small. 1t has seafarlng population
Of l5S, ,672 individuals, nearly all of whom
are liable to the maritime conscription. The
military organization of the Kingdom is
based on conscription, and the standing
army consists Of more than 100000 men on
a peace footing, and more than 100000 on
a awarestablishment The navy of the King
dom consisted in 1864 oe 98 steamers Of
20, 60 horsepower, with 3, 160 guns, and II
sailing vessels with 279 guns altogether,
lis men Of war with 2, 439 guns. Italy
has debt of nearly eight hundred millions
Of dollars. The expenditure is largely in
excess of the annual Revenue. The reign
ing Sovereign, Victor Emanuel H., was
born March IA, 1920, and is the eldest son
Of King Charles Albert ofSardinia, and the
Archduchess Theresa of Austria He sue
cG6ueu W Ch6 IUTOlS On bUe aDUlCdJlO0 OF
his father, March %, 1849, and was pro-
claimed King of Italy by vote of the Italian
Parliament, March II, 1861
THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION.
The German Confederation was organized
in 1915 upon the ruins of the German En-
pire which had been dissolved in 1906. The
object of the Confederacy, according to the
first article of the Federal Constitution, is
the preservation of the internal and exter-
nal security of Germany. and the independ-
ence and inviolability Of the various Ger
man States The organ and representa-
tive of the Confederation is the Federal
Diet, consisting of plenipotentaries of the
several German States, and permanently
located in the free city of Frankfort. The
administrative government Of the Federal
Diet IS constituted In two forms First,
As General Assembly or Plenum, In which
every member of the confederation has at
least one vote, and the larger States have
two three or four votes each and second,
the Minor Council, or Committee of Con-
federation, in which the eleven largest
States cast one vote each, while six votes are !
given to the smaller safes, a number of
them combined having joint Vote The
presidency is permanently vested in Aus
tria. The General Assembly decides of war
and peace, on the admission of new mem
bers, on any changes in the fundamental
laws or organic institutions but in all 9TH
er cases the Minor Council is competent
to act both as leoisiative and axecutive