Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/421

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BAVARIA 401 and through them the German ocean with the Black sea, and is one of the most important works of the kind in Europe. About the mid- dle of 1871 Bavaria had 1,801 m. of railway in operation, a comparatively larger number than Prussia; 1,208 m. were state property or administered by the state, and 593 m. belonged to private companies. The aggregate length of telegraph lines in 1870 was 3,547 m., and that of telegraph wires 11,182 m. ; the num- ber of despatches was 838,705 ; the revenue derived from them, 447,690 ti., and the cost of administration 302,590 fl. The navigation on the Danube in 1871 employed 15 steamers and more than 2,000 sailing vessels, that on the Inn about 2,000 vessels, that on the Rhine 12 steam- ers and 236 sailing vessels. In 1869 Bavaria had 262 savings banks with an aggregate capital of 26,410,840 fl.; the number of depositors was 249,- 362. The direction of education is under the control of the minister of public instruction, with inspectors who report to him on the condition of the schools. All children whose parents have not received permission to have them educated at home must attend the public school until they are 14 years old, and must also attend Sunday school two years longer. Every parish has at least one elementary school ; besides which there are lyceums and other schools of a higher grade, and trade schools, supported by the communes, in which are taught mathe- matics, mechanics, chemistry, drawing, archi- tecture, and other branches. The course in these schools occupies three years, from the age of 12 to 15, after which the pupil may enter one of the three polytechnic schools, the course of which occupies three more years, with another year for engineers. There are three universities, of which Munich and Wurz- burg are Roman Catholic, the latter celebrated for its medical faculty, and Erlangen is Protes- tant. The university of Munich had in 1870, next to Berlin and Leipsic, the largest number of professors (118) and students (1,321) of any German university. Of other higher institu- tions of learning, Bavaria in 1870 had 8 lyceums (schools of theology and philosophy), 28 Gym- naien, 6 Real-Gymnasien, 84 Latin schools, 83 Gewerbschulen, 10 normal schools, and 1 Realschule. The number of elementary schools in 1866 was 8,197, with 604,916 pupils. The polytechnic school of Munich, which was re- organized in 1868, and which had in 1871, in five special departments, 47 professors and 805 students, is the first in all Germany as regards the number of students. At Munich an acade- my of painting, a school of sculpture, and an architectural academy owe their establishment to King Louis I. The number of newspa- pers in 1866 in Bavaria was 339, of which 99 were strictly devoted to politics. At the head of them stands the Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung, which enjoys a world-wide repu- tation. Rather more than seven tenths of the population are Roman Catholics, but reli- gion is entirely free, Protestants and Catholics | having the same rights, and the sovereign may j be either; civil rights have not, however, been extended to the Jews, or to one or two small Christian sects. The Catholics have 2 arch- bishoprics, Munich and Bamberg, 6 bishoprics, 171 deaneries, and 2,756 parishes, there being one clergyman to 464 souls. The Protestant church is under a general consistory and 4 pro- vincial consistories ; there are 920 parishes, and one clergyman to 1,013 souls. Bavaria is a constitutional monarchy, the present constitu- tion having been framed in 1818, but some- what modified in 1848-'9. The crown is hered- | itary in the male line. The executive power is vested in the king, but is exercised through ministers who are responsible for all his acts. The diet consists of two houses. The Rewhs- rath or upper house is composed of the princes of the royal family, the crown dig- nitaries, the archbishops, and the heads of certain noble families; to these are added a Catholic bishop, the president of the Protestant consistory, and a number of other members appointed by the crown at pleasure ; in 1871 it numbered 72. The lower house is com- posed of deputies from towns and universities and various religious corporations. The rep- resentation (154 members in 1871) is calculated at one deputy to 31,500 persons. The deputies are selected by electors who are chosen by popular vote. To be on the electoral lists, a person must be 25 years of age, and pay taxes to the amount of 10 florins. A deputy must be 30 years of age, and have an assured income from the funds, a trade, or a profession. Ac- cording to the treaty of Versailles (Nov. 23, 1870), which regulated the entrance of Bavaria into the German empire, the Bavarian troops constitute two army corps of the German im- perial army. In time of war the two Bavarian corps number 136,617 men. The military or- ganization is in all essential points to be con- formed to that of Prussia, but in the appoint- ment of officers and the management of the army in time of peace greater rights have been accorded to the king of Bavaria than to any other German prince. The public debt amount- ed in 1870 to 343,000,000 fl. The towns, bor- oughs, and rural communities had in 1870 an aggregate debt of 27,269,235 fl. The budget of expenditures for each of the two years 1872 and 1873 was 58,629,558 fl. The name Bayern is derived from the Boii, supposed by some to be of Celtic origin, who inhabited the country before the Christian era. Others, however, deny the Celtic origin, mainly on the ground that the Bavarian dialect bears no trace of it. Southern Bavaria formed a part of the Ro- man provinces of Rhcetia, Vindelicia, and No- ricum. After the fall of the Roman power the people were governed by their own dukes, from about 530 to 630, when the country be- came incorporated into the Prankish king- dom, and embraced Christianity. The Bavarians were still under the immediate government of their own dukes, several of whom revolted