854
GERMAN EMPIRE
IJovsr of Nassau.
- A(lolf .... 1292-1298
House of Hahshurg or Austria.
- AlbrechtI. . . . 1298-1308
Houses of Luxemburg, Bavaria, Jbc. HeinrichVII. . . 1308-1313
LudwiglV., 'DerBaier'. 1314-1347 Fried rich of Austria, a
rival .... 1314-1330 Karl IV. . , . 1347-1378
- Wenceslaus of Bohemia. 1378-1400
- Ruprecht 'voa derPfalz' 1400-1410
Sigmund of Brandenburg. 1410-1437
House of Hahshi
- AlbrechtIL .
Friedrich III. Maximilian I. ^ KarlY. . Ferdinand I. . Maximilian II. Rudolf II.
rg or Austria.
. 1438-1439
. 1440-1493
. 1493-1519
. 1519-1556
. 1556-1564
. 1564-1576
. 1576-1612
Matthias . . . 1612-1619
Ferdinand II. . . 1619-1637
Ferdinand III. . . 1637-1657
Leopold I. . . . 1657-1705
Joseph I. . . . 1705-1711
Karl VI. . . . 1711-1740
Ho2ose of Bavaria.
Karl VII. . . . 1742-1745
House of Hahshurq-Lorraine.
Franz 1 1745-1765
Joseph II. . . . 1765-1790 Leopold II. . . . 1790-1792 Franz II. . . . 1792-1806
Confederation of the Rhine 1806-1815 German 'Bund' . .1815-1866 North German Confedera- tion .... 1866-1871
House of Hohenzollern. Wilhelm I., ' Der Grosse ' 1871-1888 Friedrich III. . 1888 (March-June) Wilhelm II. . . 1888 (June)
1 Maximilian I., in 1508, took the title of Emperor Elect. From Ferdinand I. to Francis II. all the Emperors, as never crowned by the Roman Pontiff, took formally ihe title of Emperor Elect (Erwiihlter Roniischer Kaiser).
CJonatitution and Government.
The Constitution of the Empire bears date April 16, 1871. By its terms, all the States of Germany ' form an eternal union for the protection of the realm and the care of the welfare of the German people.' The supreme direction of the military and political affairs of the Empire is vested in the King of Prussia, who, in this capacity, bears the title of Deutscher Kaiser. According to Art. 11 of the Constitution, 'the Emperor represents the Empire internationally,' and can declare war if defensive, and make peace, as well as enter into treaties with other nations, and appoint and receive ambassadors. But when treaties relate to matters regulated by imperial legislation, and when war is not merely defensive, the Kaiser must have the consent of the Bundesrat, or Federal Council, in which body, together with the Reichstag, or Diet of the Realm, are vested the legislative functions of the Empire. The Emperor has no vote on laws passed by these bodies. The Bundesrat represents the individual States of Germany, and the Reichstag the German nation. The 61 members of the Bundesrat are appointed by the Governments of the individual States for each session, while the members of the Reichstag, 397 in number (abottt one for every 131,640 inhabitants), are elected by universal suffrage and ballot, for the term of five years. By a law passed in 1906, members of the Reichstag are paid 3,000 marks (150^.) for the session with deduction of 20 marks (1/.) for each day's absence ; they have free passes over German railways during session. The duration of the legislative period is five years. The various States of Germany are represented as follows in the Bundesrat and the Reichstag :—
