is one of the largest coffee-marts, and next to London, has the largest money-exchange transactions in Europe. It is also one of the principal emigration ports of Germany, above a quarter of a million persons having left during 1870-74, chiefly for the United States. There are several large joint-stock banks; marine insurance is also carried on extensively, the value of the ships and cargoes insured in 1872 having been £100,500.000. The sea-going ships belonging to Hamburg in 1877 were 439, of 196,011 tons, including 96 steamers, with a burden of 83,826 toils, chiefly belonging to five com panies, and maintaining communication with North and South America and the East Indies. The manufactures of Hamburg are of little consequence, and are not estimated to exceed £2,500,000 in value per annum. The principal are cigar-making, spirit and sugar refining, brewing, meat-curing, engineering, and ship-building.
The charitable institutions of Hamburg are numerous and well endowed. The most important are the almshouses founded recently by Schroeder and Laeisz, and the Jewish hospital founded by the late Solomon Heine. There are a great many societies and asylums for the relief or reception of various classes, and the poor in general arc well cared for. The general hospital has accommodation for 1800 patients, and there is a smaller hospital in connection with the sailors' home. The Rauhe haus, at Horn, near Hamburg, founded by Dr. Wichern in 1833, is worthy of notice as a very successful attempt to reform depraved and neglected children. Education is well attended to, and there are several large and excellent private schools, and a school of art, in addition to the Johanneum, a public grammar-school founded in 1528. There are two huge public libraries, an observatory, botanical and zoological gardens, the latter being large and laid out with great taste; there are also two large and several small theaters, and a greater number of public gardens and places of amusement than in any other city of the same population.
The constitution of Hamburg is democratic. The eNecutive power is vested in a senate of eighteen members chosen for life, with the assent of the municipal council, one-half of whom must have studied law; the legislative power being confined to the municipal council, consisting of 192 members, who are elected for six years, one-half retiring every three years. There is a very good tribunal of commerce, in addition to the ordinary courts of justice. Appeals can be carried in commercial cases to the supreme court of commerce at Leipsic, and in other cases to a court of appeal for the three Hanse towns at Lubeck. In 1866 Hamburg became a member of the north Ger man confederation, and is now one of the states of the empire, sending three members to the imperial parliament at Berlin. The township of Bergedorf, 10 m. s.e. from Hamburg, formerly held jointly with Lubeck, became the sole property of 1868, and the whole territory covers an area of 15G English sq in.; pop. '75, 388,618, of whom about 14,000 are Jews and 7,800 Catholics. The city proper with its suburbs had in the same year a pop. of 343,447. As in the time of the Zollverein, Hamburg is still a free port; but the outlying portions of its territory are as formerly without the free trade limit, and are subject to the same economical arrangements as the rest of the empire. Customs on goods passing beyond the boundaries of the free port are collected mainly'at the railway stations of the city. Although retains time management of its local affairs, the independent position formerly enjoyed by the republic ceased in 1866; the most noticeable consequence of this being the abolition of the Hamburg flag, and the withdrawal of its numerous consular and diplomatic representatives in foreign countries, in addition to compulsory service for three years in the army or navy by all young men liable to military duty. The estimated revenue of Hamburg in 1876 was £1,200,000.