GOVERNMENT. In its form of government, Ba varia is a constitutional monarchy, the crown being hereditary in the male line. The Constitu tion of Bavaria was adopted in ISIS. It has been modified since. The kingdom is perfectly independent in its internal affairs, having com plete control of its army in time of peace, man aging its own transportation and communication facilities, and the collection of revenue for its separate budget. It has embassies at the courts of a number of countries. The executive power is vested in the King, who is assisted by a responsi ble ministry of six members, and advised by a State Council. The legislative power is shared by the King with the Parliament (Landtay), which consists of two houses. The Upper House, or Chamber of Councilors of the Realm, is com posed of 13 princes of the royal family, 3 crown dignitaries, 2 archbishops, the heads of 19 noble families of the realm, I bishop, the president of the Protestant Chief Consistory, 25 hereditary members, and 17 persons appointed for life by the King. The number of life members must not exceed one-third of the hereditary cmmeilors. The president of the Upper House is appointed by the King. The members of the Lower House are elected for six years. The voting franchise is restricted by a property qualification. The Chamber of Deputies elects its own president and vice-president, and its sanction is necessary for almost every measure relating to the financial affairs of the realm. It enjoys the right of ini
tiative to a considerable extent. In the Imperial Bundesrat Bavaria is represented by 6 members, and in the Reichstag by 48.
For purposes of local administration Bavaria is divided into eight circles or Government dis tricts ( Regierungsbezirke) , subdivided into ad ministrative districts. In every Government district there is a consisting of repre sentatives of the districts, the towns, the landed nobiliby, the clergy, and the university, if there be one, all elected for six years. The budget of Bavaria is fixed every two years. According to estimates for 1900 and 1901, the budget balanced at 432,919,989 marks (over $100,000,000), against 345,356,505 marks ($85,000,000) in 1896 97. The revenue is derived from public works, Imperial repayments, and indirect taxes. The chief items of expenditure are on account of administration, of the Empire, and of the pub lic debt. The debt amounted at the end of 1899 to 1.460,173.215 marks (about $360,000,000), of which 1,115,000,000 marks ($278,000,000), or nearly SO per cent., was railway debt.
Education is free andeompulsory, and provided for by the State in a generous manner. There are three universities (at Alunieh, Wfirzburg, and Erlangen), a large number of secondary and special schools, and about 7400 elementary schools, with an attendance of about 830.000, or over 13 per cent, of the entire population.