20,660,864 Raw materials, and materials serving | conferred a vast benefit on the people of the ends of agriculture and manufactures, Germany. - Of the different members of are admitted into the states of the Zoll- the Zollverein, Saxony is that which, on verein without any, or with very low duties. the whole, has profited most by the league; Thus, raw cotton, wool, coal, pig-iron, ores, for in that country, manufacturing indusraw hides and skins, potashes, turpentine, try having been previously most developed, chalk, rags, manure, earths, black lead, it had the vantage ground in competing wood, seed, and such like articles, are ex- with the others; and new and extensive empt from duty; and low rates are imposed markets were opened to her, and at the on twist and yarn, metals in the earlier same time closed to a great extent against progress of manipulation, and all articles foreign rivals. Frankfort on the Maine is to which more labour is to be applied. that which has experienced the least beBut the duties press heavily, or rather nefit from the league. Prussia, though prohibitorily, on articles entering into com- the leading and most zealous member, is, petition with the manufactures of Germa- in a financial view, situated less advanny, which are generally of a coarse heavy tageously than she would have been, had kind. This is effected by the imposition her independent tariff been continued; of a fixed rate on the weight of the goods many of her protected classes have like. imported, without any reference to quali- wise suffered from the competition of Sax ty or fluctuation of prices; so that it falls ony. This has led to a very general im. lightest on fine goods, and heaviest on the pression that the ostensible object of the common kinds. Estimated ad valorem, Zollverein is not the only motive which the duty on cotton varies in this way from has influenced that power, but that it has 3 to 120 per cent., and on woollens from been in a certain degree influenced by 20 to 50 per cent. The necessary opera-political views, extending beyond the intetion of this system is the exclusion from the markets of almost all the commoner articles of foreign manufacture, that is, of all those largely consumed in Germany, for which a complete monopoly has been created in favour of the home producer. -One of the articles of the convention constituting the Zollverein, and the mention of which ought not to be omitted here, is that the tolls, or other charges in lieu thereof, shall, in all cases, whether they belong to the public or to private individuals, be limited to the sums required to keep the roads in a proper state of repair; and that the tolls existing in Prussia shall be considered as the highest that are to be levied, and shall not in any case be exceeded. This arrangement alone has rests of the present day, and tending to In 500 PRUSSIA. paper money, which circulates on a par ropean nations than for the attention bewith silver: it has offices at Berlin, Kö- stowed on the instruction of the different nigsberg, Elbing, Dantzick, Stettin, Frank- classes of the people. It can boast, indeed, fort on the Oder, Breslau, Magdeburg, of possessing a more perfectly organized Munster, and Cologne.-The net revenue and complete system of national education of the government, in 1844, amounted to than had ever before existed in any coun57,677,194 Thalers, of which 48,860,000 try. This system derived its origin from Thalers were derived from imposts, and Frederick the Great, who introduced it 4,090,163 Th. from the domains and fo- into Silesia, after the conquest of this prorests. The expenditure was about the vince from Austria. From Silesia it has same, including for the army 24,604,208 been gradually extended to the other proTh., and 7,253,920 Th. for the charge on vinces, and is now in full vigour in every the public debt, which amounted to part of the monarchy. It was brought to 150,103,434 Th. Among the improve- maturity under the auspices of the late ments which have been introduced into king, Frederick William III. Attendance the Prussian monarchy, since the year at school is enforced by law. Every child, 1815, none is more striking than that of whether male or female, rich or poor, must the roads and other means of communica- attend a public school, from the age of tion between the different provinces. Pre- five years till such time as the clergyman viously to the year just mentioned, the of the parish affirms that the child has acroads in Prussia were, with few excep- quired all the education prescribed by law tions, about the very worst in Europe. for an individual in its station: generally They were, in fact, mere pathways, with- speaking, the school time extends from 6 out any artificial construction; and owing to 14 years complete. Should a child not to the loose sandy nature of the soil, the attend, its parents or guardians must sawheels not unfrequently sunk in them up tisfy the public authorities that it is receivto the axle, and the carriage was drawn ing an appropriate education at home or rather through than over the ground. At in a private seminary. The school fees present, roads constructed on the most are exceedingly moderate; and the chilapproved principles, macadamized, and dren of such poor persons as are unable to equal to any in England, reach from Berlin pay them, are instructed gratuitously at to all the most distant parts of the king- the public expense. Nothing has been dom. Mail coaches, which travel at the neglected to render the instruction given rate of about 6 miles an hour, are esta- in the schools as efficient as possible; and blished along the principal lines of road: schools have been especially provided for they are under the direction of functiona- the proper education of the masters, whose ries appointed by the government, and are qualifications, besides, are tested by exawell conducted; all travelling charges are minations before a competent board. No regulated by a fixed tariff: Railways have particular religious creed is allowed to be been opened, and others are in the course taught in any school; but on particular of being constructed, or are projected (see days, set apart for the purpose, the chilGermany, Sup.) Owing to the flatness dren are instructed by the clergymen of of the country through which they flow, the different sects to which they belong none of the great rivers are interrupted by Their religious instruction is not, therecataracts, and they are all navigable, the fore, neglected; while the intermixture Rhine, Elbe, and Vistula, throughout their of the different sects from their earliest whole course in the Prussian dominions,— years, on a perfect footing of equality, rethe Oder (for barges) as far as Ratibor in moves all asperities and religious animosiS. Silesia,—and the Pregel and Niemen ties. Besides the six universities of Berto a considerable distance inland. The lin, Halle, Breslau, Bonn, Königsberg, and establishment of steam packets on these Greifswalde, and the semi-university of rivers, as well as the freeing of the navi- Munster, Prussia had, in 1844, 113 gymgation of the Rhine and the Elbe from the nasiums, several schools for the deaf and oppressive tolls and regulations by which dumb and the blind, and a number of it was formerly obstructed, have been of schools of a higher order, destined for the vast service to the country. Canals also thorough education of young men for parexist, connecting the Elbe, the Oder, and ticular professions in life. —Although the the Vistula; so that goods may be con- king and royal family are Protestants, all veyed, by their means, all the way through denominations of Christians enjoy the same the interior of the country from Hamburg privileges, and are equally eligible to to Dantzick.- Prussia is, however, in no places of trust or emolument. The Proespect more distinguished among the Eu-testant church is governed by consistories, as, for a time, with an awkward ecclesiastical quarrel with the archbishop of Cologne and other Roman Catholic dignitaries, and another, in consequence, with the pope, the history of its proceedings has offered but few events to fix the attention of the general reader. Frederick William III., who enjoyed in a high degree the respect and affection of his subjects, notwithstanding his failure to realize the expectations held out to them of a representative constitution, died on the 7th of June 1840, and was succeeded by his eldest The new or boards appointed by the government, on the occurrence of a war, the efficient one for each province. The constitution military array of the Prussian monarchy of the Catholic church differs in different may be estimated as exceeding the number provinces. In the Rhenish provinces it is of 350,000 men, of all descriptions of arms. fixed by the concordat entered into be- Prussia has no navy.-Bordering, however, tween the French government and pope as the kingdom does on Russia, Austria, Pius VII. But in every part of the mo- and France, each of them maintaining a narchy, the crown has reserved to itself a standing army still more numerous than its control over the election of bishops and own, the Prussian government has steadily priests. In the entire kingdom, there aimed at the preservation of the peace of were, in 1837, 5740 ordained Protestant Europe. It has, since 1815, sought for no clergymen, and 140 assistant clergymen: farther aggrandizement of territory, and there were, at the same time, 3510 Catho- has been content to extend its influence lic priests, and 2033 vicars, chaplains, &c.; through the instrumentality of the Cusso that the proportion of Catholic clergy- toms' Union. Occupied of late years with men rather exceeded that of Protestants. the negotiations necessary for the formaThe incomes of the clergy of both sects tion and extension of this commercial mostly arise from peculiar endowments. | league, and with the improvement of the Generally, government does not guaranty internal interests of the country, as well the stipend either of Protestant or Catholic elergymen; but in many parishes, the clergy enjoy a public provision from the state. This is especially the case in the Rhenish provinces, in virtue of the concordat already alluded to. Proselytism, whether by force or by persuasion, is prohibited by law; and all controversial sermons, or peculiar displays of religious zeal, would certainly attract the notice, and incur the displeasure of the authorities. With the exception of the Rhine province and a portion of Westphalia, perhaps there is in no country less of religious acrimony son, Frederick William IV. and contention than in Prussia.-The ques-reign began with the pardon of a number tion as to a provision for the poor has only of political refugees, and the appointment become of importance since the abolition to professorships and to high stations in of feudal vassalage, in 1810. Previously the administration of the government of to that epoch, they were provided for by their lords. At present, poor persons, or those unable to provide for themselves, have a legal claim to support. But it is rarely necessary to resort to compulsory proceedings to enforce this claim, the really necessitous being generally provided for by voluntary subscriptions. There are work-houses in most large towns.-The Prussian army is stated to have consisted, in 1844, of 118,669 men, of whom 78,700 were infantry, 23,907 cavalry, and 13,826 artillery. This force is so organized as to admit, in the event of a war, of being promptly augmented to 217,720 men, of whom 138,650 will be infantry, 27,968 cavalry, and 45,000 artillery. This, too, does not comprehend the gens d'armes and the invalids, who amount to upwards of 5000 men more. The landwehr, or militia of the first class (see Militia), amount-pean (continental) government to which ed, also, in 1844, to 93,442 men, and, on the war establishment, to 138,316 men. And as this portion of the landwehr is destined to be necessarily called into activity several individuals distinguished for the "liberality" of their political sentiments. But although formally reminded by the States of East Prussia, assembled at Königsberg, September 7th 1840, of the promises made by his father, and again repeatedly reminded of them, since then, from other parts of his dominions, espe cially the Rhenish province, the new king has as yet not moved in the matter, and the government of Prussia still retains its despotic, or nearly despotic form. How long this state of things will endure, it is difficult to conjecture. The opinion, however, seems to be prevalent very generally that the concessions demanded cannot be much longer withheld. When the Prussian government is spoken of as a despotism in its outward form, it is proper to add that, in reality, there is, perhaps, no Euro that term can be with less propriety applied. For though the king be all-powerful so long as his conduct is approved by the bulk of the people, he would, on the contrary, be quite powerless were he to lose their confidence and support. The king of Prussia has no extrinsic resources, or peculiar interests, on which to fall back in the event of his becoming unpopular. There is neither a powerful church, nor a powerful aristocracy, in Prussia: the army, too, is merely a portion of the citizens; and where every man is educated and every man a soldier, the acts of the government cannot, speaking generally, be other than the acts of the public. The following are the principal towns of the kingdom, with their population (exclusive of the military stationed in them) in 1837: PRUSSIC ACID. The antidotes for prussic acid, where it has been taken as a poison, are solution of chlorine, by which it is chemically decomposed, and ammonia, which combines with it, and acts as a stimulant. PUBLICANS. The farmers of the public revenue at Rome were so called. They formed two distinct classes; the farmersgeneral of the revenues, who were regarded as belonging to one of the most honourable grades of citizens,-and deputies, or publicans of an inferior caste, whose reputation was on a par with that of the most degraded portion of the community. PÜCKLER-MUSKAU (Hermann Lewis Henry, prince of) was born at Muskau in Lusatia, October 30th 1785. After having been instructed for a time at a school under the charge of the Moravian brethren, he was placed by his friends in the "padagogium" of Halle. From 1800 to 1803 he studied jurisprudence at the university of Leipsic. Soon afterwards, he entered the Saxon army. Dissatisfied, however, with the monotony of a military life in time of peace, he retired from the service with the rank of captain of cavalry. He then employed several years in travelling through Austria, France, and Italy. In 1811, on the death of his father, he succeeded to the castle and estate of Muskau. There he resided during a year or more, directing his attention to the improvement and embellishment of his property, and enjoying the society of a select number of friends,-men of genius and refinement,whom he induced to visit him. When the Russians, in the winter of 1813, penetrated into the north of Germany, he joined their army with the rank of major. He distinguished himself on various occasions, and was promoted to the rank of a lieutenant-colonel. On the conclusion of peace, he felt himself once more at liberty to consult his own tastes; and, resigning his commission, he paid a visit to England, and then returned to Muskau to resume his former mode of life there. He made, however, occasional excursions to Berlin and Dresden. At the former place, in 1817, he rendered himself conspicuous by ascending with a balloon, of which ascent he published an account. In the same year he married a daughter of the prince of Hardenberg, who had been divorced from her first husband, and who was also, after a period of 8 years, divorced from her second husband. Subsequently to this, prince Pückler-Muskau once more indulged his passion for travelling. He passed the years 1828 and 1829 in England. Thence he proceeded to Ireland, and next to France. From the latter country he embarked for Algiers in 1835. In 1837, we find him in Egypt and in Greece, whence he did not return to his own country till 1840. His winters have been since spent in Berlin, and his summers at Muskau.— Prince Pückler-Muskau is most extensively known by the account published by him of his travels in England, Ireland, &c., above mentioned, a work in which he has depicted the manners of the aristocracy and of fashionable life, with great freedom and sprightliness. Among his other literary productions, may be mentioned his "Tutti Frutti," a miscellany, containing observations made by the author during his wanderings in France and Germany, his reflections on various subjects, an account of his aëronautic excursion at Berlin, &c. The "Next to the Last (Vorletzten) Journey of Semilasso" describes his residence in Algiers. And the "Rambles of a young man" (Jugendwanderungen) relate his travels in France and Italy. PUSCHKIN (Alexander, count Mussin), a distinguished Russian poet, was born on the 26th of May 1799, and at 13 years of age was a pupil in the lyceum of Tsarkoselo, at which time he produced his first poem, entitled "Reminiscences of Tsar koselo." The commendation which it re- of the emperor himself. In 1828, he acceived determined the future direction of companied General Paskéwich, as a vohis mind. His productions, consisting lunteer, in his march into Asiatic Turkey, mostly of odes and satires, were, for a time, visiting, in the course of the expedition, strongly impressed with liberal sentiments. Georgia, Armenia, and the neighbouring An ode to "Liberty" is said to have caused countries. After this, he scarcely ever his removal from St. Petersburg, where quitted St. Petersburg. Having been aphe had resided since he left the lyceum. pointed historiographer of the crown, it The emperor Alexander, however, who became the chief aim of his subsequent was partial to him personally, appointed writings to defend and celebrate the hohim to an office in the southern part of the nour of his country. The last years of Russian empire, which afforded him the his life were particularly employed in colopportunity of visiting the Crimea, the lecting materials for an elaborate account Caucasus, and other portions of that ex- of the reign of Peter the Great.—He died, tensive region. On the accession of in February 1837, from a wound received Nicholas, he was once more allowed to in a duel with his brother-in-law, an offireside at St. Petersburg, or anywhere else cer of the imperial guards. —A splendid in Russia that he might think proper. It edition of his works, consisting, besides was also intimated to him, as an encourage- his satires and odes, of some narrative ment to pursue his literary avocations, poems, a tragedy, and several novels, was that his writings should be thenceforth published, by order of the emperor Nichosubjected to no other censorship but that las, in 1837-38. Q. UATREMERE (Étienne Marc), one of the most eminent oriental scholars of the present age, was born at Paris, July 12th 1782. Being placed in very narrow circumstances by the death of his father, in the year 1794, he applied himself at first to the study of the exact sciences, with the hope of gaining admission to the Polytechnic School. He was, however, soon induced to abandon this design; when he turned his attention to the study of the oriental languages. It was not long before he obtained an honourable rank among scholars, by his "Recherches critiques et historiques sur la langue et la littérature de l'Égypte." In 1809, he was appointed professor of Greek literature in the Faculty of Letters of Rouen. In 1811, he published "Mémoires géographiques et historiques sur l'Égypte et sur quelques contrées voisines," and in the following year a supplementary volume, under the title of "Observations sur quelques points de la géographie de l'Égypte.' These productions opened to him the doors of the Institute. He was chosen a member of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres in 1815. Four years later, he was appointed professor of the Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac languages, in the College of France, and, in 1832, succeeded M. de Chezy in the professorship of the Persian language and literature, in the School of Oriental Living Languages.-M. Quatremère is one of the contributors to the "Collection orientale," in which he has published the first volume of "Reschid ed Dins' "History of the Mongols of Persia," accompanied by an excellent French translation and valuable notes. He has also translated from the Arabic the " History of the Mamelouk sultans of Egypt" of Makrizi, and the "Historical Prolegomena" of Ebn Khaldoun. And he has, besides, enriched the principal European journals devoted to oriental literature with a number of valuable articles; not to mention his communications, from time to time, to the memoirs of the Institute.-M. Quatremère is said to have collected the materials of a dictionary of the Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages, on the plan of Stephens and Ducange; and to have in manuscript Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian lexicons. QUEBEC.* Population in 1842, 31,809. -The conveyance of emigrants to Quebec constitutes an important branch of the trade between Great Britain and Canada. In 14 years, ending with 1842, the number of persons of all descriptions who arrived in this city amounted to 366,181; of which number 96,324 were from England and Wales, 222,415 from Ireland, 42,424 from Scotland, and 4518 from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and ports on the river St. Lawrence. Only 500 arrived from ports on the continent of Europe. This immense mass of emigrants proceed principally to Upper Canada, whence a con |