I48 GERMANY SAXONY.

The details of the annual expenditure of the period 1864—66 were : —

Civil list of the King and Queen, dotation of the Thaler

princes, and repair of royal residences . . 863,845

Interest on public debt ...... 2,834,000

Ministry of Justice 384,703

,, of Interior 850,495

„ of Finances ...... 474,395

of War 2,175,096

„ of Public Instruction and Ecclesiast. Affairs 390,833

,, of Foreign Affairs ..... 94,445

Contribution to the expenses of the German Diet . 35,000

Pensions 590,336

Public works 3,339,461

Fund of reserve 323,743

Total annual expenditure . .12,356,352 or £1,853,452.

The budget for the financial year 1868-69 was based on esti- mates of revenue of 13,371,057 thaler, or 2,005,659/., and of expenditure to the same amount. Included in the latter was the sum of l r 545,490 thaler, or 231,824/., forming the contribution of Saxony to the expenditure of the North German Confederation.

For the last few years there has been a gradually increasing surplus of income over expenditure, which is collected in a 'fund of reserve,' and made use of for the reduction of the public debt. A great part of this surplus was derived from the railway lines of the country, nearly all of which are State property, yielding a revenue of from 1,500,000 to 1,800,000 thaler per annum.

The public debt amounted, at the end of 1869, to 95,264,062 thaler, or 14,289,609/., the liabilities being made up as follows : —

Old debt ....

3% 'Obligations,' created in 1830

4% 'Kassen-Scheine' of 1847.

4% ditto of 1852-66

3% ditto of 1855 .

Shares of the Saxon-Silesian Railway . . . 3,335,000

5% 'Obligations,' created in 1867 . . . .12,000,000

4% • Kassenscheine,' created in 1869 . . .20,000.000"

Thaler

2,281

5,204,075

7,789,000

42,648,400

4,285,300

Total . . . 95,264,062 £14,289,609

The debt was incurred almost entirely for the establishment and purchase of a network of railways and telegraphs, and the

promotion of other works of public utility.