PRUSSIA. 492 PBTJSSIA. other times as he may clioose. It is also opened, prorogued, dissolved, and adjourned by the King, but cannot be adjourned for a lunger period than thirty days or more than once during the ses- sion." Each House is the judge of the elections anil qualifications of its own members and has full power over its organization, procedure, and discipline except that the sessions must be public. The members cannot be questioned outside of their respective Chambers for any speech deliv- ered or vote cast therein, nor be arrested with- out the consent of the Chamber unless caught in the act of committing a crime or within twenty- four hours thereafter. The members of the House of Representatives receive as compensa- tion about three dollars and a half a day. In legislation the powers of the two Chambers are equal, except that the budget and revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives and cannot be amended by the Peers. The organization, jurisdiction, and procedure of the judicial system, as in all the German States, is regulated by the Imperial .Judicature Act of 1877. The territorial competence of the courts and the appointment and compensation of the judges, however, is a matter of State regu- lation. The Prussian Constitution requires that the judges shall be appointed by the King for life, and they can be reinoved. retired, or trans- ferred to other districts only by resolution of the courts themselves. Their position is one of in- dependence as over against the Administration. They are admitted to the judicial service only after the completion of a prescribed course of study and preparat(;;y .service and after pa.ssing two State examinations. The highest courts in Prussia are the Oberlandesgerichte, of which there are fifteen in number, the one at Berlin being known as the Kitmmrrgericht. The next lower grade of courts are the Landesyerichte, and at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy are the Amlsgerichte or magistrates' courts. For the trial of minor criminal offenses the magistrate associates with himself two laymen called Schoffen. For the trial of more serious offenses jury courts ( Schirurgerichte) are constituted in .connection with the Landesgerichte. They con- sist of a bench of three judges and twelve jurors, the latter being selected from a list of eligibles prepared before the beginning of each year. The imperial Court at Leipzig serves as a final court of appeal from the State courts. (For a more detailed account of the judicial system, see Germany.) Besides the ordinary courts mentioned above there are a number of sjiecial courts ^bcsondere Gerichte) , which the indi- vidual States may or may not establish. Such are the incUwtrial courts, the communal courts, agrarian courts, etc. Moreover, as a result of the so-called separation of justice from adminis- tration in Prussia in the early part of the nine- teenth century, Prussia has a system of adminis- trative courts charged with the adjudication of administrative controversies. As a result of the legislation of 1875 there are three grades of administrative tribunals, viz. the Superior Ad- ministrative Court (OberreriijaUviigsgericht) , the Circle Committee, and the District Commit- tee. The first mentioned i^ composed of an equal number of judges and trained administrators ap- pointed by the King for life, thus insuring them a position of greater independence than i« the ease with the judges of the French administrative courts. This court has its seat at Berlin and is a tribunal of great infiuence and popularity. To settle conllicts of jurisdiction that arise between the judicial and administrative courts a 'compe- tence conflict' tribunal is provided. This court has its seat at Berlin and consists of eleven members, six of whom are judges of the Ober- landesgerieht. The present system of local government in Prussia dates back to the year 1807, but has undergone numerous reforms, culminating in the noted Kreisordnuny of Professor Gneist. which became law in 1872. As a result of this legis- lation the sphere of local autonomy was ex- tended, a judicial control over the action of the administrative authorities was provided for. with a view of preventing abuses which had become quite frequent, and a large nonprofessional ser- vice, for the most part compulsory and unpaid, was introduced into the administration with a view of diminishing the influence of the bureau- cracy, and at the same time of increasing the political capacity of the people, who were shut out from the civil service on account of its highly professional character and the consequent difticulty of gaining admission thereto. A dis- tinctive principle of Prussian administration is the separation of local activities into two classes: those which are regarded as of general concern, such as the management of schools, police, and religious worship : and those of purely local con- cern, such as the management of highways, the care of local institutions, etc. For the adminis- tration of the first class the State is divided into administrative units, in each of which are to be found central officers under control of the Minis- ters at Berlin. For purely local administration there are local corporations with their own prop- erty and officials. The late reforms have in most cases made the boundaries of the central and local units conterminous and consolidated the central and local authorities in the same area. For the purpose of administration. Prussia is divided into twelve provinces, not artificial, but historical units. These are subdivided into Gov- ernment districts (Regieruiigshezirke) , from two to six in each, thirty-five in all. The districts are divided into circles (Kreise). Below the circle are the justice of the peace district {Aints- hezirk) and the commune {(lemeindc) . In the province there are two sets of Government offi- cials, one central and the other local. The chief central officer is the Oberprasident, a purely pro- fessional official, somewhat like the French pre- fect, appointed and dismissed by the King and subject to the oversight and direction of the Ministers at Berlin. He exercises supervision over a number of subordinate officials, presides over various boards, and attends to the adminis- tration of those affairs which concern the prov- ince as a whole, such as relate to the police, religious worship, schools, public health, etc. Associated with the Oberprasident in the ad- ministration of matters of central concern in the province is the provincial council ( Provinzial- rat), consisting of the Oberpriisident as Chair- man, a professional life member appointed by the Minister of the Interior, and of five un- salaried lay members chosen by the Provincial Committee (a popular body) for a term of six years. The council exercises a certain control over the Oberpriisident : its consent is necessary to the validity of his ordinances; it hears appeals
