PREFACE. IN placing before the public this sketch of the Constitution of the German Empire, I by no means lay claim to having done adequate justice to so important a subject. My object has been merely to give English readers some idea of how a country, holding so prominent a position in Europe, is governed. Germany now occupies so much the attention of public men in all countries, that I thought a short explanation of the form of its Constitution might be acceptable to those who have neither the leisure nor the inclination to wade through the elaborate works which German writers have published on the subject. To those who are anxious to acquire a thorough knowledge of the Constitution I would recommend the following books for perusal: Das Verfassungsrecht des Deutschen Reiches,' by Rönne; Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches,' by Von der Heydt; Das Verfassungsrecht des Norddeutschen Bundes,' by Thudichum; 'Die |