In addition to drastic educational measures, compelling study of their language, the Germans have resorted to wholesale buying of Polish estates in the section of the kingdom of Poland which fell to the lot of Prussia when the country was partitioned. A colonization law (Ansiedelunggesetz), decreed on April 26, 1886, placed large funds at the disposal of the German government for the purchase of land owned by Poles and the establishment of colonies of German settlers.[116] The measure was artificial and proved valueless against economic conditions prevailing in the regions affected. A decrease in the percentage of the Polish population of the estates acquired by purchase was rarely brought about. The new settlers could rarely compete with natives. The most tangible result consisted in mere substitution of German for Polish ownership. On most of the large estates the mass of laborers and dependents remained Poles as they had been before. The breach between Poles and Germans was widened by the change of masters. Nevertheless, although results corresponding to the efforts and money expended were not obtained, the measure has contributed to the advance of Teutonism in northeastern Europe.[117] The purpose of this colonization is to redeem Prussian soil from Polish ownership. The “Mittelstandskasse” of Breslau, and the Peasant’s Bank of Danzig, are financial institutions directly interested in this work of Germanization. These banks work hand in hand with the state. Results of this activity can be observed in East Prussia where the German element has acquired preponderance in 32 communes, through the intervention of German capital. A common practice of the German loan societies is to assume the liabilities of German farmers. In many cases the peasants have been provided with funds to carry on their agricultural operations. In Western Prussia 39 estates with about 14,000 inhabitants have passed into German hands.[118] Often it has been impossible to induce peasants from other parts of Germany to settle in the Polish provinces, and the state has resorted to the importation of German peasants from the old German settlements in Russia, Galicia and Bosnia. German colonization in Polish provinces has been accompanied by increase and expansion of urban centers. The province of Posen, which now claims 151 cities,[119] is a typical instance. The colonists’ cities founded by Germans are readily recognized by their peculiar configuration. Almost all have been built on the same plan. A four-sided market-place generally constitutes the nucleus of the urban tract. Main avenues diverge from the angles of the central quadrilateral. Lateral streets extend parallel to the market sides and at right angles to the main arteries.