[Footnote 295: Howard, The German Empire, Chap. 12; Laband, Das Staatsrecht des deutschen Reiches, Secs. 95-113; C. Morhain, De l'empire allemand (Paris, 1886), Chap. 15.] *218. The Sonderrechte.*--In the possession of special privileges Prussia, however, is not alone. When the states of the south became members of the federation all of them stipulated certain _Sonderrechte_, or reserved rights, whose acknowledgment was made the condition upon which they came into the union. Wuerttemberg and Bavaria, for example, retain on this basis the administration of posts and telegraphs within their boundaries, and Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, and Baden possess the exclusive right to tax beers and brandies produced within each state respectively. Bavaria retains the administration of her own railways. At one time it was feared that the special privileges accorded the southern states would constitute a menace to the stability of the Empire. Such apprehension, however, has proved largely groundless.[296] In this connection it is worth pointing out that under the Imperial constitution the right to commission and despatch diplomatic (though not consular) agents is not withdrawn from the individual states. In most instances, however, the maintenance of diplomatic representatives abroad has long since been discontinued. Saxony, Bavaria, and (p. 209) Wuerttemberg retain to-day only their posts at Vienna, St. Petersburg, and the Vatican. [Footnote 296: Laband, Das Staatsrecht des deutschen Reiches, Secs. 11-13.] *219. Constitutional Amendment.*--It is stipulated within the Imperial constitution that amendments may be adopted by a process identical with that of ordinary legislative enactment, save that an amendment against which as many as fourteen votes are cast in the Bundesrath is to be considered rejected. The practical operation of this last-mentioned provision is to confer upon Prussia, possessing seventeen votes and controlling twenty in the federal chamber, an absolute veto upon all propositions looking toward constitutional change. Clauses of the constitution whereby special rights are secured to particular states may be amended only with the consent of the states affected.[297] In 1873, 1888, and 1893 the text of the constitution was amended, and upon several other occasions important modifications have been introduced in the working constitution without the formality of altering the letter of the instrument. [Footnote 297: Art. 78. Dodd, Modern Constitutions, I., 351.] CHAPTER X (p. 210) THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT: EMPEROR, CHANCELLOR, AND BUNDESRATH I. THE EMPEROR