6. The imperial treasury (Reichsschatzamt), or exchequer, is the head financial office of the empire. Presided over by a secretary of state, its functions are principally those appertaining to the control of the national debt and its administration, together with such as in the United Kingdom are delegated to the board of inland revenue.
7. The imperial railway board (Reichseisenbahnamt), the chief official of which has the title of “president,” deals exclusively with the management of the railways throughout the empire, in so far as they fall under the control of the imperial authorities in respect of laws passed for their harmonious interworking, their tariffs and the safety of passengers conveyed.
8. The imperial post office (Reichspostamt), under a secretary of state, controls the post and telegraph administration of the empire (with the exception of Bavaria and Württemberg), as also those in the colonies and dependencies.
9. The imperial office for the administration of the imperial railways in Alsace-Lorraine, the chief of which is the Prussian minister of public works.
10. The office of the accountant-general of the empire (Rechnungshof), which controls and supervises the expenditure of the sums voted by the legislative bodies, and revises the accounts of the imperial bank (Reichsbank).
11. The administration of the imperial invalid fund, i.e. of the fund set apart in 1871 for the benefit of soldiers invalided in the war of 1870-71; and
12. The imperial bank (Reichsbank), supervised by a committee of four under the presidency of the imperial chancellor, who is a fifth and permanent member of such committee.
The heads of the various departments of state do not form, as in England, the nucleus of a cabinet. In so far as they are secretaries of state, they are directly responsible to the chancellor, who represents all the offices in his person, and, as has been said, is the medium of communication between the emperor and the Bundesrat and Reichstag.
Colonies.—The following table gives some particulars of the dependencies of the empire:—
| Name. | Date of Acquisition. | Area (estimated) sq. m. | Pop. (estimated). |
| In Africa— | |||
| Togoland | 1884 | 33,700 | 1,000,000 |
| Cameroon | 1884 | 190,000 | 3,500,000 |
| S.W. Africa | 1884 | 322,450 | 200,000 |
| East Africa | 1885 | 364,000 | 7,000,000 |
| Total in Africa | 910,150 | 11,700,000 | |
| In the Pacific— | |||
| German New Guinea | 1884 | 70,000 | 110,000(?) |
| Bismarck Archipelago | 1884 | 20,000 | 188,000 |
| Caroline, Pelew and Mariana Islands | 1899 | 800 | 41,600 |
| Solomon Islands | 1886 | 4,200 | 45,000 |
| Marshall Islands | 1885 | 160 | 15,000 |
| Samoan Islands | 1899 | 985 | 33,000 |
| Total in Pacific | 96,145 | 432,600 | |
| In Asia— | |||
| Kiao-chow | 1897 | 117 | 60,000 |
| Total dependencies | 1884-1899 | 1,006,412 | 12,192,600 |