A Berlin correspondent of the Nation, writing of temperance legislation in Germany, says that within the last few years dram and whisky drinking has spread with fearful rapidity among the working classes. Even in the wine-growing and beer-producing countries, alcohol is taking the place of lighter beverages, the price of wine and beer having risen considerably. Another reason for this increase of drinkers is the social position of the largest distillers of whisky. In Germany, and especially in the eastern provinces of Prussia, whisky-making is a very aristocratic business, which is carried on by the nobility and proprietors of large estates. This interest, too, is so powerful that the government does not dare to levy high taxes on the whisky trade, as in England. A few figures will show how the vice has spread. From October 1, 1869, to January 1, 1877, the number of inns in Germany rose from 42,612 to 69,305, or 11 per cent. In 1869 the percentage of inns and dram-shops to the number of inhabitants was 45.75 to 100,000, but in 1879 it had risen to 55.88. To check the growing evil the government has been led to propose a very mild and imperfect remedy, which punishes persons found drunk in public places, with a fine of $26 or two weeks' imprisonment.—Selected.