On this page
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
Address was presented to the Regent , and answered 33 "J receive this Address -with peculiar satisfaction and sincere thanks . Not alone on account of the contents , but also of the unanimity with which the House have aereed to it . This is the second occasion since the establishment of the Regency that such unanimity has been displayed towards me . It is a worthy counterpart to that which the representatives evinced when they the
acknowledged the Regency established by King . Now , as then * thi 3 rare occurrence in the representative system will resound through our country and Europe , because it proves the Government and the representatives to be of one mind . I rejoice to see a repetition of the words which I addressed to the country from the throne . Let us hold fast to these principles , then we shall see the fulfilment of the assertion that our country will remain strong and mighty in the present and the future as it has been in . the past . "
The members of the deputation were hereupon presented individually to the Prince , who r after some flattering observations to a Mr . Simson , touching a speech which he made in support of the Address , dismissed the deputation with these words : " And now , gentlemen , proceed to your duties , always bearing in mind that I merely stand in your King ' s stead ; and although he has charged me to act according to my own conscientious convictions , yet we must never forget that he has not ceased to be our King and master , and that he may at any moment return to his high office . Therefore , it must be our task to act in such wise thai he may- then say , ' My brother has done well . ' I therefore repeat what I said on a former occasion , ' "We will only improve the King ' s work , and nothing further . '"
I have made little or no mention of the Prussian Eerrmi , or Upper House , in iny letters , but , indeed , up to the present , it has given hardly any signs of existence . It will , however , probably make itself heard byand-by , and rather plainly , top , if the Government is to be carried on with , the liberal tendencies that are anticipated , for most Germans appear inclined to believe that the Prince of Prussia is a Liberal at heart . They have forgot 1848 and 1849 . What I take to be sheer political cunning they regard as bluff straightforwardness . They have been deceived often enough since 1 . , and will be deceived a little while longer . The Prince may be liberal , and so may the House of Representatives , but the' Upper House is known to be thoroughly absolutist ,
and the question is , will it go hand in hand with the House of Representatives ? Nobody . thinks that it will . This has given rise to the report that new peers were about to be created by the : Prince for the purpose of inproducing a liberal element , or of swamping the absolutists . The wish , most unlikely to be fulfilled , was father to that thought . The Upper House was constituted with the professed object of acting as a dam against the democratic torrent of the future . It has hitherto proved to be more than a dam ; it has been , and will be , a rock upon which all popular measures will be shattered and dispersed , and that , too , most constitutionally , for the Upper House is as constitutional and as
entitled to be respected as the Lower House ; and has not the Regent declared to keep strictly within the limits of the Constitution ? The right of the Lords to reject is as sacred as that of the Commons to propose . People were . becoming oblivious to the Herren house , but some characteristic committee elections have lately attracted attention to it , and reminded Prussia that the * ' Cross" party is not only alive still , but beginning to kick in a somewhat well directed and unpleasant way . The adherents of the Ministry will , it is plain , have great difficulty in holding their own against the tactics of V the' small but powerful" party to oust them out of the committooa gently and by degrees .
With a systematically opposttional Upper House , at the same time a thoroughly constitutional one , tho Prince may be exceedingly liberal without tho slightest fear of his liberality leading to dangerous consequences . Mrs . Primrose never liked hor girls to bo without money , flo sh , o had put a guinea into tho purse of o . ich , but with strict injunctions never to change it , Every one knows to "what end this Upper House was created ,, and none knows better than tho House itself . Wilh this knowledge arifi stupid over-zealousness , measures havo formerly been rejeoted which even ( ho Court wished to pass . Therefore the complaint of tho Prince , that If the taxes had been granted in 1857 tho wants of tho nation would , havo been supplied . This was directed at tho Lords who refused tho incroaso . Thoir opposition at that period ,
however , was only spasmodic and displayocl in a stray measure , but now , in tho affected boliof Chut ypon thorn depends tho salvation of Royalty by the Graco of God , their opposition will bo regular and tonding to ono givon object . This bold opposition must not bo looked upon M tho offspring of patriotic and slncoro convictions , inspiring thorn with courage to spurn tho favour of Prince ftnd people $ they aro resolute because they fool convinced that they havo tho sympathy of tho most powerful in tho land , whoso command four hundred thousand drilled man involuntarily obey . Believing ' that Prussia is !" wli&t shois solely through tho HohonKollorns and tho nobles , and regarding men in general as ho »> ony boobies , incapable of governing themselves or thoir families , they will novor voluntarily surrender their
Untitled Article
HAMBURG-. ( From a Special Correspondent . ) February 1 , 1859 . An extraordinary excitement has prevailed of late among the population of the free Hanseatic town of Hamburg . During the general continental revolution in 1848 , a Legislative Assembly was eonvocated , the members of which were elected by the citizens of the town . By this Assembly was debated , arid finally adopted , a Constitution , which shared the fate of all constitutions proposed during that period ^ - ^ it was never carried out .
The revolution was followed by the restoration , when a new Constitution was concocted by a committee , com posed , of senators and citizerisj and subsequently approved and adopted by the legitimate assembly of citizens , that is to say , houseowners , and otherwise privileged members . Against this a constitutional body , invested with functions similar to those of the Roman tribunes , viz . to protect the interest of the citizens against the ruling powers , and denominated * ' Oberalten , " or Ancients , protested , because it dispensed with their services ; they appealed to the German Diet , which , however , confined itself to point out two articles of that Constitution as O bjectionable , deviating from the fundamental principles of the German Confederation .
This partial and immaterial objection was made a pretence for putting aside that same Constitution , created and approved by the constitutional powers of the Republic , and strongly recommended to general adoption by the Senate , and for continuing comfortably to rule the state in conformity with the old system , with all its absurdities and abuses . A few years after , the Senate , beginning to feel uneasy from the general indignation of the citizens , to which a meeting of lawyers gave vent , brought forward a patchwork of old rags and new ribbons denominated " new Constitution . " It was quietly but unanimously declined ..
After another interval of several years , during which the general desire of the citizens was directed to a separation of the administration from the courts of justice ( which , I dare say , you wonder how they could ever be united ) , the Senate declared that this desire should be complied with , and finally offered a new Constitution which , while it only in appearance effected that separa , tion , in reality only tended to increase the power of the Senate , both as regards finances . and police , which is directed by a senator . " This created a general outcry of ineffable indignation , and for its immediate and startling consequence had tha union of the Conservative and Democratic party , who , in two meetings that wore called by the leading members of each , declared their determination not to rest till they hud obtained tho recognition of tho Constitution of 1850 .
Untitled Article
claims to direct the whole machinery of the . Government . As they created Prussia , the government of it is their due , and " siium cuique" is the motto of Prussia ' s kings . To attain their object , they will not be satisfied with the means offered to them by freedom of speech in Parliament , and a free press , by which , if their claims are . founded upon reason and patriotism , they may be succeeded by the propagation of the Truth , &c , inscribed upon the banner which the Regent holds so proudly aloft ; they will not rest satisfied with such simple and ready means because they know that the cause they seek to uphold , if left to the criticism of common sense , is hopeless . To spread their ideas they require the suppression of all
others ; they must have the power of coercing the press — : they must have the treasury in their hands- ^ -the disposal of places— -the police in its all-penetrating interference . With these means they imagine they will be able to make the Present a sort of steam-tug to the sinking old hulk the Past . They are , however , fortunately out of power at this moment , and every day passed without direct influence is a gain of years to the Liberals . In vain they may console themselves that they were once before out of power , and that , notwithstanding all appearances against them , they recovered their old position , and maintained it firmer than ever ; but the silly panic of the years 1848 and 1849 has subsided . Those years brought a fair , and pleasant wind to the
Feudal party , which cleverly and energetically turned it to account , as "it wafted their rotten old hulk into a port of safety that no one expected it would ever reach . Since then a new generation has arisen . Wind-and weather have changed , and are very foul for them , and unless they quickly get aboard of . the Present they will certainly sink with the Past . Still they will make a struggle which may be of long , that is , comparatively longj duration . There will be no want of loyal and patriotic asseverations , that in their constitutional opposition to the Lower House they will be guided by principles only , not by persons or appellations . At first they , will proceed with caution , accepting here and there a measure of liberal tendency , and people will be led to
believe that Prince , Lords , and Commons ai * e all Liberals togetherj and the Government of Prussia will really appear a phenomenon of patriotic andehiightened unanimity ; but sooner or Jater we shall see the Lords sitting down to a stead y and sj'Stematic . opposition , the object of which will be to oust the present Ministers one by one , and supply their places by men of their own stamp . This they will do in spite of themselves , for the men composing the Feudal party are not guided by reason , but the merest instinct . Thus we shall see the very men who have set their faces against imitation introducing what is supposed to be the secret of England ' s success in representative Government , a systematic contention between two sets of men for the honour
of serving their country . They will doubtless give their involuntary plagiarism another name , but it will be a distinction without a difference . Enthusiastic Constitutionalists may regard this as a consummation devoutly to be desired , and perhaps they would rejoice at the accession of a party to power in so constitutional a manner , anticipating results similar to those obtained in England by the same means ; but they would , very soon discover their error . If the Feudal or Grace-of-God party again accede to power in this generation , whether by Parliamentary tactics or by the will of the sovereign , we shall see the same system of police supervision , tbe same suppression of freedom of speech and writing , that the country has been subjected to during tho past ten
years . It is , however , just possible that a portion of the Upper House may be sufficiently clear-sjghted as to perceive the drift of the age , and may accept what they cannot prevent . They may also prevail upon some of their less far-seeing or more obstinate colleagues to go hand in hand with tho progressive representatives of tho nation ; in such a case , Hohenzolloms and Junkers may havo a lease of titles and power for another century . At present . thoy are much less safe than on the 2 nd February , 1818 .
Besides tho Prussian , wo havo tho Hanoverian , Bavarian , aud Saxo Weiinar constitutional Parliaments now in session , as likewise the Provincial Dipt of Sohloswig and Holstoin . Thorp was a report in circulation last weok that the Bavarian Ministry had tondorecl their resignation to the King , and further , that tho King had threatened to remove the Court , from Munich . Both reports wore , however , positively contradicted by tho official journal of Munich . Tho cause of this want of harmony botwoen King and Parliament I mentioned in a former letter . The professed cause is the olootion of a
Dr . Woia , a man personally obnoxious to the monarch , as Second Prosidontof tho Chamber . Tho real cause is , doubtless , tho thoroughly Liberal character of the Chamber itsolf . At tho Diet of Sahloswig-IIolstoin , now in session at Iuohoo , situated in Holstein , about twentyfive miles from Hamburg' , a petition was presented from some silly porsons in Yorkshire , England , praying that thocauso of , the Duchies might not bo loft entirely in tho hands of tho Gorman Bund . It was road amidst shouts of merriment . This rldloulo of our ppor Yorkshiromon was very unjust on tho part of tho Gormans , or rather Holstoinors , for have thoy not mado it their
Untitled Article
task these many years to curry favour "with the English and Scotch , by representing them as originating from Schleswig and Holstein ? Have . they not been endeavouring to assimilate their jargon with the English tong ue * that they might represent the two languages as being identical ? Did they not introduce the system of planting hedges' found their fields that they might hold it out as an evidence of a common origin ? Read Lappenberg's " History of England" for information upon this head ; This Yorkshire petition is a proof how successful
Germans and Danes have been in corrupting the ideas of the English as to the origin of the English people and their language . The Anglo-Saxon theory is a delusion and a snare ; and , instead of reading the concoctions of ignorant , conceited , or treacherous foreigners , the English , and more especially the Yorkshiremen , would do well to go to the sources of their history themselves . All that foreigners know about the ancient history of England is derived from English writings and traditions . I hope these remarks will meet the eyes of the Yorkshiremen who sent the petition to Itzehoe .
Untitled Article
The Epidemic op DiPTHEniA . — -Tho Lancet is publishing a masterly report on this alarming epidemic , drawn . up by one of tho ablest attache ' s of that able journal . Wo lament to gather from the remarks of tho learned " commissioner , " that it is unquestionably contagious in the highest dogroo , and that , although its violonqo is aggravated bv
oaloulation . It is no now disease , as sometimes supposod , having been known In tho time of Hippocrates as tho Mai urn , 45 gyptiacum . Wo undorstand that the Registrar-General has most ardently applied the resources of his oflico towards the collection of dlptheria statistics . His influence as a public officer , joined to that naturally exorcised by so important an organ as our contemporary ovor tho profession , warrant tho anticipation that the footutops of our now foo will bo doggod successfully enough , before it has taken deep root qmongst ua > to ensure Its early eradication .
Untitled Article
T ~ -- ' ; , - ¦ ¦ ¦ - . ¦ ; . ; ¦ ¦ . , ¦¦ ; . - '¦ : ¦ .. ¦ ¦ . ¦ . .. ' . ¦ , ' ¦¦ " ' ' " ¦ ¦ ' ' . ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ •¦¦ .,. " ¦ ' ¦ -.. ¦¦ ¦ . ¦¦•¦ ¦ : ¦¦ ¦ ., ¦ . . . : ¦ . _ - , ¦ , ¦ ., .... ¦ ¦¦ 1 . . '"'¦ .. ¦ ' ''" . ' ' ' ¦ ¦ ' ¦¦' .. '¦ ' * ' ' ' , ''¦' . '''' . . . . ¦ . . i '' . ' . . ' . ¦ '¦' ' . ' . '¦¦ . ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦ ? * No . 463 , ^ bbuaby 5 1859 ] f HE liEADER . 181
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 5, 1859, page 181, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2280/page/21/
-