GENERAL HISTORY. 



[139 



cause he does not forbid evil 

 counsellors to approach him ; 

 therefore we beg our deputies to 

 speak the truth openly, and not 

 to dissemble : for we Hessians 

 mean it honestly both with our 

 Prince and our country, and wish 

 that the ancient order in the 

 country, and the ancient love to 

 the Prince, may return. Then 

 we shall all be helped !" 



The differences between the 

 King and the States of Wurtem- 

 berg, which occupied a consi- 

 derable place in the political 

 transactions of Germany in the 

 last year, weie renewed early in 

 the present, with unabated con- 

 tention. In April was published 

 a rescript of the King's ministry 

 to the Assembly of th(i States, on 

 an address of the latter in Ja- 

 nuary, relative to the tax-execu- 

 tions (as they are named) issued 

 with his Majesty's approbation. 

 It consists of detailed reasonings 

 concerning the obligations of pay- 

 ing the taxes imposed, in which 

 a statement is given of the re- 

 ductions made in the expences of 

 the state, a large pioportion of 

 which is in the military establish- 

 ment. The paper concludes with 

 an admonition, that as long as 

 the present provisional state of 

 things continues, the assembly 

 can only be regarded as a body 

 convoked to deliberate upon a 

 constitution, and that it has no 

 claim to co-operate as states of 

 the kingdom, which can only be 

 conferred by a future constitu- 

 tion . 



On April 20th there was pub- 

 lished at Stuttgard, a royal mo- 

 nition, which is an important do- 

 cument respecting the liberties 

 of G€rmany. The King, it is 



affirmed, has received clear proofs, 

 that several of tlie Princes and 

 Counts, formerly states of the 

 empire, and now his subjects, 

 hare not only entered into an 

 imion among themselves, and 

 with other formerly immediate 

 states of the empire, but have 

 applied to foreign courts, and at- 

 tempted to procure their inter- 

 ference in determining their po- 

 litical relations to the state ; they 

 are therefore reminded tliat such 

 conduct can be regarded in no 

 other light than as a crime against 

 the state, to be punislied with the 

 utmost severity of the law ; and 

 besides the legal proceedings to 

 which they will expose them- 

 selves by future criminality, they 

 are threatened with the imme- 

 diate sequestration of all estates 

 belonging to them in his Majesty's 

 dominions. This notification ap- 

 pears to have been sent indivi- 

 dually by the minister of the 

 home department to the persons 

 concerned . 



The States ofWurtemberg, per- 

 sisting in their resolution of re- 

 garding themsehes as partakers 

 of the national authority, pre- 

 sented to the King, on June lyth, 

 a protest against the levying of 

 taxes by the Crown, without the 

 joint consent of the States. This 

 measure produced on the pait of 

 tlie King a rescript, in which he 

 declared, that he should be justi- 

 fied in dissohing an assembly 

 which indulged itself in language 

 contrary to all principles of order; 

 but that not to disappoint the ex- 

 pectations of his people respect- 

 ing a constitution, he refrains 

 from taking such a step. He 

 however positively assures the 

 states, that he wiU in future at- 

 tend 



