372 



GEKMANY. 



idents Duke Ujest and Herr von Bennigsen, 

 were reflected. The Poles in this Parliament 

 counted only ten members. In Schleswig, in con- 

 sequence of the restitution of the four electoral 

 districts, the Danes carried their candidate only 

 in the first district (by 13,955 to 1,939 votes). 

 In the second district, which at the election for 

 the first Parliament had elected a Dane, the 

 German candidate was elected by a majority 

 of 8,573 to 7,618 votes. In the whole of Schles- 

 wig the Danish party got more votes than the 

 German, the actual number being 25,598 votes 

 for the Danish and 24,664 for the German can- 

 didates. 



The second (or first legislative) session of the 

 North-German Parliament was opened by the 

 King of Prussia on September 10th. The King, 

 in his opening speech, thus referred to the proc- 

 lamation of the Federal constitution and the 

 relations with the South-German states : 



The constitution of the North-German Confedera- 

 tion has in a constitutional manner become law in 

 all the Federal states. The Federal Council lias en- 

 tered upon its functions, and to-day I herewith, with 

 joyful confidence, bid welcome, in my name and th 

 name of my illustrious allies, to the first Parliament 

 assembled on the basis of the Federal constitution. 

 Immediately after the promulgation of the Federal 

 constitution an important step was taken toward 

 regulating the national relations of the Confederation 

 with the states of South Germany. The German 

 sentiments of the allied Governments have created for 

 the Zollverein a new basis corresponding with the 

 altered circumstances, and a treaty concluded on that 

 account, and approved by the Federal Council, will 

 be laid before you. 



The Parliament almost unanimously agreed 

 to the Zollverein treaties ajid to the budget. 

 The bill respecting the nationality of merchant 

 vessels was adopted with some modifications, 

 paragraph 2 being altered so as to provide that 

 only ships that belong exclusively to North- 

 German subjects shall be entitled to carry the 

 Federal flag. The bill respecting liability to 

 military service was amended so as to provide 

 that every citizen of the Confederation should 

 be liable to serve without the option of 

 finding a substitute, excepting in the case 

 of members of reigning families, as well 

 as of the houses of mediatized princes, and 

 of those who formerly possessed the pre- 

 rogatives of the states of the empire, or who 

 were freed by special treaties or special rights 

 from liability to do military service. Another 

 amendment (to paragraph 6),. which was adopt- 

 ed, notwithstanding the opposition of Count Bis- 

 marck, confers the right upon the commander- 

 in-chief to increase the army as far as necessary. 

 Thus amended, the bill was adopted October 

 19th by a large majority. The postal bill was 

 passed, with an amendment of Herr Wiggers 

 upon the inviolability of letters, which was 

 adopted by 135 against 94 votes. The Govern- 

 ment at first opposed the amendment, but gave 

 its consent after the above vote of Parliament, 

 when the whole bill was adopted unanimously. 

 The bill abolishing the restriction on working 

 men's coalitions was passed. The bill upon 



freedom of settlement was adopted as framed 

 by the committee, with some slight modifica- 

 tions. The Parliament also passed a resolution 

 calling upon the Federal chancellor to intro- 

 duce aext session a measure relating to trade, 

 based upon free-trade principles; and another 

 resolution asking for the presentation of a bill 

 respecting the inviolability of domicile. The 

 bill upon the rates of post-age in North Ger- 

 many was adopted with some amendments, in- 

 cluding one proposed by Herr Evelt, which re- 

 quired the conclusion of an arrangement with 

 the South-German states for the establishment 

 of the same postal rates as in North Germany. 

 The sitting of Parliament was closed by the 

 King of Prussia on October 26th, by a speech, 

 in which he expressed the greatest satisfaction 

 with its work. 



On June 3d a conference was opened at Ber- 

 lin with the ministers of the four states of 

 South Germany, to deliberate upon the basis 

 of a reorganization of the Zollverein. The 

 following stipulations were, on June 4th, agreed 

 to: 



The treaties of the Zollverein concluded on the 16th 

 May, 1865, for a period of twelve yearSj remain in 

 force. The Southern states give up their power of 

 veto : the customs' legislation henceforth belongs to 

 the Federal Council of the Northern Confederation, 

 to which the Southern states will send thirteen pleni- 

 potentiaries, in the following proportions : Bavaria, 

 6 ; Wurtemberg, 4 ; Baden. 3 ; and Hesse-Darmstadt, 

 2 ; the Southern states will also be represented in the 

 Eeichstag, to which it will send 86 deputies, chosen 

 according to the electoral law of that Confederation, 

 as follows : By Bavaria, 48 ; Wurtemberg, 18 ; Ba- 

 den, 14 ; Hesse-Darmstadt. 6. . The proposals con- 

 cerning the important modifications ot the tariffs of 

 fundamental institutions of the Zollverein will be first 

 discussed by the Federal" Council. If there is a di- 

 vergency of opinion, the vote of Prussia will be de- 

 cisive in the event of its beijig given for the mainte- 

 nance of the existing dispositions. The states of tho 

 Zollverein abandon the privileges which some of 

 them have hitherto enjoyed. Those of Southern 

 Germany consent to establish on their territories the 

 tax on tobacco, which, according to the constitution of 

 the North, will be established also in the Northern 

 states. After the ratification of these preliminaries, 

 the general conference of the Zollverein, consisting of 

 representatives of Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtember.Lt, 

 Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Saxony, and the states oi 

 Thuringen and Oldenburg, will assemble at Berlin to 

 draw up, on the bases put forward, the new treaty 

 constituting the German Zollverein. 



The preliminaries having been ratified by 

 the South-German states, the general confer- 

 ence of the Zollverein assembled at Berlin on 

 June 26th, in accordance with the provision 

 agreed upon on June 4th for drawing up the new 

 treaty constituting the German Zollverein. The 

 new treaty. having received the sanction of all 

 the South-German Diets, the exchange of rati- 

 fications took place at Berlin, on October 30th, 

 with Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt, and in the 

 first days of November with Bavaria and Wur- 

 temberg. 



III. The South- German States. The popula- 

 tion of these states, according to the census of 

 1864, was as follows: 



