312 



GERMANY. 



and Switzerland. The bill respecting the attachment 

 of wages has been assented to by the allied Govern- 

 ments in the form you have given it. The bill con- 

 cerning legal trials is a decisive step toward fulfilling 

 one of the constitutional tasks of the confederation ; 

 its complete solution is aimed at by the framing of a 

 common civil and criminal statute. 



By adopting as laws of the Confederation the Ger- 

 man code of promissory bills and the commercial 

 statute, as also establishing a supreme commercial 

 tribunal, you have secured a uniform development of 

 commercial law within the Bund. I greet the new- 

 supremo commercial tribunal as an expansion of our 

 institutions and a new guarantee of the Bund's ability 

 to found and develop the common institutes required 

 for national objects, provided the faithful coopera- 

 tion of the Governments among themselves and with 

 the representatives of the people be sustained by 

 mutual confidence. 



The bill on the equality of creeds respecting citi- 

 zens' communal and state rights accorded with the 

 unanimous views of the Bund Council and met its 

 assent. The changing the stamp duty on bills of ex- 

 change, as existing in the several states, into a con- 

 federate tax, completes uniform traffic by removing 

 compound stamp duties on bills in circulation, and 

 secures, as does the bill abrogating postal franking 

 privileges, an increase of the revenue of the Bund. 

 Both these laws, however, have also the effect of 

 lessening the revenues of the several state Govern- 

 ments without leading to a proportionate reduction 

 of their allotment toward the finances of the Bund. 

 With regard to other measures proposed for this pur- 

 pose by the allied Governments, there was, I regret 

 to say, no agreement arrived at. It will now be the 

 duty of these Governments, in order to cover the de- 

 ficits caused by a previous reduction of taxes on 

 traffic, to confine their expenditures, or provide other 

 sources of revenue, within their legislative juris- 

 diction. 



By assenting to the Confederate budget and in- 

 crease of the navy loan you have secured for the 

 coming year the means requisite to the Bund Govern- 

 ment and given a financial guarantee that the pro- 

 jected enlargement of the navy will be carried out in 

 the future. 



The former legitimate increase of the revenues, the 

 financial position of the state has not materially im- 

 proved at present. You will observe, from the com- 

 plete statement of the budget for the year 1868, which 

 will be laid before you, that in consequence of un- 

 avoidable circumstances on the one hand the revenue 

 has not reached its estimated amount, and that on 

 the other hand the expenditure has exceeded the 

 estimates, and that the latter could not be completely 

 covered by the funds in hand. In the face of these 

 results and of the position of this year's state budget, 

 the endeavor of my Government has been directed to 

 decrease the burdens of Prussia, incurred in conse- 

 quence of her federal obligations, by an increase of 

 the special revenues of the North-German Confedera- 

 tion. This endeavor has not been followed by the 

 desired success. It has, therefore, been impossible 

 in the estimates for next year, which will shortly be 

 laid before you, to balance the revenue and expendi- 

 ture, although the latter have been restricted, as far 

 as possible, without affecting important interests of 

 the country. My Government is, therefore, necessi- 

 tated to resort to additional taxation, in order com- 

 pletely to recover the required expenditure. The 

 restoration and preservation of order in financial af- 

 tairs is absolutely necessary for the successful devel- 

 opment of all the state institutions, and this cannot 

 be delayed. The sacrifices demanded must not be 

 eluded ; the longer they are postponed the more op- 

 pressive they will be for the country. Convinced 

 that you share these views, I rely confidently upon 

 J-ou not refusing your assent to the propositions of 

 my Government. A bill will bo laicf before you to 

 alter the legal mode of procedure in the assessment 



of the classified income tax, in order to secure a more 

 satisfactory working of the existing law. A bill for 

 the establishment of a new administration of the pro- 

 vincial districts throughout the six pastern provinces 

 will largely affect the entire administration of the 

 country. This new law does not merely alter the 

 regulations which have hitherto existed, and which 

 have frequently been pointed out as requiring im- 

 provement, a want acknowledged also by the Govern- 

 ment. Together with the modification of the present 

 district assemblies,the Government proposes to estab- 

 lish assemblies for the communal administration of 

 provincial districts, which will not only serve to im- 

 bue the inhabitants with greater interest in the affairs 

 of their district, but these assemblies will also be 



eral business of the country as has hitherto been in 

 the hands of the state. As soon as, in those districts 

 of the eastern provinces which are the centres of 

 their communal administration, the idea of self-gov- 

 ernment shall have been realized efficiently, then 

 the extension of the same principle to the rest of the 

 kingdom and its still further development in an 

 ascending scale will follow as natural consequences. 



In conformity with the wishes expressed during 

 previous debates, my Government will lay before you 

 the draft of a complete law upon the system of edu- 

 cationone which shall embrace every grade of in- 

 struction. 



The important deliberations which commenced 

 last session upon the reform of the laws on landed 

 property, and the rights accruing therefrom, will be 

 resumed. 



My Government is engaged continually in extending 

 the system of public roads and railways in the inter- 

 est of the general traffic, and in accordance with the 

 means at its disposal. The Government regrets, how- 

 ever, that it has been compelled to make retrench- 

 ments in this branch of the public service, in conse- 

 quence of the insufficiency of the revenue. The 

 Government is also devoting increasing attention to 

 the development of agriculture. With this object, 

 the concentration of small plots of land, in those parts 

 of the country where this measure has only recently 

 been introduced or facilitated by law, is making visi- 

 ble progress. 



The unremitting endeavors of my Government for 

 the maintenance and consolidation of peace, for 

 guarding our relations with foreign powers from 

 being disturbed in any way, have, with God's help, 

 been crowned with success. I confidently trust that 

 also in future the foreign policy which will be directed 

 by me in the same spirit will be followed by the 

 same good resultSj viz., the establishment of peaceful 

 and friendly relations with all foreign governments^ 

 the development of traffic, and the maintenance ot 

 the authority and independence of Germany. 



Gentlemen I had lately the gratification of receiv- 

 ing in several provinces of my monarchy manifesta- 

 tions of loyalty and confidence which gave me much 

 pleasure. In that spirit which dictated those mani- 

 festations I recognize a fresh security for the steady 

 and hopeful prosperity of the Fatherland, and it will 

 be my unceasing endeavor to promote the same in 

 all directions to the best of my abilities. 



Success greatly depends upon your cordial cooper- 

 ation with my Government, and I rejoice to be able 

 to express my confident hope, that, also during this 

 session, this cooperation for the welfare of the coun- 

 try will not be found wanting. 



One of the most important measures realized 

 in North Germany, during 1869, was the com- 

 pletion of the first German naval station, the 

 naval improvements of coast defences, to which 

 the King refers at the con'clusion of his speech 

 as follows : 



A few days ago I witnessed the almost completed 

 works of the first German naval station, a monu- 



