PRUSSIA. 



581 



cently abolished, and the obstacles created by 

 our bureaucracy, have drawn nearly all our 

 northern maritime commerce into Prussian 

 harbors. The Crimean War, and the con- 

 struction of the railway communication be- 

 tween our western provinces and Konigsberg, 

 have made that port the headquarters of our 

 northern trade. * * * Moreover, the mer- 

 cantile marine of North Germany increases 

 yearly, while merchant-ships under the Rus- 

 sian flag are scarcely ever seen on foreign 

 waters." " If France," the Goloss significantly 

 adds, "does not think proper to put a stop 

 to Prussian impetuosity, that power will in 

 a few years absorb the whole of Germany, 

 or, in other words, become the arbiter of 

 Europe." 



In January, 1869, Count Bismarck made 

 some startling disclosures in the Diet concern- 

 ing a Hanoverian legion formed in peace, and 

 the dangers threatening Prussia by the agita- 

 tions of ex-King George of Hanover and the 

 ex-Elector of Hesse. On the ground of the 

 ex-King of Hanover's ill-disguised hostility 

 and pretensions, his property was sequestrated, 

 as also that of the ex-Elector of Hesse (the 

 latter in February, 1869). The king ad- 

 dressed a strong protest to all German sover- 

 eigns, in which he endeavors to refute the 

 charges made by the Prussian Government 

 against him, and concludes by saying : 



The first adviser of the Prussian Crown has pleaded 

 for this new act of violence at the Diet. Part of the ac- 

 cusations by which he has done this are but a repetition, 

 without any proof, of the pretended facts of a legion 

 and the provocation of hostilities, which I have men- 

 tioned above, in conjunction with the equally reno- 

 vated fiction of conditions and suppositions of the 

 property treaty of September 29. 1867, which, by the 

 spirit as well as by the text of the treaty, are proved 

 not to exist. The other parts of the accusations are 

 inventions of a similar value. They are those of the 

 existence of a committee in Hietzing hostile to 

 Prussia, which does not exist, and never has existed ; 

 then of the attempt to recruit Poles in Switzerland. 

 These statements are so inconsistent that they do 

 not need to be seriously contradicted. 



It is also below my dignity to mention the way and 

 the manner in which the first adviser of the Crown 

 of Prussia has brought forward these frivolous accu- 

 sations. I only state the fact that imperial Europe has 

 loudly proclaimed its indignation; and I can only 

 express my regret that, on the part of his Majesty the 

 King of Prussia, no disapprobation of the behavior of 

 the first adviser of the Crown has come to my knowl- 

 edge. 



His Majesty the King of Prussia, giving his sanc- 

 tion to the project of law concerning the sequestration 

 of my family property, has created an obstacle on that 

 road which still permitted him a return to the fulfil- 

 ment of the duties of the treaty. For he has made 

 the fulfilment of the duties undertaken by the treaty- 

 dependent upon a foreign will. Having already for- 

 mally protested against the Eoyal Ordinance of 

 March 2, 1868, concerning the sequestration of the 

 property of my house, I again see myself now obliged 

 solemnly to protest against the law, which renders 

 more difficult the reestablishment of the lawful state. 

 Hoping that your Majesty will also receive the 

 present communication with that sympathy of which 

 your Majesty has given me so many proofs, I am, with 

 the highest esteem and friendship, your Majesty's 

 most friendly brother. 



This Hanoverian Legion, said to have been 

 organized in France by the connivance of the 

 ex-King of Hanover, was, however, in conse- 



rmce of the vigorous measures of Prussia, 

 banded, and the agents of the ex-King then 

 entered into negotiations for their settlement 

 in Algiers as colonists, with the view of indu- 

 cing their families and relations to join them. 



The value of the property of King George 

 of Hanover, now in the hands of the Prussian 

 Government, is estimated at 13,382,000 thalers. 

 This estimate does not include the contents 

 of the royal castles. The cost of administer- 

 ing the above property is about 180,000 thalers 

 a year. 



The Prussian King, regarding himself as a 

 guardian of Protestanism, issued the following 

 decree : 



The great movements which in our age are making 

 themselves felt in the religious life both of nations 

 and individuals, and are pressing forward to a decis- 

 ion, and the tasks they impose on the Protestant 

 Church of our country, are apparent to all, and ad- 

 monish us to entreat the support of Almighty God. 

 It is therefore my will that a day be set apart in the 

 Protestant churches of my country- for special prayer 

 that God may pour out His blessing on the present 

 important deliberations as to the constitution of 

 our Church, and to implore Him to protect the Prot- 

 estant Church from all dangers that threaten it ; 

 and, to strengthen the ties which unite its members 

 to each other and to the Church universal, I have 

 appointed the 10th of November, the birthday of 

 Dr. Martin Luther, for this purpose, and hereby 

 commission the minister and the highest ecclesiasti- 

 cal authorities of Prussia to make the necessary 

 arrangements. 



According to an official compilation, the in- 

 vested capital of all the railroads in the origi- 

 nal provinces of Prussia amounted, at the end 

 of 1867, to 462,464,800 thalers. The total ex- 

 penditure was equivalent to 54 per cent, of the 

 total receipt. 



One hundred and five million tons of coal 

 were produced in Prussia in 1867. 



Berlin has now an area of 23,184 acres. It 

 has TOO public buildings, 61 of which are 

 devoted to divine service, 107 to instruction, 

 73 to sanitary purposes, 200 to the Govern- 

 ment, 87 to the municipality, and 170 to the 

 military. There are over 33,000 private 

 houses (21,919 dwelling-houses, 1,164 factory 

 buildings, and 10,180 stables and barns). 



At the present day the political journalism 

 of Berlin is represented by nine large, well- 

 printed newspapers, published daily, or in 

 some cases twice a day, with supplements 

 of varying size. Then there are two law 

 journals, partly political also, two humorous 

 journals published weekly, the Kladder- 

 adatscJi and the Wespen, and about two hun- 

 dred papers besides, of all sorts and descrip- 

 tions, for special departments of social or pro- 

 fessional interest, as art, science, fashion, etc. 



The emigration from Prussia has consider- 

 ably increased in the last year, and reached, 

 in 1868, the unprecedented number of 36,234 

 souls, 25,306 of whom emigrated from the old 

 provinces. 



