PRUSSIA. 



693 



According to the budget for the year 1872, with the churches than with the liberal reforms 



the revenuewas as follows : which he had to advocate, and who of all the 



Thaiers. members of the Prussian ministry was the most 



1. Ministry of Pin^e^^^..^ ....... 103,274,924 unpopular ^ resigne a on J anuarv 12th, and was 



3. of state 56,212 succeeded by Dr. Falk, who was known to be 



of Justice 13,928,400 an earnes t advocate of liberal reforms. After 



ofMrSure:::::::::::::::::::: i,oS;S5 violent debates, the Government MII was 



7. of Worship, instruction, and Med- adopted by the House of Deputies by 207 



LmtlieHoS^mdist^:::::::::::::: lS against 171 votes The Upper House seemed 



to be determined to reject the bill, but when 



Grand total of revenue 187,058,940 t ^e G- overnmen t strongly indicated its purpose 



The expenditures summed up as follows : to carry it through, and threatened the Upper 



House with the creation of a sufficiently large 



EXPENDITURES. | Ordinary. Extraordinary. nurn b er of members to overcome all opposition, 



I Thaicr*. Thaiere. the bill was passed on March 8, 1872, by the 



Charges on tax-levy and other unexpectedly large majority of 125 against 76. 



SSSSStSSSni"fiSK " 4 ' 557 ' 719 Besidesthis billon the inspection of public 



debt, and expenses of -both schools, it was the proposed Kreizordnung, or 



ofs& tie3 :::::::::: *$!$5 40,656' the new l -or ithe administration of the oir- 



of Foreign Affair^ 132,400 cles into which the Prussian provinces are 



of Finance &g&S? IhiMS divided, which was the subject of violent party 



SfJST 6 ;;:: : u$RS* S Btrife. On this question also, the Government 



of the Interior 8,792,813 478,928 sided with the Liberal party, while the Oppo- 



$ WorS^insiracl M14 ' 958 ^ m sition consisted of the Ultra-conservatives and 



tion, and Medical Af- the Catholics. On March 21st, the Govern- 



*&& "SBS ment bill, which greatly reduces the former 



! : _ privileges of the feudal aristocracy in the ad- 



Totai 174,333,551 12,725,389 ministration of the circles, was adopted by a 



Total expenditure 187,058,940 V ote of 236 against 61. The Upper House 



Totalreyenue 187.058,940 appeared to be almost unanimous in its oppo- 



The interest-bearing public debt amounted sition to the bill, and, when the spring session 



to 428, 639,420 thalers; the non-interest-bearing of the Diet was closed, there was no prospect 



debt to 20,930,403 thalers ; the debt in rentes of the Government being able to secure a ma- 



to a capital of 7,527,000 thalers : making a jority in the Upper House, 



total of 427,096,823 thalers. The autumnal session of the Prussian Cham- 



The most important subject which engaged bers was opened on October 22d. In the Up- 



the attention of the Prussian Diet, on the open- per House 167 members were present. On 



ing of the year 1872, was a law on the inspec- proceeding with the election of a President, 



tion of public schools. Heretofore, the cler- Count Otto von Stolberg, a Liberal Conserva- 



gymen of the Evangelical and the Roman tive, received 84 votes, and Prince Putbus, a 



Catholic Churches had been, according to stanch Conservative, 81 votes. The House 



Prussian law, the superiors of the primary then began to debate the Kreisordnung Bill, 



schools, most of which had a denominational The Minister of the Interior, Count Eulenburg, 



character, and the inspectors were, therefore, stated that the idea of reforming the adminis- 



chosen by the Government exclusively from tration of the circles by means of provincial 



among the clergy of the two state Churches, legislation was antiquated and impracticable. 



In consequence of the differences which in Feudal estates were nowadays impossible, 



1871 had arisen between the Government and and the Government could not turn a deaf ear 



the Roman Catholic Church, the Government to the cry which had made itself heard among 



was anxious to change the law so as to be at the people for self-government. The intro- 



liberty to appoint, if necessary, laymen as in- duction of self-government was to transmit to 



specters. Soon after the opening of the Diet, the citizens the general obligation to render 



in October, 1871, the Minister of Instruction, services to the country, as was already the 



Yon Mulder, introduced a bill which declared case in regard to military matters, and which 



that the state possessed the right of super- had made Prussia great. This general obli- 



intendence over all public and private schools gation to national service was the watchword 



and educational institutions, and that it alone of the Government, which he begged the House 



had the right of appointing the inspectors, and also to accept. The Upper House concluded, 



of repealing at any time the appointments however, to persist in an uncompromising re- 



which had been made. The project of the sistance to the projects of the Government. 



Government called forth the unanimous pro- On October 31st, the Minister of the Interior, 



test of the Catholic bishops ; and, among the Count Eulenburg, stated that the King was 



orthodox portion of the Evangelical state fully convinced of the imperative necessity for 



Church likewise, an animated opposition to passing the bill, and that the Government 



the proposed bill showed itself. The Minister, would immediately close the session in case 



Von Muhler, who personally sympathized more the Upper House should throw out the measure. 



