742 



PRUSSIA. 



By means of such steps the Government was 

 enabled to propose the construction of new 

 lines by or with the assistance of the state, in- 

 tended to open up new and important districts 

 and connect them with the national network 

 of railroads." The strength of the Conserva- 

 tives was shown by the election of their can- 

 didate, Herr von Koller, as President. Dr. 

 Bender, National Liberal, and Herr Heeremann, 

 Center, were chosen First and Second Vice- 

 Presidents. In the Upper House the Duke 

 of Ratibor was chosen President, and Count 

 Arniru von Boitzenburg and Herr Hasselbach 

 First and Second Vice-Presidents. 



On October 31st Herr Bitter, the Minister 

 of Finance, submitted the budget for 1880. 

 The deficit was estimated at 47,000,000 marks, 

 which amount was to be covered by means of 

 a loan. He also introduced bills authorizing 

 the purchase of four lilies of railroad. For the 

 entire amount of the capital and the debt of 

 these roads, in all 1,116,633,570 marks, consols 

 were to be issued. Several new lines were 

 also to be built, for which purpose another 

 sum of 59,000,000 marks is to be issued in con- 

 sols. The debate on the railroad bill was 

 opened on November llth. It was remarkable 

 that the most incongruous elements joined both 

 in support and in opposition to the measure. 

 While it was opposed by members of the 

 Progress and Center parties, the Conservatives 

 and National Liberals spoke in favor of it. 

 Professor Virchow, of the Progress party, ar- 

 gued at length that if the system of state rail- 

 roads ever came into force in Germany and in 

 all other countries, it would be the greatest 

 calamity that ever visited the world. From a 

 financial point of view even the state was sure 

 to suffer, and great would be the detriment 

 accruing to the country from the working of 

 such a system under a protective ministry. 

 The whole railroad question was not one of po- 

 litical economy, but of political power. Min- 

 ister Maybach defended the principle of gov- 

 ernment railroads. He pointed out the disad- 

 vantage arising to commerce from the omnipo- 

 tent companies of England and the six great 

 companies of France, and laid especial stress 

 upon the fact that in France, in a commission 

 of thirty members, there was a unanimous 

 sentiment in favor of the purchase of the en- 

 tire French roads. In the course of his speech 

 he made some remarks which created consid- 

 erable excitement at the Bourse, and called 

 forth numerous protests. The Bourse, he said, 

 was deeply interested in the further existence 

 of private railways, for something was always 

 to be earned there in manipulating them. Nev- 

 ertheless, he would look upon himself as hav- 

 ing done a good work could he help in limiting 

 the activity of the Exchange in this respect. 

 He believed the Bourse to be a poisonous tree 

 which flung its shadow over the life of the 

 people, and he would hold it to be a meritori- 

 ous thing could it be plucked up by the roots. 

 The debate was continued on November 15th. 



Herr Miquel (National Liberal), speaking in the 

 name of the great majority of his party, de- 

 clared in favor of the views of the Govern- 

 ment on the subject. The bill was brought up 

 for the third reading on December llth, and 

 on the 12th was passed by a large majority, the 

 minority being composed of the Progressists, 

 the Center, and the Poles. It was passed in 

 the Upper House on the 17th. The only note- 

 worthy incident in the debate in the Herren- 

 haus was a speech by Count von Moltke, who 

 pointed out the military advantages of govern- 

 ment railroads. 



General Synod of Prussia.-^- The meeting of 

 the General Synod of Prussia which was held 

 at Berlin in October, 1879, was the most impor- 

 tant event in the history of the United Evan- 

 gelical Church in that kingdom since its con- 

 stitution on the basis of the union of the two 

 leading Protestant denominations in 1817. It 

 marked the completion of the synodal organiza- 

 tion, under which the Church had been recon- 

 stituted during the last ten years on a basis 

 which allows a representation of the congre- 

 gational element in all stages of administration. 

 Under the constitution thus formed, beginning 

 with the parish, the congregational bodies, 

 composed of lay representatives freely elected, 

 regulate the temporalities. Above the con- 

 gregations, each diocese or circuit, and each 

 province, has its specially elected synod. The 

 highest representative body in the Church is the 

 General Synod, which has the right of meeting 

 every six years, and which met for the first 

 time in 1879. The General Synod is not en- 

 tirely free in its action, for it has to divide its 

 authority with the Superior Church Council, 

 or Board of Royal Administration, as a coordi- 

 nate body. The sessions of the General Synod 

 continued during three weeks. One of its 

 most important acts was the settling of a litur- 

 gical form for marriage in the church to follow 

 the civil ceremony, which the state makes ob- 

 ligatory. A form of service was agreed upon 

 which permits the minister, without appearing 

 to dispute the validity of the contract already 

 entered into, to pronounce the blessing of the 

 Church upon the marriage. A bill was passed 

 for enforcing discipline against those persons 

 who neglect baptism, confirmation, and reli- 

 gious marriage. It provides that such persons 

 shall lose their rights as electors for church 

 officers, and shall in extreme cases be refused 

 the Lord's Supper. Other questions considered 

 were the revision of the Liturgy, for which the 

 present time was decided not to be opportune, 

 Sunday rest, the prevalence of drunkenness, a 

 day of national humiliation, the rights of the 

 congregations in the election of ministers, and 

 the rights of pastors in elections. A general 

 collection was ordered to be taken throughout 

 the kingdom every two years for the support 

 of city missionaries in Berlin. The orthodox 

 party was largely in the ascendant in the Synod. 

 Those called Confessionals and Positive Union- 

 ists numbered nearly two thirds, while only 



