346 



GERMANY. 



1,149,000; to the Poles, 196,000; to the Social 

 Democrats, 335,000 ; to the Popularists, or 

 South German Democrats, 119,000 ; and to the 

 Alsace-Lorrainers, 150,000. A notable feature 

 of this election was that Hamburg and the 

 other large sea-ports, as well as the principal 

 seats of manufacture, polled a largely increased 

 Liberal vote, and thus seemed to mark their dis- 

 approbation of the Chancellor's financial plans. 

 It was also noted that the Social Democrats 

 lost many votes, particularly in Saxony, their 

 former stronghold. 



Parliament was opened on November 17th, 

 by Prince Bismarck, who read the speech from 

 the throne. 



The speech declared, concerning internal af- 

 fairs, that the economic policy of the Govern- 

 ment as to reforms in the system of taxation 

 hitherto pursued would be strictly adhered to. 

 Stress was laid on the necessity that provision 

 he made by the state for invalid workmen. The 

 measures announced for the session were as 

 follows: For the incorporation of Hamburg 

 in the Customs' Union, for quadrennial parlia- 

 ments, biennial budgets, the accident-insurance 

 bill, tobacco monopoly, and the liquor- tax. 

 The speech was very coolly received both in 

 Parliament and out of it, and the Liberals 

 particularly complained that the Emperor had 

 taken the defeat of the Government at the 

 polls so little into account. 



Parliament organized on the 19th, by elect- 

 ing Karl Gerhard von Levetzow its president, 

 Freiherr zu Frankenstein first vice-president, 

 and Karl August Ackermann second vice-presi- 

 dent. Of these, Freiherr zu Frankenstein be- 

 longs to the Center, and the other two to the 

 German Conservatives. The main thing dis- 

 cussed by the Parliament, before its adjournment 

 for the holidays, was the budget, and the de- 

 bate on it soon assumed a purely political char- 

 acter. The most remarkable speech was that 

 of Eugene Richter, the leader of the Progressist 

 party. In a speech lasting over two hours, he 

 reviewed the policy of the Government in such 

 a clear and convincing manner that his re- 

 marks remained unanswered by the Govern- 

 ment, something heretofore unknown in the 

 German Parliament. The Government also 

 suffered several defeats in this session before 

 adjournment, notably on the bill providing for 

 the creation of a council of political economists, 

 which had been defeated in the previous ses- 

 sion, and now met again with a similar fate. 



A question which attracted considerable 

 attention during the year was the admission 

 of Hamburg to the German Customs Union. 

 Hamburg has been for centuries a free port, 

 which had always been surrounded by states 

 that had more or less high import tariffs. Upon 

 the creation of the German Empire, Hamburg 

 insisted on a guarantee that her position should 

 remain unchanged, and this guarantee was ac- 

 corded her by Article XXXIV of the Imperial 

 Constitution that the city should remain a 

 free port until it should itself demand to be 



admitted to the Customs Union. The people 

 of Hamburg have never shown any desire to 

 make use of this privilege, and the tariff of 

 1879 only increased their aversion to such a 

 step. The German Government, however, 

 tried by various means to force Hamburg to 

 give up its exceptional position. It threatened 

 to shut off the Elbe by tax-barriers, to erect 

 new and extensive docks at Altona and Gluck- 

 stadt, which were to become the termini of 

 imperial railways, thus shutting off Hamburg 

 from the German import and export trade. 

 Hamburg finally succumbed to this pressure, 

 and, after some negotiations, a convention was 

 concluded with the empire in May, which in 

 many respects was still favorable to Hamburg. 

 In the first place, the free port was not entirely 

 abolished, but simply restricted to a smaller 

 territory. Secondly, the Government declared 

 itself willing to contribute the sum of at least 

 forty million marks toward effecting the pro- 

 posed changes. Thirdly, ships are to be allowed, 

 as heretofore, to pass from the sea into the free 

 port without custom-house inspection ; and, 

 finally, the supervision between the free port 

 and the protective territory is to be intrusted 

 to Hamburg officials. 



The relations of the empire with the other 

 powers of Europe were of the most friendly 

 character. The Emperor in August met Em- 

 peror Francis Joseph of Austria, and on Sep- 

 tember 9th Alexander III of Russia at Dant- 

 zic. The latter meeting created considerable 

 excitement, but, as far as known, no political 

 business of any importance was transacted, and 

 the meeting was to be regarded simply as a 

 renewal of the good feeling hitherto existing 

 between the two empires. The Emperor in his 

 speech from the throne, on November 17th, 

 declared that the meetings at Gastein and 

 Dantzic were the expression of the close per- 

 sonal and political relations between the sover- 

 eigns and their empires. The confidence thus 

 existing between the three imperial courts was 

 a trustworthy guarantee of peace, which was 

 the identical aim of their policy. 



Negotiations with the Vatican were con- 

 ducted with great activity, and the appoint- 

 ment of Dr. Korum as Bishop of Treves, as 

 well as the new bishops of Fulda and Hildes- 

 heim, by the Government of Prussia, was con- 

 sidered as a sign that the Government had made 

 far-reaching concessions to the Vatican in or- 

 der to conciliate the Center. (See PRUSSIA.) 

 But, notwithstanding this apparent truce, the 

 Catholic Center in Parliament voted against 

 several of Prince Bismarck's favorite plans. 

 Toward the close of the year, Kurd von Schlo- 

 zer, the German Minister at Washington, was 

 sent to Rome on a special mission, and, it was 

 even said, to reopen the German legation at 

 the Papal court. 



On February 27th Prince William, the old- 

 est son of the Crown Prince, was married in 

 the presence of a large assembly to Augusta 

 Victoria, daughter of Duke Frederick of Schles- 



