320 



GERMANY. 



the delegates of the states denying the necessity 

 for such laws, while in the ministry opinions 

 differed as to what should be done. There had 

 long been a secret enmity between Count von 

 Caprivi and Count Botho zu Eulenburg, the 

 Prussian Prime Minister, who was appointed to 

 that office at the time of the withdrawal of 

 the primary education bill, when Count von 

 Caprivi resigned, but was prevailed upon to re- 

 tain the chancellorship, giving up the premier- 

 ship of Prussia, thus separating these two of- 

 fices which had been united and held by Prince 

 Bismarck formerly. The misunderstanding be- 

 tween the two ministers had lasted for some 

 time, but the friction became acute, and their 

 differences on the question of the repressive laws 

 made harmonious action impossible. It was 

 known that Count zu Eulenburg tendered his 

 resignation to the Emperor on Oct. 23, 1894, but 

 was prevailed upon to remain in office until his 

 successor could be conveniently selected. In the 

 mean time Count von Caprivi succeeded in win- 

 ning a majority of the Bundesrath for the repres- 

 sive legislation, and was congratulated upon his 

 success by the Emperor. The conference of the 

 Bundesrath was adjourned, and the members 

 left Berlin for their homes under the impression 

 that everything had been arranged satisfactorily, 

 when suddenly, on Oct. 26, Count von Caprivi 

 resigned, and his resignation was accepted by 

 the Emperor, and at the same time the resigna- 

 tion of Count zu Eulenburg was announced and 

 likewise accepted. The immediate cause of the 

 resignation of the former is not known ; but that 

 the crisis came on suddenly and unexpectedly 

 is shown by the fact that the Emperor was just 

 on the point of going to hunt at Blankenburg 

 and the preparations that had been made for a 

 week's hunt were canceled. Although the true 

 reason of the Chancellor's resignation is not 

 known, the better opinion is that it was due to 

 the intrigues of several members of the Federal 

 ministry, and the strained relations existing be- 

 tween Count von Caprivi and Count zu Eulen- 

 burg, which could no longer be compromised, 

 and that when both offered their resignations, 

 the Emperor dismissed them both. Count von 

 Caprivi was the nominal head of the new regime, 

 as it was styled by his critic, Prince Bismarck. 

 Under him Germany entered into a new com- 

 mercial policy. 



The new army bill was the most important 

 measure that he carried, only by a dissolution 

 of the Reichstag. Count von Caprivi's position 

 on assuming office was very difficult, inasmuch 

 as he had not only to combat the ordinary op- 

 position, but was constantly opposed, and his 

 course criticised by his predecessor, Prince Bis- 

 marck. Count von Caprivi took his directions 

 solely from the Emperor, and was thus often 

 placed in a false position through having meas- 

 ures forced upen him which were averse to his 

 personal and political opinion. He thus es- 

 tranged many who had been disposed to support 

 him, while he failed to conciliate his adversaries. 

 For the same reason, his policy seemed also half 

 hearted and wavering. Personally, Count von 

 Caprivi left the reputation of a distinguished 

 and honorable man, a fluent talker, and a dex- 

 terous and highly qualified parliamentarian. 

 The attempt to separate the two offices of Ger- 



man Chancellor and of Premier of Prussia had 

 proved unsatisfactory, and so Emperor Wilhelm 

 decided to reunite them under one head. On 

 Oct. 28 he appointed Prince von Hohenlohe- 

 Schillingsfurst to succeed Count von Caprivi as 

 Chancellor of the German Empire and Count 

 Botho zu Eulenburg as Prussian Prime Minister; 

 the office of Prussian Minister of the Interior, 

 which Count zu Eulenburg had also occupied, 

 was given to Baron von Koeller, who was Under 

 Secretary of the Interior for Alsace-Lorraine. 



Clovis Charles Victor, Prince von Hohenlohe- 

 Schillingsfurst, Prince of Ratibor and Corvey, 

 was born at Rothenberg, Bavaria, March 81, 

 1819. He studied at Heidelberg, Gottingen, 

 and Bonn, and began his career as an official 

 in the Prussian administration. On coming into 

 possession of the estate of Schillingsfiirst, he en- 

 tered into the service of the Bavarian Govern- 

 ment, where he filled many high posts, being at 

 one time Minister of Foreign Affairs, and even- 

 tually Prime Minister. In 1860 he made himself 

 conspicuous in the meetings of the German Zoll- 

 verein, of which he was Vice-President. His lib- 

 eral government incited against him the ultra- 

 Catholic Bavarians, whose opposition finally 

 forced him from power. In 1870 he was a 

 strong advocate in the Bavarian House of Peers 

 of supporting Prussia in the war against France, 

 and of the union of the German states into 

 one German Empire. In 1871 he was elected to 

 the German Reichstag, and became Vice-Presi- 

 dent of that body. In 1874 he was sent to Paris 

 as German ambassador, to succeed Count von 

 Arnim, and found among the archives of the 

 embassy the documents that assisted Prince Bis- 

 marck in introducing the state trial against Count 

 von Arnim. In 1878 he was one of the German 

 plenipotentiaries at the Congress of Berlin. In 

 1885 he was appointed Governor of Alsace-Lor- 

 raine, succeeding Marshal Manteuffel, which post 

 he still occupied when he was appointed to the 

 chancellorship. In spite of his age, Prince von 

 Hohenlohe is still in full possession of all his 

 mental and physical faculties. His choice gave 

 a good deal of satisfaction to the south Germans, 

 and, being a Catholic, he is likely to gain some 

 of the Clericals as his supporters. 



The Opening of the Reichstag 1 . The ses- 

 sion of the Reichstag was opened by Emperor 

 Wilhelm, in person, on Dec. 5, 1894. In his 

 speech from the throne, the Emperor welcomed 

 the Deputies to take up their labors in the new 

 Reichstag building which had just been com- 

 pleted, and called attention to the social and 

 economic tasks to be performed there. He said 

 that he regarded the protection of the weaker 

 classes of society and their higher economic and 

 moral development as the noblest task of the 

 state. In order to preserve and increase the 

 feeling of content and solidarity of the people, it 

 would be necessary to meet the dangers raised by 

 those attempting to create disturbances in the 

 country : that the state might have the power 

 to do its duties, the present laws being insuffi- 

 cient for that purpose, a bill would be intro- 

 duced extending the criminal laws for the in- 

 creased protection of the state and the better 

 maintenance of order. A bill was announced for 

 the payment of damages to persons convicted 

 and sentenced for offenses of which they were 



