﻿13 



GERMANY. 



GERMANY. 



U 



independent state. France and Sweden declared themselves guarantees 

 of all the provisions of the above-mentioned treaty. Leopold I. 

 (1657-1705), was involved in constant wars with France and with the 

 Turks, who besieged his capital, Vienna, which was saved by John 

 Sobiedu, king of Poland. Leopold granted in 1692 the electoral 

 dignity to the duke of Brunswick-Liineburg, and conferred in 1701 

 the royal crown on the elector of Brandenburg, who took from that 

 time the title of king of Prussia. 



The elector of Bavaria, who wag elected emperor in 1742, put 

 forward claims to the succession of the Austrian states, aud other 

 sovereigns took advantage of that circumstance to attack Maria 

 Theresa, who was married to the Duke of Lorraine. A war ensued, 

 which was ended by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748; but the 

 emperor Charles VIL having died in 1745, the husband of Maria 

 Theresa was elected emperor under the name of Francis L In his 

 reign the Seven Years' War was concluded by the treaty of Huberts- 

 burg in 1763. Francis was succeeded in 1765 by his son Joseph II., 

 who distinguished himself by the numerous reforms which he intro- 

 duced into his dominions, and particularly by his act of toleration to 

 all the religious persuasions, proclaimed in 1781. The short reign of 

 Leopold II. (1790-92) is' marked by the treaty of Pilnitz, which he 

 concluded in 1791 with the king of Prussia against the French. 

 Leopold was succeeded in 1792 by his son, Francis II., who, after the 

 formation of the Rhenish Confederation, having resigned the title of 

 emperor of Germany, took that of emperor of Austria. 



It may be useful to give here an outline of the Capitulation, or 

 Constitution of the German Empire as it existed prior to this Con- 

 federation, or rather before the French Itevolation. 



The states of the Germanic empire consisted of the following 

 members, divided into three colleges, or chamben : — 



I. The Electoral College, which consisted of the Ecclesiastical 

 Electors; the archbishop of Mainz, arch-chancellor of the empire for 

 Germany, the archbishop of Treves, arch-chancellor of the empire 

 for Gallia and the kingdom of Aries (a purely titular office); and the 

 archbishop of Cologne, arch-chancellor for Italy (also a titular office). 



IL The Secular Electors were — the king of Bohemia, arch-cup- 

 bearer of the empire; the elector of Bavaria, arch-cai'ver of the 

 empire ; the elector of Saxony, arch-marshal of the empire ; the 

 elector of Brandenburg, arch-chamberlain of the empire ; the elector 

 palatine of the Rhine, who had the title of the arch-treasurer of the 

 empire : this electorate became united with that of Bavaria by the 

 accession of the elector to the throne of the last-named principality 

 in 1777; and the elector of Bronswick-Liineburg, or Hanover, 

 created by the emperor Leopold L in 1692, who received in 1706 the 

 title of arch-treasurer. 



The Second College consisted of the princes of the empire, who were 

 in rank next to the electors : they had each a vote in the diet of the 

 empire and were divided into Spiritual and Temporal princes. 



The Spiritual princes of the empire who had a vote in the diet 

 were : — the archbishop of Salzburg, and formerly the archbishop of 

 Besaofon ; the grand-master of the German order ; the bishopii of 

 Bamberg, Wiirzburg, Worms, Eichstaedt, Speyer, Strasbuig, Con- 

 stanz, Augsburg, Hildesheim, Paderbom, Freysingen Passau, Katis- 

 bon, Trent, Brixen, Basel, Hilnster, Osnabriick, Liege, Cbur, Fulda, 

 Lubeck ; the princely (gefurstete) abbot of Kempten ; the princely 

 prebendaries of Berchtohigaden and Weissenburg ; the princely abbots 

 of Priim, Stable, and Cervey. 



The Temporal princes were : — the archduke of Austria ; the dukes 

 of Burgundy, Magdeburg ; the counts palatine of Lautem, Simmem, 

 and Jieuburg; of Deuxponts (Zweibriicken), of Veldenz, and Lautere- 

 ken ; the dukes of Bremen, of Saxen -Weimar, Eisenach-Gotha, 

 Altenburg, Coburg ; the margraves of Brandenbuiv-Culmbach, and of 

 Brandonburg-Onolzbach ; the dukes of Brunswick, Zell, Grubenhagen, 

 Calenberg, and Wolfenbuttel ; the prince of Halberstadt ; the dukes 

 of Upper and Lower Pomerania ; of Verden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 

 MecUenburg-Oustrow (afterwards Strelitz) ; of Wurtemberg ; the 

 landgraves of Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt ; the margraves of 

 Baden-Baden, Baden-Durlach, and Badeu-Uochberg ; the dukes of 

 HoUtein, Gottorp, and Saxe-Lauenbnrg ; the prince of Hinden ; the 

 landgrave of Leuchteuberg ; the prince of Anhalt ; the princely count 

 of Hennebcrg; the princes of Schwerin, Kamin, Ratzeburg, and 

 Hersfeldt ; the princely count of Montbeliard. The princes enume- 

 rated belonged to the old body ; the following who were elevated to 

 their dignities after the time of the emperor Ferdinand II., were 

 called the new : — the duke of Aremberg ; the princes of Hohenzollem, 

 Balm, Lobkowitz, Dietrichstein, Nassau-Hadamar, Nassau-Dillenburg, 

 Auersberg, East Friesland, Schwarzenberg, Lichtenstein, Thum-Taiis, 

 and Schwarzburg. Many of these principalities were in the posses- 

 sion of one individual, who had consequently several votes, the votes 

 being attached to the states and not to individuals. 



The prelates, abbots, and abbesses of the empire were divided into 

 two benches, the Suabian and the Rhenish, of which each had one 

 vote. The counts and nobles of the empire were divided into four 

 benches; of Suabin, Franconia, Westphalia and of Wetterau, each 

 having one vote. They belonged to the second college. 



The free imperial cities formed a college at the diet divided into 

 two benches, the Ithenish with 14 cities, and the Suabian with 37. 

 Each town had a vote. 



The above-mentioned three colleges formed the diet of the empire, 

 whose ordinary meetings were formerly summoned by the emperors 

 twice a year, in addition to extraordinary meetings. But from the 

 year 1663 the diet sat at Ratisbon. Every college voted separately; 

 and when their respective decisions on the subject under discussion 

 agreed the matter was presented for the ratification of the emperor ; 

 after which it became law, and was called ' conclusum imperii.' The 

 emperor could refuse his ratification, but could not modify the 

 decisions of the diet. 



The diet had the right of enacting, abolishing, and interpreting 

 laws, of declaring war, concluding peace, contracting alliances, 

 receiving foreign ambassadors, &o. A declaration of war was decided, 

 on an imperial proposition, by a majority of votes ; and when it was 

 decided even those states that had voted against it were obliged to 

 furnish their contingents. The diet also imposed taxes for the general 

 expenses of the empire. 



There were two tribunals for the decision of points in dis- 

 pute between the members of the empire — the Aulic CouucU 

 of the empire, which had its seat always at the residence of the 

 emperor ; and the Cameral Tribunal of the empire (Cameralgericht), 

 which sat at Wetzlar. They were composed of membera dele- 

 gated by the different states of the empire, and an imperial deputy 

 presided. 



The emperor was elected only by the electors, who could do it 

 either personally or by deputies. The place of election was Frankfurt- 

 on-the-Main, where the coronation also took place, although the 

 golden bull of Charles IV. declared that the emperor should be 

 elected at Frankfurt, but crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle. All strangers, 

 even the princes of the empire and foreign ambassadors, were 

 obliged to leave the town on the day of the election, which took 

 place in a chapel of St. Bartholemew's church. Mainz was the teller ; 

 and after having collected the votes gave hia own to Saxony. The 

 emperor, immediati^ly after the election, swore to the constitution, or, 

 as it was legally termed, capitulation. He could do it either person- 

 ally or by deputy. 



The immediate nobility of the empire, who acknowledged no other 

 sovereign than the emperor himself, aud who, as we have mentioned, 

 had their collective votes in the diets, were also judged by the two 

 above-mentioned courts of justice. 



The Confederation of the Rhine was established by an act, signed 

 at Paris on the 12th of July 1806, by the various electors of the 

 empire. The French emperor declared himself Protector of the 

 Confederation. By the establishment of this confederatiou several 

 princes received new and higher titles ; many towns and principalities 

 lost their political existence; and several petty sovereign princes 

 were by the same act mediatised, or deprived of their sovereign rights. 

 The events of 1813 however put an end to the Confederation of the 

 Rhine ; aud the Congress of Vienna established by an act, June 8, 

 1815, the present Germanic Confederation, composed of all the states 

 of Germany. The central point aud the organ of the Confederation 

 is the Federative Diet, which sits at Frankfurt-on-the-Main. It 

 exercises its authority in a double form : 1st, as a general assembly, 

 called Plenum ; and 2nd, as a minor council, or the Federative 

 government. The Plenum meets only whenever an organic change is 

 to be introduced, or any affiiir relating to all the confederation is to 

 be decided. The Plenum contains 70 votes, of which Austria and 

 the eight German kingdoms have each 4 votes, and the other states, 

 in proportion to their impoi-tancc, 3, 2, or 1 vote each. The Fede- 

 rative government is composed of 17 votes, out of which 11 principal 

 states have each a single vote, and the remaining 27 only 6 joint 

 votes. Austria presides in both the assemblies, and decides in case 

 of equality. The Federative government has the initiative, aud 

 deliberates on the projects which are presented to the Plenum, where 

 they are not debated, but simply decided by a majority of ayes or 

 noes. It executes the enactments of the Plenum, and despatches the 

 current business of the Confederation. It decides by a simple 

 majority, aud seven votes form a quorum. The meetings of the 

 Federative Diet are either those wherein preparatory debates take 

 place, but no protocols are made, or those whei-ein affairs are finally 

 decided. 



The object of the Germanic Confederation and the duties of the 

 Federative Diet are — the maintenance of external security or mutual 

 defence from a common enemy, and the preservation of internal peace 

 among the Federative states, which have no right to declare war on 

 each other, but must submit their differences to the decision of the 

 diet. The maintenance of internal security comprehends not only 

 the prevention of conflicts among the Federative states, but also the 

 suppression of any attempt by the subjects of any of the states to 

 subvert the existing order of things. A movement, which had for its 

 original object a new aud more thorough union of the German people, 

 excited intense and general interest in Germany during 1848 and the 

 following year or two. It was first formally embodied in a proclama- 

 tion issued March 22, 1848, by the King of Prussia, under the stimulus 

 of the violent revolutionary excitemeut then prevalent throughout 

 Germany. In this proclamation he urged the German princes and 

 people to the abandonment of their local names and iudepeudencies, 

 and to a hearty an<l cordial union under one guiding hand ; while, by 

 way of showing his sincerity and commencing the work, ho offered 



