GERMANY. 
peculiarity, that, notvvithflanding Us dlfniemberment 
into fo many feparate dates, it has pTeferved its ambient 
monarchical head ; and all this may be'jierfetUy recon¬ 
ciled upon the fame principle as we confider all com¬ 
pound bodies, when we view them in the whole, in a 
different light from that in which we view them in their 
feparate parts. 
“ Germany, as a compound political body, confids of 
as many different dates as there are dates of the empire, 
and territories, each of which has its own peculiar go¬ 
vernment, which are again didinguifhed into almod 
every podible fpecies, and are, more or lefs, monarchi¬ 
cal, aridocratical, or deniocratical. In the whole, how¬ 
ever, Germany, confidered as an empire, has its mo¬ 
narchical form of government, fo long as the perfon of 
the emperor is independent of all fuperior human power ; 
for the effential difference between a monarchy and re¬ 
public confids in this, that in the latter no dngle indi¬ 
vidual can be independent, as crowned heads only in the 
former. Germany, therefore, confidered in the whole, 
in reckoning the dates of Europe, can no more be left 
out of the number of empires and monarchies, than 
Great Britain, or Sweden ; but this is no reafon why 
the emperor fhould have an abfolute monarchical power, 
like the king of Denmark, and others ; but he remains 
a monarch, though he cannot adl; without the confent 
of the diet, any more than a king of Great Britain 
without the concurrence of the parliament; and though 
his throne is not hereditary, like that of other kings, 
but depends upon a free election, like that formerly of 
Poland. 
“ If we confider this compound political body again 
in another point of view', which is infeparable from it, 
viz. its component parts, it lias evidently much more 
refemblance to the dates of the United Provinces, Sw’if- 
ferland, and North America, than to countries which 
are fimple monarchies. This didinguifhing charadfer- 
idic certainly always remains, that Germany is united, 
not merely under a congrefs or dates-general, but under 
a common fupreme head, endowed with monarchical 
though not abfolute power, and in mod refpedfs under 
the necefiity of adting with the concurrence of the dates 
of the empire. This, however, does not by any means 
prevent the other third point, as often as the component 
parts come into confideration, in which the late condi- 
tution of the United Provinces, may be compared with 
that of the Germanic empire, as far as this empire is di¬ 
vided into feparate dates totally difiindl from each other. 
“ Every eledtorate, every principality, every imperial 
city, every territory, however inconfiderable, which is 
included in the number of the dates of Germany, has 
its own peculiar government, its own fundamental laws, 
its own taxation, adminiftration of judice, police, coin¬ 
age, and what is dill more, its own military edablilh- 
ment, and the right of entering into alliances, making 
war, concluding peace, and fending ambalfadors: in 
ftiort, whatever ideas a perfon travelling through the 
various independent dates of Europe may form of the 
difierence of their confiitutions, laws, and other regula¬ 
tions, will equally occur to a traveller in Germany; 
and often teach him, in a dill more driking manner, 
that there are dates which are totally didipdt from each 
other; fince he need not travel half a day in Germany 
without finding forms of government, fometimes repub¬ 
lican, fometimes monarchical, fometimes limited, fome¬ 
times defpotic, fometimes hereditary, and fometimes 
dependent on the freedom of eleftion; yet without-find¬ 
ing, totally difi'erent laws in every new territory j but 
Other coins, other pods, and other foldiers; and a per¬ 
fon who refides but for a Ihort time in the country, 
would much more frequently experience that Germany 
confids ot feveral dates totally didinft from each other, 
than that the empire is dill united under one commo--* 
fupreme head. This perpetual change of dates is 
inconvenient to firangers; the difierence is not 
Voi.VIlI. No. jaa. 
fervable by the uniform of the troops, colour of tlie li- 
very of the podilions ; but by a change of money, 
which trequently diders in its value, and generally by 
the payment of frelh tolls. 
“ One ciroumfiance arifing from this, and peculiar to 
the Germanic empire, is the diftinftion between its 
diate and immediate members. I n the fame manner as tv. o 
objects which we may fuppofe To have relation to each 
other, are immediately related, when there is no third 
objedl intervening ; but otherwife only mediate. This 
may be illudrated by the exainjde of tlie connection 
between a grandfather and his children, wl'io may be 
faid to be mediately related ; while the relation between 
parents and children, on the contrary, is immediate ; 
and in tliis relation all perfons and atr'airs in Germany 
dand, under the fovereignty of tlie empire, and its com¬ 
mon head. But as a nobleman’s eltate, for indance, 
which lies in a German principality, and fubjeit to a 
prince’s fovereignty, is only fo far a part of the Ger¬ 
manic empire, as it conditutes a part of that principa¬ 
lity ; fo, with refpeef to the whole empire, it can only 
be confidered as a mediate member. Such edates, or 
territories, on the contrary, are immediate, which do 
not form any part of another date, but only conditute 
a part of the empire in genera!. According to this 
idea, the whole of Germany is divided into mediate and 
immediate members; the latter of which are regularly 
at the fame time dates of the empire, who have the 
government of tiieir refpedtive' countries in their own 
hands ; and the former are, as parts of thefe dates, 
fubjedt to their territorial fovereignty ; yet there are 
immediate members of the empire likewife, which have 
no feat or voice at the diet, and are therefore not dates, 
the very nature of which efl’entially confids in fuch a 
leat and voice. Thefe are the free imperial nobility, 
or knighthood of the empire, and the imperial villages. 
Many noblemen’s edates, convents, and cities likewife, 
have lod their immediacy, and are become fubjedf to 
the fovereignty of other dates, and are therefore medi¬ 
ate ; and the quedion is dill in difpute with fume, whe¬ 
ther they are immediate or not. 
“The whole conditution of the Germanic empire, 
therefore, centers in this, that the quedion dill remains 
refpe( 5 ling the I'overeign rights of the emperor over me¬ 
diate members, either in the cafe of complaints made 
againd their ordinary government, or by virtue of cer¬ 
tain referved rights which exided before the rife of ter¬ 
ritorial fovereignty, and have remained throughout 
Germany in the emperor’s power. Thefe are, in par¬ 
ticular, his right of raifing to a higher rank, conferring 
academical honours, and nominating counts palatine of 
his court, and notaries. Yet even thefe rights cannot 
be exercifed with any legal efte£f, or acknowledged in 
mod countries, without their being did lubniitced to 
the examination and approbation of the territorial lord. 
No fovereignty whatever can be exerciled over imuie- 
diate members of the empire, except in tlie n-me of 
the emperor ; but with this didindlion again, whether 
it is left to the emperor alone, as in the of mod 
imperial grants, inveditures, and the jurifdidtion as ex¬ 
ercifed in the inipewal courts of jud.’Cature, with reler- 
vation of the refort to the Audregues; or whether it 
depends upon the confent or the diet, tlie two luperior 
colleges of the empire, or ol the eleftoral college alone. 
Thi.s matter has beou determined at diderent times, 
partly in the pea^e of Wedphalia, and partly in tlie 
emperor’s cap>‘Ula^f‘on.s ; though with relpedl to the 
latter all t^^ difputes w.hich have arifen concerning the 
cafes w’^ore the eledtoral confent alone is necelfary, 
have-'ot yet been wholly decided. 
» Even in the peace of Wedphalia, fome doubts are 
.till left concerning what cafes, befides thofe which are 
exprefsly mentioned as belonging to the diet, are in¬ 
cluded in the claufe annexed, which mentions ‘ other 
fimilar cafes.* Even in thofe matters which belong to 
6 R the 
