XXVII. 1846. Eichorn, both members of the royal council; but he CHAP. answered in just and pregnant words, which bespoke the real seat of the evil in the superstition of some and indifference of others. "To me alone," said he, "belongs the direction of religious matters. You have nothing to do with it. Under my grandfather, Berlin contained forty thousand inhabitants, and fifty preachers; now its population is nearly five hundred thousand, and you have not added to their number; you have not built a single church. Is this a proof of your zeal for religion? As to the Puritans, those were men faithful to their God and their King; it is not for the magistrates of Berlin to attack them the King can still less recognise that right in the declared partisans of the new Catholics, 1 Ann. Hist. those men who have violated their oath towards the 285. Church." 1 1 xxvii. 283, 74. tional pro the year This religious schism was an indication of the stirring of men's minds; it was the precursor, as the fervour of Constitu the Puritans had been in England, of the great rebel- gress during lion. When the human mind is resolutely set on ex- 1845. pansion and inquiry, it is often in religious division that its heavings first appear. The same anxiety was evinced by the people, on the one hand, to obtain States-General, or a real representative assembly, and by the government, on the other, to repress insolent language, and check extravagant ideas. The demands of the petitions presented to the King had become so extensive, their language in some cases so violent, that they were nearly all considered illegal, and their insertion in the public journals prohibited. The object of the government was not to put an entire stop to the stream of innovation : that, they were well aware, was wholly impossible. What they desired was to turn it into constitutional channels, and take the initiative themselves in any changes which might be deemed advisable. Accordingly, Prince Adolphus of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, who presided over the provincial estates of Silesia, thus addressed them at their XXVII. 1846. CHAP. opening on the part of the government: "It is permitted to us to hope that the King will accord in the next session (that of 1847) the constitution of StatesGeneral which you desire so warmly. The King is convinced that the present situation of affairs not only requires, but favours that design." Numerous demands were made by all the estates, especially those of Cologne, Posen, and Berlin, for various objects of domestic and social reform, particularly a reform in criminal trials, and publicity of their procedure; the publication of the debates of the estates, the emancipation of the Jews, the establishment of real States-General, the extension of the representation of towns and rural communities in them, the guarantee of the liberty of the press, and similar objects. The answer of the King to these applications, though sometimes evasive, in general contained promises that the grievances complained of should be taken into consideration. The autumn of this year was rendered remarkable by an auspicious event, the visit of our present gracious sovereign to the Rhenish provinces of Prussia, when she was magnificently entertained by the 1 Ann. Hist. King of Prussia, whose language on the occasion bespoke xxviii. 295, alike the courtesy of a chevalier, the grace of a sovereign, and the felicity of a scholar.1* Aug. 10. 302. 75. The year 1846 and tutional The year 1846 was chiefly distinguished by the agitation which prevailed in Prussia and all Northern Gerits consti- many in favour of religious toleration and liberty of conscience, a topic which is everywhere, but especially in that country, the battle-field between the subjects and their sovereign. The religious schism, which had got up in the preceding year, furnished occasion for the presen struggles. *At a public dinner given to the Queen of England at Cologne, the King of Prussia said: "Gentlemen, fill your glasses to the brim. We are about to pronounce a word which ever resounds most pleasingly in English and German hearts formerly, it resounded on the battle-field, hardly won, as a symbol of a happy fraternity in arms. Now it resounds, after a peace of thirty years, the happy result of the arduous toils of that period: here, in this German province, on the banks of this noble stream of the Rhine-that word is VICTORIA."-Ann. Hist., xxviii. 302. XXVII. 1846. tation of numerous petitions on the subject to the King, CHAP. in the answers to which the firm determination of the monarch to uphold the Lutheran religion as by law established was clearly expressed. It is remarkable that in these answers, which were chiefly addressed to municipal magistrates, by whom the petitions had been presented, the principle of appealing to the Holy Scriptures as the rule of faith was expressly disavowed, -a clear proof that men had ceased to be swayed by authority in matters of religion. The magistrates, however, were not daunted by this rebuke; those of Königsberg followed the example of Breslau, and formed a new sect, under a minister named Rapp, which soon embraced the chief men of the place. Magdeburg and Leipsic also had their divisions; and open-air meetings, like those in England, were called to discuss-as was done in Scotland in the time of the Covenanters-knotty points of theology. Alarmed at this religious agitation, the King convoked a synod to settle the disputed points; and it met at Berlin, and promulgated, as from authority, some dogmas. They, however, only gave rise to fresh remonstrances from the municipalities, and increased division among the people. In truth, the evil was ineradicable, save by a change of national institutions. Religion was the battle-field which the parties chose for their conflict, because none other Ann. Hist. was permitted to them. It was the reform bill of the 355. German people.1 1 xxix. 351, 76. demand for The municipal bodies and provincial diets, especially in Rhenish Prussia-the centre alike of political effer- Increased vescence and Catholic resistance-continued this year to reform. petition for States-General, a free press, publicity of judicial proceedings, and the other objects of constitutional * "Le véritable danger aujourd'hui c'est que l'Eglise, oubliant tous ces devoirs, reconnaisse comme ses serviteurs tous ceux qui tout en raillant les principes fondamentaux de la Foi Chrétienne, osent en appeler à l'Ecriture Sainte. Sous mon sceptre ceux-là auront liberté de conscience complète, mais jamais je n'admettrai qu'avec de tels principes ils puissent être serviteurs de l'Eglise évangélique et nationale.”— Réponse du Roi de Prusse aux Magistrats de Breslau, March 7, 1846; Ann. Hist., xxix. 352, 353. CHAP. reform, with increased vehemence. It was evident that XXVII. a crisis, and that of the most violent kind, was approach1846. ing. The government endeavoured to elude the demands for a free press, by referring to the resolutions of the Diet of the Confederation on the subject; but at the same time they set on foot some journals on the side of government,—a concession which was justly considered as the first step to absolute freedom of discussion. An important addition was made this year to the duties on cotton thread and goods, avowedly directed against England, who thus early began to experience the truth that all the concessions she might make in the way of reduction of duties on her side, would be met only by enhanced ones on the other part. An insurrection broke out at Posen on 14th February, in connection with one at the same time at Cracow, the centre of all the efforts for the restoration of Polish nationality; but it was speedily suppressed, and led to no other result but the occupation of Cracow by the Russian troops. The peasants of the grand-duchy of Posen, who had become proprietors, and 1 Ann. Hist. largely benefited under the Prussian government, evinced no disposition to put themselves again under the rule of their stormy Comitia.1 Feb. 14. xxix. 351, 360. 77. The year 1847, the last of the old government in Progress in Prussia, was also, in a constitutional point of view, one of convocation the most important. The desire expressed by the nation. of a general for a representative government had become so strong and 1847, and diet. Feb. 3. universal, that the cabinet deemed it no longer safe to withhold it. On 3d February the long and ardently wished-for boon was granted. An edict appeared in the form of letters patent, convoking a general assembly of the estates of Prussia, arranged in four classes,-that of the nobles, the equestrian order, the towns, and the rural districts. The diet consisted in all of six hundred and seventeen members, of which the nobles were only eighty; so that the tiers état and equestrian order had a great XXVII. 1847. majority. In addition to this general assembly there CHAP. was a chamber of peers, to which certain separate functions were assigned, exclusive, however, of all matters of finance and taxation, which were to be privative to the general diet. The diet was empowered to discuss all questions concerning the legislative power, its exercise, and the relations between it and the executive. The initiative in all measures was reserved to the Crown; the diet had the power only of discussing and voting on them. It was empowered to receive all petitions-the right of presenting was fully accorded to the nation. By this constitution an immense step was made in the career of representative government in Prussia: a real national assembly was for the first time established, and a known channel opened by which the people might make their wants known to the throne; while that unity was esta- 1Ann. Hist. blished in the monarchy, the object of such passionate 341. desire to every true German heart.1 xxx. 334, the States Prussia, and The National Diet assembled on 24th July, and was 78. opened by the King in person, in a noble speech, remarkOpening of able alike for the elevation and generous spirit which it General of evinced. He said in substance, " that in preserving entire King's the prerogative and prestige of the Crown as the ruling speech. power in the state, the object of the King was to preserve the form and unity of the monarchy. He convoked the diet in order to make himself acquainted with the wants and wishes of his people; to satisfy, in a just measure, those views when they were legitimate. Sometimes he would invite a vote of the diet when important new measures, as the laying on of additional burdens, were requisite. But |