The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-01 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, HONDA!

DECEMBER 1, 1851.

PRUSSIA.

BERLIN, Nov. 27.
At eleven o'clock this morning the members of
both Chambers assembled in the white saloon, having
previously attended divine service in the protestant
and catholic churches, according to their several pc^-
suasions. In the absence of his Majesty, who will
not return from Hanover until to-morrow, the royal
address was read by the Minister President, M. de
Mantcuffel. It is as follows:

Gentlemen, Deputies of the First and Second Chambers,
—His Majesty the King, our most gracious monarch, is
prevented, by the fulfilment of a high but painful duty,
from welcoming you to-day at the commencement of your
important labours.
As his Majesty the late King of Hanover came to Berlin
to attend the funeral obsequies of our sainted King Frede-
rick William 111., his Majesty our most gracious monarch
could not refrain from giving a publ'c testimony of honest
respect for the great virtues of that monarch, and of sym-
pathy felt by his Majesty for the painful loss that has fallen
equally upon the royal house and people of Hanover, by
personally attending the funeral of a high ally and friend
of long years standing.
His Majesty has therefore commissioned me, by a royal
decree of the 24th instant, to open the sittings of the
Chamber in his royal name, and to communicate to you at
the same time certain matters respecting the proceedings of
the government of his Majesty, and of the proposals which
will shortly be laid before you. Those decrees emitted by
the government of the king which have nut yet been sub-
mined to your examination, will at once be laid before
you. The conscientious application of the means provided
by the existing laws, and the growing sense of order and
loyalty in all elutes of the population, has relieved the
government of the king from the necessity of making use
of the power to emit suck decrees, or to establish an ex-
ceptional system of government during the period which
has elapsed since your last sitting.
The budget for 18,52, which will as soon as possible be
submitted to your constitutional decisions shows an un-
avoidable increase in the expenditure for the army.
Whilst reserving future explanations en this subject, the
government of the King is gratified to be able at once to
declare, that the increashig revenue provides sufficient
means for covering this increase in the expenditure, and
that the general financial position of the coundly is most
satisfactory.
The Grand Exhibition in London of the Industrial Pro-
duce of the World, with which the government of the King
gladly co-operated, has afforded the muse gratifying proof
of the high degree of development attained in diverse direc-
:tfoes by our agricultural, industrial, and artistic classes.
Between the government of the Kintt and the govern-
ments of the other states belonging to the Zollverein certain
alterations of the common tariff have been agreed to, which
refer chiefly to the removal of duties on foreign materials
for manufactures, and the facilitation of the transit trade.
An agreement has also been made with the governments of
Bavaria, Baden, Hesse (Grand Duchy), and Nassau, for a
' mutual moderation of the Rhine dues. In the certain ex-
portation of your consent, the government of the King has
commenced to carry out both agreements.
Like those measures, so will the treaty which the govern-
ment of the king concluded with the kingdom of Sardinia,
exercise a most advantageous influence, while the treaty
concluded on the 7th of September with the kindgom of
Hanover, opens a hopeful future for the development of
the Zollvcrein in all branches of production and trade.
It is highly satisfactory to perceive that the most power-
ful voices in the north as in the south of Germany, have
justly, acknowledged the value of a measure taken by Prus-
sia for the thoroughly understood interests of all, and it
cannot be doubted that the begociations shortly to be com-
menced in the new formation of the Zollvereia, yid lead
to a universally satisfactory result, and will therefore ap-
proximate the desired object of a customs union of all
German states.

The papers connected with all these affairs will be lai
before you without delay for your constitutional deli-
berations.

The convocation of the former provincial Diets as provi-
sional provincial representatives for the election of the dis-
trict commissioners,. rendered necessary by the law intro-
ducing a classified income tax, and for the preservation of
their obligation as communal estates (kommunolstandiseke
verpfliclaidtagen) has at the same time afforded the govern-
ment the opportunity of collating the opinions of assem-
blies especially qualified to judge of the practical relations
which are concerned in the grave objections made to the in-
troduction of the communal laws (gemerruk ordnung).
Very rich materials, the result of those deliberations,
have been carefully employed in the projects of laws which
will be laid before you in connexion with this subject.
An unfavourable result of the harvest in some parts of
the monarchy has to be deplored; fears founded upon this
fact have been expressed in diverse proposals, which have
been made to the government of the king. The govern-
ment has thought it its duty to avoid every interference
with the freedom of trade and the rights of property as a
path that increases instead of alleviating the evil, and it
confides in the hope that the freedom of trade on the one
hand, and the nice foresight of an intelligent people on the
other hand, will render the assistance of government quite
unnecessary.
The government of the king reserves its explanations on
several other proposals, until they shall be brought before
the Chambers.

Gentlemen His Majesty the king, our most gracious
monarch, hes specially commissioned me, while expressicg
his royal concern at not being able to greet you personally
to-day, to express to you the confident expectations of his
Majesty, that you will, on this occasion, labour in unison
and fidelity to promote the well-being of the country, and
the fulfilment of all those conditions under which alone the
prosperous, powerful, and independent development of
Prussia is possible.
I hereby declare the sittings of the chambers opened.
After three cheers for his Majesty the deputies
proceeded to their several chambers.

IN, Nov. 28.
The English public have long BER
beenL accustomed to
look upon Hassenpflug, the prime minister of the
Elector of Hesse-Cassel, as a most improper charac-
ter, both morally and politically. He himself pro-
nounced sentence in has political character, by the
scandalous measures which he adopted to carry out
his evil designs against the constitution of the elec-
torate; his private character has suffered still longer,
horn the stigma of ea accusation of forgery, which

has been dragging its way slowly through the thou-
sand and one forms of a Prussian legal tribunal--it
has lasted nearly three years. Many and very
different views have been taken respecting this
ease, the most lenient being that the offence of which
Hassenpflug was accused was very general among
the higher judicial and civil officials of the Prus-
sian crown. Those who took that view never
dreamed of the terrible stigma they thereby
cast upon a numerous body of highly intelligent and
most holiest men. The judges at Greifswald, before
whom the case has been so long, have at last pro-
nounced sentence on it, a sentence marking. their
sense of the crime, and, at the same time, the impro-
bability of their ever having been guilty of a similar
offence. On the 26th inst., the Court of Appeal at
Oreifswald, after a discussion of five hours, found
Hassenpflug guilty of forgery, and sentenced him to
four months' imprisonment.
Count ltittberg was'yesterday elected president, and
Deputy Bruggemann was to-day chosen vice-pre-
sident in the first Chamber, by 110 votes, in opposi-
tion to Bethmann-Hollweg, the leader of the new
" old Prussian party," who received 52. The Kreitz-
Zeitung remarks, with malicious satisfaction, that the
whole of the Left voted fur Bethmann-Hollweg.
Count Schwerin was chosen president of the Se-
cond Prussian Chamber to-day by 131 votes. For
Count Arnim the votes amounted to as many as 120,
the clear ma ity iu favour of Count Schwerin
being 30.