The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-28 00:00:00

THE KING'S SPEECH.

The following, received by telegraph, contains a
summary of the King of Prussia's speech on the
opening of the Chambers yesterday :

BERLIN, Nov. 27.

The King having set out for Hanover, to be present
at the funeral of the late King, M. Mantcuffel
opened the Chambers at 11 o'c'ock. Not a word is
said in the speech as to foreign politics, but it is very
interesting as regards internal politics.

The convocation of the old Provincial Diets is
designated as temporary provincial representation,
land their decrees propositions.
The augmentation of tho army is declared to be
indispensable.

The financial position of the country is regarded as
satisfactory.
A hope is expressed that the treaty of the 7th of
September (that between Prussia and Hanover) will
be found to succeed ; and will owe its success to
the principle of the suppression of the restrictions
upon commerce.

Finally, the King expresess his confidence in the
patriotism of the Chambers.

BERLIN, Nov. 26.
The more one considers the sudden change of
policy adopted by the new King of Hanover, the
more important that event, which is said to have
been for some time premeditated, appears. After the
two great powers, Hanover ranks second to none in
Germany. It may be said even that she takes the prece-
dence of Bavaria, for she has hitherto been more in-
dependent than that larger little kingdom. Bavaria
bond will ever vervain, a decided adherent of Aus-
tria I but Hanover was the adherent of no power ;
and this gave her great weight. Besides, from her
protestant government, progress might be expected,
which no ono ever look for from Reverie. In brief,
Hanover is in a position almost to determine the ascen-
dancy in Germany either to Prussia or to Austria.
The recent change of ministry, therefore, in that
state may, in no inconsiderable degree, alter the tee
lative positions of things throughout all Germany.
The antecedents of the present Hanoverian ministers
may in some measure show this.
11. Scheele, the new premier, was a minister before
March. He lately took pert with the Rittersaign
in the complaints they aftromed to the Band, and as
representative of Hanover, both at Dresden and
Frankfort, he has gained the good graces and confi-
dence of Austria. M. Backmeiater, the Minister of
Worship, a sharp lawyer, has the reputation of having '
been in part the author of a pamphlet which bears
the name of M. Zimmerman, his intimate friend, the
object of which is to prove that constitutional govern-
ment is quite impracticable and absurd for Germany.
He was, last summer, it is certain, often in conference
with the present King and the Archduke Albrecht
of Austria, whilst those royal personages were so-
journing at Norderney. The MinisterofJustioe,Wind-
thorst, is not only a catholic bat in ultramontane. He is
known chiefly as an anti-unionist, and an anti-
Premien. The Minister of the Interior, Barnes, has
not been till now before the public. All that can be
' said of him is, that he is one of the protesting and
complaining Biter, who have appealed to the DkL
Of Brendle, the War Minister, nothing is known but
that he has three sons in the Austrian service. It is
not matter of wonder that no finance minister was
at once appointed ; for the difficulty was to find
one who would oppose or seriously modify the Sep-
tember treaty. M. Bar, to whom the post has been
offered, has declined it. He was decorated with a
Prussian order for the part he took in bringing about
the union of the Zoll and Stour Veining. Count Kiel-

mansegge also refused the office. It is now conferred
on a counsellor, Decken.
It is very certain that the customs convention
between Prussia and Hanover will be much jeo-
pardised by the turn of iirs have just taken in the lat-
ter state ; and if the Prussian court were alone in this
matter concerned some might rejoice at its discomfi-
ture and disgrace, as a striking example of signal
justice falling on a cowardly, half-hearted, double-
minded policy. For the King of Prussia has been
constantly promising to his people, since his acces-
sion to the throne, constitutional government, civil
liberty, popular rights : in a word, and he
has sought to redeem his pledges ontyrtijrZwarding
their material interests. But he may now be taught,
that the material depends upon the moral, and that
free trade and despotic principles of government
cannot go together. Prussia would keep her place
at the head of the Zoilverein, would enlarge its
bounds, and so be an ascendant power in Germany,
whilst at the same time she would take her place be-
hind Austria and Russia in her political ethics. But this
cannot be. Where the moral rule is there will be the
material rule. In despotism Prussia can never be a first
power in Germany, for that is against her vocation
as a protestant state ; but by affecting despotism,
wherein Austria is quite in lier element, she inevita-
bly yields the moral lead to her rival. And with
this lead will not Austria soon master the material
ascendancy? Of course she will. There is an in-
stance of this afforded in this very treaty with Han-
over. I'masia would fain realise all its benefits;
but by waging war against the cause of constitu-
tionalism all over Germany down it goes in Hanover
and drags her treaty with it. What German prince,
government, or people can have any confidence in
constitutionalism now that Prussia utterly abandons
it? Of course the confidence of all the ruling powers
is every where tmnaferred to despotism and to
Austria; and this it really is, and this almost alone,
that gives the Prince Schwarzenberg such good
hopes of bringing about his scheme of an Austrian
Zoll Union, towards which object a very important
move appears to have been made by the accession to
office of the new Hanoverian ministry.
In order to strike whilst the iron is hot, all the
Austrian papers, the Reichs Zeitway, the Lloyd, and
the Correspondent:, are making simultaneous attacks
at this moment on the treaty of the 7th September,
and the Reich. Zeilusay repeats an assertion before
made, " That all the representatives of the German
governments, with the exception of Prussia and
Hanover, declared themselves at Frankfurt in favour
of the Austrian proposition for a Zoll union of all
the Germanic states." If this be true, there must
now be but one single exception to this general con-
sent. Alas! it is sad to think that Prussia has well
nigh abdicated her position in Germany. Who can
blame other governments for placing no trust in her ?
She is like a vessel which has put to sea with
high emprise, to reach a certain destination ; but the
first storm or two has frightened her captain, who
expected to have all smooth water and sunshine ;
and in an agony of fear he has returned back into port,
swearing never to put to sea again. The King of
Prussia is this frightened captain. lie has been
cheered and encouraged since he got back into the
harbour of despotism—patted on the back and
bravoed; but those who have thus hailed and
applauded his return are determined to take
the utmost advantage of his weakness, and will
make him pay dear for the timid temerity of
his momentary desertion of their cause. It be-
gins to look highly probable that even the ap-
proaching Zell Congress will not prove so favour-
able to the commercial policy of Prussia as was ere-
while anticipated.

Another letter from Berlin, of the 23th, says:
The latest letters from Hanover announce that
M. de Scheele has expressed a determination to
maintain the September treaty, and it is not impos-
sible, therefore, that the doubts which are enter-
tained here will eventually prove groundless. Still
it must nut be overlooked that Austria has taken tho
field again on the commercial question, and is
striving most strenuously to gain a march upon
Prussia by secret negotiations, embittered deeply at
her deplorable failure in the open congress at
Frankfort. Political agents at the different courts,
paid agents in the press of Germany, are at work
undermining the commercial supremacy of Prussia
and seeking to destroy the September treaty with
Hanover. No doubt the focus of all these efforts is
concentrated in and about the palace within which
the body of Ernest Augustus still lies, and is made to
operate in various ways; but there is more indepen-
dance and firmness in the character of the Hanove- '
rians, from the minister down to the crossing sweeper,
than Prince Schwarsenberg has hitherto met with,
in any of his German colleagues.
A ministerial decree, published in Karlsruhe, prohi-
bits the wearing of red neckcloths, under pain of
punishment by arrest and imprisonment. This is a
second edition of the Klapka hats in Vienna.