The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-11 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 11, 1867.

CLOSE OF THE PRUSSIAN CHAMBERS.
SPEECH OF THE KING.

BERLIN, ft.. 9.

The King of Prussia closed the Diet to-day in
person. The Queen, the Crown Princess, all the
Royal Princes, the Count of Flanders, and the
English, French Russian, and Danish Ministers,
were present. His Majesty, who was enthusiasti-
cally cheered by the members of the Diet, read the
following speech :
Illustrious, Noble, and Honourable Gentlemen of both
Houses of the Diet,—At the close of a memorable and
eventful period, I express to you my thanks for having
assisted my government to bring those hopes to fulfilment
which I coupled with this session. By granting the in-,1
demnity for the financial administration of recent years,
carried on without a budget-law, you have held out the hand
to a settlement of the dispute upon a matter of principle,
which had for years obstructed the 00-operation of my go-
vernment with the representatives of the country. I en-
tertain the conviction that the experience gained, and a
general correct understanding of the fundamental condi-
tions of our constitutional life, will conduce to
avert the recurrence of similar events in future,
By granting the extraonlinary supplies for the require-
ments of the army and the fleet, you have displayed your
determination to guard what has been gained, in recogni-
tion of the results hitherto achieved by the policy of my I
government, based upon the tried readiness and valour of
my army. A further guarantee for the permanent
observance of constitutional relations has been gained
by the settlement of the budget before the com-
mencement of the present financial year. By provi-
sionally relinquishing various items of expenditure,
which it is difficult to dispense with in carrying on the
administration, my government has afforded a new proof of
' the value it attaches to agreement with the represents-
eves of the country. It is, therefore, all the better Ns-
' tilled in hoping that the requirements in question will be
admitted and satisfied at a future date. I recognise with
I: especially warm thanks the readiness with which the re-
' presentatives have granted my government the means of
alleviating the position of soldiers incapacitated for labour
lin battle for the fatherland, as well as the condition of
the widows and orphans of the fallen. Now that parlia-
ment has afforded its efficient cooperation in carrying out
the changes rendered necessary by the material enlarge-
, ment of Prussian territory, and has trustfully placed in
my hands the transfer of the relations hitherto subsisting
in the newly-acquired districts into full community
with the older provinces, I may confidently
expect that the inhabitants of all the countries
now united with Prussia will feel themselves more and
more at home in the great commonwealth of their fellow-
countrymen and recent neighbours, and will participate in
the tasks falling to the share of the latter with increasing
devotion. The preparations already made for their repre-
sentatives joining both houses of the Diet will contribute
to strengthen and animate the consciousness of commit-
nity with the older portions of the monarchy. But in
1 especial the careful and conscientious watch over all the
I germs of the public welfare, which the Prussian nation is
accustomed to experience from its government and
which has been materially promoted by the co-operation
of the Diet with my goverment in the session just
brought to a close, will enable the population of the new
I provinces to receive the benefits of the new community
'in an ever-increasing degree. Assisted by agreement
with the representatives of the country, my government
has been able to call into existence important facilities
and improvements in all departments of public life. The
preparatory steps towards abolishing the salt monopoly,
and the increase of judicial costs, the settlement of the
relations of trading and other companies, the removal
of the limitation of the rate of interest, the postal and
commercial treaties, the conversion of the Pomeranian
fiefs, the abolition of the Rhine navigation dues, the in-
crease of the salmis a of lower-class officials and of school-
masters, together with the grant of the supplies for the
1 construction and completion of important railways, will be
hailed by large circles as grateful fruits of
the session just completed. While the special
development of the Prussian political system experiences
a gratifying advance by the united co-operation of the
representatives of the country with my government, the
fact that the draft of the constitution for the North Ger-
man Confederation has been accepted by all the govern.
meats allied with Prussia justifies me in the conviction
that the German people will obtain—upon the basis of an
united organisation such as Germany has hitherto vainly
striven for during centuries of conflict—those blessings to
which it is called by Providence, through the fulness of its
inherent power and civilisation, as soon as it understands
I how to maintain peace both at home and abroad. I shall
look upon it as the highest glory of my crown if God has
appointed me to devote the power of my people, strong by
fidelity, valour, and education, to the re-establishment of
the lasting unity of the German races and their sovereigns.
I trust in God, who has so graciously guided us, that He
will permit us to attain this object.