The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-11 00:00:00

PRUSSIA.

The following is from a Berlin letter of the 3d :
" Great agitation still prevails in the capital, and
indeed throughout the country, and the public have
not yet recovered from the surprise which has been
caused, less by the act of dissolution of the Chamber,
than by the motives Count de Bismark thought fit
to bring forward in its justification. The Austrian
propositions are, indeed, detested here, but the
ministry and policy of M. de Bismark are not for that
reason rendered any more popular ; on the contrary,
public opinion is irritated to such a point that any
liberal concession, offered at the present moment,
would be generally looked upon as an insult. That
the Government should have not yet promulgated a
new electoral law causes not less surprise, for every
one is aware that under the existing regime the new
Chamber will be still more radical than the preceding
one, and must be consequently short-lived. At the
most, the feudal party may succeed in introducing
into the Chamber a score of members in place of the
eleven which were in the last Parliament. Every
one is, besides, convinced that it is not the fault
of M. de Bismark if a new electoral law, based
upon universal suffrage, the system of ministerial
candidates, and the obligation for candidates to
present themselves for election only at the place of
their legal domicile, has not yet been decreed.
The King it is who is opposed to that course. He
labours under the delusion that the ovations made
to him, and the deputations and addresses of loyalty
which the retrograde party have had so much diffi-
culty in organising, are really the sincere expres-
sion of the popular feeling. The King therefore
energetically refused to have recourse to that ex-
treme measure ; he is determined to make a last
appeal to the patriotism of the people, and even
should that attempt foil, of which no one except
himself has the slightest doubt, he will not change the
electoral law. He is, it is said, decided on rather
suspending the Constitution by declaring the
country in danger. There are already indications
that the most advanced men of the Radical party,
as, for example, M. Jacoby, of Kee aigsburg, and
others who have until now held aloof, are about to
present themselves as candidates, and with every
prospect of success, whilst it is probable that the
chiefs of the old Liberals, such as MM. de Wincke,
d'Auerswald, and the Count do Schwerin, will, if
reelected, only save their seats by close majorities."
The probable turn which the dissolution of the
Chamber and the forthcoming elections are likely
to give to affairs in Prussia, is thus speculated on
by the Debate :

" The German journals are all occupied with
speculations on the dissolution of the Prussian
Parliament. What is the tendency of that im
portant act ? WhEt will be its results ? What
are the King's intentions P What will become
of M. de Bismark ? Every writer answers these
different questions in his own way. The jour-
nals of the Feudal party pretend that the Crown
has
never been on better terms with the Ministry ;
that the King is as little inclined as ever to tolerate
the encroachment of the Lower House, and that, it
the appeal now made to the electoral body should
not return devoted deputies, he will suspend the
Constitution. They add that the Government
already possesses, and will not refrain from using,
the means of restricting the electoral
agitation within narrow limits. On the
other hand, the Liberal papers declare that
in spite of the difficult position in which
they are placed by the system of warnings, the least
unfavourable result that can happen for the preten-
sions of the Crown, will be the re-election of the old
deputies. It is to be remarked that neither the
Feudalists nor the Democrats think the King dis-
posed to modify the existing composition of the
electoral body. But, in any case, there cannot
be any doubt. The only thing as yet certain
is that the elections will be with all parties
a protest against the Frankfort resolutions,
that the most evident intention of the Mi-
nistry in dissolving the Chamber of De-
puties has been to provoke a national manifestation,
and that Austria is getting seriously alarmed at M.
de Bismark's skilful manesavre. There is also an-
ther fact which might be affirmed if the excited
state of the public mind in Prussia justified the ex-
pectation of some little wisdom and coolness on
the part of the Prussian opposition—namely,
that in thus cleverly operating against Austria, M.
Bismark exposes himself to a total political defeat
at home while securing his diplomatic successes
abroad. The Prussian electors have it in their power
to consolidate at once the tottering constitution of
their country ; they have only to elect deputies who
will accept a compromise on the question of the day,
the military Question (which would satisfy the King),
and who would stand firm on all the matters seriously
involving the principle of parliamentary prerogative.
Unfortunately the constituencies seems in many"
places rather disposed to push things to extremes
than to strengthen, by a moderate triumph, the real
victory they have obtained over the ministry ; for
it certainly is a victory thus to have compelled the
Bismark Cabinet to s'ibmit its fate to the decision
of the electors. It is already said that MM. de
Vincke and do Schleinitz will not be reelected,
and that the ultra-radical c ludidates will be pre
ferred to the pure constitutionalists—a very Is ise
and logical conclusion assuredly, if the Prussian
nation is determined to establish a republic, bur
very impudent if it intends to retain the monarchy."