The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-14 00:00:00

7HE PRUSSIAN CHAMBERS,

The Constitutionnel give some curious details
relative to the working of the Chambers in Prussia.

It says :
" A central committee has been formed at Berlin
to receive subscriptions in 'favour of such functiona
ries as may ba prosecuted in consequence of their
political opinions. This latter• demands an expla-
nation. According to the Prussian Constitution
functionaries may be elected deputies, and have no
need, in order to take their seats in the Chamber,
to obtain any Ministerial authorisation. The elec-
tors have largely taken advantage of the latitude
accorded by the Charter, and for the last twelve
years the bureaucracy of all categories, and of
all degrees, has furnished a considerable contin-
gent to the Legislative Assemblies. Under the
absolute monarchy, that is until 1817, there were
neither tribune nor press; with some rare excep-
tions, no one, unless obliged by his public functions,
occupied himself with politics. It is thus explained
that, at the moment when the populations were
called on to take part in the legislation, there was
not found a sufficient number of men versed in
financial, administrative, and judicial questions; it
was necessary to choose them from among the ranks
of the public functionaries. In fact there were
counted during one Parliament, in the Second
Chamber, 72 prefects, 30 other functionaries of the
administraive orders, 12 royal procureurs, and
more than 60 judges. The labours of the Chamber
have at many points of view profited by that state
of things, but an inconvenience of the gravest kind
has resulted from it. The absence of constitutional
guarantees under the absolute regirne was in some
measure compensated for by the privileged situation
of the functionaries who, in Prussia, with the ex-
ception of some rare categories, are in a certain
tneasuro not removable ; they can only 130 dismissed
by virtue of a judgment, either of the regular tri-
bunals, or by disciplinary courts established to take
cognisance of the offences committed by them in
the exercise of their duties. The action of
a Prussian Minister over his subordinates is con-
sequently of a limited character. The central
Government nominates the presidents of the 26
regencies of the monarchy, and those presidents
are removable. On the other hand, the regency is
a body composed of a certain number of immovable
councillors, voting by majority, and in which the
president has only a single vote, like the of her coun-
cillors. It may be understood that, in the absence
of all public control, such an organisation was in a
position to render immense services; it preserved
the people against any excess of power, and con-
stituted an incorruptible guardianship of the public
interests."
But the situation was not the same after the pro-
mulgation of the Charter in 1850, which invested
the Chambers with the right of financial control,
and conferred on them a portion of the legislative
power. Hence as the functionaries can be elected
to the Chamber and cannot be removed at will from
the places they hold under the Government they
can exercise a certain pressure on the Ministers.
Hence the Government is obliged at present to do
what it can to lessen the influence of the deputies
who are functionaries. The writer shows how and
explains why the subscriptions spoken of above are
necessary :
"Now that the Auerswald ministry is no longer
in power, a movement in an inverse sense appears
to be in preparation. The present ministry finds
itself in presence of an opposition, the principal
leadere of which are superior functionaries. It can-
not dismiss them for the single fact of having op,
posed the Government from the tribune, and they

are therefore immoveable. It therefore makes use

of some prerogatives which remain in its hands : it
puts on the shelf such of its opponents as have sub-
mitted to its absolute authority, and sends into
other towns such functionaries as are chiefs of the
opposition."
The writer is strongly opposed to the course thus
pursued by the Government, but, on the other hand,
he blames the Liberal party in Prussia, professing
as it does seriously to respect represectative insti-
tutions, for encouraging functionaries to show

oppostion to the Ministry :
•‘ The Liberal party in Prussia," he says, " would
do well to eximine if there is not still something

else to be done than encouraging the opposition
of functionaries; for whatever may be the party
which governs, the more it endeavours to inspire
itself with the principles of the constitutional
system, the more of unity it will be obliged to
introduce in the ministerial action• That unity
can only be established so far as the ministers
shall exercise in political matters the most abso-
lute action over their subordinates. In a word,
we believe that, under the representative system,
functicnaries should as much as possible remain
excluded from the legislative assemblies; at the
most could an exception be admitted in favour
of those whose functions are essentially political,
and who come in and go out with the different
ministers ? "