The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-08 00:00:00

GERMANY

AND

THE NORTHERN STATES.

FRA NKFO RT.
THE GERMAN PARLIAMENT-ABOLITION
OF DEATH PUNISHMENTS.

The Archduke JouN, the Administrator of the Em-
pire, accompanied by the Duchess and his younger
sons, returned to Frankfort on the 4th inst., and was
received with great enthusiasm.
In the sitting of the German Parliament on that
day the debate on the 7th section of the scheme of
fundamental rights was resumed, and the abolition of
capital punishment was decreed.
Mittermaier urged the abolition of capital punishment
for political offences. The retention of it lamed the arm
of justice and embarrassed individual Governments. It
frequently compelled them to show clemency and to raise
doubts of guilt, where hesitation. would have been un-
necessary had the penalty of the offence been lighter.
He disavowed all sentimentality, but i❑ the present jun-
ture more especially; and in consideration of the rapid
advances which the social and political world was making,
he warmly advocated the abolition of a punishment
which the people so generally regarded with abhor-
rence. If the Imperial Assembly rescinded the standing
law, it would be only doing that which the enactments
of the newest German local code, that of Luxembourg,
had done but a fortnight before. He concluded amid
loud cheering.

Werner urged the abolition of puniskment by death,
not because he regarded it as an inhuman enactment,
but because the times and the yoke of the people required
its abolition.

Schaffrath vehemently protested against the retention
of capital punishment. All that could at best be said
for it was, that it appalled and deterred from crime.
But they had to proceed upon the theory of justice, and
of what justice to the individual required. He regarded
the retention of this punishment as a direct encroach-
ment upon the rights of the individual. He regarded it
as a monstrosity. The interests of the individual were
not to be merge(' in the interests of the State. On the
contrary, the State was to be the guarantee for the
liberty and inviolability of the individual. He implored
them, on this 4th of August, to make a worthy decree,
to show their estimation of life, that good which man
held dearest.—(Cries of " Divide.")
Scheller moved for oral division of the subject of capi-
tal punishment:-1. That capital punishment be abo-
lished altogether. 2. That it be, at least, abolished for
political offences. His motion was vigorously supported
by the Left, as also by a few on the Right and Centre
benches.

Atter a few unimportant speeches, the House pro-
ceeded to a division.
Sect. 7. The liberty of the person is inviolable.—
Carried unanimously.
No one may be deprived of his lawful judge. Excep-
tional courts of judicature shall not be held.—Carried.
The apprehension of a person, except when caught in
the act of committing the offence, shall only occur on
the strength of a judicial order, accompanied by proper
grounds of arrest.—Carried by a large majority.
This order must, either at the moment of apprehen-
sion, or, at latest, within twenty-four hours, be put into
the hands of the person arrested.--Carried.
The pnlice must either release the arrested person, in
the course of the following day, or deliver him to the
judicial authorities.—Carried by a large maj,rity.
Every accused person, on putting in caution (cautio
de judicio sisti), or bail or surety ( fide jussio), to be
stipulated by the court, shall be realised from arrest,
provided no information of a heinous criminal offence
be pending against him.—Carried.
For every unjust arrest, or unjustly prolonged arrest,
the guilty authority, or even the State itself, is liable to
pay compensation.—Carried, ayes 248, noes 163.
Capital punishment is abolished, with the reservation
of a future deliberation upon Kaiser's amendment, pro-
posing its maintenance as far as martial law is con-
cerned.—(Loud cries for " oral division.") Ayes, 288 ;
noes, 146.

The punishments of branding and of bodily chastise-
ment are abolished.—Carried.

THE NEW GERMAN MINISTRY.

The following list of the German Ministry has
been handed about as the one which will probably be
officially announced:—

1. President of the Council and Minister for Foreign
Affairs—The Prince of Leiningen (a Bavarian). Under-
Secretaries of State (for this department)—Menissen,
a Cologne merchant, and Max ♦on Gagern, brother of
the President.

2. Minister for Home Affairs (Interior)—llerr von
Schmerling, of Vienna. Under Secretaries of State (for
this department)—Bassermann, of Baden, Herr von
Wurth, of Vienna.
3. Minister of Justice—Heckscher, of Hamburgh.
Under-Secretary of State (for this department)
Brieglieb, of Coburg.:
4. Minister of Finance—Herr von Beckerath, of Cre-
teld, banker. Under-Secretary of State, (&c.)—Herr
Mathy, of Baden.
5. Minister of Commerce—Duckwitz, of Bremen.
Under-Secretaries of State, (&c.)-1 (Blank). 2 Herr
von Karnptz, of Berlin.
6, Minister of War—General von Peucher (a Prussian).
Under-Secretary of State, (B;o—Brandt (a Prussian).
Those among the above-mentioned who are not
Members of the Imperial Assembly, are—The Prince
of LEINI) GEN, HERR DUCiNVITZ, General vox PELT-
CHER, HERR BRANDT, HERR KAMPIR.
The above-mentioned individuals were in confer-
ence with the Administrator at 3 o'clock, P.I.