The Sun.
London, England, 1842-09-15 00:00:00

SPEECH OF THE KING OF
PRUSSIA AT COLOGNE.

On the conclusion of the religious observances
which preceded the act of laying the foundation
stone, the King took the trowel in his hand. When
he advanced in front of the stone, a loud shout of
exulation arose, which continued until his Majesty by
signs indicated his wish that it should cease. Silence
being restored, his Majesty delivered. in a loud and
clear voice, the following remarkable speech (of which
we gave an outline some days since) :
"I take this opportunity to welcome- heartily the
numerous guests who, as members of the `Cathedral
Building Association, have met here from. all parts
of Germany to celebrate this day. Gentlemen of
Cologne, a great event is about to take place
among you. Your feelings will tell you that it is
no common edifice you are about to erect. It is the
offspring of the spirit of union and concord among
Germans of every creed. When I reflect on this, my
eyes are filled with joyful tears, and I thank God that
1 have lived to witness this day. Here, where this
foundation stone is laid, will arise the noblest portals
in the whole world. Germany builds them, may
they, by the grace of God, be to her the forerunners
of a new, a great, and a happy future. Far from
them be all that is anti-German—that is to say, all
that is base, false, and insincere. May this portal of
honournever be disgraced by bad faith or by the un-
worthy disunion of German princes or of the German
people. May this structure never disturb the
peace of creeds, nor impede the progress of
social order; and may that spirit which once inter-
rupted the building of this house of God, and injured
the well-being of our common fatherland, find no en-
trance here. The feeling that has prompted the
building of these portals is the same that 29 years ago
made us break our chains, rolled back insult from
our native land, and division from its shores ; it is the
same spirit which, fortified by the blessing of my de-
parted father (the last of those three great Kings),
two years ago displayed itself with a vigour undi-
minished in power and unimpaired by time; it is the
spirit of German union and of German power; and
oh ! may the portals of Cologne Cathedral be its most
glorious triumph ! May the spirit which has given
birth to this great work serve to complete it;
and may it prove to most remote genera-
tions, that Germany is great and mighty by
the union of her rulers and her people, and that
she has without bloodshed consolidated the peace of
the world ! May it attest that Prussia is happy in
the glory and prosperity of her own fatherland, and
in the fraternization of her different religious creeds,
all one and alike in the eyes of the Divine Creator. I
pray to God that the Cathedral of Cologne may con- ,
tinue to tower above this town and all Germany, and
that it may be a witness of peace and happiness
among mankind until time shall be no more. Gen- ,
tlemen of Cologne, your city has by this structure ,
obtained a high pre-eminence over all the other towns
of Germany ; she has this day proved herself worthy
of that pre-eminence. Join then with me as I strike
the trowel on the foundation stone. Shout with me
the thousand times repeated rallying cry Alaaf Co-
logne P "
This speech, spoken with the most lively enthu-
siasm, kindled like lightening in the h€arts of the
thousands present, and called forth an astounding storm
of joyful shouts and acclamations. The King having i
once more looked joyfully and enthusiastically on the
assembled multitude and on the Cathedral, and the
cheering having burst forth afresh, his Majesty struck
the usual three blows with the hammer on the founda-
tion stone, and then retired to the Tribune, where he
was received by the Queen, in a manner that pro-
duced a deep impression on the minds of all present.