The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1810-02-20


of Austria has been but little way behind ,ho
Bourbons, and they have been conquered only a
few years after the entire extinction Of their pre-
decessors in exile, the Stuar,s. Il i, were pos.
sibie that MONARCHY could profit ry experience,
the times ought to be fruitful of LESSONS for kings
out az Kings are not angels but men, thev are
destined to incur the penalties Of their education
and their scc'usion from that kno7sIeige of man
END which is the true, the only basis Of sue
cess and security in government; and in this
view the repeated disasters and fnllies of the
house OF Austria are full ofinstruction
lac curiosity of mankind is as often excited
by great mistortnnes, as by great ,riumphs; the
former go Ito the heart. the latter attract the i'm.
agnation the one c2cites sympathy or pity.
the os,er admiration or awe In WITNESSING
great msfortunes, we often lose sight of the
causes that produced them, in concentrating the
measure OF the misfortune. we forget the crime
IN our pity for the criminal Ne comnissera;e
Charles IL. and Louis XVI. but the head Of the
house of Austria. has not incurred The Ike fate
our compassion Is somewhat restrained, and our
passions are free from The impression of the last
OF al punishmen,s the Judgment cannot. ON
contemplating his reiterated iol,ies but consider
IN retaining any portion Of ,lominion or power
nus fate more fortunate than meri,orious Hap
Ply VIII ii be for him and his successors. & doub
~ happy for those over whorn it vs. their mission.
tune, that fools should be rulers, If nc d;.ns-
=
necessity Of contentment or IT tie chiefs cf
other nations prof, by has neritec, humiliation
The cessation Of the title Of German emperor,
and the extinction of the federal government Of
Germany, was an extraordinary event hut IL pas.
sed away without ary of those ,.orcussions
WHICH were the accornp2Iirnents of such revolt
tons IN former ages nor would the cessation of
the title ofemperor of Austria now, arn.ar more
than the necesserY and inevitable comnleiion o.
the incffectual moderation with which it hes been
so often spared.
The absorption Of the crowr Of Austria in that
of France, is one of those Incidents. which the
present ruler of France is fond of placing before
the world, Charlemsgre, whom he affects TO j.
initiate, and posterity will saw the mitf tor is
greater than the origir@l united the crown Of
Germany with that OF France, about the year 500.
and administered his government by chiefs. who
had the title Of dukes. who held sway over extern
sive provinces these were divided into lesser d-
visions, and ruled by deputies of the dukes. :, no
were called comes counts, thence the district
were called counties the German tile was Gyaof
The emperor invc SEED these governors with Judi
cIal, civil and military authority. but ali 1ppea. law
to him, which he referred 10 the ceuHts of his sa-
lace, who formed his counseiiors in The, cabinet,
and his staffin the field these were called counts
Of the palace, whence counts pGlG.iHe or what the
Germans denominate Ptaisgraaf; some of these
deputies who had charge of The frontiers. were
called eounts Of the marches, by the Germans
NarkgraY, whence the marqu.ses of modern
tunes; those who were invested with national
domains, were denominated princes. or landaraaJ
and those who ruled over cities RvgeraGf
These dukes and counts, and iandgraaf, secu.
red their power to their descendants and out of
their rivalry in subsequent age sprung that fete-
ration of princes of various denominations who,
through various vicissitudes and revolutions for
med the ostensible power called sometimes the
Germanic body; The descendants of Charlie
magne were recognized as the supreme head, un
til the demise OF Louis w. in ot2, when the
priesthood had become potent as to secure by
the revolution large share in the temporal con.
Germs of Germany, ~ uniting with the princes,
and raising Conrade duke of Franconia to the dia.
dem.
These dukcs and the b-ies's exercised the DOW
err OF electing the emperor thcnccforwari, until
the pope took upon him to Gauge d'elire for
max ing emperors, as the king and pope Of Eng.
land makes bishops as To be expected, ma
ny wars arose between the spiritual vicar aud the
worldly minded dukes, in which the unfortuna,e
flock were butchered with as much pre.ensions
to evangelical piety and religion as in modern
time.
AT length, in ga, in the reign of Ohio III. the
great rogues or dukes, and the great priests OF
arciibishops, agreed to deprive the little rogues
or counts, and the little priests OF bishops, OF the
trouble OF elecung an emperor, and undertook as
disinterestedy as any of our modern dukes or
counts, or bishops, to elect the emperor them
selves.
And here we reach the founder of the hous
of Austria, in Rodolph, who was ONLY a count of
Hapsburg, who was elected 10 1878; so that
the dynasty has now reigneG $50 years few
years before the establishment Of the Turkish,
empire IN Bythinia, only 7Oyea:s after The first
chlmnies were erected in England 90 years nf.
ter magma charta was signed; 70 years after the
establishment of the inGuistion
The little counts and burgers, were not well
satisfied, and terrible arose out of theIr eX-
cusion by the select fzD after much bloodshed IN
1437, sort of government 7oGs communicate writ.
ing, of which much has been said without being
generally understood this writing, which was
upon parchment, had attached TO it golfcn bukla
or seal, whence it has been called the po!aen bui
and was IN fact the federal COMPACT of those Ger.
man dukes 10 rule Germany and elect am ernpe-
ror, this acceded to by Albert II. emperor
OF Germany but 1t was much more enlarged nj
subsequent period, by the emperor Frederict.
I'LL By The golden bull promul gated by Charles
Nv. the eiecto were limited to seven upon the
death of Macmillan, Charles ". who united the
Spanish monarchy with the imperial diaden, ex
cited great Jealousy, and the electors combined
60 limit the empcrOr's power, aud obtained from
him what is called the cdDitnigifor auotherl OF
the empire. In 1549 the duke of BrancIenburg
was admitted as an eiector; and IN 1922 Hano-
YER; IN l777, they were again reduced to g. by
two centerlng in one house, that of Deuxponts
and Bavaria which were again extended TO ten ;
but they all ceased with the extinction of the
title OF German emperor, by lie treaty OF
Presburg, or rather by the battle of Auster.
litz.
1t may be not impairment to many Of our rea
GeTs, who have no leisure to study historv mir,