The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-03-21
VOL. w..
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENTS.
BERLIN, F.Irnarn Is. lsln

BERLIN, Fs5ruary IS, 1850
To The Editor offhe National Era:
The intense cold weather Of January has given
place to weather more disagreeable in every re-
spect. We have had and still have a spell NJ
dark, foggy, rainy weather. The sun has not
once made his appearance, and the streets are AZ
sloppy as the grand tboroughfare of one of your
improved towns west of the Alleghanies. Il ia
just such weather as the Frenchman irnagines 10
be eternal in England "When you get back
said q Frenchman in London to friend leaving
for Paris, "just tell the sun bon Jour for me
haven't seen him for year, Everybody here :,
afflicted with the headache and the spuales -
deed the latter is said to be acclimated in Nor,h
Germany as spring epidemic. The snow which
lay SO deep in the country has melted, and the
rivers have most of them overfowed their banks
doing great injury. The overflow Of one of them
near Liege washed away about three miles of the
railroad, causing delay of from one to two days
in the mail communication between this and
London Even the Rhine has abandoned its usual
channels, and deluged the whole country below
Cologne. The Prussian Government has ordered
out all the able-bodied males in the overaowed
districts, for the purpose of erecting dkes to ar
rest the ravages of the flood. The country near
Breslau, in Upper Siesia has suffered greatly. an
immense superfcies being entirely under water
The great event in the Berlin fashionable
wor", in the ias. NO WeoSs 10 INC vonoerS given
Sunday before last for the benefit of the poor.
The favorite day here for grand concerts is Sun
day, and the time twelve o'clock in the morning
The crush was very great at the last one, for the
celebrated opera singers Madames Korter and
Florentine, were certainly to sing, and it was not
improbable that Jenny Lind would also appear.
The tragedian Hendricks was to declaim, and
number Of other musicians little less noted were
to take part. Miss Lind disappointed the audi
ence, as she always does in Berlin, having, it
would appear, vowed never to appear in the CAPT.
tai of Prussia. The rest of the performance
went off according to the programme excepting
complaints of bad colds by the performers, duly
sympatbized with by the audience, all of whom
were more or less affected with the snuilies The
grand hall Of the opera house was filled a little
before the appointed hour. This hall is said to
be one Of the finest in Europe great deal of
eegs"t "srp;pg in wood, beautifully gil9sl y---s
ments the walls, and the gallery which runs quite
round the room is supported not by pillars, but
BY large statues ofgoddesses and nymphs. When
prince Charles and his daughter entered, the au-
dience rose, and remained standing until they
were seated. Gen. Van Wrangel, with his color
less face and pale blue eyes, appeared in his ever
lasting white military coat and his sword clank-
ing by his side Among the other celebrities,
came the Earl of Westmoreland, the able minister
resident of the Queen Of England. He came to
hear his own music, for, in compliment to him,
the pieces selected were, most Of them, from
his masses or operas. The King did not come.
Speaking of ministers reminds me of the singu-
lar and meteor-like passage through this city of
Gen. Webb, the American Minister to Vienna.
The most attentive observers here were not
aware that the General had swept through this
place, with all his train, until the Vienna papers
announced his arrival there. Perhaps he wished
to terrify the Austrians by coming on them sud
denly. He seems of late given to very prompt
way Of doing business--quitting New York q
few days before the Senate can pronounce on his
appointment, and dashng through Europe bleog-
INTO. The Senate may remind him that it is we'll
to be in haste, but never in hurry Apart
from this apparent eccentricity, the newly ap-
pointed minister is certainly an improvement on
those heretofore sent out, always excepting those
and knows how to behave himself in society,
which is nearly all he will have to do as in truth
endorsing few passports is all that is required of
nine-tenths of our representatives in Europe
We should either abolish all our legations, or
commence active negotiations, at once for the re-
duction of international postage, the establish
ment of international copyright laws, the deliv-
cry of fugitives from justice, and fifty other i'm
portant matters now altogether neglected
On the 9th instant, Prussia became a consti-
tutional monarchy. The late King promised his
subjects constitution in 1912, when he wished
to arouse them against Napoleon. He forget il
after the success of the allies, but the people re-
membered it in ls4s The present Constitu-
tion is made by the King and the two Chambers
representing the bOmgeo,sie, but entirely passive
before the will of the monarch 1t contains as
few of the essentials of such an instrument as
can be well imagined, but is far better than none
at all Before lSiS the King was absolute mon
arch the press subject to the censure, person
al liberty lay at the mercy of every petty official
the right of assembling together was not recog-
missed at all, and there was no tribunal before
which public opinion could summon the King and
his subordnstes On these points, the new Con-
stitution is certainly not what it should be- but it
recognises very sensible ameiOrations, and intro
duces others Public opinion his awaked from its
death-like apathy on politics; the King must
govern through ministry the press is INDUCED
in much more free tone Of discussion a habedS
corpus act is in force and is IN most cases regard
ed by the Government; clubs are il existence ev-
erywhere, though subject to a thousand annoy
ances and there are two Chambers in which the
measures Of the Government can be sifted and
exposed, aud the ministry itself arraigned for
misconduct. The advance in the last two years
is certainly greater than in the hundred proceed
ing ones, though not as great as the democrats
had right two years ago to expect, and what
they could have accomplished had they not been
so creduous 1t is unnecessary now to revert to
the complicated schemes and faithlessness of the
King They have been heretofore given in this
correspondence. The end has been reached The
Constitution, such as it is has been solemnly
sworn to by the King and Chambers.
The ceremony took place in the Berlin palace
which the King has not inhabited since ls4S.
Before taking the OATH he stated the reservations
and restrictions under which he vas willing to
do so: one Of them being that he should find It
possible to govern under the Constitution. tie
did not forget to repeat that he has no personal