New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-02-27
GERMANY.
vii

| followed up the revolutionary mOTencht OF yer
many TO tie two great popular victories Of March
| 70. in Vienna, and March IS, in Berlin. We
saw, both in Austria and Prussia, the establish
ment OF Constitutional Governments and the
proclaim alton, as leading rules for all future poll
cy, Of liberal or middle.class principles and
| the only difference observable between the two
great centers of action this, that in Prussia
the liberal Bourgeoise in the persons of two
wealthy merchants, Messrs. Camphausen and
| Hansemann, directly seized upen the reins Of
power; while in Austria where the BourgeOsie
was politically, far less educated, the liberal
| Bureaucratic walked into Office and protested TO
| hold power in trust for them. We have further
seen, how the parties and classes of society," that
were heretofore all united in their opposition to
the old Government, got divided among them
selves after the victory or even during the strug
| gle and how that same liberal Bourgeoisie thu.
alone profted from the victory, turned round I'M
mediatey upon its alliesof yesterday, assumed
hostile attitude against every class or party OF
a more advanced character and concluded an
alliance with the conquered fcudal and bureau
cratic interests. II was in fact evident, even
from the beginning Of the revolutionary drama,
that the liberal Bourgeoisie could net hold Its
ground against the vanquished, but not destroyed,
feudal and bureaucratic parties except by rely
ing upon the assistance of the popular and more
| advanced parties ard that it equally required,
against the torrent of these more advanced
masses, the assistance Of the feudal nobility and
of the bureaucratic. Thus, it was clear enough
that the Boure eoise, in Austria and Prussia did
not possess sufficient strength to maintain their
power and to adapt the Institutions of the cOun-
try to their own wants and ideas. The liberal
Bourgeois Ministry was only hating place
from which, according 10 the turn circumstances
might take the country would either have to go
On TO the more advanced stage of Unitarian
Republicanism, or to relapse into the old cerIco.
feudal ard bureaucratic rfgime. At all events,
the real, decisive struggle was yet to come the
events of March had only engaged the combat.
Austria and Prussia being the two ruling
States Of Germany, every decisive revolutionary
victory in Vienna or Berlin would have been de-
cisive for all Germany. And as far as they went,
the events of March, 1913, in these two cities,
decided the turn of German affairs. 1t would,
then, be superfuous to recur to the movements
| that occurred in the minor States; and we
might indeed, confne ourselves TO the consid-
Grafton of Austrian aud Prussan affairs exclu-
sively, if the existence of these minor States
had not given rise to body which was, by It's
very existence, most striking proof of the alb
normal situation of Germany and of the neon
| pleteness of the late revolution; a body so ab-
normal, ludicrouS by its very position, and yet
20 full of its own importance, that history will
most likely, never afford pendant to it. This
body was the so called German National Assem-
bly, at Frankfort on-the Main.
After the popular victories of Vienna and Ber-
| lin, il was matter of course that there should
be Representative Assembly for all Germany.
| This body was consequently elected, aud met
at Frankfort, by the side of the old Federative
| Diet. The German National Assembly was
| pected, by the people, to settle every matter in
dispute, and to act the highest legislative au.
! thority for the whole of the German Confedera.
| ton. But at at the same time the Diet which
had convoked it had in way fixed its attribu-
| tions. No one knew whether its DEGREES were to
have force OF law, or whether they were to be
| subject TO the sanction Of the Diet or Of the in.
| dividual Governments. In this perplexity ii the
| erey, it would have Immediately dissolved and
sent home the Diet-than which no corporate
body more unpopular in Germany-and re.
placed it by Federal Government chosen from
among its own members. 1t would have declared
itself the only legal expression of the sovereign
will of the German people, and thus attached egal
validity to every one of its DEGREES. 1t would,
above ALL have secured to itself an organized and
armed force in the country sufficient TO put down
any opposition on the part OF the Governments
And all this was easy, very easy at that early
period OF the revolution. But that would have
been expecting great deal too much from an
Assembly composed in its majority of liberal at
torneys and dOchinairs professors, an Assembly
which, while 1t pretended to embody the very
essence OF German intellect and science, was in
reality nothing but a stage where old and worn.
out political characters exhibited their invoun-
tary righteousness and their impotence of
thought, as well as action, before the ewes of all
Germany. This Assembly of old women was
from the first day of its existence more fright
ened OF the least popular movement than
OF all the reaciionaTy plots OF all the Ger
man Governments put together. 1t dellberated
under the eyes OF the Diet, nav, it almost
crsved the Diets sanction to its DEGREES. for its
hrst resolutions bad to be promulgated by that
odious body. Instead of asserting its own sove.
reignty, 1t studiously avoided the discussion of
any such dangerous questions Instead of sur
rounding itself by a popular force, it passed t.
the order of the day all the violent encroach.
menis OF the Governments Msyence under It's
very eyes, was placed in a state OF siege and the
people there dlsarmed, and the National Assem-.
bly, did not stir. Later on it elected Archduke
John Of Austria Regent sf Germany and declared