, 1865-01-10

the first of these incidents seems 10 have
rebutted, in the judgment of the Diet,
the presumption of lunacy raised by the
running away. Popular dissatisfaction,
however, was not allayed, and a compro-
mise was effected. The Elector on the
3Oth September in the same year made
his son-the most illustrious and most
gracious elector and lord who now rules
-co-regent. Thus his reign may be said
TO be coeval with the constitution of
Hesse-Cassel. He sat by its cradle, and
it certainly has not been his fault if he
has not followed its hearSe. In 1S46
came another French revolution, and the
grievances of the Hessians again produ-
ced something like rebellion. But this
time the EIector had gained wisdom. He
bided his time, and in 1S49 carried his
constitution, which had been in existence,
if not quite in operation. for eighteen
wears, to the Diet. "Dear, dear y said
the Diet, "why the cause Of all your
trouble is clear. Your constitution is
untederaI." SO the Diet ordered Fedc-
raj execution, Austrian troops entered
the Electorate, the Elector abolished
the constitution and made a new one,
which, as it left him all real power,
was thoroughly Federal. The HesSians,
however,, could not see it, and in 1860
they actually refused to pay the taxes.
In ENGLAND Dissenters sometimes refuse
Church-rates, but a whole people refus-
inc taxes and allowing themselves to be
distrained on rather than pay was felt to
be a dangerous precedent. Something
had to be done, and Prussia, who had been
iockeyed by Austria in 1850 and has certain
TyeverSionary claims on the Electorate,
POLITELY minated to the Diet that ifthere
was 10 be another Federal execution she
could not allow any other Power to carry
it out. When Prussia is a Liberal power
she has to be obeyed. The Diet ordered
the restoration Of the constitution OF 1881,
leaving it TO the Elector and his Chambers
TO amend the un-Federal clauses, andfhe
Elector by his patent of the 2lst OF June,
1862, promised compliance. But sill
those terrible Hessians are not satisfied.
The Chambers on the Oath of Novem-
Der drew up their "Grand Remonstrance,"
to which the Elector replied on the Bird
O fDecember. The Chambers say that
they have been negotiating for two years,
and that at last "the hope" that the EIec-
tor will perform the promise ofhis patent
,'has almost vanished" Especially they
doubt that His Highness means to keep
his word sin reference to the highest
court of justice and the internal admin
s~tration of the country" The EIector
replies to this that the Chambers ought
to ask "withftting respect for the removal
of certain stated grievances" We must
say that this gives US a very high idea of
His Highness's love of truth and plain
speaking. The Chambers further repre-
sent that during the reign of the late
Elector 'the people degenerated into al
most universal poverty that property
was deprecated to the lowest point, and
trade completely overthrown. The Elec-
tor very properly, in answer to this, COM
ments on the indelicacy of this criticism
of"periods of government of our ancestors
now resting in Cod" considerably re-
moving by this phrase any doubts as to
the eternal felicity of his late Highness
which may have been raised by the I'M
doubted fact that he bullied his wife till
she ran away from him, and then openly
placed in her bed his mistress, a lady