Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-03-14

meHte-a test such as no nation has ever yet
beensbrought to-. j trust we have not yet
arrived at the same state of feeling as
that which .zexisted iddHing the reVO-
luton of5l Oliver Cromwell or that
which lived in the days of Robes-I
pierre and Marat in France, when those,
who one day advocated the most ex-
tre1ne measures were the next day brought
tothe LscaffOld, because they were not far
enough In the advance. b Is that to be our
positioni in this country? Sir, i havevoted,
in every tadiealnneasure of reconstruction
proposediin., this House; and yet we have
not adopted radical measures enough to-
suit the purpose of some of the gen tlemen'
around me. They now cry for the head Of,
the Executive. " .npisSHu@ib 9gflIr'I
Mr.. Wood oointerrupting -7Theya wants
/ Mr.Spalding, resuming-For what good
purpose !? Is it to make way for some other
men or set of men? Is this whole nation1
to be convulsed !? Is our public credit to. be0
trifled with? q Are eOur stocks to be brought
down to thirty, twenty or ten per cent
simply togratify this anxiety toremove the
Executive head of the nation2 Sir, i can-i
not go forothati tipropesition. roitFIshi .ol
/ 4 az fJ9i1f;l-=1 4. zrrgvifi3
Opening OF the North German Par
! acknowledgement of the Ki0g!E
| The first session of the North German
Parliament was opened at Berlin on Sum-
day, Feb. "a, by the King Of Prussia in per-
son. On the right of the throne were the
Grown Prince and the other Royal princes,
with the exception of Prince Frederick
Charles, who took his place among thes
members of the Parliament On the left,
hand of the throne were the Federal Pleni-
potentiaries, headed by Count Bismarck,
in military uniform. The Queen, the Crown
Princess and Her Royal Highnesses' eldest,
son, Prince Frederick Charles, Prince Will
liam of Baden, Prince Nicholas of Nassau,
Prince Henry of Hesse, and almost all the
Diplomatic Body were present, and the
number of spectators was very great sh
( The King of Prussia, who was received
on entering with the most enthusiastic
cheers, read the following speech from the
throne:I T1iei .foTt 4 .j{f ~ ,5laa ..fa Z
Isl,tstrtoas, Noble ana Honorable Gentlemen
+ of the North German Confederation: cwoT
/ 1t is an elevatingI moment in which I
come among you,a Mighty events have
brought it about. Great hopes are bound
up with it.. i thank Divine Providence
which brought Germany toward the object
desired by her people along roads we nei-
ther chose nor foresaw. for the privilege of
giving expression to these hopes in CONF
munity. with. an assembly such as has not
surrounded any German prince tor centur-
les. Relying upon this guidance, we shall
attain the object all the earlier, the clearer
we recognize, looking back upon the his
tory of Germany the causes that have led
US and our torefathers away from it. cen,
Formerly powerful, great and honored,
because united and guided by strong hands,
the German empire did not sink into dis
sension and weakness without both its
head and its members being in fault. De-
prived of weight in the councils of Europe,
of influence over her own history, Ger
many, became the arena of the struggles of
foreign Powers, for which, she furnished
the blood of her children, the battle fields,
and the prizes of combat. But the longing
of the German people for what it had lost
has never ceased, and the history of our
time is filed with the efforts of Germany
and the German people to regain the great.
ness of their past. If these efforts have
hitherto not attained their object-if they
have only increased disScnsion In place of
healing 1t, because people allowed them
selves to be deceived by hopes or reminis-
cences as to the value of the present by
ideals as to the Importance of faets--we
recognize therefrom the necessity of SEEK
ing the union of the German people in
cOmpany with, facts, and of not again sac
riticing what is within our reach to what
we may desire. 5f;.zs -. ~ ~ %,
In this sense the allied Governments, in
accOrdance with former accustomed prac-
tice, have agreed upon numbe Of defined
and limited, but practically important ar
rangements, as Immediately possible as
they are undoubtedly requisite. The draft
of the Constitution that will be laid before
you asks from the independenceO of indiVid-
ual States, for the benefit of the whole,
only such, sacrifices as are Indispensable to
protect peace, to guarantee the security of
Federal territory, and the development of
the prosperity of its inhabitants.
I have to thank my allies for the readi-.
ness with which they have met the require
ments of the common fatherland. 1 ex-
press this gratitude with the consciousness
that i; too; should have been found ready
TO display the same devotion to the general
welfare of Germany, if Providence had not
placed me as heir to the Prussian Crown,
at the head of the most powerful State of
the Confederation, and for that reason, the
one called to the leadership OF the Com
monwealth. ] feel myself, however, strong
in the conviction that all the successes of
Prussia have been at the same time toward
the restoration and elevation of German
power and honor. #Ia8ttc
Notwithstanding the general readiness,
and although. the mighty events of the past
| year have convinced all men of the indis-
pensable necessity of areconstructing the
GermanzC zConstitution-thus rendering the
public mind more favorabfy inclined to.
ward such measure than it was previous
| " and perhaps might beat later period
again-We have anew perceived during the
| negotiations how, difficult is the task of at
tanning complete unanimity between SO
many Independent Governments, which
have also in their concessions to bear in
mind the views of their separate estates.
The more, gentlemen, you realize these
| ldilficultieS, the more carefully I am con-
vineed you win bear in mind in your ex-
animation of the draft, the heavy responsiS
bility of the dangers to the peaceful and
legal execution of the work that has been
commenced which might arise if the agree
ment arrived at with the Governments
upon the bill now laid before you could not
again be obtained for the alterations de-
manded by the Parliament. The point of
supreme Importance at present is not to
neglect the favorable moment for eStab-
fishing the building; its more perfect COM
pletion, then, safely remains intrusted to
the subsequent combined cooperation OF
the German vSoyereigns and races.
| Regulation of the national relations of
the North German Confederation towards
our brothers south of the Maine has been
1 left by the peace treaties of last year to the
voluntary agreement of both parties. Our
hands.Will be openly and readily extended
to bring about this understanding as soon
as the North German. Confederation has
advanced far enough in the settlement OF
its constitution to be empowered to con-
clude treaties. The preservation of the
Zollverein, the common promotion of trade
andia common guarantee for the security
of German territory, will form fundament-
al conditions of the understanding which
it may be ioreseen will be desired by both
parties. .---
AS the direction of the German mind
generally is turned toward peace and its
labors, the Confederate Association of the
German States will mainly assume de-
fensive character, The German movement
of recent years has borne no hostile tend
ency toward our neigfbOrs, no striving af-
ter conquest, but has arisen solely from the
necessity of affording the broad domains
from the Alps to the sea the fundamental
conditions of political progress which the
| march of deYelonment in former Centuries