The weekly standard., 1869-10-13
OUR FOREIGN LETTER. ,
The Adoption of the Prussian consti,

! Amending--Legislative Executive
|. and Judicial Departments..-
Territorial Divisions OF the =
! . Observation-Disclosures of rUJ %
b f State to Church and 55sss
W e schoel--Army {s5.t
| .rg .ia. and Navy. ,- g....f III !.
j ... -. BERLIN, August 9th, 1863. :
|. On the 31st of January 1850, the Consitu-
tion of Prussia was published and proclaim
ed. According to the provisions of this in
strument, the Government is divided into
.tEo principal branches. The Legislative
and Executive. A coordinate Judicial De-
partment is not recognized Constitutional
questions, which would be settled by our
Supreme Court, are here determined by the
Legislature.
The Legislative Department consists of
the King, the House of Mobiles and the House
of Representatives. The Monarchy is hered-
itary and confined to the male heirs. The
House of Mobiles (Herrenhaus) is created by
the King, He is so far restricted, however,
that the members whom he may appoint for
this house transmit this privilege to their
heirs,eor at least enjoy it for the term of their
natural lives. rs ...,....... ..-...-,
The House of Representatives (Abyeorne-
tSu) is elected indirectly by the people.
Suffrage is universal. Every male citizen
who has reached the age of "a years and
who has not forfeited the right by crime. or
who is not a pauper at the public expense,
is entitled to vote at the precinct where he
has resided for six months Immediately pre-
ceediDg. Neither is any intellectual or pro-
perty qualification required for representa-
tive, nor is it necessary that he should reside
in the district for which he is elected Ev-
cry two hundred and fifty votes chooses an
elector, and every three electors chooses the
Representative. 5l s-5.1C E7ft8uG rs
The passage of law requires the concur
renee of the King and the two Chambers.
The King has an absolute vote and no bill
which has been rejected, can be proposed
again during the same session. An amend
ment to the Constitution requires double
concurrence. 1t must first be sanctioned by
the King and Chambers, and after a lapse of
81 days it must be sanctioned again in the
same words and figures.
| 1t is the prerogative of the King to call
the Chambers together, but he is bound by
the Constitution to do this in the month of
November every year. He possesses also the
right to prorogue the Chambers, but he can
not do this for longer period than 80 days,
or more than once during the same session.
He must call both Chambers and prorogue
both. The term of the Representatives is
three years. They have the usual privileges
against arrest they verify returns; elect
their own officers and committees; judge of
the qualifications of their own members, and
fix their own order of business. All revenue
bills must originate in this House, and they
must either be absolutely accepted or rejec-
ted by the House of Mobiles. No amend
ment is admitted. fr.--- -
The King takes the oath to support the
Constitution. His person is, of course, in
violable, but his Ministers are responsible
Personal liberty and security and the right
of property are amply protected. No ar
rest can be made without a warrant from a
judge, except in cases of open crime, when
even private citizen may arrest, and the
prisoner must, the next day at furtbest, be
brought before the judge who issued the
warrant, be brought face to face with his
accusers and hear the allegations against
him, and then be tried by jury of twelve
men. This is in effect habeds corpus before
the imprisonment. The judges can only be
removed for malfeasance in Office, and then
only by decision of tribunal of other
judges. The equality of all citizens before
the law, the right Of all to acquire landed
and other property, to any honest calling,
and also the right to emigrate, when not
liable to military duty, are well established.
The privileges Of the nobility consist in the
right to wear the family arms, and to enjoy
titles. ~lF -eSaq B. laIa f 4
The Executive power is lodged in the
King. He precribes the forms and regula-
tions under which all laws are to be execu-
ted. He appoints all his Ministers at pleas
ure, aud through them, all the Executive
officers of the e'kingdom. In the King alone
is vested the right to declare war and make
peace, to send and receive ambassadors and
to enter into treaties with foreign nations
The exclusive command of the army and
navy is in him, and he is not restricted as
to the number to be called into active SER
vice. But limitations here are the response
bility of the Ministers of War and of For
eign Affairs, and thc right of the House of
Representatives to grant or refuse supplies.
Further, when the public safety requires it,
the King may, during the recess of the two
Houses, proclaim what laws he may deem
necessary, provided the same do not violate
the Constitution. These royal DEGREES are
valid until the next session of the Houses,
when, they may be accepted or rejected.
The Kingdom Of Prussia is divided into
eleven Provinces; the head of each Prov
ince is an over President. standing immedi-
ately under the General Government at Ber-
lin. The Provinces are divided in govern
ment District, at the head of which stands a
President. These Districts are again sub
divided into Rreise, and then again into
gemeiude, or townships, with their respective
officers 1t is through this machinery that
the royal executive arm reaches the individ-
ual and executes its precepts. We may
gather clearer, general idea of this system,
If we compare it with our own. We have a
National, State, County and Township Gov
ernment. The Province would correspond
| to the State, the Kreise to the County and
the gemeiude to the township We must be
careful, however, not tn confound the idea
of State with that of Prouipce A State
possesses certain constitutional rights, not to
be exercised by the general government. A
province is entirely subordInated and stands
more in the relation of county to State to
the general government of the kingdom.
The Church plays but an inconsiderable
role in the Prussian State. The National
Church is nominally the Evangelical Re
formed, founded upon the confession of
Augsburg, but embracing every shade of
doctrine Prussia continues to protest and,
to judge from the public prints, Rationalism
is pressing as hard upon Orthodoxy, that
this wing Of Protestantism seriously con-
templates making common cause with Rome
and fighting the last battle over the ground
formule of common christianity. The
| church is under the control of the Minister
of Spiritual affairs, who is also Minister of
Public Instruction. The pastor is nomina-
ted by the parish, and, if confirmed by the
Provincial Consistory, he is inducted into
office. He is paid partially by the govern
ment, receives fees for baptisms, marrying
and 5urying. In the country be frequently
has few acres of land to cultivate. Every
sect is protected. The widest latitude of
opinion is allowed and religious freedom is
perfect. The State, however, retains the
right of supervision and may at any time
dissolve any religious association whenever
public policy may require it. There are in
| Prussia 10000 900 Protestants, 8,000,000
Catholics and half million Jews. ibog
VI more Importance Is tne reidtlon Oh tne
State to the school. Here Prussia stands
| unrivalled. The Constitution declares that
public schools are indispensable to the Sc
curity and prosperity of the State. A series
of schoollaws have been enacted TO
| carry this into effect, in virtue,
of which, every child in the
kingdom, however poor his parents, may
receive thorough elementary education.
The right to present; q teacher rests partly
with private patrons, partly with the town
| ship, and sometimes with the Government.
| But eyery teacher must undergo a ripid ex-