The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1870-08-25
lrHE. eEnaAs coNrEpEKArros.

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few years have been so many and SO
great, that il is doubtful if the great.
mass of our, readers have to-day any
very clear idea of either the political
or territorial divisions as they natu-
rally exist. This being SO it is our
duty, perhaps, as Journalists, to re-
giYe their memories upon two points
at least, compiling from authentic.
sources The old German Empire
was dissolved in 1906, in consequence
of the victories of Napoleon. Francis
H., in that year exchanging the title
of Emperor of Germany for Emperor
| of Austria. The Confederation of
the Rhine was then substituted, un-
| der the protection of Napoleon l.,
WHO, in 1910, manifested his protect
ing care by annexing to the French
Empire all the countries between the
mouths of the Eibe and the Scheldt.
Upon the fall of the. Napoleonic dy-.
nasty, in 1916, the Congress of Wen
ma established the Germanic5 Diet,
which subsisted until dissolved in
1866 by the Prgissiah victory at Sador
| wa. , At tie period of its dissolution
| it embraced one empire sAustria), =
five Kingdoms Prussia, Bavaria, Sax
ousJ Hanover baudI dWurtemburg),
fourteen grand duchies and duchies,
eight pirriineiipalities ana four free cit
les (Frankfort, Hamburg, Lubec and
BREMEN ).iiei-A Of nWab 5dq fosi g
The death Without Issue of the
LandgraYe of Hesse-HonIburg, March
oath, 1866, had caused this Ilandgravi-
ate to be incorporated with the Grand
Ddehy Of .IIesse7 Darms stadt, leaving,
in all, thirty three States in the. Com
federasion.s9Fhei declared objects of
the Confederaey embracetl the securi-
lity of Germany as d whole and the in-
dependence of each individual State.
1t was governed by an assembly of
deputies, ,Sof ambassadors, named by
each State government, under 8 very
complex and cumbroqs system; Aus
,tria was the permanent president of
the league.o1Ha ,ss9aiqlGi hila
On the 9th Of April, 1866, while
the Germanic Dietwas vet in force.
and Austria was oacknowledgedoto be
1.-THE principal power CONNECTED with
it, Prussia, under the lead Of the able
and ambitious Bismarck, moved for q
reform of the Federal Constitution,
land urged that the neeessary arrange
msnts be forthwith, entered into by.
negotiation between the several States
The reforms desired by Prussia en-
braeed the admission of popular rep.
resentatiyes, the regulation of gener-
| al interests, such as coming money,
tariffs, customs, the appointment of
consuls, the organization of navy,
the reorganization of an army, and
the regulation of commerce by the
Diet. The majority of the Diet, be-
ling influenced bys4.Austria, were
/ averse to these propositions of Prus-
| sia, but upon the motion of the for
mer, June IA, 1866, ordered the mo-
bilization of the Federal army. Prus-
asia now declared the Confederation
dissolved, and invited the States to
join her in a Reorganization. The
Diet, under the lead of Austria, as
lserted the indissolubility of the old
league, and protested against the with
draYal Of any of its members. But
the protest was not needed. Prussia
withdrew from the confederation and
4 was speedily followed by Meeklen-
burg -Schwerir, Mecklenburg- Strelitz,
Sake Coburg- -Gotha, Oldenbnrg, An
halt, SchW arcburg, Sehaumburg-Lip-
! pc, LippeaD Detnaold, Waldeck, Reuss,
Hamburg, Bremen, and Lnbec. ~
! This attempted dissolution of the
confederacy resulted in aaiwar, in
which Prussia and her adherents. fig
ured on the one hand and Austria and
her adherents on the other. This war
was commenced on the 25th of June,
1886, by the Prnssians crossing the
Hessian, frontier and was closed by
the treaty of Prague, which was con-,
cluded between Prussia and Austria
on the Both of. August, of the same
year, The military operations. occu-
pied little more than, two months,
but seldom within that time in histo-
ry have issues SO nionientous been de-
cided. The old aConfederacy was
broken up and two new ones formed,
in neither of which Austria, the for
mer president, now finds place. A.
AS q result Of the war between
/ Austria and Prussia, it may be stated
that the latter power annexed, by
right Of conquest, Hanover, Hesse-
Cassel,p Schleswig- Holstein, Nassau,
and Frankfort. The North German
Confederation embraces Prussia with
her enlarged . territory, Saxony,
Mecklenhurg!Schwerf Sake Wei
mar, HMecklenbufg Strelitz, Olden-,
| DuiS3 DFuuSWlCh, OdAo-nclllhScu,
Sake -Altenburg, Sake Cobdrg- G otha,
1}Anhalt, Schwarzburg-R u d o1 s a d
Schwarzburg- S Sonderhausen, Waldeck
Reuss Cider ana younger line),
tSchaumburg- Lippe,s Lippe-D Detmold,
Iubec, Hamburg, Bremen, and the
upper province Of Hesse- Qarmstadt,
These with Prussia constitute what
is Known as the North German Con-
federation. 7fI iHo A'ii.i,"i'''fNt -
i HLW ,ntaI~y4 .aGG9Y5-, xif0I % - re-
In the Prussian or North German
Confederation, as it exists to-day, the
general government is divided into
two houses of legislation-the Fede-
raj Council, answering to our Senate,
whose members are anuointed Inv the