New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-09
Communicated
THE NORTH GERMAN CONFRDRRA.
TION.

/ -,
its features resembling the constitution of
the United States, deserves to he seriously
meditated, because it exhibits on large
scale the manner in which the principle OF
association may, by skillful combination
between independent sovereigrties, be made
subservient to the aggrandizement of one
Of it's members. and place them SO com
pletely under control that they can hardly
be considered separate States, but merely
! superior vassals. owing fealty to their suze-
rain, the King of Prussia.
| THE NoRDBUSD,
| Or North German Confederation. is COM
| posed of twenty-five distinct sovereignties,
| to wit:
l Prussia, ? Saxony, 3 Mecklenburs-
| Schwerin, Mecklenburg- -Strelitz, 5 SAKE.
| Weimar, 6 SAKE Meiningen, Saxe-Alten-
burg, 8 SaxeCOburg- Gotha, Oldenburg,
10 Brunswick, IL Anhalt-Dessau, II
| Schwartzburg- -Rudolstadt. IL Schwartz
burg -Sanderhausen, IA Waldeck, Is Reuss-
! GrelIa (eldcr branch), Is Reuss-Schleitz
younger branch), II Lippe- Detmold, Is
Lippe- e-Schaumbnrg. 10 Lybeck, 20 Hamburg,
81 Bremen. and % that portion of Hessen-
Darmstadt situated north of the river
Mayne
| The constitutional powers of the Bund. as
| defined by the convention forming the
first Reichstag Imperial parliament), en-
| brace the following subjects, to wit
| The right to Iestablsh institutions of pub
| lie utility, to frame laws of naturalization,
! passports, police as to foreigners, relative
| to the exercise of professions and trades,
| insurance, colonization and emigration. du-
| ties and imposts, currency weights and
measures, banks, patents for new and useful
inventions, copyrights, consuls. railroads,
| postofices, telegraphs. contracts and agree
ments, commerce, criminal practice, crimes
and punishments, rules fOrsthe :preservatiOn
of health, and for the regulation of the
army and navy.
| The revenues of the Bund are derived
from the net produce of the customs, post
Offices and telegraphs duties on beet-sugar.
salt. brandy, malt and tobacco. and special
| and variable contributions levied on the
members of the confederation in proportion
to their population.
| According to the method adopted to raise
| this revenue. there never can be a deficit,
| for the receipts must always be equal to
! the expenses, which are invariably placed
at the head of the budget, which the con-
federation is bound to provide for. The
| confederation says to its members, we must
have so much; exert yourselves to produce
| it: and inasmuch as it directs the inter-
| course with foreign nations. commands the
army and navy; that is, has the war power.
the appropriations for which admitting of
no delay, its orders are peremptorily Obeyed.
| The legislative power conferred OH the
confederation is both novel and original
! The Nordbund has legislature composed,
apparently, Of a single house. called
| Reichstag the members of which are
elected for three years by universal suffrage
and by secret ballot. This body possesses
all the prerOgatives belonging to Legislative
assemblies: il establishes rules for its own
conduct: appoints committees: chooses its
own president and vice-president, issues ad-
| dresses: possesses entire liberty of discus
sion; can call on government for all the in
formation it requires; may propose new
laws, discuss, accept or reject such laws as
have been proposed. All propositions signed
| by fifteen of its members, must be taken
into consideration, according to the twenty
eighth article of the constitution, and to
| give effect to its DEGREES. they must be sane
toned by an absolute majority.
Notwithstanding all these prerogatives,
the Reichstag has, in reality. very little
| power. and in point of fact, decides nothing
dcfinitively, for two obvious reasons. to wit:
First-Because it has not the means of
causing its decisions to be respected. 1t Is
by the annual appropriation of money for
| the support of government that delibera-
tive assembly compcls it to execute its de-
crees. 1t is known that the Prussian Par
iianent finds itself cralnped in this respect,
| because the one hundred and ninth article
of its constitution forbids all changes in a
tax once voted. The Federal Congress
| finds itself in no better situation. The con-
federation is supported by certain indirect
duties and imposts, as already explained.
and the requisite supplement to support
its expenses is determined by the King of
Prussia. who determines the contribution
which each member of the confederation
shall furnish The Federal Congress has
the power to refuse the imposition of new
taxes, and has done so already; but as it is
evident that the fiat of the King of Prussia
| sutfices to make the Confederate States pay
whatever sums he thinks necessary. it is to
be presumed that the satisfaction of rcfus-
ing new taxes will not often be afforded tbs:
members of. the Reirhstag.
Secondly-There is another reason why
the decisions of the Reichstag remain mop
erativc. 1t appears that there IS but one
| legislative body in the Nordbund, and i'll
reality there is but one that has and de-
serves the name. A legislative assembly is
one in which the speaker addresses himself
publicly to his fellow members, before an
audience, and where every one is responsible
for what he utters. 1t Is also necessary that
hose not present should be informed OF
what was said and by whom it was said
But there exists in Berlin a second federal
body, which is not called legislative body,
| but is so, nevertheless, because it delib
crates and votes. The only difference is
that this body dcliberates in secret, with
doors not only closed but locked. 1t is not
known who speaks in these mysterious
conyenticles, and one would be tempted to
believe that no one of the members spoke at
all were it not for the confused sounds that