, 1875-04-11
THE CONSTITUTION 0P QERdAEY

1876.
The fusion Of the disunited, differing. d,.rcn
tented, disloTal Germany OF 1914 into ona t,.
peria1 whole, almost within half century. IL M.
OF the great phenomena Of our age. Ihs o,d
German Empire died in 1906, when Nspolao,
formed the Confederation OF the Rhine, Th..
Confederation broke to pieces with tbs s.u,iea a,
the Corsican and fell with his fall III. n7,,.
Dun, writing of the year 1914. saYs: "Germ,n,
WAS now utterly disintegrated. Frc.n tho m..t
Forest to tha Russian frontier there wss uothjos
but angry ambitions, vengeances, aud fear, :
What miraculous touch has brought thu ds,d
nation back to life? What sort Of bonds prnr,
strong enough to hold together mombara 20 }.t..
ly warning one with another7
The answers to these questions are Of dasn
interest to the student OF politics. Ansuera Il
both Of them ara given in this little yoluna os
126 pages OF large type. Mr. Nicolson not oa|r
describes the German Constitution, the cohesi,s
force Of to-day, but he gives rapid eketch q.
German history from 1915 to 1871, which ahoar
the process Of unidcation, step by step. We,t,
chiefly concerned with the Constitution, but tha
history deserves something more than pasginr
remark. Tho lucid Analysis OF the SchlasHip-
Holstein question is fatal to the truth OF Losd
Derby's clever mot: "Only one other man in
Europe besides myself ever understood TIA
Schlaswig- -Holstein difficulty, and be is dead."
When Prussia won the Wat Of 1866, aha Obliged
Austria to consen: to her absorbing 1903 SOUR.
miles Of territory and 815 000 people to reco..
nize the dissolution Of the Germanic Couleden-
ton and to agree to new organization of Gu
many from which she (Austria) should b. u.
cluded. Prussia at once called North German
Parliament. It's members were elected Feb. r
1867. 1T Was the first tins since 1913, says 1
German writer, ts thxt the people elected thsir
representatives by ;18fTersal suffrage, xad TIA
irst time in the exisSee of the German nston
that the election eookface by direct vote Ind not
through the medium OF electors" Prussia eho4e
231 of the 297 members. As sooa a. this Par
lament was organized, the two most important
psrtias of the Reichstag of today vera formal
These arc the Fortsehtitt-Pxtei P,og1es.hs
Party) aud the National Liberal ParteL Tha
first believes in liberty first, unity second Tha
creed Of the second reye1ses this orie7. The
draft of = Constitution submitted BY Biamarct
was adopted Within less than two months BIZ go
to IS votes The only important amendments
we're those granting pay to members of ths
Reichstsg, and limiting the maintensnos Of \
".
populatiou. to fre instead Of ten years, BIZ
marck declined to accept theso amendments.
The Reichstag declined to recede- Fin.llya
compromise vas made. The first was ahan.
doned and the second ratified.
The different States quickly indorsed tho Con-
stitution. It came into fcrce about July /, 1867.
From that date. Germany WIS for the drss
time Federsire State (Bqndes-stsat} instead
nf a Confederation Of States jStastau-burd.
State soyereiepty had been tried and found nd
" wanting. Nineteen nonsrchies and the three
Rennblics Of Bremen. Lubbock. and Hamburg
wera united into oue State. or It's 9Q00Q01
son1a d nm GOo were prnssians. Tha cant1
rorrer cora;sted of threa al6ments.-the King OF
Prussia. who wa tho President Of tho nation
md commandar at the forcss: tho Fsdersl
Council With 4s members from "a States: md
tha Raicbst,o p.rlia,,ant aIactad nv uni1ar.sl
enfrr.pe
IA soon as North Germany VIM thus consoH.
f7ated ,7nder I'm contro, Of Prussia the vl]7
Ch,nce1,or haoan n achana for .ecpriup the d.
be,ion NJ sonth G.rnanv axclnsiya. Of oou,ss.
~ Ga1n,n Anetri. Ha adontad m sbsolntaly
,,7,;on. o,d ooat inoan}ona nian A custome-
Union. embracing the North German Confeder-
ktion and tha sonth German Staten. VAS form
Nd Tts ranrasentstive bod;aa were ampoxe,sd
70 nssa lass upon Ill the commercial iutarests ct
he vhoIo of Gnrmsnv. Bisrnarck,s astchless
,nnn:,o shoved itself IN tha oomnosition Of thosa
representative bodies. Thero Fss, h,st. = FeG-
,r,I Commercial Cornell which c,naistad Of ths
gorth Gerrnan Fedara1 Co1ncji with tho sout,
;errnan ae]aoatea added toit1 There ms. sce-
md . Conrnsrc;a1 Raicb.tag. which vaa formed
n the s,no uav bv adding South carman dele-
,.taa n ~. reo,,iar Norrh German Parliament,
7;n,tlv N. Kina or prn,.;a tha nosd Of tho
gor+t Carmen nation ,aa aiao thu head Of tho
!natonos.nnion of ali GERMANY. having thus
r+f,,11v va1daa The n.tion into one commercial
rno1a R;an.rct fonnd comparat7ely little dif-
c,,1tv y, .nh,t;rntin1 "nolitcal Tor COM
oerc;.}-~ Ian. !. 1871. is consida1ed ~ ths
;rthd,v of the Ger7nan Empire.
The Empire consissa ct twenty-tvo rnou-
rchies. threa republics, and tho imperial prov
,ca Of Alsace-Lor1aine. Tho right O: secession
oes not sxist The central power consists OF
,mperor, Federal Council and Reichstag. Tho
mpa1ia; dignity is hereditary in tho ma1o
ne OF the Royal Prussian House Of Hoheo-
ouern. The Emperor can veto bills in relation
, the army. tho nayy, the customs, and ths taxes
n besr, brandy, salt, and beetroot gusar. Hecan