The critic., 1890-12-30

Jesuits at Trier and the archbishop him
self were, consciously or unconsciuusly,
parties. That Fladc stood in the way of
the witch persecution he thought there
could be little doubt, but how far he owed
to this, his death seemed to the Professor
uncertain.
"The Theory of the Village Cummu-
nifty was the subject of DIR. Charles NJ.
Andrews paper. The paper was in the
main q protest against much of the loose
generalization now prevalent regarding
American institutions. The work of the
new historical school had given great
stimulus to. historical study, but had
brought certain dangers with 1t. The
theory of the village community was
case in point. The insuliciency of the
data at the beginning of German and
English history had made II possible 10
theorize without fear of contradiction
but with the carly history of America the
case was different The theory had been
tested here and found wanting that the
town or village community was the
primordial germ of the body polite.
by u somewhat speculative but interest
ing analogy Mr.. Andrews is led to believe
that the early shire IN England, cirjtos of
Tacitus and even going back to earlier
times the tribe itself was the primorlial
organism q complete and sovereign unit
and that the enlarged family, the village
community, were lIcr TecOBnlJ.On
within the original state. This analogy
from the American evidence is carly
used as supporting conclusions already cX-
pressed by other writers as 10 the different
stages of the theory. The second
point at which the village commu-
nifty theory has touched America is
in the idea of u rcyersion to an original
democratic form of life on the part Of the
New England settlers. Unfortunately the
oil Il oh ..f l,y
manic TN as petty republic with uni
versal suffrage rests solely on conjecture.
The evidence is insufficient, and the sup
position is contrary to known tribal lilcin
that stage of development, Such com
PARSONS are however, misleading, and,
though they do not mean much To
scholars, they are creeping into textbooks
and popular treatise where the effects are
injurious. The best panacca for this is
critical comparative study of the poetical
and economic life in New and Old Eng
land at the time of the settlement.
The third paper was AN earnest plea for
"Reform in the study of English Municipal
History by DR.. Charles Gross of Hayard
University.
The paper was brief and concise, cover
ing the defects which are apparent in all
system of England The medipvel
records of towns are abundant and easily
accessible, said DR.. Gross, and invite in
vestgation in the history of municipal
government, u rich field Of study that has
been little explored.
"Mrabeau's Speech on May 20, l7OO,'
was the subject of very interesting ar
ticlc by Il, NJ. Fling, Ph. D., of Leipzig,
Germany. At the time of the speech, said
Mr.. Fling. Mirabeau was looked upon as
the leader of the Revolutionary party, and
his strength rested upon his popularity.
To retain the good will of the people and
at the same time thwart their wishes was
n difficult undertaking, but this was the
thing that Mirabeau attempted to do. On
the 10Th of May Mirabeau made speech
in which he opposed this encroachment
upon the King prerogatives, and declared
that the right should he exercised by the
King and Assembly in common, His
project was so constructed that, while it
apparently divided the power equally be-
tween King and Assembly, the latter alone
retained the power. Mirabeaus speech
was so ingenuously worded that the true
meaning yielded only to careful study.
Professor Adolph Cohn's essay on 'rhc
| Formation of the French Constitution
was listened to with close attention by the
| association. The paper was detailed ac-
| count of the formation of the present
| constitution of France. tracing II from its
origin in 1871 until its final completion in
| the summer of 1875.
| "Karl Tollen and the Liberal Student
Movement in Germany from 1915 to 1919"
| was the interesting event discussed by
| Professor Kuno Francke of Harvard Uni
versity in o well-writtcn paper.
| Karl Tollen was the first professor of
| German literature at Harvard. but DR..
| Francke's paper dealt with Tollcn's par
| ticipation in the Liberal Student move
ment in Germany. He showed how Toll
len was the life and the soul of the move
ment and how he condemned all existing
| forms of government as tyranny and
| usurpation and proclaimed the establish
| ment Of "the one great German Republic"
| as the only aim worthy of n good German
| citizen. The means which Tollen supported
| were violence and murder, the natural
| consequence of which was the breaking
mp of the movement. Tollcn then fled to
| Switzerland and then to the United States
where, supported by I.afayette'ss sympathy
and friendship, he soon rose to promi-
nencc, identifying himself with the high
est and most progressive aspirations of the
| time, and completely abandoning his
former anarchial tendencies.
The last paper read this morning was
entitled bismarck as the Typical Ger
| man, by William q. Taylor of New
York. The Germans, said Mr.. Taylor,
are renowned for their sterling honesty,
and this trait is strongly marked in Bis
marck. Diplomatic exigcncics, however,
have often led him to disregard the simple
directness that spontaneously occurs to
him. Bismarck was the achiever of Ger
man unity, but neither the idea of unity
| nor the idea Of excluding Austria from
the Empire were original with him. He
conceived the. possibility of defeating
| Austria, and his great merit lies in the
| strong character which he brought to the
| task.
! This evenings session at the Columbian
| University will be devoted to the reading
of essays upon the subject of American
| constitutional history.