The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-06

NoJ w Auooin W nObC member Is ALWAYS TN
Chairman. Here again. however, we have ar
illustration OF the fact that the Bundesrnth I,
an assembly OF diplomats. and not of Senators
for tho practice followed by the Emperor o,
the Bundesrath, whichever has tho power OF
appointment, Is to designate the States to he
represented, but to leave the delegation from
each OF those States to choose which of It's
members shall sit on the committee. A scat on
the committee, therefore, belongs not to the
representative elected. but to the State
which he represents. There is ono other
committee provided for by the Con.
stitntion. that on Foreign Affairs. Its functions
are peculiar, for 1t does not report like the
other committees, but its members listen to the
communications made to them by the Chan
cellor. and express the views OF their respective
Governments thereon. 1t ia thus, in reality. q
means by which the Minister'S of the larger
stntes may be consulted upon foreign affairs,
and IL consists of representatives of Bavaria,
SaSony. Wnrtemberg, and two other States
designated every year by tho Bundesrath. AS
Its only function Is to consult with tho Chan
cellor, who Is virtually the Prusslan Minister
for Foreign Affairs, Prussia has no seat upon It,
and, In her absence. bavaria presides. Another
illustration OF the federal character of the
Bundesrath is to be found in the provision
that, on matters not common to the whole en-
F' 'hI ~ tic oh Z
from which Bavaria. Wnrtemberg. and Baden
enjoy an exemption. only those States which arc
interested can vote. There was, at first, a
similar provision for the Reichstag. but II was
felt to be inconsistent with the spirit of a ma
tlonal House or Representatives and 1t was re-
pealed by n constitutions amendment.
Tho powers OF the Bundesrath arc very extern
slve. and cover nearly the whole field of gov.
eminent. 1t is n part of the Legislature, and
every law requires its assent. More than this,
II has the first and last word on almost all the
laws. for tho Reichstag has not succeeded in
making it's right OF initiative in legislation very
effective, and by far the larger part of the
statutes as well rs the budget are prepared and
first discussed by the Bundcsratl. They arc
then sent to tho ReiclIsiag. and II passed by that
body, are again submitted to the Bundesrath for
approval before they are promulgated by the
Emperor. The Bundcsrath may. therefore. be
said to be the main source OF legislation. 1t Is
also n part Of tho executive. As such,
1t has power to make regulations for
the conduct of the administration and
to Issue ordinances for the compile
tion OF the laws. so far as this power has not
been specially lod ged by statutes in other hands.
In regard to finance, It's authority is even more
extensive. for TO 1t has been given many Of tho
functions OF a chamber of accounts. 1t en-
80 N'~ bN'N' W " ~
nominatcs. among other officials. the Judges Of
the Imperial Court and elects the members OF
the Court Of Accounts: while collectors OF taxes
and Consnls can be appointed only with the ap-
probation OF its committee. The Bundesrath,
moreover. acts. in some ways. like n Ministry Of
State, for 1t deslgnates one or more of its mem
bers to support In the Reichstag the measures IL
has approved. and to indicate what amend.
ments to a bill 1t is willing to accept. The
Federal nature o. the Bundesrath comes into
play curiously here. for each of the members
may express in the Reichstag the views Of his
particular Government, although these may be
contrary to those of n majority of his colleagues.
Again. the Bunde,rath has no little power of a ju-
dicial or semi-judicial nature. 1t decides disputes
between the imperial and State governments
about the inter probation of imperial statutes. 1t
is virtually n court OF appeal In cases where
there Ia q denial of justice By n State court. 1t
decides controversies between States which are
not of the nature of private law. II appealed to
by one OF the parties; and. finally. when a con-
stitutional question arises in a State which has
no tribunal empowered to decide It. the Bundles
rath must try to settle it by mediation, II re-
quested to do so By one OF the parties. or, II this
fails, 1t must try to dispose of the matter by
imperial legislation. Not only has the Bundles
rath. as we have seen, far more extensive
po"S'o thoh IL out 81 aiSo CeE
tain privileges that enhance its prestige aud in
crease its authority. thus the Reichstag can
not be summoned to met without the Bundles
rath, whereas the litter can sit alone. and
must. in fact. be called together at any time on
the request of one.nird OF its members. Tn
like the Reichstag. moreover, the order of busi-
ness In the BundesrIth is not broken off by the
ending of the sessbn. but is continued. SO that
matters are taken up again at the point where
they were left. AM thus its work is made far
more effective. The most important privilege
IL enjoys, however, is that OF excluding the
public from its meetings. This has given it the
advantage of cncealing. TO some extent. it's
internal differences. and has enabled 1t to &C.
quire II reputation for greater uuanimity. and.
consequently. d exert more influence than il
would othorwis possess.