The record-union., 1896-06-28
The Measure Proposes Making Civil
Marriages Compulsory.
The Small Attendance at Prince
Hohenlohe's Parliamentary Dinner.
Given on Tuesday Evening, the
subject OF liucii COmment-The
Emperor of Germany to Start
From kiel OH the First Instant,

BERLIN, June 2T.-Throughout the
week the Reichstag has made good pro-
sress in its consideration of the Govern
ment's Civil Code bill, and the measure.
which passed its second reading this
afternoon, is now certain to pass all Of
the stages for it to become a law before
the end of the present session.
The bill proposes to make civil marri-
age compulsory, and in opposing this
revision ID. Lieber. the leader of the
Centrists, expressed regret that the COM
mittee to which the bill was referred
had not treated marriage as a sacra-
ment to which the assent of the civil
authorities was necessary.
Other Centrist Deputies, as we'll avs
General Won Roen and several ether
Conservatives, supported the view of
DR.. Lieber, holding that the civil mar
riage clause was derogatory to the Of
flee of the clergy.
Herr Niberling, Imperial Minister of
Justice, denied that the Government had
any desire to place a mere civil mar
riage upon an equal footing with a re-
ligious ceremony. nor did they wish
to come into conflict with the churches;
yet for many reasons he said il was de-
slrable that the clause should be MAIN
tained.
The clause finally passed.
The CentriSts afterwards scored a vic
tory, however by succeeding in having
eliminated from the bill the provision
making incurable insanity a ground for
divorce
motion offered by Herr Bebel Social
list, giving married women control over
their own property was rejected but
another Socialist amendment fixing
twentyone years as the limit of age
beyond which parental consent to mar
riage was not required was adopted
Prince Bismarck is of the opinion that
the Civil Code ought to have received
more mature consideration and as a pro-
test against the hurried manner in
which the bill was handled the ex-Chan-
cellor directed Count Herbert Bismarck,
his eldest son, to leave the house when
the first vote upon the measure was
taken in the Reichstag. This direc-
ton was obeyed and Count Herberts
demonstration in leaving the chamber
followed by ten Conservative Deputies,
created a momentary sensation.
Prince Hohenlohe's parliamentary
dinner, which was given by the Chan
cellor Tuesday evening, is still being
talked about as having been sparsely at
tended, in contrast to the ministerial
dinners given during the period of
Prince Bismarck's occupancy of the Of
flee of Imperial Chancellor, at which
the fate of parliamentary measures
We're wont to be decided. The presence
DR.. Stoecker eX-Court Chaplain, bear
ing very lightly his fall from court and
political party favor, was also noticed
and commented upon.
Another subject of comment upon the
occasion was the attendance of Baron
Riedel, Finance Minister of the King
dom of Bavaria, who is associated with
a project for the conversion of the I'm
perial securities, a fact which is very
remarkable in that the scheme has hith-
erto been strongly opposed by the Ba-
varian Government.
Prince HohenlOhe, in conversation at
the dinner, expressed his satisfaction
at the prospects for the passage of the
Civil Code measure. The Chancellor,
he viewer, could not be drawn into any
expression of opinion, or indeed any ref
erence whatever to the reported negO-
tiations on the part of Germany, Francs
and England upon the question of the