The age-herald., 1900-03-05
REICHSTAG HAD
 A BUSY WEEK Before Rows of Almost Empty
 Seats THE MEAT BILL THURSDAY
One Paper Thinks the Government Will Not Indorse the Law and Tie Its Hands Regarding Commer-
 cial Relations

| were transacted during the week in the
 reichstag before almost empty benches. | Fridays opening session saw precisely | twenty delegates in attendance. Herr Eu- | gene Richter in the Freissinnig Zeitung holds that the fact that members of the l reichstag receive no remuneration In any l form for their services is responsible for | this state of affairs. Certainly in the Prus- l sian and other German state diets, where | liberal compensation is paid, there never | is such a scarcity of delegates. The conse- | quence was that Herr Richter and other
 reichstagers repeatedly during the week
 compelled the reichstag majority to do their
 bidding on the threat of ascertaining
 whether a quorum was present, quorum i in the rechstag meaning one-half of the | delegates
 The foreign office budget being taken up,
 a variety of matters came up for discus | sion, even the query to why the Prussian | government gave PIussian decoration to
 German officer. However, Count Won
 Buelow, minister of foreign affairs, made
 good showing and got his salary voted.
 The chances of the naval bill have grown | rather worse lately. Both the centere, the | conservatives and the agrarians are de- 1 manding compensauons for their vote, the l former asking for the recall of the Jesuits | and the latter demanding meat law to | suit their convenience and guarantees from | the government that agrarian interests Will | not be neglected in the projected commer- | ciaI treaties there will, evidetly be hard l pull to get the bill through, though there | is every indication that the popular senti-
 ment among the electors is rising for the | naval increase. One such indication was In | the reichstag by election in the Caloe- | Aschrsteben district where the national lfb- | eral candidate wrested a seat formerly held
 by the socialists, evidently under strong | fleet issue.
 The Programme for Reichstag
 The program fixed for the reichstag is as 1 follows:
 Thursday is fixed for the second reading | of the meat bill; then the currency bill, | and the final reading of the Lexheinze, | against which there is strong opposition | by artists and writers. Later there will be | the final reading of the meat bill and some | other measures of less importance, thus l carrying the sessions to the Eastertide ad- | journment. To carry the meat bill the | right side of the center will summon all | Its defaulting members during the coming | week to the reichstag.
 The National Zeitung, speaking about | the meat bill today, expresses the belief | that the government will not approve the | bill now constituted, and thus tie its l hands regarding the coming commercial l treaties, not only with the United States.
 but also with Russia, Scandinavia, Hol- land, etc. It says:
 "A general tariff war would be the re-
 suit if the bill became law, all to appease
 the unsuitable agrarians. The total pro- l portions of meat imports after the new l year of 1904 would be tantamount to meat usury. The Prussian diet this week con- l sidered the railroad budget. It was plain | ly shown that the Prussian state railway system is fearfully behind in comfort and l the latest improvements, all because of 1 fear of diminishing the annual surplus. Sympathy for Boers Continues | The South African war continues to hold l the attention of the public here. While sympathy for the Boers continues, respect | for the British has risen under their latest successes. Lieutenant-GeneralB Berher, in | the Lokal Anzeiger, today says the we'll | planned action of Lord Roberts has | brought about total change at the seat | of war, change such as a layman would not nave thought. The writer concludes | that the war for the Boers is now hope l less, for they lack that which alone could | have given their victories a permanent | value-that is to say the capacity of fruit l flying victory by pursuing the enemy to | the point of annihilation.
 | Prince Henry intends paying visit of some length to his grandmother, Queen | Victoria, in England but before so doing | he will stay with his family at Kreuznach | and drink the waters.
 | Persons who have had occasion lately to 1 converse with Prince Hohenlohe describe | him as being extremely feeble even to the extent of senility. Viscount Cough, secre-
 tary of the British embassy, informed the 1 correspondent of the Associated Press 1 that the embassy knew about Emperor | William having sent congra ratulations to | Queen Victoria on- the occasion of the lat | est British successes. This is confirmed | in court circles here. MID IJDOCOMP,C EIJNEDAT