to rules approved by us.
Given under our autograph signature and royal seal.
FREDERICK WILLIAM.
Berlin, Feb. 3d, 1847.
ORDINANCE OF THE THIRD OF FEBRUARY, 1847, RESPECTING THE PERIODICAL
ASSEMBLING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED DIET AND ITS PRIVILEGES.
We, Frederick William, by the grace of God, King of Prussia, etc., after
having taken the opinion of our Ministers of State, make the following
Ordinance, in pursuance of our letters patent of this day, in the matters
of the affairs of the Diet, respecting the periodical assembling of the
Committee of the United Diet and its functions:—
Section 1.—The Committees of the Provincial Diets are to be convened
to form the Committee of the United Diet, according to the regulation
laid down by the Ordinances of June 21st, 1842. The former Princes of
the Empire in the province of Westphalia, as well as those in the Rhine
Province, are to be entitled to depute from amongst themselves two
members each to the Committee of the United Diet, who may participate
in its proceedings either in person or through plenipotentiaries from
the members of the Estate of Nobles of the United Diet. Besides this,
a Deputy is to proceed to the Committee of the United Diet from each
of the provinces of Prussia, Brandenburgh, Pomerania, and Posen, to be
elected by and from the members of the First Estate entitled to single
or collective votes. As regards the province of Pomerania, the Prince
of Putbus is to assume this post without election, so long as he
remains the only nobleman in the province possessed of the qualification
specified.
The election of the other members of the Committee is to take place at
the United Diet, in accordance with the Ordinances of the 21st of June,
1842, through the representatives of the several provinces; but in the
interval between one United Diet and another as hitherto, viz., at each
Provincial Diet.
Section 2.—The Committee of the United Diet will be convened by us as
often as a necessity arises therefor, but, at the farthest, four years
after the close of the last assembly of the same; or, if a United Diet
has been held in the mean time, within the same lapse of time after the
close of the latter.
We shall require, as a general rule, from the Committee of the United
Diet, requisite advice, according to the general law of the 5th of June,
1823, respecting the laws which have for their object alterations in
the rights of persons and property, or others than the alterations in
taxation designated in Section 9 of the Ordinance of this day, upon the
formation of the United Diet, if these laws concern the whole monarchy or
several provinces; and we hereby confer upon it the privilege of giving
such advice, with full legal effect. The regulation in Article 3, No. 2,
of the above-mentioned law is annulled by the present regulation.
As, however, we have already reserved to ourselves, in the Ordinance
concerning the formation of the United Diet, the right to acquire from it
opinions of the same kind, in appropriate cases, we will equally reserve
to ourselves the right to submit laws of the above-mentioned description
which concern the whole monarchy or several provinces, in exceptional
cases, for the opinion of the Provincial Diets, if this should appear
advisable for particular reasons—for example, for the sake of dispatch.
Section 4.—The Committee of the United Diet, as the representative of
the United Diet, is to attend to business relating to the State debts,
pointed out in our Ordinance of this day, on the formation of the United
Diet.
Section 5.—The right of petition appertains to the Committee of the
United Diet to the same extent as to the United Diet itself. Herefrom are
excepted, however, all proposals having alterations of the constitution
of the Diet in view.
Section 6.—Should we find ourselves induced to make communications
to the said Committee of the United Diet upon the State finances, the
regulations of the 11th Section of the Ordinance on the formation of the
United Diet are to come into full operation.
Section 7.—The conduct of business and the presidency of the Committee of
the United Diet is to be assumed by a Marshal, to be appointed by us, who
will be represented, in case of need, by a Vice-Marshal, to be similarly
appointed.
Section 8.—The Committee of the United Diet is to deliberate as an
undivided assembly. Its resolutions are, as a general rule, to be adopted
by a simple majority of votes.
Petitions and complaints are only to be laid before us if they have been
voted by at least two-thirds of the members.
If the Committee of the United Diet declares itself, on the deliberation
of a law, against the law, or some of the provisions of the same, by a
less majority than that above mentioned, the views of the minority are
also to be laid before us.
Section 9.—The Provincial Diets are to communicate to their several
Committees no instructions or proposals for the Committee of the United
Diet.
Section 10.—The regulations of the 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22d, and 23d
Sections of the Ordinance of this day, on the formation of the United
Diet, are also to come into full operation in the Committee of the United
Diet.
Given under our royal hand and seal, at Berlin, February 3d, 1847.
FREDERICK WILLIAM.
ORDINANCE FOR THE FORMATION OF A DEPUTATION OF THE DIET FOR THE AFFAIRS
OF THE STATE DEBTS.
We, Frederick William, etc., ordain as follows:—
1. In the execution of the co-operation proposed in the 6th Section of
the Ordinance of this day, relative to the formation of the United Diet,
in the contraction of State loans in times of war, and for the current
co-operation of the Diet in the reduction and extinction of the State
debt.
A deputation of the Diet shall be formed for the affairs of the State
debt.
2. This deputation to consist of eight members, of whom one is to be
chosen in each of the eight provinces, by the States of the province, for
a period of six years.
The election to take place at the United Diet, but in the interval
between one Diet and another, at the Provincial Diets, according to the
regulation relative to the proceedings in election of Diets of the 22d
June, 1842. The election must only fall on persons who are members of the
Diet in question. If one of the elected members loses the qualification
before the lapse of the sexennial period, he is also to secede from the
deputation. If, however, his secession is caused by his not having been
re-elected as a Deputy of the Diet, he is to remain a member of the
deputation till the next Diet.
To each member of the deputation two _locum tenentes_ are to be chosen,
of whom one is to replace him in case of emergency, as well as in the
event of a vacancy occurring in the interval between one Diet and
another. The choice of these _locum tenentes_ is to be made conformably
with the regulations respecting the actual members.
3. The members of the deputation are to be sworn to the fulfillment of
their duties in their summons.
Section 4.—To the province of the deputation appertain the following
duties, exclusively of the co-operation in the contraction of war loans
conferred by the six sections already mentioned.
1. The deputation is to take charge of the redeemed State debt documents,
according to the regulation of Article 14 of the Ordinance of 17th
January, 1820, and to effect their deposit in the Judicial Chamber.
2. It is to audit the annual accounts of the interest and extinction
of the State debts, after they have been previously revised by the
upper chamber of accounts, and to cause them to be presented to us for
our approval by the United Diet, or the Committee thereof, on its next
assembly, according to the 14th Article of the Ordinance of January 17th,
1820.
3. It is authorized to undertake extraordinary revisions of the fund for
the extinction of the State debts and the control of the State papers, on
the occasion of its meeting.
The deputation for the affairs of the State debt will regularly meet once
a year, and besides this, as often as occasion demands; the summons to be
made by the Minister of the Interior.
6. The deputation is to elect a President at each meeting, who must be
presented to the Minister of the Interior.
The presence of at least five members will be requisite to constitute a
valid act of the deputation.
Given under our hand, etc.,
FREDERICK WILLIAM.
Berlin, Feb. 3, 1847.
OPENING OF THE PRUSSIAN DIET.
THE KING’S SPEECH.
APRIL, 1847.
[King Frederick William IV., on opening the Diet, made the
following speech, of sufficient importance to be added here,
when the circumstances of the grant of the Constitution are
considered.]
Illustrious noble Princes, Counts, and Lords, my dear and trusty Orders
of Nobles, Burghers, and Commons, I bid you from the depth of my heart
welcome on the day of the fulfillment of a great work of my father,
resting in God, never to be forgotten, King William III., of glorious
memory.
The noble edifice of representative freedom, the eight mighty pillars
of which the King of blessed memory founded deep and unshakably in the
peculiar organization of his provinces, is to-day perfected in your
Assembly. It has received its protecting roof. The King wished to have
finished his work himself, but his views were shipwrecked in the utter
impracticability of the plans laid before him. Therefrom arose evils
which his clear eye detected with grief, and, before all, the uncertainty
which made many a noble soil susceptible of weeds. Let us bless, however,
to-day the conscientiousness of the true beloved King, who despised his
own earlier triumph in order to guard his folk from later ruin, and let
us honor his memory by not perilling the existence of his completed work
by the impatient haste of beginners.
I give up beforehand all co-operation thereto. Let us suffer time, and,
above all, experience, to have their way; and let us commit the work, as
is fitting, to the furthering and forming hands of Divine Providence.
Since the commencement of the operation of the Provincial Diets, I have
perceived the defects of individual portions of our representative life,
and proposed to myself conscientiously the grave question, how they were
to be remedied? My resolutions on this point have long since arrived
at maturity. Immediately on my accession I made the first step towards
realizing them by forming the Committees of the Provincial Diets, and by
calling them together soon after.
You are aware, Lords and Gentlemen, that I have now made the days for
the meeting of those Committees periodical, and that I have confided to
them the free working of the Provincial Diets. For the ordinary run of
affairs their deliberations will satisfactorily represent the desired
point of union. But the law of January 17th, 1820, respecting the State
debts, gives, in that portion of it not as yet carried out, rights and
privileges to the Orders which can be exercised neither by the Provincial
Assemblies nor by the Committees.
As the heir of an unweakened crown, which I must and will hand down
unweakened to my descendants, I know that I am perfectly free from all
and every pledge with respect to what has not been carried out, and,
above all, with respect to that from the execution of which his own true
paternal conscience preserved my illustrious predecessor. The law is,
however, carried out in all its essential parts; an edifice of justice
has been built upon it, oaths have been sworn on it, and it has, all
unfinished as it is, maintained itself as a wise law for seven-and-twenty
years. Therefore have I proceeded, with a cheerful heart indeed, but
with all the freedom of my kingly prerogative, to its final completion.
I am, however, the irreconcilable enemy of all arbitrary proceedings,
and must have been a foe, above all, to the idea of bringing together an
artificial arbitrary assembly of the Orders, which should deprive the
noble creation of the King, my dear father—I mean the Provincial Diets—of
their value. It has been, therefore, for many years my firm determination
only to form this Assembly, ordained by law, or by the fusion together
of the Provincial Diets. It is formed; I have recognized your claim to
all the rights flowing from that law; and, far beyond—yes, far beyond—all
the promises of the King of blessed memory, I have granted you, within
certain necessary limits, the right of granting taxes—a right, gentlemen,
the responsibility of which weighs far more heavily than the honor which
accompanies it. This august Assembly will now denote important periods in
the existence of our State, which are treated of in my patent of February
3d. As soon as those periods occur, I will assemble the Diets on each
separate occasion round my throne, in order to deliberate with them for
the welfare of my country, and to afford them an opportunity for the
exercise of their rights. I have, however, reserved the express right
of calling together these great Assemblies on extraordinary occasions,
when I deem it good and profitable; and I will do this willingly and at
more frequent intervals, if this Diet gives me proof that I may act thus
without prejudice to higher sovereign duties.
My trusty and free subjects have received all the laws which I and my
father have granted them for the protection of their highest interests,
and especially the laws of the 3d of February, with warm gratitude, and
woe to him who shall dare to dash their thankfulness with care, or to
turn it into ingratitude.
Every Prussian knows that for twenty-four years past all laws which
concern his freedom and property have been first discussed by the Orders,
but from this time forward let every one in my kingdom know that I, with
the sole necessary exception of the occurrence of the calamity of war,
will contract no State loan, levy no new taxes, nor increase existing
ones, without the free consent of all Orders.
Noble Lords and trusty Orders, I know that with these rights I intrust
a costly jewel of freedom to your hands, and that you will employ
it faithfully. But I know, as certainly, that many will mistake and
despise this jewel—that to many it is not enough. A portion of the
press, for instance, demands outright from me and my Government a
revolution in Church and State, and from you, gentlemen, acts of
importunate ingratitude, of illegality—nay, of disobedience. Many also,
and among them very worthy men, look for our safety in the conversion
of the natural relation between Prince and people into a conventional
existence, granted by charters and ratified by oaths.
May, however, the example of the one happy country, whose constitution
centuries and a hereditary wisdom without a parallel, but no sheets of
paper, have made, not be lost upon us, but find the respect which it
deserves. If other countries find their happiness in another way than
that people and ourselves, namely, in the way of “manufactured and
granted” constitutions, we must and will praise their happiness in an
upright and brotherly manner. We will, with the justest admiration,
consider the sublime example, when a strong will of iron consequence
and high intelligence succeeds in delaying, in mastering, and allaying
every crisis of serious importance; and above all, when this tends to
the welfare of Germany, and the maintenance of the peace of Europe. But
Prussia, gentlemen, Prussia can not bear such a state of things. Do you
ask why? I answer, cast your eyes at the map of Europe, at the position
of our country, at its component parts; follow the line of our borders,
weigh the power of our neighbors, throw before all an enlightened glance
on our history. It has pleased God to make Prussia strong by the sword of
war from without, and by the sword of intellect from within; not, surely,
by the negative intellect of the age, but by the spirit of moderation and
order. I speak out boldly, gentlemen. As in the camp, unless in cases
of the most urgent danger or grossest folly, the command can only be
rested in the will of one, so can the destinies of this country, unless
it is to fall instantly from its height, only be guided by one will; and
if the King of Prussia would commit an abomination, were he to demand
from his subjects the subserviency of a slave, so would he commit a far
greater abomination were he not to demand from them the crowning virtue
of freemen—I mean obedience for the sake of God and conscience. Whoever
is alarmed at the tenor of these words, him I refer to the development of
our laws for a century back, to the edicts of the Orders, and finally, to
this Assembly and its rights; there he may find consolation if he will.
Noble Lords and trusty Orders, I am forced to the solemn declaration,
that no power on earth will ever succeed in moving me to change the
natural—and, in our own case, so imperatively necessary—relation between
Prince and people, into something merely conventional or constitutional;
and that, once for all, I will never suffer a written sheet of paper to
force itself in, as it were a second providence, between our Lord God in
Heaven and this people, in order to rule us with its paragraphs, and to
replace by them our ancient and time-hallowed trusty reliance on each
other. Between us be truth. From _one_ weakness I feel myself entirely
free—I strive not for idle popular favor; who could do so if he has read
history aright? I strive alone to fulfill my duty, so as to satisfy my
understanding and my conscience, and to deserve the thanks of my people,
even though it be never my lot to obtain it.
Noble Lords and trusty Orders, it has often caused me care and impatience
during the first years of my reign, that I could not remove hinderances
which opposed an earlier convocation of your Assembly. I was wrong. On
both sides we should have been poorer by many experiences, poorer by
experiences in part of a costly nature; but all of them, if not always
good, yet for us of priceless worth. We have now lying open before us the
experiences of seven years, and, by God’s good pleasure, not in vain. The
working of parties on one side, and the temper of my people on the other,
are now clear and indubitable. It is a splendid privilege of the kingly
office, that it can on all occasions call things by their right names
without fear. I will do this to-day before you, as a duty which I have to
fulfill. I beg you now to follow me a moment, while with a sharp eye we
consider the state of things at home.
The dearth which has visited Europe of latter years, has also penetrated
to us, if with less severity than in other countries. It has, however,
found us well prepared, and I can give my Government the honorable
testimonial that it has honestly done its part towards alleviating the
calamity. There are, also, means further to resist it, if God spares us
from new failures in the crops. Here I must mention private benevolence,
which, in these times, has manifested itself anew so nobly, so
cheeringly; and I pay it here, before you, the tribute of my admiration
and my gratitude.
The extinction of the national debt is progressing. The taxes are
diminished, the finances are put in order. I have to-day the happiness
to offer the provinces, for the use of their treasuries, a donation of
2,000,000 rix-dollars.
The management of affairs, and the administration of justice, are with
us in a purer condition than almost in any other country; publicity is
established in our Courts; roads, canals, all kinds of improvements of
the land are proceeding to an extent before unknown; science and art are
in the most flourishing condition; the national prosperity is increasing;
trade and industry, if, alas! not protected against their European
vicissitudes, are comparatively satisfactory; paternal care and good-will
are certainly nowhere to be mistaken; the press is as free as the laws of
the Confederation permit; the freedom of confession is associated with
animating power to our old liberty of faith and conscience; and our just
pride and strong shield, my army of the line and militia, may be called
incomparable.
With our neighbors and with the Powers on this and the other side of the
ocean we stand on the best terms, and our relation to our allies, in
combination with whom we once freed Germany, and from the happy concord
of whom depends the maintenance of a thirty-two years’ peace in a great
part of Europe, is firmer and closer than ever.
I could add much which would be calculated to bend our knees in thanks
towards God, but this will suffice. For it is quite sufficient to
found this gratitude, and a state of contentment, which in an honest
comparison, in spite of many just wishes, appears quite natural.
Before all, one would think that the press must diffuse gratitude and
contentment on all sides, for I venture to say that it is the press
which, to a particular extent, owes me thanks. Noble Lords and faithful
States, I require your German hearts to grant me those thanks. While
recognizing the honorable endeavor to elevate the press by a noble and
conscientious spirit, it is yet unquestionable that in a portion of it a
dark spirit of destruction prevails, a spirit that entices to revolution,
and that deals in the most audacious falsehood, disgraceful to German
fidelity and Prussian honor. I know that the genuine sense of the people
remains firm, but we do not deceive ourselves as to the evil fruits of
the evil tree, which meet us in the shape of dissatisfaction and want of
confidence, attended by still worse facts, such as open disobedience,
secret conspiracy, a declared revolt from all which is sacred to good
men, and attempted regicide. Even in our churches are seen those fruits,
together with the twofold death in indifference and fanaticism. But
ecclesiastical matters do not belong to the States. They have their
legitimate organs in the two confessions. One confession of faith I am,
on this day, unable to suppress, bearing in mind the frightful attempt to
defraud my people of its holiest jewel—its faith in the Redeemer, Lord
and King of itself and of us all. This avowal is as follows. [Here his
majesty arose, and spoke the word standing, and with right hand uplifted]
“I and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
I turn my troubled glance from the aberrations of a few to the whole of
my people. Then does it grow bright with tears of joy; there, my lords,
amid all the heavy troubles of government, is my consolation. My people
is still the old Christian people—the honest, true, valiant people—which
has fought the battles of my fathers, and the honorable qualities of
which have only grown with the greatness and fame of their country,
which once, like no other, in the days of trouble, bound itself to its
paternal King, and bore him, as it were, upon its shoulders from victory
to victory,—a people, my lords, often tempted by the arts of seduction,
but always found proof against them. Even out of the strongest of these
trials it will come forth pure. Already is the impious sport with
Christianity, the abuse of religion as a means of distinction, recognized
in its true form as sacrilege, and is dying away. My firm reliance upon
the fidelity of my people, as the surest means of extinguishing the
conflagration, has been ever nobly rewarded both by the older and the
younger sons of our Prussian country, even where another language than
ours is spoken.
Therefore, hear this well, Lords and faithful States, and may all the
country hear it through you. From all the indignities to which I and my
Government have been exposed for some years, I appeal to my people! From
all evils which perhaps are still in reserve for me, I appeal beforehand
to my people! My people knows my heart, my faith and love to it, and
adheres in love and faith to me. My people does not wish the association
of representatives in the Government, the weakening of rank, the division
of sovereignty, the breaking up of the authority of its kings, who have
founded its history, its freedom, its prosperity, and who alone can
protect its dearest acquisitions, and will protect them, God willing, as
heretofore.
Know, my lords, I do not read the feelings of my people in the green
arches and huzzahs of festivity; still less in the praise and blame of
the press, or in the doubtful, sometimes criminal, demands of certain
addresses which are sent to the Throne, and States, or elsewhere. I have
read them with my own eyes in the touching thanks of men for benefits
scarcely promised, scarcely begun; here, where broad districts of land
stood under water; there, where men scarcely recovered from hunger. In
their grateful joy, in their wet eyes, did I read their feelings three
years ago, when the lives of myself and the Queen were so wonderfully
preserved. This is truth—and in my words is truth, when I say, that it is
a noble people; and I feel entirely the happiness of presiding over such
a people. And your hearts will understand me and accord with me, when in
this great hour I urgently call upon you—“Be worthy of this people!”
Illustrious Princes, Counts, and Lords, you will have recognized in
the position assigned to you by law in this United Diet, my intention
that that position should be a dignified one, at once answering to the
conception of a German order of nobles, and also beneficial to the whole
community. I rely upon your deeply feeling at this hour, and in these
times, what is meant by being the first of a nation, and also what is
required at your hands. You will repay my confidence.
You, my Lords of the nobility, and my faithful Burghers and Commons,
are, I am firmly persuaded, impressed with this truth, that on this day,
and in this hour, you are the first of your respective Orders; but,
therefore, also the protectors of your ancient renown. Look at this
throne! Your fathers and mine—many princes of your race, and of mine,
and myself—have fought for the preservation, the deliverance, and the
honor of that throne, and for the existence of our native land. God was
with us! There is now a new battle to be fought on behalf of the same
glorious possessions—a peaceful one, indeed, but its combats are not
a whit less important than those of the field of war. And God will be
with us yet again, for the battle is against the evil tendencies of the
age. Your unanimity with me, the prompt expression of your wish to aid
me in improving the domain of rights (that true field for the labor of
kings), will make this Diet a pitched battle gained against every evil
and lawless influence that troubles and dishonors Germany; and the work
will be to your renown and that of the country, and the contentment and
satisfaction of the people.
Representatives of the Nobles, be now and for the future, as of old, the
first to follow the banner of the Hohenzollerns, that for three centuries
has led you on to honor. And you, Burghers, give to the whole world a
living testimony that the intelligence—the great mass of which you are
proud to represent—is, among us, that right and true one which ennobles
by the development of religion and morality, and by the love of your King
and country. And you, representatives of the Commons, you and your Order
are never the last when your country and your King call on you, whether
it be in peace or in war. Hear the voice of your King, that tells you
they require you again!
In my kingdom, neither of the three Orders ranks above or beneath the
other. They stand beside each other on an equality of rights and honor,
but each within its limits, each with its own province. This is a
practicable and reasonable equality. This is freedom.
Noble Lords and trusty Orders, a word more on the question—yes, the
question of existence between the Throne and the different Orders. The
late King, after mature consideration, called them into existence,
according to the German and historical idea of them; and in this idea
alone have I continued his work. Impress yourselves, I entreat you, with
the spirit of this definition. You are German Orders, in the anciently
received sense of the word—that is, you are truly, and before all,
“representatives and defenders of your own rights,” the rights of those
Orders whose confidence has sent here the far greater portion of this
Assembly. But after that you are to exercise those rights which the Crown
has recognized as yours; you have, further, conscientiously to give the
Crown that advice it requires of you. Finally, you are free to bring
petitions and complaints, after mature deliberation, to the foot of the
throne.
Those are the rights, those the duties, of German Orders; this is your
glorious vocation. But it is not your province to represent opinions,
or bring opinions of the day, or of this or that school, into practical
operation. That is wholly un-German, and, besides, completely useless
for the good of the community, for it would lead necessarily to
inextricable embarrassments with the Crown, which must govern according
to the law of God and the land, and its own free, unbiased resolution,
but which can not and dares not govern according to the will of the
majority, if “Prussia” would not soon become an empty sound in Europe.
Clearly recognizing my office and your vocation, and firmly resolved
to treat that recognition faithfully under all circumstances, I have
appeared among you, and addressed you with royal freedom. With the same
openness, and as the highest proof of my confidence in you, I here
give you my royal word that I should not have called you together had
I had the smallest suspicion that you would otherwise understand your
duties, or that you had any desire to play the part of what are called
representatives of the people. I should not have called you together
for that purpose, because, according to my deepest and most heartfelt
conviction, the Throne and State would be endangered by it, and because
I recognize it as my first duty, under all circumstances and events, to
preserve the Throne, the State, and my Government, as they at present
exist. I remember the axiom of a royal friend, “Confidence awakens
confidence.” That is this day my brightest hope. That my confidence
in you is great, I have proved by my words, and sealed by my act. And
from you, gentlemen, I expect a proof of confidence in return, and
an answer in the same manner—by your acts. God is my witness, I have
summoned you as your truest, best, and most faithful friend; and I firmly
believe that, among the hundreds before me, there is not one who is not
resolved, at this moment, to preserve that friendship. Many of you were
at Königsberg on the 10th of September, 1840; and I can even now hear
the thunder of your voices as you pronounced the oath of fidelity, that
then penetrated my soul. Many of you, on the day on which I received
the homage of my hereditary estates, joined with thousands in the still
echoing “Yes!” with which you replied to my demand whether you would, “in
word and deed, in heart and spirit, in truth and love, help and assist
me to preserve Prussia as it is, and as it must remain, if it would not
perish: that you would not let or hinder me in the path of considerate
but vigorous progress, but endure with me through good days and through
evil.” Now redeem your word—now fulfill that vow!
You can do it by the exercise of one of your most important
duties—namely, by choosing from among you faithful and upright friends
of the Throne and of our good purpose for your Committees—men who have
comprehended that at this time it is the first duty of the Orders
to encourage and support the good disposition and fidelity of the
country by their own example, and, on the contrary, to strike down and
discountenance every kind of many-headed faithlessness—men who, enemies
of every kind of slavery, are, above all, enemies of that shameful
yoke which a misguiding opinion (branding the name of freedom of
thought) would lay upon your necks. This selection is a very critical
act—one pregnant with consequences. Weigh it in your hearts, and choose
conscientiously.
Remember, also, that the day of uncertainty as to the form which the
activity of the Orders is to take is passed. Many things, which, under
this uncertainty, forbearance could excuse, have henceforth no excuse
remaining. The 3d of February of this year, like the 3d of February,
1818, has opened to the real children of our fatherland that path they
have now to pursue: and the same unspeakable happiness which then fell
to the lot of my glorious father is now also mine—mine in this moment. I
speak, as he did, to the hearts of German-of Prussian men!
Go, then, illustrious Princes, Counts, and Lords—dear and faithful Orders
of Nobles, Burghers, and Commons—proceed, with God’s help to your task.
You will, I am certain, in this moment, when all Europe is gazing on you,
and through all the future labors of the Diet, prove yourselves true
Prussians; and that one thing, believe me, will not be absent—namely,
God’s blessing, on which all things depend. Out of our unanimity it will
descend on the present and future generations, and, I hope, on all our
glorious German fatherland, in one broad stream, beside which we may
dwell in peace and safety, as by the shores of the blessing-bringing
rivers that water the earth. And now, once more, and out of the fullness
of my heart,—welcome!
APPENDIX C.
(Page 394.)
ICH BIN EIN PREUSSE!
Ich bin ein Preusse, kennt ihr meine Farben?
Die Fahne schwebt mir weiss und schwarz voran;
Dass für die Freiheit meine Vater starben,
Das deuten, merkt es, meine Farben an;
Nie werd’ ich bang verzagen; wie jene will ich’s wagen;
Sei’s trüber Tag, sei’s heitrer Sonnenschein:
Ich bin ein Preusse, will ein Preusse sein!
Mit Lieb’ und Treue nah’ ich mich dem Throne,
Von welchem mild zu mir ein Vater spricht;
Und wie der Vater treu mit seinem Sohne,
So steh’ ich treu mit ihm und wanke nicht.
Fest sind der Liebe Bande: Heil meinem Vaterlande!
Des König’s Ruf dringt in das Herz mir ein;
Ich bin ein Preusse, will ein Preusse sein!
Nicht jeder Tag kann glühn im Sonnenlichte,
Ein Wölkchen und ein Schauer kommt zur Zeit;
Drum lese Keiner mir es im Gesichte
Dass nicht der Wünsche jeder mir gedeiht.
Wohl tauschten nah’ und ferne mit mir gar Viele gerne.
Ihr Glück ist Trug, und ihre Freiheit Schein;
Ich bin ein Preusse, will ein Preusse sein!
Und wenn der böse Sturm mich einst umsauset,
Die Nacht entbrennet in des Blitzes Gluth;
Hat’s doch schon ärger in der Welt gebrauset,
Und was nicht bebte, war des Preussen Muth.
Mag Fels und Eiche splittern, ich werde nicht erzittern;
Es stürm und krach; es blitze wild darein!
Ich bin ein Preusse, will ein Preusse sein!
Wo Lieb’ und Treu’ sich so dem König weihen,
Wo Fürst und Volk sich reichen so die Hand:
Da muss des Volkes wahres Glück gedeihen,
Da blüht und wächst das schöne Vaterland.
So schwören wir auf’s Neue dem König Lieb und Treue!
Fest sei der Bund! Ja, schlaget muthig ein!
Wir sind ja Preussen, lasst uns Preussen sein!
THIERSCH.
This noble song, perhaps, emphatically—but rather in the sense of
England’s “Rule Britannia” than its “God save the Queen”—may be regarded
as the national anthem of the Prussians. The air to which it is sung is
wild and martial; derived undoubtedly from an ancient Polish hymn, to
which it bears a striking affinity, and of which it may be regarded as a
musical synonym. The present editor offers a version which is tolerably
close, although he can not hope to preserve the actual tone of the
original author.
I AM A PRUSSIAN.
I am a Prussian! see my colors gleaming—
The black-white standard floats before me free;
For Freedom’s rights, my fathers’ heart-blood streaming,
Such, mark ye, mean the black and white to me!
Shall I then prove a coward? I’ll e’er be to the toward!
Though day be dull, though sun shine bright on me,
I am a Prussian, will a Prussian be!
Before the throne with love and faith I’m bending,
Whence, mildly good, I hear a parent’s tone;
With filial heart, obedient ear I’m lending—
The father trusts—the son defends the throne!
Affection’s ties are stronger—live, O my country, longer!
The King’s high call o’erflows my breast so free,
I am a Prussian, will a Prussian be!
Not every day hath sunny light of glory;
A cloud, a shower, sometimes dulls the lea;
Let none believe my face can tell the story,
That every wish unfruitful is to me.
How many far and nearer, would think exchange much dearer?
Their Freedom’s naught—how then compare with me?
I am a Prussian, will a Prussian be!
And if the angry elements exploding,
The lightnings flash, the thunders louder roar,
Hath not the world oft witnessed such foreboding?
No Prussian’s courage can be tested more.
Should rock and oak be riven, to terror I’m not driven;
Be storm and din, let flashes gleam so free—
I am a Prussian, will a Prussian be!
Where love and faith so round the monarch cluster,
Where Prince and People so clasp firm their hands,
’Tis there alone true happiness can muster,
Thus showing clear how firm the nation’s bands.
Again confirm the fealty! the honest noble lealty!
Be strong the bond, strike hands, dear hearts, with me,
Is not this Prussia? Let us Prussians be!
KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE.
INDEX.
A.
Aberg, 363.
Aich, 363.
Alben, Frederick William von der, 59.
Alten, Plotho, mansion of, 77.
Alvensleben, Armengard von, wife of George II. von Bismarck, 48.
——, family of, 32, _n._, 40.
——, Sabine von, Henning II. von Bismarck’s wife, 47.
——, Sophie von, wife of Ludolf IV. von Bismarck, 58.
Amsterdam, 247.
André, 201.
Anna, Empress of Russia, 60.
Archangelski, 290, 291.
Armorial bearings of the Bismarcks, 68-76.
Arnim, Frau von; marries Oscar von Arnim, 136.
——, Boytzenburg, Count, 131, 192.
——, E. F. A. H. C. Oscar von, 103, 120;
letter to, 304, 305.
Asseburg, Bertha von der, wife of Valentine von Bismarck, 58.
——, the family of, 58, _n._
——, Joh. Marg. von der, wife of Lud. Aug. von Bismarck, 59.
——, Louise Marg., wife of Fred. Chris, von B., 59.
Auerswald, Rudolf von, 192.
Augusta Amalia, Princess von Nassau-Usingen, 61.
Augustenburg, Duke of, 245.
B.
Bamberger, L., an historian, 423.
Bardeleben, Von, wife of Valentine Basso von Bismarck, 58, 59.
Bartenslebens, the von, 40.
Bayonne, 321.
Becker, Professor, 224.
Beckerath, 167.
Below, Alexander von, 283.
Beust, Count, 382.
Beutner, Dr. Theodor, 147.
Biarritz, 324-356.
Biron, E. J. von, Duke of Courland, 60, _n._
Bischofswerder, General J. R. von, 102.
Bismarck, Abraham von, 57.
——, Albertine Louise von, 59.
——, Anna Ottilie von, 57.
——, Alex. Fred. Ferd. von, 103.
——, August von, 58.
——, August Fred. von, 61, 62, 103.
——, Bernhard von, 103.
——, on the Biese, 31, 32.
——, Busso von, 48.
——, Charles Alexander von, 62.
——, Charles William Ferdinand von, 67;
born, 101;
character of, 108.
——, Christian von, 37.
——, Claus von, 35-46.
——, Claus II. von, 46.
——, Claus III. von, 46.
——, Claus IV. von, 48.
——, Dietrich von, 48.
——, Ernst Frederick Alexander von, 66.
——, Francis von, 103.
——, Franziska Angelika Malwina. _See_ Arnim.
——, Frederick von, 48.
——, Frederick von, Count, 67.
——, Frederick Christopher von, General, 59.
——, Frederick William, Count, General, 60.
——, Frederick Adolf Ludwig von, 67.
——, George von, 48.
——, George II. von, 48.
——, Günther von, 48.
——, Heidrich von, 47.
——, Henning von, 46.
——, Henning II. von, 48.
——, Henning III. von, 48.
——, Henry von, 48, 57.
——, Joachim von, 48.
——, Jobst von, 48.
——, John von, 37.
——, Laurence von, 48.
——, Levin von, 48.
——, Louise Johanne von, 103.
——, Louse, a tower, 31.
——, Ludolf von, 47.
——, Ludolf II. von, 48.
——, Ludolf III. von, 48.
——, Ludolf IV. von, 58.
——, Ludolf August von, 59.
——, Mary Elizabeth Johanna von, 150.
——, Nicolas Ferdinand Herbert von, 151.
——, Otto Edward Leopold, Count von, born, 103;
enters the Plamann Institute, 107;
passes to the Gymnasium, 107;
resides at Berlin, 107;
ambition of his mother, 108;
letter to his sister, 109-111;
confirmation of, 111;
at the Gymnasium, Zum Grauen Kloster, 111;
holiday-time, 113;
passes to Dr. Bonnell, 115-117;
his teachers, 115, 116;
education of, 116;
falls from his horse, 118;
returns to Kniephof, 119, 120;
appearance and early habits, 120;
friends, 120;
proverb of Bismarck, 121;
enters at Göttingen, 123;
duels, 124-127;
studies but lightly at Berlin, 128;
sworn Examiner, 128;
goes to Court, 129;
introduced to Prince, afterwards King, William, 129;
in society, 130;
goes into Administrative Department, 131;
at Aachen, 131;
at Potsdam, 132;
joins the Jäger Guards, 132;
at Greifswald, 132;
administers the family estates, 132;
Deputy to the Circle, 133;
life at Kniephof, 133-135;
travels, 135;
betrothal of his sister, 136;
division of the property, 136;
elected Dyke Captain, 136;
letters to his sister, 137-144;
saves his servant’s life, 145;
enters the 4th Uhlans, 145;
falls in love, 148;
marriage, 149;
meets Frederick William IV., 149;
settles at Schönhausen, 150;
birth of his daughter Marie, 150;
his children, 150, 151;
his policy, 157-164;
Representative in the United Diet, 166;
his first speech, 168-170;
on the Periodicity Debate, 171-174;
on the Jews’ Debate, 174-177;
retirement, 178;
the February Revolution, 181;
the March days, 182;
opening of the Diet, 183;
speech on the Address, 184, 185;
foundation of the Kreuzzeitung, 187;
on organization of labor, 187-190;
at Stolpe, 191;
elected Member of the Second Chamber, 191;
opposes the amnesty, 193;
opposes the Frankfurt Imperial Constitution, 194;
opposes the Triple Alliance, 195-197;
opposes taxation by the Diet, 198;
opinions on England, 198;
winters in Berlin, 200;
birth and baptism of his second child, 200;
as a paragraphist, 203;
returns to Schönhausen, 204;
at Erfurt, 204;
speech there, 204, 205;
letters to his sister, 206-209;
journey to Külz, defends the treaty of Olmütz, 211;
defends the Prussian nobility, 211;
Ambassador to Frankfurt, 217;
interview with Frederick William IV., 219;
visit of the Prince of Prussia to Frankfurt, 222;
Society at Frankfurt, 224;
negotiations with Austria, 227;
dinner to the Emperor of Austria, 232;
Halle, 233;
at Vienna, 235;
at Ofen, 236;
at Szolnok, 241;
at Pesth, 243;
at Vienna, 245;
at Blankenburg, 245;
negotiations for the Duke of Augustenburg, 245;
journey to Italy, 246;
at Ostend, 246;
at Brussels, 246;
at Amsterdam, 247;
at Norderney, 248;
at Paris, 249;
at Reinfeld and Frankfurt, 250;
at Paris, 252;
conference with Napoleon, 253;
at Copenhagen, 253;
at Räsbyholm, 253;
at Tomsjönas, 254;
at Königsberg, 256;
at Frankfurt, 257;
on the Zollverein, 258, 259;
at St. Petersburg, 262;
at Hohendorf, 270;
at Stolpmünde, 274;
at Berlin, 275;
Ambassador to Russia, 280;
illness, 281;
return to Petersburg, 283;
at Baden-Baden, 285;
personal appearance in 1861, 286;
at Pskow, 286;
at Moscow, 289;
at Peterhof, 292;
at Petersburg, 294;
at Berlin, 295;
journey through Russia, 296-298;
at Peterhof, 298, 299;
at Zarskoe-Selo, 299-301;
at Petersburg, 301-309;
Ambassador at Paris, 313;
at Berlin, 313-315;
at Paris, 315-318;
received by the Emperor, 316;
goes to London, 318;
at Trouville, 320;
at Bordeaux, 320, 321;
Bayonne, 321;
at San Sebastian, 322;
at Biarritz, 324;
at Luchon, 326;
at Toulouse, 327;
appointed Minister-President, 331-337;
Policy as Premier, 334;
farewell audience with Napoleon III., 342;
conference with Count Karolyi, 344-348;
cession of the Duchies, 357;
raised to the rank of Count, 360;
the great year 1866, 382;
shot at by Kohn-Blind, 389;
war with Austria, 393;
battle of Sadowa, 400;
peace, 406;
goes to Varzin, 427;
falls from his horse, 428;
visits Holstein, 429;
gives a ball, 431;
his house, 441;
his country estate, 448.
——, Pantaleon von, 48.
——, Pantaleon II. von, 58.
——, Lieut. Philip von, 106.
——, Philip Ludwig Leopold Frederick, 67.
——, Rulo von, 46.
——, Rulo von, founder of the family, 36.
——, Rulo II. von, 37.
——, Ruloff von, 47.
——, Schierstein, 67.
——, Theodore Alexander Frederick Philip von, 66, 129.
——, Valentine von, 58.
——, Valentine Busso von, 58.
——, William Otto Albert, 151.
Bismarcks, armorial bearings of the, 68-76.
——, origin of the family of, 32-35.
Blanckenburgs, the family of, 106.
Blanckenburg, Moritz von, 106, 120, 147.
——, Frau von, 147.
Blome, Count, 379.
Bodelschwingh, Velemede von, 183.
Boetzow, castle of, 47, 48.
Bohlen-Bismarck, _see_ Bismarck, Theodore Alex. Fred. Philip von.
Bonnell, Dr., Director, 111, 357, 412.
Bordeaux, 320.
Brandenburg’s, Count of, statue, 313.
Brauchitsch, Lieut. von, 166.
Bredow, Lippold von, 45.
——, Ottilien von, 48.
Brussels, 246.
Bülow of Hoffelde, 134.
Buol-Schauenstein, Count, 227.
Burgstall, castle of, 40, 46.
C.
Camphausen, Ludolf, 167, 183.
Chambord, castle of, 320.
Charles IV., Emperor, 42, 46, 78.
Chotusitz, battle of, 61.
Copenhagen, 253.
Corvinus, King Matthew, 238.
Crevese, abbey of, 54.
Croy, Prince von, 284.
Croze, La, the librarian, 186.
D.
Denmark, 245.
D’Esters, 192.
Dewitz, the family of, 103.
——, Hans von, 120, 134.
——, Stephanie, wife to August Fred. von Bismarck, 62, 103.
Doeberitz, Hedwig von, wife of Ludolf III. von Bismarck, 48.
E.
Erkert, Colonel von, 284.
Eisendecher, Von, 224.
Elizabeth of Denmark, wife of Joachim Nestor, 79.
Engelsmünster, barony of, 78.
Esterhazyweg, 363.
F.
Fischbeck, village of, 78.
Frankfurt-on-the-Maine, 217.
Fransecky, General von, 79.
Frederick von Nürnberg, Burgrave, 47, 51.
——, Charles, Prince, 354.
——, William IV. issues the February Patent, 165;
and the Stag, 200;
interview with Bismarck, 218.
Fritsch, Von, 224.
Foerster, F., a liberal, 183.
Fuent-Arabia, 322.
Fürstenwald, Treaty of, 45.
G.
Gallot, a teacher, 107.
Gänse of Putlitz, the, 77.
Gastein, Treaty of, 349.
Genthin, 77.
Gerswalde, 209.
Gertrude, legend of, 70-72.
Gleissenthaler, Wolff, General, 58.
Gortschakoff, Prince, 284, 332.
Grabow, 192.
Greifswald, city of, 132.
Guizot, aphorism of, 158.
H.
Hagens, M., 107.
Halle, 233.
Hammer, 363.
Hatzfeld, Count, 249.
Havelberg, the Bishop of, 32, 82.
Helena, Grand-duchess, of Russia, 284.
Hentzi, General, 240.
Herzberg, Minister, Count, 102.
Hohenthal, P. H. von, 103.
Holzendorff, family of, 47, _n._
——, Werner von, 47.
Humboldt, Alexander von, anecdote of, 182, _n._
I, J.
Insterburg, 287.
Jagows, the family of, 40.
Jänsch, Herr, Deputy, 189.
Jarchelin, estate of, 103.
Jerichow, town of, 78.
Joachim I., Elector, 48, 52, 79.
——, Hector, 52.
——, the violinist, 380.
John Cicero, Elector, 52.
John George, Electoral Prince, 52.
Junker, rank of, 34.
K.
Karolyi, Count, 344-348.
Katte, the family of, 81.
——, John Hermann von, 81.
——, Dor. Elizabeth, 58.
——, Dor. Sophie, 61.
Kattenwinkel, the, 81.
——, Ilse von der, 48.
Kayserlingk, Count, of Courland, 121, 128, 284.
Kehrwiederweg, 363.
Kerl, Finanzrath, 123.
Kessel, the family of, 129.
——, Helene von, 131.
Ketskemet, 242.
Keudell, Count von, 393.
Knesebecks, the Von, 40, _n._
Kniephof, estate of, 103;
description of, 133.
Kogelwiet, Dietrich, 41-44.
Kohn-Blind, shoots at Bismarck, 389.
Königsberg, 256.
Kottwitz, Helene Elizabeth von, 58.
Krause, Deputy, 177.
Krug, M., a merchant, 220.
Külz, the estate of, 103.
L.
Lauenstein, a pastor, 121.
Lazienki, 296-298.
Letzlingen, a hunting estate, 52, 55, 245.
Lichnowsky, Felix, Prince, 184.
Lindau, Albert von, 45.
Loën, General von, 284.
London, 318.
Lucca, Pauline, 361, 362.
Luchon, 326.
Lucchesini, Girolamo, Marquis, 158, _n._
Ludwig, Marquis of Brandenburg, 37.
Lynar, Count, 220.
M.
Malet, Sir Alexander, 224.
Manteuffel, Von, 167, 190, 192;
made minister, 209;
goes to Olmütz, 209.
Menken, Anastatius Ludwig, 101, 102.
——, Louise Wilhelmina, 101.
Metternich, Prince, 227, 278.
Mevissen, 167.
Milde, a deputy, 185.
Miltitz, Louise von, 66.
Moerner, Otto von, 45.
Möllendorff, the family of, 59, _n._
——, Frederica Soph., 58.
Motley, Lothrop, 121, 128.
Moltke, General von, 393.
Moscow, description of, 289, 290.
N.
Napoleon III., 253;
receives Bismarck, 316, 342.
Natzmer, Gneomar D., 59.
Neiendorff, Ludwig von, 42.
Netzlingen, a hunting-box, 52.
Neumann, Trine, 107.
Nicolsburg, 405.
Nolde, Baron, 284.
Norderney, a bathing-place, 248.
O.
Oertzen, Von, 224.
Ofen, 236.
Oldekop of Hanover, 121.
Olga, Archduchess of Russia, 230.
Olmütz, Treaty of, 209.
Oppermann, 205.
Oranienburg, formerly Boetzow, 47.
Osten, Prokesch von, 223.
Ostend, 246.
Osterburg, the Count of, 32.
P.
Parey, on the Elbe, 77.
Paris, Bismarck Ambassador at, 310-313.
Pesth, 236.
Peterhof, description of, 292-294, 299.
Petersburg, 262, 287, 294, 301-304, 305-309.
Pfordten, Von der, 359.
Plamann, the Institute, 107.
Plehwe, Lieut.-Col. von, 146.
Plotho, the family of, 77.
Portitz, Dietrich von, 41-44.
Pskow, 286.
Putkammer, Henry E. J., 149.
——, Johanna, von, Countess Bismarck, makes acquaintance with Otto von
Bismarck, 148;
marries, 149;
arrives at Frankfurt, 223;
nurses her husband, 281.
——, Luitgarde von, 149.
Q.
Quitzow, Dietrich von, 47, 170.
——, family of, 47, _n._
R.
Radden, Frau von, _see_ Lucca, Pauline.
Radetzky, Marshal, 276.
Radowitz, 195, 209.
Räsbyholm, 253.
Rauch, General von, 197.
Redekin, village of, 78.
Reinfeld, 250;
description of, 282;
Bismarck at, 304, 305.
Retzow, Von Kleist, 201.
Riedel, erroneous view of, 33.
Rochow, General von, 220-223, 229.
Roman, André von, letter to, 361, 362.
Roon, General von, 147, 332, 333, 339.
S.
Sadowa, battle of, 400.
San Sebastian, 322.
Saucken, Von, 167.
Savigny, Von, 201, 221.
Schadewachts, the family of, 34.
Schele, Von, 226.
Schenck, Anna von, 57, 58.
——, Von Lützendorf Emerentia, 48.
——, Herr von, 130.
——, William von, 120.
Scherff, Von, 224.
Schierstaedt, Meinecke von, 43.
Schierstein, Bismarck, Count of, _see_ Bismarck, 67.
Schlabrendorf, John von, 82.
Schmidt, Adolf, historian, 186.
Schönfeld, Christine Charlotte Gottliebe, 62-66.
Schönhausen, 55-83;
Mansion of, 84-96.
Schulenburg, Dietrich von der, 45.
——, Anna von der, 58.
——, Fritz von der, 57.
Schulenburgs, the family of, 40.
Schwarzenberg, Prince, 227, 387.
Schwerin, J. U. F. von, 104.
Senfft von Pilsach, Baron, 135.
Siegobodo, Bishop, 83.
Sigismund, Margrave and Archbishop, 53.
Skianiawicze, 298.
Solms-Hohen-Solms-Lich, Prince, 183.
Sprengels of Halberstadt, the, 32.
Stahl, Dr., 206.
Stendal, town of, 31.
Stolberg-Wernigerode, Theodor von, 220.
Stolpe, on the Baltic, 190, 273.
Szolnok, 241.
T.
Tangermünde, kaiser-house of, 78.
Temmes, 192.
Templar, the Knights, 93.
Thadden, Von Trieglaff, 167, 171.
Thun-Hohenstein, Count von, 219, 223, 348.
Tomsjönas, 254.
Toulouse, 327.
Tresckow, Frederica Charlotte von, 62.
Treyden, Trotte von, 60.
Trouville, 320.
V.
Varzin, 106;
description of, 448.
_Vaticinium Lehninense_, 187.
Victoria, Queen, 380.
Vienna, 235.
Vilbort, M. de, 408, 414-421.
Vincke, Von, 167, 192.
W.
Waldemar the Pretender, 41.
Wedell, Von, 167.
Wenckstern, Anna von, 48.
Wentzel, Otto, 220.
Werder, General von, 394.
William I., 223, 332.
Winckelmann, Dr., 107.
Winkler, Rev. Adam, 83.
Wirballen, 287.
Y.
Yxkull, Count, 284.
Z.
Zarskoe-Selo, 294, 299.
Zechlin, Treaty of, 52.
Zimmerhausen, the estate of, 106.
Zinzendorf, Count, 59.