and consequently without bread. They did not know the cause of their misfortunes, or the means of remedying them; but they did know that they no longer saw numerous waggons and ships conveying their manufactures to distant countries; they did know, from the reports of some who had been in other countries, that in England, France, and Prussia, not an ell of cotton manufactured in Flanders, or any other produce of Belgian manufacture was to be seen; while

they saw, with their own eyes, that the shops of Flanders were filled with English, French, and Swiss manufactures. Why, then, they asked, did not Belgium do as they did in France, England, and Prussia, where trade and manufactures flourished? Yet, at this very time, the workmen of Lyons were preparing to rise in rebellion, and the manufacturing artisans of Britain were making complaints much more loud, and, at least, not better founded.

fied or differently interpreted, under the sanction of the Diet; and that, while awaiting the concurrence of the Diet in this object, any future application of these resolutions should be protested against. According to the forms of the assembly, a considerable interval must elapse between the proposing of a motion, and its adoption. The government, after much deliberation, took advantage of the interval to send down a royal rescript, in which it maintained, that the resolutions of the Diet were not violations of the constitution, and that all the states of Germany were bound to obey them; that the government, in consideration of its own dignity, and of the respect due to the other powers of the Confederation, expected the chamber would reject the motion with the disapprobation it deserved; and desired to know whether they were disposed to yield to the views of the government on this subject, and avoid entering on the consideration of the resolutions. The member who had made the motion declared that he would not withdraw it, and protested against the au thority which government was attempting to exercise. The rescript, instead of being immediately taken into consideration, was referred to a committee. That committee reported in favour both of the conduct of the committee in entertaining the motion, and of the propositions contained in the motion itself. They added that, in order to maintain the independence of the Chamber, it was absolutely necessary to repel with energy the attempted interference of the crown in its proceedings, and therefore recommended, that the following address

should be presented to his majesty as an answer to the rescript: "To your Royal Majesty we present most respectfully, in consequence of a rescript, what follows:

"In the said rescript it is declared, that we should, with marked disapprobation, reject a motion respecting the resolutions of the Federal Diet of the 28th of June, 1832. We therefore consider it proper to explain, in the most decisive manner, that it is the right and the duty of every member of the chamber to speak without reserve when the constitution is threatened, be it from whatever quarter it may, with danger. The motion has been entertained in the regular course of business, and we neither permit the order of our proceedings to be disturbed, nor any other character to be given to our decisions than that which they require-calmness and impartiality. We therefore cannot reject with disapprobation the motion in question; and as to the anticipated interference in the regular course of our transactions, we hold ourselves bound equally to guard the freedom of the Chamber and the responsibility of each of its members." When the address was brought under discussion, it produced a long and animated debate. The opposition maintained the independence of the Chamber, and denied the right of the government to interfere, on any pretext, with its proceedings. An attempt made by the court party to postpone the debate on the address until after the discussion of the motion; but they failed, and the address, as proposed by the committee, was, in substance, agreed to, after a division, in which fiftythree voted for it, and thirty-one,

was

for different reasons, against it. However, some verbal amendments being thought necessary, it was referred back to the committee, and reported again on the 13th of March, when it was finally adopted, eleven members protesting against it. On the 22nd, the king dissolved the Chambers, and ordered a new election. This was a measure which, under the ordinary working of the constitution, would not have promised to be very effective; but the government had a great advantage in the actual existence of the ordinances of the Diet, by which combinations of public opinion through the press could be prevented, while electoral committees would longer be allowed.

no

The dissolution was followed by a justificatory manifesto of the king. It had been evident, he said, from the commencement of the session, that the Chamber contained a party hostile to the existing order of things, and labouring to depreciate the benefits which had been derived from previous Chambers, not directing their efforts towards objects beneficial to the nation, but employed in attacking the internal and external relations of the country, so that the time of the Chamber had been wasted in useless discussion. The motion against the resolutions of the Diet, which described them as having inflicted a mortal and premeditated wound on the constitutions of the German states, was itself an attack against the fundamental principles of the constitution of the kingdom, and particularly against that on which its monarchy depended. But the Chamber ordered the motion to

be printed and discussed. It was then that the government deemed

it an imperative duty to instruct the Chamber as to the course it should pursue, and point out the dangers of the path on which it was entering, especially as they were aware, that this was not an isolated measure, but was connected with others of more extensive operation. This the Chambers chose to treat as an illegal interference with their proceedings; and, without waiting for the discussion of the principal question itself, it was peremptorily declared, that the Chamber would not concur in the views of the executive. A declaration of such a nature, after all that had passed, demonstrated, that the further deliberations of the Chambers could not be conducive to the good of the country, and the support of a well-regulated government. "The fate of the ensuing session we have now placed in the hands of the electors. Let every man

weigh well the responsibility which he incurs, and that none should be returned but men who have the welfare of their country sincerely at heart, uniting moderate and impartial views with a prudent and reflecting spirit, and devoted with equal fidelity to the king and the constitution." The new Chambers assembled on the 20th of May. They did not make the ordinances of the Diet the exclusive subject of discussion, or allow them to stop all the business of the country; but neither were they forgotten. The Chamber of representatives, before being pro rogued, voted an address to the king, praying him to abolish the censorship, and to maintain the rights of his people against the encroachments of the Diet.

The estates of the electorate of Hesse Cassel, which assembled on

ferent reason.

the 8th of March, came to a more speedy termination of the same kind, though ostensibly, for a difThe university of Marburg had returned as its representative a professor Jordan, who was in very bad odour with the government. The ministry had therefore stated certain objections to his eligibility; but the Chamber decided, that there was no constitutional impediment to his admission. It was then proposed to postpone his actual admission, till the government and the states had come to an understanding regarding the matter. This proposition, too, after a long debate, was rejected by a large majority. The Chamber then proceeded to business; and one of the opposition members was in the act of speaking in support of a motion to impeach the minister of the interior, when an ordinance of the elector made its appearance, dissolving the Chambers, after a session of ten days, and directing that a new election should take place within the terms fixed by the constitution. In announcing the dissolution, the electoral prince complained, that the majority of the Chamber, from the very beginning of the session, had assumed a decidedly hostile attitude towards the government; that it had attempted to meddle with matters which were out of its sphere, and desired to compel the government to submit to their resolutions; that they wanted to change the legal relations between the prince and the representatives, and rejected all proposals of reconciliation; that they not only wish ed to infringe the constitutional rights of the government, but even, by throwing difficulties in the way of the opening of the session, had disregarded the import

ant and pressing interests of the country; that he himself, maintaining the constitution and legal order, would not suffer any infringement of his rights, and hoped that the requisite good understanding, would prevail between the new Chamber and the government, and that thus the essential wants of the country would be provided for. The new states were convoked for the 15th of April, and did not lead to any similar explosion. This sudden dissolution was not owing to the admission of professor Jordan. That was only a symptom of a temper which would have set the states and the government at variance with each other on far more important questions. The ordinan ces of the Diet would indubitably have been brought under discussion; and it probably was thought better to have at once a new representative body elected under the existing influence of these ordinances themselves.

The estates of Hesse Darmstadt were engaged in discussions of a similar nature. The address of the second Chamber, in reply to the speech of the grand duke at the opening of the session, contained allusions to the resolutions of the Diet, which gave great dissatisfaction to the government. They said, among other things, that publications, threatening their constitutional rights, had given rise to painful doubts. In his answer the grand duke, while he assured them that he knew of no publications possessing such a character, and that, with a little more confidence in his intentions, such doubts never would have found admission into the Chamber, told them, that he had perceived with great surprise their opinion on the proceed