Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/523

Rh -3 Ian -: :de- I ii. ) .lai' 13 I '80- i )y- t of s ian fl is. GERMAN CONFEDERATION end. Prussia was compensated for her losses by receiving a part of Saxony, the Rhineland, and Swedish Pomerania; and to Austria were restored Salzburg, Vorarlberg, and Tyrol. Most of the members of the Rheiiish Confederation were either left alone or deprived of small portions of ter- ritory; Hanover was made a kingdom; Weimar, Meek- leiiburg, and Oldenburg became grand ducliies; and Liibeck, Bremen, Hamburg, and Frankfort were declared free cities. In regard to the political constitution of Germany, the people were prepared for great and far-reacliiiig changes. The need of union had been impressed upon them by the bitter experiences of nearly a generation, and they would have welcomed the establishment of a vigorous empire. But the jealousies of Austria and Prussia, and the hostility of the petty princes, prevented the popular policy from being adopted. Instead of an empire the congress formed the German bund or confederation. It was composed of 39 states, each of which was to be independent in regard to its internal af’fairs, the confederation taking cognizance only of matters of common interest. A permanent diet, in which each state should have its representative, was formed; it was to sit in Frankfort, and to be presided over by the Austrian plenipotentiary. This body was to settle all dis- puted questions between the various states, each of which engaged never to make war on any of the others, nor to form alliances which should be injurious to a member of the build. The events which arose from the French Revolution had awakened in the German mind not only a passionate desire for unity but an equally intense wish for freedom. Grow- ing intelligence had revealed to the people that personal rule is ill-adapted to the wants of a civilized community, especially the personal rule of such men as the majority of their princes, who clung obstinately to every kind of abuse, and regarded their functions as a means rather of glorifying themselves than of promoting the general welfare. Humi- liating as had been their submission to France, it had done something to deepen this conviction, for in the districts ruled by French oﬂicials a higher idea of human rights was introduced than had before prevailed, and what was great and attractive in the principles of the Revolution stirred general sympathy. So urgent were the demands for free government that, while the struggle with Napoleon remained undecided, the princes made lavish promises of concession after peace should be restored. The act of confederation contained a positive decree that in each state should be established a constitutional system. _The history of the next period is little more than a history of the elaborate and pitiful devices by which the German sovereigns evaded their engagements. Within a few years, indeed, the rulers of Nassau, Veimar, Bavaria, Baden, and Wiirtemberg granted constitutions, but even in these countries absolutism was only in a slight degree modiﬁed. In Austria, where Prince Metternich was the controlling spirit, the most diverse nationalities were governed as if they had been a single people, and the methods of rule were as despotic and harsh as could be tolei'ated in a modern community. Although Frederick “illiam III. of Prussia could not act upon quite so aiiti- quated a system as Francis I., he resisted popular aspira- tions. The utmost concession he made was to appoint a number of provincial diets, which tended rather to foster than to_ allay the general discontent. Every opportunity was seized by the various Governments to repress the f rue movement of ideas. A number of students were guilty of some follies at a_ festival in the Wartburg, and some time afterwards a fanatical youth stabbed Kotzebiie, the play- }'right, who had sided with the reactionary party. These incidents were held to be symptoms of a grave peril ; and GERMANY 500 in 1819 a conference of ministers at Carlsbad issued what were called the Carlsbad decrees, placing the univer- sities under police supervision, reviving a rigid censorship, and opposing the cessioii of state constitutions. A central commission of inquiry was also appointed for the purpose of hunting out secret societies, the very existence of which was merely subject of conjecture. In the diet, whose authority was sliglited by these decrees, there were seve- ral members favourable to a conciliatory policy; and in the small states liberal politicians continued to demand parliamentary representation. The reactionists, however, were united and determined, and succeeded in thwarting political progress until 1830. Even in that year the Prussian and Austrian Governments were able to hold on in their old path, but the French Revolution caused so loud an outcry in countries in which the police were less powerful, that Hanover, Brunswick, Saxony, and Hesse- Cassel received constitutions, and in the lands where parlia- ments already existed the Governments granted freedom of the press, and promised more liberal legislation for the future. The two leading powers looked upon these changes with extreme disapproval, and they soon made use of the diet as a means of virtually aniiulling every measure that conflicted with their own aims. When the diet was insti- tuted, it had been hoped that it would ultimately lead to closer national unity, and to the establishment of modern political institutions. It was now seen to be a mere instrument in the hands of the enemies both of unity and of liberty. So soon did the princes pluck up courage that in 1837 Ernest Augustus, who succeeded William IV. of England as king of Hanover, abolished the constitution which his predecessor had sanctioned, and set up another of an earlier period and of a far less liberal character. This unlawful act met with resistance which had to be put down by force. An appeal on behalf of the constitution was made to the diet, but with the result that was to be expected from its previous action; it declined to consider the question. During this dismal period almost the sole political event on which lermans can look back with pleasure is the forma- tion of the Zollverein or customs union. As in all other re- spects, the bund had failed to realize the expectations it had excited respecting the abolition of injurious restrictions on commerce. Several attempts had been made by groups oi states to regulate their customs, but none of them had been attended with much success. At last Prussia arrived at an understanding with Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and several other states, and between 1833 and 1835 the union thus formed was joined by all German countries with the excep- tion of Austria. It happened that about this time railways began to be introduced. The customs union enabled the nation to derive from them the utmost possible beneﬁt, so that the prevalent political confusion did not hinder the population from attaining to considerable material pros- perity. The obvious advantages of commercial union deepened the desire for unity in every great department of the national life, and at the same time raised the position of Prussia, which had been wise enough to associate itself with a most important movement. It was not only by its relation to the customs union that Prussia attracted the attention and awakened the hopes of German liberals. In 1840 Frederick William IV. (18-10-61) succeeded his father, and, as he was known to be a thoughtful and cultivated prince, there was a general expectation that he would abandon the arbitrary ideas of Frederick William III. He began his reign well. For some years the Govern- ment had been in conflict with the Catholic Church; the struggle was at once ended by graceful concessions. The king pardoned political prisoners, restored to their offices certain professors who had been degraded during the pre- ' f.. 1 81 5-40. Carlsbad decrees. Revolu- tion of 1830. Z011- vereiri. Frederick Villiam .of Prussia.