Page:Federalist, Dawson edition, 1863.djvu/265

 of the Diet; and in the Imperial Chamber and the Aulic Council, two judiciary tribunals having supreme jurisdiction in controversies which concern the empire, or which happen among its members.

The Diet possesses the general power of legislating for the empire; of making war and peace; contracting alliances; assessing quotas of troops and money; constructing fortresses; regulating coin; admitting new members; and subjecting disobedient members to the ban of the empire, by which the party is degraded from his sovereign rights, and his possessions forfeited. The members of the confederacy are expressly restricted from entering into compacts, prejudicial to the empire; from imposing tolls and duties on their mutual intercourse, without the consent of the Emperor and Diet; from altering the value of money; from doing injustice to one another; or from affording assistance or retreat to disturbers of the public peace. And the ban is denounced against such as shall violate any of these restrictions. The members of the Diet, as such, are subject in all cases to be judged by the Emperor and Diet, and in their private capacities by the Aulic Council and Imperial Chamber.

The prerogatives of the Emperor are numerous. The most important of them are, his exclusive right to make propositions to the Diet; to negative its resolutions; to name ambassadors; to confer dignities and titles; to fill vacant electorates; to found universities; to grant privileges not injurious to the States of the empire; to receive and apply the public revenues; and generally to watch over the public safety. In certain cases, the Electors form a Council to him. In quality of Emperor, he possesses no territory within the empire; nor receives any revenue for his support. But his revenue and dominions, in other qualities, constitute him one of the most powerful princes in Europe.