Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

6. The fees received by the Federal Consuls.

7. The quotas which each State had to pay into the Federal Chest. These constitute about a third

of the whole revenue. They were calculated on the number of the population, in fact a kind of poll tax. This was rather hard on largely-populated and poor countries, and too favourable for the small rich States. A deputy of the Reichstag pointed out the injustice of equally taxing 100,000 citizens of Bremen, and 100,000 inhabitants of the Thuringian forests. Some of the States procured some slight alleviations from these quotas.

The loan of 10,000,000 thalers, which was contracted in 1867, was placed under the direction of the Prussian National Debt Administration, and was supervised by the Chancellor, and by a committee of seven members elected by the Federal Council and the Reichstag.

A yearly account had to be rendered to the Federal Council and to the Reichstag, by the head of the Confederation, of the expenditure of the

revenue.

Before closing these remarks on the Constitution of 1867, some mention must be made of the Customs Union.

CHAP.
VI.

1867.

Union.

The Customs Union established in 1865, for Customs twelve years, and to which twenty-four States had given their adhesion, was considered dissolved by the war, yet it was determined to allow it to continue till some measures of reform had been decided

СНАР.
VI.

Y

1867.

on. For North Germany it was, of course, no longer necessary, and the relations in which the South German States stood to it were capable of improvement. The machinery was complicated. It had been the custom for the representatives of the several States to meet in conference in the summer, when any of their resolutions were sanctioned by the Governments and ratified by the Assemblies. It happened only in one or two instances that the Assemblies of the States refused to ratify any resolution; but their right of veto existed, and reference to them delayed business. The equality of votes was again an injustice, and sometimes an inconvenience. Frankfort was on precisely the same footing as Prussia. After the war the whole of North Germany possessed but one legislation, exercised by the Federal Council and the Reichstag, for customs, commerce, and taxes. It was impossible, then, that the old Customs Union could have continued to exist; otherwise the South German States might have vetoed and hampered the legislative acts for the whole of North Germany. A congress, on the invitation of Count Bismarck, was held at Berlin in June 1867, when it was agreed to establish a Federal Commercial Council, and a Commercial Parliament for the whole of Germany; in fact, to form a Commercial Constitution, similar to the political Constitution of North Germany, and to render legislation in commercial matters independent of the political assemblies. The elections for these commercial bodies were con

ducted in the same manner as those for the Federal Council and the Reichstag.

The Government of the Customs Union consisted, then, of three bodies on the model of the North German Confederation, viz. of a Presidency, of a Federal Council, and of a Parliament. Laws required the assent of the majority of the Federal Council and of the Parliament, but no change could be made in the existing laws without the consent of the King of Prussia as President of the Union. The laws were not submitted to the assemblies of the several States. The Customs duties and taxes on the articles of consumption imposed by the Union were to last. till December 31, 1877, unless the Customs Federal Council and the Customs Parliament altered them with the sanction of the King of Prussia. The publication of the treaties, laws, decrees, &c. of the Union was made by each State in its own manner, as there was no Gazette (Gesetz-Blatt) for the Customs Union. All that was required of each State was that these laws &c. should be published.

The Presidency of the Union was an attribute of the King of Prussia. He named the President of the Customs Federal Council, and the chief Customs officials. He had a veto, as mentioned above, in all resolutions which altered the existing laws, and also against the dissolution of the Customs Parliament. The summoning, proroguing, and dissolving of the Federal Council and Parliament were in his hands.

The Federal Council of the Customs Union was

I

CHAP.

VI.

1867.

VI.

1867.

Customs
Federal
Council.

CHAP. composed of the members of the Federal Council of the North German Confederation, and the representatives of the four Southern States. The number amounted to fifty-eight in all; that is, forty-three from the North German Confederation, six from Bavaria, four from Würtemberg, three from Baden, and two from South Hesse. A representative of Prussia was to be President of the Council, but it was not necessary that he should be the Chancellor. The members of the Customs Federal Council enjoyed the same diplomatic privileges as those of the Federal Council of the North German Confederation, and could attend the meetings of the Customs Parliament. The Federal Council had to meet once a year, and was also to be summoned whenever the Customs Parliament met. The functions of the Federal Council were as follows. The assent of the Council was necessary to the laws issued by the Union, and without its consent, the King of Prussia could not conclude commercial and navigation treaties. It issued decrees and instructions with regard to the laws and treaties of the Union being carried into effect, and took cognizance of any defect in the executive machinery. In conjunction with the King of Prussia it could decree the dissolution of the Customs Parliament. A simple majority was required for the adoption of any measure.

There were three permanent Committees in the Customs Federal Council, one for commerce and trade, one for the customs and taxes, and one for

[ocr errors]

the accounts. Besides the head of the Union, at
least four States must have representatives in each
of these Committees, each State having one vote.
The Council elected the members of these Com-
mittees for the ensuing session.
It will be re-
membered that in the Federal Council of the
North German Confederation there were Committees
occupied with these matters. The Constitution had
been drawn up and adopted before the negotiations
for the new Customs Union had even commenced,
and it was, of course, necessary to provide an
administration for these important departments.
The sphere of the Committees in the Customs Union
was much larger than that of the Federal Council
Committees, and the activity of the latter was now
limited to the smaller commercial questions which
affected the North German Confederation alone.

CHAP.

VI.

1867.

Parlia

The Customs Parliament was composed of the Customs Reichstag, and of eighty-five representatives elected ment. by direct secret voting and universal suffrage, by the same electoral law as the Reichstag, from the South German States, in the following ratio: for Bavaria forty-eight, Würtemberg seventeen, Baden fourteen, South Hesse six. The South German States were allowed rather too free an interpretation of the electoral law, and a considerable amount of liberty in the partition of electoral districts, which in certain cases, especially in that of Würtemberg, led to some inconvenience. Baden appears to have been the State which kept the closest to the electoral law of

« ПредишнаНапред »