SOMETHING ABOUT PRUSSIA AND GERMANY.
Dr. Winstock grasped the hand of the principal when they met in Moscow, and briefly reported the incidents of his trip down the Volga, with the little party.
"Of course you knew that De Forrest and Beckwith left us at Tver?" added the doctor.
"Yes; Mr. Agneau informed me, and, poor man, he was very much worried about the absentees," replied Mr. Lowington.
"I concluded they had gone down the Volga to Nijni. I asked the police to detain them, and they did so. On my return from Kazan, I found them in custody, and not at all satisfied with the results of their runaway excursion. I brought them up with me, so that they are all right now. They claimed to have been left by the train at Tver by accident."
"I suppose they tried that plan because they thought it succeeded in Norway and Sweden; but I did not punish those because they made a full confession, and seemed to be sorry for what they had done. Where are the runaways?"
"They are here, sir. I saw them come into the hotel with the others."
The word was passed along for De Forrest and Beckwith, but they were notthere to answer. A dozen had seen them come into the house, and a party who were standing at the door were sure they had not gone out. They could not be found, and the doctor was even more chagrined than the chaplain had been.
"Never mind, doctor; I shall not run after them. Running away has been so common that I have ceased to worry about it," said the principal. "They will come back when their money is all gone, if not before."
"Probably they intend to see Moscow," added the surgeon; "and they may appear before the fourth division returns."
The Volga party returned to St. Petersburg with the second division, and the next afternoon were on board of their vessel, attending to their studies, for the students on board were kept at work, because it is easier to be busy than to be idle.
On the 25th day of June, all hands had returned, having seen all of Russia it was practicable to see, and the squadron went seaward, bound for Königsberg. The officers below Beckwith and De Forrest were moved up two grades, to fill the vacancies caused by the absence of the runaways, and the two highest in rank in the steerage were sent into the cabin. On the passage there were two examinations in seamanship, in which Cantwell obtained very high marks. On the voyage, which lasted four days,—for there was very little wind,—the captain performed his duty to the entire satisfaction of the principal, and without being obliged to ask for instructions.
On Tuesday afternoon the squadron anchored off Pillau, a town of fourthousand inhabitants, having a strong fortress at the entrance of theHaff, a nearly landlocked bay, at the head of which Königsberg is situated.
"All hands, attend lecture," called the boatswain, after breakfast the next morning, and while the signal was flying on the ship.
The students gathered in the steerage, where the professor of geography and history had hung up a map of Prussia on the foremast, which he had colored to suit the occasion, so as to show the rapid enlargement of the country by annexation.
"Young gentlemen," Mr. Mapps began, "Prussia is now one of the most powerful states of Europe. We may say of her as of the United States, 'Westward the course of empire takes its way,' for Prussia had a small beginning in the eastern part of its present territory, and now extends westward beyond the Rhine. Contrary to my usual custom, I shall commence with the history of the country. At the present time, Prussia is divided into eleven provinces, the most eastern of which is Prussia Proper—the part in which we now are. The region was originally inhabited by the Lithuanians, who were conquered by the Goths. They were compelled to embrace Christianity by the Poles in the eleventh century; but the conquerors were soon repelled, and in their turn defeated, the barbarians holding a part of Poland for a time. In the thirteenth century they were the terror of the adjoining countries, and repelled an army sent against them by Germany. The Teutonic Knights finally conquered Prussia."
"What were they, sir?" asked a student.
"They were a powerful military order, formed during the crusades, who fought for the Holy Sepulchre in Palestine. After the siege of Acre, a charitable society for the care of the wounded and sick was organized by the people of Lübec and Bremen, which was made into an order of knighthood similar to the Templars. Only nobles were admitted to its membership, and the Grand Master lived in Jerusalem at first, then in Venice, and afterwards in Germany. After the crusades, they regarded themselves as called to convert the heathen, which benignant work they did, by first conquering the pagan territory. The order became immensely rich and powerful, holding the territory from the Oder to the Gulf of Finland, and deriving from it an immense revenue. They were constantly at war with Poland, which, with their extravagant demands upon the people, turned the nobility and the people against them. The oppressed called upon the King of Poland for assistance, and a war of twelve years followed, in which the order lost West Prussia, holding the rest by paying tribute to the conquerors. The knights were deprived of much of their power and wealth, though they still retained vast possessions. The Grand Master became a kind of spiritual potentate in Germany, and collected his revenues till 1805, when they went to the Emperor of Austria. In 1809 Napoleon abolished the order, and its territories reverted to the sovereigns in whose dominions they were located.
"The nucleus of the present kingdom of Prussia was the margraviate of Brandenburg, of which Berlin is near the centre. By the extinction ofthe family of its ruler, it was inherited by Sigismond, Emperor of Germany, who sold it to Frederick VI., Burgrave of Nuremburg, in 1417. He was of the house of Hohenzollern, from which the present King of Prussia is descended, and with the territory the electoral dignity was conferred upon him. His successors ruled the electorate for over two hundred years, one of whom signed the protest at Spires, from which the Protestants obtained their name.
"Poland held Prussia after it had conquered the Teutonic Knights, and in 1525 gave the sovereignty of the country to Albert of Brandenburg; but it was not till 1656 that Prussia was declared independent by treaty. In 1618 John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, acquired the Duchy of Prussia, in the right of his wife, who was the daughter of Duke Albert II. By the Thirty Years' War the united country was reduced to misery and desolation, when, in 1640, Frederick William, commonly called the Great Elector, succeeded to the government. He annexed considerable territory to his dominion, and added greatly to its power and influence. His son Frederick, the third elector of that name, by the consent of Leopold, Emperor of Germany, obtained by a bribe, tendered through the imperial confessor, raised his domain into a kingdom, and placed the crown upon his own head at Königsberg, in 1701, taking the title of Frederick I. This was the origin of the kingdom of Prussia. Frederick I. extended his domain, which has been the policy of all his successors. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick William I., who reigned twenty-seven years, and left a well-disciplined army, and six millionsof dollars in cash in the treasury, to enable his son Frederick II. to commence business. This son was the renowned Frederick the Great. He used his capital stock to the best advantage for himself, wrested Silesia from Austria, and took part in the partition of Poland. He reigned forty-six years, and at his death had increased his territory from forty-eight thousand to seventy-seven thousand square miles.
"Prussia now ranked as one of the great powers of Europe. Frederick the Great left for his successor an army of two hundred and twenty thousand men, and treasure to the value of fifty million dollars. He was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II., in 1786, who added forty thousand square miles to his kingdom by engaging in the second and third partitions of Poland. In 1797 he was followed by his son Frederick William III., who was the father of the present King of Prussia. He lacked the decision necessary to carry his kingdom safely through the troubles of his time. His armies were defeated by Napoleon, and for six years the conqueror held him in subjection, and deprived him of half his domain. The Prussian soldiers under Blucher, however, took an important part in the overthrow of the Emperor of the French, and in the Congress of Vienna, when the affairs of Europe were readjusted, his territory was restored, and even increased, so that the kingdom, at his death, consisted of one hundred and seven thousand square miles. In 1840 he was followed by his son Frederick William IV. In 1848 an insurrection broke out in Berlin, the result of which was a considerable modification of the absolutism of the government. A constitution was adopted, andrepeatedly altered and amended. But the king had the best of it in the end, and Prussia was finally pacified. In 1857 the king was attacked by disease of the mind, and his brother William became regent, and in 1861 succeeded him as king, under the title of William I. He is decidedly absolute in his tendencies, and claims to hold his crown by the grace of God, and not by the will of the people.
"In speaking of Denmark, I told you in what manner the war of 1866, between Prussia and Austria, was produced. In the terrible battle of Sadowa, Austria was completely humiliated. Prussia dictated her own terms of peace, and annexed a territory nearly equal in size to the state of Maine, including Hanover, Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse Cassel, Nassau, and other German states. The population of Prussia, with these additions, is nearly twenty-three millions. The real engineer of Prussia's magnificent fortunes is not the king, but Bismarck—Count Otto von Bismarck-Shönhausen. He was born in 1814, was liberally educated, and elected a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1848. He served as minister or ambassador to Russia, France, and the Diet at Frankfort, and was appointed minister of foreign affairs and chief of the ministers in 1862.
"Prussia is a constitutional monarchy, and the crown is hereditary in the male line, in the Hohenzollern family. The executive and part of the legislative power are vested in the king, who is of age at eighteen. The legislature is composed of a House of Lords and a Chamber of Deputies. A bill passing both branches and being approved by the king becomes alaw. Bills may originate with the king or either of the chambers. A bill vetoed by the king, or rejected by either house, cannot be moved again during the same session. The upper house is composed of the princes of the royal family who are of age, and a few other princes; the heads of certain noble families, life peers chosen by the king from rich land-owners, great manufacturers, and celebrated men, eight noblemen chosen by the eight former provinces of Prussia; representatives of universities, the burgomasters of towns having over fifty thousand inhabitants; and any number of members nominated by the king for life, or for a limited period. The lower house consists of four hundred and thirty-two members, chosen indirectly by the people.
"The royal family of Prussia are Protestants, but all denominations of Christians have equal rights and privileges. Nearly two thirds of the people are Protestants, and about one third Catholics. Education is universal, and compulsory. Every town must maintain schools, and all parents are obliged to send their children to them. A small tuition fee is charged,—about two or three cents a week,—but this is not exacted when the parents are too poor to pay it. The compulsion applies only to the elementary schools; but the higher schools are open to the poor at a very small charge. There are eleven grades of schools, from the elementary up to the university, including normal, industrial, and veterinary, schools for agriculture, mining, and architecture.
"The military system under which Prussia has obtained such tremendoussuccesses in war was established in 1814, on the principle that every man capable of bearing arms should be instructed in military tactics, and actually serve in the army for a specified period. No substitutes are allowed, and there are very few exemptions, and these only of the most obvious character. Every man is enrolled as soon as he is twenty, and must serve seven years, the first three in the regular army, and the other four in the reserve. At the end of this term he belongs to the Landwehr, or militia, for nine years, during which time he is liable to be put into the regular army in case of war. At the expiration of this period he is thirty-six years of age, and then he is enrolled in the Landsturm, until he is fifty; but this body are not sent out of the country, and are called into service only in case of invasion. For thirty years of his life, therefore, the Prussian is a soldier. The military organizations, such as companies, regiments, brigades, divisions, corps d'armée, are always kept up; the officers are ever ready, and in case of war it is only necessary to call in the men. It requires only two weeks to organize the reserves and Landwehr. On a peace footing, the army consists of about four hundred thousand; on a war footing, double this number.
"Nearly the whole of Prussia is in the great plain of Northern Europe. It contains no high mountains, the most important range being the Harz, the highest elevation of which is thirty-five hundred feet. The acquisition of Schleswig-Holstein and Hanover has added largely to the extent of Prussian sea-coast. There are but few good harbors on the Baltic, for the water is shoal, and full of sand-banks. There are manyhaffs, or lagoons, like the one on which Königsberg is situated. Prussia has an immense number of lakes, especially in the eastern part, the largest of which is the Spirding See, with an area of thirty-seven square miles; but all these lakes are too shoal for navigation. The rivers of Prussia flow into the Baltic and North Seas. The principal are the Niemen or Memel, the Weichsel, or Vistula, the Oder, the Elbe, the Weser, and the Rhine, all of which are navigable. These river systems are connected by canals.
"The climate of Prussia is healthy, the average temperature varying in different parts from forty-three degrees to fifty degrees. The soil is generally fertile, though there are some sandy plains, and desolate, hilly regions. The agriculture, fostered by the government, is of the highest efficiency. All kinds of grain are produced in abundance, and largely exported. Two hundred million pounds of sugar were made from beets ten years ago. Thirty million tons of coal were mined last year, and the country is rich in minerals. In its agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, Prussia is remarkably prosperous. The country has a complete network of railroads, about seven thousand miles in all.
"Berlin has a population of seven hundred and two thousand, and is the fifth city of Europe. Next to it is Breslau, with one hundred and seventy-two thousand. Cologne has one hundred and twenty-five thousand; Königsberg, one hundred and six thousand. All the others have less than a hundred thousand. New York has a larger German population than any German city except Berlin.
"The money of Prussia is in thalers, silver, or newgrosschenandpfennings. A thaler is about seventy cents of our money. Thirty new grosschen, of two and one third cents each, make a thaler, and twelve pfennings make a new grosschen.
"And now, young gentleman, I will close with a brief statement in regard to the Germanic Confederation, which is a union of states for certain purposes, similar to that of the United States. In modern times the two most powerful members have been Austria and Prussia; but the events of 1866 broke up the confederation, and caused the expulsion of Austria, leaving Prussia as the ruling power. The North German Confederation, consisting of twenty states, was then formed under the leadership of Prussia. The six remaining states, the principal of which are Bavaria, Baden, and Würtemberg, cannot be said to be united. Prussia had ratified treaties with the three states mentioned, by which each of the contracting powers guarantees the integrity of the others' territory. In other words, in case of war, each is to assist the others; but it is stipulated that Prussia is to have the command of the armies.
"A German Parliament, elected by the people, at the rate of one member for every hundred thousand inhabitants, met at Berlin in 1867, and adopted a charter, or constitution, drawn up by the Prussian government, which means Bismarck."
Mr. Mapps proceeded to explain the nature of the constitution, which has again been changed by the events of 1870. After the humiliation of Austria in 1866, and Prussia's consequent increase of power and influence, France, which has always held a commanding place among thepowers of Europe, felt that her position was threatened. Prussia had attained a degree of power and influence which overshadowed France. A war in the future was certain, and it came in 1870. The desire on the part of France to check the ambition of Prussia, to cripple her power, and diminish her influence, was the real cause of the war, and the immediate events which led to the conflict are now of little consequence. The attempt to place Leopold of Hohenzollern on the throne of Spain was undoubtedly a real grievance to France. The French and their supporters say he was brought forward to provoke a quarrel; that Bismarck desired a war, in order to complete the unification of Germany. The prince was withdrawn from the candidacy for the Spanish throne, but France was not satisfied without a guaranty, which Prussia would not give. France seemed to be determined to fight, and declared war. Probably Louis Napoleon depended upon the coöperation of Austria and Italy in humiliating a power whose rapid growth threatened the integrity of all her neighbors' territory. But Italy had practically received Venetia from the hands of Prussia, after the struggle of 1866, and Austria was not in condition to carry on another war with her powerful opponent. The emperor counted, too, upon the disaffection of Bavaria, Baden, and Würtemberg, if not Saxony and Hanover, all of which had been hardly used by Prussia in the war of 1866; but the South German states promptly placed themselves on the side of Fatherland, led by Prussia. France was obliged to fight her battles all alone. She was thoroughlybeaten, and absolutely crushed, by the vast legions of Germany. France, which had been demanding the Rhine provinces, so that the river should be her boundary line, was deprived of the greater portion of Alsace and Lorraine, lying next to Germany, and on the Rhine.
Bismarck's plan to unite all Germany under one emperor was fully realized, for, while the army of King William was still laying siege to Paris, the King of Bavaria proposed to the sovereign princes of Germany to urge William to assume the title of Emperor of Germany. A bill passed the German Parliament at Berlin, almost unanimously, by which all the states were united into an empire. The king was elected emperor by the Diet, and accepted the honor; Bismarck was appointed chancellor of the empire.
The members of the Diet, or Parliament, are elected for three years by the people. As in the United States, each of the sovereignties is independent in its local government, and exercises all powers which are not expressly delegated to the Diet. All legislation relating to trade, commerce, emigration, colonization, and insurance companies, belongs to the Parliament. The empire also regulates the tariff, coinage, weights and measures, banking, patents and copyrights, navigation, both internal and external, post office and telegraphs, the army and navy, and laws relating to the press.
The legislature consists of two branches, the Federal Council and the Diet, or Parliament, the latter of which has nearly four hundred members. The Federal Council is composed of the representatives of the several governments. Prussia has seventeen votes in this body;Bavaria, six; Würtemberg and Saxony, four each; Baden and Hesse, three each; Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Brunswick, two each; and all the others, one each, making fifty-eight in all. Each state may send as many members as it has votes, but all from one state must vote together, representing but one opinion.
The emperor represents the empire, concludes treaties, sends ambassadors, and receives the ministers of other powers. He declares war in the name of the Confederacy, but unless its territory is invaded or menaced, he must have the consent of the Federal Council. The executive power is practically delegated to the King of Prussia, whose navy now belongs to Germany, and the army is under his command. To all intents and purposes Prussia is Germany.
The Zollverein, or Customs Union, controls all matters relating to the trade and commerce of the German states. It has a council and parliament, like those of the empire. Its object is to levy uniform duties on imported merchandise, to superintend the collection of the revenues, and to regulate trade. All the receipts of the Zollverein are paid into a common treasury, and distributed according to the population among the several states.
As soon as the professor finished his lecture, a steamer came alongside, and took off the students who were to make an excursion to Königsberg.