sultative one, but their jurisdiction remained limited to local affairs. In respect to the general affairs of the whole Monarchy, the King had, previous to 1848, been possessed of an absolute authority, uncontrolled by any legislative Assembly. The status quo ante bellum was therefore restored, as far as the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig were concerned, and the old feudal constitution of Lauenburg was also left unchanged.

2. The Kingdom, or Denmark-Proper, had since 1848 obtained a free constitution, with a Parliament endowed with a deliberative vote. This constitution and Parliament had been originally framed with a view to its adaptation to the whole Monarchy, or at least to the whole of the non-German portion of the Monarchy, viz., Denmark-Proper and Schleswig. The Government had, therefore, to induce the Parliament to sacrifice so much of its authority and jurisdiction, as would be required for the establishment of a new general constitution for the whole Monarchy.

The Parliament of Denmark-Proper consented to this, and consequently was reduced to be a provincial Assembly for the province of Denmark-Proper, and its authority was confined to the local affairs of that province, but with the retention of a deliberative vote.

octroyed" in 1854

3. The Danish Government enacted or 66 a constitution for the whole Monarchy, the provisions of which were somewhat modified in October, 1855.

This Constitution established under the name of "Rigsraad," or Council of the Realm, a general Legislative Assembly for the whole Monarchy, based upon the equal representation of all parts of the Monarchy, according to the ratio of population and taxation. In this Assembly, numbering 80 members, DenmarkProper counted 47 representatives-Schleswig, 13; Holstein, 18; and Lauenburg, 2. The population of Denmark-Proper is, as already mentioned, in round numbers, 1,600,000-Schleswig, 410,000; Holstein, 550,000; and Lauenburg, 50,000.

A normal budget, for the regulation of the ordinary annual revenues and expenditures of the whole Monarchy, was provisionally framed by the Government, and the financial authority of the Assembly limited to what might be demanded in excess of this budget.

After the second session of the "Rigsraad," the Germanic Diet, on an application from the Lauenburg Assembly, interfered and required the abrogation of the Constitution of 1855, but limited its demand to the Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, over which portions of the Danish Monarchy the Diet alone was entitled to exercise any control. The principal objection brought against the Constitution of 1855 was, that it had not been constitutionally promulgated, because it had not first been submitted to the deliberation and advice of the Provincial Assembly of Holstein or to that of Lauenburg.

The Danish Government, after having in vain tried various

expedients for satisfying the demands of the Holstein and Lauenburg Assemblies and the requirements of the Diet, without going the length of abrogating the Constitution, was finally obliged to take that step, and by an ordinance of November 6th, 1858, the Constitution of 1855 was abrogated for Holstein and Lauenburg.

The result was that Holstein and Lauenburg were put out of all constitutional union with the other parts of the Danish Monarchy; that, whilst the Constitution of 1855 remained in vigour and bound together Denmark-Proper and Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg reverted to the status quo ante 1848-that is to say, were replaced under the absolute authority of the Sovereign, as far as the general affairs of the whole Monarchy were concerned, the jurisdiction of their Assemblies being, as hitherto, strictly limited to local affairs.

All efforts of the Danish Government to come to an understanding with the Holstein Assembly, as to the framing of a new general Constitution to take the place of that of 1855, entirely failed. The Holstein Assembly revived the pretensions which had led to the insurrection and war of 1848-50, as to a constitutional union with Schleswig, and declared that it would listen to no overtures for a general Constitution, or be satisfied with any thing short of a compliance with the said revolutionary pretensions of 1848.

The Germanic Diet meanwhile, by a decree of March 8th, 1860, and by another of February 7th, 1861, required of Denmark that, until a settlement of the constitutional question of Holstein had been effected, the Assembly of that Duchy should exercise the same powers as the Rigsraad in controlling the government of the whole Monarchy.

A temporary compromise was brought about, under the mediation of Great Britain,-Prussia and Austria declaring themselves satisfied if Denmark would, for the present, confine the contributions of Holstein towards the general expenditure of the Monarchy to the sums fixed by the normal budget of 1856.

A proposition was made to Denmark by Lord Russell as Foreign Minister in September, 1862, that the whole of the legislative business, both with regard to common and with regard to special affairs, should be entrusted to the local representative Assemblies of the four provinces, Denmark-Proper, Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg, so that every law would have to be voted in exactly the same form by all four Assemblies; further, that a normal budget should be voted for ten years, with the smallest possible amount, the necessary supplementary appropriations to be voted annually, and the proportions in which each province should contribute to the common expenses to be decided by a State Council.

But these proposals were rejected by the Danish Government; which maintained that no government was possible, when it had to be controlled by no less than four independent and co-ordinate Legislative Assemblies, and that such a state of things would

necessarily result either in anarchy or in the re-establishment of an autocratic form of Government.

The reason why the Danish Government had not, in the first instance, previous to the promulgation of the Constitution of 1854-5, submitted it to the four Assemblies, but had decided on an "octroi" of the constitution, as the only practical course to take, was that it was satisfied that no four Assemblies, independent and jealous of one another, could ever be brought to agree upon any constitutional plan whatever.

The Danish Government, by an ordinance or proclamation of March 30th, this year, attempted to meet the requirements of the Diet, according to the decrees of March 8th, 1860, and February 7th, 1861, in respect to placing the Assembly of Holstein on an equal footing with the Rigsraad for Denmark-Proper and Schleswig. The ordinance decreed that no law should be valid in Holstein which had not obtained the sanction of the Assembly of that Duchy, and that no expenditure beyond the sums fixed by the normal budget of 1856 should be defrayed by Holstein without the previous approval of the Holstein Assembly. And even this limitation of the financial jurisdiction of the Holstein Estates to the supplementary appropriations required over and above the normal budget, the Danish Government declared itself ready to do away with, if that limitation should be objected to by the Germanic Diet. As the ordinance had such important consequences, we give it at length:

"We Frederick VII., King of Denmark, &c., do hereby make known:

"When, in our Proclamation of January 28, 1852, we declared our intention of uniting the different parts of our Monarchy into a well-ordered whole through a common constitution, we were perfectly aware (as was also indicated with sufficient clearness in the preceding negotiations) that such a constitution was possible only under the condition, that our Sovereign power over our two German Duchies should not be further circumscribed or restricted than was the case by the existing laws of the German Confederation, which had been accepted by us, and also that the inhabitants of these Duchies would sincerely accede to the new arrangement of the State.

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'These conditions have not been fulfilled. The German Federal Diet has interfered with the internal affairs of our Monarchy, and advanced demands, which are neither founded in the Federal laws, nor compatible with the independence of our Crown, and the rights of those of our lands which do not belong to the Confederation. The Provincial Estates of Holstein, also, have not only rejected all our propositions for an agreement, but have pronounced themselves in point of principle against any and every joint constitution based on a common representation.

"This state of internal dissension, which already for a space of ten years has paralyzed the development of our realm, ought now

to cease. We must, therefore, in view of the unsatisfactory results of the last Session of the Holstein Estates, consider it our Sovereign duty to regulate the constitutional position of the Duchy of Holstein in our Monarchy in a manner corresponding as far as possible with the demands of the Germanic Confederation. In so doing we have confined ourselves to what is strictly necessary in order to reserve the further development and final settlement of the free co-operation of our people and their constitutional representatives.

"We have, therefore, resolved, and hereby command as follows:"Art. I.-The conscripts levied in the Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, excepting those who are to serve in the Life Guards, shall henceforth form a separate division of our army, under the supreme administration of our Minister of War. This corps d'armée shall be supplied with all the necessary material, and furnish our Federal contingent in conformity with the military laws of the German Confederation.

"All expenses for the Holstein Lauenburg army division shall be paid by the special finances of the Duchy of Holstein, which for this purpose shall receive a contribution out of the revenues derived from Lauenburg.

“Art. II.—The Duchy of Holstein shall continue to participate in the expenses common for the whole Monarchy, and specified sub. 1-6 and 8-11, in the preliminary normal budget of February 28, 1856, for a period of two financial years as follows:

(Here follow the items for the civil list, the appanages, Privy Council, national debt, pensions, Foreign-office, navy, finance and the common ministry for the interior, and sundries, as they are specified in the normal budget.)

"But the amount of 6,394,097 rixdollars, appropriated for the War Department by the normal budget, sub. No. 7, for two years, shall be reduced to 770,000 rixdollars, to be expended for the supreme administration of the army, our Life Guards, and the central institutions for the military education, which remain in

common.

"No sum which in the course of a financial period may have been saved under one of these items shall be applied to the covering of a larger expenditure under another item. Any supplementary contributions which might become necessary beyond the specifications of the normal budget above quoted shall, in so far as Holstein is concerned, be submitted to the grant of the Holstein Estates. The common expenses shall be defrayed out of the common revenues. If there be a surplus, the proportionate quota belonging to Holstein, in accordance with the number of its inhabitants, shall be credited with the special finances of that Duchy with 21:31 per cent. If, on the contrary, the common expenses should exceed the common revenues, the Holstein finances shall contribute to make up the deficit, according to the same proportion.

し

"Art. III.-If the expenses for the local administration of the Holstein domains and forests, as well as for the Holstein customhouses, and the telegraphs in Holstein, should exceed the sums specified in the normal budgets for each of these items, Bills for the necessary supplementary grants shall be submitted to the Holstein Estates for their assent. These expenses are to be paid in advance out of the corresponding revenues, so that only the surplus be paid over to the common exchequer.

"Art. IV. The administration of the special finances of the Duchy of Holstein shall be transferred to our Ministry for the Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg.

"Art. V.-The legislative power in all common affairs shall, as far as Holstein is concerned, be exercised by us and the Holstein Estates jointly. If a law in common affairs should be thus enacted by us for Holstein, with the consent of the Holstein Estates, and it should be impossible at the same time to enact an identical law in the other parts of the country, we will take the measures which thereby may become necessary, in case such a law has reference to a branch of Government in which a diversity of legislation would be incompatible with the maintenance of the community hitherto existing.

"Art. VI.-The stipulations contained in Art. V. shall take effect immediately; the others only at the end of the present financial term-viz., from April 1, 1864.

"Further regulations for the position of the Duchy of Holstein and its Representative Assembly, with regard to the common affairs of the Monarchy, shall be submitted to the Holstein Estates for their assent.

"In the law project to be prepared on this subject, not only the wishes which now have been manifested for greater civil and religious liberty shall be taken into consideration, but it shall also contain the necessary stipulations for an extension of the franchise and the qualifications of representatives, as well as for granting to the Holstein Representative Assembly a deliberate vote with regard to the common finances.

"Palace of Fredensborg, March 30."

This, it might have been supposed, would be perfectly satisfactory to Germany; but there was a provision made for a disagreement between the Assembly of Holstein and the Rigsraad of Denmark-Schleswig, whose joint legislation was necessary for the validity of general laws, the ordinance prescribing that in case of such disagreement, a separate legislation for Holstein on the part of the Holstein Assembly should take place, and thus paving the way for a complete separation of Holstein in point of legislation, and also of administration, from the rest of the Monarchy. And to this Germany objected.

She professed to regard the proclamation as a violation of