aumairq. — The Emperor of Austria, it is stated, was not himself
unwilling to receive the address of the Hungarian Diet. The am- bassadors in Vienna, however, and more especially Lord Blomfield; represented that if he received the address he would acknowledge himself not legally king, which might produce legal difficulties, and would offer a loophole for French or other interference. This advice was accepted, and a rescript of which we annex the text forwarded to Pesth :
"Francis. Joseph I., by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, Apostolic Bing of Hungary, &c. We offer our greeting to our barons of the empire, ecclesiastical and lay dignitaries, and representatives of our faithful kingdom of Hungary and the countries annexed, assembled in Diet in virtue of our Convocation of April 2, 1861. Although we have been greatly surprised on learning the debates that have taken place in the Chamber of Representatives concerning our rights as sovereign, as well as the attacks directed against the hereditary right which be- longs to us incontestably according to law, we nevertheless thought that we ought to consider them rather as the manifestation of the momentary excitement of certain passionate speakers than as the faithful expression of the sentiments of our assembled Diet.
" But since a positive expression has been given to these erroneous views both in the form and the drawing up of the humble address which has been destined for us, we consider it to be our first duty, in order to preserve the humble respect that is due to our royal person and our royal hereditary rights—a respect which the throne and its dignity demand by good right, and which has been set aside in this address of the States and representatives by their discarding the forms legally used—to reject the address which, in violation of the royal rights, is not addressed to the hereditary King of Hungary; we have, nevertheless, the strong desire to pronounce without reticence on the questions of high importance contained in the address of the magnates and representatives, and consequently we seriously in- vite the Upper Estates and the representatives to submit to us the address, Observing the course followed by the Coronation Diet of 1790, under such a form that its acceptance may be in harmony with the dignity of the Crown, which it is our duty to preserve against all attack, and with our hereditary sovereign rights. For the rest, we still retain for you our good-will and imperial grace.
" Vienna, June 30." " Enablers Josgrir.
On receipt of the rescript, the members who had been informed of the interference of the diplomatist, agreed to amend the address, -which was done, and the Emperor accepted the amended document, thanking the Diet for its dutiful readiness to comply with his wishes, and promising a speedy and full reply. There is hope still that the
Emperor will offer terms which it is possible to accept, i.e. a separate
Ministry, the laws of 1848, and some compromise as to the eau- ploymeet of the troops. The Hungarians, we believe, though de- sirous of being defended by their own people, would not be unwilling to guarantee all the Emperor's territories, Venetia excepted. The ,object of the Court, on the other hand, is to obtain troops for the defence of the Italian province. It is believed that, should these concessions be made, M. you Schmerlin,g will resign, and the Reichs- rath will be remodelled by the introduction of the direct representa- tion for the Lower House, in place of the present scheme of election dry local diets. The King of Prussia has terminated the ministerial crisis, and the question of investiture by the following proclamation : "We, William, -by the Grace of God, King of Prussia, &c., stake known by these presents—When, by the providence of God, we were called to ascend the Boyal throne of Prussia, we signified our solemn intention to carry on the Govern- ment graciously committed to our care in accordance with the laws and constitu- tion of the kingdom. Our predecessors upon the throne have handed down to us the time-honoured oust= of the hereditary homage which is offered to the Kings of Prussia on their accession to the throne by the country. This custom we hold as an inviolable right of our Crown, and would also preserve the same for our successors in the Government. In consideration, however, of the changes
which have been introduced into the constitution of the monarchy, under the auspicious reign of our much beloved brother, King Frederick William IV. of blessed memory, we have determined, in place of the hereditary Huldigang, to renew the solemn ceremony of coronation, by means of which the hereditary toyal dignities were established in our House by our illustrious ancestor King
Frederick William I. While humbly bowing in the face of God, and earnestly praying for the blessing of the Almighty upon ourselves and our beloved coun- try, we will bear testimony to the sacred and imperishable rights of the throne to which we have been called by the pace of God at the ceremony of coronation, in presence of the members of both Houses of the Landtag, and of other wit- nesses summoned by us from all the provinces of our kingdom, and we will there strengthen-anew that union between our House and the people of Prussia which has been already knit together by a glorious history. Accordingly, we shall, in
common with the Queen our consort, celebrate our gamin coronation in the month of October of this year, in our capital and residence of the city of Konigs- berg, reserving for a subsequent time the announcement of further and more particular directions upon the ceremonial procedure, as also upon the solemn entry to take place on our return to our capital and residence of the city of Berlin. "Given in our capital and residence of the city of Berlin on the third of the
month July, 186la " WiLuara" This is supposed to imply the King's intention to adhere to the constitution. The coronation will take place in October. A rumour is afloat that the King intends to visit the camp at Ohttlens, but it is not eoufirmed.
Previous page
