The German Government has taken a step towards granting a
certain autonomy to Alsace-Lorraine. A Bill has been introduced allowing the provincial Parliament to legislate for the province, and taking it out of the hands of the general Parliament of the Empire. A veto will, of course, remain with the Emperor, and "provincial laws decreed by Imperial legislation can only be repealed or altered by the same means." The Bill was advo- cated by the Government, which stated that the Assembly of Alsace-Lorraine, though often opposed to the Administration, had proved itself a sensible and useful body. Under this measure, the province accepts a position nearly as good as that of Baden, with this difference,—that it has no native Court, but becomes a sort of peculium of the Emperor, who, if a genial man, might hereafter, in concert with the Assembly, do much to con- ciliate the Province.
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