The first Session of the Federal Parliament of Germany was-
opened on Tuesday by the Emperor in person. His Majesty, who was surrounded by a splendid cortege of Princes and Generals, read his speech seated on the new throne, the stone seat of Charle- magne, brought from the Cathedral of Aix for the ceremonial, There was grandeur in the suggested reminiscence, but the stone must have struck cold. The Emperor, after giving thanks to God for the "historic successes" with which He had been pleased to• bless the German armies, declared that the nation had achieved the unity of Germany (" Bin !" from Vienna), the security of her frontiers, and the independence of her national development. "The spirit which animates the German people and pervades its culture and morals, nor in a less degree the constitution of its- Empire and its armies, guards Germany in the midst of its suc- cesses against every temptation to abuse the power gained by its unity. Germany willingly pays the respect claimed for its own independence to the independence of all other States and peoples, the weak as well as the powerful." The Emperor had felt especial satisfaction in using his mediatory endeavours at the London Con- ference. After a somewhat vague account of the measures to be. introduced, one of which is to be a law for the settlement of Alsace, the Emperor concluded by the fervent expression of his hope that the glorious German Imperial War "might be followed by an equally glorious peace of the Empire, and may the task of the German people henceforth be to Trove victorious in the universal struggle for the products of peace !"
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