Gross No. 618. really independent, it would be at once called to account by the King of Italy britannien, for these aggressive and unjustifiable proceeding, and would not venture to dis 27. Dec. 1862. regard his just and well-founded remonstrances. The continuance of these barbarous outrages is, therefore, an evil entirely owing to the French occupation of Rome, and it would cease at once if proper orders were given by the French Minister of War to the General commanding the French troops in the Roman territory. The Minister of War has but to say peremptorily,,Let brigandage cease," and the Roman banditti would be extinguished in a fortnight. ¶ Her Majesty's Government cannot refrain from submitting to that of France that the Government of the Emperor ought either to leave the Roman State to settle its own quarrels and to atone for its own misdeeds, or it ought to insist upon a behaviour on the part of the Pope which shall be peaceable towards his neighbours, and in conformity with that impartial love and universal charity professed in words by Pius IX., but utterly disregarded in action by his Minister. ¶Your Excellency may read this despatch to M. Drouyn de Lhuys. To Earl Cowley, Paris. I am, &c. Russell. No. 519. No. 519. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Botschafter in Paris an den königl. Min. d. Ausw. Bericht über eine Unterredung mit Drouyn de Lhuys über das neapolitanische Bandenwesen. My Lord, Paris, Dec. 30, (received Dec. 31) 1862. I read yesterday to M. Drouyn de Lhuys your Lordship's britannien, despatch of the 27th inst. relating to the evils resulting from the political brigan1862. dage which is organized at Rome against the southern provinces of Italy, and 30. Dec which Her Majesty's Government consider it to be the duty of the French troops, as long as they occupy Rome, to put down and prevent. M. Drouyn de Lhuys said that he had no objection to make to the general principles laid down in your Lordship's despatch, and he could assure me that the Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne had gone to Rome with very strong instructions upon this important subject. He would state, further, that the opinions of the French Government had been conveyed to the Pope, to Cardinal Antonelli, and to the ex-King of Naples, in a manner which he could not but hope would produce a proper effect. There was, no doubt, great exaggeration as to the extent of the evil complained of, but evil, he could not deny, there was, and he would take this opportunity of renewing in pressing language the instructions with which M. de la Tour d'Auvergne was, as he had stated, already furnished. I have, &c. To Earl Russell, London. Cowley. No. 520. GROSSBRITANNIEN. — Mr. Odo Russell an d. königl. Min. d. Ausw. Berichtigung der früheren Depesche (No. 517) über das neapolitanische Banden wesen. Rome, Jan. 14, (Received Jan. 28) 1863. Gross 14. Januar 1863. [Extract.] Your Lordship has learnt that General Count de Monte- No. 525. bello denies in the most positive manner the truth of the statement relative to britannien, the passage of brigands over the frontier, contained in my despatch of the 24th of November last. Reliable as my informants appeared to me to be, I must now suppose that they were in this case themselves deceived, and I regret to have unwittingly sent incorrect information to your Lordship. I also regret to say that I found General de Montebello somewhat annoyed at the occurrence. He said that, by supposing that men could be armed and equipped in Rome, and sent to the frontier without his knowledge, I had blamed his military administration of Rome; but that criticism was a matter of indifference to him so long as his own conscience and sense of duty were satisfied. I told the General how much I regretted that any statements of mine should have been a cause of annoyance to him; that I had made them on what I considered good authority ; and that similar statements formerly made by me had been entirely confirmed by his predecessor, General de Goyon. The means employed, I said, by the Legitimist Committee to send men and arms to the frontier had formerly been as follows: The men were sent singly on foot to certain convents on the frontier, while old French uniforms were bought from the Jews in the Ghetto, and, as well as arms and other equipments, carried bit by bit to isolated vignas in the Campagna, and at night packed in old herring casks, and gradually conveyed to the frontier, where they were distributed to the men already there assembled. The General said he had entirely put an end to such proceedings; besides which he now had the full co-operation of the Papal Government to put down brigandage, and that he could assure me on his honour that armed men could not longer leave Rome and proceed to the frontier without his knowledge, and that I had therefore been misinformed, and the statements sent home by me, and communicated by Earl Cowley to M. Drouyn de Lhuys, would prove to be incorrect. I replied that I was glad to hear from him that he was so successful in putting down brigandage, and I hoped he would occasionally give me some correct information on these subjects as his predecessor, General de Goyon, had done. Count de Montebello replied that he would do so, and that for the present he could tell me that Tristani's band was reduced to about 60 men, and would probably soon be altogether disbanded and destroyed; that in Rome he had put a stop to all communication between Tristani and his employers, and that he had lately seized and confiscated in a Roman printing establishment about 2,000 copies of a printed proclamation calling upon the Neapolitans to rise and join their legitimate Sovereign, King Francis II. &c. To Earl Russell, London. Odo Russell. No. 521. No. 521. 5. Febr. 1863. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Königliche Botschaft, verlesen durch den Lord Kanz ler, als Chef der königlichen Commission zur Eröffnung des Parlaments, am 5. Februar 1863 My Lords and Gentlemen, Her Majesty commands us to inform you britannien, that since you were last assembled she has declared her consent to a marriage between his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra, daughter of Prince Christian of Denmark; and her Majesty has concluded thereupon a treaty with the King of Denmark, which will be laid before you. The constant proofs which her Majesty has received of your attachment to her person and family persuade her that you will participate in her sentiments on an event so interesting to her Majesty, and which, with the blessing of God, will, she trusts, prove so conducive to the happiness of her family and to the welfare of her people. ¶ Her Majesty doubts not that you will enable her to make provision for such an establishment as you may think suitable to the rank and dignity of the Heir Apparent to the Crown of these realms. A revolution having taken place in Greece, by which the throne of that kingdom has become vacant, the Greek nation have expressed the strongest desire that her Majesty's son Prince Alfred should accept the Greek Crown. This unsolicited and spontaneous manifestation of good-will towards her Majesty and her family, and of a due appreciation of the benefits conferred by the principles and practice of the British Constitution, could not fail to be highly gratifying, and has been deeply felt by her Majesty. But the diplomatic engagements of her Majesty's Crown, together with other weighty considerations, have prevented her Majesty from yielding to this general wish of the Greek nation. ¶ Her Majesty trusts, however, that the same principles of choice which led the Greek nation to direct their thoughts, in the first instance, towards his Royal Highness Prince Alfred, may guide them to the selection of a Sovereign under whose sway the kingdom of Greece may enjoy the blessings of internal prosperity and of peaceful relations with other States; and if in such a state of things the Republic of the Seven Islands should declare a deliberate wish to be united to the kingdom of Greece, her Majesty would be prepared to take such steps as may be necessary for a revision of the Treaty of November, 1815, by which that Republic was reconstituted and was placed under the protection of the British Crown. ¶ Her Majesty's relations with foreign Powers continue to be friendly and satisfactory. Her Majesty has abstained from taking any step with a view to induce a cessation of the conflict between the contending parties in the North American States; because it has not yet seemed to her Majesty that any such overtures could be attended with a probability of success. ¶ Her Majesty has viewed with the deepest concern the desolating warfare which still rages in those regions; and she has witnessed with heartfelt grief the severe distress and suffering which that war has inflicted upon a large class of her Majesty's subjects, but which have been borne by them with noble fortitude and with exemplary resignation. It is some consolation to her Majesty to be led to hope that this Gross 5. Febr. 1863. suffering and this distress are rather diminishing than increasing; and that some No. 521. revival of employment is beginning to take place in the manufacturing districts. britannien, ¶It has been most gratifying to her Majesty to witness the abundant generosity with which all classes of her subjects in all parts of her empire have contributed to relieve the wants of their suffering fellow-countrymen; and the liberality with which her Majesty's colonial subjects have on this occasion given their aid has proved that, although their dwelling-places are far away, their hearts are still warm with unabated affection for the land of their fathers. The Relief Committees have superintended with constant and laborious attention the distribution of the funds entrusted to their charge. Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she has concluded with the King of the Belgians a treaty of commerce and navigation, and a convention respecting joint stock companies. That treaty and that convention will be laid before you. ¶ Her Majesty has likewise given directions that there shall be laid before you papers relating to the affairs of Italy, and to the affairs of Greece, and that papers shall also be laid before you relating to occurrences which have lately taken place in Japan. Gentlemen of the House of Commons, Her Majesty has directed that the Estimates for the ensuing year shall be laid before you. They have been prepared with a due regard to economy, and will provide for such reductions of expenditure as have appeared to be consistent with the proper efficiency of the public service. My Lords and Gentlemen, We are commanded by her Majesty to inform you that notwithstanding the continuance of the civil war in North America, the general commerce of the country during the past year has not sensibly diminished. The treaty of commerce which her Majesty concluded with the Emperor of the French has already been productive of results highly advantageous to both the nations to which it applies; and the general state of the revenue, notwithstanding many unfavourable circumstances, has not been unsatisfactory. ¶ Her Majesty trusts that these results may be taken as proofs that the productive resources of the country are unimpaired. ¶ It has been gratifying to her Majesty to observe the spirit of order which happily prevails throughout her dominions, and which is so essential an element in the well-being and prosperity of nations. Various measures of public usefulness and improvement will be submitted for your consideration; and her Majesty fervently prays that in all your deliberations the blessing of Almighty God may guide your counsels to the promotion of the welfare and happiness of her people. No. 522. PREUSSEN. Adresse des Hauses der Abgeordneten an den König, die No. 522. Allerdurchlauchtigster etc. Eure Königliche Majestät haben die Preussen, beiden Häuser des Landtages der Monarchie wiederum einberufen. *) Vergl. No. 472. Das Haus 29. Januar 1863. Preussen, 1863. No. 522. der Abgeordneten ist diesem Rufe gefolgt, durchdrungen von dem ernsten Willen, 29. Januar die unverbrüchliche Treue gegen die Krone, die gewissenhafteste Sorge für die Aufrechthaltung der Verfassung von Neuem zu bethätigen. Es verhehlt sich nicht, dass es seine Arbeiten unter düstern Vorzeichen beginnt. Aber gerade deshalb fühlt es um so mehr die Pflicht, Ew. Majestät die Lage des Landes eben so offen wie ehrfurchtsvoll darzulegen. ¶ Die letzte Session wurde geschlossen, bevor für das Jahr 1862 das von der Verfassung vorgeschriebene Etatsgesetz festgestellt worden war. Der Etatsentwurf für das Jahr 1863, welcher vor Ablauf des vorigen Jahres hätte vereinbart sein sollen, war zurückgezogen worden. Die Aufforderung an die Regierung Ew. Majestät, diesen Etat noch rechtzeitig wieder vorzulegen, war ohne Erfolg geblieben. Seitdem haben die von Ew. Majestät berufenen Minister verfassungswidrig die Verwaltung ohne gesetzlichen Etat fortgeführt, und sogar, entgegen einer bestimmten Erklärung des Hauses der Abgeordneten, solche Ausgaben verfügt, welche durch Beschlüsse des Hauses definitiv und ausdrücklich abgelehnt waren. Das oberste Recht der Volksvertretung, das der Ausgabebewilligung, war damit angegriffen, ein Recht, welches die Grundlage des constitutionellen Staatslebens überhaupt ist, welches daher auch alle bestehenden constitutionellen Verfassungen gewährleisten, und welches bisher, unter steter Anerkennung durch die Staatsregierung selbst, von der preussischen Volksvertretung geübt war. Das Land sah mit Schrecken den ganzen Gewinn unserer bisherigen staatlichen Entwickelung in Frage gestellt. Es stand zu seinen Abgeordneten. Nur eine kleine, der Nation seit lange entfremdete Minderheit hat, gestützt durch die Minister Ew. Majestät, bis zu den Stufen des Thrones die gröbsten Verleumdungen gegen einen Factor der Gesetzgebung getragen und den Versuch nicht gescheut, das Urtheil über Mass und Bedeutung klarer Verfassungsrechte zu verwirren. ¶ Gleichzeitig ist vielfach ein Missbrauch der Regierungsgewalt, wie er in den trüben Jahren vor Beginn der Regentschaft Ew. Majestät stattfand, hervorgetreten. Es sind verfassungstreue Beamte, zumal solche, welche zugleich Abgeordnete waren, mit drückenden Massregeln heimgesucht worden. Es ist die Presse verfolgt worden, wo sie für das Recht offen eintrat. Es ist der Versuch gemacht, die Ausübung unzweifelhafter staatsbürgerlicher Rechte Seitens nicht einberufener Landwehrmänner durch unzulässige, ausserhalb der Dienstordnung liegende Befehle militairischer Vorgesetzter zu hindern. Allerdurchlauchtigster etc. Ew. Königliche Majestät haben noch jüngst zu erklären geruht, dass Niemand an Allerhöchst Ihrem Willen zweifeln dürfe, die beschworene Verfassung aufrecht zu erhalten und zu schützen. In der That wagt Niemand, einen solchen Zweifel zu hegen. Aber, gestatten Ew. Majestät es offen auszusprechen, die Verfassung ist durch die Minister schon jetzt verletzt. Der Art. 99 keine Wahrheit mehr. Das schwere Uebel einer budgetlosen Regierung ist über das Land gekommen. Und die neue Session hat begonnen, ohne dass durch ein thatsächliches Entgegenkommen der Regierung auch nur die Aussicht eröffnet wäre, es werde gelingen, die geregelte Handhabung der Finanzen zurückzuführen und die Heereseinrichtung wieder auf gesetzliche Grundlagen zu stützen. ¶ Das Ausland sieht mit Staunen einen Con |