[p. 509]
|509| nor for himself a holder of an individual vote but a substitute of one, came forward with a speech which began with the previously mentioned praise of the King, of the “exalted monarch, who has shown rare strength, has extended Württemberg considerably and now restores the constitution founded for ever by his Illustrious Forefathers, all of them princes of rare qualities”. – It could not well have been otherwise than that the first utterance on the part of the assembly of estates, if not an acknowledgement of the royal act just performed, of giving his realm a constitution, would yet contain a eulogy in general terms which showed itself to be seemly. This eulogy, like the whole speech, is now so contrived and equivocal, the stamp of subtlety so impressed on every word, that the assembly of estates could take satisfaction in the skill of its speaker, who had shown the due devotion outwardly but had reserved everything inwardly; – the King and the ministry, by contrast, could take these twisted and concealed expressions as mockery, all the more as the resolution is expressly ascribed to the former to restore the bond recognised for centuries as beneficial between the ruler and all the estates of the state and a constitution satisfying all parts, and to sublate again the abolition, which took place nine years ago, of the constitution founded by the Illustrious Forefathers for eternal times. One might have taken this assurance for a bold presupposition if it had been acted on immediately and only in its sense; but it could, as said, appear rather merely mocking and malicious, since the grievance of the assembly of estates from this very first sitting had only the content that, on the contrary, the King had precisely not wanted to restore that old constitution, that with the constitution originating from him not a single one of the estates of his state, no part of it (apart from the King himself and his ministers) was satisfied.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.