The German Constitution

[p. 578]

The former would be brought about by all the military of Germany being melted together into one army. Every greater prince would be a born general in it, each would be the proprietor of a regiment of his own within it and would confer its commissions, or would have his own separate life guard and garrison for his capital. In the smaller estates, companies or smaller parts would be quartered. The emperor would naturally have the supreme direction of this army. The costs of this army, which at present are for the most part paid by the estates of the realm – not, as formerly, by the prince out of his domains – would likewise be borne by the lands. These costs the estates of the realm would have to grant annually, and indeed they would unite for this purpose from all the lands together, which could hardly happen in such a way that some members of the existing estates of the realm were deputed to it – because some lands have no estates of the realm, and for quite small estates the costs would be too great – but, if for the purposes of the levying of troops it were already necessary that Germany be given a military division, each circle into smaller circles, quite independent of the remaining jurisdictions and sovereign rights, which would have nothing at all to do with the military division, then deputies could be chosen from the subdivisions according to the number of their inhabitants, who would have to grant the impositions for the maintenance of the state power.

These deputies would form for this purpose one body with the bench of cities of the Imperial Diet – this bench of cities has in any case suffered a further diminution through the loss of several cities, and it is the question whether it will not suffer yet other diminutions, to the own good of some of the smaller among them, in the business of indemnification – Hamburg too would have to be obliged to send its deputy. – The smallest imperial cities, of one or a couple of thousand citizens, have votes in the Imperial Diet, and a whole land such as Bohemia,

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