Frederic Austin Ogg’s The Governments of Europe argues that European political institutions must be understood through their historical development and national circumstances. This deck covers Ogg’s account of Anglo-Saxon government, English legal and administrative change, Magna Carta, and Edward I’s Model Parliament.
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Chapter 1 · Question
What three considerations determined the content of Ogg's book?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
Ogg says the content was determined by three considerations: providing wide opportunity for comparative study of political institutions, including minor as well as major nations; taking careful account of historical origins and growth, with constitutional history sketches arranged so they may be omitted; and including treatment of political parties and local administration.
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Section 13 cards
What three considerations determined the content of Ogg's book?
Ogg says the content was determined by three considerations: providing wide opportunity for comparative study of political institutions, including minor as well as major nations; taking careful account of historical origins and growth, with constitutional history sketches arranged so they may be omitted; and including treatment of political parties and local administration.
Chapter 1
Why did Ogg abandon treating the governments of eastern nations?
Ogg states the original purpose to treat eastern nations' governments was abandoned, somewhat reluctantly, because of the demands of space and because he felt that portion of the projected work would perhaps meet no very serious need in the usual college courses.
Chapter 1
How does Ogg arrange historical material for countries reconstituted in the Revolutionary era?
Ogg says that for countries whose political system underwent a general reconstitution during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era, he thought it not feasible to allude, even briefly, to historical developments prior to the later eighteenth century. Historical sketches are also arranged so they may readily be omitted if deemed desirable.
Chapter 1
Section 24 cards
What were the three most important features of the Anglo-Saxon governmental system?
According to Ogg, the most important features of Anglo-Saxon government, from the standpoint of later institutional history, were kingship, the witenagemot (council of wise men), and the units of local administration: shire, hundred, borough, and township. He notes that political organization among the Germanic invaders was rudimentary, but the circumstances of conquest and settlement stimulated elaboration of governmental machinery and powers.
Chapter 2
How was Anglo-Saxon kingship elective, and what powers did the king actually hold?
Saxon kingship was elective, patriarchal, and limited in power. Kings were elected by important men in council; though the dignity was hereditary in a family supposedly descended from the gods, an abler relative might be chosen over an immediate heir (e.g., Alfred over Ethelred's children in 871). The king was primarily a war-leader, law-giver in consultation with wise men, and supreme judge, but held no court and had no direct control over local affairs.
Chapter 2
What was the witenagemot, and what functions did it perform?
The witenagemot was the council of wise men associated with the king in public business. Its composition varied by the monarch's will; likely members included the royal family, greater ecclesiastics, king's gesiths or thegns, ealdormen, leading officers, and principal landholders directly of the king. No popularly elected representatives were included. Meeting three or four times yearly, it made laws, imposed taxes, concluded treaties, appointed ealdormen and bishops, occasionally heard cases, and elected (and could depose) the king.
Chapter 2
How did the hundred-moot and shire-moot differ in composition and function?
The hundred-moot introduced representation: the reeve, parish priest, and four "best men" from each township and borough attended, meeting as often as monthly to adjudicate civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical cases. The shire-moot, theoretically a gathering of all freemen (in person or by representative), met twice yearly, presided over jointly by the ealdorman and bishop, and decided land-ownership disputes, heard suits not resolved in the hundred court, and exercised incidental ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Chapter 2
Section 34 cards
What did Henry II accomplish for English law and administration?
The author argues Henry II (1154-1189) recovered royal power lost under Stephen and initiated the rule of law. He reduced subjects to equality before one legal system, fought rebellious nobles and independent clergy, revived provincial visitations of royal justices, extended the jury in local justice and finance, appointed lawyers or soldiers as sheriffs rather than great barons, commuted military service for scutage, revived the fyrd, and summoned the Great Council frequently.
Chapter 3
Why did the barons force Magna Carta on King John in 1215?
John (1199-1216) persistently evaded established constitutional rules: that the king should not impose fresh taxation without the advice and consent of the Great Council, and that no man should be fined or despoiled of property except by judicial sentence. Finding himself without a party and facing deposition, he accepted the guarantee of liberties demanded by barons, Church, and people, promulgated June 15, 1215.
Chapter 3
Was Magna Carta a new constitution or a restatement of old principles?
The author argues the Charter contained little or nothing new. The barons sought to gather up principles and customs the better kings had observed but Richard and John had evaded, aiming at redress of practical grievances and good government under the old constitution rather than a new form of government or code of laws. It was based largely on Henry I's charter of 1100, itself based on the laws of Edward the Confessor.
Chapter 3
What did the clause about judgment of peers actually guarantee?
The author notes the clause meant considerably less than often interpreted. 'Peers' meant only equals in rank: the guarantee was simply that barons should not be judged by persons of inferior feudal rank. It did not imply trial by jury, which was increasingly common in the thirteenth century but was not guaranteed in the Great Charter.
Chapter 3
Section 44 cards
What was Edward I's Model Parliament of 1295, and who was summoned to it?
Edward I summoned the two archbishops, all bishops, greater abbots, and important earls and barons individually, while sheriffs ensured two knights per shire, two citizens per city, and two burgesses per borough were chosen. Bishops could bring lesser clergy. About 400 persons attended, representing all constituent orders of English society, and the device of Simon de Montfort was finally given legal character.
Chapter 4
Why did the English Parliament become bicameral rather than tricameral like France's Estates-General?
The three estates originally sat separately to vote supplies. The lesser clergy withdrew, preferring to vote contributions in the convocations of Canterbury and York. The greater clergy and greater barons merged into one body, while lesser barons aligned with knights of the shire and burgesses. By the close of Edward III's reign the bicameral arrangement was established. The author argues that but for the lesser clergy's withdrawal, there might have been three houses.
Chapter 4
What financial principles had Parliament secured by the close of the Middle Ages?
Parliament forced two principles: that the right to levy taxes of every sort lay in its hands, and that the crown could impose no direct tax without its assent, nor indirect tax beyond customs recognized in Magna Carta. Edward I confirmed this in 1297, a statute of 1340 reiterated it, and in 1407 Henry IV approved that money grants be initiated in the Commons, assented to by the Lords, then reported to the king.
Chapter 4
How did the legislative process shift from petition to bill, and what did the 1322 statute establish?
The statute of 1322 stipulated that matters for the realm be treated and established in parliaments by the king with the assent of prelates, earls, barons, and commonalty. This established Parliament's legislative character and the commoners' legislative parity with the magnates. Later, Henry V in 1414 promised nothing be enacted contrary to the Commons' asking, and under Henry VI procedure changed to drafted bills introduced in either house, leaving the crown a veto.
Chapter 4
Section 54 cards
On what did the Tudor monarchy rest, according to the quoted scholar?
The author quotes G. W. Prothero arguing that the Tudor monarchy, unlike most despotisms, did not depend on gold, force, vast estates, unlimited taxation, or a standing army. It rested instead on the willing support of the nation, rooted in the conviction that a strong executive was necessary to national unity and that the sovereign needed a free hand against dangers at home and abroad.
Chapter 5
What was the Privy Council's size, composition, and real function?
The Privy Council ordinarily comprised about seventeen or eighteen persons, though under Henry VIII membership approached forty. Councillors were almost invariably members of one house of Parliament, which helped the Government control proceedings without any recognized executive responsibility to the legislature. Technically its function was only advisory, but in practice even vigilant sovereigns like Henry VIII and Elizabeth allowed councillors large discretion, and under the early Stuarts it nearly ruled the realm.
Chapter 5
Why was the Court of Star Chamber created in 1487?
A special tribunal of seven great officials and Council members, including two judges, was created in 1487 to hear cases involving breaches of law by offenders too powerful to be reached through the ordinary courts. It became known as the Court of Star Chamber from its meeting-place. It was effectively a committee of the Privy Council, exercising jurisdiction the Council had long exercised extra-legally, and by the mid-sixteenth century it included all Council members plus the two chief justices.
Chapter 5
How did the crown control Parliament and evade its authority under the Tudors?
The author argues the Tudors treated Parliament as a tool, not a co-ordinate power. The crown convened Parliament irregularly, tampered with elections, dictated proceedings, and suspended privileges like free speech. It also issued proclamations with the force of law and claimed power to dispense with law in individual cases. Financially, the crown had independent revenues, and customs and tonnage and poundage were voted for the whole reign, leaving Parliament real leverage only over extraordinary subsidies.
Chapter 5
Section 64 cards
How did the length and frequency of parliaments change in the Tudor era?
Before Henry VIII, a parliament's life was usually confined to a single brief session. Under the Tudors, parliaments ceased to be meetings broken up once specific business was done and were brought together across several succeeding sessions. Henry VIII's Reformation Parliament lasted seven years; Elizabeth had ten parliaments and thirteen sessions in forty-five years, one lasting eleven years though meeting only three times.
Chapter 6
What did Thomas Smith's 1589 book assert about Parliament's power?
Thomas Smith, a court secretary, published 'The Commonwealth of England and the Manner of Government Thereof' in 1589. It laid down the fundamental proposition that 'the most high and absolute power of the realm of England consisteth in the parliament.' The chapter notes there is no record that this doctrine, proclaimed even by a court official, elicited serious protest or difference of opinion.
Chapter 6
What three rights of the Commons did the Apology of the Commons (1604) enumerate?
The Apology of the Commons, dated June 20, 1604, stated the Commons' rights chiefly in three things: first, that shires, cities, and boroughs have free choice of their representatives; second, that members be free from restraint, arrest, and imprisonment during parliament and their access and recess; third, that they may speak freely their consciences without check, with due reverence to the sovereign court of parliament.
Chapter 6
What did the Petition of Right (1628) prohibit?
Drawn up by Charles I's third parliament in 1628-1629, the Petition of Right received the king's reluctant assent. It specifically prohibited arbitrary imprisonment, the billeting of soldiers, the establishment of martial law in time of peace, and the imposition of gifts, loans, benevolences, or taxes without the consent of Parliament.
Chapter 6
Section 72 cards
How did James II subvert the Restoration settlement?
James II, attached to divine right, issued decrees dispensing with statutes Parliament had enacted, established an ecclesiastical commission in violation of parliamentary law of 1641, and in 1687 promulgated a declaration of indulgence granting Catholics and Non-Conformists religious freedom clearly denied by the laws. The author argues this arbitrary resumption of ancient prerogative utterly subverted the theory underlying the Restoration.
Chapter 7
What did the Bill of Rights do to divine right and royal tenure?
With its enactment the doctrine of divine right disappeared forever from practical English politics. The author argues that William III's accession determined the royal tenure to be, as it thereafter remained, not by inherent or vested right but conditioned upon the national will.
Chapter 7
Section 84 cards
What did Charles II declare was the reason for creating a smaller cabinet body?
Charles II stated in 1679 that "the great number of the Council has made it unfit for the secrecy and despatch that are necessary in many great affairs." The cabinet emerged from an inner circle of the Privy Council, a practice that predated Charles II and existed as the "cabinet council" under Charles I. The name came from the king's habit of meeting members in a small private room, and was first used as a term of reproach.
Chapter 8
What six features defined the cabinet by the close of the eighteenth century?
The cabinet was fixed as a body necessarily consisting of (a) members of Parliament, (b) of the same political views, (c) chosen from the party holding a majority in the House of Commons, (d) prosecuting a concerted policy, (e) under common responsibility signified by collective resignation upon parliamentary censure, and (f) acknowledging subordination to one chief minister.
Chapter 8
What did the Whigs and Tories stand for when they first divided under Charles II?
Dividing first over the exclusion of James, the Whigs broadly stood for religious toleration and parliamentary supremacy in government, while the Tories stood for Anglicanism and the prerogative. These positions were fundamentally irreconcilable, and the two parties continued struggling over them long after the Stuart monarchy ended.
Chapter 8
How was Ireland represented in the common parliament after the Act of Union of 1801?
Ireland was represented by four spiritual lords and twenty-eight temporal peers, chosen by the Irish peerage for life, and by one hundred members of the House of Commons (sixty-four for counties, thirty-five for boroughs, and one for the University of Dublin). The Irish parliament was abolished, and the Anglican Church of Ireland was amalgamated with the Church of England.
Chapter 8
Section 94 cards
According to Dicey, what distinguishes constitutional conventions from constitutional law?
The author cites Dicey to explain that the "law" of the constitution, whether written or unwritten, is enforceable by the courts, while conventions are not. Conventions are understandings, practices, and habits regulating much of the actual operation of government. They may be written down but do not appear in statute-books or in any instrument usable as a basis for court action.
Chapter 9
What examples does the chapter give of constitutional conventions?
The chapter lists several: the convention forbidding the king to veto a measure passed by Parliament; ministers resigning when they cease to command the confidence of the House of Commons; a bill being read three times in the Commons; Parliament being convened annually and consisting of two houses. The cabinet rests entirely upon convention. If the sovereign vetoed a bill, consequences might be serious, but its legality could not be questioned.
Chapter 9
How does Parliament's constituent power differ from its legislative power in Britain?
The chapter states that in Great Britain no line has ever been drawn between constituent and legislative powers; all are vested alike in Parliament, with no difference in process for measures touching fundamental principles and ordinary statutes. Anson is quoted saying Parliament can make laws protecting wild birds or shell-fish and by the same procedure disestablish the Church or redistribute political power.
Chapter 9
What does the author say about the distinction between constitutional laws and ordinary statutes in Britain?
The author argues the distinction is neither so obvious nor so essential as under most systems. There is no difference of process, so the line, if traceable at all, must come from the circumstances of enactment—some measures like the Habeas Corpus Act or the Parliament Act of 1911 are fundamental, others ephemeral. Bryce is cited as saying this obstacle is why no attempt has been made to reduce the constitution to a single enactment.
Chapter 9
Section 104 cards
What statute governs the succession to the British throne, and what does it require of the sovereign?
The Act of Settlement, passed by the Tory parliament of 1701, regulates succession, vesting the crown in Sophia of Hanover and the heirs of her body being Protestants. No Catholic may inherit, nor anyone marrying a Catholic, and the sovereign must join in communion with the Church of England. Parliament could repeal the act and vest the crown in another house.
Chapter 10
How is a regency created in Great Britain, and what problem can arise?
Great Britain makes provision for each contingency of minority or incapacitation only when it arises; a regency can be created and a regent designated only by act of Parliament. Since parliamentary enactments need royal assent, it has sometimes happened that the sovereign requiring a regent was incapable of performing any governmental act, so resort was had to a legal fiction to preserve regularity.
Chapter 10
What is the Civil List, and how did its scope change under William IV and Victoria?
The Civil List is a fixed annual subsidy voted for the royal household, its amount determined afresh at the start of each reign; it was instituted by an act of 1689, separating private crown expenses from public outlays. William IV surrendered hereditary revenues and miscellaneous income for £510,000 a year; at Victoria's accession it was fixed at £385,000, with provision for state charges transferred to Parliament.
Chapter 10
How does Dicey define the prerogative, and what are Anson's three sources of it?
Dicey defines the prerogative as the residue of discretionary or arbitrary authority legally left in the hands of the crown. Anson's sources are: the residue of executive power the king once held in all branches of government; survivals of power accruing to him as feudal chief; and attributes invested by legal theory, such as 'the king never dies' and 'the king can do no wrong.'
Chapter 10
Section 114 cards
What two groups do the crown's powers fall into, and which is more important?
The powers of the crown fall into two groups: those essentially executive in character and those shared with the two houses of Parliament, which are therefore chiefly legislative. The author states the first group is distinctly the more important, including appointment and removal of officers, execution of laws, expenditure of public money, pardons, creating peers, coining money, command of the army and navy, and foreign representation.
Chapter 11
What limits does the chapter place on the crown's legislative power?
The crown summons and prorogues the houses and may dissolve the House of Commons, and no act is valid without its assent. But the sovereign may make no inherent law-making ordinances except in crown colonies; statutory orders require specific statutory authorization. The Bill of Rights forbade suspending or dispensing with laws, and the veto has not been used since Queen Anne in 1707.
Chapter 11
What two principles underlie the exercise of the crown's powers?
First, the crown shall perform no important governmental act save through the agency of the ministers. Second, the ministers shall be responsible absolutely to Parliament for every public act they perform. From these arises the fiction that 'the king can do no wrong': legally the sovereign cannot be adjudged guilty, politically the ministers answer for everything done in the crown's name.
Chapter 11
What three rights does Bagehot say the sovereign possesses?
The author cites Bagehot's view that the sovereign has three rights: the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn, adding that a king of great sense and sagacity would want no others. The chapter notes the king keeps close touch with the premier and that Queen Victoria and Edward VII at times wielded decisive influence, though such influence cannot be recorded.
Chapter 11
Section 124 cards
How does the cabinet relate to the Privy Council in law and theory?
The author explains that the cabinet arose as an inner circle of the larger Privy Council, selected because the full body was too large for despatch and secrecy. The Privy Council survives and in law and theory remains the advisory body of the crown; a cabinet member holds authority and is known to the law only as a privy councillor. In fact, however, the Council is now all but powerless and purely formal.
Chapter 12
What legal action can as few as three privy councillors take?
Although the Privy Council holds no deliberative meetings, its action is still legally essential to many public measures, such as the preparation of proclamations and orders in council. This action may be taken by as few as three persons. Since all cabinet members are councillors, even one-fifth or one-sixth of the cabinet is competent to meet every legal requirement imposed on the Council as a whole.
Chapter 12
How did the five principal secretaries of state originate?
The author traces a curious evolution: originally there was a single secretary of state. A second was added in the earlier eighteenth century without creating a new office, a third at the close of that century, a fourth after the Crimean War, and a fifth after the Indian Mutiny of 1857. All five in theory occupy the same office and each may legally exercise the others' functions, though in practice each keeps to his own domain.
Chapter 12
Why are the administrative boards described as legal phantoms?
The author notes that the boards' membership nominally includes the five secretaries of state and other dignitaries, but this is nominal only: no board actually meets, and the work is done entirely by its president, sometimes with a parliamentary under-secretary. Quoting Lowell, the author calls them legal phantoms providing imaginary colleagues for a single responsible minister. Presidents are commonly but not always admitted to the cabinet.
Chapter 12
Section 134 cards
Why did the British cabinet grow to around twenty members by 1900?
Ogg attributes the increase to several causes: pressure from ambitious statesmen seeking admission to the influential circle, the need to represent varied elements and interests within the dominant party, the multiplication of state activities requiring direction under new departments, and the disposition to give every considerable branch of the administration at least one representative. The effect, he notes, is a certain unwieldiness—the very thing the cabinet was originally instituted to avoid.
Chapter 13
What two principles must every cabinet satisfy regarding Parliament and party?
Ogg states that all cabinet members must have seats in one or the other house of Parliament, and all must be identified with the party in power or at least with an allied political group. A desirable appointee lacking a seat may be created a peer or stand for election to the Commons. Commoners appointed must vacate their seats and seek re-election, which almost invariably follows without opposition.
Chapter 13
What does Ogg say about the crown's role in appointing the prime minister?
Legally the choice rests with the crown, but practical politics leaves no discretion: the crown sends for the statesman who can command a majority in the House of Commons. If the ministry has fallen, the new premier is the opposition leader; otherwise a colleague of the retiring premier, nominated by party chiefs, as when Liberal leaders recommended Rosebery over Harcourt in 1894. Ogg argues the substance of power is gone and only the form survives.
Chapter 13
What does political solidarity require of cabinet members?
Ogg explains that cabinets must be composed of men in substantial agreement on the larger questions of policy who are willing to co-operate on a given programme. A Liberal Unionist may serve in a Conservative cabinet and a Laborite in a Liberal one, but a member may not oppose the Government on an important question and remain, save by the premier's express permission. Otherwise resignation is the only course.
Chapter 13
Section 144 cards
How does the British cabinet keep its proceedings secret?
The cabinet operates under an oath of secrecy binding on all privy councillors, especially cabinet officers. No clerical employee attends meetings and no record is kept; members rely on memory or private notes. Even the sovereign receives only a statement of topics considered and occasionally formal drafts of decisions needing assent. Meetings are informal, held as occasion requires, with no fixed place.
Chapter 14
Who is regarded as the first modern prime minister and why?
Sir Robert Walpole, First Lord of the Treasury from 1715 to 1717 and 1721 to 1742, is commonly regarded as the first to fulfill the functions of prime minister in the modern sense. The phrase was not then in use, but a Commons motion attacked him for grasping every branch of government and monopolizing the powers of the crown.
Chapter 14
What does the premier do within the cabinet and ministry?
The premier is the guiding force within the cabinet. He usually presides at meetings, advises colleagues on all matters of consequence, and may require their acquiescence in his views, with the alternative of his resignation, which terminates the ministry ipso facto. He holds a high office, usually First Lord of the Treasury, and watches over every department.
Chapter 14
What role does the cabinet play between executive and legislature?
The author argues the cabinet is the keystone of the system, joining executive and legislative departments like Bagehot's hyphen and buckle. It decides administrative policy and carries it out, while its members sit in Parliament and direct legislation: preparing the Speech from the Throne, formulating and advocating important measures. Private members' bills have an infinitesimal chance of enactment.
Chapter 14
Section 154 cards
Why was the House of Commons undemocratic before the 19th century?
The author argues the Commons was not an "express image of the nation" despite Burke's claim. Until the 19th century it represented aristocratic and governing elements, at best the well-to-do middle classes, not the mass of the nation. Seats were haphazardly apportioned and never reapportioned after census changes, so growing industrial populations were under-represented or unrepresented.
Chapter 15
How unequal was representation between northern and southern England in 1831?
The ten southernmost counties had 3,260,000 people and returned 235 members, while the six northernmost counties had 3,594,000 people but returned only 68. Cornwall with 300,000 inhabitants had 42 representatives; Lancashire with 1,330,000 had 14. Birmingham and Manchester, each over 100,000, and Leeds and Sheffield, each 50,000, had no representation at all.
Chapter 15
What was the forty-shilling freehold franchise in county elections?
A 1429 act under Henry VI restricted county electors to male residents owning free land or tenement renting for at least forty shillings a year above charges. Leaseholders, copyholders, small freeholders, and non-landholders were excluded. With land concentrating in fewer hands, by 1832 county electors were usually only a handful of large landed proprietors.
Chapter 15
What changes did the Reform Act of 1832 make to seats and franchise?
It increased Scottish members from 45 to 54 and Irish from 100 to 105, cutting English and Welsh from 513 to 499. Fifty-six boroughs under 2,000 population lost representation; thirty-one between 2,000 and 4,000 dropped to one member. The 143 freed seats went to large unrepresented boroughs and counties. In boroughs, occupiers of houses worth £10 a year gained the vote; about 455,000 were enfranchised.
Chapter 15
Section 161 cards
How did the 1884 Representation of the People Act change county versus borough franchises?
It extended to the counties the same electoral regulations established in 1867 for the towns, creating a uniform household franchise and uniform lodger franchise in all counties and boroughs of the United Kingdom. Occupation of land or tenement of £10 clear annual value qualified in both, and persons occupying a house by virtue of office or employment counted as occupiers. It doubled the county electorate and added about 2,000,000 voters.
Chapter 16
Section 174 cards
Why does Ogg say Ireland is over-represented at Westminster?
Ogg explains that Ireland's population declined over the past half century, so the average Irish commoner represents only 44,147 people versus 66,971 for an English member. Strict proportional redistribution would cost Ireland 30 seats and Wales three, while Scotland would gain one and England about 30. The Irish resist reduction, citing the Act of Union of 1800 as a treaty guaranteeing one hundred seats.
Chapter 17
What did the Plural Voting Bill of 1906 propose and what happened to it?
After the Liberal triumph of 1906, a Plural Voting Bill was introduced requiring every elector with more than one vote to be registered in the constituency of his choice and no other. It passed the Commons 333 to 104, but the Conservative majority in the Lords defeated it, claiming willingness to consider complete electoral reform but that this bill was not of such character.
Chapter 17
What three reforms did the Franchise Bill of 1912 propose?
The bill substituted a simple residential or occupational qualification for the complicated suffrage network, extending the vote to practically all adult males; simplified registration, enfranchising men blocked by change of residence or registration difficulties; and abolished the plural vote and separate university representation. The first two provisions would add about 2,500,000 voters, the third cut upwards of 600,000, raising the electorate from eight to ten million.
Chapter 17
How did the Reform Act of 1832 affect women's voting qualifications?
Ogg notes that qualified English women once held the national suffrage, though they could not vote themselves; a woman could pass her qualifications temporarily to any man, a privilege occasionally exercised before the seventeenth century. It was not until the Reform Act of 1832, by introducing the phrase "male persons," that the law of elections in effect vested the parliamentary franchise exclusively in men.
Chapter 17
Section 184 cards
What is the only positive legal requirement for holding a British general election?
An election must be ordered once a parliament reaches the maximum lifetime allowed by law. Before 1694 the king could keep a parliament indefinitely; terms were three years from 1694 to 1716, seven years from 1716 to 1911, and five years today. In practice parliaments rarely last the maximum, with elections averaging every three or four years.
Chapter 18
What did the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act of 1883 require of candidates?
It made bribery in seven enumerated forms and treating punishable by imprisonment, fine, or political disqualification. Each candidate had to appoint a single authorized agent to disburse all moneys except specified personal expenditures, and that agent had to file a sworn statement of receipts and expenditures with the returning officer within thirty-five days. The act also capped spending on a sliding scale by constituency size.
Chapter 18
What spending limits did the 1883 Act set for candidates?
In boroughs with no more than 2,000 registered voters the maximum was £350, plus £30 for each additional thousand. In rural constituencies it was £650 under 2,000 electors, plus £60 per additional thousand. Candidates could also spend £100 on purely personal expenses. The author argues the law restrained spending and helped men of moderate means stand for election.
Chapter 18
How did the House of Lords develop from the Great Council?
The Great Council of the Plantagenet period included nobility and clergy, greater and lesser. Lesser clergy drifted to Convocation, and lesser nobles joined the knights of the shire. From the remaining higher clergy and greater nobles came the House of Lords; lesser barons, knights of the shire, and burgesses formed the House of Commons. Some scholars trace it to the Anglo-Saxon witenagemot.
Chapter 18
Section 194 cards
What did the Appellate Jurisdiction Act of 1876 authorize regarding law lords?
It authorized the appointment of two law lords (later increased to four) with the title of baron, to serve as the judicial experts of the House of Lords. Legislation of 1887 made their tenure perpetual for life, whereas it had previously depended on continued exercise of judicial functions. Three of them constitute a quorum for judicial business.
Chapter 19
How is the number of lords spiritual restricted, and which sees always have seats?
Statute limits ecclesiastical members to 26. Five always hold seats: the archbishops of Canterbury and York and the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester. The remaining bishops take seats among twenty-one allowed by seniority. Scotland has none, and Ireland has had none since disestablishment in 1869.
Chapter 19
What disqualifications bar a peer from a seat, and can a peerage be renounced?
A peer must be twenty-one, not an alien, not a bankrupt, and not under sentence for felony. A man who inherits a peerage cannot renounce it. In 1895 William W. Palmer, later Lord Selbourne, tested this by not applying for a writ of summons; the Commons held he had to accept the upper chamber and give up his Commons seat.
Chapter 19
Why did the House of Lords become a political anomaly after 1832?
The author argues that while the Commons was democratized by the reforms of 1832, 1867, and 1884 and the cabinet came under popular control, the Lords underwent no corresponding transformation. It remained hereditary, conservative, tied to landed property and the Anglican Church, and by standing still became an anomaly.
Chapter 19
Section 203 cards
What did the Commons resolution of June 24, 1907, declare about the Lords' power?
Adopted 385 to 100 after a three-day debate, it declared that to give effect to the will of the people as expressed by elected representatives, the other House's power to alter or reject bills passed by the Commons must be restricted by law so that within a single parliament the final decision of the Commons shall prevail.
Chapter 20
What rules did the Commons insist on regarding the Lords and finance?
The Lords ought not to initiate public bills imposing charges on the people or regulating money raised by such charges, and ought not to amend such proposals by altering the amount, incidence, duration, mode of assessment, levy, or collection, or the administration of the money. These rules were conventional, not statutory, yet binding in practice.
Chapter 20
How did the Lords' rejection of the 1909 Finance Bill escalate the constitutional crisis?
The Commons resolved 349 to 134 that the Lords' refusal to pass the year's finances was a breach of the constitution and a usurpation of Commons privileges. The Asquith ministry appealed to the country in January 1910, was returned with a reduced majority, and the premier then laid resolutions to disable the Lords from rejecting or amending money bills, restrict their veto, and cap parliaments at five years.
Chapter 20
Section 214 cards
Under the Parliament Act, what happens to a certified money bill the Lords do not consent to?
If the Speaker certifies a public bill as a money bill, it becomes an act of Parliament on royal assent unless the Commons direct otherwise, even if the Lords have not consented within one month of its being sent up. The Speaker's certificate is conclusive and may not be questioned in any court of law.
Chapter 21
What conditions must a non-money public bill meet to become law without Lords consent?
It must pass the Commons in three successive sessions, be sent to the Lords at least one month before each session's end, and be rejected each time. At least two years must elapse between its second reading in the first session and final passage in the third, and it must be the 'same bill' at start and finish.
Chapter 21
What did the Lansdowne Reconstruction Bill propose regarding the Lords' composition?
It proposed reducing membership to 350: princes of the blood and two archbishops retained seats, bishops cut to five chosen triennially by proportional representation, plus 100 elected hereditary peers, 120 chosen by electoral colleges of MPs, and 100 appointed by the crown on the premier's nomination. It addressed composition only, not powers.
Chapter 21
How does the chapter characterize the effect of the Parliament Act on the House of Lords?
The author argues the act effectually subverted the Lords' centuries-old co-ordinate and independent legislative position. The Lords retain influence and a suspensive veto on ordinary legislation, but money bills pass after one presentation, and the author contends the Commons' precedence amounts to little less than absolute law-making authority.
Chapter 21
Section 224 cards
How often must Parliament meet by statute, and how often does it actually meet?
Parliament is required by statute (the Triennial Act of 1694) to meet at least once in three years, but in practice meetings are annual. This is due to the enormous pressure of business and especially the custom forbidding the voting of supplies for longer than one year. Sessions ordinarily begin near the first of February and run until August or September, with brief adjournments at holiday seasons.
Chapter 22
What happens when a new Parliament opens, before the Speech from the Throne?
The Commons are summoned to the Lords, where letters patent are read and the Lord Chancellor announces the crown's desire that the Commons choose a Speaker. The Commons withdraw, elect a Speaker, and the next day he presents himself at the bar of the Lords for royal approbation. The Commons then demand and receive guarantee of their ancient rights and privileges, and oaths are administered. If the session is not the first of a parliament, the Speaker election and oaths are omitted.
Chapter 22
How does the seating arrangement of the Commons favor the two-party system?
The Commons sits in a narrow room with benches facing each other rather than in a semicircular, theatre-style space like most continental legislatures. According to Ilbert, this accident makes for the two-party system and against groups shading into each other. Government members sit on the Treasury Bench at the Speaker's right, Opposition leaders on the left, and independents below the gangway.
Chapter 22
What are the rules on prorogation, dissolution, and adjournment of the houses?
The two houses must be summoned together. Either may adjourn without the other, and the crown can compel an adjournment of neither. A prorogation, which ends a session, and a dissolution, which ends a parliament's existence, must be ordered for both houses conjointly. Both occur technically at the crown's command but actually on the ministry's decision. Prorogation is to a specified date and terminates all pending business, though reassembly may be postponed or hastened by royal proclamation.
Chapter 22
Section 234 cards
How is the Speaker of the House of Commons chosen and how long does the term last?
The Speaker is elected at the beginning of a parliament by and from the members of the House, and serves through the term of that parliament unless he resigns or dies. The crown must approve the choice, though no Speaker-elect has been rejected since 1679. Nominally elected by the House, the Speaker is in fact chosen by the ministry and usually comes from the party in power. In the nineteenth century it became customary to re-elect a Speaker regardless of party.
Chapter 23
What is the Speaker's role in voting and in maintaining non-partisanship?
The Speaker is a strictly non-partisan moderator who maintains decorum, decides points of order, puts questions, and announces the result of divisions. Except in the event of a tie, he does not vote, even when the House is in committee and he is not in the chair. Bryce notes that a custom as strong as law forbids him to help his own side even by private advice, and any information on parliamentary law must be equally available to every member.
Chapter 23
What sole power does the Parliament Act of 1911 give the Speaker?
By the Parliament Act of 1911 the Speaker is given sole power, when a question arises, to determine whether a given measure is or is not to be considered a money bill. Upon his decision may hinge the entire policy of the Government respecting the measure, and even the fate of the measure itself. The Speaker's authority is symbolized by the mace, carried before him on formal entry and exit and laid on the table while he is in the chair.
Chapter 23
What is the quorum for the Commons and how is it enforced?
A resolution of 1640 fixed the quorum for business in the Commons at forty. If the Speaker's attention is directed to the absence of forty members, the two-minute sand-glass on the Clerk's table is inverted and members are summoned as for a division. At the end of two minutes the Speaker counts, and if fewer than forty are present the House adjourns until the next regular sitting. Except on occasions of special interest, fewer than two hundred members usually occupy the benches.
Chapter 23
Section 243 cards
What did the Osborne Judgment of 1909 rule regarding payment of MPs?
The House of Lords ruled in December 1909 that payment of parliamentary members as such, from dues collected by labor organizations, was contrary to law. The announcement prompted persistent agitation for legislation to reverse the ruling, and in 1911 a salary of £400 yearly was provided to all non-official members of the House of Commons.
Chapter 24
Why did impeachment fall into disuse in Britain?
Impeachment by the Commons at the bar of the Lords, dating from Edward III's reign, was once of utmost importance when king and ministers defied the law. But once the Commons could review and control ministers so thoroughly that they could not conduct business without a parliamentary majority, impeachment lost its value and fell into disuse. The last proceedings were in 1805.
Chapter 24
What did the Appellate Jurisdiction Act of 1876 provide for the House of Lords?
After the Supreme Court of Judicature Act of 1873 abolished the Lords' appellate jurisdiction outright, the plan was modified before operation, and the 1876 Act restored the appellate functions. It provided for salaried life peers, eventually four, chosen from eminent lawyers and known as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. Three law lords' attendance is necessary.
Chapter 24
Section 254 cards
What five stages must a public bill pass in either house?
The necessary stages are, as a rule, five: first reading, second reading, consideration by committee, report from committee, and third reading. The first reading has become a mere formality for most bills, with debate first afforded at the second reading, where discussion must relate to general principles rather than details.
Chapter 25
How can a bill be killed at the second reading stage?
By adopting a motion that the bill be read a second time "this day six months" or at some other date falling beyond the anticipated limits of the session. This procedural device effectively kills the measure at the second reading, where debate concerns general principles rather than details.
Chapter 25
Where do money bills originate and who may propose expenditure or taxation?
Money bills must originate in the Commons. Standing orders require that no motion for granting money be proceeded upon save in Committee of the Whole, and no charge on public revenue may be considered unless recommended from the crown, i.e., in practice the cabinet. A private member may only introduce general resolutions favoring expenditure or move to repeal or reduce taxes the Government has not proposed to modify.
Chapter 25
What does the annual Budget statement comprise, and what did the 1861 change do?
The Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget comprises a review of revenue and expenditure for the year just closed, a provisional balance-sheet for the coming year, and proposals for remission, modification, or fresh imposition of taxes. Before 1861 only annual and temporary taxes were included; after the Lords rejected a finance bill in 1860, the practice arose of incorporating all taxes, temporary or permanent, in a single Finance Bill.
Chapter 25
Section 264 cards
What is a provisional order and how is it ratified?
A provisional order is issued by a government department after minute investigation, authorizing provisionally a project for which application has been made. It eventually requires Parliament's sanction, but orders are laid before the houses in groups by departments and ratification is virtually assured in advance. Lowell notes that in 1898-1901 not one-tenth of such orders were opposed and but one failed of adoption.
Chapter 26
What is closure and what conditions limit its use?
Closure dates from 1881, entered standing orders in 1882, and took its present form in 1888. Under Standing Order 26 a member may move 'that the Question be now put,' and unless the Chair deems it an abuse of the rules or an infringement of minority rights, it is decided without amendment or debate. Closure is inoperative unless at least one hundred members vote in the majority, or twenty in a standing committee.
Chapter 26
How does 'the guillotine' limit debate on a bill?
When closure by compartments is employed, the House in advance agrees on an allotment of time to the various parts or stages of a bill. At the expiration of each period debate closes whether concluded or not, a vote is taken, and a majority adopts that portion of the bill upon which the guillotine has fallen. In recent years it has been used almost invariably for important Government bills reserved for Committee of the Whole.
Chapter 26
How is a division conducted in the Commons?
If a member objects to the Speaker's announced result, strangers withdraw, bells ring, the two-minute sand-glass is turned, and doors are locked. After another oral vote, if there is still no acquiescence, the Speaker orders a division: ayes pass to the lobby at his right, noes to his left, and all are counted by four tellers, two from each side. This method has changed little since 1836.
Chapter 26
Section 274 cards
What did George III's efforts to revive royal prerogative produce among Tories?
The author explains that George III's efforts to revive the royal prerogative created a body of new Tories—not Jacobite but Hanoverian—who supported the king's purpose, while simultaneously driving opposition forces into closer union and more constant vigilance. Throughout the century, party politics remained corrupt, with bribery rife and government powers held by an aristocratic minority ruling in its own interest.
Chapter 27
What ended the seventy years of Whig ascendancy in 1783?
The author states that the high-water mark of intrigue came in 1783 when old Tories under Lord North allied with old Whigs under Charles James Fox to retain power and curtail the king's influence. The coalition failed; the defeat of Fox's India Bill in December 1783 led to Pitt the younger's premiership, followed within three months by a national election that ended seventy years of Whig ascendancy.
Chapter 27
How did the French Revolution affect British reform propaganda?
The author argues that the French Revolution completely altered the situation: great landowners dominating the Whig party detested revolutionary principles and demanded war with France. Pitt's government surrendered to these demands, and all reform propaganda was stamped out at home. Throughout the quarter-century of conflict, Tories and Whigs alike pointed to the abuses accompanying the French upheaval as evidence of what unrestrained innovation would bring.
Chapter 27
What was Peel's memorable achievement and what did it do to his party?
The author identifies the repeal of the Corn Laws and casting off of substantially the whole protective system as the Peel government's memorable achievement. However, the tariff policy divided the Conservative party into protectionists (old Conservatives) led by Disraeli and Lord Derby, and free trade or liberal Conservatives led by Aberdeen and Gladstone. This breach enabled the Liberals under Lord John Russell to recover office in 1847.
Chapter 27
Section 284 cards
Which reforms distinguished the first Gladstone ministry of 1868-1874?
The first Gladstone ministry (1868-1874) is noted for a remarkable series of reforms: disestablishment of the Church in Ireland (1869), an Irish land bill (1870), national control of elementary education (1870), and adoption of the Australian ballot in parliamentary elections (1872). The ministry was defeated on an Irish university bill and resigned; the Conservatives then won a majority of fifty seats in 1874.
Chapter 28
Why did the 1886 Home Rule bill fail in the Commons?
Gladstone's first Home Rule bill (April 8, 1886) would have given Ireland a separate parliament at Dublin, cut Irish representation at Westminster, and required Ireland to bear a proportionate share of Imperial expenses. It was thrown out on second reading: Conservatives opposed it solidly, many Irish Nationalists were dissatisfied, and over a hundred Liberals led by Joseph Chamberlain refused to support it.
Chapter 28
What did the 1893 Home Rule bill change, and what happened to it?
Gladstone's 1893 Home Rule bill differed from the 1886 version principally in not excluding the Irish from representation at Westminster. It passed the Commons by an ultimate majority of only thirty-four but was rejected in the Lords by 419 to 41. The Lords then systematically blocked the Government, and Gladstone retired March 3, 1894.
Chapter 28
What did the 1892 election mark in Parliament?
The elections of 1892 marked the first appearance of independent labor representatives in Parliament. Miners' delegates and an agricultural laborer had been elected before, but they always identified with the radical wing of the Liberals. Now four members, including John Burns and Keir Hardie, held aloof, saying they would 'sit in opposition until they should cross the house to form a labor government.'
Chapter 28
Section 294 cards
Why did the Liberals gain an opening against the Unionist government in 1904–1905?
The Liberals almost unanimously opposed Chamberlain's tariff proposals and cast themselves as defenders of free trade, appealing to workers for cheap bread. The Government was increasingly embarrassed by the fiscal question, the Education Act, Chinese labor regulation in South Africa, and other tasks, and by-elections produced steady Unionist defeats, foreshadowing a Liberal return to power.
Chapter 29
Why did Balfour resign in December 1905 rather than call an election?
Balfour resigned on December 4, 1905, rather than dissolve Parliament and fight an election on clear issues raised by ten years of Unionist rule. He preferred to force the formation of a new government that would itself be immediately on trial at the inevitable elections. The King then designated Liberal leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman as premier.
Chapter 29
What issues dominated the 1906 general election campaign and its result?
The Unionists, divided on the tariff, hoped to split the Liberals on Home Rule, but Liberal leaders kept the Irish question in the background, pledged gradual Home Rule, and forced the fight onto free trade versus protection. The result was an overwhelming Liberal triumph: 4,026,704 votes for Liberal, Nationalist, and Labor candidates against 2,528,597 for Conservatives and Unionists.
Chapter 29
What did the Liberals achieve and what did the Lords block between 1906 and 1910?
The author notes the Liberals stopped the debt's alarming rise, repealed about half the war taxes, remodelled the army under Haldane, maintained free trade, and enacted labor legislation, old age pensions (1908), and Irish measures. The Lords blocked the plural voting bill, the schools bill, the Aliens Bill, the Land Values Bill, the Licensing Bill, and the Finance Bill of 1909.
Chapter 29
Section 304 cards
What did the Parliament Act of 1911 accomplish for the Liberals?
The author calls it the Liberals' greatest triumph since 1832. The Parliament Bill provided a means by which measures may be enacted into law over the protest of the Conservative majority in the Lords. The party also committed to extending social insurance, revising the electoral system, establishing Home Rule, and ultimately reconstituting the second chamber as promised in the Act's preamble.
Chapter 30
How do the Liberals and Conservatives differ, according to the author?
The author argues the differences are less about principle or political dogma than about policy on particular measures and attitude toward certain organizations and interests. Both parties have vied in advocating old age pensions, factory legislation, accident insurance, and housing laws. The author notes the Liberal administration of the day spends more in peacetime than any Conservative government ever did.
Chapter 30
What were the four immediate Unionist purposes Bonar Law listed at Leeds in 1911?
In a speech at Leeds on November 16, 1911, the new parliamentary leader enumerated: (1) to oppose the Government's Welsh Disestablishment scheme, (2) to resist Home Rule, (3) to labor for tariff reform as the only practicable means of solving unemployment, and (4) to defend at all costs the unity of the Empire. Law was chosen Opposition leader after Balfour's retirement.
Chapter 30
What was the aim and original programme of the Independent Labor Party?
Founded in 1893, its constitution aimed at 'the establishment of collective ownership and control of the means of production, distribution, and exchange.' The original programme included a universal eight-hour day, abolition of over-time, piece-work, and child employment under fourteen, state provision for the ill, invalid, and aged, free non-sectarian education, extinction of unearned incomes by taxation, and universal disarmament.
Chapter 30
Section 314 cards
According to Ogg, what happens when statute law conflicts with the Common Law?
The author states it is a fixed rule that where statutes conflict with the Common Law, the statutes prevail. Parliament's limitless competence includes power to set aside or modify any Common Law principle or practice at any time. Conversely, no development of the Common Law can repeal an act of Parliament. Statutes are described as the "addenda and errata" of the Common Law, which remains fundamental.
Chapter 31
What were the three main written sources of knowledge of the Common Law?
Ogg lists: (1) decisions of English judges, reported anonymously in Year Books from Edward I to Henry VIII and later by named lawyers, which since at least the sixteenth century carry weight as precedents and are now nearly decisive in analogous cases; (2) decisions of courts in other countries administering law derived from English law, not binding but highly influential; and (3) "books of authority" by earlier learned lawyers, such as Coke's Commentary on Littleton and Foster on Crown Law.
Chapter 31
How did the rules of equity originate and how do they relate to the Common Law?
Equity originated in the king's chancellor administering extraordinary justice in medieval times, arising from necessity to redress grievances caused by regular tribunals' omissions or commissions. What began as special favor in unusual cases became established practice, producing definite separate rules by the seventeenth century and a court of chancery. Ogg says equity rules are effectively a supplement or appendix to the Common Law and practically, though not theoretically, prevail against inconsistent Common Law. Until 1875 they were administered by separate tribunals.
Chapter 31
How does the English court system differ from continental systems regarding administrative law?
Ogg explains that most continental countries distinguish ordinary law from administrative law and maintain separate administrative courts for disputes between officials in their public capacity and private citizens. In Great Britain there is no such thing as administrative law, so no administrative courts are needed; public officials from ministers downward are amenable to ordinary tribunals like everyone else. The English system is therefore simpler at this point yet still among the most elaborate and complicated in the world.
Chapter 31
Section 334 cards
What did the Local Government Act of 1888 create and transfer?
The Act created sixty-two administrative counties and about sixty county boroughs (towns over 50,000). Each got a council with at least two-thirds elective members, and the administrative functions of the justices of the peace were transferred to it, leaving those dignitaries mainly judicial authority. The author notes it was intended to give the newly enfranchised rural population more control of county affairs.
Chapter 33
What did the District and Parish Councils Act of 1894 provide?
It divided every county into urban and rural districts and every district into parishes. Every district and every rural parish with more than three hundred inhabitants got an elected council; smaller parishes got a primary assembly of registered persons. Parish councils took the civil functions of vestries, and district councils got sanitary affairs and highways. The author says it abolished some 8,000 authorities.
Chapter 33
How many independent local authorities existed in 1883, and why?
It is computed that in 1883 England and Wales had no fewer than 27,069 independent local authorities, and rate-payers were taxed by eighteen different kinds of rates. The cause was that Parliament met each new need with special machinery rather than general legislation, producing a jungle of interlacing jurisdictions. Lowell described the country as divided into counties, unions, and parishes and spotted over with numerous other districts.
Chapter 33
Which five central departments supervise English local government, and how?
The Home Office oversees police and factory inspection; the Board of Education supervises publicly aided education; the Board of Agriculture enforces market and animal-disease laws; the Board of Trade approves water, gas, and electricity enterprises; and the Local Government Board directs poor-law and health administration and oversees local finances. They act chiefly through orders and regulations, assent to local measures, and expert advice, all subject to Parliament.
Chapter 33
Section 343 cards
What areas exist within an English administrative county, and how many rural districts are there?
Within the administrative county are four kinds of local government areas: rural districts, rural parishes, urban districts, and municipal boroughs. There are 672 rural districts in England and Wales. They are usually coterminous with rural poor-law unions, or the rural portions of mixed unions, but may not comprise parts of more than one county.
Chapter 34
What did the act of 1894 do for the rural parish, and what limits its activity?
Under the act of 1894 the rural parish was revived from an inert condition and now fills a humble place in rural administration. Each parish has a meeting open to persons on the local government and parliamentary registers, including women and lodgers, which elects a chairman and overseers. Parishes with 300 or more people have a council of five to fifteen members. Meager populations and limited rate-levying powers restrict projects; the author notes the parishes are commonly regarded as too small for the activity the act's authors intended, leaving them little more than units for elections and rate collection.
Chapter 34
How does a county borough differ from a municipal borough?
Areas withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the administrative counties in which they lie are county boroughs; those not withdrawn are municipal boroughs. By the act of 1888, every borough with a population of 50,000 or more is deemed a separate county for administration, exempt from county supervision; any borough exceeding that figure may be made a county borough by order of the Local Government Board. The county borough is not represented on the county council and exercises powers substantially equivalent to a county council's.
Chapter 34
Section 354 cards
What did the Metropolis Management Act of 1855 change in London's government?
It left the City of London's government unchanged but brought surrounding parishes, previously governed independently by their vestries, under a central authority called the Metropolitan Board of Works for certain purposes. This marked the start of the modern reorganization of London administration, since London had been untouched by the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835.
Chapter 35
What did the Local Government Act of 1888 do for London?
It abolished the Metropolitan Board of Works, transformed extra-city London into an administrative county of about 120 square miles, and gave the newly created London County Council, elected by the rate-payers, a varied and important group of powers. This carried the organization of metropolitan government a stage further than the 1855 Act.
Chapter 35
What did the London Government Act of 1899 accomplish?
It swept away a mass of surviving authorities and jurisdictions and created twenty-eight metropolitan boroughs, each with a mayor, aldermen, and councillors like any provincial borough, though with specially defined powers and somewhat restricted finance. Within each borough were urban parishes, each with its own vestry. The historic City, with its lord mayor and life aldermen, remained at the center.
Chapter 35
How far did the Metropolitan Police's jurisdiction extend?
According to the chapter, the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police extended over all parishes within fifteen miles of Charing Cross, an area of almost 700 square miles. This area was much larger than the administrative county, illustrating that areas of common administration in London exceeded the county itself.
Chapter 35
Section 364 cards
What was the Zollverein and what political effect did Ogg attribute to it?
The Zollverein was a customs union begun after 1818 with free trade throughout Prussia, extended state by state until by 1842 all Germany was included except the Hanseatic towns, Mecklenburg, Hanover, and Austria. Though primarily commercial, Ogg argues it fostered national consciousness and solidarity, schooling the lesser states in independence from Austria and reliance on Prussian leadership.
Chapter 36
What did the Frankfort assembly decide about Austria and the proposed German executive?
Convened May 18, 1848, after a Heidelberg Vorparlament arranged elections by manhood suffrage, the assembly decided only the German portions of Austria would join the new union. It planned a parliamentary system with a responsible ministry and two chambers. Most members voted to create the dignity of German Emperor and offer it to Frederick William IV of Prussia.
Chapter 36
Why did the Erfurt constitution of 1850 collapse, and what survived in Prussia?
Prussia, Saxony, and Hanover agreed on a constitution like Frankfort's, other states accepted, and a parliament met at Erfurt on March 20, 1850. It collapsed because Austria recovered and the revolutionary movement subsided. In Prussia, however, Frederick William IV granted a constitution in January 1850 establishing a legislative assembly; though disappointing to Liberals, it survived with modifications.
Chapter 36
How did the North German Bund of 1867 differ from the German Empire proclaimed in 1871?
After Austria's defeat and the Treaty of Prague, Prussia annexed Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Cassel, and Frankfort, then set up a North German Bund of twenty-two states north of the Main, with a constitution effective July 1, 1867. Its three organs were the hereditary Presidency held by the king of Prussia, the Bundesrath, and the Bundestag elected by manhood suffrage. In 1871 the southern states joined and the title became German Emperor.
Chapter 36
Section 374 cards
In what body is sovereignty of the German Empire embodied, according to the chapter?
The chapter states that sovereignty is vested in the government of the Empire rather than any state, and its embodiment is not the national parliament nor the Emperor but the Bundesrath, which represents the "totality" of the affiliated governments. The author notes Germans themselves are not fully agreed on the nature and location of sovereignty.
Chapter 37
How are powers divided between the Imperial government and the German states?
Imperial powers are specifically enumerated; state powers are residual. The Empire may enlarge its own competence, but until it does, state power in that direction is unlimited. Some fields are exclusively Imperial (citizenship, tariffs, coinage, patents, military), others reserved to states (forms of government, succession, church-state relations, budgets, police, public instruction), with a broad concurrent middle area where Imperial authority takes precedence.
Chapter 37
How does Germany's administrative machinery differ from that of the United States?
The chapter says the U.S. federal government is essentially complete within itself, with its own lawmakers, administrators, and judges. In Germany, administration is centralized only for foreign relations, the navy, and postal and telegraph service; otherwise the Empire relies on state officials. Taxes are collected by state authorities, and justice is rendered in the name of the state by state-employed judges, so the Imperial government alone could not operate.
Chapter 37
What privileges give Prussia hegemony within the German Empire?
The king of Prussia is ex-officio German Emperor; Prussian votes in the Bundesrath can defeat any proposed constitutional amendment and any measure changing the army, navy, or taxes; and Prussia controls the chairmanship of all standing committees in the Bundesrath. Prussia's population exceeded that of the other twenty-four states combined, making its preponderance inevitable.
Chapter 37
Section 384 cards
What vote threshold in the Bundesrath can reject a constitutional amendment?
Under the Imperial constitution, amendments follow the ordinary legislative process, except that an amendment against which as many as fourteen votes are cast in the Bundesrath is considered rejected. Since Prussia holds seventeen votes and controls twenty in the federal chamber, this provision gives Prussia an absolute veto over constitutional change. Clauses securing special rights to particular states may be amended only with those states' consent.
Chapter 38
What does the title "German Emperor" signify about the Kaiser's status?
The constitution states the king of Prussia holds the presidency of the Confederation and bears the title Deutscher Kaiser. The title was chosen not as "Emperor of Germany" but to denote that the Emperor is only primus inter pares among territorial sovereigns; he is a territorial sovereign only in Prussia. The revival involved no change in the Bundespräsident's status beyond designation and personal privileges.
Chapter 38
What limits the Emperor's power to declare war and conclude treaties?
The Emperor represents the Empire among nations, declares war, concludes peace, and makes alliances and treaties. But except in the event of an attack on federal territory or its coasts, war may be declared only with the consent of the Bundesrath. Treaties relating to matters regulated by Imperial legislation require Bundesrath consent for conclusion and Reichstag approval to be valid.
Chapter 38
Does the Emperor hold a veto over laws passed by the Bundesrath and Reichstag?
Strictly speaking, the Emperor possesses no veto over measures passed by the Bundesrath and Reichstag. In practice he may refuse to publish a law when he believes ordinary formal requirements were not met, but he may not withhold a measure simply because of its content. He convenes, opens, adjourns, and closes the chambers, and promulgates the laws.
Chapter 38
Section 394 cards
What two broad functions does the chapter assign to the German Chancellor?
The chapter distinguishes two broad functions: first, his role within the Bundesrath, where he holds the presidency, supervises its business, sets session dates, transmits communications, lays measures before the Reichstag, and proclaims enacted laws through the Reichsgesetzblatt; second, his position as principal administrative official of the Empire, heading a highly centralized administrative authority exercised as agent of the Emperor.
Chapter 39
How does the chapter describe the Chancellor's responsibility to the Reichstag versus the Emperor?
The chapter states that although according to the letter of the constitution the Chancellor is responsible to the Reichstag, in practice he is responsible to no one save his Imperial master. He is appointed and may be dismissed by the Emperor, performs his functions solely as agent and assistant of the Emperor, and is described as the Emperor's 'other self.'
Chapter 39
How are votes allotted and cast in the Bundesrath?
The constitution distributed fifty-eight votes among twenty-five states: Prussia seventeen, Bavaria six, Saxony four, Württemberg four, Baden three, Hesse three, Mecklenburg-Schwerin two, Brunswick two, and seventeen other states one each. The chapter notes Prussia later controlled about twenty votes through Waldeck and Brunswick arrangements, and that votes are cast by states in indivisible blocks, not by individual members.
Chapter 39
What does the chapter say about the status of Bundesrath delegates?
The chapter states that legally, and largely practically, a delegate's status is that of a diplomat rather than a senator, with the Emperor required to extend customary diplomatic protection. Delegates are commonly officials or ministers of their states, appointed afresh each session, subject to recall, and they speak and vote under specific instructions from their governments rather than at their own discretion.
Chapter 39
Section 404 cards
According to the chapter, which body truly makes law in the German Empire?
The chapter states that legislation is exercised by the Bundesrath and Reichstag together, with majorities of both required. Yet in practice bills are prepared and finally approved in the Bundesrath, and the author argues that strictly speaking it is the Bundesrath that makes law, with merely the assent of the Reichstag.
Chapter 40
What powers of the Emperor require the Bundesrath's consent?
Three key powers require Bundesrath consent: declaring war, except when the Empire's territory or coasts are attacked; concluding treaties relating to matters within Imperial legislation; and carrying out an "execution" against a delinquent state. The Bundesrath may also dissolve the Reichstag with the Emperor's assent.
Chapter 40
What judicial functions does the Bundesrath perform?
The Bundesrath sits as a supreme court of appeal for cases carried from state tribunals when justice cannot be had there. It settles disputes between the Imperial Government and a state, or between two states, when the issue is not private law and a party requests action. It also amicably adjusts or refers to Imperial law constitutional disputes in states lacking a designated authority.
Chapter 40
How were Reichstag seats distributed, and what was the redistricting problem?
Seats were fixed at 397 after 1873 added fifteen for Alsace-Lorraine. Districts were originally drawn at about 100,000 inhabitants each, but no redistricting occurred after 1871, so populations became grossly unequal: Berlin, with over two million people, still had only six seats. The author notes the Government resisted redistribution because urban districts tended to return socialists or radicals.
Chapter 40
Section 414 cards
How are the Reichstag's seven Abtheilungen (bureaus) formed and maintained?
At the opening of a session the whole membership is divided by lot into seven Abtheilungen, or bureaus, as nearly equal as possible. Unlike the French bureaus (reconstituted monthly) and Italian (every two months), the Reichstag bureaus stay unchanged throughout a session unless thirty members move for a fresh distribution. Their main functions are passing on members' credentials and designating committee members.
Chapter 41
What rules govern debate and voting in the Reichstag?
Debate resembles British House of Commons practice, less restrictive than the French Chamber. Members of the Bundesrath have a special bench and may appear and speak at pleasure. Debaters speak from tribune or seats when recognized; the president is non-partisan and alternates recognition between supporters and opponents. Closure may generally be ordered on the initiative of thirty members. Votes require an absolute majority with a quorum of 199.
Chapter 41
Why is the Reichstag's legislative power subordinate to the Bundesrath?
The constitution vests legislative power in Reichstag and Bundesrath jointly, a majority of both being needed for a law. But the author argues the popular chamber is in practice distinctly subordinate: it lacks real initiative, bills (including finance) ordinarily originate with the Chancellor and Bundesrath, and its role is negative and subsidiary. The Bundesrath, with the Emperor's assent, may dissolve it at any time without ministerial responsibility.
Chapter 41
How did the Centre party originate and why did it become the strongest group?
The Centre traces to a December 1870 project for an essentially Catholic party defending society against radicalism, the states against the central government, and the schools against secularization. Founders said 'at the birth of the Empire Justice was not present.' Gaining strength in the Rhenish and Polish provinces and Bavaria, it won sixty seats in 1871 and, identified with the Catholic Church, became the numerically strongest group.
Chapter 41
Section 424 cards
Which minor German party groups does Ogg describe as particularistic and irreconcilable?
Ogg lists the Guelfs, Poles, Danes, Alsatians, and Antisemites as small, particularistic, irreconcilable groups organized on local, racial, or religious interests. He argues that, apart from the National Liberals and Socialists, no German political group, large or small, was broadly national in tenets or constituency.
Chapter 42
What was the Bülow bloc, and how long did it last?
The Bülow bloc was an affiliation of Conservatives and Liberals that replaced the Conservative-Centre bloc after the Centre's defection, lasting somewhat over three years. Ogg states it was never substantial; during the budget conflict of November 1908 the old alignment returned, and the Conservative-Clerical bloc remained preponderant afterward.
Chapter 42
Why did the Social Democrats lose Reichstag seats in 1907 despite gaining votes?
In 1907 the Social Democrats polled 3,250,000 votes, up from 3,008,000 in 1903, yet their representation fell from 79 to 43. Ogg attributes this to the antiquated distribution of seats, the unusually large vote polled by other parties, and the unusual cooperation of party groups opposed to the Social Democrats.
Chapter 42
What was the central practical issue in the 1912 Reichstag elections?
Ogg states the most important practical issue was the tariff. Discontent over the high cost of living had led municipalities and workers' organizations to demand reduced duties on imported foodstuffs, but the Government refused and stood by 'protection for the nation's work.' National Liberals backed the Government; Radicals, Social Democrats, and some minor groups opposed it.
Chapter 42
Section 434 cards
What did the 1873 constitutional amendment change about imperial legislative power?
The 1871 constitution gave the Empire power of general legislation only over the law of obligations, criminal law, commercial law and commercial paper, and judicial procedure. An amendment adopted December 20, 1873, broadened this to general legislation as to the whole domain of civil and criminal law and of judicial procedure. Each federated state nonetheless retained its own judicial system, and justice continued to be administered almost exclusively in state courts.
Chapter 43
How did German law differ across the Empire before 1871?
In 1871 the Empire contained more than two score districts, each with an essentially distinct body of civil and criminal law, and district boundaries no longer matched political divisions. Prussia was typical: older provinces used a Prussian code of 1794, the Rhenish provinces kept the Code Napoléon, Pomerania retained survivals of Swedish law, and territories acquired after 1866 had their own systems. Only Baden and Saxony had fairly uniform law.
Chapter 43
What was the Centre party's character and geographic strength?
The Centre included both an aristocratic and a popular element and was more nearly representative of all classes than any other party. Its numerical strength came from peasants and workingmen, and to hold its ground against socialism it made large concessions toward liberalism. Except on the interests of the Catholic Church it sought to be moderate and progressive, and it had long since abandoned its irreconcilable attitude on religion. Its strength lay mainly in the south, especially Bavaria.
Chapter 43
How did the Social Democrats' tactics and platform evolve by this period?
Though nominally revolutionary, the party was an orderly organization whose demands grew more practical and opportunist over a generation. Instead of opposing reforms to await a socialist state by one coup, it pursued attainable reforms and only occasionally invoked its ultimate ideal. Its platform remained the Erfurt programme of 1891 and its principles nominally Marx's, but the Revisionists, led by Bernstein, called Marxist doctrines erroneous and sought to overhaul the programme.
Chapter 43
Section 444 cards
What is the Reichsgericht and what jurisdiction does it exercise?
The Reichsgericht, created by law of October 1, 1879, stands at the apex of the German judicial system and is the only tribunal of exclusively Imperial character apart from administrative, military, and consular courts. It exercises original jurisdiction in treason cases against the Empire and hears appeals from consular courts and from state courts on questions of Imperial law. Its ninety-two members are appointed by the Emperor for life on nomination of the Bundesrath, organized in six civil and four criminal senates, sitting at Leipzig.
Chapter 44
How are German judges appointed and protected to ensure independence?
All judges in the state courts are appointed by the sovereigns of the respective states. Imperial law prescribes minimum qualifications based on professional study and experience, while states may add further requirements. All judges are appointed for life and receive a salary that may not be reduced. Important guarantees also protect against arbitrary transfer from one position to another and against other practices that might diminish a judge's impartiality and independence.
Chapter 44
What obstacles prevented Prussia from establishing a national constitution after 1815?
Liberalism had spread only among professional classes, while ultra-conservative landholders were unalterably opposed. Eastern provinces remained feudal in spirit while western ones were affected by French revolutionary ideas, and particularism was so strong that provinces were called 'nations.' Provincial estates varied widely, voted by orders rather than individuals, and rarely did more than approve taxation. No substructure of popular institutions existed to support a national parliament. The author adds that Liberal excesses, culminating in Kotzebue's murder in 1819, pushed the king toward reaction.
Chapter 44
What reforms did Stein, Hardenberg, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Humboldt carry out in Prussia?
After the disasters of 1806, Stein abolished serfdom and legal class distinctions in 1807 and reformed the municipalities in 1808, granting them self-government; he also reconstructed ministerial departments, provincial governments, and local administration. Hardenberg continued Stein's work, especially on economic conditions. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau overhauled the military, converting a fearful soldiery into a union of national energies. Humboldt created the modern Prussian school system, while Fichte, Arndt, and other writers raised patriotism.
Chapter 44
Section 454 cards
How did the Prussian constitution of 1850 come to be adopted?
The king issued a constitutional instrument independently on December 5, 1848, then allowed a Landtag elected under it to revise it. Elections were held and chambers assembled February 26, 1849, but disagreement led to dissolution of the lower house. After an electoral law change and new elections in summer 1849, the tractable chambers approved the revised text, promulgated at Charlottenburg on January 31, 1850.
Chapter 45
What was the three-class electoral system introduced in Prussia in 1849?
After the 1849 dissolution, the king promulgated a modification of the democratic electoral law of 1848. Voting by secret ballot was abolished and parliamentary electors were divided into three classes whose voting power was determined by property qualifications or by official and professional status. This three-class system, already known in Prussian municipalities, persisted in national and city elections.
Chapter 45
How does the Prussian constitution differ from the Belgian model it copies?
The constitution is modelled on Belgium's, reproducing provisions on crown powers, chambers, and ministers almost literally. But Belgium's begins by asserting all powers emanate from the nation; Prussia's voices no such sentiment and rests on thoroughgoing supremacy of the crown. The author argues it is conspicuous for disregard of fundamental democratic principle, justifying charges of anachronism.
Chapter 45
What does the chapter say about ministerial responsibility in Prussia?
Ministers are responsible only to the sovereign, so the parliamentary system in the proper sense does not exist. The constitution requires every royal act to be countersigned by a minister who assumes responsibility, but no machinery makes this effective. Ministers do not retire on an adverse Landtag vote, and the provision allowing prosecution for treason, bribery, or constitutional violation prescribes no penalties on conviction.
Chapter 45
Section 464 cards
What are the functions and accountability of the Prussian Oberrechnungskammer?
The Supreme Chamber of Accounts, existing since 1714, oversees and revises departmental finances, administers the state debt, and handles acquisition and disposal of state property. Its president is appointed by the crown on nomination of the Staats-Ministerium; other members are crown-designated on the president's nomination, countersigned by the Staats-Ministerium president. Members enjoy judicial tenure and immunities, and the body is responsible directly to the crown, not the Ministry of State.
Chapter 46
How was the Prussian House of Lords composed after the law of 1853?
The law of May 7, 1853 set aside the original constitutional composition and enacted that the chamber consist entirely of persons appointed by the crown in heredity or for life. A royal ordinance of October 12, 1854 fixed the composition substantially as it stood later. The 1853 act forbids further modification without Landtag assent, but the present composition rests on royal ordinance authorized by legislation, not on the constitution itself.
Chapter 46
How does the Prussian three-class electoral system work?
Districts are divided into Urwahlbezirke, each allotting one Wahlmann per 250 inhabitants. Voters are split into three classes by direct taxes paid: the first class covers the largest contributors paying one-third of the sub-district's tax quota, the second the next third, the third the remainder. Each class chooses one-third of the electors by absolute majority, and these electors form a college that picks the representative.
Chapter 46
What were the political effects of the Prussian electoral system?
The system gave an enormous advantage to conservative and agrarian interests and deprived socialists and popular elements of nearly all representation. In 1903, 324,157 Conservative votes elected 143 representatives, while 314,149 Social Democratic votes elected none; in the same year's Imperial elections under equal suffrage the popular party won eighty Reichstag seats. In 1908, roughly twenty-four percent of the popular vote yielded only seven of 443 seats.
Chapter 46
Section 474 cards
What did the Government's 1910 electoral reform project propose regarding the three-class system?
The project retained the tripartite system but lowered the tax quota admitting voters to the first class to a uniform five thousand marks, with no weight given to payment beyond that amount. Voters with specified education, official positions, or stipulated military service were assigned to higher classes with only incidental regard to tax contributions. The Chancellor admitted the Government was irrevocably opposed to democratic suffrage principles.
Chapter 47
What happened to the 1910 Electoral Reform Bill in the Landtag committees and chambers?
On February 13 the lower house referred the bill to committee, which reported it amended to provide for the secret ballot but not direct elections. March 16 the chamber passed this amended form 283 to 168, with all parties except Conservatives and Centre voting against. April 29 the upper chamber passed the original form 140 to 94. The Government failed to reconcile the houses, and the project was withdrawn May 27.
Chapter 47
According to the chapter, how do the Landtag's independent deliberative powers compare with other European parliaments?
The chapter states the Landtag's powers of independent deliberation are distinctly inferior to those of the British House of Commons, the French Chamber of Deputies, or a half score of other European parliamentary bodies. This arises from the relatively preponderating influence exerted by the Government. In theory each chamber may initiate legislation, but in practice virtually all bills are introduced by the Government, with the chambers merely discussing and amending.
Chapter 47
What did Stein's Municipal Edict of 1808 establish, and what later law did the present municipal arrangements rest upon?
Stein's Municipal Edict of November 19, 1808 set up a complete municipal system with elective burgomasters, executive boards, and town councils, swept away the guild oligarchy, broadened the franchise, and gave towns almost complete independence, even in taxation. An 1831 edict revived central supervision of local taxation. Present arrangements rest more immediately on an act of 1853, originally for the six eastern provinces, which introduced the three-class electoral system.
Chapter 47
Section 484 cards
According to Ashley, what four principles underlie Prussia's administrative system?
Ashley identifies: a careful distinction between central-concern affairs (army, state taxes, ecclesiastical matters, police, supervision of local authorities) and local ones (roads, poor relief); 'deconcentration' of central work into districts with delegated authority; executive independence from deliberative bodies with official predominance repeated in local government; and locally elected executives who also serve as central government agents, controlled by the bureaucracy.
Chapter 48
What is the composition and function of the Prussian Provinzialrath?
The Provinzialrath is a provincial council for administering general-interest affairs such as police, education, and religion. It consists of the Oberpräsident or his representative as presiding officer, one professional member appointed for indefinite tenure by the Minister of the Interior, and five ordinary citizen members elected, usually for six years, by the provincial Ausschuss. Its assent is required for most of the Oberpräsident's acts.
Chapter 48
How does the Prussian district (Regierungsbezirk) differ from the province?
The district exists for general administration only and has no organs of self-government. Its Regierung is a body of professional, salaried officials appointed by the crown, headed by the Regierungspräsident. The province, by contrast, has two entirely separate groups of officials—one for state affairs, one for local self-government. Since 1883 a Bezirksausschuss also sits as the district's administrative court.
Chapter 48
How are the Kreistag's members elected, and what powers does it hold?
Members, at least twenty-five, are elected for six years by three Verbände or colleges: one of the cities, one of large rural taxpayers, and one a complicated rural group where smaller taxpayers and communal assembly delegates predominate. The Kreistag chooses, directly or indirectly, all elective officials of circle, district, and province; creates local officers; enacts local legislation; and votes taxes for its own and provincial administration.
Chapter 48
Section 494 cards
Which German states lacked written constitutions and elective chambers?
The chapter states that all German states except two—Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz—have written constitutions and elective legislative chambers. Even in the Mecklenburgs, certain written instruments partially regulate their medieval system of government. All states except Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck are monarchies.
Chapter 49
What change did Bavaria's 1906 electoral law make?
The chapter states that Bavarian elections had been indirect until 1906, when provision was made for elections by direct and secret ballot. Earlier, a law of 1881 had replaced the class system of voting with equal suffrage extended to all males paying a direct tax. A 1908 law introduced proportional representation in municipal elections.
Chapter 49
Why did Saxony adopt a three-class electoral system in 1896?
The chapter states that Saxony once used direct secret ballot with general equal suffrage based on a small tax qualification. Fear of socialism led to the 1896 system: the tax qualification was retained, indirect elections replaced direct ones, public voting replaced the secret ballot, and a three-class scheme gave the well-to-do preponderance similar to Prussia's.
Chapter 49
What was the result of Saxony's first election under the 1909 law?
The chapter states that after prolonged agitation the reactionary 1896 measure was replaced by the electoral law of May 5, 1909, which restored direct and secret voting and added plural votes to protect property. Curiously, at the first elections under this law in October 1909, the socialists, previously represented by one member, gained twenty-five seats—upwards of a third.
Chapter 49
Section 504 cards
Which two German states lacked written constitutions in this chapter?
The two grand-duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz had no written constitution; every other German monarchy did. Their common Landtag remained a typically medieval assembly of estates based mainly on land tenure. Repeated modernization attempts failed, and in 1909 the Ritterschaft rejected a drafted constitution providing for a Landtag partly elected by manhood suffrage.
Chapter 50
How was the Hamburg Senate composed and elected?
The Senate had eighteen members elected for life by the House of Burgesses, but through an indirect method giving the Senate itself preponderating influence. A senator could retire after six years or at age seventy. Half had to have studied finance or law; of the other nine, at least seven had to be merchants. The Senate held most executive authority, and one senator headed each of nine departments.
Chapter 50
What was Alsace-Lorraine's status within the German Empire before 1911?
It was not a member of the federation but a Reichsland, or Imperial territory—a mere dependency. Sovereignty was vested in the Empire, exercised by the Kaiser alone or with the Bundesrath. A Statthalter represented the Kaiser at Strassburg. The chapter notes the annexed lands might conceivably have become the twenty-sixth state, but no quarter suggested it.
Chapter 50
What was the Landesausschuss and how did its powers change?
Created by Imperial decree in 1874, the Territorial Committee began with thirty members, ten elected from each of Upper Alsace, Lower Alsace, and Lorraine, merely to advise on local legislation and taxation. By law of 1877 it could initiate legislation on territory-only matters, subject to Bundesrath assent and Imperial promulgation. It grew to fifty-eight members chosen by district assemblies, communal councils, and indirect suffrage.
Chapter 50
Section 514 cards
What did the 1911 amendments provide regarding Alsace-Lorraine's status and Bundesrath votes?
The territory was recognized as substantially a state of the Empire and allowed three votes in the Bundesrath. Because the Statthalter appointed and instructed these members, the Bundesrath stipulated that their votes would not count for Prussia unless Prussia could procure a majority without them, and would not count for or against any proposal to amend the Imperial constitution.
Chapter 51
What conditions did the Bundesrath place on Alsace-Lorraine's three votes?
The Bundesrath obtained two stipulations: (1) the votes of Alsace-Lorraine should not be counted in favor of the Prussian view on any question except when Prussia could procure a majority without such votes, and (2) they should not be counted for or against any proposal to amend the Imperial constitution.
Chapter 51
Who holds supreme executive authority in Alsace-Lorraine, and how is it exercised?
Supreme executive authority is lodged in the Emperor, exercised mainly by the Statthalter, who is appointed by and holds office at the Emperor's pleasure. The Statthalter holds all rights previously exercised by the Imperial Chancellor, appoints and instructs the Bundesrath plenipotentiaries, and Imperial orders and decrees have legal effect only when signed by him.
Chapter 51
What was the franchise for the popular chamber under the 1911 constitution?
Members of the popular branch were elected by direct and secret ballot and majority vote by all male German citizens twenty-five years of age who had resided in Alsace-Lorraine at least three years, except that a residence of one year qualified teachers and occupants of official posts. The plural voting proposal in the Government bill of 1910 was abandoned.
Chapter 51
Section 524 cards
How did Sieyès's 'lists of notables' system filter voters under the Constitution of the Year VIII?
Citizens aged twenty-one on the civil register chose one-tenth of their number for a communal list; those on it chose a tenth for a departmental list; and those on that list chose a tenth for a national list. Officials were then chosen largely by the Senate from these lists, which the chapter says withdrew actual choice of officials from the people despite manhood suffrage.
Chapter 52
What were the four national governmental bodies under the Constitution of the Year VIII, and their functions?
The Tribunate (100 members) discussed but did not necessarily vote on measures; the Legislative Body (300) voted but did not debate; the Senate (sixty life members, expandable to eighty) judged constitutionality and chose Tribunes, Legislators, and Consuls from the national list; and the Council of State, appointed by the First Consul, prepared and advocated legislative and administrative measures.
Chapter 52
How did the executive branch under the Constitution of the Year VIII concentrate power in the First Consul?
Three consuls were appointed by the Senate for ten years and were indefinitely eligible. The First Consul could promulgate laws and appoint all civil and military officials; the second and third consuls had only a consultative voice. The chapter notes that irresponsibility permeated the regime, and the life consulship of 1802 and the Empire of 1804 further concentrated authority.
Chapter 52
What electoral changes did the law of 1831 make under the Orleanist monarchy?
It reduced the direct tax qualification from three hundred francs to two hundred, and to one hundred for certain professional classes, doubling the number of voters. The chapter states the enfranchised remained only one in one hundred fifty of the population, and argues it would be a mistake to regard the Orleanist government as more democratic than its predecessor—at most rule by the well-to-do middle class.
Chapter 52
Section 533 cards
What did the electoral law of May 31, 1850 do to the suffrage?
It required a fixed residence of three years instead of six months, subverting the suffrage arrangements of 1849. The electorate was reduced by three million voters, virtually one-third. This law was later restored by the coup d'état of December 2, 1851.
Chapter 53
What did the senatus-consulte of April 20, 1870 change?
It erected the Senate into a legislative chamber co-ordinate with the Legislative Body, and both houses gained the right to initiate legislation. The provision making ministers dependent solely on the emperor was stricken, clearing the way for parliamentary government. It also stipulated the constitution could thereafter be modified only with express popular approval.
Chapter 53
How was the Third Republic proclaimed and initially governed?
It was proclaimed September 4, 1870, after the disaster at Sedan and the capture of Napoleon III, when Thiers described 'a vacancy of power.' A Provisional Government of National Defense under General Trochu governed during the remaining five months of the war. After Paris capitulated, elections chose a National Assembly that met at Bordeaux and named Thiers Chief of the Executive Power.
Chapter 53
Section 543 cards
How did the Orleanists, Bonapartists, and republicans vote on MacMahon's term in 1873?
On November 20, 1873, the Orleanists joined with the Bonapartists and republicans to fix President MacMahon's term definitely at seven years. The Orleanists assumed that if an opportunity arose to place the Count of Paris on the throne, the President would retire to clear the way. The opportunity never came, and the septennial presidency passed into the permanent mechanism of a republican state.
Chapter 54
What was the Wallon amendment and by what margin did it pass?
In January 1875 the monarchist majority of the commission of thirty proposed merely continuing the existing septennate. Only after earnest effort, and by the narrow vote of 353 to 352, did republican forces carry an amendment proposed by deputy Wallon making definite provision for the election of the President of the Republic, and by reasonable inference for the perpetuity of the Republic itself.
Chapter 54
How is the French constitution amended under the law of February 25, 1875?
Amendments may be proposed by the President or either chamber. When both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies declare by majority that revision is necessary, the two chambers convene as a National Assembly and adopt amendments by absolute majority. Constituent and ordinary legislative powers thus sit in the same body. An 1884 amendment forbids any proposed revision of the republican form of government.
Chapter 54
Section 554 cards
What two constitutional clauses make the French President weak?
The constitutional law of February 25, 1875 provides that every act of the President must be countersigned by a minister, and that ministers are collectively responsible to the chambers for general policy and individually for their personal acts. Under these principles the Ministry becomes the real executive, and the President, like the British sovereign, can do no wrong because ministers alone are responsible.
Chapter 55
Which presidential powers are substantial, and which require chamber ratification?
The President appoints and removes officials without Senate ratification, though in practice through the Ministry. He negotiates treaties, but those affecting peace, commerce, territorial possessions, finances, or the status of Frenchmen abroad need chamber ratification; others, even a foreign alliance, may be concluded by the Executive alone. He commands the armed forces but cannot declare war without the chambers' consent, and may pardon, though amnesty requires law.
Chapter 55
Why does France have unstable ministries despite a parliamentary system?
The author argues the cause is the multiplicity of parties. The 1910 election sent nine distinct groups to the Chamber, so no ministry can command a majority without a coalition of several parties. Such a government dares displease none and often ends by displeasing all, producing frequent ministerial crises—forty-five ministries between 1875 and 1912, though many members are reappointed.
Chapter 55
What is an interpellation and why does the author criticize it?
Any member may put an interpellation to a minister, designed not to obtain information but to put the Government on the defensive and force a debate that may end in the ministry's overthrow over a technicality. It is made the special order for a fixed day and almost always ends in a confidence vote. The author argues it lends itself too readily to sheer factiousness to be a valuable feature of parliamentary procedure.
Chapter 55
Section 564 cards
How did the 1875 constitutional law originally compose the French Senate?
The law of February 24, 1875 created a Senate of 300 members: 225 elected by the departments and colonies, and 75 elected by the National Assembly itself. Departmental senators were chosen by an electoral college of deputies, general councillors, and one delegate per municipal council. The 75 Assembly-chosen senators held their seats for life, with vacancies filled by the Senate; all others served nine years, renewed by thirds every three years.
Chapter 56
What changes did the constitutional law of December 9, 1884 make to the Senate?
It abolished the co-optative method: sitting life members kept their seats, but future vacancies from their deaths were filled within the departments in the regular manner. It also broadened each departmental electoral college from one delegate per municipal council to between one and twenty-four (thirty for Paris), based on council size. The same law declared members of formerly reigning families ineligible.
Chapter 56
What are the franchise conditions for the French Chamber of Deputies?
The 597 deputies are chosen directly under the organic law of November 30, 1875. The franchise extends to all male inhabitants aged twenty-one, excluding convicts, bankrupts, persons under guardianship, and those in active military or naval service. There are no educational or property qualifications; voters must be on the electoral lists and prove six months' residence in the commune. The state prescribes the franchise, but communes keep and revise the lists.
Chapter 56
What is the scrutin d'arrondissement and how has it alternated with scrutin de liste?
The electoral unit is the arrondissement, an administrative subdivision of the department; each returns one deputy unless its population exceeds 100,000, when it is divided into single-member constituencies. The scrutin d'arrondissement, established in 1876, was replaced in 1885 at Gambetta's urging by the scrutin de liste (department-wide general ticket), then restored in 1889. Deputies serve four-year terms and are elected simultaneously unless the Chamber is dissolved sooner.
Chapter 56
Section 574 cards
What electoral system did the Chamber of Deputies adopt in the 1912 reform bill?
On July 10, 1912, the Chamber adopted the Government's Electoral Reform Bill by 339 to 217. It comprised essentially the Briand proposals of 1910: a revival of scrutin de liste with a large department or group of small departments as the electoral area, plus a device for representation of minorities. At the time of writing (October 1912) the measure was pending in the Senate.
Chapter 57
What were the main features of Briand's 1910 electoral reform programme?
Briand's plan proposed a return to scrutin de liste with the department as the electoral area; one deputy per 70,000 inhabitants; a quotient system to allocate seats to competing tickets, introducing proportional representation; tickets made up from candidates nominated by one hundred electors; each elector voting for a single ticket; and extending the Chamber's life from four to six years, with one-third chosen biennially.
Chapter 57
How did the 1910 elections divide the 597 deputies on electoral reform?
According to a Ministry of the Interior tabulation, of 597 deputies chosen: 94 had not declared themselves; 35 favored no change; 32 favored a slightly modified scrutin d'arrondissement; 64 favored scrutin de liste pure and simple; 272 favored scrutin de liste combined with proportional representation; and 88 favored reform without committing to a programme. The majority favoring some change was notably large.
Chapter 57
Why did Premier Briand argue for broadening the electoral area?
In the ministerial declaration accompanying his scheme, Briand declared that scrutin d'arrondissement had narrowed the political horizon of deputies; the electoral area must be broadened so that national interests predominate over district ones. He also said that while in a democracy the majority must rule, the Government favored proportional representation insofar as it prevents suppression of really important minorities.
Chapter 57
Section 583 cards
How may the French constitution be amended under the law of February 25, 1875?
Each chamber must separately declare a revision necessary by an absolute majority, either on its own initiative or at the President's request. The two chambers then meet together as a National Assembly, and the revision is passed by an absolute majority of the members composing that Assembly. The 1884 amendment forbids any proposed revision of the republican form of government.
Chapter 58
What limits the National Assembly's power over constitutional revision?
The power of amendment is vested absolutely in the parliamentary chambers, requiring only that it be exercised in joint session. The sole limitation, added by amendment of August 13, 1884, is that the republican form of government shall not be made the subject of a proposed revision. The author notes that, as in Britain, constituent and legislative powers sit in the same body of men.
Chapter 58
How is the President of the Republic elected, and where does the National Assembly meet?
The two chambers meet conjointly as the National Assembly to elect the President by ballot and absolute majority of members. Normally they convene a month or more before the seven-year term expires; on a vacancy by death, resignation, or other unanticipated circumstance, the meeting occurs forthwith without summons. All meetings are held at Versailles, not Paris, and no elective session may exceed five months.
Chapter 58
Section 594 cards
According to the chapter, what fundamental division persists in French politics, and how have the terms changed?
The chapter states that the fundamental division of Conservative and Republican persists, but both terms have lost their original definiteness. The Conservatives have largely ceased to be reactionaries; few are royalists, and the old Legitimist, Orleanist, and Bonapartist distinctions have disappeared. The Right is essentially republican, with most of its Chamber members being Progressives, while the Republican groups are those more radical than the Right.
Chapter 59
How did the French socialist party develop between 1879 and 1905?
The chapter recounts that in 1879 the trade-union congress at Marseilles declared for socialism, but a schism between collectivists and co-operatives arose at Havre in 1880 and was never healed. Disintegration produced a half-dozen socialist parties. After union efforts and a national congress at Paris in 1900, the Dreyfus-era Millerand appointment split socialists again until the Parti Socialiste Français and Parti Socialiste de France amalgamated in 1905.
Chapter 59
What growth in socialist votes and deputies does the chapter report from 1885 to 1910?
The chapter reports that in 1885, the socialists' first parliamentary campaign, they won 30,000 votes. This rose to 120,000 by 1889, 700,000 by 1898, and 1,000,000 by 1906. At the 1910 election the popular vote increased by 200,000 and socialist deputies reached a total of 105. Socialism also began spreading among rural wage-earners and small proprietors.
Chapter 59
What are the four great codes besides the Civil Code, and what did codification accomplish?
The chapter lists the Code of Civil Procedure (1806, 1,042 articles), the Code of Commerce (1807, 648 articles), the Code of Criminal Instruction (1808, 648 articles), and the Penal Code (1810, 484 articles). None represented a new body of law; they reduced existing law to systematic written form, giving France unity and precision it had never possessed, though at the cost of flexibility and dynamic character.
Chapter 59
Section 604 cards
Who appoints ordinary French judges, and what protects them from dismissal?
The President of the Republic appoints all judges of the ordinary tribunals on the recommendation and under the responsibility of the Minister of Justice. Tenure runs during good behavior, and no judicial officer outside the listed exceptions may be dismissed without the consent of the Court of Cassation. Justices of the peace and Algerian and colonial judges may be dismissed by the President.
Chapter 60
How does administrative law in France differ from the English-speaking conception?
The author explains that administrative law determines the status and liabilities of public officials and the rights of individuals dealing with the state, resting on the idea that government has prerogatives distinct from those of private citizens. He notes this conception is foreign to the English-speaking world; neither Britain nor any English-origin nation has more than traces of it, though it is nearly universal on the continent.
Chapter 60
What is the Council of State's role, and what court stands below it?
The Council of State is the most important administrative tribunal, its modern influence arising almost exclusively from supreme administrative jurisdiction. It answers questions the Government lays before it and is the court of last resort in administrative cases. Below it, in each department, a conseil de préfecture serves as court of first instance in administrative litigation and rules on the validity of arrondissement and municipal elections.
Chapter 60
What did the reforms of 1789-1791 create, and why was centralization revived by 1795-1800?
The National Assembly abolished provinces and généralités, keeping the communes, and erected eighty-three departments, districts, and cantons — symmetrical units detached from history and tradition. Local administration passed to elected bodies. Experience proved the reformers had gone too far toward democracy and decentralization, so from 1795 official experts and centralized supervision returned, and under Napoleon mayors and communal councils became appointive rather than elective.
Chapter 60
Section 614 cards
What did the law of March 28, 1882 grant to French communes?
The law of March 28, 1882 met the demand for communal autonomy by conferring on every commune, large and small (except Paris), the privilege of freely choosing its entire quota of administrative officials. The municipal code of April 5, 1884, drafted by a commission of nine, specifically guaranteed this privilege along with others. Departments and arrondissements, however, remained primarily spheres of general government authority.
Chapter 61
How is the prefect appointed, and what dual role does he serve?
Each department is headed by a prefect appointed and removed nominally by the President of the Republic but in reality by the Minister of the Interior. He is simultaneously an agent of the general government and the executive head of the department in local affairs. The author notes he is essentially a political official whose tenure often ends with the fall of the ministry.
Chapter 61
What powers and limits does the departmental general council have?
The general council is elected by manhood suffrage, with one member per canton for six years, half retiring every three years. Its powers are limited largely to highways, canals, schools, and asylums; political questions are excluded. It has only two short sessions a year, and its acts may be vetoed or the body dissolved by the President of the Republic.
Chapter 61
Why is the arrondissement council so limited in function?
The arrondissement has no corporate personality, no property, and no budget, so its council has only one important function: allotting among the communes their quotas of taxes assigned to the arrondissement by the general council. The arrondissement is nonetheless the electoral district for the Chamber of Deputies and normally the seat of a court of first instance.
Chapter 61
Section 622 cards
How are the mayor's functions distributed among his assistants in the French commune?
The mayor assigns each assistant a specific department, such as streets, sanitation, or fire-protection. As a rule, the mayor reserves control of police for himself. The mayor remains directly responsible for the acts of the assistants, and all acts relating to the interests of the general government are performed under strict surveillance of the prefectorial authorities.
Chapter 62
How does the chapter describe the strength of communal identity in France?
The author argues the commune remains the true focus of local life in France, with activities spanning finance, commerce, industry, education, religion, and politics. Public sentiment rarely acquiesces in suppressing a commune or merging small ones. The code of 1884 permitted boundary changes by departmental authorities only after an enquête and consultation of local susceptibilities; a commune's name may be altered only by special decree of the President.
Chapter 62
Section 634 cards
What did the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna (June 9, 1815) do to Italy?
It remanded Italy to a status Metternich described as merely a geographical expression. In essentials there was a return to pre-Napoleonic conditions, leaving ten Italian states: Sardinia, Lombardo-Venetia, Parma, Modena, Lucca, Tuscany, Monaco, San Marino, Naples, and the States of the Church. Austria gained Lombardo-Venetia outright, and Austrian princes ruled Tuscany, Modena, and Parma.
Chapter 63
How did Napoleon contribute to Italian unification, according to the chapter?
The chapter argues Napoleon sowed the seed of Italian unity. Though unification seemed improbable, the brutalities of Austrian and local rulers could not erase Italians' memory of the just laws, vigorous administration, and enlightened aims of the emperor. Their training under him taught them they equaled northern races and were in all essentials a nation. Napoleon himself predicted Italy would unite under one government with Rome as capital.
Chapter 63
What happened to the constitutions granted during the 1848 revolutions in Italy?
The reaction was swift and nearly complete. The king of Naples withdrew from the war, revoked his constitution, and routed the liberals. With French, Austrian, and Neapolitan help the Pope extinguished the Roman republic and restored the temporal power. Austrian arms crushed the northern and central insurrectionary states, and constitutionalism gave place to absolutism. Only Piedmont retained a semblance of political independence and civil liberty.
Chapter 63
Which constitution survived unmodified into the Italian kingdom, and who granted it?
The Statuto fondamentale del Regno, granted by Charles Albert of Piedmont on March 4, 1848, modelled on the amended French Charter of 1830. He announced it 'of his free and entire will.' It survives with absolutely no modification of text as the constitution of the Italian kingdom. Victor Emmanuel II later refused all inducements to abrogate it.
Chapter 63
Section 644 cards
How was the Kingdom of Italy proclaimed in 1861, and under what constitution?
A new enlarged parliament convened at Turin on February 18, 1861, and proclaimed the united Kingdom of Italy on March 18. The Statuto granted to Piedmont by Charles Albert in 1848 was extended over all annexed territories, and Victor Emmanuel II was acknowledged 'by the grace of God and the will of the nation, King of Italy.'
Chapter 64
How were Venetia and Rome acquired and annexed, 1866-1871?
Venetia came via Italy's alliance with Prussia against Austria in 1866; Austria ceded it October 3, and a plebiscite of October 21-22 voted 647,246 to 47 for annexation. Rome followed the Franco-German war: after France withdrew its garrison, Cadorna's troops entered September 20, 1870; the plebiscite voted 133,681 to 1,507, and annexation was ratified December 31.
Chapter 64
What did Crispi argue in 1881 about amending the Statuto?
The author reports Crispi argued the Statuto is not intangible and that its silence on revision was prudent. Parliament, in its usual operation, is 'always constituent and constituted,' so no separate constituent assembly is needed; when public opinion matures a reform, Parliament should accept it even if it modifies an article of the Statuto.
Chapter 64
Why can't the Statuto alone explain Italy's working constitution?
The author argues the Statuto is so overlaid with statutory enactments and custom that its eighty-four articles cannot adequately convey the working constitution. An Italian publicist holds the constitution is cumulative: the Statuto is only the primary kernel, with many institutions transformed by laws, decrees, usages, and neglect.
Chapter 64
Section 654 cards
How is the Italian premier chosen, and who selects the other ministers?
The king names the premier, exercising considerable discretion because Italy's many parties often leave no clear opposition leader. The crown then designates all remaining ministers on the premier's nomination. Ordinarily the premier also holds the Interior portfolio. Each minister is assisted by an under-secretary of state under a law of February 12, 1888.
Chapter 65
Must Italian ministers be members of Parliament to serve?
No. Eligibility for a portfolio or under-secretaryship does not require membership in either chamber. Ministers and under-secretaries may appear and speak in either chamber on request but may vote only if members. An appointee outside Parliament customarily seeks the next vacant Deputies seat unless made a senator; in practice ministers are drawn mainly from the Chamber of Deputies.
Chapter 65
What does the chapter say about the Italian Senate's legislative role?
The Senate is appointed for life by the crown from twenty-one stipulated classes, with a minimum age of forty. The author argues that appointment has meant appointment by the ministry commanding the lower chamber's majority, so "swamping" has reduced the Senate's independence almost to nullity. It functions as a revising, not initiating or checking, chamber: in 1861-1910 the government presented 7,569 proposals to the Deputies but 598 to the Senate.
Chapter 65
How does the ordinance power of the Italian executive operate in practice?
The constitution lets the Executive make decrees and regulations necessary to execute the laws without suspending them or granting exemptions. The author argues this power is stretched further than in France, sometimes creating temporary law or virtually negating parliamentary enactment. Parliament sometimes delegates sweeping authority expressly; the electoral law of 1882 was never considered in the chambers, the Government drafting and promulgating it by decree.
Chapter 65
Section 664 cards
Under Italy's 1882 electoral law, what replaced the forty-lire property qualification?
The 1882 measures, co-ordinated in the royal decree of September 24, reduced the property qualification from forty lire to nineteen lire eighty centesimi and lowered the age limit to twenty-one. Illiteracy remained a disqualification, but all males over twenty-one with a primary school education gained the franchise regardless of property. The number of voters rose from 627,838 to 2,049,461, with about two-thirds qualifying through education.
Chapter 66
What four qualifications must an Italian voter meet under the system described in 1904?
The voter must possess Italian citizenship, be twenty-one or over, be able to read and write, and have passed examinations in the subjects of compulsory elementary education. The examination requirement is waived for officials, college graduates, professional men, persons who served two years in the army, citizens paying at least nineteen lire eighty centesimi in direct tax, and certain renters and less important classes.
Chapter 66
What did the Giolitti ministry propose in June 1911 regarding suffrage?
The Giolitti ministry laid before the Chamber a measure that would grant the vote to practically all male citizens over thirty, and to all over twenty-one who had performed required military service, regardless of literacy. The Chamber adopted it in 1912 by 392 to 61. The author notes serious students doubted the time was ripe, since half the proposed electorate would be wholly illiterate.
Chapter 66
What are the age, residency, and salary rules for Italian deputies?
A deputy need not reside in the district that elects him, but must be a citizen, at least thirty years old, in possession of full civil and political rights, and not in a disqualified class. Salaried officials, persons receiving state stipends, and ordained clergy are barred outright. Neither senators nor deputies receive salary, though members travel free on contracted railways and steamers.
Chapter 66
Section 674 cards
Under the Statuto, what does the chapter say about judges' tenure and court publicity?
The chapter states that justice emanates from the king and is administered in his name by judges he appoints. After three years of service, judges are irremovable. Civil proceedings and criminal hearings are required to be public. No one may be withdrawn from ordinary legal jurisdiction, and courts, tribunals, or judges may be modified only by law.
Chapter 67
How do Italy's five courts of cassation differ from France's single court?
The chapter says Italy has five largely independent courts of cassation at Turin, Florence, Naples, Palermo, and Rome, each final in ordinary civil law within its territory. Rome alone handles conflicts of competence, transfers, and writs of error in criminal cases. Otherwise the five are equal: no appeal between them, and one's decisions are not binding precedents for the others.
Chapter 67
What jurisdiction does the pretura exercise, and what minor civil cases go to justices of the peace?
Within each mandamento a pretura handles civil cases and misdemeanors or offenses punishable by imprisonment up to three months, banishment up to one year, or a fine up to 1,000 lire. Justices of the peace handle minor civil cases involving sums not exceeding 100 lire and, on request, act as arbitrators in cases of any amount.
Chapter 67
How did the laws of 1889 and 1890 reshape Italy's administrative courts?
The chapter says the 1865 arrangement, giving ordinary courts broad jurisdiction where the Council of State found a civil or political right involved, worked poorly. Laws of June 2, 1889, and May 1, 1890, set off a special section of the Council of State as an administrative court and gave the provincial giunta an inferior administrative jurisdiction. Ordinary courts hear private right cases; private interest goes to administrative tribunals.
Chapter 67
Section 684 cards
What annual sum did the Law of Guarantees reserve for the Holy See?
The Law of Guarantees of 1871 reserved 3,225,000 lire ($645,000) annually for the uses of the Holy See, entered in the great book of the public debt as a perpetual and inalienable income. The state could never repudiate this obligation or reduce the amount. The sum covered preservation of the apostolic palaces, compensation and pensions for guards and attachés, upkeep of the Vatican museums and library, and other needful purposes.
Chapter 68
How did the Law of Guarantees treat ecclesiastical decisions that conflict with state law?
The law abolished the exequatur, the placet, and other forms of civil authorization of spiritual measures, and barred appeals to civil courts from ecclesiastical disciplinary decisions. However, if an ecclesiastical act contravened a state law, subverted public order, or encroached on individual rights, it was ipso facto void, and the state was sole judge of these matters. Offending measures remained subject to the ordinary criminal code.
Chapter 68
How did Pius IX respond to the Law of Guarantees?
Pius IX flatly refused to accept the Law of Guarantees, resting as it did solely on state authority. On May 15, 1871, he issued an encyclical to the bishops repudiating the Law and calling on Catholic princes everywhere to restore the temporal power. The call went unheeded, so the Pope adopted an obstructionist policy of maintaining no relations with the Italian kingdom.
Chapter 68
Why has the papacy refused to touch the annuity or leave the Vatican?
The papacy has never sanctioned the Law of Guarantees, so no penny of the annuity has been touched, and the Pope persists in calling himself 'the prisoner of the Vatican.' He will not set foot outside his petty domain because doing so might be construed as recognizing the kingdom's authority in Rome. The government made the annuity subject to quinquennial prescription, so at most a five-year quota plus interest could ever be collected.
Chapter 68
Section 694 cards
What was the rimpasto, and why was it easy in Italy?
The rimpasto was a partial renewal of a ministry. According to the chapter, it was, and still is, rendered easy by the average ministry's lack of political solidarity. This practice allowed cabinets to be reshuffled without full replacement, reflecting the weak cohesion among governing groups rather than a formal constitutional procedure.
Chapter 69
What was transformismo, and did it originate with Depretis?
Transformismo was a coalition policy of drawing support across the Right and Left. The chapter states it did not originate with Depretis: as early as 1873 part of the Right under Minghetti joined the Left to overturn the Lanza-Sella cabinet, and in 1876 Minghetti himself fell to a similar defection of Conservative deputies.
Chapter 69
Why did the Giolitti ministry of 1892 retire in November 1893?
The Giolitti ministry retired on November 24, 1893, without even challenging a vote of confidence, after a parliamentary committee revealed the bank scandals on November 23. The chapter describes the period as marked by a cringing foreign policy, near collapse of national finances, and scandals involving state banks, especially the Banca Romana, calling it perhaps the most unfortunate era since unification.
Chapter 69
Why did the second Crispi ministry fall in March 1896?
The second Crispi ministry ran from December 1893 to March 1896. It suppressed disorder, made economies, and pursued colonial expansion in East Africa, but faced opposition from the Extreme Left, much of the Right, and Giolitti's adherents. It finally surrendered office on March 5, 1896, because of public indignation over the failure of the Eritrean enterprise.
Chapter 69
Section 704 cards
What groups made up Italy's Extreme Left, and how did the Republicans fare?
The Extreme Left comprised Republicans, Radicals, and Socialists. The Republicans were neither numerous nor well organized; impotent between 1870 and 1890, they gained ground during the struggle against Crispi but were weakened by the rise of socialism and are described as distinctly in decline—the Italians' phrase calls them "four nuts rattling in a bag."
Chapter 70
What was the Non Expedit and how did Leo XIII modify it?
Pius IX's 1883 decree Non Expedit declared it "inexpedient" for Catholics to vote in parliamentary elections, as protest against secular usurpation. Leo XIII maintained this stance and in 1895 went further, expressly forbidding what had merely been pronounced inexpedient. The policy applied only to parliamentary, not municipal, elections, and was never widely enforced.
Chapter 70
What did the 1905 encyclical permit regarding Catholic political participation?
It made it Catholics' duty to share in maintaining social order and permitted, even enjoined, political participation to defend social order where obviously menaced—but only in disciplined form, under the ecclesiastical hierarchy and with Vatican approval. Where rigid application would let socialists triumph, the rule could be waived on the bishop's request and Holy See's sanction; Catholics might even stand, though as cattolici deputati, si, deputati cattolici, no.
Chapter 70
How did Socialist electoral strength grow between 1895 and 1909?
In 1895 the party polled 60,000 votes and returned 12 deputies; in 1897, 108,000 votes and 16 members. Seats then rose to 33 in 1900, fell to 26 in 1904, and climbed to 42 in 1906 and 43 in 1909. The author attributes this growth to dissatisfaction with older parties, the programme's practical character, and comparatively able leadership.
Chapter 70
Section 711 cards
What did Napoleon's Act of Mediation of 1803 establish?
Napoleon authorized re-establishment of an essentially federal system, with a central government more substantial than before 1798. The federal Diet gained the right to make war and conclude treaties, withdrawn from individual cantons. Six new cantons were added to the thirteen original, and six larger cantons received two votes each while others kept one. Executive authority rotated among six cantons, the directorial canton being the Vorort.
Chapter 71
Section 724 cards
How does the Swiss constitution define cantonal sovereignty?
Article 3 states that the cantons are sovereign insofar as their sovereignty is not limited by the federal constitution, and they exercise all rights not delegated to the federal government. The federal government is restricted to delegated powers, while cantons may exercise any powers not delegated exclusively to the nation nor prohibited to them. The author notes the delimitation of powers is far more minute than in the American instrument, leaving little room for dispute over what is delegated.
Chapter 72
What conditions must a cantonal constitution meet to receive federal guaranty?
The Confederation guarantees cantonal territory, sovereignty, constitutions, and rights. Cantons must request guaranty, which is granted when the constitution contains nothing contrary to the federal constitution, assures political rights under republican forms, has been ratified by the people, and may be amended at any time by a majority of citizens. A cantonal constitution lacking assent of both federal houses is inoperative, as is even the minutest amendment.
Chapter 72
Which powers does the Swiss constitution vest exclusively in the Confederation?
Exclusive federal powers include declaring war, making peace, concluding alliances and treaties with foreign powers (especially tariff and commerce treaties), organizing and controlling national forces, the postal and telegraph services, coining money, issuing bank notes, fixing weights and measures, the gunpowder monopoly, and supplementary legislation on domicile and citizenship. Cantons retain only treaties with foreign powers on border and police relations and public property administration.
Chapter 72
What is the author's view of the Swiss federal executive compared with its legislature?
The author argues that under the Swiss constitution, as under the German, federal legislative powers are comprehensive while executive authority and machinery are meager. The Confederation may legislate on military service, railroads, education, labor, taxation, monopolies, insurance, commerce, coinage, banking, citizenship, civil rights, bankruptcy, and criminal law. Yet federal taxation power is confined to customs alone, less than Germany or the United States, though centralizing amendments since 1874 have enlarged federal legislative scope.
Chapter 72
Section 734 cards
What two classes of cantonal government does Ogg distinguish by legislative process?
Ogg divides cantonal governments into two classes: those where ultimate public powers rest in a Landesgemeinde, a primary assembly of citizens, and those where such powers are committed to elected representatives. The representative class splits again into cantons with an obligatory referendum and those where the referendum is merely optional.
Chapter 73
Which six cantons and half-cantons still retain the Landesgemeinde?
Only six survive: Uri, Glarus, the two Unterwaldens, and the two Appenzells. Before the French intervention of 1798 there were eleven such cantons; the rest adopted the representative system, mainly because the Landesgemeinde became unwieldy as population grew. Those remaining are small, sparsely populated mountain districts with primitive living conditions.
Chapter 73
What does the Greater Council do in Landesgemeinde cantons versus others?
In Landesgemeinde cantons the Greater Council's functions are subsidiary: it chooses minor officials, audits accounts, and passes unimportant ordinances, but its main business is preparing measures for the Landesgemeinde. Where no Landesgemeinde exists, it is the only law-making body assembled; its decisions are provisional under the obligatory referendum but gain substantial final authority where the referendum is optional.
Chapter 73
How do obligatory and optional referendums differ, and what petition rules apply?
Under the obligatory referendum every legislative measure must go to popular vote; under the optional one, a measure is referred only on demand of a specified number or proportion of voters. Petitions go to the cantonal executive council, usually within thirty days of enactment. Signatures required range from 500 in Zug to 6,000 in St. Gall, and the rejecting majority varies by canton.
Chapter 73
Section 744 cards
Who elects the Swiss Federal Council, and under what cantonal restriction?
The Federal Council's seven members are elected by the Federal Assembly (National Council and Council of the States in joint session) from citizens eligible to the National Council. Not more than one member may be chosen from the same canton. The term is nominally three years, but a dissolution of the National Council means the new Assembly chooses a new Council.
Chapter 74
What real power does the Swiss President of the Confederation hold?
The President simply presides over the Council's deliberations and has no more power than his six colleagues. He personally directs one executive department, performs ceremonial duties of titular headship, and draws 13,500 francs instead of 12,000. The author states he is in no sense a 'chief executive.'
Chapter 74
Why is the Swiss Federal Council not a cabinet?
The author argues no cabinet government exists in Switzerland. Councillors are not and may not be members of the Assembly; they need not share a party or programme; and if overruled they do not resign, since each is elected by separate ballot for a fixed term. The Council is essentially an executive committee of the Assembly.
Chapter 74
What judicial functions does the Swiss Federal Council perform, and why?
Switzerland has no administrative courts, so administrative cases withheld from the Federal Tribunal are dealt with directly by the Federal Council, usually with appeal to the Assembly. Beyond this, the Council's functions are also executive and legislative: it executes federal laws and judgments, conducts foreign relations, introduces bills, and has no veto over Assembly measures.
Chapter 74
Section 754 cards
What powers do the two Swiss federal houses exercise when sitting jointly?
Sitting jointly under the president of the National Council, the houses perform electoral and judicial functions: electing the Federal Council, federal judges, the chancellor, and federal army generals; granting pardons; and adjusting jurisdictional conflicts between branches of the federal government. The constitution assigns these joint functions to the chambers, distinguishing them from the more extensive powers exercised separately.
Chapter 75
What conditions trigger the optional referendum on an ordinary federal law?
After publication, a law has a ninety-day probationary period. A referendum becomes obligatory if demanded by 30,000 voters or by the legislatures of eight cantons; the Federal Council must then arrange submission within four weeks. Private and 'urgent' measures take effect at once. Approval requires a majority of votes in a majority of cantons; otherwise the measure is null.
Chapter 75
How does the obligatory referendum apply to constitutional amendments?
Revision may be total or partial. If the councils agree, they vote the amendment like a statute and submit it to the people. If they disagree on total revision, or 50,000 voters demand it, a preliminary question goes to the people; an affirmative vote requires electing new councils to execute the mandate. No amendment takes effect without majority approval in a majority of cantons.
Chapter 75
What was the purpose and record of the popular initiative established in 1891?
The initiative, adopted July 5, 1891, through united anti-Radical parties, let 50,000 citizens compel consideration of constitutional amendments, with projects submitted to the people. Fears of frequent revolutionary change proved groundless: in about twenty years only nine initiated amendments were voted on and only three adopted, including the 1893 ban on Jewish slaughter and 1908 measures on trades and absinthe.
Chapter 75
Section 764 cards
What did the 1906 Federal Council proposal on the initiative and referendum seek to allow?
The proposal would let fifty thousand voters or eight cantons demand at any time the passage, modification, or repeal of any federal law or federal decree. Debated in the National Council in December 1906, it was referred back to the Federal Council and remained pending, though its eventual adoption was thought probable. As of the chapter, initiative and referendum applied only to constitutional amendments.
Chapter 76
What were the three main Swiss parties after 1874, and what did each represent?
The Right, or Clericals, was religiously based, defending the Catholic church and Catholic interests. The Left, or Radicals, drew strength from Protestant cantons and was anti-clerical, blending varied radical and democratic shades. The Centre, or Liberals, stood between them, upholding personal freedom against state paternalism; though few in number, its wealthy members sometimes shaped economic policy. A small Extreme Left of ultra-democrats and socialists later emerged.
Chapter 76
Why does the chapter say Swiss political parties show unusual stability?
The author argues no new party except the Socialists arose after 1874, and relative party strength barely changed. Suggested reasons include brief national legislative sessions, little federal patronage to stir party zeal, indirect election of the Federal Council, and the non-partisan character of the referendum. The author notes the reasons are varied and not wholly clear.
Chapter 76
What is the Federal Court's criminal jurisdiction, and how are facts decided?
It covers mainly high treason against the Confederation, crimes against the law of nations, political crimes serious enough to prompt armed federal intervention, and charges against federal officers when the appointing authority applies. In these cases the Court must use a jury to decide questions of fact. With Federal Assembly consent, cantons may refer other criminal cases to it.
Chapter 76
Section 774 cards
What did the Ausgleich of 1867 establish regarding Austria-Hungary?
The chapter states that the present relation between Austria and Hungary rests upon the Ausgleich, or Compromise, of 1867. It notes that a modern writer called Austria-Hungary a museum of political curiosities, containing nothing so extraordinary as the relation between Austria and Hungary themselves. The chapter then traces the historical phases of this relationship back to the first half of the sixteenth century.
Chapter 77
How did Austria and Hungary first become affiliated under Ferdinand I?
After the Hungarians were defeated by the Turks at Mohács in 1526, a Hapsburg prince, the later Emperor Ferdinand I, assumed the throne of the demoralized eastern kingdom upon election by the Hungarian diet. The chapter says his efforts met with a measure of success and there resulted that affiliation of Austria and Hungary maintained to the present day, though its strength varied greatly by period.
Chapter 77
What did Maria Theresa do about Hungary's constitution and Diet?
The chapter states that in Hungary the constitution was left untouched, but during the forty years of her reign the Diet was assembled only four times, and government was in effect by royal decree. It adds that she made the government more than ever autocratic while not interfering with the nominal privileges of the old estates, and that she became virtually the founder of the unified Austrian state.
Chapter 77
When and why did Francis II take the title Emperor of Austria?
On August 11, 1804, Francis II, archduke of Austria and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, assumed the name and title of Francis I, emperor of Austria. The chapter says he was influenced partly by Napoleon's assumption of the title emperor of the French three months earlier, and partly by anticipation that the Holy Roman Empire would soon be subverted. The Austrian imperial title dates from 1804.
Chapter 77
Section 784 cards
What did the diet of 1722 establish regarding Hungary's government and succession?
The diet of 1722 established a Hungarian court of chancery at Vienna and committed Hungary's government to a stadtholder at Pressburg, independent of the Diet and responsible only to the sovereign. It also formally accepted the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, settling the succession, in default of male heirs, on Maria Theresa and her heirs. A fresh compact followed in 1723.
Chapter 78
What did Leopold I achieve through the rump diet at Pressburg in 1687?
In 1687 Leopold I induced a rump diet at Pressburg to abrogate the clause of the Golden Bull authorizing armed resistance to unconstitutional acts of the sovereign, and to declare the Hungarian crown hereditary in the house of Hapsburg. This ended the elective Hungarian monarchy after upwards of seven hundred years of existence.
Chapter 78
How did Joseph II's policies toward Hungary differ from Maria Theresa's?
Maria Theresa never encouraged Hungarian self-government but did not subvert the constitution; she simply ignored it, summoning the Diet seldom and after 1764 not at all, and reforming by royal decree. Joseph II went further, deliberately attempting to sweep away the constitution and all Hungarian institutions and traditions, refusing even to be crowned king of Hungary. His purpose failed.
Chapter 78
Why did Metternich regard change in the Hapsburg monarchy as ruinous?
The author argues the monarchy's mixture of races, religions, languages, and interests made any change dangerous. Metternich feared liberalism would prompt nationalities to demand constitutions, constitutions would mean autonomy, and autonomy might end the Empire. The principle of nationality, vital elsewhere in nineteenth-century Europe, threatened Austria with disintegration, so conservatism was imposed by the conditions of its being.
Chapter 78
Section 794 cards
What event triggered the March 1848 insurrection in Vienna?
News of Louis Philippe's fall in Paris on February 24, 1848, combined with Kossuth's speeches translated into German and spread across Vienna, sparked the March 12-13 insurrection. Fighting broke out between troops and the populace, and a mob stormed the royal palace demanding Metternich's dismissal. Metternich resigned, fled the city, and eventually reached England.
Chapter 79
What did Hungary's March Laws establish regarding government and the Austrian tie?
The March Laws replaced the aristocratic monarchy with a constitutional system: a diet with a 337-member lower chamber elected by property-holding Hungarians aged twenty, annual sessions at Budapest, extended taxation, abolished feudal dues, jury trial, religious liberty, and press freedom. Hungary gained a separate responsible ministry, leaving only the sovereign as the tie to Austria. Vienna reluctantly assented on April 10.
Chapter 79
How was the Austrian Constitution of 1848 promulgated, and what did it create?
The Emperor promulgated it April 25, 1848, on his sole authority, never submitting it to the promised Imperial Diet or any national assembly. It applied to the Empire except Hungary, Transleithania, and Italian dependencies. It declared an indissoluble constitutional monarchy, guaranteed civil and religious liberty, and created a Reichstag with an upper house of princes and landlords' nominees and a 383-member elected lower house.
Chapter 79
What ended the Hungarian revolution by August 1849?
After Francis Joseph abrogated the March Laws, the Magyars rose en masse, fighting Austrians and their own rebellious Roumanian, Croatian, and Slavonian subjects. When the Diet declared independence on April 14, 1849, and elected Kossuth president, Francis Joseph appealed to Tsar Nicholas I, who intervened for the 'legitimate' Austrian power. Overwhelmed by odds, the Hungarians ended the war by mid-August 1849.
Chapter 79
Section 803 cards
What did the Ausgleich of 1867 establish between Austria and Hungary?
The Ausgleich, or Compromise, was formally approved by the Hungarian Diet on May 29, 1867, by a vote of 209 to 89, after the Andrássy ministry was formed at Budapest on February 17. The Reichsrath at Vienna added liberalizing features and provided for revision of the Imperial patent of 1861. Two deputations of fifteen members each drew up financial adjustments, and acts of December 21-24 gave final approval on both sides.
Chapter 80
What did the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 regulate, and how did it affect Hungary in 1867?
The Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI, promulgated originally April 19, 1713, and in final form in 1724, regulated the succession to the throne. Under its terms the royal succession in Hungary, after eighteen years of suspension, was definitely resumed when Francis Joseph was crowned Apostolic King of Hungary on June 8, 1867, in the great cathedral at Buda.
Chapter 80
What did Section 14 of the 1867 Law concerning Imperial Representation permit?
It allowed the Emperor, when urgent circumstances required a measure needing Reichsrath consent while that body was not in session, to issue an Imperial ordinance under the collective responsibility of the ministry, provided it altered no fundamental law, imposed no lasting treasury burden, and alienated no state domain. It had provisional force of law if signed by all ministers, and lapsed if not presented to the Reichsrath within four weeks of its convention.
Chapter 80
Section 814 cards
Under Austria's parliamentary system, on whom do ministers depend more in practice than on the chambers?
The author argues that although ministers are nominally responsible collectively and individually to the Reichsrath, in practice they are far more dependent upon the Emperor than upon the chambers. He attributes this to Austria's numerous and ineradicable racial divisions, which prevent any political group from ruling alone or forming lasting working affiliations, letting the Government play factions against one another.
Chapter 81
How was the Herrenhaus composed at the close of 1910?
At the close of 1910 the Herrenhaus had 266 members: 15 princes of the Imperial family of age; 74 high-ranking nobles with large estates nominated by the Emperor to hereditary seats; 18 ecclesiastics (10 archbishops, 8 bishops) holding princely title by their episcopal seats; and 159 persons nominated by the Emperor for life. A 1907 law capped the last group between 150 and 170.
Chapter 81
What four curiæ did the 1873 electoral law create, and how unequal were they?
The law of 1873 assigned deputies to four classes: great landowners paying a land tax of 50 to 250 florins (including women and corporations); cities, where all males of twenty-four paying ten gulden in direct tax could vote; chambers of commerce and industry; and rural communes with the same qualifications as cities. In 1890 there was one deputy per 63 landowners but one per 11,600 rural voters.
Chapter 81
What did the 1896 electoral law establish, and why was it only a partial reform?
The Badeni government's law of 1896 established general suffrage, but only for electing 72 new representatives added to the existing 353, making 425 total. Every male citizen twenty-four who had resided six months could vote for these seats. The four old curiæ were left unchanged, so 1,732,000 voters in them still elected 353 members, and some voters held plural votes.
Chapter 81
Section 824 cards
Under the 1907 electoral law, what qualifications did a male need to vote for a parliamentary representative?
With insignificant exceptions, every male citizen aged twenty-four or over who had resided at least one year in the commune where the vote was exercised was qualified. Voting was by secret ballot, and an absolute majority of votes cast was required; failing that, a second ballot was held between the top two candidates. Any male thirty or older with three years' citizenship and the franchise was eligible for election.
Chapter 82
How did the 1907 law handle voting in mixed regions such as Bohemia?
Constituencies were arranged where practicable to preserve urban-rural distinctions and to comprise essentially homogeneous racial groups. In especially mixed regions like Bohemia, separate constituencies and registers were maintained for each nationality, and a man could vote only on his own race's register and for a candidate of that race. Germans voted for Germans, Czechs for Czechs, Poles for Poles, so contests occurred within a nationality, not between them.
Chapter 82
What did the 1907 electoral law do about the class system and obligatory voting?
The law abolished the class system of voting entirely in national elections, replacing it with general, equal, and direct manhood suffrage. It also stipulated that when a provincial diet so ordered, voting was obligatory under penalty of fine. In Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Silesia, Salzburg, Moravia, and Vorarlberg, electors were required to appear and present a ballot, with fines of one to fifty crowns for neglect.
Chapter 82
How did the 1907 redistribution favor non-German nationalities in the Reichsrath?
The striking feature was the increased number of seats assigned to non-German nationalities. Though Germans still held more seats than strict population proportion warranted, their aggregate was only 233, while Slavic seats totaled 259. Even a revived German-Italian bloc could control only 257 votes, and in fact Italians in the Reichsrath tended to act with the Slavs rather than the Germans.
Chapter 82
Section 834 cards
Why did the German Liberals lose power in 1879 despite earlier dominance?
The author states that the Liberals' tenure, which even the financial crisis of 1873 could not break, was sacrificed through factional bickerings. The dominant party split into three groups within both the ministry and the Reichsrath, leading to the dissolution of the Auersperg ministry on February 6, 1879, and the creation of a new ministry under Count Taaffe. In elections three months later the Liberals lost forty-five seats.
Chapter 83
How did Taaffe sustain a centralist government for over a decade?
The author argues Taaffe built his system on the one common interest of his diverse supporters: preventing the German Liberals' return to power. Maintaining rigid determination against radical constitutional change, he extended favors freely to non-Germanic nationalities, prolonging a centralist government through federalist support. Government became perennial bargaining between executive and parliamentary groups, in which the legislative chambers, not the Government, lost ground.
Chapter 83
What did the 1897 language ordinances require and what resulted?
The Badeni government, needing Young Czech support, issued ordinances in April-May 1897 placing Czech and German on a common footing for official purposes in Bohemia and Moravia. The result was that the Germans, already hostile, settled into parliamentary obstruction, and before the year was out the Badeni cabinet was compelled to retire.
Chapter 83
Why did Austria resort to Section 14 in 1898?
German parties used every known device to block even necessary money bills, bringing legislation to a standstill. In summer 1898 the Government fell back on Section 14 of the Austrian constitution, by which, absent parliamentary legislation, the crown may promulgate ordinances with the force of law. This extra-parliamentary government lasted more than six years.
Chapter 83
Section 844 cards
What was notable about the Social Democrats' victory in the 1911 elections?
The most notable feature of the 1911 elections was the Social Democrats' victory over the Christian Socialists, especially in the capital, where the Social Democrats' quota of deputies rose from ten to nineteen while the Christian Socialists' fell from twenty to four. The elections were hotly contested: 2,987 candidates representing fifty-one parties and factions sought 516 seats, and second ballotings were needed in almost two-thirds of constituencies.
Chapter 84
Who founded the Christian Socialists and what was the party's purpose?
The party was founded by Dr. Lüger a few years before the elections, hoping that despite manhood suffrage in the Empire, the Social Democrats might still be prevented from acquiring primacy among German parties. It was composed largely of clericals and was essentially reactionary in tone and purpose. Through an active alliance with the German Clerical party it held Social Democracy in check through much of 1907–1911, but internal dissension handicapped it, and its election defeat relegated it to a subordinate place.
Chapter 84
Under the 1867 law, what could Austrian courts and could not do?
The Law of December 21, 1867, concerning the Judicial Power withheld from the courts the power to pronounce upon the validity of statutes properly promulgated, though courts could render judgment on the validity of Imperial ordinances involved in cases before them. Judges were appointed for life by the Emperor or in his name, removable only under circumstances specified by law and by formal judicial sentence, and on taking office they pledged inviolable observance of the fundamental laws.
Chapter 84
What is the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court (Reichsgericht)?
The Imperial Court sits at Vienna, composed of a president and deputy president appointed by the Emperor for life and twelve members and four substitutes appointed for life on Reichsrath nomination. It finally decides conflicts of competence between administrative and ordinary judicial tribunals, between a provincial diet and Imperial authorities, and between independent public authorities of the provinces. It also rules on complaints that citizens' constitutionally guaranteed political rights were violated, after an administrative decision—but high-handed administrative acts covered by statute are beyond its reach, since it cannot question a duly promulgated law's validity.
Chapter 84
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What did the March Laws of 1848 accomplish for Hungary's constitution?
The Hungarian parliament passed thirty-one laws in 1848 revising the legislative chambers, widening the suffrage, creating a responsible cabinet, abolishing feudal survivals, and modernizing institutions. They supplemented and gave definite form to pre-existing laws and customs rather than replacing them. Not all inherited elements were written down, so much of the constitution, as in Great Britain, remains unwritten.
Chapter 85
How did the 1867 Ausgleich restore Hungary's 1848 constitution?
Austrian recovery in 1849 reduced Hungary to a subject province. After seven years of experimentation, the 1867 Ausgleich permitted the 1848 constitution to operate again. It guaranteed for all time the laws, constitution, legal independence, freedom, and territorial integrity of Hungary and its subordinate countries. The author notes the constitution stood firm through later Austro-Hungarian conflict.
Chapter 85
What does Law III of 1848 require for royal acts to have force?
The king exercises executive power through the independent Hungarian ministry, and no ordinance, order, decision, or appointment has force unless countersigned by a minister residing at Budapest. Every crown measure needs a minister's countersignature, and each minister is immediately responsible to Parliament for official acts. The author argues the ministry operates on a more purely parliamentary basis than its counterpart at Vienna.
Chapter 85
How is the Hungarian Chamber of Magnates composed?
It mixes hereditary right, ex-officio qualification, royal nomination, and election. In 1910-1911 it had 16 archdukes, 15 state dignitaries, 2 High Court presidents, 42 Catholic and Orthodox bishops, 13 Protestant representatives, 236 hereditary aristocrats paying at least 6,000 crowns land tax, 3 Croatian diet members, and 60 life peers, totaling 387. The author notes it is subordinate to the lower house.
Chapter 85
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What four essentials defined Count Andrássy's Hungarian franchise bill?
The bill granted direct voting only to citizens literate in Hungarian; others could choose one elector per ten. Literate males over twenty-four with twelve months' residence got one vote; those passing four secondary-school standards, paying twenty crowns direct tax, or meeting other conditions got two votes; those completing secondary instruction or paying 100 crowns got three. Voting remained oral and public.
Chapter 86
How did the proposed franchise bill's estimated effect redistribute political power?
The Neue Freie Presse estimated electors would rise from 1,100,000 to 2,600,000 and votes to about 4,000,000. But 1,060,000 persons in the top two classes would cast 2,320,000 votes, while 2,800,000 in the lower classes would cast only 1,530,000. The measure would have strengthened the Magyar position, helped Germans somewhat, and cost Slavs heavily.
Chapter 86
Why was the franchise bill rejected by Socialists, radicals, and Slavic elements?
The bill was recognized as an instrument of deliberate Magyar domination. Among Slavic populations illiteracy was so prevalent that few could attain even one direct vote. Socialists and radical and Slavic elements denounced the scheme as a sheer caricature of the universal, equal, and direct suffrage they demanded. Parliamentary deadlock through 1909 prevented even necessary finance measures.
Chapter 86
What qualifications and procedures govern Hungarian parliamentary elections?
Elections run through a central committee of at least twelve members per town or comitat, with polling completed in a ten-day period fixed thirty days ahead. Candidates need nomination by ten electors and must be twenty-four, registered, and able to speak Magyar. Voting is public and oral; without an absolute majority, a second poll is held at least fourteen days later between the top two. Deputies receive 4,800 crowns yearly plus 1,600 for rent.
Chapter 86
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How did the Liberal party form in 1875?
In February 1875 Kálman Tisza, leader of the Left, publicly acknowledged his party's conversion to the Austrian affiliation. The fragments of the disintegrated Deák party then amalgamated readily with the Left to form the great Liberal party, which guided Hungary almost uninterruptedly thereafter. Except for Kossuth's irreconcilables, Magyars were now united in supporting some union with Austria.
Chapter 87
What was Kálman Tisza's primary policy as Hungary's ruler?
The author states Tisza's primary policy was to convert the polyglot Hungarian kingdom into a centralized, homogeneous Magyar state, using relentless and sometimes unscrupulous means. Nominally a Liberal, he trampled liberal principles systematically, though his strong rule benefited the disordered country economically. He supported the Compromise of 1867 and in 1877 secured increased advantages for Hungary, including converting the Austrian National Bank into a joint institution.
Chapter 87
Why did Bánffy resort to government by decree in 1897–1899?
The decennial economic agreement with Austria ended in 1897, and the Government could not get Parliament to approve renewal, so it was extended provisionally for twelve months at a time. Obstruction by the Independence group, Apponyi's Nationalists, and the Clericals made normal legislation impossible despite a substantial government majority. Hungary lacks a provision like Austria's Section 14, yet Bánffy adopted a similar decree policy.
Chapter 87
What happened to the Liberal party in the 1906 elections?
After the Fejérváry ministry's arbitrary rule and the threat of electoral reform broke the opposition, a coalition cabinet under Dr. Wekerle took office in 1906, including Kossuth, Andrássy, and Apponyi. At the ensuing national elections the old Liberal party was all but completely annihilated, and the Kossuth party of Independence replaced it as the preponderant force, carrying 250 seats, more than half the Chamber.
Chapter 87
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What was the Ausgleich of 1867 and what principle did it establish?
The Ausgleich, or Compromise of 1867, was an arrangement worked out by Emperor Francis Joseph, Deák, and Baron Beust, enacted by the Hungarian Parliament and Austrian Reichsrath in December 1867. Its ruling principle was dualism rather than absolute unity or subordination: Austria and Hungary each kept their own constitution, parliament, ministry, administration, and courts, while sharing one sovereign, one flag, and common policy in certain fields.
Chapter 88
What three common organs of government tied Austria and Hungary together?
The chapter identifies three common organs: (1) the monarch, who held distinct functions as emperor of Austria, king of Hungary, and head of the union; (2) the joint ministries of Foreign Affairs, War, and Finance; and (3) the Delegations. The monarch's dual functions included command of the army and navy, appointment of joint ministry heads, promulgation of common ordinances, and assent to dual legislative measures.
Chapter 88
How did Croatia-Slavonia's status differ from Dalmatia's under Hungary?
Dalmatia, united to Hungary at the beginning of the twelfth century, belongs de jure to Hungary but de facto to Austria. Croatia and Slavonia belong both de jure and de facto to Hungary. As Hungarian dominions they share war, trade, and finance policy with the rest of the state, but enjoy wide independent control in religion, education, justice, and home affairs, under an arrangement originally agreed in 1868.
Chapter 88
What powers did Hungary's county governments legally hold, and who really controlled them?
Legally, counties could withhold taxes and refuse to furnish troops, but the chapter states there was no popular representation in the true sense. The franchise was confined to a very restricted parliamentary electorate; subject races and working classes were unrepresented, and the real possessors of power were the Magyar landowners. Each county had a council of twenty plus an appointed executive committee, headed by a crown-appointed föispán.
Chapter 88
Section 894 cards
How are the Austrian and Hungarian Delegations composed and elected?
Each has sixty members: twenty chosen by the upper chamber from its own members and forty by the lower chamber. The Austrian forty are allotted by province, with each province's deputies electing their delegates. The Hungarian forty must include four Croatian members of the Chamber of Deputies and one Croatian from the Magnates. All members are elected annually and may be re-elected.
Chapter 89
What powers do the Delegations actually possess?
Their functions are severely restricted to common affairs and include little beyond voting supplies and supervising the common administrative machinery. They have virtually no legislative power; nearly all law is enacted concurrently by the separate parliaments. They may question the joint ministry and impeach a minister by concurrent vote, but the author argues ministerial responsibility to them is more theoretical than actual.
Chapter 89
What did the 1910 constitution create for Bosnia and Herzegovina?
It created a Diet of seventy-two elected and twenty ex-officio members, fifteen of the latter religious dignitaries. The crown appoints a president and two vice-presidents annually, with the presidency rotating among a Servian, a Mohammedan, and a Croat. It extended Austrian-style civil rights but excluded joint Austro-Hungarian affairs, armed forces, and customs from the Diet's competence.
Chapter 89
How was the franchise distributed among Bosnia's religious groups and classes?
The seventy-two elective seats were divided by religion: Servians 31, Mohammedans 24, Catholic Croats 16, and one for the Jews. Seats were also split into three curiae: eighteen for large landowners and heaviest taxpayers, twenty for urban electors, thirty-four for rural electors. Men aged twenty-four could vote; women could vote only in the first class, through a male deputy.
Chapter 89
Section 903 cards
What did the 1815 constitution for the united Dutch-Belgian kingdom provide?
It created a two-chamber States-General: one chamber with members appointed for life by the crown, the other with 55 Dutch and 55 Belgian deputies elected by provincial estates. Bills could be rejected but not originated or amended. Suffrage was severely restricted, jury trial was not guaranteed, the budget was voted for multiple years, and ministers were responsible only to the king. A Belgian assembly overwhelmingly rejected it, yet it was declared in effect.
Chapter 90
How did the powers respond to Belgium's 1830 declaration of independence?
Despite overturning an 1815 arrangement the Allies deemed essential to European security, the powers acquiesced readily, partly due to insurrection in Poland. On December 20, 1830, a London conference of the five principal powers pronounced for permanent separation. When a Dutch army defeated the Belgians in August 1831, a French force made the invaders retire. The treaty of November 25, 1831 recognized Belgium's independence and neutrality; William formally assented only in 1839.
Chapter 90
What did the Dutch constitutional revision of 1848 change?
Upper-chamber members were thereafter elected by provincial estates instead of appointed by the crown, and direct popular elections replaced indirect ones for the lower house. Ministers became responsible to the States-General. The legislature gained authority over colonial affairs, a regular annual budget, and the right to initiate and amend legislation. The author states that constitutional government in Holland may virtually be said to have begun in 1848.
Chapter 90
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What does the Dutch constitution require of the sovereign regarding the Council of State?
The sovereign must submit for discussion in the Council of State all matters to be presented to the States-General, and all general administrative questions of the kingdom and of its colonies and possessions throughout the world. The Council consists of the Prince of Orange (when above eighteen) and a variable number of members appointed by the crown, at present fourteen.
Chapter 91
How are royal acts and ministerial responsibility treated under the Dutch constitution?
All decrees and orders must be countersigned by the head of one of the ministerial departments, and it is expressly stipulated that responsibility for all royal acts shall lie with the ministers. Nominally ministers are appointed and dismissed by the crown at will, but the parliamentary system has acquired enough foothold to impose considerable restriction on the sovereign here.
Chapter 91
What did the electoral law of 1896 establish for the lower chamber?
Members of the lower chamber are elected in one hundred single-member districts by male citizens aged twenty-five and over who meet any one of six qualifications, including payment of a direct tax of at least one florin, minimum rent as householders or lodgers, ownership or rental of a vessel of at least twenty-four tons, or earning a wage or salary of 275 to 550 florins a year. The reform raised the number of voters to 700,000.
Chapter 91
What powers does the upper chamber lack compared with the lower chamber?
The upper chamber is commonly regarded as constitutionally the weakest body of its kind in Europe. It possesses neither the power to initiate legislation, general or financial, nor power to amend projects of law. Any measure before it must be accepted or rejected as it stands. The lower chamber, by contrast, enjoys a distinct preponderance in the proceedings of the States-General.
Chapter 91
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What were the results of the June 1909 Dutch general election?
The Conservatives won 60 seats: 23 Anti-Revolutionaries, 12 Historic Christians, and 25 Roman Catholics. The Liberals took 40: 4 Free Liberals, 21 Union Liberals, 8 Liberal Democrats, and 7 Socialists. The Conservatives held a majority of 20 in the lower chamber and 19 in the upper, with a popular vote exceeding the Liberals by 80,000.
Chapter 92
What does the Dutch constitution guarantee regarding arrest and court proceedings?
Except in unusual cases prescribed by law, no one may be taken into custody without a warrant from a judge stating the specific reason for arrest. No one may be removed against his will from his rightful tribunal. General confiscation of property is barred as a penalty, and court sessions and judgments must be public, save in exceptional cases or where public order and morals forbid.
Chapter 92
How is the Dutch High Court composed and what are its functions?
The High Court (Hooge Raad) sits at The Hague with five judges appointed by the crown from lists prepared by the lower house. On appeal it may annul proceedings, decrees, or judgments unwarranted by law, and it oversees inferior judges, who may be dismissed by its decision. It also tries officials—members of the States-General, ministers, governors-general, Council of State members, and provincial commissioners—for offenses in office.
Chapter 92
How is the Dutch commune governed under the constitution?
Each commune has a council of 7 to 45 members elected directly for six years, with one-third retiring every two years; voters must contribute a minimum yearly amount to communal rates. The council enacts by-laws and levies taxes, subject to crown veto, and its budget needs approval from the provincial committee. A crown-appointed burgomaster serves six years and may suspend measures for thirty days.
Chapter 92
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What does the Belgian Constitution require for a royal decree to take effect?
The constitution stipulates that no decree of the king shall take effect unless countersigned by a minister, who by that act alone renders himself responsible for it. It further provides that in no case shall the verbal or written order of the king relieve a minister of responsibility. The House of Representatives may accuse ministers before the Court of Cassation.
Chapter 93
How is the Belgian Senate composed under the 1893 amendment?
The Senate has 112 members serving eight-year terms. A number equal to half the House of Representatives is elected directly by the same electorate as deputies, with proportional representation applied within each province. Provincial councils elect two senators for provinces under 500,000 inhabitants, three for 500,000 to 1,000,000, and four above that. Roughly three-fourths, currently 76 to 26, are directly elected.
Chapter 93
What eligibility rules apply to Belgian senators?
All elective senators must be Belgian citizens and residents, at least forty years old, and in unrestricted enjoyment of civil and political rights. Provincial-council senators face no property qualification, but directly elected senators must pay at least 1,200 francs in direct national taxes or own or lease Belgian real estate assessed at 12,000 francs income. Sons of the king are senators by right at eighteen, without deliberative vote until twenty-five.
Chapter 93
What three features characterize Belgium's electoral system at the time of writing?
The author identifies three features: it is based on universal manhood suffrage; it embraces a scheme of plural voting; and it provides for proportional representation of parties. The House of Representatives has 186 deputies elected directly for four-year terms, with half retiring every two years unless dissolved. Earlier property qualifications were progressively reduced, notably in 1848 and through the 1893 reform.
Chapter 93
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Under Belgium's 1893 law, what conditions could increase a male citizen's vote beyond one?
The law gave every male citizen one basal vote, which could be doubled as head of a family or doubled by possession of property or capital, and tripled on the basis of a not unattainable educational qualification. No individual could hold more than three votes, a fixed and reasonably low maximum that distinguished the Belgian plural vote from Great Britain's.
Chapter 94
What did the Belgian constitution require of voting, and what penalty enforced it?
Voting was declared obligatory. Failure to appear at the polls without adequate excuse made to the election officer was a misdemeanor punishable by law. A citizen could evade the substantive requirement by depositing a blank ballot, but he still had to deposit a ballot of some sort.
Chapter 94
What electoral system did the 1899 Belgian law adopt, and who devised its allotment method?
The law extended proportional representation to parliamentary elections, enacted December 29, 1899, after a prolonged contest involving the retirement of two premiers. Deputies and popularly elected senators continued to be chosen within the arrondissement by scrutin de liste, with seats distributed among parties in proportion to party strength, allotted by the list system formulated by Victor d'Hondt of the University of Ghent.
Chapter 94
How does the chapter's hypothetical example derive the electoral quotient and allot seats?
Each list's total is divided successively by 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., and the results arrayed. The eight highest numbers, eight being the seats to be filled, are arranged in order of magnitude; the lowest of these, 3,500, becomes the electoral quotient. Each list's votes are divided by this quotient, fractions disregarded, yielding four Catholic, two Liberal, one Socialist, and one Christian Democrat seat.
Chapter 94
Section 953 cards
What electoral reform did Belgian Socialists and Liberals unite to demand?
The abolition of the plural vote, replaced by "one man, one vote" with the voting age lowered to twenty-one. Socialists declared this goal immediately after the 1893 amendment and redoubled agitation after the Catholic triumph of 1900, when Liberals generally joined. The author notes the Socialists subordinated all other program features to universal and equal suffrage, and that all parties agreed on maintaining proportional representation.
Chapter 95
How are Belgian judges appointed, and how are the higher courts' members selected?
All judges and justices of the peace are appointed by the king for life. Members of the courts of appeal and the presidents and vice-presidents of courts of original jurisdiction are chosen from two double lists, one presented by these courts and one by the provincial councils. Court of Cassation members come from two double lists presented by the Senate and by the Court itself. Other judicial officers are appointed by the crown independently.
Chapter 95
What residence requirement distinguishes communal voters from provincial and parliamentary voters in Belgium?
The communal voter must have been domiciled at least three years in the commune, while only one year's residence is required for provincial and parliamentary elections. This largely explains why the aggregate communal electorate is perceptibly smaller than the provincial or national electorate, despite plural votes up to four being authorized in communal elections.
Chapter 95
Section 964 cards
How did Denmark lose Norway in 1814?
Denmark's loss of Norway was an incident of the Napoleonic wars. After rejecting a British alliance, Denmark was attacked by a British fleet in 1807 and became Napoleon's firmest ally. On the losing side, Denmark was forced by the Treaty of Kiel (January 14, 1814) to cede Norway to Sweden, which the Congress of Vienna approved. The Norwegians objected and elected a Danish prince as king, but were compelled to submit.
Chapter 96
What did the Kongelov of 1665 establish in Denmark?
The Kongelov, or "King's Law," of November 14, 1665, carried absolutism to its last consequences. It made it lèse-majesté to usurp or infringe the king's absolute authority, asserted that crown and scepter vest in the sovereign by his own right upon accession, and limited the king's obligations to maintaining the realm's indivisibility, preserving the Christian faith per the Augsburg Confession, and executing the Kongelov's provisions.
Chapter 96
What did the provincial diets of 1831-1834 do?
King Frederick VI created four Landtags, or diets, by decrees of 1831 and 1834, one each in Schleswig, Holstein, Jutland, and the Islands. Members—burgesses, landowners, and peasants—were chosen by landed proprietors for six-year terms and met biennially to discuss laws and taxes and draw up petitions. A few landowners, professors, and ecclesiastics were crown-appointed. The function of each body was purely consultative.
Chapter 96
What did the constitution of June 5, 1849 establish?
The constitution of June 5, 1849, adopted by the new Rigsdag and approved by the crown, established a bicameral national assembly: a Landsthing of 38 crown-nominated members and a Folkething of 114 elected members. It applied only to Denmark proper, not the duchies. It formally abandoned the autocracy of the Kongelov, substituting a limited monarchy with legislative power shared by crown and elective diet and executive authority exercised by ministers responsible to the legislature.
Chapter 96
Section 974 cards
What constitutional requirements must the Danish king meet before and upon assuming the throne?
The king may not rule any country other than Denmark without the Rigsdag's consent, must belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and must give a written oath before the Council of State to maintain the constitution inviolate. One original of this pledge is kept in the crown's archives, another in the Rigsdag's.
Chapter 97
What conditions limit the king's treaty and ordinance powers under the Danish constitution?
Treaties involving a cession of territory or a change in existing international relations require the Rigsdag's assent. In urgent need when the Rigsdag is not in session, the king may promulgate ordinances, provided they do not contradict the constitution and are laid before the Rigsdag at its next meeting.
Chapter 97
Why did ministerial responsibility become Denmark's most persistent constitutional controversy?
Although the constitution makes ministers responsible and allows the Folkething to call them to account, the crown in practice appointed and kept ministers regardless of the lower chamber's wishes. The author argues this conflict, intense under Estrup (1875-1894), was the most interminable political controversy since the constitution's adoption.
Chapter 97
How did the 1901 election change the practice of Danish government?
The 1901 elections returned an overwhelming Liberal majority to the Folkething, compelling Christian IX to call into being a Liberal ('Left Reform') ministry. The author cautions that the parliamentary system was not yet completely established, though he sees closer approximation to it than ever and every prospect of its ultimate triumph.
Chapter 97
Section 984 cards
What did the United Left seek to achieve in the Folkething from 1872?
The United Left rejected a budget and passed a vote of want of confidence in the Conservative Government, aiming to force the Holsteinborg ministry to retire, compel the sovereign to choose ministers from the parliamentary majority, and enforce ministerial responsibility to the lower chamber. Supported by the king and Landsthing, the ministry refused to resign.
Chapter 98
How did Estrup govern without parliamentary supply grants?
Estrup, premier from 1875 and his own finance minister, put huge armament budgets into effect repeatedly by simple ordinance of the crown over Folkething protest. From 1882 ordinary legislation stalled, and for nine years after 1885 there was not one legal grant of supplies. The author notes the constitution was reduced well nigh to waste paper.
Chapter 98
What happened on July 16, 1901, in Danish politics?
Facing a Folkething majority of 106 to 8, widespread popular opinion, and no dependable Landsthing majority, Christian IX summoned Professor Deuntzer, who formed a pure Left Reform ministry. The author calls it the most notable political event in a half-century of Danish history, marking the Left's triumph.
Chapter 98
What did the 1908 Administration of Justice Act accomplish?
The 1,015-clause measure furthered separation of administration from justice and effectively enforced constitutional guarantees of jury trial, publicity, and judicial independence. It kept the existing tribunal hierarchy but readjusted court functions and procedure. Juries were twelve men, eligible jurors matched Folkething electors, and service was obligatory. Radicals and Socialists opposed it as falling short.
Chapter 98
Section 993 cards
What did the constitution forced on Sweden's estates in August 1772 establish?
It transformed the weak quasi-republic into a compact limited monarchy, but with the balance of power tilted toward the crown. No law or tax without the Riksdag's approval, yet the king could summon and dismiss the estates freely and held exclusive legislative initiative. The author notes that under it the governments of Gustavus III and Gustavus IV were pronouncedly autocratic.
Chapter 99
What was the nature of the Swedish-Norwegian union under the Riksakt of 1815?
It was purely personal, a union solely through the crown. Each kingdom kept its own constitution, ministry, legislature, laws, finances, courts, and armed forces. The Riksakt was adopted by the Storthing as part of Norway's fundamental law, but Sweden treated it as a treaty never incorporated into its constitution. Only war and foreign affairs were shared, and there was not even a common citizenship.
Chapter 99
How did Swedes and Norwegians disagree about the basis of their union?
Sweden contended that Denmark ceded Norway at the Peace of Kiel, and that Sweden's grant of separate statehood and local autonomy did not change Norway's essentially subordinate position. Norwegians maintained they were an independent nation whose union rested solely on their own sovereign decision in 1814 to accept Charles XIII as king, making Norway fully co-ordinate with Sweden. The author says the resulting conflicts were frequent and serious.
Chapter 99
Section 1014 cards
What qualifications must a person meet to be elected to the Storthing?
A member of the Storthing must be at least thirty years of age, a resident of the kingdom for ten years, and a qualified voter in the district where chosen. A former member of the Council of State, if otherwise qualified, may be elected to represent any district. Members receive a salary of three thousand kroner a year plus travelling expenses.
Chapter 101
How does the Storthing divide itself, and what is the Lagthing's role in lawmaking?
At its first regular session after a general election, the Storthing splits into two chambers: one-fourth forms the Lagthing and three-fourths the Odelsthing, holding until the next election. All bills are presented first in the Odelsthing. The Lagthing may approve or reject but not amend; its sole function is to check the larger chamber.
Chapter 101
Under what conditions can a royal veto be overcome?
A vetoed measure may not be resubmitted to the king by the same Storthing. However, if a measure passes unchanged through three regular Storthings after three successive elections, separated by at least two intervening regular sessions with no conflicting action, and is then presented with a request for approval, it becomes law even without the king's consent.
Chapter 101
What happened in the 1884 conflict over ministerial seats in Parliament?
The Odelsthing impeached the ministry before the Rigsret for advising the king to veto a measure giving ministers seats in Parliament. In early 1883 Selmer and seven colleagues were sentenced to forfeiture of office, three were fined. The king then abided by the court's decision, and in June 1884 Sverdrup formed the first Liberal ministry, which finally enacted the measure.
Chapter 101
Section 1024 cards
What are the four fundamental laws making up Sweden's constitution?
The most comprehensive is the regerings-formen of June 6, 1809, in 114 articles. Related laws are the law of royal succession of September 26, 1810; the law of July 16, 1812, on the liberty of the press; and the law of June 26, 1866, reorganizing the legislative chambers. The chapter notes there is nothing equivalent to a bill of rights found in most European constitutions.
Chapter 102
How is a Swedish constitutional amendment adopted?
Amendments may originate with either the crown or the legislative houses. An amendment receiving the crown's assent is adopted if, after being proposed or approved by one Riksdag, it is sanctioned by the succeeding one. Re-election of the lower chamber must intervene between the two stages, giving the people some opportunity to participate in the amending process.
Chapter 102
Who advises the king on war and peace, and must he follow their advice?
To declare war or conclude peace the king must convene the full Council of State in special session and require each member's opinion separately. The constitution then lets the king make and execute whatever decision he considers best for the country. He is obliged to consult his ministerial advisers but not necessarily to be guided by them.
Chapter 102
How did the 1866 reform replace the four estates, and what did each chamber represent?
Until past the mid-nineteenth century the Riksdag comprised the four estates: nobles, clergy, burghers, and peasants. Charles XV and minister Baron Louis Gerhard de Geer effected the change; the measure was promulgated January 22, 1866, and first elections were held September 1, 1866. The upper chamber represented mainly nobles and clergy and was conservative; the lower comprised townsmen and peasants and was essentially democratic.
Chapter 102
Section 1034 cards
What were the four essential provisions of the 1907 compromise bill?
The bill provided that the lower chamber be elected by manhood suffrage with proportional representation; that electoral districts be fixed at fifty-six, each returning three to seven members; that upper chamber members be elected by provincial Landsthings and municipal councils for six years rather than nine, by proportional representation; and that municipal suffrage be democratized, capping any elector's votes at forty.
Chapter 103
How did the 1907 bill change the maximum votes a wealthy elector could cast?
Previously each town elector had one vote per 100 kroner of income up to 100 votes, and each rural elector had ten votes per 100 kroner up to 5,000 votes. The bill democratized municipal suffrage so that no elector could cast more than forty votes, drastically reducing the plural voting power of the wealthy.
Chapter 103
Why did the 1907 measure wait until 1909 for final enactment?
Because it comprised constitutional amendments, it remained in abeyance until a newly elected Riksdag, chosen in 1908 and assembled in 1909, could act on it. Early in the 1909 session the chambers gave final approval, and with the Liberals focused on woman's suffrage, the majorities for adoption were overwhelming.
Chapter 103
What was the status of woman's suffrage in Sweden by 1912?
The 1907 reforms left woman's suffrage unresolved. In 1908 Staaff's female suffrage measure was negatived by both chambers. In 1911 the lower chamber accepted the Constitutional Committee's proposal 120 to 92, but the upper chamber rejected it overwhelmingly. At the 1912 Riksdag the Government introduced a bill enfranchising every Swede over twenty-four, without distinction of sex, for the lower chamber.
Chapter 103
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How is Sweden's Supreme Court composed and when may the king vote?
The Supreme Court (Högsta Domstolen) has eighteen councillors of justice appointed by the crown from men of experience, honesty, and legal learning. Its functions are largely appellate, though it may interpret laws at the request of lower courts or officials. Lesser cases may be decided by five or four agreeing members; important cases require at least seven. The king may attend and then holds two votes, and on questions of legal interpretation he has two votes whether or not he attends.
Chapter 104
What courts make up Sweden's inferior judiciary, and how are they organized?
There are 212 district courts of first instance and three higher courts of appeal (hofrätter) at Stockholm, Jönköping, and Kristianstad. In the 91 urban districts the court consists of a burgomaster and at least two aldermen; in the 121 rural districts, a judge and twelve elected, unpaid peasant proprietors serving as jurymen. No person holding judicial office may be removed except after trial and judgment.
Chapter 104
How is Swedish local government structured under the chapter?
The kingdom has twenty-five administrative provinces (län), each headed by a crown-appointed landshöfding (prefect) with bailiffs and sub-officials. Each province has a Landsthing, meeting a few days each September under a crown-designated president, elected directly by town and rural voters using proportional representation and franchise rules still essentially based on property-holding despite 1909 liberalization. A few larger towns have separate municipal councils, and the communal laws of March 21, 1862 make each rural parish and town a self-governing commune with a taxpayers' assembly.
Chapter 104
What did Spain's Constitution of 1812 establish and who actually supported it?
Promulgated March 19, 1812, it was Spain's first constitution from Spanish sources, permeated by the radical principles of the French constitution of 1791. It asserted popular sovereignty and equality before the law, placed executive authority in a king so constrained he could not prorogue the Cortes or leave the kingdom without permission, created seven responsible ministries, and gave power to a single-chamber Cortes elected for two years by indirect manhood suffrage. The author argues it was the work of a slender democratic minority, never submitted to the nation for ratification, and never fully put into operation.
Chapter 104
Section 1054 cards
How did the Constitution of 1837 compare to the 1812 constitution and the Statute of 1834?
The 1837 constitution was based on the 1812 instrument but stood midway between it and the Statute of 1834 in liberalism. Like 1812, it affirmed national sovereignty and ministerial responsibility to the legislature, but the Cortes had two houses: a Senate appointed for life by the crown and a Congress elected for three years. A Spanish historian credited it with assuring the constitutional principle and ending idolatry of the 1812 constitution.
Chapter 105
What changes did the Constitution of 1845 make to the 1837 instrument?
Drawn up by the Moderados with an ordinary Cortes, the 1845 constitution was revised and less liberal. It extended the Cortes term from three to four years, imposed severer press restrictions, further centralized supervision of local authorities, and rescinded the requirement that the sovereign obtain Cortes consent to marry. It operated until 1868, though the chapter says constitutionalism throughout was hardly more than a fiction.
Chapter 105
What did the Constitution of 1869 provide, and why did Amadeo's reign fail?
Adopted June 1, 1869, it advanced liberalism with guarantees of speech, press, religious liberty, petition, and assembly, and reaffirmed popular sovereignty. The Senate was chosen indirectly through electoral colleges and provincial assemblies; the Congress by manhood suffrage, with voting requiring age twenty-five and ordinary civil rights. Amadeo, elected 191 to 120, faced republican, Carlist, Alfonsist, and clerical opposition and was seen as a foreigner; he abdicated February 1873 after six ministerial crises and three elections in twenty-four months.
Chapter 105
How was the Republic of 1873 established and why did it collapse?
After Amadeo's abdication, the Cortes voted 258 to 32 for a republic and called a specially elected convention to draft a republican constitution. The constitution was drawn up but never really put into operation. Republicans disagreed over federal versus centralized forms, leaders were mutually jealous, and the nation lacked self-government experience. Opposed by monarchists, clergy, and particularists, and recognized abroad only by the United States, the republic fell when the army declared for Alfonso in December 1874.
Chapter 105
Section 1064 cards
How does the Spanish constitution order succession to the crown?
Kingship is hereditary. The constitution prefers an elder line to younger, the nearer degree of kinship to the more remote, the male to the female within the same degree, and the older to the younger within the same sex. The Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 abolished the Salic principle and restored females' right to inherit, though males still take precedence when kinship is identical.
Chapter 106
Who serves as regent when the Spanish sovereign is a minor?
When the king is a minor, his father or mother, or in default of a living parent the relative next in the order of succession, becomes regent, provided that person is a Spaniard at least twenty years old and not excluded from the succession. If no one qualifies, the Cortes appoints a regency of one, three, or five persons. The sovereign's majority is fixed at sixteen.
Chapter 106
Which royal powers require prior authorization by special law?
Five powers require special legal authorization: alienation, cession, or exchange of Spanish territory; incorporation of new territory; admission of foreign troops; ratification of treaties binding individually on Spaniards, offensive alliances with subsidies, or treaties especially concerning commerce; and abdication in favor of the heir-presumptive. All other listed powers, such as pardons and command of the forces, the king exercises freely.
Chapter 106
What does the constitution require of ministers regarding royal orders?
The constitution enjoins that ministers shall be responsible and that no order of the king may be executed unless countersigned by a minister, who thereby assumes personal responsibility for it. Ministers may be senators or deputies and may participate in both chambers but vote only in the one to which they belong. The principle of ministerial responsibility first appeared in Spain in the constitution of 1812.
Chapter 106
Section 1074 cards
What does the constitution require regarding convening the Cortes?
The constitution requires the crown to convene the Cortes in regular session at least once each year. Extraordinary sessions may be held, and upon the death or incapacitation of the sovereign the chambers must be assembled forthwith. The crown may also suspend and terminate sessions and dissolve the Congress and the elective portion of the Senate, but after a dissolution the sovereign must convene the newly constituted Cortes within three months.
Chapter 107
What immunity do senators and deputies enjoy for opinions and votes?
No senator or deputy may be held to account by legal process for any opinion uttered or vote cast within his chamber. Except when taken in the commission of an offense, a member is entitled to the customary safeguards against arrest and judicial proceedings. The chapter notes these guarantees are not absolute: during the crisis of 1904 the Maura government had Congress suspend the immunity of no fewer than 140 members.
Chapter 107
What is the Cortes authorized to do beyond ordinary legislation?
Under Spanish constitutional theory the Cortes is the agent of the sovereign nation. Beyond legislation, it receives the oath of fidelity to the constitution and laws from the sovereign, heir-apparent, and regent or regency; it elects the regent or regency and appoints a guardian for a minor sovereign; and the Congress may impeach while the Senate tries any member of the Government.
Chapter 107
How did Liberals and Conservatives differ on guarding public privileges?
Both leading parties were pledged to maintain the constitution and its popular privileges—free speech, press liberty, property safety, and association rights. They differed on methods: the author explains the Liberals' policy was to commit guardianship of public privileges to the courts of justice, while the Conservatives preferred to retain it in the hands of ministerial and administrative authorities.
Chapter 107
Section 1084 cards
What nomination requirement did the 1910 electoral law impose on lower-chamber candidates?
Under the measure of the recent Maura government, every candidate for the lower chamber had to be nominated by two ex-senators, two ex-deputies, or three members of the provincial general council. Republicans and radicals opposed it, claiming it let the Government dictate candidacies in many districts, and the results—120 deputies elected unopposed, 70 of them Liberals—seemed fairly to sustain the charge.
Chapter 108
What did the 1910 elections show about republicanism and socialism in Spain?
The elections returned a socialist member to the Congress for the first time, the Socialist leader Iglesias, backed by a coalition with Republicans. Republican gains in Barcelona and elsewhere were decisive, yet Republican forces remained hampered by factional strife and not really formidable. The author argues the Socialists showed greater unity and were growing in numbers and organizational effectiveness, as in Italy and France.
Chapter 108
How is the Spanish judiciary organized and what guarantees surround judges?
The civil hierarchy has four grades: municipal courts, courts of first instance in each of the 495 judicial districts, fifteen territorial audiencias with appeal, and a Supreme Court at Madrid modeled on the French Court of Cassation. Justice is administered in the king's name, judgments are pronounced in open court, and criminal proceedings are public. Judges, appointed by the crown, may not be removed, suspended, or transferred except under conditions minutely stipulated in the organic judicial laws, but are personally responsible for violations of law.
Chapter 108
What principles does the constitution lay down for local government?
The constitution provides that local interests of province and commune be left entirely to their councils; that estimates, accounts, and official acts be public; that fiscal powers be set so the national financial system is never jeopardized; and that the sovereign, and under certain circumstances the Cortes, retain power of intervention. The theory, carried over from the 1869 constitution, is local autonomy, but the author notes central authorities tend in practice to encroach on local privileges.
Chapter 108
Section 1094 cards
What did Pedro IV grant Portugal upon becoming king in 1826?
Pedro IV inaugurated his reign by granting a constitutional charter introducing a parliamentary system modeled on Great Britain's. He then abdicated the Portuguese throne to his seven-year-old daughter Maria da Gloria, stipulating she marry her uncle Dom Miguel, who was to hold the regency. The Carta Constitucional was proclaimed at Lisbon on July 31, 1826, and a responsible Liberal ministry under Saldanha followed in August.
Chapter 109
How did Dom Miguel seize power in 1828?
Arriving in Portugal as regent, Miguel found a clerical and absolutist counter-revolution underway. Reactionary elements received him not as regent but as king. A Cortes of the ancient type, summoned instead of the Charter's parliament, tendered him the crown, which he accepted in violation of all his pledges. Pedro then abdicated Brazil's throne in April 1831 and waged war until Miguel was overthrown and banished in 1834.
Chapter 109
What were the three main political groups during Maria's reign?
The Miguelists represented the repudiated absolutist regime; the Chartists advocated the moderate constitution of 1826 then in operation; and the Septembrists, named for the September 1836 coup, favored the radical instrument of 1821-1822. All except perhaps the Miguelists treated maintaining some constitution as settled. In 1836 the Septembrists sparked a rising restoring the 1822 constitution until a new one was devised in 1838.
Chapter 109
Why does the chapter say parliamentary government failed to work well in Portugal?
The author argues that successful parliamentary operation presupposes a fairly healthy public opinion, but upwards of four-fifths of inhabitants were illiterate (78.6 percent officially in 1900). Parties were mere cliques and politics factional strife; provincial governors supervised elections, government agents instructed voters, and no one expected results adverse to the Government. As late as 1906 only one Republican was returned despite clear majorities in many constituencies.
Chapter 109
Section 1104 cards
How did the Portuguese constitution divide powers among the sovereign, Cortes, and tribunals?
It established four categories: executive and moderative powers were lodged in the sovereign, legislative power in the sovereign and Cortes conjointly, and judicial power in tribunals established under the constitution. The crown was vested permanently in descendants of Dona Maria II of the House of Braganza, with succession by primogeniture and preference to the male line.
Chapter 110
What were the crown's moderative powers under the Portuguese constitution?
The constitution vested in the crown the nomination of peers, convening the Cortes in extraordinary session, approving Cortes measures so they acquire force of law, proroguing and adjourning the Cortes, dissolving the House of Deputies, appointing and dismissing ministers, granting amnesties, and remitting or reducing judicial penalties. The theory held these powers made the sovereign a mediator, the 'keystone' of the political organization, though the author notes the distinction had little practical importance.
Chapter 110
Who could vote and sit in Portugal's House of Deputies around 1910?
Deputies were directly elected by male citizens aged twenty-one who paid at least 500 reis annually in taxes or could read and write. Convicts, beggars, bankrupts, domestic servants, state-employed workmen, and soldiers and sailors below commissioned rank were disqualified. Peers, naturalized aliens, and certain state employees were ineligible for election, and deputies needed 400 milreis annual income or a school diploma. Poverty and illiteracy kept the franchise narrow.
Chapter 110
How was local government organized and centralized in Portugal before 1910?
By the law of March 18, 1842, the realm was divided into 21 districts, 292 communes, and 3,690 parishes. District government was a commission of two centrally appointed members (a governor and an administrative auditor) plus three elected triennially by communal delegates; it also sat as an administrative court. Communes had a centrally appointed mayor and an elected council, and parishes an elected junta presided over by the parish priest plus a regidor named by the district governor. The author stresses thoroughgoing centralization controlled from Lisbon.
Chapter 110
Section 1114 cards
What did the Braga provisional government abolish on October 18, 1910?
It abolished the monarchy and proscribed forever the royal house of Braganza. On the same day it abolished the Council of State and the House of Peers, along with all hereditary titles and privileges. The government had been established at Lisbon on October 5, composed of nine ministers and presided over by Theophile Braga, and it acted without awaiting a formal remodelling of the constitution.
Chapter 111
What franchise did the electoral decree of March 15, 1911 grant?
It conferred the franchise on all Portuguese citizens aged twenty-one who were entitled to exercise it under the monarchy, and additionally on all who could read and write, barring soldiers, bankrupts, and ex-convicts. Lisbon and Oporto each became electoral districts choosing eight members by scrutin de liste under the Belgian, or d'Hondt, plan of proportional representation; other districts, including the colonies, chose four members each, with provision for minority representation.
Chapter 111
How may the 1911 constitution be amended, and what is forbidden?
Normally Congress may revise it at the end of every decennial period, with the Congress whose mandate coincides with the revision period automatically holding constituent powers, and revision following ordinary legislative procedure. At the end of five years from promulgation, amendment may be undertaken if two-thirds of the members of the chambers sitting jointly vote favorably. Amendments must be specific rather than general, and no amendment aiming at abolition of the republican form of government may be received or debated.
Chapter 111
What veto power does the Portuguese President hold under the 1911 constitution?
None. The President possesses not a shred of veto power. He must promulgate within fifteen days any measure duly enacted, and if he fails to do so the measure takes effect none the less. A bill adopted by majority vote in each house is transmitted to him for promulgation, and every act of the President must be countersigned by at least one minister, who is politically and legally responsible for it.
Chapter 111
Section 1123 cards
What did Austria's electoral law of 1907 establish?
The Universal Suffrage Law of 1907, carried under the Beck ministry, adopted universal suffrage for the Abgeordnetenhaus. It distributed seats by racial and geographical considerations, and set new electoral qualifications and procedure. Francis Joseph I encouraged the reform, and the Social Democrats had demanded it. The law replaced earlier systems including the 1896 law with its plural vote.
Chapter 112
How was the Ausgleich between Austria and Hungary established and characterized?
The Ausgleich, or Compromise, was established in 1868 and settled the constitutional relationship between Austria and Hungary. Francis Joseph I was involved in its making. The chapter treats it as a fundamental arrangement whose nature is discussed alongside the dual monarchy's structure. It followed earlier constitutional experiments with Hungary and the suppression of the Hungarian revolution.
Chapter 112
What did the Taaffe bill of 1893 propose regarding the franchise?
The Taaffe bill of 1893 was an electoral reform proposal for the Abgeordnetenhaus, part of a series of franchise measures alongside the laws of 1873, 1896, and 1907. Taaffe also headed a ministry. The chapter treats the bill as a stage in the evolution of Austria's electoral system, which moved from the original system toward universal suffrage.
Chapter 112
Section 1134 cards
What does the chapter say about the Parliament Act of 1911 and money bills?
The chapter traces the origins of the Parliament Act to 106-110, its adoption at 110-111, its provisions at 112-113, and its significance at 113-115. Under the Act, the disposition of money bills is set at 112, and procedure upon them is described at 135-136. The Lords' relation to money bills is noted at 106, with Liberal proposals at 108.
Chapter 113
How does the chapter describe the ministry's responsibility and proceedings?
The chapter lists the ministry's responsibility at 70 and 128-130, and its proceedings at 71-73. It covers appointment at 57 and 66-69, relations with the Privy Council and Cabinet at 60-61, and the Premier's selection at 66, choice of colleagues at 67, and leadership at 72-73.
Chapter 113
What does the chapter record about the Reform Acts and franchise?
The chapter notes Parliament's undemocratic character in the early nineteenth century at 77-80, the Reform Act of 1832 at 81-82, the Representation of the People Act of 1867 at 83-84, the Representation of the People Act of 1884 at 84-85, and the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 at 85-86. Franchise questions of the day appear at 86-92.
Chapter 113
What does the chapter say about the composition and reform of the House of Lords?
The chapter gives the composition of the Lords at 97-101 and the question of Lords reform at 102-109. It notes the Unionists' position in the Lords at 102-106, Lord Rosebery's proposals for reform at 105 and 108, and the Unionist proposal of a referendum at 109. The Parliament Act follows at 110-114.
Chapter 113
Section 1144 cards
What was the Ausgleich, and what did it establish between Austria and Hungary?
The Ausgleich was the Compromise settlement establishing the dual structure between Austria and Hungary. The chapter notes it was established at pages 458-459, and that Hungarian political parties were organized around the question of the Ausgleich, treated at page 500. It thus became a central and contested issue in Hungarian party politics.
Chapter 114
What was the Golden Bull, and when is it dated in the chapter?
The Golden Bull was promulgated in 446-447 and again cited at 489. It is listed among the foundations of the constitution, alongside the constitution's development at 447-448 and the March Laws at 453-454 and 489. The chapter treats it as an early constitutional landmark rather than a statute of the modern parliamentary system.
Chapter 114
How does the chapter characterize the Hungarian Chamber of Deputies' powers and organization?
The Chamber of Deputies' composition is given at 493, its electoral system at 493-494, the movement for electoral reform at 495-496, electoral procedure at 497-498, organization at 498, and powers at 499-500. The Table of Magnates is separately described: composition 492-493, privileges 493, organization and procedure 498, powers 499-500.
Chapter 114
What does the chapter record about the 1908 electoral reform bill and obstructionism in Hungary?
The chapter lists a movement for electoral reform at 495, a reform bill of 1908 at 495-497, and the present franchise at 493-494. It also records an era of parliamentary obstructionism at 502-505, alongside ministries including Bánffy at 502, István Tisza at 503, and Wekerle at 504.
Chapter 114
Section 1153 cards
What did the Swedish Riksdag reorganization of 1866 change about its composition?
The chapter states the Riksdag's original character and its reorganization in 1866, after which it had two chambers whose composition is described. The electoral system and the movement for electoral reform are treated separately, along with the body's organization, procedure, and powers.
Chapter 115
How did Sweden's franchise reform develop between 1904 and 1912?
The chapter traces the rise of the reform movement, a Conservative proposal of 1904, Staaff's project of 1906, and the law of 1907-1909. It also notes the question of women's suffrage and a bill of 1912, with parties divided over the issue.
Chapter 115
What forms of direct democracy does Switzerland use in the cantons and federally?
The chapter notes the referendum's origins and its operation in the cantons, plus the optional and obligatory forms in the federal government. It also covers the initiative's employment in the cantons and in the federal government, and proportional representation in cantonal and federal contexts.
Chapter 115
Source and licence
Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #21006 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.
Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-10-31. Cards reviewed 2026-10-31.
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