Author : University of Chicago
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781332530311
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (33 download)
Book Synopsis University of Chicago War Papers (Classic Reprint) by : University of Chicago
Download or read book University of Chicago War Papers (Classic Reprint) written by University of Chicago and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-09 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from University of Chicago War Papers The controlling forces in question are perhaps five: The first is the virtually autocratic government of the empire. The constitution of the German Empire is such that the will of the king of Prussia finds easy expression and is only with great difficulty to be resisted. While nominally a constitutional monarch, virtually he is an autocrat. In these days monarchy is by no means always equivalent to autocracy. In the British monarchy, for instance, it is true that the king succeeds by heredity in the limits of a certain family. However, this succession was determined by act of Parliament, and act of Parliament may set aside the royal family altogether, or any king within the royal family. The British ministers and the Cabinet in England are responsible, not to the king, but to the elective House of Commons. In other words, Parliament through a freely elected House of Commons actually governs the country. The king reigns, but he does not rule. The House of Commons is chosen by what we may call universal suffrage, and in itself has the power under certain customary conditions, not merely to enact new legislation, but even to change the fundamental laws of the country. In short, the British monarchy is a real representative democracy. It is a monarchy only in name. In Prussia the monarchy is quite different. Here the king also succeeds by heredity and in a certain family, but that succession is independent of parliament or constitution. It is claimed by the king that he succeeds by divine right and not by the will of the people. The Prussian constitution was not made by the Prussian people. It is a grant from the king, who may at any time revoke it. The Prussian ministry is responsible, not to the Prussian parliament, but to the king, who appoints and removes his ministers without regard to parliament or to the popular will. The upper house of the Prussian legislature consists of members who succeed by heredity, and of others appointed by the king. The lower house of the Prussian parliament is, to be sure, elective, but elective by the people on the three-class system. The electorate is divided into three classes according to the amount of taxes paid. The first class, electing one-third of the members, contains approximately 4 per cent of the population. The second class, electing another third of the members, contains about 14 per cent of the population. The third class, also electing one-third of the members, contains about 82 per cent of the population. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
