The Governments of Europe

Part 2 — CHAPTER X

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THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT: EMPEROR, CHANCELLOR, AND BUNDESRATH

I. The Emperor

221. Powers: Military and Foreign Affairs. The king of Prussia being ipso facto Emperor, the royal and Imperial functions which are combined in the hands of the one sovereign are of necessity closely interrelated. There are powers which belong to William II. to-day solely by virtue of his position as king of Prussia. There are others, of an Imperial nature, which he possesses by reason of the fact that, being king of Prussia, he is also Emperor. In practice, if not in law, there are still others which arise from the thoroughgoing preponderance of the Prussian kingdom as a state within the Empire—the power, in general, of imparting a bent to Imperial policy such as would not be possible if, for example, the king of Württemberg were Emperor, rather than the king of Prussia.

The Emperor is vested, in the next place, with certain prerogatives in relation to the judiciary. On motion of the Bundesrath, he appoints (though he may not remove) the members of the Reichsgericht, or Imperial Court; and by the Code of Criminal Procedure it is stipulated that in cases in which the Imperial Court shall have rendered judgment as a tribunal of first instance, the Emperor shall possess the power of pardon. The pardoning power is extended likewise to cases adjudged in consular courts, prize courts, and other tribunals specified by law.

II. The Chancellor

225. Functions: in the Bundesrath and the Reichstag.—Speaking broadly, the functions of the Chancellor are two-fold. The first arises from his position within the Bundesrath. Not only does he represent in that body, as do his Prussian colleagues, the king of Prussia; he is vested constitutionally with the presidency of it and with the supervision of its business. He determines the dates of its sessions. Through his hands pass all communications and proposals, from the states as well as from the Reichstag, addressed to it, and he is its representative in all of its external relations. In the name of the Emperor he lays before the Reichstag all measures enacted by the Bundesrath; and as a member of the Bundesrath, though not as Imperial Chancellor, he may appear on the floor of the Reichstag to advocate and explain proposed legislation. Measures which have been enacted into law are binding only after they have been proclaimed by the Chancellor, such proclamation being made regularly through the official organ known as the Reichsgesetzblatt.

226. Functions: Administration.—A second function, so inextricably intertwined with those just mentioned as to be in practice sometimes not clearly distinguishable from them, is that which arises from the Chancellor's position as the principal administrative official of the Empire. As has been pointed out, the work of administration under the German system is largely decentralized, being left to the states; but the ultimate administrative authority is very highly centralized, being gathered in the hands of the Chancellor in a measure not paralleled in any other nation of western Europe. As an administrative official the Chancellor has been described with aptness as the Emperor's "other self." He is appointed by the Emperor; he may be dismissed by him; he performs his functions solely as agent and assistant of the Emperor; and, although according to the letter of the constitution responsible to the Reichstag, he is, in practice, responsible to no one save his Imperial master.

III. The Bundesrath

It may be observed that the allocation of votes for which provision was made in the constitution of 1867-1871 was largely arbitrary. That is to say, except for the quotas of Prussia and Bavaria, it was perpetuated from the constitution of 1815 with no attempt to apportion voting power among the several states in exact relation to population, wealth, or importance. Upon any one of these bases Prussia must have been accorded an absolute majority of the aggregate number, rather than a scant third. In 1867 the population of Prussia comprised four-fifths of that of the North German Confederation; in 1871, two-thirds of that of the Empire. That Prussia should intrust to her sister states a total of forty-one votes, retaining but seventeen for herself, was one of the arrangements by which Bismarck sought to assure the lesser members of the federation against too complete domination on the part of the Prussian kingdom.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · 220. Status and Privileges.—Under the North German Confederation of 1867-1871 the king of Prussia was vested with supreme command of the fed Note 2 · The revival of the Imperial title and dignity involved, and was intended to involve, no modification of the status of the Bundespræsident, s Note 3 · The functions of the Emperor as such are not numerous, but, so far as they go, they are of fundamental importance. In the first place, the E Note 4 · 222. Powers: Legislation and Justice.—A third group of functions has to do with legislation. By the constitution the Emperor is vested with Note 5 · 223. Powers: Execution of the Law.—Finally, the execution of the laws is intrusted to the Emperor with, however, this limitation, that, unde Note 6 · 224. Non-existence of a Parliamentary System.—Within the domain of Imperial government the place filled in other governmental systems by a m Note 7 · Nominally, this article establishes the principle of ministerial responsibility, even though there is but a single minister to be made respo Note 8 · There is a clause of the constitution[311] which confers upon the Chancellor the right to delegate the power to represent him to any other m Note 9 · Prior to 1870 the administrative functions of the Confederation were vested in a single department, the Bundeskanzleramt, or Federal Chancer Note 10 · 227. Delegation of Powers.—There are two arrangements in accordance with which it is possible for the functions of the Chancellor to be vest Note 11 · If the chancellorship is without a counterpart among modern governments, no less so is the Federal Council, or Bundesrath. No feature of the Note 12 · 228. Composition: the Allotment of Votes.—The Bundesrath is composed of delegates appointed by the princes of the monarchical states and by Note 13 · 229. Status of Delegates and Method of Voting.—Each state is authorized, though not required, to send to the Bundesrath a number of delegate Note 14 · 230. Sessions and Procedure.—The Bundesrath may be convened by the Emperor, which in effect means by the Chancellor, at any time. The consti Note 15 · From all sittings of the Bundesrath the public is rigorously excluded; and although ordinarily upon the conclusion of a session a statement Note 16 · 231. Committees.—The work of the Bundesrath consists largely in the preparation of measures for the consideration of the Reichstag, and a go Note 17 · 232. Powers of Legislation.—By reason of the pivotal position which the Bundesrath occupies in the German constitutional system the function Note 18 · 233. Executive Authority.—The Bundesrath's executive functions represent a curious admixture, but the sum total is very considerable. In the Note 19 · 234. Judicial Powers.—In its judicial capacity the Bundesrath sits as a supreme court of appeal, to which cases may be carried from the trib