GERMAN ELECTIONS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 170, 24 January 1912, Page 5

GERMAN ELECTIONS

FURTHER SOCIALISTS' SUCCESSES. , By Cable—Press Association—Copyrigkt. Received 23, 10 p.m. Berlin, January 2S. In the second ballots, Kaempf, a Radical, retained his seat in the Kaiser's Division of Berlin by seven votes, by means of the Conservative vote, the Chancellor and all the Ministers voting for Kaempf. The Socialists secured 27 seats to-day, notably in Cologne, from the Catholics, and in Frankfort-main from the Radicals. HOW GERMANY IS GOVERNED. THE SUPREME AUTHORITY. "Despite universal franchise, the German Empire is not a democracy (says a writer in the Round Table). The Reichstag is the least important of the two Houses of the German Parliament. Speaking generally, it can only accept or reject projects sent to it for consideration by the Upper House, the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat is not a house of peers; it is a diplomatic body representing the governments—all of them autocratic in character compared with Anglo-Saxon governments—of the States of Germany. In the Bundesrat, Prussia is practically supreme, because in fact it always initiates proposals, and because it can veto the proposals of others.. In Prussia the electoral system is such that it gives al--1 -ost complete power to the Junkers, '■s conservative squireens of the centre I ,d east, and under the three-class sys•m of ..voting, nothing, save their own consent or revolution, can deprive them of their power. And, because Prussia controls the Empire, the agrarian and conservative classes also control the na-, tional affairs of Germany. Neither in Prussia nor Germany, however, is there a cabinet responsible to a parliamentary majority. The Chancellor and the first Prussian Minister, who is always- the same, is appointed by the Kaiser. He is, as a rule, a person acceptable to the Kaiser, the bureaucracy, and the leaders of the more conservative parties. Constitutionally he cannot be turned out of office by an adverse vote, though, if the assembly made up" its mind to do so, it could force him to resign, and might even control the appointment of his successor. But the majority never wishes to bring things to a crises because the privileged position of the Junker, and the inordinately high protection enjoyed by the agricultural classes are all bound up with the present' system of government. "The Government of Germany, therefore, rests on an understanding between the agrarian representatives and the, higher official classes. This system pro- ) duces a number of bad effects. It means that Germany never has a change of gov-1 ernment. The Emperor may drop one I Chancellor through an oubliette if his policy becomes too unpopular, but the real government—the combination of the ' agrarians and the bureaucracy—goes on undisturbed. And this leads to government by intrigue to an extent which is incredible to Anglo-Saxon communities. All the great interests—manufacturing and financial—have to intrigue with the bureaucracy because they cannot protect their interests by ordinary parliamentary means. And the bureaucracy intrigues endlessly for place and power within it- . self. In countries under the parliamentary system power goes to those who can , command the confidence of Parliament or the electorate. But where the civil seri vice rules power goes with nomination and nominations are best obtained by • canvass and 'pull' behind.the scene."