| Category | Template | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Text | Text |
| Author | Author | Author |
| Collection | Collection | Collection |
| Keywords | Keywords | Keywords |
| Subpage | Subpage | Subpage |
| Template | Form |
|---|---|
| BrowseTexts | BrowseTexts |
| BrowseAuthors | BrowseAuthors |
| BrowseLetters | BrowseLetters |
Template:GalleryAuthorsPreviewSmall
Special pages :
Second Stage of the Counter-Revolution (1848)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Source: Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 8, p. 134;
First published: in Neue Rheinische Zeitung No. 162 (special edition), December 7, 1848.
First published: in Neue Rheinische Zeitung No. 162 (special edition), December 7, 1848.
Collection(s): Neue Rheinische Zeitung
Cologne, December 6. The counter-revolution has reached its second stage. The National Assembly has been dissolved. An imposed Constitution has been proclaimed by the âgrace of the All-Highestâ without more ado. [1]
All the hypocrisy over the âagreementâ [2] which has been going on since May has been stripped of its last mask.
The March revolution is declared null and void and royal power âby the grace of Godâ celebrates its triumph.
The camarilla, the Junkers, the bureaucracy, and the entire reaction, with and without uniform, are jubilant because the stupid people is at last to be driven back into the stall of the âChristian-Germanicâ state.
- â The royal order dissolving the Prussian National Assembly was issued on December 5, 1848. In the Ministryâs explanation accompanying the order the Assembly was accused of having disregarded the royal decree of November 8 ordering it to move from Berlin to Brandenburg, a measure allegedly designed âto protect the deputiesâ freedom of deliberation from the anarchistic movements in the capital and their terroristic influencesâ. The imposed Constitution came into force on December 5, 1848, simultaneously with the dissolution of the Assembly. This Constitution provided for a two-Chamber parliament. By means of age and property qualifications the First Chamber was made a privileged âChamber of the Gentryâ, while under the electoral law of December 6, 1848, a considerable part of the working people was excluded from the two-stage election to the Second Chamber. According to this Constitution, in case of war or âdisordersâ âguaranteesâ of personal freedom, inviolability of the home, freedom of the press, assembly and association etc. were suspended. Wide powers were assumed by the King: he had the right to convene or dissolve the Chambers, to appoint Ministers, to declare war or conclude peace; he had the executive power entirely in his hands, while sharing the legislative power with the Chambers. All this, together with the direct proviso that the King could review the Constitution on his own initiative, played into the hands of the counter-revolutionaries
- â This article, as well as a number of other reports below, was written by Engels during his forced stay in Switzerland. On September 26, 1848, a state of siege was declared in Cologne and an order was issued for the arrest of some of the editors of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, including Engels. Engels emigrated from Prussia to Belgium, where he was arrested by the Brussels police and on October 4 deported to France. After a short stay in Paris Engels went on foot to Switzerland (see his travel notes âFrom Paris to Berneâ in MECW Vol. 7, pp. 507-29). About November 9 Engels arrived in Berne via Geneva and Lausanne and remained there until January 1849. While in emigration he regularly sent to the Neue Rheinische Zeitung articles and various items of information.