The Blochausen Ministry was the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 26 December 1874 to 20 February 1885. It was led by Baron Félix de Blochausen.
Composition
26 December 1874 to 6 August 1878
Félix de Blochausen: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Nicolas Salentiny: Director-General for the Interior Victor de Roebe: Director-General for Public Works Alphonse Funck: Director-General for Justice
6 August 1878 to 21 September 1882
Félix de Blochausen: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Victor de Roebe: Director-General for Finance Paul Eyschen: Director-General for Justice Henri Kirpach: Director-General for the Interior
21 September 1882 to 12 October 1882
Félix de Blochausen: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs, temporarily also for Finance Paul Eyschen: Director-General for Justice Henri Kirpach: Director-General for the Interior
12 October 1882 to 20 February 1885
Félix de Blochausen: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Paul Eyschen: Director-General for Justice Henri Kirpach: Director-General for the Interior Mathias Mongenast: Director-General for Finance
Foreign policy
Although the dissolution of the German Confederation, and Luxembourg's neutrality as stipulated in the Treaty of London provided for the Grand Duchy's political independence with regards to Germany, the country entered more and more into the German Empire's economic orbit through the Zollverein. Despite this growing dependence, Luxembourg did not participate in the deliberations of the Zollverein, and had no influence on customs policy. The government took steps to be involved in the decision-making. Félix de Blochausen suggested to William III to propose to the German government to admit a Luxembourgish representative in the Bundesrat, who would be able to vote on customs matters. Despite the apparently favourable attitude of German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, this course of action failed in light of the resistance of other signatories of the Treaty of London, who regarded it as incompatible with Luxembourg's neutrality.
Domestic policy
The Blochausen government tackled reform of the penal justice system. The penal code that was in force at the time, dated from 1810, and was no longer suited to the needs of the time. There were two models available to the Luxembourgish reformers: the German code of 1870, or the Belgian code of 1867. In his report to the Lieutenant-Governor Prince Henry in 1875, the Director-General for Justice Alphonse Funck recommended the adoption of the Belgian model: "Our constitution, or most important social and political laws were drawn from Belgian legislation; our ideas and our needs are close to those of our neighbours to the West […]." The Belgian penal code was finally introduced in Luxembourg in 1879 with some adaptations. This eliminated the excesses of criminal theories founded exclusively on reparation and utility, and granted a more important place to attenuating circumstances.
The Blochausen government enacted important reforms in primary education. Overcoming the opposition of conservative Deputies, it made school attendance mandatory for six years. The Kirpach law of 20 April 1881 made schooling obligatory for children between the ages of 6 and 12. School absenteeism was particularly widespread in rural regions, where children worked on farms. The reform gave rise to intense debates on the state's role in society, and relations between church and state. The constitution mandated a unitary system of public schools. It specified the state's duty to organise teaching. The church on the other hand, retained a right to be involved in education to some extent, as parish priests were automatically a member of their local school commission, and the teacher was under their surveillance.