The different constitutions that have been granted in the course of forty-two years (the latest went into effect in 1912) to the Reichsland, which had been ruled by a dictatorship as a legal constitution, were alike in this, that the legislative and the executive powers were left completely in the hands of the Kaiser and the King of Prussia. The Kaiser exercises the power of the state (_Staatsgewalt_) for the account of the Empire. There is a Parliament (_Landtag_) made up of two Chambers to which the second is given universal suffrage, and the first (of which I had the honour of being a member, elected by the town of Colmar) composed in a way to assure a majority to the Kaiser, who has the right to name as many members as the number of those elected and those holding by right. As there are members not named for life, and as among those who are so by right and by choice there are always a large number who are not independent, the Kaiser can never be in the minority in the Senate. But if by any chance such a thing should happen, it could have no importance because the Kaiser is himself the chief factor in legislation. In order that a law for Alsace-Lorraine may come into force, it must have the consent of the two Chambers and of the Emperor. Under these conditions it is Prussia that rules, and I know that no attempt to pass a law in Alsace-Lorraine can be made without first obtaining a favourable opinion from the Ministry of Prussia. In order never to be thwarted by the passive resistance of the Second Chamber, our constitution, which the Germans characterize as democratic, provides that if Parliament refuses to vote the budget, the government has the right to incur expenditure based on the figures of the preceding budget. The Germans have wished to emphasize as a great concession to the claims of Alsace-Lorraine the fact that in the last constitution given to Reichsland they have been given a voice in the _Bundesrat_ (Federal Council). This _Bundesrat_ is composed of the representatives of the Chief of the States of the Empire. It is this council that with the consent of the Reichstag, which is the representative of the German people, gave universal suffrage and that makes the laws for the Empire. Now, owing to the importance of territory and number of inhabitants, Alsace-Lorraine ought to hold sixth rank among the States of the Empire. She has been given three votes in the Council. But, as it is the _Staatshalter_ (Vice-King) of Alsace-Lorraine who gives the instructions as to how those three votes will be cast, and as the Vice-King is an office-holder subject to recall by the Emperor who is the King of Prussia, there is no danger that those votes will ever operate against Prussia. This dependence on Prussia of the votes of Alsace-Lorraine has been disingenuously marked by a special provision inserted on this occasion in the constitution of the Empire, in which it is said that every time a favourable majority vote for Prussia cannot be polled in the _Bundesrat_ except with the help of the Alsatian vote, those votes will not be counted. Up to this day Alsace-Lorraine has never ceased to be governed by a legislation outside of the common right. Today even, an act is pending in Berlin which provides exceptional measures for the suppression of journals printed in French.