. (3) Of representatives of towns. (4) Of
deputies of the peasantry, or small farming class. The whole was
arranged in such a manner that in every province the two sections of
the nobility always had a majority of the Diet. Every one of these
eight Provincial Diets elected a Committee, and these eight Committees
were now called to Berlin in order to form a Representative Assembly
for the purpose of voting the much-desired loan. It was stated that
the Treasury was full, and that the loan was required, not for current
wants, but for the construction of a State railway. But the united
Committees gave the King a flat refusal, declaring themselves
incompetent to act as the representatives of the people, and called
upon His Majesty to fulfil the promise of a Representative
Constitution which his father had given, when he wanted the aid of the
people against Napoleon.

The sitting of the united Committees proved that the spirit of
opposition was no longer confined to the bourgeoisie. A part of the
peasantry had joined them, and many nobles, being themselves large
farmers on their own properties, and dealers in corn, wool, spirits,
and flax, requiring the same guarantees against absolutism,
bureaucracy, and feudal restoration, had equally pronounced against
the Government, and for a Representative Constitution. The King's plan
had signally failed; he had got no money, and had increased the power
of the opposition. The subsequent sitting of the Provincial Diets
themselves was still more unfortunate for the King. All of them asked
for reforms, for the fulfilment of the promises of 1813 and 1815, for
a Constitution and a Free Press; the resolutions to this effect of
some of them were rather disrespectfully worded, and the ill-humored
replies of the exasperated King made the evil still greater.

In the meantime, the financial difficulties of the Government went on
increasing. For a time, abatements made upon the moneys appropriated
for the different public services, fraudulent transactions with the
"Seehandlung," a commercial establishment speculating and trading for
account and risk of the State, and long since acting as its
money-broker, had sufficed to keep up appearances; increased issues of
State paper-money had furnished some resources; and the secret, upon
the whole, had been pretty well kept. But all these contrivances were
soon exhausted. There was another plan tried: the establishment of a
bank, the capital of which was