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RIESBECK’s TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY, 43
The electoral college, befides the advantage it naturally derives from the {mall num-
ber of voters in it, whofe decifions are {till of as much weight as thofe of the other two,
has a great additional influence from the circumitance of the five fecular members of it
having near twenty votes in the college of princes. Since the death of the latt ele&or
of Bavaria, it confifts but of eight voices; the elector and Archbifhop of Mentz is the
prefident. It is not yet fettled who is to have the decifive yoice in cafe of an equality ;
But as this is an event to be expected, it is thought that there will foon be a ninth ele@or
chofen from the houfe of Wirtemberg or Hefle-Caflel. ‘The only obftacle is the jea-
loufy of fome of the electoral houfes, left the Emperor fhould propofe one of his own
dependants.
In the college of princes there are in all one hundred votes, of which thirty-three are
ecclefiaftical, fixty-one fecular, and fix collective. ‘Thefe laft confift of the two benches
of prelates and abbefles, namely, the,Suabian and Rhenifh, and of the four colleges of
the counts of the empire, namely, the Wetteravian, Suabian, Weftphalian and Frans
conian. Each college of counts, and each bench of prelates, has one vote. There are
twenty members on the bench of Suabian prelates, and nineteen on that of the Rhenifh
ones. The Wetteravian college of counts has ten members, the Suabian twenty, the
Franconian fixteen, and the Weftphalian thirty-four. There are many counts of the
empire who are not included in this number, becaufe though they have been raifed to
the dignity of count, they have not yet taken their feat at the diet. Other feats are
vacant, becaufe the lands they are attached to have fallen into greater houfes, the matters
of which confider the privilege of voting as counts, as flender and inconfiderable, The
college of princes has this privilege peculiar to it, that one houfe can have many votes;
thus the prefent Elector Palatine has feven votes, and his fucceffor, the Duke of Deux-
Ponts, will have eight; the King of Pruflia has five, and after the death of the prefent
Prince of Anfpach and Bareith, will have feven; the Elector of Brunfwick has five.
This arifes from the rank of principality in the empire being vefted in the property, not
in the perfon; fo one perfon may poflefs feveral properties, each of which feparately
claims his title of principality. Auftria and Saltzburg take it by turns to prefide over
this college, the one one day, and the other the next. The Archbifhop of Befancgon,
and the King of Sardinia, as Duke of Savoy, have for a long time left off fending minif=
ters to the diet, fo the college of princes confifts now only of ninety-eight votes. The
college of the ftates confilts of fifty-one, and is divided into two, namely, the Suabian
and Rhenifh. On the firft there are thirty-feven, and on the other fourteen feats. The
{tate in which the diet is held has the direction.
The imperial court has a great influence in all the three colleges. The three ecclefj-
aftical electors have been almoft conftantly creatures of the Emperor, who {pares neither
gold, threats, nor promifes, to infpire the canons of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, in
the choice of a new archbifhop. Formerly our court ufed the fame methods of acquir-
ing influence in the empire; but that channel is now ftopped up for ever, by the vigi-
lance and activity of the court of Vienna. The Emperor {has the fame weight in the
princes’ college. Almoft all the ecclefiaftical princes are his true fons. ‘The chapter
of Luttoch is the only one, in modern times, which has dared to with{tand the Empe-
ror’s influence in the election of the fovereion. Betides thefe means of gaining influ.
ence, it has always been the maxim of ihe umperial court to raife the members of the
hereditary dominion, who poffefled the fmalleft fief in the empire, to the dignity of
princes, in order to infure them a feat and a vote in the diet. It is thus that the houfes
of Lobkowits, Dieteichftein, Schwarzenberg, Lichtentftein, Auerfberg, and Thurn, have
been, introduced into the college, in fpite of the proteftations of all the old princes,
G2 merely
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