He was still more strongly opposed to the acceptance of the offered crown.  He saw only that the King of Prussia would be subjected to a Parliamentary Assembly, that his power of action would be limited.  The motto of his speech was that Prussia must remain Prussia.  “The crown of Frankfort,” he said, “may be very bright, but the gold which gives truth to its brilliance has first to be won by melting down the Prussian crown.”  His speech caused great indignation; ten thousand copies of it were printed to be distributed among the electors so as to show them the real principles and objects of the reactionary party.

His opposition to any identification of Prussia and Germany was maintained when the Prussian Government itself took the initiative and proposed its own solution.  During the summer of 1849, the Prussian programme was published.  The Government invited the other States of Germany to enter into a fresh union; the basis of the new Constitution was to be that of Frankfort, but altered so far as might be found necessary, and the union was to be a voluntary one.  The King in order to carry out this policy appointed as one of his Ministers Herr von Radowitz.  He was a man of the highest character and extreme ability.  An officer by profession, he was distinguished by the versatility of his interests and his great learning.  The King found in him a man who shared his own enthusiasm for letters.  He had been a member of the Parliament at Frankfort, and had taken a leading part among the extreme Conservatives; a Roman Catholic, he had come forward in defence of religion and order against the Liberals and Republicans; a very eloquent speaker, by his earnestness and eloquence he was able for a short time to give new life to the failing hopes of the German patriots.

Bismarck always looked on the new Minister with great dislike.  Radowitz, indeed, hated the Revolution as much as he did; he was a zealous and patriotic Prussian; but there was a fundamental difference in the nature of the two men.  Radowitz wished to reform Germany by moral influence.  Bismarck did not believe in the possibility of this.  To this perhaps we must add some personal feeling.  The Ministry had hitherto consisted almost entirely of men who were either personal friends of Bismarck, or whom he had recommended to the King.  With Radowitz there entered into it a man who was superior to all of them in ability, and over whom Bismarck could not hope to have any influence.  Bismarck’s distrust, which amounted almost to hatred, depended, however, on his fear that the new policy would bring about the ruin of Prussia.  He took the extreme Particularist view; he had no interest in Germany outside Prussia; Wuertemberg and Bavaria were to him foreign States.  In all these proposals for a new Constitution he saw only that Prussia would be required to sacrifice its complete independence; that the King of Prussia would become executor for the decrees of a popular and alien