A  great  obstacle  to  the  execution  of  the  resolutions  of  the  diet  occurred
at  once  in  the  defective  nature  of  its  composition.  A  large  number  of
powerful  Estates  had  not  been  present,  and  as  the  obligatory  force  of  the
resolutions  of  an  assembly  upon  those  not  present  was  as  yet  far  from
being  determined,  it  was  necessary  to  open  separate  negotiations  with  the
absent.  Among  others,  the  Elector  of  Cologne  was  commissioned  to
negotiate  with  the  bishops  in  his  neighbourhood,  those  of  Utrecht,  Miinster,
Osnabriick,  Paderborn,  and  Bremen  ;  the  Elector  of  Saxony  with  Liine-
burg,  Grubenhagen,  and  Denmark  ;  and  it  was  by  no  means  certain  what
would  be  their  success.  Here  again  we  find  the  possibility  assumed  that
someone  might  not  choose  to  be  included  in,  or  to  consent  to,  the  Public
Peace.1

A  still  more  important  organic  defect  was,  that  the  knightly  order  had
taken  no  part  in  the  diet.  It  is  manifest  that  the  mighty  development
which  a  government  composed  of  different  estates  (eine  stcindische  Ver-
fassung)  had  reached  in  England,  mainly  rests  on  the  union  of  the  lower
nobility  and  the  cities  in  the  House  of  Commons.  In  Germany  it  was  not
the  ancient  usage  to  summon  the  nobility  to  the  diet.  The  consequence
of  this  was,  that  the  nobles  refused  to  conform  to  the  resolutions  passed  at
it,  especially  when  (as  in  the  present  case)  these  related  to  a  tax.  The
Franconian  knights  assembled  in  December  at  Schweinfurt,  and  declared
that  they  were  free  Franconians,  nobles  of  the  empire,  bound  to  shed  their
blood,  and  in  every  war  to  guard  the  emperor's  crown  and  sceptre  at  the
head  of  all  their  youth  capable  of  bearing  arms  ;  but  not  to  pay  taxes,
which  was  contrary  to  their  liberties,  and  would  be  an  unheard  of  innova-
tion. This  declaration  had  the  assent  of  all  their  compeers.  Unions  of
the  same  kind  were  formed  in  the  several  circles.2

We  observed  how  much  stress  was  laid  at  an  earlier  period  on  the
spiritual  authorisation.  The  consequence  of  the  want  of  it  now  was  that
the  abbots  of  the  empire  refused  to  recognise  the  authority  of  so  purely
secular  a  tribunal  as  the  Imperial  Chamber.
