Peter Reichensperger (b. at

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, 28 May 1810 - d. at Berlin, 31 December 1892) was a German jurist and parliamentarian for Centre Party.

Life

He studied at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and was successively counsellor at Coblenz (1843), of the court of appeal at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(1850), and of the supreme court of Berlin (1859) until its dissolution (1879). From 1848 he was active as a parliamentarian in the Prussian Diet, the Erfurt Volkshaus, the Prussian second chamber (1849), the constituent North-German Reichstag (1857), the Customs' Parliament (1868), and the German Reichstag, representing in the last-mentioned the same district from 1871 to his death. He worked closely with his elder brother August Reichensperger, and, like the latter, he defended the Rhenish system of laws against the minister von Kamptz ("Oeffentlichkeit, Mündlichkeit und Schwurgerichte", 1834). Like his brother he collaborated with the author in de Failly's a much-discussed book (''De la Prusse'', 1842), and they jointly drew up a petition for electoral reform (1847). In the same year was published one of his best works: ''Die Agrarfrage aus dem Gesichtspunkt der Nationalökonomie, der Politik und des Rechts''. In 1858, when a collection of their parliamentary speeches appeared, the brothers published their political programme in the pamphlet ''Die Wahlen zum preussischen Abgeordnetenhause'', and two years later ''Deutschlands nächste Aufgaben für die Zukunft''. They defended

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

and religious autonomy. Less versatile than his brother, Peter surpassed him in juristic keenness and intellectual depth. In special writings, he combatted the income tax (1850), the abolition of the usury laws (1860), and the corn tax (1887). At the request of the ministry of justice, he drafted a mortgage law (1851). Five years later he wrote on free agricultural laws, in 1872 on the relation between Church and State, and in 1876 on the peace between Church and State. In 1882 appeared his experiences as an old parliamentarian in the revolutionary year 1848. Though co-founder and leader of the Centre, he followed in many individual questions his own views, e.g. in the extension of the socialist law and in the question of the septennate.

References

* which in turn cites: **Gorres in ''Staatslexikon der Gorresgesellschaft'' (3rd ed., 1911)

External links