_February 12th._--Wrote an article for the _Kölnische Zeitung_ from the instructions of the Chief, which reached me through Aegidi. It contains several of the Prince’s ideas almost in his own words as communicated to me. The article runs as follows: “The Parliamentary struggles of the past few weeks have been of the highest significance for our Parliamentary life. Two factors which have been in course of development for some time past have taken positive form. These are: a homogeneous Ministry is supported on an important question by a Parliamentary majority, which includes even the ‘resolute Progressives’; and a new Opposition, formed by the fusion of all the elements which are on the most various grounds hostile to New Prussia and New Germany, together with the group of ‘resolute Reactionaries.’ The nucleus of this Opposition, which represents reaction in the fullest sense of the word, is the Centre Party, quite incorrectly designated the Catholic Party. We consider it to be rather a Theocratic Party, and as such to be treated not as a denominational, but as a political group. With these are associated the liegemen of the Guelphs, whose able advocate--the Member for Meppen--as an Ultramontane, has one foot in that party, and therefore serves as a suitable intermediary, his efforts being also directed towards restoring the old order of things at the expense of the new. A third contingent of this reactionary coalition consists of the Poles, or rather the Polish nobility, with their longing to revive the Jesuit and aristocratic rule which existed before the partition, and their inexplicable hatred of the German character. In this instance again the ultramontane sentiments of most of the Polish representatives promotes fusion.