the Prussian government). This often came into competition with the developing German national consciousness. Constitutional debate and the Restoration Period Bourgeois Westphalians like and Benedikt Waldeck were particularly hopeful for the promulgation of a constitution. In newspapers like the and , the desire for a constitution was clearly articulated from the beginning. Draft constitutions were issued by Sommer and of Dortmund. Other participants in the debate included and . This optimistic attitude shifted with the beginning of the Restoration Period, when the absence of a national constitution and the censorship of the press became clear. , who was later a member of the Reichstag, wrote as a schoolboy in 1820, that it was not for the "pathetic squabbles of princes" that people had fought in 1813, but so that "justice and law would have to be the foundation of public life as well as citizenship." The establishment of provincial parliaments () in 1823 had little impact on the criticism, since they lacked central legislative powers. They had no right to raise taxes, were not involved in the drafting of laws, and had only advisory functions on important matters. The representatives were not allowed to discuss administrative matters and their minutes were subject to censorship. The first met in the Münster City Hall in 1826. The high voter turnout shows that, despite all the restrictions, the bourgeoisie saw the Landtag as a forum for the expression of their views (the lower classes had no voting rights). The Baron vom Stein as first (presiding officer of the Landtag) did not restrict discussion to purely local matters, and under the surface the constitutional question played an important role in discussions in the Landtag in 1826 and in the next Landtag in 1828. This became even clearer during the Landtag of 1830/31, when and even the noble Baron of Fürstenberg openly called for the establishment of a constitution for Prussia. The question of what such a constitution should look like was fiercely debated. Most nobles, including Fürstenberg, sought a restoration of the old order, while the bourgeoisie pursued early liberal ideas. In this, Bracht was supported by industrialist Friedrich Harkort and publisher among others. Other members of the "opposition" included the mayor of Hagen, and the mayor of Telgte, . Even among the landed nobility, there were supporters of liberalism, such as Georg von Vincke. The district ordinance () of 1827 also clearly diverged