The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-07-16 00:00:00

SPAIN, FRANCE, AND PRUSSIA.

Aspecial telegram from a Madrid correspondent states
that the Spanish Government is determined to proceed
with the candidature of Prince Leopold of Hohenz d-
iem, notwithstanding the attitude of the French Go-
vernment - In the Madrid papers, a statement of Senor
Sagosta has been published complaining that the
French Government has ,uc,e,sively opposed all the
candidatt a for the throne, in order to favour the Prince
of Asturias. Senor Sagmta denies that Spain is pur-
suing a Prussian policy, and declares that she will en-
deavour to carry out her own Views without allowing
her desire for p issue to prejudice her dignity Of her
richta.—The Epson recommends that the candidature
of Prince Leopold should he abandoned while there is
yet time. It is announced, however, that the Spanish
Govtrument has i ftLially notilied to the Ear, peas
Courts its intention to propose Prince Leopold to the
Cortes as a candidate for the throne, and that it has
also addressed a despatch to its representatives abroad,
ittatruciing them to deny th it this candidature has
been planned in a spirit t f hostility to France. The
sant, despattla states that the negotiations have been
conducted with the Prince direct, without any refer.
once to Count Bismarck.

It is stated in the telegrams from Paris that, if the
French Government does not at Once olitsio a satis-
factory reply from Prusbia, military meaturvs ail
im-
mediately be taken. The :at Misters of War and Marine I
have conferred with the Emperor Napoli on, and on
Saturday orders wire sett, it in raid, to concentrate
p art of the troops in Algei r. S me of theec nano ttlial
Panic: papers maintain that the time has now arrived
for iiisistil g on the absoluto execution by Prmisia of
the treaty of Pragtio.
From %pada there comes a denial that the King
of the Belglans, during his recent stay in England,
took any part in the negotiations with Prince Leopold
of II ihenrillere. The Independence Reim declare.
that this statement—which was anode by the Journal
Franca's—is a calumny. The Al on, teur Beige also
contradicts the statement in formal terms.
TM, an rrnaar& elarelte maintains that neither the
King of Prussia nor the North German Confederation
low any interest in the accession of Prince Irtopold to
the S,ianish throne, and that the Foreign Minister of
a friendly Power ought not to accuse Pried& of dis-
turbing the Europeal equilibrium. It points out that
the Panora is not a memlaer of the Prussian Royal
Family, and says it is stated that Kiug William has
advlsed him not to accept the proffered Crown, but
that if he were to accept it, France bas no riirlit to
play the selicolmaster over Spain. It concledis ty
hoping that the French Goer rnment will soon rightly
jade Prursia's neutral attitude in this question.

Toe painfully ridiculous story is told by the France
that; in the eventuality of war, the E operor meets to
orinixiand the arna, "in p raou." What misjit'gcd
flattery this is! Everybody ktows that if the kin-
perm can get up from an arm-chair to walk for a few
minutes on the arm of an ailndr-cantp, n a green
alley in the ganien of St. Cloud, he Lai made A great
achievement calculated to produces rinr at the Rowse.
lie is somewhat prematurely but really in his "chair
da,s," and the notion of his cummar.d,ng an army in
the field is all nortietse. .

The Fraser, which naturallyi s regarded as a great
dipl mach: authoriiy became it laiely belonged to
VISO wit de la Cliterronniiire, the ex-minister at
811139,14 and now the F. ench ambassador at Con-
stantinople, and who is still supposed to "inspire" the
j tuna!, also ea) s that the negotiations which erl to
the acceptance of the candidature for the tluone of
Spain by Prince Leopold of lithenz Tern were carried
on by his ri.ter the C inceess of Flanders; and that
when the King of the Belgians lately paid a visit to
Queen Vmsnria at Windsor he mentioned the subject
to her. Toe France adds that the Qusen of England
gave him no encouragement, hot at the same trne
ea; 13 that France is jattilied in resenting his attempted
interference. This circumstantial story is contra-
dictsd. The France, pur,uaut to the system of the
French press, takes no notice of the denial except in
this incidental way, that it alleges the notific 4tion of
Princelloheozollern's acceptance of the throne of Spain
to have been received very igildly by all the Powers,
"except Belgium."

MADRID, July 9 (Evening).

An order haa b.en issued by the Minister of War that the
conscripts should bMs their r, p, ctive c,rps by rail in order
piece forward thtir ennipment and drill, and that certain
ttrategic positions In the north of Spaio ahoutti be occupied.
The Impsrciell reg ads this order as a precautionary mt astir°
ago at tha earlists.
PARIS. July 11.
. . . . . . . , _

Tho despatch received yeatcrisy from NI. Benedetti is sold
to leave mmall tort of crane. l't e Ecident n i.tht
tiC m ranged, but King William, who a.as ,or &lay is not in-
clined to give certain guarantees demanded for the proper
ezetodon of the treaty of Frage° Figaro says that the
Erntwo,r whet telt, the comment of the army, and that the
rf illes Imperial will serve oo ice stttf.
The Cohrtitotion.l stoles that hi Benedetti has communi-
cated to the King of Prussia tho protest of the French Go-
vernment, and that the King had requested time to reply.
T hereopon the French (Iveinment instructed it. BenedetU
that the deity ct.ll,rl only be very short.

The 1.421 a paper, ref4tlng CeaiD assertions of the Spanish
tuna's to the col•trary, demonetratoi that hitherto the
endiGovernment h.id neither f ivoured nor opposed sty
candidate to the Spanish throne.

Private correspondence from Sam confirms the
impression produced by the telegrams that the country
has been deeply excited by the menaces of France.
Prinis behaviour has of late produced a strong feeling
against him nmoi g the people ; and if he had been loft
to himself, his caneidete woold very possibly have been
rejvcted. But the Duke of Gramont has produced an
instint 'hinge of sentiment. Spanish pride is sorely"
wounded, and recolle.dions of 18e8 embitter the
popular exasperation. Troops are under orders every-
where to be in read nem to march to the Pyrenees at a
moment's notice; the Spanish Let, which at present
is much scattered, is to c incentrate at once; the
fortresses of Pamplona. Sermon., and Mon ras are
being rapidly but carefully inspected and renlenished
with warlike stores and provisions. We hear
also that the Spanish Ambassador at Pals, &fair
Olen iga, has very precise instructions as to the
circumstances under which he is to demand his
passports. The Spanish Lau is by no means c .n.
temptible. Spain has some ten very fine ironclads,
manned by men who, as sailors, are superior to the
French, anti, in conjunction wi h the Prussians, c add
eivo the French a good deal of trouble. As kr the
army, it is demoralized, and the officers are ignorant of
the art of war; but if they confine themselves to de.
fending the Pyrenees they may do it successfully.
Spsiiish trcobs fight vi ry well from behind wane, and
there are only two good roads into Spain, one the road
through Kan Srinagar', and the other through PAM.
pine a. Three from the mountainous nature of the
country through which 'hey pass are well misp'ed for
defence. In th., open field, however, the Spaniards
would be of small account.
ra Times' Paris Core-pastiest writes :
_. .

The French seem to he all the more prove Iced by the calat
tone of the German Prevt. Nothing is naturally so irritating,
if 3011 are in a sudden, red-hot passion, as to have an
ant,gontst who won't lose his temper, and Celtic fire is all
ablaze at Teutonic phlegm. Tee contrast Is very character-
istic (the two races The Prossians are ready to wait and
thurk the matter over until the gathering of the Sparkish
Cortes. or, if necew ary, the arriv..l of the Greek Calemis.
The French, all eagerness for action, can see in this
tar di, ets only a &tip design of 8J4111.04'8 to gain
time anti measure Ms strong, h. They b Aires that he Is vi-
g,rously working the wires to feel the pulse of Europe in
,er.T. arid G. many in par:limit.% and that If he can make
the on mei German—with the oas:stance of ills enmnies in
the Parisian Pro-n--he will not shrink from it. Ills to be
feared that Prussian pride, fleshed by its recent victories,
will not at all relish any step that may even appear retro-
grade in the face of French menace, and, besides, If the
serntollicial Press on I.ooth aides can he trusted as the ex-
ponent of oflickl views, the two parties are rather at an
awkward dent-lock. The German role of unconscious inno-
cence must be accepted, I suppo e, as true In the absence of
any documents or other evidence to proven false, and it places
tin, French Government in rather an emb training position. If
Prussia has really hod nothing whatever to do with this petty
intrigue of Prints—if, as her jvurnals assert, she would, on
the contrary, much rather not h-oven Prince 111 her own on
the throne of Spa-to—it is certainly hArd upon her Lo be
toll, in a tone of menace, toot she must at once Lctively
Iffierlere to eplash the intrigue, or prepare for war. If
she hail heel. wired to do this it would have born another
affair, but sow, tmluckily, she has been told to do it.
Ever)hody is bound at table to pass the mustard, bat
this dti not justify the American in enforcing his re-
quest with a levelled revolver. The collision is, Indeed, a
crave m:e when two proud and po wet ful nations thus find
them,, Ivan face to face in a noltion fr, m which trekker
feels that it c Lll without some lost of preostige retreat, and
there is no divining what result may come of it, though here
the general belief appears to he that Prussia will give way.

PARIS, July 12, 4 p m.

The Spanish Ambassador here has receive I a despatch
signed by Prince Antoine of Hohenzollern, informing him
that he had telegraphed to General Prim that, In presence
of th 3 opposition his son's canAdacy appears to nnet with,
he has aithdrawn It in the name of Priuce Leopold. Prince
Antnina adds that. late events haring created a state of
thit.s in which Spain could only im guided by the sentiment
of bet independence, the vote of the Cortes therefore could
not be considered as sincere mid spontaneous, as It should
be, for the election of a monar.M.
- . .

July 12, Evenirg.

-
The Frarce of this evening clntens the following :—" -rho
Frei ch Govtrnment demsnos that Prince Let pold of Hohen-
zoilern should renounce his candidacy for the .apabish
throne, and that his candidacy alvnild be d'savowed by the
King of Privsia bah in his Malay ef head of the
family and head of time State, 'rho Prussian monarch
Ii Is said, consents as far as regards the first two polite,
hot as regards his WWI as heail of the State, King
William refuses to give the political storable° required by
Frullt e It will be understood that, in the face of this in.
complete ratisfactd di, which L eves behind the germs of the
rely complicati,us against with Franca has etched to
guard. the Emperor and his Ministers have soot thought It
their duty to accept the reply preset) kel by Baron Werther
constituting a solution which France had a right to
ax, tot."

The Sponi-h papers publish the note which the
Minister for Foreign affairs has sent to the representa-
tives of Spain abroad, explaining the reasons which led
Marshal Prim to offer the crown to Prince Leopold of
Llohtnzoßern. This circular is dated the lido inst.,
awl is believed to have been drawn up after the-decla-
rations mode in the French Chamber on the 6th inst.,
by M. 011ivier and the Duke de Gramont, to which
declarations it is considered to be to some extent a
reply. The note states, first of all, that Marshal Prim
had full authority from the Government to enter upon
any negotiations he might deem necessary in order to
find a candidate for the throne. It points out that
should Prince Leopold assume the crown he will be a
constitutional King under the most democratic of con-
stitutions, and that his Government will be compelled
to act in accordance with public opinion, which will

not be changed "bt cause a foreigner ccupiett the poet
of first magiAtrate f the nation." The note gots on
to say that it was eolely wih the desire of accotn.
pli.hing the desire of the country that the Cabinet
had proposed the candidature of Prince Leopo'd, and
that in thiti there was no idea of hostility to any Co
vernntent whatever.