The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-07-18 00:00:00

ROYAL VISITS AND EUROPEAN

POLITICS.

The visit of the Crown Prince and Princes
of Germany to this country, recalls memories
of a curiously mingled character. Many art
old enough to remember the illustrious lady
who is now on the steps of an Imperial
Throne, when she was but a little child; an
no one who was present at the opening of
the Great Exhibition of 1851 will forget the
picture of home happiness shown by the
distinguished group who took such a promi-
nent part in the proceedings of the day.
Prince Albert, then not thirty-two years of
age, led by the hand his eldest daughter, a
little girl of te , while the Queen, in all the
freshness, the bloom, and the happiness of
womanhood, led the Prince of Wales, who
was one year younger than the Princess.
Royal. Less than seven years afterwards—
on the 25th of January, 1858, Prince Albert
again appeared at a splendid ceremonial by
the side of his daughter This time it was to
conduct her to the altar, where he gave her
in marriage to the Crown Prince of Prussia.
From that time the Princess Royal saw very
little of her father. Surrounded by every-
thing which can tend to make life agreeable,
and with every prospect of a long, useful.
and honourable career before him, he was
stricken with a deadly fever, and less than
four years after the stately wedding pageant.
in which he was so conspicuous a figure, hi
has passed away to join the majority upon
that silent shore beyond the beating of the
waves of life's tempestuous sea.
. . . . . .

But what of the other illustrious visitor,
the husband of England's Princess Royal%
It will not fail to ho remembered that at the
time of the union between the young people
sixteen years ago, Prussia occupied a very
different position amongst the nations of
Europe compared with that which she fills at
present. Of course we had not forgotten
the debt of obligation under which we were
to Marshal Blucher and his army of 30,000
men, who arrived upon the field of Waterloo
upon the evening of the 18th of June, 1815.
! after the British and the French armies had
been engaged in mortal combat for nine
hours, and when the Prussians. taking up
the pursuit of the flying Gauls, converted
their defeat into a panic-stricken rout. But
in a conflict which was then fresh in the pub-
lic memory, the policy of Prussia, so far
from having been directed to our advanthge.
had been shaped so as to give all possible
aid and comfort to our enemies. True, Prus-
sia was professedly neutral while we wer:
engaged in war with the Muscovites, but it
was a kind of benevolent neutrality which
rendered a quiet bat sabst intial assistance
to our foes by giving them facilities for the
purchase of arms and ammunition in neutral
territory. 'lh rehire, when in the session o'
1857 Lord Palmerston appeared at the bar
of the House of Commons with a message
from her Majesty, announcing that her sign
manual had been affixed to a contract ot
inarri'.ge between her eldest daughter and
the heir to the Prussian crown, there was
not that degree of enthusiasm o the part 0.
people which would have been manifested
had the Prussian nation more heartily
sympathised with this country in its attempt
to stem the tide of aggression on the part ui
Russia. The Prince himself was credited
with the possession of Liberal views, but
his father, the present Emperor of Germany,
was known to be imbei?ei with ideas which
passed current amongst the ruling classes in
England two centuries ago, but which were
utterly opposed to the progressive tendencies
of the existing age. lime however, rolled
on. We heard little of our Princess who
was domiciled in a foreign capital, or of her
husband, until in the year ibli4 Prussia
entered upon that career et conquest which
has raised her to the first rank amongst
military powers, and has altered the balance
of continental influence. At first it was little
Denmark that was dealt with ; then Austria
%Nes driven out of Germany by the L.:lashing
defeat of Sadowa, when tile Grown Prince.
by means of forced marches, brought up his
army of reserve at a critical moment, and
stamped out tue claim of Austria to take
part in the tuture administration of German
affairs.

But we are in a month, every date of
which must be written in letters ot blood
upon the chronicles ut two great nate...fluidics.
It was on the 14th of July, Iti4u, that Count
ISeliellettl, thuk tench ambassador, d is to
on by the madness of the people ss hum he
represented, accosted the Kali; ut Prussia on
the promenade at Ems, and demanded a
wrtiten guarantee that under nu circumstances
bh,,ulti a Prince of the klouseut klohenzoliern
again be ft candidate for the throne of Spa n.
1 ins his Majesty declined to give, and re-
instal to see the amixissador again. Next
day—the Ihth of July—at a meeting of the
Corps Legislatif, in I aria, M. Etude 011ivier,
Napoleon's Prime Minister, announced that
.thunce had resolved to declare war against
Prussia. The intelligence was reeci ved with
entnusiastic applause in the Chamber, and
with frantic delight by the excitable popula-
tion of the capital. The news spread like
wildfire to every European city, and when it
reached Berlin, created an indescribable
sensation. A. vast multitude numbering a
hundred thousand persons, gathered in front
of the Royal palace, and rent the air with
shouts "To the Rhine !" The King and the
Crown Prince came out upon one of the
balconies. The Prince signified that he
wished to speak, and silence settling down
upon the densely-packed throng, he uttered
only two words—words of awful moment to
two mighty peoples. His Royal Highness,
speaking in a loud voice, said "Krieg! mobil!'•
What was it that so thrilled the excited
masses in front of the Palace? "War !
modilization!" the meaning of the latter
word being that the entire male population
must be called to arms. Then rushed the
men of Germany to the frontier to repel the
invader. Of the part taken in that war by
the Crown Prince, history will tell. We
know how on the fith of August he struck a
tremendous blew at MacMahon at Woerth,
which shattered and disorganised the French
army, and one from which they never re.
covered. We know also of the material
contribution which he made to the crowning
triumph of Sedan, and to the capture of
Paris. The scenes which he now witnesses
are different from those of four years ago;
he rides through peaceful towns and over
smiling plains, instead of through passes of
the Vosges mountains strewed with corpses,
and with the air heavy with the sighs and
groans of tho wounded. Let us hope that
he prefers the pleasures of peace to the
excitements of war—the gentle wash of the
sea upon the Isle of Wight to the triumphant
boom of the cannon when a victorious salute
101 guns is fired upon the field of battle.