The Express.
London, England, 1864-01-27 00:00:00

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27.

IT is important at the present crisis, and indeed
essential to any satisfactory solution of the diffi-
culty, that the demand of the German Powers on
Denmark should be looked at broadly in the light
of reason and justice, and its real bearing and ob-
vious issues examined according to the principles
of common equity and common sense. Hitherto
there has been on all aides an immense amount
of prolix and unprofitable discussion as to the
precise interpretation of certain phrases in the
friendly end informal correspondence which took
place between Denmark and Germany twelve
years ago. But however these verbal ques-
tions may be decided, the broad fact remains, that
at that period the German Powers regarded the
restoration of the Provincial Estates of Sleswig,
and the enlargement of their powers, as a complete
and satisfactory fulfilment of the royal promise
not to incorporate the Duchy with the Kingdom.
So far from a common Constitution having been
then regarded as any violation or infringement of
this pledge, it is notorious that in the very docu-
ment containing this engagement with regard to
Sleswig, the King pledged himself to promulgate
such a Constitution as soon as possible. The Royal
Proclamation of January the 28th, 1852, con-
tained in outline the scheme of a common Con-
stitution or central legislative organ for the entire
monarchy, and this scheme was accepted by the
German Powers and the Diet as perfectly legiti-
mate and satisfactory. They recognised the power
of Providing such a Constitution as one of tin
essential rights of a sovereign State, and the Diet
accepted the proposed scheme, so far as its compe-
tence extended, as being " in conformity with the
"laws and rights of the Confederation." The
Danish Government accordingly matured and pro-
mulgated it, in accordance with the terms cf the
Royal promise. This Constitution established •
central organ or general legislative assembly for
the whole monarchy, bored upon the equal repre-
sentation of all its parts, according to the rat f
population and taxation. No sooner, however,
bad this Constitution come into operation than
the Diet demanded its abrogation, so far as the
German Duchies were concerned, on the ground
that all its provisions had not been submitted to
the decision of the Provincial Estates. The
Danish Government protested against the legality
of this demand, and pointed out the im-
practicability of meeting the requirement
on which it was founded. The Estates
of Holstein, on being appealed to, confirmed this
representation of the Danish Government by de-
nouncing every scheme of a common constitu-
tion as incompatible with the definitive rights of
the German Duchies. Eventually, under a Crest
of Federal execution, the Constitution was with-
drawn so far as Holstein and Lauenburg were
concerned. It still, however, remained in force be-
yond the limits of Federal territory, being este-
blished as a constitutional law in Sleswig and
Denmark Proper. At this point the Diet inter-
fered again, demanding that there should be no
legislation in common affairs before the Danish
Government had come to • decision with regard to
the future position of the German Duchies in the
monarchy. Under these circnnistences, the only
course that remained for the Danish Government
was to bestow complete provincial autonomy on
Holstein and Lauenburg, and provide for the
effective working of the common Constitution in
the Danish portions of the monarchy. This latter
object is precisely what was secured by the Novem-
ber Constitution.