The Express.
London, England, 1861-01-30 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 30, 1861.

them. Should Hungary successfully assert her
rights without separation from Austria, shc can
st.nreely become less than the head and heart, as
well as the arm of the Empire ; but such a transfer
of power implies the renouncing of so many aspi-
rations and ambitions of the House of HAINSURt:,
that we can scarcely conceive it possible. The
strong probability is that the contest will be carried
on till it results in war. It is to that contingency
that the most thoughtful and energetic minds of
Hungary are now anxiously but courageously look-
ing forward.

Tim Daily publishes this morning the cor-
respondence which took place a few weeks ago be-
tweuu the Cabinets of Loudon and Berlin on the
Dano-Germanic dispute, together with the Danish
Menioranduie which gave rise to it. Parts of this cor-
respondence have already appeared in various foreign
journals, but they have been too fragmentary and
one-sided to convey a fair or even intelligible idea
of the a hole. The must important despatch of the
series, for example—that written by Lord JOHN
It' asm.i. to Mr. liberties, on the Bth of last
month—has not appeared at all. This despatch
defines the position of the English Government in
the matter, and discusses the two main points at
issue between Denmark and Pram* the means
proposed for the temporary pacification of Holstein,
and the right of the German Powers to
interfere in the internal administration of Schles-
wig. It is the more necessary to call attention to
this important document, as the views expressed
by the British Foil k.IGN SEGRETARV on these ques-
tions have been misunderstood or misrepresented,
not only by foreign journals, but by foreign Mi-
nisters of State. To point out and correct these
miarepresentations becomes a duty when tho question
to which they refer threatens the peace of Europe.
The differences between Germany and Denmark
are precisely of the kind that may be amicably
arranged, and Great Britain, as a friendly but
ueutral Power, is sincerely anxious to bring about
a peaceful solution. In order to secure so desirable
a result, the efforts of the mediating Powers must
however be seconded by the support of enlightened
public opinion.
On no subject, indeed, is it more essential that
public opinion should be kept well informed, for
there is probably none that has been, and still is,
subject to a greater amount of habitual mystifica-
tion throughout a large section of the European
press. This mystification extends alike to the
smallest details of news and the most important
official documents. So far as the German press is
concerned this mystification is often probably
innocent enough, and may be so in the pre-
sent case. Thu passionate advocates of a fa-
vourite theory naturally put the most favourable
construction on a foreign despatch partially com-
municated and indifferently understood. Excited
feeling, strong prejudice, and imperfect knowledge
may easily explain a large amount of honest
blundering and misrepresentation. But Baron
SOILLINITZ can plead no such excuse for his
elaborate misunderstanding of some of the most
important points in Lord JOHN ROWELL'S despatch.
Indeed the whole tone of the Prussian Foreign
Minister's despatches on this subject is so disinge-
nuous, that the mistakes into which ho falls, and
the mystifications he practices, must be attributed
to design rather than to ignorance or heedlessness.
What a notorious intriguer said of language,
that it was given to conceal our thoughts,
while no doubt largely true of diplomatic language
in general, is peculiarly and literally true of the
language which the Prussian diplomatist chooses
to employ in his reply to Lord JOHN Bus:int:a
despatch. Two instances of this will for the pre-
sent suffice. In the body of his despatch the
English FOREIGN SECRETARY refer to the reasons
which had influenced the British Government in
undertaking to forward the Danish Memorandum to
the Cabinet of Berlin. These were mainly the desire
of preserving unimpaired the integrity of the
Danish monarchy, and, as a natural result, of
bringing about an amicable settlement of the d,s-
pute about the German Duchies. Her MaJnery's
Govenuuent " confess," says the FOREIGN SECRE-
TARY, " that they take an interest in the integrity
" of the Danish monarchy, and should be sorry to
" Dee the force of Denmark, which is not con-
" siderable, weakened or impaired." Ho then
refers to the two plans—the one formerly pro-
mised and the one now proposed by Denmark—
for the pacification of Holstein, both of which
Prussia has alike rejected. "Her Kt./wren
" Government," says the despatch, " would have
" been glad to see all parts of the Danish
" monarchy fairly represented in a Parliament at
" Copenhagen. if that is unattainable, they
" would have been glad to see Denmark and
" Holstein assume an equitable portion of the
" burdens necessary to be borne for the mainte-
" nance of Danish independence. The despatch
" of Baron SCHLZINITZ, of the Bth November, ap-
" pears to reject this scheme of settlement just as
" the former scheme of equal representation had
" been before thrown aside." Lord JOHN
ROW ELL here plainly refers to the Constitution for
the entire monarchy proclaimed by the King
of DENMARK SIX years ago, in fulfilment
of the royal proclamation issued at the close of
the war in 1852. In that proclamation the KINu
promised to frame a new constitutional govern-
ment for the whole monarchy, with a common
parliament elected on the basis of equal represen-
tation. Population was naturally taken as the
standard or measure of the equal representation.
The number of members elected to the common
parliament was proportioned to the popula-
tion in the various parts of the monarchy.
Against this equitable plan the Holstein Assembly
protested, on the ground that each part of the
monarchy ought to have the same number
of representatives, irrespective altogether of its
population. A word or two of explanation will
make the truo nature of this claim apparent The
I Danish monarchy consists of four parts—Den-
mark Proper, or the Kingdom of Denmark, and
, the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg.
The parts of course differ very widely in wealth,
population, and territory. While Holstein has
500,000 inhabitants, and Lauenburg only 80,000,
Denmark l'roper has a population of a million and
a half. The Holstein Assembly therefore claimed
that an insignificant Duchy like Lauenburg, with
fewer inhabitants than a thirl•rate English town,
should send as many representatives to the corn-
MOU Parliament as the Kingdom of Denmark. The
Government of Denmark having refused this irra-
tional claim, Holstein rejected the new constitu-
tion, and was supported in that step by the Ger-
manic Confederation, with Prussia at its head.
The liberal constitution, therefore, which, apart
from foreign interference, might have healed the
differences with the Duchies, and brought the various
parts of the monarchy under a single representa-
tive government, was overthrown, mainly through
Prussian influence. No man in Europe knows
all this better than Baron Scinmerrz. Yet how
does he reply to Lord Julie's allusion to the rejec-
tion of this constitutional scheme t Referring to
Lord Jons'a statement that the British Government
would have been glad to see every portion of the
Danish monarchy adequately represented in