The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-26 00:00:00

THE DANISH WAR,

PUBLIC MEETING IN GLASGOW.

On Wednesday afternoon a public meeting was
held in the Merchants' k7all, Glasgow, for the pur-
pose of expressing sympathy with the Danish people
in their present circumstances, tend for promoting a
further subscription for the relief of the wounded,
and of the families o' those killed ill battle.
The meeting,although influential, was not numer-
ously attended.
The Hon. the Lord Provost occupied titt .chair,
and offered a few introductory remarks.
Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON proposed the first reap •
lution—" That in the opinion of this meeting the
circumstances in which Denmark is at present
placed are such as call for the warmest sympathy
from the people of England." In supporting this
resolution, Sir Archibald said he thought nothing
almost could add to or strengthen the appeal which
these words contained. 'We saw a small people
acting in an unfruitful territory, engaged in a des-
perate war for national existence with two of the
greatest military Powers of Europe—end we saw
against this small, he might almost say Lilliputian
State, forces in numbers which would be only called
for if the empire of Russia or of France was on this
other side. That was a spectacle which he thought
the people of this country could never see without
interest. There were many reasons why the peo-
ple of this country should feel a peculiar
interest in the struggle in which Denmark
was now engaged. The Danes and the English and
Scotch were in great part the same people, they
were derived from the same stock. In addition to
all this, the history of the two countries appeared to
be interwoven, interlaced as it were, in such a man-
ner as to bring out in the clearest possible way the
interest which the people of Great Britain should
always feel in the misfortunes or in the prosperity
of the Danes. Sir Archibald then referred to the
alliances which had been formed by marriage be-
tween the royal houses of Scotland and Denmark,
and to the marriage of James I. with Ann of Den-
mark, from whom the present royal family of Bri-
tain was directly descended. He also remarked
upon the bravery which the Danes had shown in
past contests, and the growing importance which
the State has assumed in the eyes of the Great
Powers of Europe, from the nature of its local posi-
tion, and its being, as it were, a porter at the gate
of the Baltic. It was ultimately felt that Denmark
was a Power of too much importance to admit of
its succession or its independence being left to
chance; and accordingly the whole of the Powers
of Europe signed a treaty in 1852 acknowledging
the independence of Denmark. The acknowledg-
ment so made was simple and unconditional,
and could not possibly be got rid of by any of
the Powers which signed the treaty. Now, if there
was any Power in the world to which the in-
dependence and safety of Denmark were objects
of political interest, it was Great Britain. If
Denmark were in the hands of any Power to.mor-
row, that Power woad have the entire command of
the commerce of the Baltic•with the rest of the
world. The possession of Constantinople even was
not so important as the possession of Copenhagen.
It was therefore most important for the independence
and security of Great Britain as a maritime Power
that Denmark should be in the hands of a respon-
sible neutral Power—a power which was able to
resist any immediate attack, and which, if
attacked by other Powers, would meet with a
degree of support which would enable them tomains
tain its independence. Sir Archibald next referred to
the closer tie which had been formed between this
country and Denmark by the recent marriage of the
Prince and Princess of Wales. Had all the
rejoicings which attended that event been
forgotten ? This, he confessed, was to him a strong
bond of union, and he trusted the time would never
come when a bond of that description—a bond
which spoke to the best affections of the heart—
would be neglected by the British people. (Ap-
plause.) But it was a matter of great moment to
consider in what way the people of this country
would be regarded by the world if, without any
exhibition of interest, they allowed the father of
their future Queen to be dethroned by a foreign
Power. The cause of tho Danes, however, was in-
teresting not merely from political considerations
.—not merely from personal considerations in
connection with the illustrious Princess of that
house, but it was more deeply interesting
than all, in his estimation, from the justice
of their cause. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) (The
Germans had nothing in the world to do with any
part of Denmark, except that part of it (Holstein)
which was beyond the Eider ; and even in reference
to the German Princes of Denmark, they had no
right whatever to interfere in the private concerns
of the Danish Monarchy. He had read the Act of
Federation 1815 over and over again, and he could
state distinctly that there was nothing to be found
in it from beginning to end about any obligation to
establish a particular form of government. The only
thing stated on the subject was the single provision
that there should be State Assembles. Now, the pre-
text which the Germans put forth for entering the
German provinces was, that they did not like the Con-
stitution—they did not like a Constition al Monarchy
or a Constitutional Government so near to them-
selves. And to prevent that—to extinguish the
growth of freedom in Denmark—they made a pre-
text for invasion on the ground of what they called
the Federal execution. They further invaded Den-
mark proper, the position of which had been gua-
ranteed to the Danish Crown in 1720. They
invaded the province of Schleswig for the purpose
of securing " a material guarantee." They were
exactly in the position of pessons who should get
entrance to a house under pretext of law, and
having broken down the security of the house
should procceed to make themselves masters
therein. (Applause.) He submitted that it
could never be the interest of this country
to see with indifference so great an injustice
committed by powerful States upon a weak one.
He did not at all say that it was the duty of Eng-
land to go forth as a knight-errant to take up the
cause of the weak, wherever such a cause might
appear, but it was different when an instance of
oppression of this kind occurred, which was evi-
dently the commencement of something much more
serious, for the Germans did not bring 100,000 men
to the banks of the Eider merely to calm an inter-
nal question. They had some other view. It was
the interest of all nations to concur, if they were
wise, in an endeavour to prevent the perpetration
of such injustice. He did not say this to show
that they should urge upon the Government
the immediate drawing of the sword ; his object,
and he was sure the object of all present, was
to prevent the necessity of going to war. He
was convinced that in the present state of the
world an expression of opinion by a great country
like England would be sufficient to check the evil
without drawing the sword. Bat if the opinion
were withheld—if the despots of the Continent
thought they could pursue their career,and swallow
up one small State after another with impunity,
the evil might come to our own door, and we might
be assailed by a combination of European Powers
without an ally. (Applause.)
The resolution was seconded by Mr. Andrew
Bannatyne, Dean of Faculty, and unanimously
agreed to.
Mr. HENRY DUNLOP afterwards moved, " That,
in addition to what has been already done, a general
subscription should be opened in Glasgow for
the
wounded Danes, and the families of those who hay.
died in the defence of their country."
This motion also was unanimously agreed to;and
a committee was appointed to carry out its recom-
mendation.
The meeting afterwards separated.

TILE QUEEN V. KING AND HEENAN.—The in-
dictment against King, Heenan,
and others con-
cerned in the great fight will be tried at the Lewes Sessions,
before Lord Chichester, on April 5. It will be recollected
that an application was made to Mr. Justice Shea at Cham-
bers to remove the indictment into the Court of Queen's
Bench, and the application was granted on terms. It
seems that some of the defendants have refused to contri-
bute towards the expense consequent on the removal, and
Mr. Beard, the attorney for King, has declined to take out
the wait of certiorari. Mr. Sergeant Tindal Atkinson
and Mr. Besley will defend King, Mace, and Tyler at the
forthcoming Levee Seesions.