The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-24 00:00:00

Mr. Aytoun, M,P., on the Danish Question

In an address to his constituents at Kirkaldy, on We
nesday, the hon, gentleman said—With regard to the Dano
German question, he thought that the feeling was generally
prevalent throughout the country that Government, in de-
clining to involve us in war, had arrived at a sound and
wise conclusion. (Applause.) He was of opinion that very
considerable misapprehension had prevailed for a long time
as to the quarrel between Germany and Denmark with re-
spect to the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. He thought
that at the time the negotiations wore going on, and until
the debate in July bad given an opportunity for the ex-
pression of the ideas of persons who held different, and, in
some cases, diametrically opposite opinions upon this sub-
ject, the whole question was very considerably misunder-
stood. And to his mind one of the most extraordinary and
most erroneous impressions which prevailed was that we
might have conferred a great boon upon the Danes; that
we might have gone to their assistance and enabled them to
escape the calamities which had befallen them without in-
curring any great risk, or at all events without being in-
volved in a war of any great magnitude or any very long
duration. Now, he thought that this was a most erroneous
impression. Some people imagined that in undertaking a
war in defence of the Danes we should have had:to oppose
the force of the two despotic Germanic Powers—Austria
and Prussia. And he had heard Lord Palmerston blamed
since the conclusion of the session for taking what was
called " low ?ground" on this matter. Lord Palmerston
stated that in the event of us having gone to war we should
only have been able to send 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers to the
Duchies to defend the Danes, and that we should have been
opposed to an army of such magnitude that our 40,000 or
50,000 would not have been able to effect any considerable
result against the force that would have been opposed to it.
Now it appeared to him that Lord P almerston was quite
justified in the assertion which he made. He (Mr Aytoun)
did not think it could rightly be desci ibed as taking " low
ground," for a nation before going to war, to form an esti-
mate of the forces which it could spare for the struggle,
and of the strength of the force which it had to meet.
(Applause.) With regard, again, to the impression which
had prevailed that we should only ha 70 had to oppose the
two great despotic Powers, he n Lust also be allowed
to say that that was also a con rplete mistake. He
believed that we should not only pave been opposed to
those Powers, but also to the entire population
of Germany. Mr Aytoun pi .oceeded to give a
lengthy statement of the history of ' the Dano-German ques-
tion, and to sketch the circumstant ses out of which the dif-
ferences across that ultimately issue din the war in Denmark.
He traced the connection which hi id existed between Den-
mark and the Duchies, and show, xi that the relationship
between them had always been of a complicated character,
arising, among others, out of the e liffi,rent orders of succes-
sion that prevailed in Denmark as tti the Duchies. He be-
lieved that for the last 20 years gre zif dissatisfaction had pre-
vailed in the Duchies against the GI ivernment of Denmark.
He bogged it moreover to be borne i i mind that in Germany
what was called the principle of nationalities had been
adopted with great ardour by the pc ople. Over all Europe,
in fact, there seemed at present a gri eat desire among popula-
tions of the same race to become um ited under the same Go-
vernment. A feeling prevailed ant )ng the German people,
not only to unite all the different za embers of the Confede-
tiou more age!), together, but to 41 Aw iatt) that tug= those