The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-29 00:00:00

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN.

(Fe cm, tine Times Correspond e,20
HAMBURG, Dec. 25.
The intelligence has just reached us that Lord
lkrodehouse'a mission has been successful, that the
:Ministry at Copenhagen has resigned iu a body,
and that the Rigsraad has been summoned to reas-
semble for the purpose of cancelling the recent Act
for the incorporation of Schleswig. It is further
stated that the King has het his capital iu order to
join the army in Schleswig. This requires confirma-
tion ; but should the news cited above prove to be
correct, there can be no doubt that a very serious
crisis is impending, and that very much still remains
to be done in order to avert all danger of war.
Let me endeavour to place the general bearings
of this very difficult Schleswig-Holstein question
before your readers, in order that they may judge
for themselves.
It will bo remembered that the subject already
attracted some attention in political circles previous
to the decease of the late King of Denmark in
November last. Rumours reached England that
the Ministry at Copenhagen had throughout a course
of years violated the engagements contracted by
Denmark in the much talked-of London Protocol
in 1852; that she was systematically encroaching
non the rights and privileges of the German
Duchies united under the Danish sceptre—so much
so, indeed, that Holstein had represented her
grievances to the German Confederation, of which
that Duchy is a member, and that the Frankfort
Diet contemplated exercising the legal right of in-
tervention belonging to it. This measure, long de-
bated upon, was still only under consideration when
Frederick VII. suddenly died. With him the male
decendants of the elder branch of the house of
Oldenburg, which has occupied the throne of Den-
mark for four centuries, died out, so that the provi-
sions of the Treaty of 1852, which had been framed
in anticipation of this event, were called into force.
But the right of succession in Denmark proper differs
from that in the Duchies precisely in the same
manner as that which prevails in the House of
Brunswick with regard to England and Hanover—
that is to say, whereas in Denmark proper in
de-
fault of male issue the female representative is
called to the throne, the German Duchies recognise
the male line only.
This fact, so opportune at the
present moment, has been seized with great avidity
by the mass of the German people, who are endea-
vouring by the external pressure they are able to
exercise to forcehe their respective Governments to
claims of Duke Frederick of
support—first, t
Augustenburg, the present pretender to the duke-
dom of Schleswig-Holstein; secondly, to claim the
inseparable naion of the Duchies (Schleswig and
Holstein) between themselves under his sceptre—
e,e., to sever them entirely from Denmark. Thus,
you see, the question has two distinct bearings, both
resting more or less on the London Protocol of 1853.
That Treaty re-established the rights and privileges
of both parties—Denmark, on the one hand, and
the German Duchies on the other, as existing ante
bellum (1848.9); but Danmark has notoriously dis-
regarded this point, and recently consummated a
series of acts of encroachment by the formal incor-
poration of Schleswig. Hence the interference of
the German Confederation (whose duty it is to up-
hold the rights of each and all of its members),
which has led to the military occupation now in
course of execution.
The same Treaty (1852), with a view to preserve
the integrity of Denmark, also entered upon the
subject of succession. The difficulty which has
jest arisen was first mooted by Christian VIII.,
in 1846, in his Letter Patent addressed to
his subjects. The intention expressed in that
letter with regard to succession in Schleswig only
—a step calculated eventually to separate that
Duchy from Holstein—formed one of the causes of
the outbreak in 1848. Christian died in January,
1848, and was succeeded by Frederick VII., the
late King. On the assembly of the representatives
of the five great Powers and of Sweden after the
-War of Independence, which had been raging in
different phases for three years, had been put a stop
to by the armed intervention of Austria and Prussia
in 1851, the question of succession, as before stated,
was brought prominently before them. The last
male representative was now upon the throne, and
the difficulty stared them in the face. In the pro-
bable eventuality of the decease of King Frederick
without issue, the Crown of Denmark, according
to the existing law of succession, would devolve on
his sister, married to the Langrave of Hesse-Cas-
sel, and still living. But the Duchies recognize
no female Sovereign, and might by their law pro-
claim the Duke of Augustenburg the legal represen-
tative of the junior line after the extinction of the
elder. Holstein, in virtue of oldhistorical connexion
and of a nationality exclusively German, is, with
Lauenburg, a member of the German Band, She
claims the rights, too (which the Danes up to the
present time have certainly recognised), of insepar-
able connexion with the sister Duchy of Schleswig;
but Schleswig has never been represented in the
German Bund ; on the contrary, at an earlier
period of her history, she was for nearly two centu-
ries incorporated with Denmark ; but on the acees-
ken of the House of Oldenburg to the throne by
election in 1460,the old existing state of things was
restored, and since that time the intimate connexion
between the Duchies has hitherto been successfully
asserted and maintained.
e sett,
itewsion of the Augustenburg line would not
only
:Schleswig to the entire independence of
former n'end Holstein, but wculd place the
side: that I'3, under the Confederation. Con-
of the inhabiter:e third, in round numbers,
e of Schleswig are Daces, consider
too that such
a result is equivalent to the reduction
of the Denish mooahY,
which is considered to be
it
of en vital iniporte
nee
to the present political
system of Europe, to After insignificance, and you
will
easily understand w Srit
that Denmark has
so perseveringly endeavoured
to incorporate or
Danize Schleswig on the 0..
and, and why Hol-
stein has so steadily maintained band,
her connection with
the sister Duchy in order to e.
nationality and historical traeitZs,ierve their joint
on the other.
Such, then, was the difficult/
pith which the
Great Powers had to deal in 1852. The result of
the labours of their representatives,.
that the
present occupier of the Danish throne, 61,4,'
thelX.,
married to Louise, only daughter of the LleNvavine
of Hessen-Cassel, and named by king ?reeeriok
VII. as his successor, should, on the renuncietto„ of
their rights by that lady and her only son (the %tate
Landgrave of Hessen-Cassel), be recognised bYthee,
on the decease of Frederick, as King of Dena-arle
and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, to the exclu
sion of the Augustenburg claims. These claims
could hardly have been so readily disposed of had
that Duke not taken so prominent a part in the
recent insurrectionary war ; his large estates bad
been confiscated, and he was consequently outlawed
and reduced to poverty. As future trouble might,
however, be anticipated from that quarter, the
Duke was called upon in return for a large sum
of money—three millions of rix-thalers—to execute
a document in which he declared that neither he
nor his family would offer opposition to the arrange-
ment effected. This he did, and received the
money accordingly; but his brother, Prince Augus-
tenburg-Hoer, protested immediately, and his son,
the present Pretender, protested in 1859.
In how far it was lawful, as an act of political
exPe4let'eY ind the interests of the integrity of
Denrealk nof the preservation of peace on the
part of the five great European Powers, and Swe-
den, to alter the
law of succession in the Duchies,
I must leave
others
_to determine; this much is cer-
tain,
in Dentoalic proper the validity of the ar-
rangement is
kindisputable, inasmuch as an Act
embodying the alteration
the Danish Diet, and re was formally laid before
n ratified but the Duchies
were not there represented,
and
,
ver laid the Germans assert
that it was ne before the -
Schleswig or Holstein. Estates of either
Anxious to ascertain the exact state of fee
ling in
Holstein for the last few days,
have been travel-
ling through that Duchy lt is evident that in the
towns the Garman party, ideas of union
with
f the Ger-
many, and of the elevations weAugustenburg
family to the dukedom of Schl ig-liolstein
and count pre-
dominate, but the landholders Y Popula-
tion have little sympathy with the supporters
of
the claims of Duke Frederick, and would remain

,rict.

contentedly under the rule of King Christian. The
Holsteiners have little to complain of at the hands
of the Danish Government. Under the ve! y eyes
of the Dani:h military the book shops teem with
brochures published in the Augustennurg cause,
portraits of the Doke himself are pu cly exposed
for sale, and political opinions are as freely broached
as if no Danish policy had power, and no Danish
muskets were piled in the guardhouses of the dis-

The Federal execution has hitherto taken place
with the greatest order and without any resistance.
An hour before the Federal troops arrive at the
various towns the Danes march out. Except for
the differences of the uniforms, one would imagine
that regiments were being relieved in the ordi-
nary course of military duty. On the de-
parture of the Danish troops the Duke Frederick
of Augusteeburg has been proclaimed in most
of the towns as Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, the
arms of Denmark have been quietly taken down
from the post-offices and custom-houses, and the tri-
colour flag hoisted in their place. Properly consti-
tuted committees have undertaken the management
of the duties of the local police and revenue depart-
ments, and have resolved to suppress any disposi-
tions towards riot or disorder.pTrohveidgeednerfaolrb
ythe
adminis-
tration of the Duchy is
Cammissioners of the Germanic Confederation, who
have taken up their quarters at Altona.
It is stated on reliable authority that the Duke of
Coburg has given permission for the organisation on
his territory of the volunteerarmy which is destined
to assert the claims of the Pretender. This fact,
together with the resolve of the Frankfort Parlia-
ment to report on those claims, is some proof of the
height to which German feeling has been raised on
this subject.
From the appearance of freshly-erected batteries
at Newmunster, an important strategical point where
the communications of the Duchy eentre, it may be
inferred that the Danes have only within the last
fortnight definitely decided to evacuate Holstein on
the approach of the Federal troops. No doubt, how-
ever, now exists that the Danish troops will fall
back to the line of the Eider, which is the frontier
between the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. It
is just on the cards that here a collision may take
place, for on the south bank of the Eider, on Hol-
stein territory, the Danes have thrown up a tete
du pont to cover the bridge leading into Frederic-
stadt. As this fortress is the key of the military
position, which, extending from the town of Schles-
wig to the mouth of the Eider, protects the south
frontier of the northern Duchy, the Danes will be
exceedingly averse to evacuate the work, and it is
loudly asserted that the Confederation are deter-
mined to insist on the occupation of every yard of
Holstein ground, and are fully prepared to support
,his demand by force. This for what it is worth.

The Recent Disturbances at G-ailclford,

At a special petty sessions, held at the To wn-hall,
Guildford, yesterday, before the Mayor and Messrs.
Adams, Cooper, and Sells, borough magistrates,
Mr. Henry Piper (late Mayor of Guildford) ap-
plied for compensation to the amount of £l7 lls.
for damage alleged to have been sustained by him
" by means of certain persons, riotously and tumul-
tuously assembled together, having on the evening
of the 21st of November last, between the hours of

11 and 12, at the parish of Stoke-next-Guildford,
feloniously demolished, pulled down, or destroyed
in part the house wherein he resided, thereby demo-
lishing and destroying the front door of such house,
and also demolishing and destroying the inside
shutters of a window of such house, and by break-
ing, demolishing, and destroying the glass and
framework of three windows, and the glass of an
inside door of such house, and the blinds belonging
to such windows, to the extent of the value above
stated."

Mr. J. R. Capron appeared for the claimant. In
his address to the Bench he stated that the proceed-

ings were taken under the 7th and Bth George IV.,
cap. 31, which was an Act for consolidating and
amending the laws relative to remedies against the
hundred in the case of property destroyed by a mob.
The second section of this statute provided that if
house, stable, coach-house, &c., should be "feloni-
ously demolished, pulled down, or destroyed, wholly
or in part, by any persons riotously and tumultu-
ously assembled together, in every such case the in-
habitants of the hundred should be liable to yield
fun compensation to the person or persons damni-
fied." Sections 3 and 8 pointed out the mode of
procedure to be adopted by the person damnified ;
and the Bench would fine that every requirement
of the Act in the matter of notices and the like had
been fully complied with by the claimant. He
should lay the facts of the case before them in evi-
dence, and then confidently rely upon their worships
to grant the compensation sought for in the present
instance.
The first witness called was Lewis James Har-
vey, clerk to Mr. Capron, who proved the signature
of the claimant to the eotices required by the Act,
and that they had been duly posted on the church
doors, and had remained there the proper time.
Police-constable William Sutton, of the Guild-
ford borough constabulary, was next called, and
deposed as follows :—I remember the night of
Saturday, the 21st of November. Between ten and
eleven o'clock on that night I was standing at the
bottom of Tun's-gate. I noticed that a great riot
took place against Mr. Weale's at about half-past
ten. There was a great crowd of persons, many of
them being masked and armed with heavy blud-
geons. They were battering in Mr. Weale's shut-
ters, and shouting, and making a great disturbance.
They were also discharging fireworks and throwing
missiles at the upper windows of Mr. Weale's,
house. I was proceeding up town, in the direction
,?f the disturbance, when I met Mr. Vickers, the
then superintendent of police, and I turned round
with him and walked up Tun's-gate, where I parted
with Mr. Vickers. While standing at Tun's-gate,
which is close to the entrance to the police-station,
three or four men in disguise came upon me,
knocked me down, and struck me three or four
times when I was down. I got up, however, and
endeavoured to defend myself with my staff, but I
was knocked down again, and struck both on the
body and the head. When I was on the ground I
heard one of the men say, " Murder the --."
then became insensible, and remember no more of
what occurred. lam unable to recognise any of
the men who assaulted me, but I saw that they were
armed with heavy bludgeons. I cannot describe
the weapons with which Mr. Weale's shutters were
'hacked, but I believe that they were bludgeons.
Mr. Henry Piper (the claimant) deposed—l
oct,,
of (.47 a house in the Merrow-road, in the borough
Novaratord. I recollect the night of the 21st of
I heard Shortly after 11 o'clock on that night
t noise and rattling at my shutters.
There Was
mob, ahould think, of from 50 to 100
persons asaes,Ate.
tilt:, and they made a fearful noise.
Stones were
vla which demolished the whole of
the bedroom windows and came through into the
° said I were in bed. The panels
of the front door Nve,,,
where my vi_
broken leaving nothing but
room
the bare frame sondietgl
side door was also in
frames and glass of the
whole of the windows viers t_to _
viau,
.pletely smashed. I
jured, and the shutters au:l`
. 'eh I found the same
the stair-Ho:Alt
night; one on another in the
produce three squib cases
Ink, but am not
quite sure—in the bedroom.
sitting-room, and the third—l%.
as very much
alarmed, and feared that the house
1"I'ld catch
fire,
as one of the carpets began to burn.- I Produce a
number of stones which were hurled into
into
the house,
and a thick black veil, with eyeholes,
wbi"' Was
found in my front garden, and which had dom, tleas
been worn by one of the rioters to prevent recem.
tion. After proving compliance
with the legal
forms required by the statute,
witness added
he had actually paid to repair the da,
'nage done
that
£l6 ss. 11d., iu addition to which he had sustained
other losses, which would wore than make up the
difference between that amount and the sum claimed.
Police-constable James Marshall, of the Guildford
borough constabulary, produced three bludgeons.
(They were formidable weapons, resembling the
spokes of a cart wheel ; they were weighted with
lead at one end, and had slings at the other to
attach them to the wrist.) Witness deposed to
having found them on the morning of the 22d ult.,
together with a quantity
of fantastic clothing,