The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-24 00:00:00

great monarchies. Neither side displays moderation, or
shows any real wish for a compromise. As to Prussia, her
policy has been to form a lesser or new Confederation, leav•
ing Austria and her adherents out; whilst Austria makes
proposals which treat Prussia as a small State, of at least
no more importance than Bavaria. As long as the two great
Powers of Germany put forward such irreconcilable claims,
anything like common action, agreement, or result is impos-
sible. Let us, for instance, examine the proposal just made
at Frankfort by Austria. It reduces Prussia to a level with
Bavaria, and gives the one as much influence and as many
votes in the Federal Executive as the other. Austria con-
sents certainly for herself to take no more than either. But
Austria and Bavaria together have more votes than Prussia
and the rest of Germany together I In making such a pro-
position the Emperor of Austria and his ministers must
have known that Prussia, whether, under sane or unsane
Government, could never consent to it. Tho loss of a battle
of Jena would, indeed, scarcely induce Prussia to stoop so
low. And if Prussia did consent, Northern and Pro-
testant Germany would reuse to be thus placed in the
hands of the Catholic Powers of the South. It is needless
to discuss the other portions of the Austrian Constitution
for Germany,—a princely House of Lords to begin with,
that is, the Executive puffed out into a Legislative
Body ; and, moreover, this Princely Chamber giving the
power to nominate one-third of the representatives of
the people in the Lower Chamber ! Was ever anything so
preposterous and absurd ? Whatever may be the possible
amendments in the Constitution of Austria, most certainly
that which has been concocted and offered to Germany is the
most ludicrous abortion that ever came from the constitution
monger. We must confess to having thought the Austrian
Court cleverer. It would have been easy to put the King
of Prussia as much in the wrong with respect to Germany
as ha unfortunately is with regard to his own dominions.
And had the insulting offer of putting Prussia on a par with
Bavaria been accompanied by any real and liberal concession
to the German people, the Prussians might then•have been
hooted down as the great obstacles to Reform. But as it is,
Prussia can easily come forward to point out that the Aus-
trian proposal is a mere tub thrown to the whale, a play-
thing set before the Princes, a scheme not capable of being
realised, and utterly worthless if it were. Here, too, we find
an advantage of diversity over unity. If unity at present
prevailed in Germany, as it does in France, that unity would
be despotism. And such a scheme as that propounded by
the Emperor Francis Joseph might defy the criticisms of
the pre-s, because it would be in the fetters of a univers, 1
censorship. But now the Prussian press is free, when it
will, to expose the futility of Austrian legislation; as the
Austrian press has liberty to discuss the shortcomings of
the Prussian monarch. There, again, is the National Union,
a patriotic association of German Liberals. If the Govern-
ment were one, it would be soon put down. Whereas now
it contrives always to find a refuge and a place of meeting ;
if nowhere else, at least in the dominions of the Duke of
Baden, or the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, two potentates who are
staunch Liberals and Constitutionalists. We should, there-
fore, recommend the Germans to go in quest of liberty first,
and secure it, ere they insist too strongly on unity. This
was the loudest cry of the French in 1792. So they have
got unity as one of the results of the revolution; but it is
unity with a vengeance—unity that leaves no possibility of
stirring, or of thinking, much less of writing. Heaven de-
fend Germany from the unity that her neighbours have
won, and are contented to enjoy !
COURT JOURNAL.—The following is a complete list of
the Princes, &e., now in Frankfort for the purpose of
taking part in the Congress : The Emperor of
Austria, the Kings of Bavaria, Saxony, and Hanover,
the Crown Prince of Wurtemburg, Grand Duke of
Baden, Elector of Hesse, Grand Duke of Hesse, Prince
Alex,nder of Hesse, Prince Henry of Holland, the Duke
of Brunswick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
Duke of Nassau, Grand Duke of Saxe, Duke of Saxe-
Meiningen, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Grand Dake of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, the
Hereditary Prince of Anhault-Dessau, the Prince of
Schwartzburg-Sonderhansen, the Prince of Schwartzburg-
Rudolstadt, Prince of Lichtenstein, Prince of Waldeck,
Prince of Reuse (younger branch) ; the Burgomaster of
Lubeck (Herr Bremer), the Burgomaster of Frankfort (Dr.
Muller), the Burgomaster of Bremen (Dr. Ducknitz), the
Burgomaster of Hamburg (Dr. Haller), making altogether
21 Princes and four representatives of free towns. The
Kings of Prussia and Denmark, the Princes of Anhault-
Bernburg, Saxe-Altenburg, Reuss (elder branch), Hesse•
Homburg, Lippe, and Schanenburg-Lippe, who constitute
the remaining members of the German Confederation, are
neither present themselves nor represented by deputy. As
yet the Emperor, Kings, and Dukes at Frankfort have only
dined, but there was a ghost at their banquet; it sat in the
empty seat of the King of Prussia, for whom a cover was
laid; how will it mar the digestion and the spirit of the after
proceedings ? The speech of the Emperor of Austria was
simple and sensible. It spoke of general unity, banished all
thoughts of aggrandisement and robbing one another, which
was genteel, at least, and such as we are accustomed to in good
society in England. What is the object of unity if there is
to be no robbery ? Why, to act against a common outward
foe, we presume, and to act for the best internal interests of
the land. The liberal character of the Emperor of Austria
will secure the people their share of advantages in their in-
ternat arrangements; and the outward foe, whoever he
may be—and who can be be ?—must feel himself consider-
ably smaller by the Frankfort dining out of the Emperor,
Kings, and Dukes of Germany.