The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-15 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TlMES.—Within a few hours the troops of the
German Confederation will enter the Duchy of Hol-
stein as the army of execution of the Frankfort
Diet. The Saxon contingent is on its march north-
wards, to be followed by that of Hanover, and
behind both are the Austrian and Prussian reserves
of 62,000 men,to act as supports in case the Govern-
ment of Denmark should attempt to offer any re-
sistance. The Danes will not, we trust, provoke a
collision with the great military P. were of Ger-
many, and peace may still be preserved; though to
occupy a neighbour's territory is, ire the present
state of Europe, a dangerous approach to hostilities.
As in 1848, " War" is the word in Berlin. The
Prussian army thirsts for an opportunity of dis-
tinguishing itself. Then, as now, the death of a
Danish Sovereign precipitated a crisis it was pos-
sible for the Prussian Government, involved in a
political conflict with the people, to turn to its own
advantage. Then, as now, the Prussian army was
moved to insure other objects than those avowed.
As another chapter in the military history of Prus-
sia appears about to be opened, the incidents of the
campaigns in the Duchies of 1848 and 1849 may
have some interest if recalled. The Russian and
Italian wars, Sebastopol, Solferino, and the san-
guinary battles of the American Republic have
been fought between the first German and Danish
conflict and the present time. As military events,
the engagements in the peninsula of Jutland do not
make a large figure in the retrospect; but in 1818
Europe had been at peace for thirty years, and was
startled by the first battles in the West since 1815.
A Schleswig-Holstein war opened the era of strife
through which we are now passing, and revives
again to complicate its dangers. Frederick VII.,
over whom the grave has just closed, ascended
the Danish throne on the 20th of January, 1848.
The Prussian revolution broke out in Berlin on the
18th of March. Between those two dates occurred
the insurrection in the Duchies which produced
the appeal to the Prussian Government for
assistance. The Danes were not prepared to
resist the movement in Holstein. The Go-
vernment had made no military preparations
to meet it. The opinion had prevailed
which the best policy was to trust the mass of the
people and the loyalty of the local troops. It was
believed that they would not be drawn into actual
rebellion. It proved a mistake in the case of an
insurrection begun by the officials, who were to the
masses the representatives of authority. In its
early stages the movement was the easiest of revo-
lutions. On the 23d of March, 1848, a Provisional
Government of the Duchies was formed. On the
24th the garrison of the fortress of Rendsburg was
summoned to surrender by the Prince de Noer and
a handful of men. Left without instructions, and
told that the King of Denmark was a prisoner in
the hands of the revolutionary mob of Copenhagen,
the troops made no attempt to resist, and gave up
the place. It was the first and last military achieve,
ment in which good fortune was entirely on the side
of the Provisional Government. By this stroke the
insurgents gained possession of a strong fortress, a
supply of arms, and £300,000 in money, which gave
them the means of holding out till help could be
obtained from Germany. When the intelligence of
the loss of Rendsburg reached Copenhagen, on the
26th of March,the Danish Government roused itself
to action. Troops were collected on the northern
frontier of Schleswig, and, in military enterprise,
the Prince de Noer went farther and fared worse.
From Rendsburg he led an incursion into the
northern Duchy. By this time the movement had
attracted a host of volunteers from Germany, whose
motives were as questionable as their appearance.
Under the name of " free corps" they made the war
support them, and soou became the most unwelcome
of liberators to the inhabitants. The most indifferent
half German farmer became fiercely Danish in
defence of his henroost and bacon store, and the
Provisional Government itself was at last compelled
to discourage these irregulars, enlist them in the
army afterwards organised, or otherwise get rid of
them. It was by a body of these volunteers that the
first defeat of the insurrection in the field was sus-
tained. They were attacked by the Danish troops
near Flensburg on the 9th of April, and easily dis-
persed, losing 850 killed and wounded. Iu this
engagement the first blood of the war was spilt.
The Danes, at this juncture, could have recovered
Rendsburg and suppressed the revolt, had the Pro-
visional Government been their only opponent. But
at the date of this first battle Prussian troops had
already entered Holstein. On the sth of April,
1,500 of the Prussian Guards took possession of
Rendsburg. The satellites of Prussia assisted her,
as they are doing now, and by the middle of April
a regular German army of 21,000 men occupied
Holstein. Denmark protested against an interven-
tion on behalf of an illegal and revolutionary Go-
vernment, but offered to accept the mediation of
Prussia in respect of Holstein on condition the
troops did not invade Schleswig. This offer was
rejected, and, authorised by the expiring Diet of
Frankfort, which ceased to exist a few weeks after-
wards, the Prussian General Bonin was ordered to
occupy Schleswig also. To carry out his orders he
had to fight the battle of Schleswig, on Easter-day,
April 23, 1348. The Danish army, of 11,000 men
and 30 pieces of artillery, held the town of Schles-
wig and the line of the ancient fortification called
the Dannevirlee. In recent years it has we believe
been repaired and strengthened, but was then little
more than a long mound, stretching from the narrow
creek of the Baltic that runs up to the town of
Schleswig to the marshy ground on the Treene, a
small river falling into the North Sea. It nearly
crosses the peninsula, but though described as a
work of great strength, there were great gaps worn
in it, rounded and grass grown, through which any
cavalry could pass at the charge without the slightest
difficulty. Along this line, on the ground to the north
of it, between the work and the town of Schleswig,
and in the town itself, the battle was fought. The
Prussian and German army numbered 27,500 men,
with 72 guns. The fighting was obstinate, but the
Danes were compelled to retreat northward, with a
loss of 1,200 men. From the beginning of May
the whole Duchy was occupied by the German
troops. The Danish army retired to the island of
Ale, and the Germans, now under the command of
General Wrangel, advanced far into North Jut-
land. He issued a proclamation on the 18th of
May calling on the inhabitants to pay /500,000
within ten days, but before the term expired he re-
ceived orders toi withdraw from Jutland, and no
part of the contribution was ever paid. Two months
of negotiation for an armistice ensued, all the great
Po were advising peace. On the Ist of August Den-
mark declared a blockade of the North Sea, and on
the 26th hostilities were formally suspended. In
April, 1849, the war commenced again. On the
sth of that month the Danes lost a line-of-battle
ship and a frigate which had ventured up the nar-
row inlet of the sea at Eckcrnforde and could not
return. One was burnt, the other captured. On
the 13th the Germans attempted to attack the
Danish position in the island of Als, but could not
force the narrow sound between Dyppel and the
island. They were repulsed with the loss of 150
men and two guns. The war extended northwards
again into Jutland, and the Schleswig-Holstein
army invested Fredericia, which they bombarded.
But the Danes, bringing troops into the place by
sea, made a sortie, took the insurgent's camp and
works, captured 31 cannon, and compelled them to
abandon the siege. On the 10th of July a second
armistice was concluded, and for twelve months the
whole question was kept in the hands of diplomacy.
Prussia, finding the war rather an embarrassment
than an advantage, withdrew from it altogether
by the "separate peace" with Denmark concluded
at Berlin on the 2d of July, 1850, and the Provi-
sional Government of the Duchies was left to fight
for its existence as it could. Its army was com-
manded by a Prussian General, Willissen; many of
the officers were Prussian, butino Prussian force re-
mained in the field. Then came the end. On the
14th of July, 1850, the King of Denmark issued a
manifesto, exhorting the Provisional Government
to yield to circumstances, and lay down their autho-
rity, with a full amnesty for the past. Having,
however, still an army, they determined to throw
for a last chance. The Schleswig-Holstein
troops took up a strong position a few miles
northward of the town of Schleswig, on some
wooded hills, and a line of small lakes on the
south edge of the heath of Idstedt. The Danish
army, advancing from Flensburg, drove in
the German outposts in a skirmish on the 24th of
July, and began the decisive battle at daybreak on
the 25th. Thirty thousand men on each side were
engaged. At
niliieji.sdedraabyiethperoDspanoetbsyohrtande
ebxrtoeknetnand
German centre, and the battle was irretrievablyn
lost. The Holsteinera retreated to Re!? dseob ge
e al
the Danes would not pursue thee%
territory. In the few weeks ofdde
followed the Holstein Generalising: twoPitcn attacksthe
t otheri°il that
oa nt
the Danish line, one at Missend
Fredericksburg, but in eves disastrously de-
fbeoatthe dD,
Duchies
e Ds il
afterMettrhke recovered
co Dlf
t teh
uhsebr.ri authoritysk et
he overd,
a second War
vpof rvohesisTe.l..h i.hfienotuerrensattional pride is flattered and our
increased
intelligence
aarne n e v
actioner-
;lour colonialpossessions,t h
of
ie w thout their drawbacks. The same mail
natioosal coot
wtub:cceilsubiquitynhoa sessmebhcirae:whueuwgnich•eereoran toirehr,
0,
thousandsuiplconno theu r Pside, brings us news which a column of
rinlessdirectly engaged
a force at 1
in New Zealand which a also of disturbances
re monopolising the whole
energies of
indicated the probabilitynumbers,Ourac-
countsdeparture
he part of the Maories from their ancient tactics,
and of a concentration of the main body of the

Waikatoes and their insurgent allies at a stronghold
called Meremere, within no great distance from
Auckland. The present mail brings but a partial
confirmation of a rumour which we always feared
was too good to be true. When the steamer left
there was indeed a " shave" that this mountain for-
tress bad been assaulted with success. But the re-
port, such as it was, needed confirmation, and all
that was known for certain was that Gen. Cameron
had received succours from all the Australian colo-
nies, and that another sloop of war, theEsk, had been
added to the force already upon the New Zealand sta-
tion. If, however, good news was scarce, as much,
unfortunately, could not be said for tidings of 011
opposite character. In two different quarters col-
lisions with the natives had taken place, and in Toth
all the advantages of the skirmish had rested Witl2
the insurgents. It would appear that upon the St°
September a party of Te Wheoro Wheoro's Wen,
one of the few chiefs who has sided with us spoil
the present occasion, were despatched in canoes
down the Waikato River, to convey some stores t.o.
a " pah" called Camerontown, which was manned
by their companions for Queen Victoria. In at-
tempting to land they fell into an ambush of the
enemy, who fired upon them with such deadly eff-1
that oat of 20 friendly Maories tour alone escaped'
Mr. Armitage, the resident native police magistrate,
fell at their head, and no less than 40 tons of coin
missariat stores were the reward of this daring en'
slaught upon the part of the insurgents. Nor Wan
this all. Immediately upon the receipt of the news'
a detachment of the 65th Regiment, stationed 0
Tuakau, was despatched, under the command of 6
captain and subaltern, to intercept the attacking
force. Why, with a knowledge that his opponents
consisted of some 200 old warriors of the Ngatitos:
niepoto tribe, a party of 50 men only were detained
for this perilous service, we are not informed. 'PI
result seems to have been that this ill-fated banA
were taken in their own snare. Before they bir
advanced far through the bush they were made
aware that they were in close proximity to an unseen
enemy. They were immediately " thrown into
ambush ;" but, after waiting some time, resume'
their march with fixed bayonets: Unfortunately'
their concealed adversaries, either with more Pe;
tience or more good fortune, bided their time, BP'
upon the reappearance of the party, fired a 01051
volley into them. The commanding officer fell
shot through the heart, and a running fight en;
sued which proved fatal to two more men, ev"
placed several others, as well as the remaining
commissioned officer of the party, hors de combat'
Darkness alone, and the steadiness of the sergener
left in command, seems to have saved the vibe°,
party, who, even as it was, had to hide the lifeles'
body of Catain Swift in the bush, as the 011,,11e
means of saving it from insult at the hands of t
Maories. Ten days later another affair took Owe A,"O
the old battle-ground in front of New Tiptoe"'
A column of Maories, 1,000 strong, suddenly °P°
peared before the place. Col. Warre, in order w
prevent an attack, ordered a sortie in the directia2;
of the Bell Block, and successfully repulsed 0,
enemy. In the meantime, however, a small detach
meat of the 57th, with Capt. Swift's party
in ambush" upon the south side of the town, fan
themselves, like him, circumvented by the Maorie°'
In due time they were reinforced by the main WI
of the troops, but not before several casualties PA
occurred, while the diversion thus created prov;
successful, and Col. Warre was compelled spiv,
abandon
abandon the Bell Block. Indeed,so little impressT:
seems to have been made upon the insurgents IV
the demonstration, that, when the mail left, fenr°
were entertained of a night attack upon the tovinl
for the protection of which the force stationed then
:
was said to be barely adequate. At head-quarte%
Gen. Cameron appeared to be steadily pursuing, 111;
original tactics. There was no doubt that the fli
columns had succeeded to a considerable extent,
driving the Maories within their own lines, an
they were now said fo muster about 2,000 strong
at Meremere. There, if anywhere, the princiP
struggle would take place. The great fear, linf
ever, confirmed by the very latest edvices, was t' ad
no stand would in the end be made anywhere, on,
that the first symptoms of a regular assault bonq
contemplated upon Meremere would be the sigl i a
for a general dispersion of the Maories into an
definite number of scattered and predatory bands'
It is ceedle,s to say how serious would be the CO::
plications involved were such a system to be pu..%
sued. The one sole advantage possessed at 9:
present moment in New Zealand by her Majesty;:
troops over their opponents in such a warfare :
the superior quality of their arms and the greatet.
facility which they have of obtaining arriminv`
tion. In knowledge of the country, in in:,
dependence of commissariat arrangements, in flee:
ness of foot, and in the lightness of his equipmen"
the Maori is indubitably the superior. Should seal"
tion draw to a head, it will be comparatively WI
to deal with it. But, split up into detached parties,
the insurgent bands can do an infinite amount of
mischief, and harass the troops out of their liveei
without presenting any very tangible point of re'
sistance. The war itself may be—nay, we believe,
is—inevitable, but it is not the less to be deplored-
While it drags its slow length along the best into'
rests of the colony are languishing, and a seriouo
check has been placed upon all its expansive ten:
dencies, That it will take a different turn we rather
hope than expect. In its present phase it is sirues
a proof of the proportions to which a " little via!,
may attain when it is waged by a savage and. 11,1 d
scrupulous race against those who must be gut
more or less in their proceedings by the maxims
civilised warfare.