The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-11 00:00:00

And, abnormal, irksome, and embarrassing as the
actuatsituation undoubtedlyis, there remains in it a
certain security which Austria appreciates, and which
Prussia may find is still capable of moderating her
ambition. There are, in fact, obligations that, if
not avowed, are understood, and which render a
reference to the arbitration of the sword impolitic.
On the other hand, however, the circumstance that
hostilities are avoided on such considerations is in
itself significant. That which is now a subject of
congratulation may hereafter be regarded from an
entirely different point of view. It is evident
enough that Austria and Prussia are restrained by
arguments which they admit reluctantly. If they
were in a position to fight out their quarrel it is im-
probable that the interests of Germany would be
suffered to stand in the way. As it is, too, they are, as
they think, mutually requiring strength for an inevit-
able struggle. Prussia seeks to annex the Duchies for
the purpose of obtaining a preponderance of power
in the Federal Diet, and Austria is rallying all the
forces of her empire. Immediately they are not
prepared for a conflict, nor can they make certain
that it would be tolerated by the neighbouring
Powers ; but eventually, like the war -with Den-
mark, the controversy may be revived and decided
when the European system of police happens to be
out of working order. For many years past Austria
and Prussia have governed Germany by a series of
compromises between themselves. The latter Power
is, it would appear, now desirous of putting an end
to this anomalous arrangement. Prussia, in reality,
aspires to German sovereignty, and on the ground
that Austria, although recognised as a great Euro-:
pean Power, is properly but a secondary State in
the Germanic Confederation. The Prussian people
are, it seems, on the whole, in accord with the King
and his Ministry on this point. The Liberals are
not disposed to assist Herr von Bismarck in any
enterprise, no matter how much they may desire
its success ; but they conceive, and it must be said
reasonably, that Prussia would gain not only power
but constitutional freedom by the association. And,
in that sense, the realisation of the Prussian idea
might also prove advantageous to Germany. It is,
indeed, not unlikely that it would, if the indispen-
sable conditions of such a modification were com-
plied with. But, in the form suggested, it means
neither more nor less than the aggrandisement of
the Prussian monarchy at the expense of the inde-
pendence of Germany. German independence, it
may be contended, is not worth much, and, in
truth, it is the shadow of a lost substance • still,
it does not lie in the mouth of Prtissia to deplore
a state of things which her policy has most mate-
rially contributed to bring about. The Prussian
Government has coerced Saxony, made Hanover
her instrument, lorded it over Hesse and Baden,
and not only seriously interrupted Bavaria and
Wurtemburg because Austria and Russia might
have resented its interference. But the indepen-
dence of Germany, as it is internationally inter-
preted, constitutes a guarantee which it is manifest
Europe would not be justified in exchanging
for a simple Prussian bond, and the force of the
guarantee consists mainly in the non-German power
of Austria. This may be an anomaly; but, if ano-
malies are to be abated, there is an abundant crop
of them bending to the sickle. Austria is the.weight
in the balance against Prussia, and the object of the
Confederation was to preserve the equilibrium. It
may be expedient to revise the settlement, but the
revision must comport with the 'end originally con-
templated. Austria and Prussia are almost equally
averse from pressing directly to a solution the ques-
tion that has become conspicuous through their dif-
ferences. The hesitation of Prussia is quite intel-
ligible' but it is not so easy to apprehend the motive
of the Austrian policy. Herr von Schmerling ima-
gines, indeed, that at no remote period Germany
will be governed from Frankfort by a Representa-
tive Assembly, and, if Austria felt competent to play
this as her trump card, it would serve to test the
consistency and the patriotism of the Prussian Libe-
rals. The casting vote might be virtually in their
hands. But it is idle to speculate -on a German
Republic, for that it would be in all save the name,
as the result of another Jena or even a repetition of
the Olmutz penance. The difficulty experienced in-
connecting the Old World with the -New by means_
of electricity is not greater than that which impedes
the union of Germany. If Prussia were guided by
a Cavour her chance of success would not warrant
the attempt ; and if Austria cannot rely on Germany
to resist the Bismarck policy,. she may well .despair
of German support at any future period.. • It is rea-
sonable to assume that Prussia is now in a state, of
transition. The nation is submitting teen Govern-
ment the days of which are numbered. Moreover,
the reconstruction of Germany on the model of the
United States is. a transparent illusion. Prussians
and Bavarians, and Saxons and Hanoverians, have
all distinctive ideas of independence. German
unity is a poetical and professorial dream. All
that is substantial in• the theory admits of a
thoroughly practical explanation. However it
may answer to its European purpose, the
Germanic Confederation is to the Germans a
barren and useless institution. The Federal Diet is
powerless in the presence of Austria and Prussia),
and the connection it establishes between those
powers only tends, through their irreconcilable an-
tagonism, to retard the progress and- prejudice the
interests of Germany. This fact shines clear through
all the obscurity of the existing entanglement. It
is the point that immediately arrests observation,
the source of the altercation, and the Cause of its
protraction. The Diet is, in the first instance, re-
sponsible for an unrighteous war, a war undertaken,
as is now admitted, in pursuance of an illegal
assumption ; and that which had its origin in demo-
cratic passion has so far resulted in the ascendancy
of unmitigated despotism. In the consequent com-
plications the sentence of retributive justice is dis-
tinctly pronounced, and the warning is as emphatic
as the judgment is stern. At Gastein, or at Salz-
burg, a hollow truce may be concluded, but the
peace of Europe cannot be permanently ensured ,
while the touchwood foundation of the German Go-
vernment is the battle-ground of two great military
powers.