The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-19 00:00:00

FORTH AND CLYDE NAVIGATION.

A meeting of the proprietors of this undertaking
was held in Gllszow ou Wedncsday—Mr, Neil
Robson presiding—to consider ta, bill now before
Parliament for amalgamating the caual with the

Caledonian Railway. The Chairman, in moving
the approval of the bill, remarked that the amalga-
mation would prove beneficial to both companies,
while it would be for the advantage of the public.
The motion was agreed to. By the terms of amal-
gamation it is provided that the canal company
shall receive in perpetuity a dividend of 61 per cent.
this being secured by a lien over their own under-
taking.

GERMANY AF CE R, THE WAR, OF 1866,

(From the Westnzinster Gazette.)

The men of the present day who take part in po•
litics are mostly so material that they have no eye
whatever for the corruption threatening the
German mind ; they do not know the German
people. The Middle Ages knew well where the
genius of the German people had built the
strongholds of its greatness and power, where,
above all, was to be found the purity and kindli-
ness of German manners—the fulness of German
spirit and poesy—the strength of German truth
and German valour. They knew well the limits
made by the Elb. Indeed, in any assembly of the
German people the ancient Frank of the Lower
Rhine (the Ripuarian) must not be wanting, nor
the stanch Saxon of the old time and the sober
Frisian either. But the land of the vigorous
Swabians, with the rest of Allemania as far as the
lofty Alps, and the lands of the true, stout-hearted
Bavarians, with their next of kin in Austria, to-
gether with bright Franconia, from the source to
the mouth of the Main ; these South German regi-
ons, naturally connected, it is true, with the Lower
Rhine, constitute the more beautiful and the nobler
portion of the German Fatherland. In the Tyrol
alone more of the old German character still sub-
sists than in all the lands to the east of the Elb.
For the Tyrol we would exchange, without hesi-
tation, the eastern half of the Prussian mon-
archy. Who can think of the Tyrol as Prussian,
as enslaved by Prussianism ? But the Bavarians
also, and the Swabians—how could they endure
Prussian supremacy ?
If the Italian game was to be played in South-

ern Germany, what should we have to expect
there but a state of things similar to that in
Naples ? Let her thank God that the deluge
was stayed on the Lower Main. Let her build as
many dams as she is able. It is possible, indeed,
that she builds in vain ; but the doing nothing,
or rather the pulling down of existing dams, will
certainly, least of all, yield help. The ancients
tell us that there were certain nations who fought
with the elements, that is to say, who went out
armed to fight against the thunder or the flood.
It was a folly, yet a manly and romantic folly.
But if the Southern Germans, to stop the threat-
ening spring-tide, throw down the dams—if with
bowed heads, slave-like, they invite the floods to
enter—where can future generations find fit com-
parisons to describe conduct like this of beings in
the form of men ? Even if such a calamity were
unavoidable, which, thank God, appears far from
being the case, they should call to mind in
Southern Germany how once the old senators of
Rome received the Gauls. But they are threat-
ened with a greater trial than that of an irruption of
the Gauls. The French cannot inflict injury so
deep as the Prussians. Taken on the whole,
they may conquer and oppress, but by no means
corrupt them in an equal degree. The Frenchman
has too little similarity with the German mate-
rially to influence him. The German nature wins
new strength in the conflict with the stranger
that is obtruded on it. By the oppression of Na-
poleon 1., although single individuals were cor-
rupted, long-forgotten national enthusiasm was
awakened throughout Germany. On the contrary,
a Prussianized Germany is no longer Germany. If
Prussian supremacy should endure for long, we
fear there would remain in Germany no greater
traces of its ancient splendid genius than re-
mained in Greece of the old spirit of the Greeks
after the military, well-trained Macedonians, men
of kindred race and language, but barbarians,
had enslaved the Hellenic genius. This genius
they made good use of in the execution of their
world-perplexing plans ; but, at the same time, it
was bruised and broken, falsified and corrupted
by them for ever.

We have detailed at some length the chief dan-
gers to be anticipated from a union of Southern
Germany with Prussia; that our readers might be
enabled to judge for themselves of the import-
ance of the contending opinions that now agi-
tate men's minds there. Every discerning reader
would now expect that in Bishop Ketteler's work,
which recommends this union with Prussia (al-
though under notable modifications, especiallY
in favour of Austria), weighty reasons would be
adduced for this alliance of the weaker States
with their very dangerous neighbour. But this is
not the case. In a warning allusion to France
we cannot acknowledge a weighty reason. For
whatever precaution might be desirable with re-
gard to France could be taken without having re-
course to this suicidal policy. On the contrary,
such a self-surrender to Prussia would only irri-
tGaetermaFnryantchea,
tanwdoueldallhefnoertfiht aFrraenaccetioanlonine.oNuotSlri
does Bishop Ketteler's reflection at all edify us
that " the most disastrous events bring some
good in their train." It might pass as a joke if a
man, whose legs were shot off, were to be consoled
with the remark, that no one in future could
tread on his corns ; but the situation of Austria is
very serious, aendh;entchefeorretfloirew,
will
ltheno consolationlonirer be
offered, that sh
disturbed from without, sounds to our° ears
rather Napoleonic. Again, it is, indeed, true
that " originally the sovereignty of these princes
of the German Empire was not perfectly legiti-
mate ;" but here we are unwillingly reminded of
it, just at the moment when Prussia, who has
sinned as hath no other State against the em-
pire and the unity of the nation, is crushing
underfoot sovereignties, at least, equally well en-
titled as its own, not sparing a shred of their
ancient territorial supremacy. We are far, in-
deed, from approving the party politics of the
South German States, but the same political
degradation has been long since observable in
Prussia, and now what, forsooth, does Prussia
offer to view ? Compared with the Prussian
doctrinaires, armed to the teeth and dripping with
blood, the South German doctrinaires appear
almost like good-natured fools !
A connection with Prussia were, indeed, some-
what seductive to good Catholics, if it freed them
from the burden of that omnipotent State author-
ity which weighs them down in Southern Ger-
many ; but on that account to give a prince of
Southern Germany advice which tended to his
ruin w ould be truly very unCatholic. Over and
above this it would be illusory to hope anything
for Catholic interests from Prussia. It is true that
in the new Prussian Constitution, which sprung up
under the influence of the Parliament at Frank-
fort, liberal principles are to be found with regard
to the interests of the Catholic Church. (We
should, however, by the bye, much prefer the state
of the Catholic Church in England to that in Prus-
sia.) But how long will these Prussian para-
graphs endure ? Throughout her history Prussia
has shown herself anti-Catholic ; it is her here-
ditary maxim to make use of the religious division
for her specific political aims. The fact, that in
all the Prussian universities not a single professor
in ordinary of medicine professing the Catholic
religion is to be found, is sufficient to convince
our readers of the enduring intolerance of Prus-
sia. This, too, at a time when, in the Catholic
States of Germany, Protestants are rather fa-
voured than discouraged ; when also, at least
with reference to Germany, religious differences
have no longer any political significance, and the
religions struggle has long passed into a con-
test between faith and unbelief. The dominant
Prussianism of the day is intimately bound up
with a hatred of Catholicism—that is, with a

hatred of Christianity, of which our distinguished
author gives a multitude of examples.
It was. the triumph of this Prussianism in the
past year that gave the signal to a more general
and enduring persecution of Catholics than we
had as yet experienced.
As early as the month of May Count Bismarck
allowed the 11'or•d-deutsche Zeitung to excite a