New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-08-08
GERMAN UNITY.

To ne Editor Of The n. Y Tribune
SIR: / am sorry 70 find you in your last Mon
days paper repeating charge of centralizing
tendencies against the late German Revolution
a charge which is not founded in the facts of The
case. You say that "in 1913 each of the Ger
d" man States, being q distinct and separate
"whole, would, by touch of the wand, have
started into separate Republic, forming each
4" link in one great confederate chain
BY touch of what wand, if i may ask was this
to be eilectedi The street fights which had taken
place in almost all the European capitals, had, to
be sure caused great deal of CONSERVATION among
the crowned heads, and their habitual advisers.
In some of the smaller German States they had
even materially affected the fidelity of the troops
and Of the functiOnaries, who went over in num-
bers 10 the people. In such instances touch
of the wand certainly would have suffced. But
not SO in Austria and Prussia, where, at the bot
tom, the military and bureaucratic hlerarchles re-
manned mistaken in their absolutst organization.
To make Republics of those two Empires would
therefore have required something more than
touch of the wand-it would have implied the
breaking up of those two organizations, the mill
tary and the civil one, on which absOlutism rests
(not in the persons of the frightened princess
and nasmuch as both those States Austria as well
as Prussia, are in their whole existence nothing
but bureaucratic and military establishme nts col
lected from many pieces, and held together by
means of such centralzatiOn-it would have i'm
piled the breaking up of those two States them
selves. Which means 10 say, that to make Re-
publics of Austria and Prussia, as they are so far
from being the work of d touch of the wand, is
cmmercdl idea.
Austria and Prussia remaining, with more thar
a million soldiers between them and secure of the
assistance of all the forces of Russia, it was OBJ
vOusly useless for the people OF any of the smaller
States to attempt experimentation of their sep
arate little territories Wherever the attempt
was made it was put down by the Prussian and
Austrian armies. Under such circumstances the
universal instinct of the people-nOt of the PROBES.
sors-caled loud At the first day of the outbreak
for an organization of all the popular energies of
all the German States to assist each other against
the combined diplomatic and military forces of the
Courts, who cOnspred together for the complete
restoration OF the old order of things 1t this
what then was understood by the restoration Of
German unity Ii is extremely painful 20 find
that for such an attempt at popular union
against union of despOtic Governments, YOU have
nothing but sheer and naughty contempt of
difficulties which the want of such general no
ticns your articles bring to bear upon the subject
weud most sssuredly never have been able to solve
You must be aware that the idea of uniting all the
people OF Germany into one c0niederacy was by
10 means OF revolutionary birth, bu, that \ Ger
man conederacy did exist al the time, IS il still
does. But that confederacy was nothing more nor
less than union of all the German Courts for the
purpose Of assisting each other in keeping down
The people The representatives of the States
there assembled were representatives Of the
Courts-not of the people. To supersede such
permanent conspiracy by Congress OF popular
representatives and an Executive, with not as
much power over the single States as that OF the
limited States Government hereto embody 10
declaration of rights the inalienable Liberties OF
every German, and to place those Liberties under
the guarantee of Federal Government sgainst
the known tendencies Of the State Governments
what is there in such an attempt 20 give you
right 20 stigmGtize those who sgccuubed N
il as sham ststesmen--W whose professional
brains not sraTk Of genuine craftsmanship