New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-05-19
PREPARATIONS FOR NAPOLEON's COMING
WAR ON THE RHINE.
Ernm Onr Own Conespoudeut.


BERLIN, Nay I, 1860.
The notion that Louis Bonaparte is about to
put the German question on the tapis prevails here
among all classes of society. In to-days
NatioeaI Zeituag, correspondent even afrms that
he knows, from sources most authentic, that
Baduguet (as Louis Bcnaparte is familiary styled
at Paris) has definitely resolved upon a Rhenish
campaign, and that Lord John Russell had just
been informed of this scheme when, some weeks
ago, he rose from bis seat to brighten the House of
Commons by fierce invectives against the Emperor
of the French, and the sudden announcement that
England was now goingin searchfor new alliances.
The tone and temper of French semi-ofiicial prints
are far from allaying theee apprehensions. Read,
for instance, the following extract from Buffers
Correspondence, Paris publication from which
most of the provincial journalists in France derive
their inspiration:
"A friend of mine, who s addicted to prophetic
pleasantries said to the other day. You'll see the
Emperor 60 the Rhine TO offer his alliance TO the
King of Prussia coupled with slight rectlh alton OF
frontiers replied by quotation from the panph-
let NapoLOn III. ctr Hdiie: II is better to settle
Territorial modification in friendly way than TO have
to do it the day after victory"
Not long after the treaty of commerce with En-
gland was concluded, the French Government
threw out hint to the Prussian ambassador at
Paris that an application for similar treaty be-
tween France and the Zolveren would be favora-
| bly received but the Prussan Government answer
ING that the Zollverein was not at all DESTROYS to
make such treaty, surprise and dlspeasure were
| expressed in terms far from courteous. Moreover,
the Prussian Government was at the time, fully in
| 4 Al ot,n htnh fha nf
Louis Bonaparte had recently opened with the Ba-
| yaIian Count in order to induce the latter to cede
| TO France the fortress of Landau, which, it was
| said, having been left to France by the treaty OF
| 1914, had been unjustly taken from her by the
treaty of 1914. The popular rumors OF an mpend-
ing rupture with France are, consequently strength
| ened by official suspicion.
| Prussia's position at present bears, in some re-
spects strong likeness to that Of Austria after the
| conclusion of the Oriental war. Austria seemed
| then to have got off best OF all the Powers. She
fattered herself that she had hHmbled Russia, her
dangerous neighbOr, without mourning any trouble
| beyond the mobilization of her forces. Having
PLAYED the armed mediator while the Western Pow
ers had to bear the brunt of war, she might after
the proclamation of peace, fancy she had broken,
| by the arms of the Western Alliance, the ascen-
| dency Russia had won over her since the Hunga-
rian events of l649 and there were indeed at that
| time many compliments bestowed upon the clever
| diplomatic tactics of the Vienna Cabinet In point
| of fact however the ambiguous attitude main
tanned by Austria during the Oriental war, left her
| without allies, and enabled Louis BOnaparte to
| locaIize the Italian war. Prussia, in her turn
maintained her resources intact during the Italian
| war She shoudered her arms, hut had not used
them, and contented herself with sping, instead of
blood. the patient ink of her political wiseaeres.
After the peace of Vilafranca, Prussia seemed to
have weakened the rival House of Hapsburg
through the fundamentally of French victories and
opened to herself the road TO paramount power In
| Germany. Still, the very pretexts which the
! treaty of Fiafranca was proclaimed ought to have
| rent the delusions she labOred under. While Louis
BOnaparte declared that Prussa's ornaments and
threats OF an eventual intervention had blunted the
word Of France, Austria declared that her own
power Of resistance had split upon the equivocal
neutrality Of Prussia During the whole war,
Prussia had displayed pretensions ludicrously
trsdicted by her acts. Before Austria and the mi
nor German States she appealed to her duties as
European power; before England and Russia she
appealed to her obligations the paramount Ger
man power; and, resting her claims on these
double professions, she demanded from France to
be acknowledged as the armed mediator of Europe.
To her claims as the German power par eIceltenoG,
she acted up by allowing Russia to ntmidate in u
circular of unprecedented nsClence the minor Ger
courts, and by timidly listening, in the person
of Herr Won Schleinitz, to Lord John RusseFs flip
pant lectures on the constitutional law of ma
tons.
Her claims as European Power she made good
by hushing up the warlike impulses of the minor
German princes, and by an attempt to turn the
military defeats of Austria into many titles for
usurpng the place formerly held by her rival in the
councils of the German Confederation. When ut
last forced by the progress of the French arms, to
assume something ike a warke attitude, she met
with the cold resistance of the minor German
States, which hardly thought it worth while to dis
simulate their distrust as to the ultimate Intentions
of the Prussian Court The peace of Villafranca
found Prussia completely insulated, not only IN Eu-
rope, but in Germany, while the subsequent annex
alton of Savoy by greatly contracting the exposed
front of France, greatly improved her chances OF
victorious campaign on the Rhine.
Under these circumstances, the line of policy
which Prussia now affected to follow, both IN her
internal and external relations, appears alike faulty
Despite all the vain glorious decamat0ns of the
Prussian newspapers and Representative Chambers,
nothing has been altered in her internal affairs, save
the phraseology of her officials. The propositions
army reform, while not at all strengthening her
military force for the impending emergency aim at
permanent enlargement of the standing army,
already too large; the Oyerburdening Of the financial
resources already overstlaned and the humiliation
Of the only democratic institution VI the country
the Landwehr. All the reactionary laws on the
press the right Of association, the municipal adj
minstratOn, the relations of landlords and peasants
the bureaucratic tuelage the ubiquty of the police,
have been carefully maintained Even the infamous
statutes relating to marriages contracted between
mobiles and the common stock Of mankind, have not
been rescnded. The very idea Of restoring the |
Constitution, overthrow by coup d fat, is hooted
at as o wild dream
j will give you one single instance of the civil
liberty now enjoyed by Prussan subject. A native
of Rhenisb Prussia had, during the worst period
of the reaction, been condemned by packed Jury,