New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-02-12

this, so far as regards Bolstein, the rights OF its
Representative Assembly were expressly guaTan-
teed. Upon these conditions, the federal troops
which had occupied HOlstein were withdraw.
The Danish Government executed IFS promises
in most eyasiye way. In Schleswig, the south
ern half is exclusively Gcrman; in the northern
half, all the towns are German, while the coun-
try people speak corrupted Danish dialect, and
the written language, from time immemOral, has
almost everywhere been German. BY the con-
sent of the population, process of Germaniza-
ton has been going on there for centuries; so
much so that, with the exception Of the most
northcrly border districts even that portion of
the pf asantry who spepk Danish dialect (Which
ia, however, so far distant from the written
Dani.h as TO be easily Ineligible to the German
inhabitants Of the South), understand the written
High German better than the written Danish
language After 1851, the Government divided
the country into Danish, n German, and n
mixed district In the German district, German;
in the Danish district, Danish was to be the ex-
elusive official language OF tho Government the
courts Of law, the pulpit, and the schools. In
tho mixed districts both lnnguagues were to be
equally admissible. This looks fair enough but
the truth is that, in establishing the Danish dis
trict, the written Danish language wos forced
upon population the great majority of whom
did not even understand it, and only desired 10
be governed, tried, educated, chrstened, aud
married in the German language. However, the
Government now opened n regular crusade for
! the Hcrdng out Of all traces Of Gormanism from
the district iorbdding even private tuition in
families in any other than the Danish language;
and sought Of the same time by mere indirect
means. in the mixed district to give the Danish
language the preronderance. The opposition
created by these measures was very violent, and
an attempt was maize to put it down by a series
of petty acts Of tyranny. In the small town Of
EckcruiGrdc for instance about $4,000 fines
were ut once inflicted for the crime Of uulawfnIly
pelitouing the Representative Assembly; aud all
the parties fined WERE as eOHviets, declared to
be deprived of their right of voting. Still, the
population and the Assembly persisted aud now
persist in their opposition.
In HOstein, the Danish Government found it
impossible 10 make the Representative Assembly
vote any taxes unless they granted concessions in
a political and national sense. This they would
not do; neither would they do without the rev.
ennes Of the Duchy. In order, therefore, to
manufacture some legal grouLd on which to levy
them. tLey conyoked Council Of the Kingdom
an assembly without any representative character
but supposed TO represent Denmark proper
Srhleswg- IIolstein, and Lauenburg. Although the
IIol.teiners refused to attend this body voted tie
taxes for the whole monarchy and, based upon
this vote, the Government assessed the taxes to
be- paid IN Ilol.trin Thus IIol,tciD, which was
to be no independent aud separate Duchy Wa
deprived Of all political indt pcndence and made
subject to an Assembly prominently Dani'h.
These are the grounds on which the German
press, for FIVE or SIX years past, have called on
the German Governments Ia employ coercSc
measures against Denmark. The grounds, in
Themselves, are certainly good. But The German
prcss--that press which was allowed to exist
during the reactiouary period after lciy-mcrely
used Schlcswig. liolstcln as 4 means of popular
I ity. IL was indeed very cheap TO hold forth IN
high Indignation against the Danes when the
I Guycrumcbts ct Germany allowed lt-ihosc Gov.
ernmeAts which at home tried TO emulate Den
mark in petty tyranny. War aeainst Denmark
was the cry when The Cr.mean war broke out.
War against Denmark again, when Louis NaPo-
leon invaded Austrian Italy. Now, then, they
will have il all their own way. The new era
in Prussia hitherto 20 coy when called upon hy
the liberal press in tlis instance chimes in with
it, The lew King Of Prussia proclaims to the
world that he must bring This old complaint TO
settlement; the decrcpit Diet al Frankfort puts
all is clumsy machinery in motion for the sllga
ton Of German nationality, and the liberal press
-trumphs No such thing Tie liberal press,
now NJ once put 10 the te.t, eats its words,
cries out, Caution discovers that Germany has 40
feet whcrew!th TO Eight the ships of Il naval
power and especially in Prussia, shows all the
SYMPTOMS Of cowardicc. What few months
ago was an urgent patriotic duty, is now all of
a sudden an Austrian intrigue, which Prussia ia
warned not to give way TO.
That the German Governments, in their sudden
enthusiasm for the cause of Schleswig- IlolsteD,
are in the least sincere u.s. of course, out Of the
question As the Danish DGP6igGd says: " We
oil know that it il one Of the old tricks of
" the German Governments to take up the
- Sclesw.g-IIoslen question n soon as they
feel themselves to be in wait Of little popu-
" larity and to cover their own manifold sins
"by drawing bills upon the iauaticism against
:" Denmark This has been decidedly the ease
in Saxony, and TO a certain extent il Is now the
ease in Prussia. But in Prussia the sudden
starting Of this question also signifies, evidently,
"a.