The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-06-14
OH a R l. E S TO N.
THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE II, 1866.
THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE.

the moSt clVllZed people On tne BloDe are nan g
ing in the scale at this time,-shortly to DO do :
cided by their serene highnesses at the approach
ing Conference in Paris. The oyes Of the world
arc turned to the French capital. Shall the many
vexed and complicated questions that for years
have been harassing the Courts and people Of
Europe, be brought to peaceful solution by these
wise and experienced diplomatists, must the
illogical sword again DO resorted to as the arbiter
between contending nations, the most enlightened d
in Christendom? The sword, it is said, is the
ultima ratio,-t deruier resort, always at hand,
and yet it decides nothing. 1t is the expire ssion
Of brute impulse whereas men can only be ruled
or convinced by force of reason. Shall mankind
ever be relieved OF this crest incubus? Will the
golden period ever make it's advent,
Parliament of man. tho federation of tho world;
the kindly earth shall slumber Tapped in universal
law"
The gigantic proportions of the general Euro
pean war, about to be inaugurated, are 80 fearful
as almost to stagger reason. If the difficult
ties that have convened the Congress shall fail to
be peaceably adjusted, there will be struggle,
such as the world has not seen in fifty years;
and if the modern appliances and facilities
for destroying human life are brought into con-
sideraton, it must be acknowledged that the ap-
preaching collision will far surpass any in the
history Of man. That such dire calamity may
be averted must be the devout prayer of every
well wisher of his race IF the crowned heads Of
Europe cannot find better uses for their subjects
than make them food for villainous saltpetre, we
hope they will send them across the briny main,
to till these western wilds. There is work enough
here, and bread enough for all.
But to return to the Conference. We will now
look at some of the most important questions to
be brought before it: 1. venetia. 2. Schleswig
Holstein. 8. The proposed reorganization of the
German Confederstioa; and 4. The Danubian
Principalities. The adjustment of each OF these
questions is calculated to affect the "balance of
power" and therefore the peace of Europe.
Venetia was guaranteed to Austria by the treaty
of 1885, the Emperor's title is as good (on the
"right divine" principle) as that of the Queen OF
England to the possession Of the Kingdom of Ire
land and certainly better than the title of France
to Nice and Savoy; that is, if years Of recog-
nized possession can strengthen title. Tho first
serious attempt made to cxpel the Austrians was
in 1848, when the Yenetians caught the prevailing
revolutionary epidemic. This effort was frowned
upon by every crowned head in Europe. 1t was
viewed as mere insurrection against lawful and
established authority, and incontinently quashed.
The French-AustroItalian war in 1859, however,
changed the aspect of affairs. Lombardy was
wrested from its hitherto lawful possessor, and
incorporated with Sardinia,-more recently styled
the Kingdom of Italy. The Italians have been
long impatient of the German yoke, and the whole
Peninsula may be considered unit as regar ds
their preference in the matter.
This, however, as we have already remarked,
has not heretofore been the method pursued by
European sovereigns in settling such questions.
II we are not much mistaken, the Poles have, at
sundry times within the last few years, signi6ed
desire to recover their autonomy, but we are not
aware of their wishes having been responded to,
save at the point Of the Russian bayonet, or from
the cannons mouth. 1t is but just to the Czar,
however, to say that he has never been very pro-
fuse in his professions Of Democratic principles.
The French have set the great precedent of popu-
lar sovereignty. There has been, since 1880, no
King of France, but King of the French. The
Government is not only constitutional, but to all
intents and purposes elective. The present EN-
peror pretends to other title for his crown than
popular suffrage. He is the the great patron of
oppressed nationalites. And yet do we not believe
that even he is prepared to carry the doctrine to
it's logical conclusion. Suppose the two German
Provinces Of France,-Alsatia and Lorraine were
to vote themselves back to Germany; what would
NAPOLEON say, and what would the French people
There would be but ono voice against nationa,
disntegration.
Nevertheless, are strasburg, Colmar, Muhlhau-
sen and Metz, German cities, quite as much as
Mentz, Cologne and Spires. The origin, tradi
tons, habits, customs and language of the inh abb
tsnts OF these two provinces are all German. and
1t is only by strict legal enactment that the French
language has been gaining ground of late years
in the Cities The country people still speak their
German pdtois, just as their grandfathers did.
Almost precisely the same condition OF thing ex-
ists here as was the case in the Elbe Duchies.
with this difference only that we are not pre-
pared to say, that these Gallo German Rhineland.
ers have manifested any desire of late to become
dis-french-ised Wehave only put the case to il
iustrate the inconsistency Of the Emperor's pro-
fessed policy.
II such then would be the opposition on the part
OF France, to part with any Of her rightfuI terri
tory what is to be expected of Austrian No DIV.
nasty in Europe has prouder record than the
House of Hapsburg Certainly there ia none more
obstinate; and although the decline of Austria has
been long recorded, and her speedy fall often pre-
dioted, she still stands,-one of the first poyyers
in Europe. Deeply hurt by the issue Of her last
war with Italy, she will all the more oppose everv
suggestion, having the cession or transfer of ye.