The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1866-07-19
prussia and Italy.

The Allgemelne Zeitung says that Italy
.'not be the friend of Prussia, although they
." fohting common enemy. If she could
~, nIy get Venetia, she would perhaps rather
O The defeat of. the Prussians. We have no
~ 9anht that there may be much of this feeling
uO| tbe part of the Italians. Not however,
S.,snse of the political views and opinions of
p,SwABK and his party; but if the feeling ex-
~ Of all. because of the religious proclivities
:, nerbaps two-thirds her population Prussia
nav be regarded as representing the protes-
NV or progressive element in the war now
raging in Europe,
Prussia is young Europa, not only In fact,
- being the youngest of the European Pow
~rs Int in her ideas. She wishes, as it were
at ,und to leap from the thralldom of the
nost and to assume position which she re-
rtords the necessities Of the great German
,s,oonls demand. She is for going ahead. She
!. eqqpressive where she feels she is bound by
li9sture. which the demands of the situation
ron1ire to be- loosened. And if the knot
shich binds her cannot be united, she stands
ready to cut it. She acts upon the principle
that treaties, like constitutions, require to be
modified. She is not welded to traditions,
nor to effete theories, but is prepared to en-
brace new truths which may be evolved by
experience, and whose reception may be de-
handed by the logic Of progress, or her situa-
tion. She bestows much care on science and
be education of the people. Common schools
are difused throughout the monarchy, and
neope are made reflective, thoughtful, and
more self-reliant, thanin those countries where
knowledge is withheld from the masses, and
whera there is less of the exercise of private
Judgment and consequently more dependence
and trust in the propounded opinion Of others.
The peace of 1915 left Prussia composed
q heterogeneous parts, disconnected by feel
ing, interest, and geographical Coherency. 1t
did not give compactness to her territory
Owing to her geographical position, she was
compelled to maintain a large standing army
to protect her territory, whose area, at pres
ent, is 108,212 English square miles-about
equal to the combined territory of the States
Of Georgia and Florida Her population is
Il, 3O4, 843-somewha less than that of the
Northern States. In point Of Administra
ton, she is said to be not inferior to any
country in the world Her finances are in
saand condition while, from 1889 to the
been a single year in which the revenue of
Austria has met her expenditures.
The public debt of Italy reaches nearly
eight hundred millions, and her expenditure
blargely in excess of the annual revenue
We have seen that she has been reduced to
the necessity of appropriatlng the property
Of the religious houses, upon which to borrow
money, in order to meet the demands of the
present crisis. We sympathise with her, and
hope VICTOR EMANUEL will make good his
claim to his name, and get Venetia.
1t is true, "the plumber of Austria" so to
speak, may be principle of national policy
and growth, legitimatey inherited by the
present King ofPrussia, from the Great FRED
ERIoK," still it is the principle which her posi-
ton makes necessary-in other words she
cannot entirely and successfully resent the
pressure of her environment. And as CO.
temporary remarks, her energy, audacity and
political character, are suspicious of great
things hereafter From the time that FRED
ERlcK, Ill placed the crown upon his own
head at Koeningsburg, the march of Prussia
has been onward and upward, and the impor-
tant part she is playing in the affairs of Ger
many may be said to constitute her destiny
this destiny, the recent foreign news discloses
that she is accom- nlishinp