Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1866-07-05
tion Of his father, March %, ls49, and
was proclaimed King of Italy by vote of the
Italian Parliament, March II, 1861.
IY.-rHE GERMAN CONFEDERATION.

was proclaimed King of Italy by vote of the
Italian Parliament, March II, 1861.
1v.-THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION.
/ The German Confederation was organized
in 1915, upon the ruins Of the German EN-
pire, which bad been dissolved in 1906
The object of the Confederacy, according
to the first article of the Federal Constitu-
ton, is "the preservation of the internal
and external security of Germany and the
independence and inviolabilisy of the va.
rious German States" The organ and rep
resentative of the Confederation is the Fed.
eral Diet, consisting of Plepipotentiaries of
the several German States, and permanent
ly located in the free city of Frankfort
The administrative government Of the Fed
eral Diet is constituted 10 two forms: First,
as General Assembly or Plenuns, in which
every member Of the Confederation has at
least one vote, and the larger States have
two, three or four votes each; and second,
the Minor Council, or Committee of Con-
federation, in which the eleven larger States
cast one vote each, while six votes are given
to the smaller States, number of them
combined having joint vote. The PreSi-
dency is permanently vested in Austria
The General Assembly decides on war and
peace, on the admission of new members,
on any changes in the fundamental laws or
organic institutions; but in all other cases,
the Minor Council is competent to act both
as legislative and executive. @.,s. p,i
At the time of its establishment the Con.
federsoy embraced thirty nine members,
but of these four (Saxe. Gotha, Anhalt- Bern
burg, Anbalt-K t-Koethen and Hesse, HON.
burg, have become extinct, and two HoheD-
zollern, Heohingen and Hohenzollern-Sig-
maringen,) have been incorporated with
Prussia, leaving, at present, thirty. three
sovereign States. They have together an
area of 242,S67 square miles, and in 1864
population of over 100000 people,
exceeding the aggregate population of
British America, the United States, Mex
leo and Central America, and being in
Europe inferior to that of no country except
Russia. The federal army numbers about
700, 900.
Austria and Prussia belong, with only a
part of their several dominions, to this
Confederation; Austria with popuation
of 12,S02,944, Prussia with a population
of 14,714,024. Prussia, therefore, and
not Austria is, in point Of population, the
first German State, and this priority is still
more prominent if we take into account the
provinces of both powers not belonging to
this Confederation.
Dedrcting the population of the two
great German powers, a population is left
with Federal army Of about 100000
As the record of the votes of the Federal
Diet during the last year shows the great
majority of the minor States side with or
at least lean toward Austria, and it is still
commonly believed that, soon after an ont.
break of war between Austria and Prussia,
the Diet will declare Federal war against
Prussia All parties in Germany, Austria,
Prussia, the Minor Governments, and all
the political parties among the people, are
in favor of establishing Central National
Parliament, as step toward the ultimate
establishment of one German Empire
This point is therefore likely to be one of
the results of the impending war:
THE sCHLEswIG. HoLsTE1N QUESTION.
The Ducby of Schleswig has an erea of
3,7O4 square miles, and population of
4O9, ,907. Holstein has an erea Of 1885
square miles and population Of 544,419
The Duchies of schleswig and Holstien,
together with the little adjoining Duchy of
burg, formerly connected with the
crown of Denmark, were made over by the
Treaty of Vienna, signed October 30,
1864, to the Emperor Of Austria and the
King of Prussia. On August Is, 1866,
Austria and Prussia concluded the Conveu.
ton of Gastein, in pursuance of which
Austria took possession of the Duchy of
Holstein, and Prussia of Schleswig and
Lauenburg, both powers appointing militia
~ governors TO rule over these territories
respectively; Governor of Rolestein, Field
Marshall Won Gablenz Governor of Schles.
wig, Lieutenant General of Mauteuffel-
The Duchy of Lauenburg was taken pos.
session of by Prussia on the 18th of Sep.
tember, 1865, the sum of 100000
thalers, stipulated in the Convention of
Gastein as indemnity, having been paid to
Austria on that day. The efforts of Prussia
to prevail upon Austria to cede her claim
to Holstein were unsuccessful; and the
diplomatic notes Of Prussia, being regarded
as threat by Austria, elicited warlike re-
plies, and thus the present crisis was pre-
cipitated On June l, 1866, the Austrian
representative in the Federal Diet of
Frankfort stated that his government had
endeavored 10 vain to come to an arrange
ment with Prussia concerning the du les,
and would now leave the matter in the
hands of the Confederation. The Prussian
government maintained that this step of
Austria was a violation of convention be.
tween the two powers concluded on January
16, 1864, stipulating that all future arrange
ments of the affairs of the duchies should
be dependent upon mutual understanding
between the two powers, and especially that