Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-07-12


already the armies of the contending par
ties are taking position on the vulnerable
points on, or leading to, the disputed terri
tories.
The question with the American reader
is, What is the direct, or immediate cause
of this war 2" And while it is quite visi-
bic that territorial aggrandisement or the
ambitious projects of the ruling sovereigns
of Europe, is alone the real cause of the
war, yet each side has so befogged the
question with belabored arguments, that
most people as remote as we, are at a loss
to determine what Europe is going to war
for We now sit down to illustrate this,
and we do not know that we shall be sue
cessful
1t will be remembered, that few years
ago Prussia and Austria had a private
quarrel about the sovereignty of the Dutch
les of Schleswig and Holstein, the south
ern and very material portion of the ter
ritory of Denmark These Duchies give
the holder, or ruling sovereign, vote in
the great German Diet, and this, beside be-
ing no inc considerable provinces in them.
selves, gives Importance to their possession
For the political affairs of the German
states being under the control of the Diet,
a vote there is often a question Of great
magnitude. In the European wars against
No~olonr Rnnanorta nnnn,arlr
to unite her fortunes with the latter, and
then when he was conquered, the Allied
Powers had no mercy on poor, weak Den
mark, and her territory was cut up to suit
Prussia and Austria, and hence it came
that Schleswig and Holstein, part of Den
mark, is he'd in sovereignty by these two
powers but by the inter-marriages and
deaths of the reigning Dukes, the respec-
tive titles of the sovereigns became com
plicated, and the quarrel of few years
ago, alluded to above, ensued
Now, this private quarrel between Aus
tria and Prussia, has set all the monarchs
of Europe at loggerheads, and this has
| come about III this wise
Prussia, fearing that she would be un-
able to fight Austria alone successfully
matches up project to secure the assist
ance of France and Italy, based on the
principle of territorial compensation. The
terms of the treaties said to exist between
these three Powers, treaties which have mo-
yet been openly avowed, are supposed tc
include the acquisition of Venetia by Italy
of the left bank of the Rhine by France
and the absolute and sole possession by
Prussia of the Duchies wrested from Den
mark. This division would satisfy the ter.
ritorial ambition of each of the allies The
possession Of Venetia would complete the
unification of Italy, and would at the SAM
time relieve that country from the threat
ening fortresses of the Quadrilateral Tht
possession of the left bank of the Rhine
would give France the natural boundar,
line" of which the present Emperor ha,
been so long covetous. As for Prussia, TIN
possession of the Duchies would give hel
a free outlet to the sea- and enable her t.
crafty her long cherished ambition to be
come a tirst-class naval power. But, OF
the other hand, this arrangement would
make an isolated inland power of Austria
unless she were able to retain the non-Aus
trian provinces on the Adriatic, and at tn
same time, would threaten England with
new and powerful rival for the supremac,
of the seas.
Austria, on the other hand, seeks to dc
: fend herself from these despoiling purpose
by counter strategy. She invites Russia
the Great Northern Bear, whose Cossack
} all Europe dread, into the fight, by prom
ising her the Danubian Provinces belong
ing to Turkey, which this great power ha
so long coveted, and nothing loath to figh
for the tempting bait, Russia bristles ur
and sends an hundred thousand men to tn
boaders of Austria Thus arranged. tn,
combatants are about equal, and the con
test promises to be one of great magnitud,
and fcrceness. Indeed, this very fact, ha
compelled hesitation. The vastness of tn,
fight as thus arranged, the ruin that it mus
entail, and the absence Of sufficient,
justifying cause, may yet sober and ration
alize those controlling the interests of Eu
rope.
So soon S the existence of these all
ances were suspected, the whole moral in
fuence of England was exerted to bring
about a pacific adjustment of the questions
at issue, and as it was not the policy O
France to make war if she could Obtain
her object by peaceful means, she joined
with England in the effort to have the mat.
ter brought before General Conference O
the Great Powers Russia, having no par
ticular interest, either way, in the quarrel
between Austria and Prussia Joined with
England and France in sending letters to
the Courts of Vienna Berlin, and Florence,
and to the German Diet at Frankfort-on-
the-Maine, inviting them to send represen-
tatives to a Conference to be held at Paris.
The latest European advises indicate the
eLtire failure of this conference 1t did