The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-11-23
The Impending WARM Europe.

\ great way in Europe l. inevitable Those
who place the slightest trust ID the assurances Oi
Peace which The rival Governments are continually
making. forget the maxim Of Taileyrand. that the
u-S Of spesch l. the eoncealment of thought.
those VIII choose - take the word of 4 French
or Pru-ian Minister. forget that truth i the one
esIecial virtue which a Continental statesman
cannot Afford q practice.
Al great wan IN Europe have begun with
Vroclaua;i0us Of peacc. 30 that the very phrase of
:. international amity" sounds like the report OF a
gun. The nearer tie war. the more earnest are
the pr0;eStatI0ns Of goodwill; and the Govern
ments reminds u Of priz-hghters who. just before
they beat each other = jelly. exchange the warm
81 hand--hakincS and most cordial smiles. We
have had more ttan one instance IN this generation
Of ruyal rulers cungratulatin- their suh-Cts upon
the prospect Of long AM happy leace NJ the very
moment when they wena preparing their armies
10 invade somebody else's territory. Frnce
desires peace all - interests are bound up in
unki-turted commerce. manufacture. and art.
She vii make any sacrifice - avoid war" This
l. the manner in which tie Emperor talked ut
Amiens.
-. have crossed France with the Empress from
>rTasbUrg u DunkIrk. and our Hearty and sym
theiic reception everywhere has filed US with the
liyelie-t gratitude. Nothing. | perceive with
pleasure. can shake the confidence which. for
twenty YEAR. the French people have placed in
me. They have estimated at their real value the
difficulties / have had % surnOunt. The i'll sue
- % our fD44fN afEN.c TIE eNtll N1s lt[ Gltlll-
iShei the prestige Of cur arms, since everywhere
the valor Of our soldiers Overcame all opposition.
The events ACCOMPLISHED in Germany have uOt
caused our country to DEPART from a calm and
dignifed attitude. and 1t Relies with justice ON the
maintenance Of peace"
Yet all this reliance upon the perpetuity of
peace did not prevent Napoleon from buying iron
clad war-yessels in America To- increase a navy a.
ready superior To that of England. Nor did il
put a stop 70 the unusual activity in recognizing,
drilling, and aiming every branch Of the military
service. The camps Of France are as busy az her
manufactures. Immediately after the triumph
Of Prussia. measures were taken to organize the
army upon u basis of 500 900 men. Prussia,
equally emphatic in her protestations, has been as
significant in her actions. The avowed policy of
Bismarck l. the consolidation of the North Ger
man States into one great military power. of which
Prussia shall be the head, and it Is notorious that
his schemes have for their immediate object the
of the South German States from the
influence Of Austria.
France il arming; Prussia is arming; the needle
gun Is u be met with the ChassepOt rifle. Aus
tria sacrificing the hereditary policy of the House
Of Hapeburg 10 gain-what she has never had-the
the effective support of Hungary, and an assur-
anoe that Hungarian troops could be depended
upon in n battle. Italy and even Switzerland are
adding TO their materials of war, while that vast
and semibarbaric power which oyerhangs Western
like a threatening cloud, has already an
Nl4t lAat ne -O4Nsi HLsl EtNDlullOLlZc me
whole system of his Government. Every move
ment Of Russia against Turkey has been the pre-
Jude 10 a great continental struggle, and, of all
her movements, the late demand is the boldest.
And war does not result from the action of the
Car. as much las his action is governed by a
knowledge Of the future.
Peace may be preserved by a miracle-but mir
acles are very rare in politics; and if there is any
significance in facts, the editor of this paper was
when he lately gave his opinion, in his Par
is correspondence, that war was the settled pur-
pose of the European P,weIs, and that France
and Prussia would meet On new battle-felds be-
the next spring. The music of festivities and
tie songs of peace are heard throughout Europe;
but beneath their rejoicing strains is heard the far
sound of trumpets, and the roll of approaching
The silence is like that Of a bright morn
ing when two great armies meet, and while the
birds sing and the bees hum in the clover. await
for a few brief moments the command TO fire and
the word 10 charge along the line Wilkes SPIRIT.