The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1868-05-27
EUROPEAN lITUATIoN.
CARLsUHE, Jan. 20, 1868.

in the Old World at he present moment,
would be an easy mattr if l were to confine
myself to bare facts My. For instance, /
might devise a neat Lille table, with few
columns on the left, tout in the respective
budgets for the last en- years Qor COM
PARSONS sake), of the rincipal countries of
Europe; their floating debts; the rapid
growth of annual deficit with the ingenious
methods to. cover them the ever increasing
taxation of the people, &C., ETC.; then, writ
Konigsgraetz, Mentang German Unity, or
Prussian aggrandizenflt, (Which y, etc,
ETC., and lower downieorrespondingt to the
3lst of December, of b, blessed year 1867,
such words as-partia allure of the crops,
severe winter, dreaifu sufferings, trade
PROSTATE, general dbcntent, but above all,
that instructive fear Of aeoming catastrophe,
which has pervaded allclasses, and which
makes population restless-and then leave
it TO you to make out the bahnce sheet.
But a serious political writer must not be
satisfied with stating facts only. Ifhe wishes
TO impart to others his own appreciation of
things, and of the consequences that may.
follow therefrom, he must enter into the dis
cussion of the causes which hay produced
those facts, and then, by logics' reasoning,
lead his readers to the same onclusions he
himself has come to.
l am aware that prophetic politics are
rarely worthy even of the yer slight atten-
tion they usually receive. Sonuch depends
on individual lives, on latent nut Irresistible
popular opinion, on those iridcnts which
even statesmen in the despir Of ignorance
call accidents" that the kenest observers
are constantly at fault. Stil, it is worth
while sometimes TO look aound, to see, if
we can, whittier Europe is dlfting. That it
is in motion, is evident, and the point to be
ascertained is whittier the ide is carrying
the nations.
Is it TO that blessed era which the gentle
men of the peace convention of Geneva, (of
notorious memory, and suci like, delight so
much in showing to us in tie dimness of the
future, or is ii TO n dangerous rock in the
channel-a European war; All the signs
which have ever preceded Luropean convul-
sions exist around us in abundance. The
regime Of law mas, it is admitted, ended.
If we review the events Of last year; if we
consider the national policy of each indiyid-
ual state, and see how far that policy affects
general politics, we shall hive no difficulty
in answering the above questions.
The Luxembourg affair, which, in the
spring of last year, seemed to make war in
evitable, was a natural consequence of the
great German war. France stood neutral
during the strife, and, no doubt, by the pre-
YiOusly given assurance Of her neutrality,
had rendered most important service TO
Prussia, enabling her TO concentrate all her
active forces in Bohemia and on the Main.
The means which Prussia was to employ for
bringing about fusion of the different Ger
man elements, had the approval of man
who, like the Emperor Napoleon, had stood
mp for the principle of .nationalities. But
his passive atrItude JI the DI1dhIng Out Uf
the war, which decidedly he could have pre-
vented by throwing his sword into the scale,
turned out not to have such disinterested
act on his part as was believed at first He
never thought land who did think il ? } that
Prussia would overcome her enemies in such
short time, and so completely. He had
hoped, after long, and to both parties ex-
hausting, war, to remain master of the stu
Though he intcrposed at Nikolsburg, and
stopped the Prussians before Vienna, he
could not change what had been done in the
North-I mean the absorption CT Hanover,
Hesse-Cassel and Nassau-nor could he pre-
vent Prussia from concluding military trea-
ties with the remaining Southern States,
which might be said to have at once estab-
lished German Unity, at least as far as foreign
aggression was concerned.
AT the Gplpudi1 and uupyuppfp1 euaaacc NJ
the Prussians, the French who, until now,
had been accustomed TO consider themselves
the first military nation of the world, became
alarmed and jealous. The French diplomacy
thought the moment a favorable one for de-
manding at Berlin, territorial compensation
for services rendered. The peremptory re-
lection of that demand by Count de Bis
mark, and the storm of indignation it aroused
throughout Germany, made Mr.. Drouyn de
Lhuys resign and gave Napoleon that unfor-
tunate idea of buying Luxembourg from the
needy King of Holland, William Ill How
that affair was settled you are aware. 1t
lcdS a mistake, and great one 1t left a sore,
which the Emperor's enemies have taken
good care to keep open.
If war did not break out then, II was main.
iy owing to the efforts of Lord Stanley But
/ think / am safe, when say that both France
and Prussia were glad enough for having a
pretext not to come to blows. The first, be-
cause she was not ready, the latter, because
she wanted time to breathe, and had enough
on her hands. Besides the opening of the
Exhibition drew near, and the mighty inter-
ests engaged in that enterprise could not be
discarded
1t was during that magnificent display OF
human ingenuity and enterprise, that two
events occurred, which spread gloom over
Europe, and at once DESTROYED the expecta-
tions of those, who from the gathering of so
many Soyereigns and their personal inter
course had hoped fresh guarantees for good
understanding among them.
On the 9th of June, the Pole, Berezowski.
fired upon the Emperor Alexander in the
Bois de Bologne. The cursed deed of a sin
gle miscreant brought the old Russian party
into power again. Russia became estranged
to France and with more fervor than ever is
following now its traditional policy
On the first of July, at the very moment
when the Emperor Napoleon was distribut-
ing the prizes, the news arrived that Maxi
millian, whom by the aid of his troops he
had made Emperor of Mexico, and whom al
the peremptory demand of the United States
Government, he had to abandon to his own
resources, had been shot on the 18th of June
at Queretaro.
That was the greatest defeat the Empire
had as yet sustained, and the impression Of il
on such sensitive people, as the French are,
could not be but very deep and CALLING. Ali
the sacrifices in men and money had been
made in vain, and moreover there remained
the moral obligation imposed upon the
French Government to indemnify somehow
the bondholders of the Mexican loan, whom
they had encouraged to subscribe
Soon another cause for inquietude came
from the South Garibaldi, the great patriot
and soldier but poor politician, thought the
moment propitious for solving the Roman
question that Gordian knot of modern times
by the sword. This fresh complication OF
italian Gffairs was owing partly to the in
trigues of the party Of action, who know but
too well how to make capital out Of the in
fatuation OF their countrymen, partly also ii
must be Acknowledged TO the douhle faced