The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-08-18

their subjects under the old yoke. Instead Of
a union of the German people, confederation
ofthirty-nine sovereign princes was formed, in
dependent from, and often hostile to, each
other In their internal affairs, and only united
for external defence under the hegemony Of
Austria in the Diet at Frankfort.
I But liberty does not die, nor does a people
abandon the pursuit of Its just and sacred
rights. There was nothing to be hoped from
efete, reactionary, narrow-mlnded Austria, so
| the nation turned its eyes upon the younger,
more vigorous and more enlightened Prussia.
In 1s4s, the Germans proposed to restore the
German Empire, and offered the crown to
Frederick William ~, but that pusillanimous
monarch, fonder of bon-mots and champagne
than of the glory of his country and his royal
| house, declined the offer. Still the people, not
despairing OF the future, hoped, wrote, worked
on for the accomplishment OF the union of all
lands in which the German tongue is spoken.
Soon after, Napoleon III, by coup d'etat,
| ascended the French throne. He published
the famous manifesto II Empire c'est la pair,"
but this very pretty phrase was, under the cir
cumstances. a mere contradiction OF terms
an impossibility. Not that Napoleon was al
together insincere when he uttered this his
first oracle, but peace, continued peace, was
impossible for French ruler whohad seized
the reins of power b. violence. He had to
offer an occasional sacrifice on the altar Of that
popular French divinity. la Goire, rim order to
| maintain his own prestige. So intrigues for
weakening the hereditary enemy of his coun-
try began. The Austrians were bled first at
Solferino; Prussia was reserved Tor later times.
Next came the Danish war. The Inhabitants
of Schleswig- Holstein Germans by race and
language,) were threatened with absorption
Into the Danish nation. They called on their
countrymen for help, and the sovereigns, Aus
tra included, had to respond, whether they
would or not, for it was national affair.
Meanwhile, the present King Of Prussia had
succeeded his brother on the throne. It would
almost seem as if he had been especially re-
served for the times. With strong tastes for
military affars-his witty elder brother used
to soy of him that William would have made
an excellent drlll-sergeant, had ne been
born in private sphere-all his efforts
before and after his accession have
been directed towards the perfection of
the military organization Of his dominions.
Austria, though distracted at home and almost
bankrupt, continued her intrigues with the
smaller German princes, and she found. in her
endeayors of keeping the Germans asunder,
a ready and faithful ally in the Emperor of the
French, because France, naturally enough,
does not like to have strong and united
neighbor at her elbow. These intrigues on
the part of Austria brought on the war OF 1866.
Napoleon looked quietly on, for he hoped that
the combatants would so weaken each other.
that the much-needed. much-coveted LEFT
him; but to his horror, to the surprise OF
everybody, almost Of Prussia herself. the lat
ter crowned seven weeks war with de-
clsive, overwhelming victory. This was Napo-
Icons defeat at Sadowa. The whole French
nation was in o rage. They heaped execra-
tions upon the Prussians, vowed to wipe them
from the earth, to make the King of Prussia
Elector of Brandeuburg, &c. And why all this?
Not because the Prusslans were threatening
Alsace or Lorraine, but because the consolida-
ton of North Germany under the hegemony of
Prussia had become en- accomplished fact,
and because there was danger that the South
Germans might soon follow suit. The prepa-
rat!ons for war were begun in France lmme-
diately after Sadowa; occasions for quarrel
have again and again been sought BY the
French, but carefully avoided by Prussia, who
needed peace to complete the organization Of
the North German Buud; but at last pretence
has been found, in as much as the King Of
Prussia has resented the opportunities of Min
lister Benedetti, by politely informing him,
through his aid-de-camp, Prince Radzyill, that
he had told him oil he knew about his poor
kinsman Hohenzollern and that he had moth
ing more to communicate.
The Emperor Napoleon, whether personally
willing or not, has drawn the sword, has at
tempted to invade Germay, to seize the left
bank of the Rhine, with Its old imperial City
Of AK Ia Chapelle and Its Cathedral of CO.
logne. He has miscounted on the detection of
the South Germans, who, however little they
may love King William of Prussia, have proved
true to their race, and now the Emperor o,
the French and his countrymen are expert
enclng the natural consequences Of attempting
to lay violent hands on peaceful neighbor's
property.
shall not refer to the more fundamental
causes of this great and all-decisive struggle,
which would probably have made it necessary al
some future time, had it not broken out now, tc
the antagonisms ofrace and religion. to the rad
ical difference in the whole character and mode
of thought of the two nations as a German,
will simply say, that my countrymen believe
that they have right on their side, and thai
their transatlantic brethren will win the fight
however long it may last. however desperate
it may be, because they have drawn theii
swords in defence of their country, and for 8
still greater cause: for that freedom of taitt
and thought, for that rejuvenatlon OF intellect
and of science, which was lnaugurated at Wit
tenberg by DR.. Martin Luther.