The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-08-16
BISMARCK ON The SECRET
TREATY..


man Confederation has addressed the following cir
collar despatch the representatives OF the North
German Confederation at the Courts OF neutral
States:--
BERLIN, July 90 1870.
The expectation expressed by Lord Granville and
exact Information IN reference TO the draft treaty Of
Count Benede,ti would DO furnished by the two
Powers concerned was III preliminary manner
ful filled on our side by the kilograms which ad-
dressed TO Count BeInstorn on the 2.h inst. Tele-
graph form only enabled Inc TO make q short stare
ment, when now complete in writing The docu.
meDt published by the London times contains by no
means the only proposition OF similar nature
Even before the Danish war attempts addressed 10
me were made both Dy official and unofficial French
agents 10 effect an alliance between France and Prus
STA, with the object of mutual ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. II is
scarcely necessary for Inc 10 point out the impOssi-
Dlilty OF such transaction for German Minister,
whose position Is dependent on his being In accord
with the national feeling; Its explanation is TO be
found in the want OF acquaintance OF French states
among other peoples Had the agents OF the Paris
Cabinet been competent TO observe the state OF Ger
entertained In Paris as that Prussia could permit
herself to accept the aid OF France IN regulating Ger
man affairs. Your Excellency Is, OF course, as weli
ed as am myself with the ignorance OF the
French as regards Germany. The endeavorS or the
French government to carry out. with the assist
ance OF Prussia, lis couetouS Uters reference to
Belgium ana the Rhine frontier were brought TO my
notice even before 1862 therefore before access
sion TO the Ministry OF Foreign Affairs. cannot
lions, which were purely OF personal nature,
to the sphere of international negotiation, ana /
believe iJ Will be best 10 withhold the most IN
tcresting contribution winch | could make to-
wards the calculation OF the matter from private
letters and conversations. The above mentioned
tendencies OF the French government were frs.
co0niZabe by the external influence on European
polllcs anu the attitude favorable TO us which
France assumed IN the German Danish conflict.
The subsequent bad feeling which France displayed
towards Us In reference to the treaty or Gastien
attributable to The apprehension lest durable
a II 81
deprive the Paris Cabinet OF the fruits OF this its
attitude. France before 1866 reckoned upon the
outbreak OF war between US and Austria and again
willingly made approaches TO US as soon as our
laLons with Vienna began 10 be unfriendly
before tne outbreak Oh tLe austrian war propo-
sails were made 10 me- partly through relatives of
his Majesty the Emperor Of the French and partly
by confidential agents, which each time had for their
objects SMALLER Or larger transactions for the pur-
pose VI erecting mutual ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AT one
time the negotiations were about Luxembourg or
about the frontier OF 1914, with Landau and Saar-
louis; ar another about larger objects from which
the French Swiss cantons and Tie question where
the linguistic boundaries OF Piedmont were TO be
drawn were not excluded. In May, 1866. these pre-
tensions took the form OF proposition Tor Oiren-
sive and defensive alliance, and the following eX.
tract OF Its Chief features Is in my possesslon-
l. En- de Congress, daccord In cession
yenee Ialie Ct ranhex!on puches la Prusse. q
le Roi de rrusse comencera les ho.es dams jou
Ss Passs tau ne Sc rea1
present trate 6. LEmpereur DIES Francois declaera la
snre HatricSe ct IA PrSsse en- 50 ioars soSe On ne
fera de pax Autehs T. La palx fera
les conditions EuvaDtes; IL Venetic rltaie a In
Prussc les territories Alemanas ci.dessous q
sien pour Ia France ie serroIre sne Mosele Ct Rhin
sans oohleRSs nj Mayenee oo ames De
bours Darmstadt, 2ls GOO ames Convention maire g;
(Adheson du Roi d'itaie).
The strength OF the army with which the En-
perori Ia accordance with article dive, would assist
us was IN written explanations PLACED ut 800, 600
men-the number OF souls comprised In the aggran-
dizement which France sought for 1900 coo souls,
according to French calculations, which, however,
ala not agree VITA the actual statistics. Every
who Is lamliar with the secret diplomatic and mill
tary history OF the year 1866 VIII sec gimmerng
through these clauses the policy which France pul-
sued simultaneously towards Italy with whom she
al the same time 50 secretly negotated) and subse
quently towards Prussia and Italy.
In June, 1866, after we had rejected the above
schemes Of alliance, Notwithstanding several almost
threatening warnings 10 accept IT, the French gov
eminent began to calculate Oh The Austrians being
victorious over u.s. ana upon our making DID Tor
French assistance, after the eventually of de-
Frenca Diplomacy was occupied TO the utternOst.
That the Congress anticipated in the foregoing drat
OF alliance, ana again proposed later, would have
had the eject OF causing our three months alliance
with Italy 10 expire without our having profted by iC
is well known 10 your EXcellency, also the fact
that France, In the further agreements relative to
Custoza was busted in preJudicing our situation,
and II possible, bringing about our defeat. The
patriotic afction OF tue Minister Rouher furnishes
q comment upon the further course OF events SINE
that time France has not ceased leading us into
temptation Oy Oners at the cost OF Germany and
BelSufDs Udu lever any OOuDL dB 10 the IlNpOsbl-
billy OF acceding to any such Offers but consider 10
useful. in The interests or peace, TO permit the
French statesmen to hold these Illusions, peculiar to
them, so long as IL should be possible so 10 10 with
giving even verbal assent TO their propositions.
imagined that the aunih ilation Of the French hopes
would endanger the preservation OF peace the main
tenaDce OF which was In the interest both OF Ger
many anu Europe. was not or the opinion OF those
politicians who considered it unadvsabie 10 shun by
all means In one power war with France on the
ground that such war was IN any case unavOld-
able. No one can 50 clearly foresee the designs OF
DIVINE rrovaence, e; anu Il UoH upon even
manshp OF a country must strive to spare its
people. could not In my calculations leave out the
possibility that IN the constitution and policy OF
France changes might arise which would relieve the
two great neghbOring people from the necessity OF
waroa hone which was favored by each postpone
ment OF the rupture For these reasons was silent
about the propositions made and delayed the nego-
tiations about them without ever on my side giving
prOrnise. After the negoata.i0ns With his Majesty
the King OF the Netherlands fell, as Is well known,
to the ground, extended proposals were again ad-
dressed to me by France, including Ia their purport
Belgium and South Germany. At this conjuncture
comes the communication Of the Benedict manu-
script. That the French ambassador. without the
o, his sovereign, ana on his own responsible.
ity drew up these propositions, handed them to me-
and negotiated them, modifying them in certain
places advised, Is as unlikely as was the state
ment on another occasion that the Emperor Napo-
leon had not agreed to the demand for our surren-
dering Mayence, which was Officially made TO Inc In
August 1885, BY the sren csse M oaq re a
sal. The different phases OF French bad feel
ing and lust for war Which we have
gone through from 1866 to 1869 coincded with t0ler
able exactness with the Willingness or unwillingness
for negotiations which the French agents believed
they met with in me. In 1856, at the time when the
Belgian railway affair was being prepared, 1t was In
timated to me by high parsonage, who was not q
stranger to the former negotiations, that in case OF
q French occupation OF Belgium NOUS t'OurerfOnS
not1e BelqtQue dttleurS" Similarly on other occa-
sions had been given to understand that In a
solution Of the Eastern question France would seek
It's share not in far of places but close upon lts
boundaries. am under the impression that IT was
only the defnit1ve conviction that no enlargement
oil the frontiers to be achieved with us that has
led the Emperor to the determination TO strive to
obtain II against US. have, BESIDES reason TO oe.
eve that mad the publication in question not taken
place, SO soon our and the French preparations
for war were complete propositions would have
been made to US by France Jointly and, ut the head
OF million armed men, TO carry out against un.
armed Europe the proposals formerly made TO us,
and either before after the first battle to conclude
peace on the basis OF the Benedettt proposals and
at the expense Of Belgium.
Concerning the text Of these proposals, remark
that pOsSessiOn Is from beginning tC