The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-08-04
EUROPEAN AFFAIRS,

|
coming exceedingly interesting The ferment
into which England was last week thrown,
on the subject of a proposed treaty between
France and Prussia, appears to have been
well grounded. The London Times pub
fishes the text of the treaty, whchis claimed
to have been submitted by France to Prussia,
1t contains the following provisions
The preamble Sets forth that the King of Prussia
and the Emperor of the French, in order to
strengthen the ties of friendship between the two
governments, peoples, &c, hereby conclude the
subjoined treaty:
In the first article Napoleon admits aad recog-
nizes the late acquisitions of Prussia from Aus
tra.
In the second the Prussian King engages to
facilitate the French acquisition OF Luxembourg.
In the third the Emperor acquiesces in the Union
of the North and South German States, Austria
excepted.
In the fourth. France finding it necessary to ab
sorb Belgium Prussia lends her assistance to that
The fifth article is the usual one of offensive and
defensive alliance between the two nations.
This is made public through the connivance
of Prussian officials for the purpose of making
capital by preiudicing the people of England
as we'll as Of the countries sought to be
divided against the French government
The sympathy of England for the Prussians,
whose Crown Prince married Victoria's
daughter, is very strong. Viewed simply as
business transaction, or in its moral aspects,
the proposed treaty is outrageous, not one
whit better than the partition of Poland, and
only failed because the robbers could not
pre-arrange the division of the spoil.
| OF the war itself, the most noticeable event,
outside the actual operations in the field, is
the diplomatic circular by France, declaring
her position. France presents herself as
primarily standing upon the defensive-as
defending "the cause of the balance of
power against the secret designs" and
intrigue" of the disproportonate aggrand-
izement" of Prussia toward the Spanish
throne. Prussia. France claims to have evil
dence, sought to overturn the international
equilbrium''-" balance of power''-by
secretly conniving at the elevation of a Prince
of its reigning house to the Spanish throne
Honor and security required not only that
Prussia should not thus cast her shadow
westward over the territory of France in the
person of Leopold, but that she should give
guarantees for the future. Leopold with
drew his acceptance of the Spanish crown
and so dispelled the overhanging shadow;
but Prussia refused the guarantees for the
| future, and so the substance remained
Hence the appeal of France to arms. This
is the French theory of the war,
The "balance of power" called by the
French equili6re rolittque, says the Rochester
Union is the European system by which
greater states are deferred from swallowing
up smaller ones Vattel in his law of ma
tons defines it: 'By this balance is to be
understood such a disposition of things as
that no one potentate or state shall be able to
absolutely predominant over and prescribe
to Others" And Frederick Won Cent?, the
eminent Austrian diplomatist describes it;
"What is usually termed a balance of power
is that constitution subsisting among neigh
boring states more or less connected with
one another" by virtue of which no one
among them can iniure the independence or
essential rights of another without meeting
with etfectual resistance on some side and
and consequently exposing itself to danger.
Both in ancient and modern times the "bal-
ance of power" has been a thing of moment
in the old world. Coming down to the be-
ginning of the seventeenth century, the will
of the King of Spain nominating the second
son of the French dauphin as his successor,
thus putting the then powerful monarchies of
France and Spain into the same hands and
utterly destroying the European equilibrium,
created the grand alliance and the war of the
Spanish succession. The Emperor Of Ger
many, the Duke of Saxony, the King of
England, and the States-General of the
United Provinces, united in this grand alli-
ance. The King of Portugal afterwards
joined the anti-French confedoracy. MARI
borough and Prince Eugene of Savoy were
the great military leaders in behalf of the
"balance of power y which was reestablished
by the prevention of the union of the French
and Spanish crowns under the peace of Utrecht
in 1872 Subsequently two new powers,
Prussia and Russia, presented themselves
upon the European stage and shook the
"balance of power" with heavy blows, not
the least of which was the partition of Poland