Vicksburg weekly herald., 1870-08-20

New York Evening Post as fol-
lows:
A Superficial glance at the map
may possibly sometimes lead to the
impression that the Rhine is the
natural, and that il ought therefore
to be the actual political boundry
between France and Germany. So,
q casual glance at the map might
lead q stranger TO imagine that the
Hudson river ought to be the
boundary between New York and
New England. But the Germans
would not tolerate an assumption
OF this kind any sooner than the
New Workers. Indeed, the argu-
ments against it, derived from the
past history and from the present
state Of things, are much stronger
in the case of the Rhine than OF the
Hudson.
The inhabitants Of the left bank
ofthe Rhine are, and always have
been Germans. But the province
called Elsass or Alsace or Alsatia,
which extends along the left bank
for the distance Of about one hun.
dred miles below Basle, in Switzer.
land, was ceded to France by the
treaty Of Westphalia in I6lS, By
way Of compensation for the servi-
ces of the French to the cause of the
Protestants in the Thirty Years
War. This was the first, as it is
still the only foothold of the French
upon the Rhine. Strasburg is the
principal city Of Elsass. It's popu-
lation, after Two hundred years of
French domination, remain German
almost as much as its celebrated
Gothic cathedral. 1t was a free
city of the German empire, and as
such entitled to seat In its Diet.
The same may be said of five
other towns in Elsass, and also of
the fortified town Of Metz on the
MOselle, in the province ofLorraine,
which was once q part of Germany.
Following down the left bank Of
the Rhine below tho French posses.
sions, We come TO Spires, the capi.
tai OF the Rhenisn Bavaria, other.
wise called the Palatinate, and then
to Worms, in the Grand Duchy of
Hesse Darmstadt. These old Ger.
man towns were imperial free cities
and in both of them diets Of the em-
pire were held. Several OF the em.
perOrs resided at Spires, and nine
Of them, among them Rudolph, of
Hapsburg, are buried in the vaults
of Its cathedral. Here, in 1919 the
decree Of the diet against the doc.
trines OF the Ref0rmOrs was passed,
which led to vigorous "protesl"
on the part of the minority, and
hence the name of Protestants. In
1921, at Worms, was held the diet
at which Luther appeared and made
his celebrated defense of himself
before the Emperor Charles the
Fifth.
Continuing the journey, we ar.
rive at the garrisoned town of Mainz
or Mayence, the birthplace and res.
idence Of Gutenberg, and the era.
die of the art of printing. The
Archbishops of Mainz were pow
erful temporal princes, and were
first IN rank Of the Electors of the
German Empire. Crossing the
Maize at Bingen we enter the Prus.
sian possessions on the west side of
the Rhine, which are composed
chiefly of territories that belonged
to the Archblshoprics Of Cologne
and Treves, and the Duchies of
Cleves aud Julich, oil of which
were iiefes ofthe empire. The towns
of BOppart and Duren, in this part
ofPrussia, aud, also, Cologne with
its German cathedral), the largest
and wealthiest town on the Rhine,
were imperial free cities. So also
was Aix-la-Chapelle, or Aachen,
situated west Of Cologne, on the
borders of Belgium, renowned for
its congresses, its diets, its councils
and coronations Of Emperors.
Mention ought also to be made OF
Bonn, on the Rhine, the birthplace
of Beethoven, and the seat OF O
1ourishing German university
where Niebuhr, Schlegel, Arndt
and Dahlmann lived aud taught,
and where Lange, whose Bible
Commentaries are so we'll known
in this country, lives and teaches
The population of the Prussian
Bavarian and HessIan territories
west Of the Rhine is something over
three millions. and about two.thirdl
of these are subjects of Prussia.
The foregoing statement, though
necessarily meagre and imperfect
will serve to dispel any illusions as
to the reasonableness of the French
Emperor in his ambition to extend
his conquests TO the Rhine, and L
explain the unanimity of the upris.
ing of the Germans. They would
as soon think ofabandoning Berlin
or Leipsic to the Russians as Ofsur
rendering Cologne, or Mainz, Of
Treves to the French. They have
no central city like Rome, or Paris
or London. But If there is anything
in the world which they regard aI
sacredly their own, II is the noble
river and its fertile valley, filled
with the ancient seats of their civi
lizatiOn and the monuments of thei
art and industry-the faithful
chronicles OF their history-anC
they will most assuredly fight Il
the last to defend and keep it from
the French, as q man viii fight Il
defend his home and hesrthstonl
against robbers.
Ben De Bar has assumed thO
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