The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-17


tions leave out the possibility that in the
constitution and policy of France changes
might arise which would relieve the two great
neighboring people from the necessity of
war-s hope which was favored by each post
ponement of the rupture. For these reasons
l was silent about the propositions made, and
delayed the negotiations about them without
ever on my side giving a promise. After
the negotiations with his Majesty the
King of the Netherlands fell, as is
well known, to the ground, extended
proposals were again addressed to me by
France, including in their purport Belgium
and South Germany. At this conjuncture
comes the communication of the Benedetti
manuscript. That the French ambassador,
without the assent of his sovereign, and on
his own responsibility, drew up these propo-
sitions, handed them to nae, and negotiated
them, modifying them in certain places as
advised, is as unlikely as was the statement
on another occasion that the Emperor Napo-
leon had not agreed to the demand for our
surrendering Mayence, which was officially
made to me in August, 1866, by the French
ambassador under threat of war in case of
our refusal. The different phases of French
bad feeling and lust for war which we have
gone through from 1866 to 1869 coincided
with tolerable exactness with the will
ipgness or unwilliBgness for negotiations
which the French agents believed they met
with in me. In 1866, at the time when the
Belgian railway affair was being prepared, it
was intimated to me by high parsonage,
who was not stranger to the former nego-
tiations, than in case of French occupation
of Belgium ''nO1S tT0uCer5OnS nOtre BelgiQle
GiUea1S." Similarly on other occasions had
been given to understand that in a solution of
the Eastern question France would seek its
share not in far-off places, but close upon its
boundaries. 1 am under the impression that
it was only the definitive conviction that no
enlargement of the frontiers was to be
achieved with us that has led the Emperor to
the determination to strive to obtain it
against u.s. / have, besides, reason to believe
that had the publication in question not taken
place, SO soon as our and the French prepara-
tions for war were complete propositions
would have been made to us by France Jointly
and, at the head of million armed men, to
carry out against unarmed Europe the pro-
posals formerly made to lis, and either before
or after the first battle to conclude peace on
the basis of the Benedetti proposals and at
the expense of Belgium.
Concerning the text of these proposals l
remark that the draft in our possession is
from beginning to end from the hand of
Count Benedetti and written on the paper
of the Imperial French Embassy, and that
the ambassadors here, including the repre-
sentatives of Austria, Great Britain, Russia,
Baden, Bavaria, Belgium, Hesse, Italy,
Saxony Turkey, and Wurtemberg, who have
seen the original, have recognized the hand
writing. In article one Count Benedeth at
the very first reading withdrew the closing
passage, placing it in brackets, after had
remarked that it presupposed the in
reference of France in the internal
affairs of Germany, which 1, even in
private documents, could not allow. OF his
own accord he made an important marginal
correction in article two, in nay presence.
On the oath inst. informed Lord A. Lotus
verbally of the existence of the document in
question, and on his expressing doubts
invited him to personal inspection of the
same. On the 27th of this month he took
note of it and convinced himself that it was
in the handwriting of his former French col
league If the Imperial Cabinet now repu-
dates attempts for which it has sought since
1864, both by promises and threats, to OBJ
tain our cooperation, this is easily tc
be explained in presence of the politica
situation.
Your Excellency will please read this docu
ment to NJ, and hand him copy.
BISMARCK.