The New York herald., 1871-01-10

| pressure OF famine the terr0rS oil o DOmDaru-
ment have at length fallen upon the devoted
city, It's captulation, and within very short
time, appears now to be inevitable. What
then? Peace or continued war? The republic,
the empire, or a Bourbon king ''by the grace Of
Cod aud the Emperor of Germany? Who can
tell? King Amadeus of Spain is established
at Madrid, bQt what are his securities for q
single year of internal peace? Who can an
swer? Italy has taken possession OF Rome as
her capital but what is to be the settlement
of this ''irrepressbe conflict between the
King and the Pope? God only knows. Russia
has declared that she viii no longer be shut
out from the Black Sea; England has called
a European conference to arrange compro-
mise but as the tim, for the proposed meeting
Of this conference approaches we see that both
England and Russia are as actively preparing
for war as if the conference had met and had
transferred the issue 10 the field OF battle. The
Viceroy of E ypt, ''snuiiing the battle afar
of, again shows symptoms Of a rsvolt against
the Sultan; and while thosa semi barbarian
principalities of The Danube are kindlng for
knows not which way to move
| In this brief summing up of the existing diff
fculties and complications in European affairs
We have various questions presented, the set
tlement Of which delies conj cture and can
only b, determined by the course of events.
1t is apparent that France, republic, empire
or kin dom, must hereafter sit behind Ger
many in the councils of Europe; that Rome is
to be the capital of Italy; that Austria must
turn her face from the Elbe to the Danube
that the Pope must be taken under the protec-
ton OF the great Powers; that the navies Of
Russia can no longer be excluded from the
Black Sea, and that only European confer
! cnee car save the Sultan from expulsion into
| Asia and prevent the proclamation of Egypt
as an Independent State. Beyond these facts,
established or foreshadowed, we do not know
! and cannot calcua ate or conjecture what may
be the reconstruction of European affairs. East,
West, North or South. We only know that
| the whole Continent is in the active efferves-
| cence of a mixture of warning elements,
dynastic, popular, political, religious and
social, and tina. there are as yet from this fer
menting process no signs Of general crystal
lization.
History, they say, repeats itself; but in
this new age of modern military inventions,
steam, telegraphs and an independent public
press the drift of events IN the political world
so far outruns all precedents in history that
they fail to serve US as landmarks even from
4 doU IN vUhi fOr
| hundreds of years has been the master and
| the terror OF Europe now lies PROSTATE, and
| the Power which was but the growth Of
| yesterday now awaits at Versailles the
capitulation of the capital of the
civilized wsrld. The grand idea Of
the Third Napoleon, the unity of
nationalities," which made him Caesar at
Solferino made him prisoner at Sedan.
Italian unity was his crewning glory, but
German unity has proved his crowning dis
aster. National unity, however, is not
Napoeonic but an American idea. And
when we come to look at it, the moral infu-
ence Of this young republic since its birth over
European affairs is really amazing. Our Revo-
luton OF l776 for independence and the
sovereignty of the people brought about the
great French Revolution of 1889 and all the
resulting European wars and revolutions down
to the general peace and general reconstruc-
! tion by the Holy Alliance of 1915. So, too,
| the European revolutions and convulsions Of
1889 were but the outcroppings of American
| ideas; aud they were only temporarily settled
| in the imperial usurpatien of Napoleon Of
1851.
The attractive example of American unity,
as developed in these United States, began
again to bring forth its good fruits in Italy in
1859; but the growth was arrested in 1861 by
the startling rebellion of our Southern States
for their institution Of slavery under sepa-
rate confederacy. Kingcraft then was
triumphant in Europe, and in the midst Of our
great struggle for national unity Napoleon
was SO far emboldened in kingcraft as to
establish monarchy over Mexico. With our
national success, however, the whole face of
things in Europe was changed, and German
unity and the completion of Italian unity and
the revolution in Spain are among the results
OF the reaction upon Europe Of our great
success in not only re-establishing the union of
these States, but their union upon the broad
basis Of universal liberty and political equality.
OF course if Napoleon in July last had clearly
understood how thoroughly, from our exam
pie, this idea of national unity had taken hold
of the German mind in Europe, he would
have done everything possible to avoid that
desperate alternative of march to Berlin for
the rectifcation Of his Rhine frontier
But if the great events and examples Of
unity and progress in our history have reacted
upon Europe from the beginning, the great
events, vicissitudes and political, religious and
social movements in Europe have as con-