The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1871-07-13
NUMBER. 81,
THE GIBRALTAR OF GERMANY.

| A few miles from the mouth of the Elbe there
rises from the North sea the small, picturesque
island of Heligoland, which. although it contains
but few hundred inhabitants, nearly all of
whom are poor fishermen, may give rise at no
distant day to serious complications between
the German empire and the government of
Great Britain. This island belongs at the pres
ent tune to England, which took possession of
it in the early part of the present century, du-
ring the NapOleOnic wars when Germany did
not present single man ofwar andconsequent-
ly It's great sea ports were constantly at the
mercy of any naval power which might attack
her. In consequence Of this state Of affairs.
neither the government nor the people OF Ger.
many protested at that time against the annex
alton of Heligoland to England, although the
island had always been looked upon as q part
of Germany, and it's population had always
been German, though its language differs from
any dialect spoken in Germany s,.al7s ea1
1t was not until the year 1848. when a seri.
Gus effort was made to organize German navy
that the desire to recover the possession Of
Helgoland became quite prevalent throughout
Germany 1t was urged by the most infuen-
tial Prussian journals that the safe anchorage
which the island affords to even very large
feet would render it easy for any naval power
at peace with England effectively to blockade
the mouths of the two great rivers, Elbe and
Weser, and to paralyze the commerce of the
two most important German seaports, Ham.
burg and Bremen l1a- 'i
Owing to this agitation, the ambassadors Of
Austria and Prussia were instructed to open
negotiations with the cabinet of st. James for
the retrocession of Heligoland to Germany;
but Lord Palmerston declined to entertain the
proposition, and with the collapse of the central
government of Frankfort in IS49 and the ig-
nominious dissolution of the German navy, the
Heligoland question likewise passed away.
During the recent war with France, h0wev-
er. the people of Northern Germany had once
more occasion to deplore the fact that Helig0-
land was in the hands of foreign power. The
The island became the rendezvous of the French
menof-war which blockaded the mouths of the
Elbe and Weser. If Heligoland had been in
the possession of Germany, the French feet
could not have ventured near the dangerous
coast IN that part of the North sea; and it is
estimated by competent German authorities,
that at least ten millions of dollars would have
been saved in that event to Bremen and Ham,
burg alone. --1''
Owing to all this, the German press has re.
Gently urged the imperial governmental Berlin.
with great unanimlty and much earnestness, to
begin negotiations with England for the retro
cession Of the island; and it is said that the
German ambassador in London has already in.
formed the cabinet of st. James that his gov
ernment has instructed him to reopen the He'll
goland question. What greatly strengthens the
hands OF the imperial government of Germany
in regard to this question, is the fact that the
inhabitants of Helgoand have declared, to a
man, that they are German, and desire that
their island should be annexed to the empire.