The chronicle=news., 1914-09-25
THE CONGRESS
sai.as. fa OF vienna

From the Rock Mountain News
4, has been IL hundred years since
all Europe has been at war. as j. is
today. Waterloo, June 10, 1910,
marked the end of 20 years {" almost
continuous fighting. which, after
the return of Napoleon from Egypt
in 1893. involved every European
nation and spread into Africa AID
America. !
The-terns of peace that put an end
to this widespread conflict wer.I pre-
Pared by congress of nations. rrin-
|cipalities and dependencies. the iarg-
est and most representative body Of
the kind ever assembled. Nearly 100
|sovcreigns were present, either in
person or by their representatives.
A brief review of the work CT this
peace congress is OF interest Il; this
time because of the fact that a SINH
lar congress must assemble in the
near future to fix the terms upon
which peace shall be made at the
close of the present European war,
and to settle in some manner the
great number of important interna-
tional questions that have arisen.
The congress of nations assembled
lat Vienna in September. 1874, after
Napoleon. defeated in France. had
been sent to- Elba. 1t hal accom-
plishcd but little when the deposed
first consul returned to Paris early
in 1916. Its members were largely
engaged in secret intrigue, which
for time threatened to make war
instead of peace, when Napoleons =
army was finally overthrown at Wa
terloo. After Waterloo its labors
were hurried to a conclusion.
The Austrian government was
much mere iowerful in the affairs
iof Europe in 1915 than it is today.
Metternich. minister of the Austrian
emperor, was one OF the most power
full diplomats of his day. He pre-
sided at the public sessions OF the
congress and his ideas OF monarchy
and absClutism deeply influenced the
findings of the body.
After Waterloo. France was admit
ted to the negotiations. Important
matters were settled in private ne
eotiations of the five leading pow
.crs. Austria. France. Great Britain.
Prussia and Russia. These pbwers
-igned all agreements and were the
only signers to the more important
ones. For the settlement of certain
u',estions. Spain, Portugal and Swe-
den were admitted to the nesotia-
CT
The series OF wars to which the
congress was meant to put an end
had its origin in the French revolu-
'tion. This revolution was eaaprotest
against absolute monarchy. The
congress was composed of monarchs
and their representatives and was
therefore strongly ini favor of abso-
lutism Metternich. one of it's con-
trolling spirits was the leading
apostle of abselutism in Europe from
the tine OF the convention until his
"ov erthrow in 1S4S. u
Under these conditions it was to
be expected that the congress should
fail to recognize the spirit of popu-
lar government that had flamed up
in France In 1889 and had spread
over all Europe with the armies OF
Napoleon. The international en-
actments of the congress which
formed the public law of Europe un-
til about lS4S was the embodiment
of absolutism.
Stein and other German patriots,
urged the formation of a German
federation similar to the federation
formed so years ago under Bis
marck. Austria and Prussia, both
German states then, would not sur
render their Independent sovereignty
and German confederation was there
fore impossible.
Austria and Prussia We're restored
both in territory and population to
what they had been before the cam
paisns of Napoleon. Austria lost the
Netherlands and regained Lombardy
and Tyrol Venetia and the prov
inccs of Illyria and Dalmatia were
finally acquired by that nation, and
Austrian influence was thus vastly
Russia acquired Poland and England
was confirmed in her possession of
Malta. Norway was given to Swe-
den as reward for her early ad-
herence to the alliance against
France. Geneva, the wallis, and
Neufchatel We're given to Switzer-
land. Piedmont, better known as
the kingdom of Sardinia, was award
ed to the old republic of Genoa.