Year: 1870

Crisis. .--t


The following is the speech, in
full. of King William, on opening
the North German Parliament, on
the 10Th ult:


"HoNoRED GENTLEMEN OF THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE NORTH GERMAN
CONFEDERATION: When, at your
first meeting l bade you welcome
from this place, in the name of the
allied Governments, it was with joy
and gratitude that l was able to
bear witness to the fact, that by the
help of God, success had rewarded
my sincere efforts to meet the wishes
of the people, and the requirements
of civilization, by avoiding any dis
turhance of the peace of Europe. If
not withstanding this assurance, the
menace and imminence of war now
laid upon the Confederate Govern
ments the duty of calling you to-
gether for an extraordinary session,
you as we'll as ourselves will be ami
mated with the conviction that the
North German Confederation has
labored to improve the national for
ces. not to imperil, but to afford a
greater protection to universal peace
and that when we call upon this ma
tional army to defend our indepen.
dence we only obey the mandates OF
honor and duty. The candidacy OF
a German Prince for the Spanish
throne. both for the bringing for
ward and the withdrawal of which
the Confederate Governments were
equally unconcerned, ,and which only
interested the North German Con
federation in so far as the Govern
ment of friendly country appeared
to base upon its success the hope of
acquiring for sorely tried people
a pledge TOR regular and peaceful
Government. afforded the Emperor
of the French a pretext for casus
5@lti, put forward in a manner long
since unknown in the annals of dip
lomatic intercourse, and adhered to
after the removal of the very pre-
text itself, with the disregard for the
peoples right to the blessings of
peace, of which the history of a for
mer ruler Of France affords so many
analogous examples. If Germany.
in former centuries. bore in silence
such violations of her rights and Of
her honor, it was only because in
her then divided state she knew not
her own strength. To-day, when
the links of intellectual and rightful
community which began to be knit
together at the time of the wars of
liberation, join slowly the different
German races to-day that Germa-
ny's argument leaves no longer an
opening to the enemy, the German
nation contains within itself the will
and the power to repel the renewed
aggression of France. 1t is not ar
rogaDce that puts these words in my
mouth. The confederate Govern
ments and myself are acting with
full consciousness that victory and
defeat are in the hands of Him who
decides the fate of battles. With a
clear gaze, we have measured the
responsibility which, before the
judgment seat of God anc of man
kind, must fall upon him who orags
two great and peace-loving peoples
both equally enjoying and desir-
ing the blessings of Christian civ
llization and Of an increasing pros
perity---all are called to more
wholesome rivalry than the sangui
nary conflict of arms. Yet those
who hold power in France have by
preconcerted misguided found means
to work upon the legitimate but
excltable national sentiment of our
great neighboring people for the
furtherence of ersonal interests and
the qualification of passions. The
more the Confederate Government
are conscious of having done all our
honor and dignity permitted to pre-
serve to Europe the blessings of
peace -and the more indubitable it
shall appear to al minds that the
sword has been thrust into our
hands so much the more confident
ly shall we rely upon the united will
OF the German Governments, both
OF the North and South, and upon
your love of country; and so much
the more confidently we shall flo ut
Tor our rights against the violence
OF foreign invaders, inasnuch as we
pursue no other object than the dur
able establishment of peace in Eu-
rope. God will be with US, as He
was with our forefathers.'


Previous to the delivery of the
speech, on the arrival of the mem
bers of the Federal Council. DR..
Slmson called for cheers for the
head of the North German Confed-
eratlon-an appeal which was thrice
frantlcally responded to.


The King read the speech in firm
voice, but displayed at several pas
sages much emotion and was often
interrupted by vociferous cheering,
especially when he spoke OF the no
longer divided Germany remark
that was understood to appeal to the
cooperation oil Bavaria. The other
passages most cheered were the ones
referring to the peace loving Ger
man people and the misguidance of
the French Nation.


At the close of the speech Baron
Won Friesen, ehe Saxon Minister,
called for cheers for King William.
which were repeated over and over
again.