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.STUDIES 


IN 


EUROPEAN    POLITICS 


BY 

MOUNTSTUART    E.    GRANT    DUFF 

MEMBER   FOR    THE    ELGIN    DISTRICT    OF    BURGHS 


^  :  'I'  V    ■  1  I  i- 


EDINBURGH 

EDMONSTON    AND    DOUGLAS 

1866 


/3^S-t- 


\ 

\ 


ADVEETISEMENT. 


The  seven  Chapters  which  form  this  volume  were,  in 
their  original  shape,  contributed  as  articles,  during  the 
last  three  years  and  a  half,  to  the  North  British  Re- 
view, the  National  Revieio,  and  Frasers  Magazine. 
They  are  now  reprinted,  by  the  kind  permission  of  the 
conductors  and  proprietors  of  those  periodicals. 

The  thii'd,  which  is  from  the  North  British,  and 
the  seventh,  from  Fraser,  having  appeared  quite  re- 
cently, are  hardly  at  all  altered.  To  the  first  and 
second,  also  from  the  North  British,  considerable  addi- 
tions have  been  made  ;  while  the  two  German  papers, 
which  were  published  in  the  National  in  1863  and 
1864,  are  very  greatly  altered  and  enlarged;  less, 
however,  than  the  sixth,  the  nucleus  of  which  w^as  a 
paper  in  Fraser  of  March  1863. 

All  the  seven  articles  were  based  upon  some  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  countries  to  which  they 
refer,  as  Avell  as  on  a  good  deal  of  reading ;  and  warm 
thanks  are  due  to  many  foreign  friends  for  information 
and  criticism. 


VI  ADVERTISEMENT. 

Undertaken  primarily  for  the  \rater's  o^vn  instruc- 
tion, and  as  part  of  a  scheme  of  study,  these  articles 
were  "studies"  in  the  most  literal  sense  of  the  term, 
and  they  are  now  republished  in  the  hope  that  they 
may  abridge  the  labour  of  other  persons  engaged  in 
similar  pursuits.  Should  this  turn  out  to  be  the  case, 
the  present  series  will  probably  be  followed  by  a 
second,  some  of  the  materials  of  which  have  already 
been  collected. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE   I. 


SPAIN. 


PAGE 

Increased  facility    of  Spanish 

travel              ...  1 
Different  classes  of  travellers  in 

Spain    ....  1 

Political  travellers       .          .  1 

Books  recommended  to  them  2 

The  constitution  of  1812     .  4 

The  reign  of  Ferdinand        .  5 

Accession  of  Queen  Isabella  5 

Commencement  of  the  civil  war  5 

The  Estatuto  Keal       .          .  6 

Mendizabal         ...  7 

Isturiz  and  Galiano     .          .  7 

Mutiny  of  La  Granja  .          .  7 

Constitution  of  1837  .          .  8 

Convention  of  Vergara         .  9 

Conduct  of  the  Queen-mother  1 0 

Revolt  of  Barcelona    .          .  10 

Regency  of  Espartero           .  1 1 

Unsuccessful  rising  at  Pamplona  1 2 
Coalition  against  Espartero,  and 

his  fall            ...  13 

Transition  ministry  of  Lopez  13 

Olozaga  and  the  queen  .  14 
Gonsalez  Bravo  .  .  .14 
Narvaez  and  the  constitution 

of  1845           ...  15 

The  Spanish  marriages  .  16 
Cabinet  of  Narvaez   and  Sar- 

'torius  .  •  .  .16 
1848  at  Madrid  .  .  16 
Ministry  of  Bravo-Murillo  .  1 7 
Iklinistry  of  Sartorius  .  1 7 
Pronunciamento  and  Revolu- 
tion of  1854  .  .  18 
The  Constituent  Cortes  .  19 
Mmisterial  crisis  .  .  20 
O'Donnell  in  power    .          .  20 


PAGE 


Reactionary     government     of 

Narvaez  .  .  .21 

Ministerial  changes      .  .        21 

O'Donnell  and  the  "  Union- 
Liberal"  .  .  .21 
The  war  with  Morocco  .  22 
The  fall  of  O'DonneU  .  24 
Short-lived  ministries  .  24 
The  Narvaez  cabinet  of  1864  25 
The  troubles  of  1865  .  26 
The  present  administration  27 
Views  of  I\Ir.  Buckle  on  Spain  28 
The  Spanish  monarchy  .  29 
The  existing  constitution  .  29 
The    ]\linistry    of    Grace    and 

Justice  .  .  .30 

The  Ministry  of  the  Interior  32 
The  Ministry  of  Public  Welfare  34 
Material  revival  of  Spain  .  35 
Railways,  roads,  foreign  trade, 

etc 35 

The  Ministry  of  Finance,  Spa- 
nish credit  .  .  .39 
Sale  of  church  property  .  41 
The  Ministry  of  War  .  42 
The  Spanish  soldier  .  .  42 
The  Ministry  of  Marine  .  44 
The  Ministry  of  the  Colonies  45 
The  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  46 
Parties  in  Spain  .  .  47 
The  newspaper  press  .  .  47 
Contemj)orary  literature  .  49 
Education  .  .  .51 
State  of  religion  .  .  54 
Protestantism  .  .  .56 
The  dynasty  .  .  .60 
The  present  and  future  of 
Spain     .          .          .         .61 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE  11. 


RUSSIA. 


PAGE 

Western  European  opinion   on 

Russia   .  .  .  .65 

It8  elements        .  .  .65 

Clarke — Custine — Presumptu- 
ous foreign  policy  .  .  65-6 
Alexander  I.  .  .  .66 
Wliat  tlie  HolyAlliance  really  was  67 
Congress  politics  .  .  68 
Last  days  of  Alexander  I.  .  69 
Early  dangers  of  the  reign  of 

Nicholas         ...        69 
Tlie  Crimean  war        .  .        70 

Death  of  Nicholas,  and  break- 

uj)  of  his  system     .  .        71 

Alexander  II.     .         .  .71 

Period  of  fermentation  .        71 

The  Russian  peasants  .        72 

a.  The  Odnodvortzi  .        72 

b.  Tlie  Cossacks      .  .        72 

c.  The  free  labourers       .        73 

d.  Tlie  foreign  colonists  .        74 

e.  The  crown  peasants     .        74 

f.  The  peasants  of  the  apan- 

ages ...  74 
g.  The  peasants  of  the  J  7YHf?65  74 
h.  The  peasants  of  the  crown 

establishments  .        75 

i.  Tlie  Yamschiki  .  .        75 

j.  The  serfs  proper  .        75 

M.  Nicholas  Tourgueneff  .  75 
Tlie  Russian  commune  .  77 
The  pers(Mial  serfs       .  .        81 

History   of   the    emancipation 

project  .  ,  .81 

The  i)r(>clamation  of  eufriinchise- 

ment      ....        83 
M.  Milutine        .  .  .    83-4 

Possible  effects  of  the  emanci- 
pation .         .         .    85-6 
Gathering  in    London    in    the 

spring  of  1861         .  .        87 

News  arrives  of  the  first  colli- 
sion at  Warsaw        .  .        87 


PAGE 

87 


The  Polish  question  . 
Poland  under  Alexander  I.  .  88 
Poland  under  Nicholas  .  88-9 
Wielopolski,  Andre  Zamoyski  89 
The  Agricultural  Society  .  90 
The  year  1863  .  .91 

The  conscription  .  .        91 

Difficulties  of  the  Polish  ques- 
tion       ....        92 
The  religious    element    in  the 

insurrection    .  .  .95 

The    venerable   feud    of    the 

"FQioque"     ...        95 
The  Greek  Church      .  .95 

Its     wide    extent    and    great 

power    .         ,         .  .96 

Its  influence  on  the  peasantry  96 
Its  art  and  its  music  .  .  97 
Its  want  of  learning    .  .        97 

Reforms  which  it  recpiires  .  97 
The  Dissidents  .  .        99 

Schedo  -  Ferroti's    book  —  La 

Tolerance,  etc.  en  Russie    .        99 
Tlie     Greek      and      Anglican 

Churches         .  .  .101 

England    and    Russia — Have 

they  anything  to  fear  from 

each  other?    .  ,         .102 

Russia  in  Central  Asia  .  102 
Our  policy  in  Asia  should  be 

one  of  strict  alliance         .      103 
Constantinople  and  the  Eastern 

question  .  .  103-4 

Russia  in  Germany      !  .      105 

Pansclavism        .  .  .105 

Extract  from  Chamiakoff  .  106 
Russia  strong  for  defence  but 

weak  for  aggression  .      107 

Circassia  .  .         .109 

Russian  finance  .         .109 

Russian  jjarties  .  .109 

Constitutionalism  in  Russia  110 
Herzen  and  the  KoJolcol        .      112 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


PAGE 

Democratic    basis    of    Russian 

society             ,          .  .113 

The  Russian  nobility  .      113 

The  Tchinovniks          .  .      114 

Russian  law        .          .  .115 

Russian  literature        .  .      116 

Russian  journalism      .  .      117 

The  universities           .  .118 

Education            .          .  ,119 


PAGE 

Uncertainties  of  the  future  .  120 
Events    of    the     last     twenty 

months  .  .  .121 

L'Echo  cle  la  Presse  Russe  .  125 
Milutine  in  Poland      .  .127 

M.     N.    Tourgueneff    on    the 

Polish  land  question  127-31 
Results  of  the  present 

reign      .  .  .  .131-2 


CHAPTEE   III. 


AUSTRIA. 


all 


character    of 
arransements     in 


Provisional 
political 

Austria  .  .  .133 

Ciitical  state  of  that  empire  133 
Books  on  Austria         .  .  134-6 

The  modem  history  of  Austria 

begins  ^vith  Joseph  II.      .  136-7 
Leopold  II.         .  .  .  137-9 

The  SYSTEM        .  .  .140 

The  Emperor  Francis  .141-2 

Prince  Mettemich        .  .  142-4 

The  Greek  insurrection  .  145 
End  of  the  diplomatic  period  145 
Himgary  in  1825        .  .146 

The  Bohemians  .  .      147 

The  Greek  revolution  .      148 

The  Polish  struggle  of  1831  148 
The  SYSTEM  to  the  death  of  the 

Emperor  Francis     .  .      149 

Decline  of  Metternich's  in- 
fluence .  .  .150 
The  Emperor  Ferdinand  .  150 
The  Triumvirate  .  .  151 
TheTyror  .  .  .152 
Hungarian  grievances  .  152 
First  appearance  of  Kossuth  153 
Stephen  Szechenyi  .  .  153 
Transylvanian       agitations  — 

Wesselenyi      .  .  .154 

Croatia       .  .  .  .155 

Hungarian    parties    and   poli- 
tics       .         .         .         .156-7 


The  1st  of  March  1848        .      158 
General  disaffection     .  .      159 

The  Galician  massacres         .     160 
Occupation  of  Cracow  .      161 

The  13th  of  March  at  Vienna  163 
The    laws    of    1848    in   Hun- 
gary      ....      163 
The    Hungarian    war    and    its 

results  .  .  .164-5 

Schwartzenberg  and  Bach     .166-7 
The  Bach  system  and  the  re- 
action   .  .  .         167-73 
Fall  of  M.Bach           .  .173 
The  strengthened  council  of  the 


Empire,  May  1860 
The  October  diploma 
Count  Goluchowski 
Baron  Nicholas  Vay 
M.  Schmerling    . 
The  patent  of  February  1861 
The  Hungarian  Diet  meets  . 
The    Hungarian 

solved    . 
The    Schmerling 

tion 


173 
174 
175 
176 
177 
177 
178 
Diet    is   dis- 

.     179 
administra- 

180-1 

The  three  letters  from  Pesth  182-3 
Deak  ....      184 

Retirement  of  M.  Schmerling    185 
The  SejDtember  manifesto     .      186 
Vienna  in  September  1865  .      187 
The  autimm  of  1865  in  Austria 
{note)     .  .  .  .188 


CONTENTS. 


Ditticiilties  of  Austria . 
Till'  cnminercial  treaty 
The  nationalities 
Venetia     . 
Geniiany  and  Austria  . 


PAGE    I  PAGE 

180-90  I  Austria  and  the  Eastern  ques- 

191  !       tion        .          .          .  .197 

.      193     Austria  and  Poland     .  .198 

194-5  ;  The  future           .          .  .199 

195-6  1  The  threatened  war    .  .200 


CHAPTEE    IV. 


PKUSSIA. 


Unattractiveness    of    Prussian 

jx.litics  ....  201 
Recent  history  of  Prussia  .  201 
Four  well-marked  periods  .  202 
Deatli    of    Frederick    William 

III 202 

Frederick  William  IV.  .     203 

1840-47    .  .  .  .204 

Tlie  "  Historical"  school  .  205 
The  "  Vereinigte  Landtag"  205-6 
1848  in  Berlin  .  206-10 

Gains     of    the    revolutionary 

period  ....  210 
Commencement  of  the  reaction  210 
Mauteiltlel  .  .  .211 

Retirement  of  the  democratic 

j.arty     .  .  .  .211 

Tlie  constitution  .         .212 

Tlie  crisis  of  1850  and  Olmiitz  212 
The  reaction  continues  .      213 

Staid, (lerlacli, and  the  king  215-16 
Viiicke       .  .  .  .217 

The    Prussian     war     and    the 

Crown  Prince  .  .218 

Violence  of  the  reaction  .  220 
l*o]»ular  education  in  Prussia  221 
Illness  of  the  king       .  .      222 

Regency  with  full  powers  .  222 
T\n'.  new  gcn'einnient  .  .  222-6 

Character  of  the  regent  .  226 
The  coronation  at  Kiinigsberg  226 
The  military  (juestion  .      227 

Re-ftj>iK.'ttmnce  of  the  democratic 

|Mirty  as  the  Oenuan  i)arty 

of  progresH  .     SS*^ 


Its  manifesto       .  .  .229 

Constitution  of  the  new  parlia- 
ment     .    *      .  .  .     229 
Leading  liberal  politicians  .  230-1 
The  military  question  .      231 
Resignation    of   ministers  and 

dissolution      .  .  .231 

The  Von  der  Heydt  cabinet  231 
The  new  parliament    .  .      232 

Vincke  and  Sybel  .  '.  232 
M.  von  Bismarck-Schonhausen  233 
His  history  and  character  .  234-5 
Quarrel  between  the  House  and 

the  ministers — prorogation  236 
Press  ordinances  .  .236 

The     speech    of    the    Crown 

Prince  at  Dantsic    .         .237 
Dissolution    and   new    parlia- 
ment     ....     238 
Death    of   Frederick    VII.    of 

Denmark        .  .  .238 

The   Schleswig-Holstein    ques- 
tion becomes  dangerous  .     239 
M.    Bismark    and    the    Lower 

House    ....      239 
The  Danish  war  .  .240 

The  autumn  of  1865  .  .241 

The  short  session  of  1866  .  241 
Ditliculties  of  Prussian  Liberals  242 
The  army  .  .  .  .243 

Tlie  Feudal  pai-ty        .  .244 

Mecklenburg       .  .  .      245 

The  situation  in  the  spring  of 

1866  .  .  246-9 

Tlie  future  .  .  250-1 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


CHAPTER   V. 


THE    GERMANIC    DIET. 


252 


252 
253 


PAGE 

Distinction  between  a  federa- 
tive state  and  a  confedera- 
tion of  states  . 
Germany    is    the    latter  —  a 
Staaten-Bund  not  aBundes- 
Staat      .... 
The  Holy  Koman  Empire    . 
The     Confederation    of     the 

Rhine  ....  254 
The  negotiations  of  1814  255-7 
The  Federal  Act  .  257-8 

The  Final  Act    .  .  .     259 

The   Ministerial    Conferences 

of  1820  and  1834  .  .     260 

Plans  of  Federal  reform  .  260 
The  Vor-Parlament     .  .261 

The  Frankfort  Parliament  .  261 
The  League  of  the  Three  Kings 

and  the  "  Union"    .  .262 

The  Gotha  party  .  .263 

The  Interim  at  Frankfort  .  263 
Saxony  and  Hanover  secede 

from  the  "Union".  .     264 

The  Erfurt  Parliament  .  264 
The  threatened  war  of  1850  265 
Ascendancy  of  Nicholas  .  265 
Fall    of    Radowitz    and    the 

"Union"        .  .  .266 

The  Dresden  Conferences    .     266 


PAGE 

Elation  of  Prince  Schwartzen- 

berg       ....      266 
France,  England,  and  Russia 

interfere  .  .  .266 

The  Confederation  as  it  is    .     267 
The  Diet.  .  .         268-76 

The  Federal  army       .  ,270 

Austria  and  Prussia    .  .270 

The    minor    German    States 

{note)       .  .  .         272-6 

Plans  of  Federal  reform  .  276 
The  National- Yere in  .  .277 
The  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg  .  278 
Official  steps  for  Federal  re- 
form .  .  .  279-80 
Count  Bismark's  recent  pro- 
posal     ....     281 

281 
282 
283 
284 
284 
285-6 


The  three  Ideas 

The  "  Great-German"  Idea 

The  "  Trias"  Idea 

The  "  SmaU-German"  Idea 

The  threatened  war     . 

German  unity    . 

Estrangement  between 

land  and  Germany 
Its    cause  —  the 

Holstein  imbroglio 
Better  hopes  for  the  future  . 


Eng- 


Schleswig- 


287 

287 
288 


CHAPTER    VI. 

HOLLAND. 


Physical  character  of  the 
Netherlands  .         .289 

Contrast  of  their  ancient  and 
modem  condition    .  .     290 

Wonderful  achievements  of 
the  Dutch       .         .  .290 

The  comic  side  of  Holland  .      290 


Books  on  Holland       .  291-2 

The  modern  history  of  Hol- 
land begins  with  the  French 
Revolution      .         .  .292 

Creation  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  United  Netherlands  .     293 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


I'AGE 

Four  pericKls — 

1.  1815  to  1830. 

2.  1830  to  1840. 

3.  1840  to  1848. 

4.  1848  to  the  present  time  293 
The  Dutch  royal  family  .  294 
Achievements   of  the   fourth 

periml  ....  294 
Life   and  character  of  Thor- 

hecke     .  .  .  294-5 

Tlie  "  April  movement"  .  296 
Steady  jjrogi-ess  .  .  .297 

Holhind  is  in  advance  of  every 

country  in  Europe  in  two 

departments    of     national 

life.     These  are — 

a.  Her  ecclesiastical  system 

b.  Her  elementary  educa- 

tion   .         .         .297 
History  of  theology  in  Hol- 
land from  the  Reformation 
downwards      .         .  .298 

The  Synod  of  Dort       .  .298 

Inlhionce    of    the    Cartesian 

jdiilosophy     .  .  .299 

The    eighteenth    century    in 

Holland  .  .       299-300 

Van  der  Palm    .  .  .301 

Tlie  reaction  in  Holland  301 

BiMi-rdyk  ....  301 
Da  ('(.sta    .  .  .  .301 

M.  Groen  van  Prinsterer      .     302 
Tlie   high  Tory   and   Confes- 
sional i.arty    .  303-6 


312 
313 
315 
315 
316 


PAGE 

The     Vinet    school    in    Hol- 
land      ....      306 
The    theologians    of   Gronin- 

gen         .  .  .  307-9 

Tlie  theologians  of  Leyden  309-11 
The  "  modern"  theologians        311 
The  Walloon  churches 
M.  Albert  Reville 
M.  Oj^zoomer 

The  theologians  of  Utrecht 
Spinoza 

The  Jansenist  Church  of  Hol- 
land .  .  .316 
Other  dissenting  sects  .  317 
Ecclesiastical  organisation  .  318 
Prospects  of  the  Dutch  Church  318 
Noble    reply    of    the    General 

Synod  .  .  .320 

Education  in  the  Netherlands  321 
Cuvier's  report  .  .     321 

M.  Victor  Cousin's  report  .  321 
Mr.  William  Chambers's  book  321 
Mr.  Matthew  Arnold's  report  322 
The    "Society  for   the  Public 

Good"  .  .  .322 

Tlie  school  law  of  1806  .  322 
The  debates  of  1857  .      323 

M.  Jfimile  de  Laveleye's  book  323 
Working  of  the  law  of  1857  323-5 
Dutch  secondary  education,  till 

lately,  very  imperfect        .  326-7 
The  Dutch  Universities        .327-9 
Colonial  reforms  now  under  dis- 
cussion .  .  .  330-1 


("llAPTEE    YTT. 


I)talh  of  Kini^'  JA-opold 

Mm     H'ign     deservt-s     to     he 

studied  ... 
CiTution   of   the    kiii-iloiM    ol 

thr  Unitt'd  NrthcrliiMils  . 
CiumeH  of  its  failure 


KKLC 

;iUM. 

332 

"The  Union"     . 

33  4 

The  four  glorious  days 

334 

332 

The    Provisional    Govern- 

ment    .          .          .          . 

334 

322 

Tlie  Congress 

335 

333 

Leopold  becomes  king 

335 

CONTENTS. 


Xlll 


PAGE 


Services  of  Lord  Palmerston 


to  Belgium 


336 


of    the     new 


Political    life 

nation  ....  336 
Liberals  and  Clericals  .     336 

Useful  measures  .  .     337 

M.  Devaux  and  his  article  in 

the  Revue  Nationale  .      338 

The  De  Theux  cabinet  .  338 
The  Eogier  cabinet      .  .338 

The  Nothomb  cabinet  .     338 

The  Van  de  Weyer  cabinet  339 
M.    de    Tlieux    again    First 

Minister  .  .  .339 

Reform  meeting  at  the  Hotel 

de  Ville  in  Brussels  .     340 

M.    Eogier    and    M.    Frere- 

Orban  ....  340 
Their  programme         .  .     341 

Fall  of  the  July  monarchy  .  341 
The  year  1848  in  Belgium  342-3 
Party  conflicts    .  .  .344 

Ministry  of  conciliation  .  344 
M.  de  Brouckere  .  .      345 

The    Vilain     xiiii.    and    De 

Decker  cabinet        .  .     346 

The    Jamais    of    M.    Vilain 

xiiii 348 

The  Ej)iscopal  aggression  .  348 
The  "  Loi  des  Couvents"  .  349 
Biots  ....     350 

The  kuigs  letter  .  .351 

Fall  of  the  ministry    .  .352 

M.     Rogier    once     more    in 

power    .  .  .  .352 


PAGE 

Session  of  1858  .  .     353 

New  cj[uestions    .  .  .353 

Abolition  of  the  Octroi  .  354 
Commercial  treaty  with  Fran  ce  355 
Question  of  Antwerp  .  .     356 

Commercial  treaty  with  Eng- 
land      .  .  .  .356 
Abolition  of  the  Scheldt  dues    357 
Enlightened  views    on  fiscal 

reform  .  .  .  .357 

M.  Dechamps      .  .  .358 

His  programme  .  .      359 

The  dead-lock  of  parties  .  359 
The  Encyclical  of  December 

1864     .  .  .  ,360 

The  session  of  1865.  .      361 

The  death  of  King  Leopold  361 
In    what    condition    did    he 

leave  his  country     .  .362 

Moral  and  material  progress  362-3 
Recent  works  on  Belgium    .      363 
The  AYalloons  and  the  Flem- 
ings      ....     364 
Belgian  literature         .  365-6 

The  periodical  press    .  366-7 

Population,  pauperism,  taxa- 
tion       .  .  .  367-8 
M.  Dechamps — his  article  in. 

the  Revue  Gene  rale  .     368 

M.    de   Laveleye's  article   in 

the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes    369 
Clericals  and  Liberals  369-73 

Richard     Cobden,     Roi    des 

Beiges     ....     373 
France  and  Belgium    .  373-7 


PEEFATOEY  NOTE. 


While  these  sheets  have  been  passing  through  the 
press,  the  diplomatists  of  three  great  countries  have 
been  engaged,  with  more  or  less  of  zeal,  in  attempting 
to  preserve  the  peace  of  Europe.  There  seems  now 
little  reason  to  doubt  that  their  efforts  have  been 
unsuccessful,  and  that  more  than  one  of  the  questions, 
which  we  have  discussed,  may  be  brought  to  a 
speedier  settlement  than  any  one  expected  a  few 
months  ago.  Still,  whatever  may  be  the  result  of  the 
encounters  of  armies,  and  however  long  they  may 
continue,  it  will  be  necessary,  when  the  storm  has 
passed  away,  to  remember  accurately  the  position 
of  affairs  before  its  first  mutterings  began  to  be  heard ; 
and  it  is  hoped  that  the  present  work  may  not  be 
wholly  useless  to  those  who  desire  to  do  so.  Ere  yet, 
then,  the  whole  face  of  the  Continent  is  covered  with 
the  smoke  of  battle,  let  us  take  one  last  glance  at  the 
seven  countries  to  which  this  volume  is  devoted. 

Spain,  fortunate  in  her  isolated  position,  would 
have  indeed  gone  out  of  her  way  to  seek  misfortune 
if  she  had  contrived  to  become  involved  in  the  present 


xvi  PREFATOKY    NOTE. 

European  complication.  At  this  moment  her  govern- 
ment appears  to  be  making  a  somewhat  more  earnest 
efibrt  than  usual  to  put  herself  right  with  her  credi- 
tors, and  to  ol)tain,  so  to  speak,  a  locus  standi  in  the 
great  money-market  of  the  world. 

Meanwhile  English  newspapers  are  full  of  reflec- 
tions upon  her  doings  in  the  Pacific ;  and  it  is  most 
assm'cdly  not  our  business  to  justify  them,  anxious  as 
we  are  to  see  tlie  rights  of  commerce,  in  time  of  war, 
ever  more  and  more  protected.  Nevertheless,  we 
sliould  wish  that  more  prominence  were  given  to 
the  Spanish  side  of  the  question.  All  Europe  is 
interested  in  restraining  the  petulance  of  the  South 
American  States,  whose  one  bond  is  an  intense  jealousy 
and  dislike  of  the  old  Continent.  Those  who  imaoine 
that  their  ill  humour  is  the  fruit  of  past  injuries,  and 
is  directed  only  against  Spain,  might  turn  with  advan- 
tage to  the  extremely  interesting  essay  prefixed  by  M. 
Calvo,  tlic  C'harge  d'Afiaires  of  Paraguay,  to  his 
v;ilual)le  collection  of  the  Treaties  of  Latin  America. 
They  will  there  find  that  England  comes  in  for  con- 
siderably more  than  her  fair  share  of  detestation,  and 
is  accused  of  "  intolerable  oppression."  It  is  difticult, 
as  any  onc^  who  pursues  the  tangled  thread  of  our 
relations  with  these  promising,  but  still  imperfectly- 
civilised  communities,  will  readily  discover,  always  to 
hit  tli<^  exact  mean  between  over-severity  and  weak- 
ness.    Of  one  thing,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt, — 


PREFATORY    NOTE.  xvii 

that  any  interference  on  the  part  of  Spain  in  South 
America,  which  goes  beyond  what  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  Spanish  subjects  and 
Spanish  commerce  on  that  Continent,  is  simple  mad- 
ness. If  she  must  play  the  Quixote,  she  had  much 
better  find  vent  for  her  superfluous  enthusiasm  in 
another  quarrel  with  the  Moors. 

What  secrets  may  be  known  to  those  wonderful 
persons  who  telegraph  to  Mr.  Eeuter  the  contents  of 
autograph  letters  from  the  Czar  to  the  Kaiser,  we 
cannot  pretend  to  say ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that 
the  policy  of  Eussia  in  the  present  crisis  may  be  as 
evil  as  we  are  often  told  that  it  invariably  is.  So  far, 
however,  as  any  information  which  looks  authentic  has 
reached  us,  the  conduct  of  the  Autocrat  and  his  ad- 
visers has  been  very  fair  and  loyal.  Every  one,  at 
least,  will  admit  that  we  seem  to  be  separated,  not  by 
seventeen  years,  but  by  whole  ages,  from  the  famous 
proclamation  which  marks  the  culminating  point  of 
the  insanity  of  Nicholas  : — "  Nobiscum  Deus,  audite 
populi  et  vincemini,  quia  nobiscum  Deus  ! " 

The  Prussian  press,  as  we  gather  from  its  faithful 
exponent  in  Brussels,  is  decidedly  favourable  to  peace, 
and,  although  watching  with  great  care  all  that  passes 
on  the  Danube,  is  chiefly  occupied  with  internal  afiairs, 
more  especially  with  the  new  judicial  institutions, 
which  came  into  operation  at  Petersburg  and  Moscow 
in  the  month  of  April.     These  institutions  will,  we 


xviii  PREFATORY  NOTE. 

trust,  be  one  step  more  on  the  road  to  legal  as  dis- 
tinguished from  arbitrary  government;  but  large 
deductions  will  doubtless  have  to  be  made  from  the 
enthusiastic  observations  of  the  Minister  of  Justice, 
who  lately  declared  that  the  new  code  of  procedure 
was  "  ahnost  the  dernier  mot  of  juridical  wisdom/' 

In  the  far  East  we  see,  by  the  latest  news,  that 
Russia  has  good  cause,  not  for  alarm,  but  for  anxiety. 
The  defeat  which  her  arms  lately  sustained,  at  the 
hands  of  the  Emir  of  Bokhara,  must  have  been  more 
serious  than  was  at  first  supposed — so  serious  indeed 
as  to  require  that  something  considerable  should  be 
done,  in  order  to  recover  her  lost  prestige.  We  are  far 
from  saying,  that  if  Eussia  ends  by  annexing  the 
whole  of  that  part  of  Tartary  which  is  still  independ- 
ent, it  will  not  be  right  for  us  to  consider,  most 
seriously,  whether  there  are  not  some  points  which  we 
ought  to  secure  as  outworks  of  our  Indian  Empire. 
Because  we  once  played,  what  a  brilliant  writer  has 
called,  "  the  great  game  of  Central  Asia "  extremely 
badly,  that  is  no  reason  why  we  should  conclude  that 
it  will  never  have  to  be  played  at  all.  Far  from 
neglecting  the  advance  of  Eussia  towards  the  South, 
we  til  ink  we  should  watch  it  with  the  greatest  possible 
attention  ;  but  this  should  be  done  in  a  friendly,  not 
in  M  hostile  s])irit,  the  ultimate  object  being,  as  we  have 
I'lscwlierc  suid,  to  arrive  at  a  mutual  understanding 
"I    Asia,      an    understanding  which    may,  before  our 


PREFATORY  NOTE.  XIX 

frontiers,  still  separated  by  enormous  distances,  shall 
touch  each  other,  be  so  close  as  to  lead  us  to  feel  that 
each  other  s  neighbourhood  is  a  guarantee  against  the 
insurrectionary  tendencies  of  the  Mussulman  popula- 
tions in  our  respective  dominions.  The  worst  forms  of 
fanaticism,  which  we  have  to  dread  in  India,  cannot 
well  be  more  formidable  than  the  peculiarly-odious 
type  which  the  religion  of  the  prophet  has  assumed  in 
Turkistan. 

In  treating  of  this  subject  there  are  two  things 
equally  to  be  deprecated — an  excessive  indifference  to 
Kussian  advance,  and  a  foolish  fear  of  it.  We  are  glad 
to  observe  that  Mr.  Long  has  taken  up  the  cudgels  for 
Eussia  in  Calcutta.  If  his  views  are  a  little  too  favour- 
able to  that  power,  as  we  have  hinted,  they  are,  we 
repeat,  far  nearer  the  truth  than  those  which  have  often 
prevailed  in  India,  and  the  discussion  which  he  cannot 
fail  to  bring  about  in  the  press  of  Bengal,  will  tend  to 
enlighten  public  opinion. 

In  suspending  for  a  time  the  publication  of  the 
Moscoiv  Gazette,  the  Eussian  government  has  only 
carried  out  the  existing  press  law  of  the  empire,  and 
we  cannot  attribute  any  political  significance  to  the 
course  which  it  has  adopted.  Its  latest  appointments, 
on  the  contrary,  were  highly  approved  of  by  that 
journal.  Of  these  the  most  important  was  the  sub- 
stitution of  Count  Tolstoi,  as  Minister  of  Public  In- 
struction, for  the  more  liberal  Golownine.     Count  Tol- 


XX  PREFATORY  NOTE. 

stui  has  taken  a  very  prumiueut  part  in  the  direction 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  his  appointment  indicates 
a  desire  to  fall  back  upon  the  church  for  aid  against  Her- 
zenism,  Nihilism,  Polonism,  and  all  the  other  spectres 
with  which  the  Russian  reactionists  think  they  have 
a  mission  to  fight.  A  curious  standard  of  comparison 
between  the -relative  enlightenment  of  the  retrograde 
party,  immediately  east  and  west  of  the  Vistula,  is 
afforded  by  a  recent  article  in  the  KreiLZ  Zeitung,  which, 
while  highly  approving  Count  Tolstoi's  appointment, 
and  praying  for  the  revivification  of  the  Greek  Church, 
points  out  that  the  best  way  to  attain  that  object 
would  be  to  grant  religious  toleration,  and  this  at  the 
very  moment  when,  at  least  in  the  western  provinces 
of  Russsia,  that  church  is  assuming  an  exclusive  and 
intolerant  attitude,  by  no  means  in  accordance  wdth 
her  traditions.  The  rescript  of  the  Czar,  lately  ad- 
dressed to  Prince  Gagarine,  is  another  symptom  of 
a  desii'c  to  invoke  the  aid  of  superstition  as  a  protec- 
tion against  "  antisocial  machinations." 

Austria  continues  her  slow  progress  down  the  easy 
slope  of  Avernus.  The  war  into  w^hich  she  seems  as 
anxious  as  either  of  her  adversaries  to  plunge,  can 
bring  to  her,  at  least,  the  satisfactory  solution  of  no 
one  of  the  questions  which  have  so  long  tormented 
htr.  She  may  well  di'ive  back  Victor  Emmanuel  from 
the  (^)uadrilateral,  she  may  well  overbalance  by  sheer 
force  of  numbers  the  advantage  derived  by  her  Ger- 


PREFATORY  NOTE.  xxi 

man  foe  from  that  formidable  needle-gun,  which  we 
are  told  makes  one  soldier  do  the  work  of  three  ;  but 
who,  that  knows  the  forces  now  at  work  in  Europe, 
can  doubt  that  Italy  and  Prussia  must  conquer  in  the 
end  ? 

It  appears  to  be  generally  expected  that  Hungary 
will  forget  her  grievances  and  support  the  Kaiser  in 
his  attempt  to  establish,  once  for  all,  his  preponder- 
ance in  Germany.  We  shall  iDclieve  this  when  we 
see  it.  The  chivalrous  Magyars  showed,  even  in  that 
famous  Diet  when  they  rallied  round  the  Empress- 
Queen,  that  they  had  a  tolerably  sharp  eye  to  their 
own  interests.  If  the  ingenious  author  of  Pearls  and 
Mock  Pearls  of  History  ever  republishes,  in  an  en- 
larged form,  that  interesting  article,  we  should  recom- 
mend him  to  examine  what  basis  of  historical  truth 
there  really  is  in  that  famous  story  of  the  "  Moriamur 
pro  rege  nostro,"  the  onQfact  (?)  in  Hungarian  history 
familiar  to  Englishmen,  before  the  war  of  1848-49, 
and  which  has  been  set  by  Lord  Macaulay  in  a  bril- 
liant passage — the  same,  by  the  way,  in  which  he  has 
exalted  the  tiny  mound  called  the  Konigsberg  into  the 
"  Mount  of  Defiance."  As  is  that  hillock  to  the  castle- 
hill  of  Presburg  which  rises  over  it,  so  we  trust  will  be 
the  real  to  the  anticipated  enthusiasm  of  Hungary  in 
this  evil  war. 

And  Prussia — can  she  escape  censure  ?  Certainly 
not ;    for  unless   we   separate   the   people   from   the 


xxii  PREFATORY  NOTE. 

government,  she  is  far  more  in  the  wrong  than  her 
opponent  in'  the  quarrel  which  is  the  j^roximate  cause 
of  war.  Nor  can  we  altogether  separate  the  people 
from  the  o-overnment,  for  if  the  annexationist  schemes 
of  Count  Bismark  in  the  Duchies  had  not  been  seconded 
last  year  by  the  enthusiasm  of  many  who  ought  to 
have  known  better,  he  might  not  have  advanced  so 
far.  The  best  we  can  say  is  that  the  attitude  of  the 
nation  in  view  of  the  approaching  danger  has  been 
worthy  of  an  intelligent  and  civilised  community.  It 
seems  impossible  to  believe  that  the  war  could  be  long 
continued  without  the  complete  break-down  of  the 
present  system  of  government ;  and  if  that  break- 
down is  sudden  and  final,  if  the  vast  change  which 
would  be  involved  in  the  substitution  of  the  policy  of, 
say,  M.  Roggenbach,  for  that  of  M.  Bismark,  were  soon 
to  follow  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  it  would 
undoubtedly  be  a  not  inadequate  return  for  a  good 
deal  of  suffering. 

That  Prussia,  even  in  the  best  event,  has,  if  she 
once  goes  to  war,  a  good  deal  of  suffering  to  pass 
through,  we  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt.  It  may  be, 
as  some  military  authorities  teU  us,  that  the  superiority 
of  her  weapons  will  give  her  a  great  advantage ;  but 
her  whole  social  system  will  be  far  more  disorganised 
by  war  than  that  of  her  antagonist,  and  she  will  have 
to  use  up  on  the  battle-field  material  far  more  valuable 
than  any  wliich  her  adversary  will  use,  or  even  pos- 


PREFATORY  NOTE.  xxiii 

sesses.  We  may  smile  at  those  excited  gentlemen  who 
believe  that  the  scenes  in  Schiller's  "  Camp  of  Wallen- 
stein "  are  going  to  be  reproduced  all  over  North  Ger- 
many, and  we  do  not  for  a  moment  believe  that  the 
Seressaner  or  Likaner  of  1866  is  more  of  a  barbarian 
than  many  of  the  private  soldiers  in  other  armies  ; 
but  the  fact  of  his  not  being  on  a  par  with  the  soldiers 
of  Alva,  or  the  Pandours  who  followed  Trenck,  will  not 
make  him  exactly  a  pleasant  visitor. 

The  smaller  states  of  Germany,  divided  now  by 
their  sympathies,  will  ere  long  be  divided  only  by 
geographical  lines,  for  it  can  hardly  be  that,  if  war 
is  once  commenced,  theii'  neutrality  mil  be  respected 
by  their  mighty  neighbours.  He  would  be  a  bold 
man  who  would  prophesy  how  many  of  them  will 
stand  erect  when  the  threatened  troubles  are  at  an 
end. 

Holland,  with  characteristic  prudence,  desires  to 
keep  as  far  from  the  combatants  as  possible,  and 
very  reasonably  proposes  to  make  arrangements  for 
withdrawing  Limburg  from  the  Germanic  Confedera- 
tion, with  which  it  has  never,  de  facto,  been  as  closely 
connected  as  Luxemburg. 

The  colonial  debates  which  were  proceeding  when 
the  paper  on  Holland  was  printed,  resulted  in  the 
carrying  of  an  amendment  which  ministers  considered 
fatal  to  their  measure  of  reform,  and  they  have  ac- 
cordingly   resigned,    and  have  been   succeeded  by  a 


xxiv  PKEFATORY  XOTE. 

cabinet  of  Conservative,  though  not  Tory,  colour.  It 
is  hardly  probaWe  that  M.  van  Zuylen  van  Nyevelt  and 
his  colleagues  can,  in  the  present  state  of  parties  in 
Holhind,  long  retain  power;  and  perhaps  the  only 
effect  of  their  return  to  office  may  be  once  more  to 
unite  all  Liljcral  factions,  and  to  lead  to  the  passing 
of  a  measure  of  colonial  reform  more  comprehensive 
than  that  which  was  recently  under  discussion. 

Belgium,  though  on  the  whole  in  sufficiently  good 
heart,  is  naturally  beset  by  the  anxieties  which  afflict 
the  mind  of  a  householder  who  sees  his  neighbour's 
house  on  fii'e,  and  learns  that  there  is  some  difficulty 
in  getting  up  the  fire-engines.  Accordingly  we  were 
not  much  surprised  to  find  an  article  in  a  recent 
number  of  the  newspaper  which  is  most  closely  con- 
nected with  M.  Frere,  in  which  England  is  well  rated 
for  not  taking  more  active  steps  to  prevent  the  out- 
break of  liostilities,  the  writer  being  no  other  than  M. 
Hymans,  whose  excellent  work  on  the  reign  of  Leopold 
was  our  chidf  guide  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  paper 
which  treats  of  that  country,  but  who  does  not  repre- 
sent precisely  that  shade  of  Belgian  liberalism  with 
which,  in  its  views  on  the  questions  now  under  discus- 
sion, wc  have  the  greatest  sympathy. 

In  Brussels,  as  in  London,  the  question  of  electoral 
rcfoi-ni  is  IxH'oming  daily  more  important,  nor  can 
thrrc  be  any  doubt  that  the  passing  of  the  measures 
which  \U'v  Majesty's  government  has  brought  forward 


PREFATORY  NOTE.  XXV 

this    session,   would   greatly    assist   the   best    Belgian 
Liberals. 

Happy  the  country  which,  at  so  solemn  a  moment, 
is  able  to  watch  with  interest  the  encounters  of  cham- 
pions whose  respective  war-cries  are  a  seven  and  an 
eight  pound  franchise !  Over  half  the  fairest  cities  of 
Europe  the  thunder-clouds  seem  closing  as  we  write, 
and  for  some  time  to  come  we  must  be  content  to  find 
our  best  comfort  in  the  old  German  distich — 

Herrscht  der  Teufel  heut'  auf  Erden, 
Morgen  wird  Gott,  Meister  werden. 


London,  June  9,  1866. 


'  LI  HH  A  «vY 


CHAPTER  I. 

SPAIN. 

The  opening,  in  August  1864,  of  the  line  from  Beasain  to 
Olazagutia,  through  a  country  as  rugged,  although  fortunately 
more  beautiful  than,  those  strange  Basque  names,  completed 
the  railway  communication  between  Madrid  and  Paris. 
Amongst  many  good  results  which  will  flow  from  this,  not 
the  least  will  be  the  invasion  of  the  Peninsula  by  many 
travellers,  who  have  hitherto  taken,  all  too  literally,  the  witty 
saying,  that  "Africa  begins  with  the  Pyrenees."  Su ch  travellers 
will  belong,  for  the  most  part,  to  one  of  two  categories  :  those 
who  go  abroad  in  search  of  novelty,  and  those  who  are  attracted 
to  the  Peninsula  by  the  love  of  art.  To  these  two  classes 
we  do  not  address  ourselves,  for  they  have,  in  numerous  well- 
known  books,  every  literary  help  that  they  can  possibly 
need. 

May  we  not  hope,  however,  that  in  addition  to  those  who 
go  to  Spain  as  the  nearest  preserve  of  picturesque  barbarians, 
or  as  one  of  the  great  museums  of  the  world,  there  will  be 
some  who  will  go  with  other  views — some  who  will  cross  the 
Bidassoa  in  the  hope  of  seeing  for  themselves  whether  the 
vague  rumours  of  revival,  which  reach  our  shores,  are  true  or 
false  ;  whether  there  is  any  hope  that  that  nation,  once  so 
famous,  is  going  to  take  part  in  the  forward  movement  of 
Europe ;  or  whether  it  is  indeed  true,  as  Mr.  Buckle  tells  us, 
that  "  she  lies  at  the  further  extremity  of  the  Continent,  a  huge 

/ 
/ 


SPAIN. 


and  torpid  mass,  the  sole  representative  now  remaining  of  the 
feelings  and  knowledge  of  the  Middle  Ages  ?" 

Travellers,  who  have  this  purpose  in  view,  will  find  that 
they  have  embarked  upon  an  enterprise,  which  is  made  un- 
necessarily difficult  by  the  erroneous  notions  about  Spain 
which  prevail  even  amongst  well-informed  persons  in  England, 
as  well  as  by  the  scantiness  of  the  information  with  regard  to 
her  condition,  which  is  readily  accessible.  It  is  mainly  for 
the  purpose  of  clearing  away  from  the  path  of  such  investi- 
gators some  preliminary  difficulties,  that  we  have  drawn  up 
tliis  paper — not  without  hope  that  some  one,  who  may  be 
benefited  by  its  hints,  may  repay  the  obligation  with  interest ; 
may  give  us,  in  a  not  too  bulky  volume,  a  full  and  accurate 
estimate  of  the  state  and  prospects  of  Spain. 

This  is  perhaps  the  place  to  say  a  word  or  two  as  to  some 
books  which  such  an  investigator  may  take  with  him,  or  may 
buy  in  ^ladrid.  They  are  not  very  numerous,  and  none  of 
them  is  by  itself  of  surpassing  importance  ;  but  they  are  the 
best  that  exist,  written  by  persons  of  very  different  views  and 
characters,  and  one  who  is  anxious  to  ascertain  the  truth,  may, 
l)y  a  sensible  use  of  them,  arrive  at  pretty  correct  conclusions. 

First,  we  have  ^linutoli,  whose  work  may  be  taken  as  a 
veiy  exact  inventory  of  Spanish  affairs  in  1851.  Minutoli 
writes  from  the  StandimnH  of  a  Prussian  bureaucrat  who 
til  inks  that  Berlin  is  illuminated  by  Intclligenz  in  a  quite 
supernatural  manner,  and  who  believes  that  the  via  inima 
sal  alls  is  to  have  an  efficient  and  upright  BcamteiithiLin.  He 
is  anxious  for  the  development  of  all  manner  of  wealth,  for 
tlie  fmtherance  of  the  happiness  of  the  greatest  possible 
number  ;  but  he  distrusts  the  power  of  the  people  to  work  out 
its  own  wellbcing,  and  is  consequently  a  good  friend  to  the 


BOOKS   ON  SPAIN.  3 

Moderado  regime  wliicli  extended  from  1843  to  1854  His 
book  is,  it  will  be  observed,  somewhat  out  of  date,  but  it  still 
is  serviceable,  though  we  must  warn  those  who  would  read  it, 
that  it  stands  in  the  same  relation  to  the  typical  blue-book  in 
which  that  stands  to  a  sensation  novel. 

Then  we  have  Mr.  Wallis,  who  wrote  in  1853,  and  who 
looks  at  Spain  through  the  spectacles — and  very  colourless 
ones  they  are — of  an  accomplished,  highly-cultivated  American 
gentleman,  a  warm  friend  to  free  institutions,  but  possessed  of 
a  more  than  aristocratic  hatred  of  popular  clap-trap.  His  book 
is  only  too  easy  to  read  ;  but  his  means  of  information  were 
ample,  his  head  is  clear,  and  his  conclusions,  after  making 
allowance  for  a  little  unsoundness  on  questions  of  trade,  will 
commend  themselves  to  most  Englishmen. 

Next  comes  Eico  y  Amat,  a  prejudiced  Tory  writer,  but 
very  useful  for  giving  the  sequence  of  events  down  to  1854, 
discussing  all  parliamentary  matters  in  great  detail,  and 
quoting  many  important  documents  at  full  length.  In  strong 
contrast  to  him  is  the  go-ahead  Orense,  ^Marquis  of  Albaida, 
who,  dissatisfied  with  the  conduct  of  his  brother  Progressistas, 
has  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Democrats.  The  views  of  the 
politicians  who  were  hurled  from  power  in  1854  may  be 
gathered,  by  one  who  has  eyes  to  look  for  them,  from  a  very 
slight  but  clever  little  book  called  the  Attache  at  Madrid, 
which,  professing  to  be  translated  from  the  diary  of  a  young 
German  diplomatist,  who  spent  part  of  1853  and  1854  in  the 
Spanish  capital,  and  published  in  America,  really  owes  its  ori- 
gin to  one  who  had  the  best  information,  and  excellent  reasons 
for  wishing  well  to  the  cause  of  Sartorius.  When  the  reader 
has  laid  it  down,  he  may  take  up  Garrido's  work,  which  we 
have  used  in  its  German  form.     Garrido  belongs  to  the  ex- 


SPAIN. 


trenie  left,  as  may  be  guessed  wlien  we  mention  that  his  book 
was  transhated  by  Arnold  Kuge,  and  that  he  was  introduced 
to  the  ex-editor  of  the  Hallischcn  Jahrhucher  by  Dr.  Bernard. 
It  would  be  as  imprudent  unconditionally  to  accept  his  view 
of  matters,  as  to  find  nothing  to  object  to  in  those  of  Rico  y 
Amat,  or  of  the  author  of  the  Attache  at  Madrid,  but  his  pages 
are  full  of  statistics  and  information  of  all  kinds,  deserving  to 
be  read  and  weighed  most  carefully. 

The  articles  in  the  Annuairc  des  Deux  Mondes,  which 
extend  in  unbroken  succession  from  1850  to  1865,  are  some- 
wliat  Moderado  in  tone,  but  extremely  valuable  and  interesting. 
Tlie  Spanish  papers  in  the  Revue  itself  are  not,  perhaps,  so 
happy  as  those  on  several  other  countries  ;  but  some  of  them — 
such  as  C.  de  Mazade's  on  Larra,  and  on  Donoso  Cortes — will 
repay  perusal  even  now.  The  life  of  Olozaga,  lately  published 
— surely  the  hugest  political  pamphlet  which  ever  appeared 
— should  also  be  consulted. 

No  one,  of  course,  will  omit  to  read  the  Handhook  and  the 
Gatherings,  both  full  of  that  wisdom  of  Spain  which  is  trea- 
sured up  in  her  proverbs,  and  quite  indispensable,  in  spite  of 
their  constant  offences  against  good  taste.  Captain  Widdring- 
ton's  works  are  still  valuable,  while  most  of  the  modern  English 
books  of  travel  in  the  Peninsula  are  absolutely  worthless. 

Spain  has  slipped,  of  late  years,  so  thoroughly  out  of  the 
notice  of  Englishmen,  that  it  would  be  mere  affectation  to  pre- 
tend to  imagine  that  one  in  a  thousand  knows  even  the  ABC 
of  her  recent  history  and  politics.  We  must,  therefore, 
briefly  relate  the  events  of  the  present  reign,  for  some  know- 
lodge  of  these  is  quite  necessary  to  those  who  would  compre- 
hend licr  actual  position. 

'i'luj  Cortes  of  Cadiz,  in   1812,  devised  a  Constitution, 


ACCESSION    OF    QUEEN   ISABELLA.  5 

which,  in  spite  of  many  blemishes  and  shortcomings,  was  on 
the  whole  most  creditable  to  its  framers.  It  sinned,  indeed, 
against  several  of  the  first  principles  of  Liberalism,  but  it 
cordially  accepted  many  others  ;  and,  considering  the  circum- 
stances of  the  country,  it  unquestionably  went  too  far  in  a 
democratic  direction.  In  1814,  Ferdinand  VII.  overthrew  this 
Constitution,  restored  the  Inquisition,  and  ruled  for  six  years 
despotically.  In  1820,  the  revolt  of  Eiego,  and  the  movements 
which  followed  it,  again  inaugurated  a  brief  period  of  liberty, 
which  continued  until  the  Spanish  patriots  were  put  down  by 
the  French,  under  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  and  the  re  dissohcto 
was  once  more  able  to  ride  rough-shod  over  all  that  was  honest 
and  virtuous  from  the  Bidassoa  to  the  lines  of  Gibraltar. 
This  terrible  time  lasted  until  the  day  when  Ferdinand  VII. 
was  trundled  off  to  his  last  home  in  the  Escurial,  in  the  way 
which  Ford  has  described  with  so  much  grim  humour.  The 
last  act  of  importance  in  the  wretched  man's  life  had  been  the 
confirmation  of  the  right  of  succession  of  his  daughter  Isabella 
II.,  as  against  his  brother  Don  Carlos.  The  pretensions  of 
that  personage  had  been  already  loudly  proclaimed,  and  he 
hardly  waited  for  the  challenge  of  the  Eoyalists  to  erect  his 
standard.  That  challenge  soon  came,  for  on  the  24th  October 
1833,  the  voice  of  the  herald,  according  to  ancient  custom, 
was  heard  in  Madrid,  proclaiming  "  Silencio,  silencio,  silencio, 
oyid,  oyid,  oyid,  Castilla,  Castilla,  Castilla,  por  la  Senhora 
reina  Dona  Isabel  II.  que  Dios  guarde."  Bilbao  was  the  first 
place  to  pronounce  for  the  Pretender,  and  ere  long  the  whole 
of  the  north  was  in  arms,  and  the  civil  war  had  begun.  How 
that  war  raged,  and  how  many  souls,  heroic  and  other,  it  sent 
to  Hades,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say.  How  it  ended  we  shall 
presently  have  occasion  to  relate,  but  we  must  confine  our 


6  SPAIN. 

narrative,  for  tlie  present,  to  that  portion  of  Spain  which 
acknowledged  the  rightful  sovereign,  merely  reminding  the 
reader  that  Don  Carlos  represented  two  totally  distinct  in- 
terests,—first,  that  of  bigotiy  and  corruption  generally,  in  all 
parts  of  the  Peninsula ;  and,  secondly,  the  infinitely  more 
respectable  aspirations  of  the  Basques,  who,  attached  to  liberty, 
but  possessed  of  little  enlightenment,  desired  to  remain  a 
semi-republican  island  in  the  midst  of  an  Absolute  Spain, 
rather  than  to  lose  the  local  franchises  which  they  knew,  in 
the  general  freedom  of  a  Constitutional  Spain,  which  had  not 
yet  come  into  existence,  although  its  advent  was  near  at  hand. 
The  queen-mother,  obliged  by  the  force  of  circumstances 
to  rely  on  the  support  of  the  Liberal  party,  but  anxious  to  be 
as  little  liberal  as  possible,  accepted  the  resignation  of  Zea 
Bermudez,  who  represented  the  party  of  enlightened  despotism, 
and  called  to  her  councils  Martinez  de  la  Eosa,  who  had 
suffered  much  for  his  attachment  to  Constitutional  principles 
during  the  late  reign,  but  who  from  1833  till  his  death  in 
1862,  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Moderado  or  Con- 
servative statesman  of  Spain.  By  his  advice  she  promulgated 
the  Estatuto  real,  a  Constitution  incomparably  less  liberal  than 
that  of  Cadiz,  but  still  a  Constitution,  and  one  professing 
to  be  ibunded  upon  the  ancient  and  long-disused  liberties  of 
the  land.  This  document,  we  may  observe  in  passing,  may, 
like  that  of  1812  and  all  its  successors,  be  read  at  length  in 
Itico  y  Amat's  History.  By  the  Estatuto  were  created  an 
upper  house  of  "  Proceres,"  and  a  lower  house  of  "  Procura- 
dores."  These  soon  met,  and  the  discussions  which  took  place 
iu  them,  combined  with  the  agitation  out  of  doors,  and  some 
diplomatic  misadventures,  soon  obliged  Martinez  de  la  Ptosa 
to  reliiv.     lie  was  followed  by  Toreno  ;    but  he,  too,  was 


MENDIZABAL.  7 

unable  to  hold  his  own.  A  far  more  energetic  and  enlightened 
minister  was  required,  and  that  minister  soon  appeared  in  the 
great  reformer  Mendizabal. 

He  it  was  \7ho  concentrated  the  forces  of  the  revolutionary 
agitation,  which  had  already  broken  out  in  the  provinces,  and 
gave  them  a  definite  direction.  This  he  did  chiefly  by  three 
great  measures,  which  will  cause  his  name  ever  to  be  held  in 
honour  by  all  Spanish  patriots.  These  three  measures  were 
the  closing  of  the  monasteries,  the  sale  of  all  the  lands  belong- 
ing to  the  regular  clergy,  and  the  organisation,  on  a  thoroughly 
popular  basis,  of  the  National  Guard.  All  this  he  effected  in 
a  very  short  space  of  time,  for  his  cabinet,  attacked  at  once 
by  the  most  impatient  Liberals,  by  the  retrograde  party,  and 
by  French  intrigue,  had  a  hard  battle  to  fight,  and  soon  gave 
way  to  an  administration,  of  which  the  leading  spirits  were 
Isturiz  and  Galiano.*  These  politicians,  however,  utterly 
failed  to  carry  the  country  with  them,  and  their  days  of  power 
were  few  and  evil.  Eeaders  of  the  Bible  in  Spain  will  recol- 
lect the  strongly-contrasted  descriptions  of  Mr.  Borrow's  visit 
to  Mendizabal  at  the  zenith  of  his  power,  and  to  Isturiz,  when 
that  minister  had  already  begun  to  hear  the  mutterings  of  the 
storm  which  was  soon  to  burst  upon  his  head.  That  storm 
was  the  mutiny  which  broke  out  amongst  the  troops  stationed 
at  the  royal  residence  of  La  Granja,  which  is  situated  in  the 

*  Alcala  Galiano  was  born  at  Cadiz  in  1789,  entered  the  diplomatic  service 
in  1812,  took  an  active  part  in  the  revolution  of  1820,  and  was  banished  for 
his  share  in  it.  During  the  eight  years  that  he  passed  in  England,  he  was  a 
frequent  contributor  to  the  Westminster  and  Foreign  Quarterly.  On  his  return 
to  Spain  he  again  entered  political  life  ;  became  a  bitter  opponent  of  the  first 
two  Constitutional  ministries,  and  a  supporter  of  Mendizabal.  Like  the  Duke 
of  Eivas,  however,  and  many  others,  he  soon  changed  his  politics,  and  the 
second  half  of  his  life  was  passed  as  a  Moderado.  He  enjoyed  a  great  reputa- 
tion as  an  orator,  and  his  lectures  at  the  Madrid  Ateneo  were  in  their  day  ex- 
tremely celebrated.     He  died  as  Minister  of  Public  Welfare  in  1865. 


8  SPiUN. 

mountainous  country  to  the  north  of  Madrid.  The  leader  of 
this  mutiny  was  a  certain  Sergeant  Garcia,  and  the  chief  objects 
of  the  discontented  soldiery  were  to  force  the  Queen  Eegent 
to  dismiss  her  ministers  and  to  proclaim  the  Constitution  of 
1812.  In  these  objects  they  w^ere  completely  successful. 
Christina  yielded  to  the  threats  of  the  mutineers,  and  power 
passed  once  more  into  the  hands  of  the  movement  party. 

After  the  assassinations,  disorders,  and  escapes  across  the 
frontier,  which  are  usual  in  Spanish  political  crises,  the  new 
government,  which  was  of  course  composed  of  men  of  Liberal 
politics,  convoked  the  famous  Constituent  Cortes  of  1837. 
Out  of  its  labours  arose  the  new  Constitution,  which  was 
based  on  that  of  Cadiz,  but  differed  from  it  in  many  particulars. 
Argiielles,  w^ho  had  been  one  of  the  principal  authors  of  the 
former,  was  also  concerned  in  the  latter,  and  was  indeed  a 
member  of  the  committee  which  drew  up  the  resolutions  on 
which  it  was  based.  Its  tone  is  much  less  democratic  than 
that  of  its  predecessor ;  and  the  fact  that  Olozaga  and  other 
distinguished  Liberals  supported  it  created  much  dissatisfac- 
tion in  the  ranks  of  their  followers.  We  are  far,  however, 
from  tliinking  that,  in  the  circumstances  of  Spain,  the  changes 
which  they  introduced  were  otherwise  than  necessary.  With 
regard  to  the  one  point  in  which  the  Constitution  of  1837 
made  more  concession  to  Liberal  opinions  than  that  of  1812, 
tliere  can  be  no  question  among  honest  and  intelligent  men. 
The  Cortes  of  Cadiz  proclaimed  the  Eoman  Catholic  religion 
to  be  the  only  true  one.  The  legislators  of  1837  contented 
themselves  with  asserting  as  a  fact  that  the  Spanish  nation 
professed  the  lioman  Catholic  religion,  and  bound  itself  to 
maintain  that  form  of  faith. 

This  giv;it  wurk  had  not  been  long  completed,  when  the 


CONVENTION  OF  VERGARA.  9 

ministry  which  had  been  called  into  existence  by  the  mutiay 
of  Granja  succumbed  in  its  turn  to  another  military  revolt, 
excited  by  the  partisans  of  those  whom  it  had  so  summarily 
displaced,  and  Espartero,  whose  military  reputation  was 
already  great,  became  for  a  brief  period  the  President  of  the 
Council ;  for  a  brief  period,  we  say,  for,  defeated  in  the  elec- 
tions, he  was  succeeded  by  the  reactionary  Ofalia ;  he  again 
by  others  of  little  note,  till  the  Convention  of  Vergara  came 
to  alter  the  whole  position  of  affairs. 

The  reader  will  recollect  that  during  all  these  ministerial 
changes,  revolutions,  and  makings  of  constitutions,  the  Philis- 
tine was  still  in  the  land.  The  advanced  posts  of  Don  Carlos 
had  been  seen  from  the  walls  of  Madrid ;  Gomez  had  made  a 
sort  of  military  progress  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other ;  La  Mancha  was  in  the  hands  of  one  rebel,  Valencia  was 
overrun  by  another ;  and  the  whole  of  the  mountainous  north 
was  a  camp  of  the  "  factious."  Fortunately  for  the  cause  of 
Queen  Isabella,  there  were  dissensions  in  the  enemy's  ranks 
not  less  bitter  than  those  which  distracted  the  capital.  The 
military  party  and  the  clerical  party  hated. each  other  with  a 
deadly  hatred  ;  and  at  last  their  animosity  became  so  em- 
bittered that  Maroto,  the  most  important  of  the  lieutenants  of 
Don  Carlos,  took  the  law  into  his  own  hands,  and  put  some  of 
the  most  conspicuous  of  his  opponents  to  death.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  end ;  and  after  infinite  intrigues,  the  little 
Basque  town  of  Vergara  saw  the  signature  of  the  document 
which  assured  the  throne  of  the  young  queen,  put  a  period  to 
the  war  of  lN"avarre,  and  made  the  pacification  of  Arragon 
merely  a  question  of  time.  Espartero's  attitude  had  now  been 
for  some  time  of  the  greatest  possible  interest  to  all  who 
watched  the  politics  of  Spain.     He  was  evidently  inclining 


10  SPAIN. 

more  and  more  towards  the  Progressista  party,  while  his  re- 
lations with  the  ]\Ioderado  government  became  ever  colder. 
A  letter  addressed  by  his  secretary  to  one  of  the  Madrid  papers 
had  openly  condemned  the  conduct  of  the  ministry  in  dissolv- 
ing tlie  Cortes,  with  a  view  to  get  rid  of  the  Progressista 
majority ;  and  the  party  which  was  now  about  to  resort  to 
revolutionary  measures  in  Madrid  reckoned  on  his  assistance. 
The  struggle  in  the  Cortes  of  1840  was  fierce  but  short. 
The  galleries,  as  was  usual  in  those  stormy  times,  took  an 
active  part  in  the  political  combat ;  and  on  one  occasion  the 
scenes  of  1793  seemed  about  to  be  repeated.     In  spite  of  the 
gallant  resistance  of  the  Progressista  party,  the  government 
carried  several  reactionary  laws, — the  most  important  of  which 
was  one  for  the  modification  of  the  municipal  system,  which 
would  have  had  the  effect  of  very  much  diminishing  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Liberals  throughout  the  country,  and  of  strengthen- 
ing unduly  the  powers  of  the  Crown.   Just  at  this  crisis,  when 
jNIadrid  was  in  a  most  uneasy  state,  and  nearly  all  the  large 
towns  hardly  more  tranquil,  the  young  queen  was  advised  to 
take  warm  sea-baths  at  Barcelona,   and  to  that  place  she 
repaired,  accompanied  by  her  mother.    Christina  had  not  been 
long  in  the  Catalan  capital,  when  she  announced  to  Espartero 
that  she  liad  given  her  assent  to  the  law  relating  to  the 
nmnicipalities.     To  this  ungracious  declaration  he  replied  by 
resigning  liis  position  as  commander-in-chief    His  resignation 
was  not  accepted  ;  and  he  then  informed  the  Eegent  that  he 
was  about  to  retire  from  the  city,  as  he  could  be  of  no  further 
use  to  lier.     Hardly  had  he  done  so  than  Barcelona  rose  in 
rebellion,  and  the  ministers  who  had  accompanied  the  queen 
I1<<1  liillici-  and  thither.     Tlie  movement  begun  amongst  the 
turbulent  Catalans  rapidly  spread  all  over  Spain.     Madrid 


REGENCY  OF  ESPAKTERO.  11 

pronounced  on  the  1st  of  September,  whereupon  the  Eegent 
gave  way,  and  Espartero  was  ordered  to  form  a  new  govern- 
ment. Her  new  advisers  insisted  that  she  should  issue  a 
manifesto,  in  which  she  should  throw  upon  the  late  cabinet 
the  whole  responsibility  of  the  recent  attempts  at  reaction, 
that  she  should  solemnly  promise  that  the  law  relating  to  the 
municipalities  should  not  be  carried  into  execution,  and  that 
the  Cortes  should  instantly  be  dissolved.  These  terms  she 
refused,  resigned  the  regency,  and  took  refuge  in  France,  ad- 
dressing from  Marseilles  to  the  Spanish  people  a  proclama- 
tion in  which  the  sentiments  of  her  heart  were  expressed  or 
disguised,  in  the  ornate  language  of  Donoso  Cortes.  The 
abdication  of  Christina  left  the  first  place  in  the  state  without 
an  occupant,  and  it  was  necessaiy  to  fill  it  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible. The  question  which  now  became  urgent  was,  How 
should  this  be  done  ?  Two  opinions  divided  the  suffrages  of 
the  victors  in  the  recent  struggle.  The  advanced  Progressistas 
were  in  favour  of  a  regency  of  three.  The  immediate  entourage 
of  Espartero  desired  the  elevation  of  their  chief  to  undivided 
authority.  It  was  this  last  view  which  prevailed ;  for  the 
Moderados,  seeing  that  the  question  was  an  apple  of  discord 
to  their  enemies,  threw  all  their  influence  into  the  scale  of 
Espartero,  feeling  sure  that  they  should  succeed  in  embroiling 
him  with  the  majority  of  those  whose  alliance  had  placed  the 
successful  soldier  in  a  position  to  play  the  great  game  of 
politics.  So  it  came  about  that,  on  the  8th  of  May  1841, 
Espartero  was  chosen  by  the  Cortes  to  be  sole  Eegent ;  and 
no  sooner  was  he  fairly  installed  in  his  office,  than  the  edifice 
of  his  power  began  to  crumble  under  his  feet.  His  descent 
was  more  rapid  than  even  his  rise,  for  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  found  himself  required  infinite  skill  in  intiigue, — a 


12  SPAIN. 

quality  of  whicli  the  honest  and  well-meaning  Duke  of  Victory 
had  a  veiy^  small  share.  His  great  mistake  was  his  surround- 
ing liimself  from  the  very  first  with  ministers  and  private 
advisers  who  had  not  the  confidence  of  his  party,  and  who 
soon  became  known  to  the  public  by  several  injurious  epi- 
thets. Some  called  them  AyacucJios,  from  the  name  of  one  of 
the  battles  in  South  America  which  had  been  most  disastrous 
to  the  Spanish  arms, — the  insinuation  being  that  they  were  a 
mere  clique  of  military  old  fogies;  while  others  spoke  of  them 
as  Santones,  intending  thereby  to  ridicule  their  want  of  revo- 
lutionary energy. 

The  Moderado  party  soon  took  advantage  of  the  weakness 
of  the  government;  and  in  October  1841  a  military  revolt 
broke  out  at  Pamplona,  at  Madrid,  and  elsewhere,  in  the  inter- 
est of  Christina.  The  Kegent  showed  a  good  deal  of  decision. 
A  file  of  soldiers  at  Vittoria  sent  to  his  account  Montes  de 
Oca,  who  had  been  Minister  of  ]Marine  in  the  former  govern- 
ment. General  Leon  met  a  similar  fate  at  Madrid  ;  while 
O'Donnell  got  safe  to  France,  living  "  to  fight  another  day." 

Espartcro,  however,  had  other  adversaries  more  formidable 
than  even  the  Moderados.  More  than  once  he  was  oblisjed  to 
put  down  with  a  strong  hand  the  Democratic  agitations  of 
Barcelona  ;  and  each  successive  act  of  vigour  directed  against 
those  wlio,  after  all,  formed  the  extreme  left  of  his  own 
party,  cost  him  a  large  portion  of  his  popularity.  Then  the 
French  government  did  all  it  could  by  underhand  methods  to 
assist  Christina,  and  to  discredit  Espartero,  and  at  last  a 
hostile  vote  in  the  Lower  House  destroyed  his  ministry.  By 
tliis  time  the  Progressista  party  was  so  disorganised  that  his 
second  cabinet  was  not  more  generally  satisfactory  than  his 
first.     His  third,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Loi^ez,  who  had 


FALL  OF  ESPAETEKO.  13 

distiiigiiislied  himself  very  much  as  a  popular  orator,  came  too 
late,  and  was  too  short-lived.  Its  fall,  which  was  the  result 
of  Espartero's  firm  support  of  his  friend  Linaje  against  it,  was 
another  blow  to  his  influence  ;  nor  did  the  friendship  of 
England  at  all  tend  to  liis  greater  popularity  amongst  a  proud 
and  ignorant  people.  Of  the  many  accusations  brought 
against  him,  not  the  least  potent  in  exciting  hatred  was  his 
alleged  subservience  to  our  commercial  policy.  And  now  the 
end  came  fast.  A  coalition,  which  comprised  large  numbers 
both  of  the  Progressista  and  Moderado  party,  was  formed 
throughout  the  country.  Pronunciamentos  followed.  Nar- 
vaez,  O'Donnell,  and  many  of  the  exiled  or  fugitive  generals, 
entered  Spain.  Treachery  helped  the  w^ork  that  disunion  had 
begun  ;  and  in  the  beginning  of  August  1843,  the  idol  of  Sep- 
tember 1840  was  on  his  way  to  England,  whither  he  was  pre- 
sently pursued  by  a  decree  which  stripped  him  of  all  his 
titles,  honours,  and  decorations. 

Lopez  was  the  next  First  Minister.  His  intentions  were, 
we  believe,  not  otherwise  than  honest,  but  his  position  was  an 
untenable  one.  Himself  an  advanced  Progressista,  he  found 
himself  obliged  to  place  all  the  military  powders  of  the  country 
in  the  hands  of  the  Moderado  generals,  who  had  borne  the  brunt 
of  the  contest  with  the  Duke  of  Victory.  He  soon  saw  that 
the  game  was  lost,  and  passed  through  the  Cortes  a  measure  for 
proclaiming  the  queen  of  full  age  eleven  months  before  the 
time  which  the  Constitution  prescribed.  This  done  he  placed 
his  resignation  in  the  hands  of  Her  Majesty,  and  retired  from 
power  a  sadder  and  a  wiser  man.  He  had  much  occasion  for 
sadness,  for  the  knell  of  his  party  was  very  soon  to  sound ; 
nevertheless  it  was  a  Progressista  ministry  which  succeeded 
his,  and  thei;e  was  still  one  act  of  the  play  to  be  played  out. 


14  SPAIN. 

The  new  President  of  the  Council  was  Olozaga,  who  was 
then,  and  is  still,  a  foremost  figure  amongst  the  Progressistas. 

Hardly  was  he  fairly  in  the  possession  of  power,  when 
tliere  occurred  an  incident  of  so  strange  a  kind,  that  it  only 
requires  to  be  seen  through  the  mist  of  ages  to  have  the  ro- 
mantic interest  of  the  Go  wrie  conspiracy.  The  President  of  the 
Council  could  reckon  upon  the  ardent  support  of  a  minority 
in  the  Cortes,  but  of  a  considerable  majority  in  the  electoral 
body.  It  was  therefore  his  obvious  interest  to  appeal,  as  soon 
as  possible,  to  the  country,  and  a  decree  dissolving  the  legisla- 
ture shortly  appeared.  Hardly,  however,  had  it  been  pro- 
mulgated, when  strange  rumours  arose  in  Madrid,  to  the  effect 
that  the  decree  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Cortes  to  which  the 
young  queen  owed  the  declaration  of  her  majority,  had  been 
obtained,  not  only  by  undue  moral  pressure,  but  by  personal 
violence  ;  and  these  rumours  acquired  additional  confirmation, 
after  a  decree  had  appeared  revoking  the  former  one  and  dis- 
missing the  minister.  Expectation  was  raised  to  its  height, 
when,  on  the  day  appointed  for  the  discussion,  a  personage 
new  to  such  functions  took  his  seat  in  the  Congress,  with  the 
ministerial  portfolio  under  his  arm.  This  worthy  defender  of 
tli(j  tlirone  was  no  other  man  than  the  editor  of  the  Spanish 
Satirist  of  that  day — Gonsalez  Bravo  ;  and  the  paper  which 
lie  proceeded  to  read  was  a  full  account,  signed  by  Her  Majesty, 
of  the  violence  which  had  been  employed  by  the  late  Premier. 
The  discussion  was  long  and  stormy.  Its  principal  feature 
was  of  course  the  speech  of  Olozaga,  which  even  his  adver- 
saries admit  to  have  been  a  very  great  effort,  and  in  which  he 
contrived  to  exculpate  himself  without  bringing  home  to  his 
sovcrei.L;n  Ww.  charge  of  falsehood.  The  real  history  was  pro- 
bably tliat  the  minister  was  somewhat  more  peremptory  in 


CONSTITUTION    OF    1845.  15 

his  manner  than  is  usual,  as  a  man  of  Olozaga's  character  and 
commanding  appearance  might  well  either  be,  or  appear  to  be, 
when  urging  a  matter  of  pressing  national  importance  upon  a 
puzzle-headed  young  woman,  and  that  the  worthless  persons 
who  surrounded  the  queen,  and  who  were  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  opposite  party,  magnified  the  importance  of  the 
incident  in  her  eyes,  until  they  actually  brought  her  to  sign  a 
paper  in  which  she  perhaps  hardly  Imew  how  to  distinguish 
the  false  from  the  true. 

Olozaga,  after  his  defence,  fled  to  Lisbon  to  avoid  the  by- 
no-means-chimerical  danger  of  assassination  ;  and  the  mean- 
ing of  the  intrigue  gradually  unfolded  itself,  as  it  was  seen 
that  Gonsalez  Bravo  was  merely  an  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  Narvaez — the  bridge,  as  some  one  said  at  the  time,  by  which 
that  ambitious  warrior  meant  to  arrive  at  power  Avith  his  pure 
Moderado  following.  When  the  bridge  was  passed,  the 
ministry  of  Gonsalez  Bravo  disappeared,  and  the  Duke  of 
Valencia,  whom  he  had  served  so  well,  ruled  in  his  stead,  and 
advanced  with  firm  steps  upon  the  road  of  reaction.  The 
leading  measure  of  his  government — its  flower  and  crown  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Moderado  party — was  the  revision  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  the  promulgation  of  the  new  Constitution  of 
1845.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  Constitution  of  1837 
was  less  liberal  than  that  of  1812.  That  of  1845  was  in  its 
turn  far  less  liberal  than  its  predecessor.  The  liberty  of 
the  press  was  curtailed  ;  the  Senate  became  a  nominated, 
not  an  elective  body  ;  the  Cortes  lost  its  right  of  assembling 
by  its  own  authority,  in  case  the  sovereign  neglected  to  sum- 
mon it  at  the  proper  time,  and  the  principle  of  the  national 
sovereignty  disappeared  from  the  preamble.  The  most  signi- 
ficant change,  however,  in  the  circumstances  of  the  hour  was 


16  SPAIN. 

that  which  precluded  the  necessity  of  the  approbation  of  the 
Cortes  as  a  preliminary  to  the  royal  marriage.  This  was  the 
event  which  was  the  pivot  of  intrigue  for  several  years. 

Those  who  would  understand  the  complications  of  Spanish 
politics  during  the  period  that  immediately  preceded  and  im- 
mediately followed  the  marriage  of  the  young  queen  to  her 
cousin  Don  Francisco  de  Assis,  must  find  the  clues  of  half- 
a-dozen  plots,  in  which  the  interests  of  courtiers,  ministers,  and 
confessors  were  strangely  interwoven  with  the  hopes  of  Carlist, 
French,  Neapolitan,  and  Portuguese  competitors  for  the  doubt- 
ful blessing  of  the  royal  hand.  Most  readers  will,  we  presume, 
be  satisfied  to  remember  that  no  less  than  six  ministries  rose 
and  fell  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time,  and  that  all  of 
them  were  more  or  less  of  a  Moderado  complexion.  At  length 
a  cabinet  was  formed,  in  which  the  chief  places  were  filled 
by  Narvaez,  and  Sartorius  Count  of  San  Luis,  a  very  young 
man,  who  had  acquired  fame  first  as  a  journalist,  and  then  as 
a  politician.  It  was  this  government  which  was  in  power 
when  the  events  of  February  1848  threw  Europe  into  con- 
fusion. It  contrived  to  pilot  Spain  through  that  stormy  time 
with  tolerable  success.  More  than  once  the  Democratic  party 
took  up  arms.  There  was  fighting  in  the  streets  of  Madrid, 
and  many  persons  were  transported,  but  the  amount  of  blood- 
shed was  not  very  great.  This  ministry  fell,  like  so  many  of 
its  fellows,  before  a  palace  intrigue,  the  wire-pullers  in  which 
were  ecclesiastical  persons.  Its  successors,  however,  only 
remained  in  place  twenty-four  hours,  long  enough  to  win  a 
place  in  Spanish  history  as  the  "  ministcrio  del  o^elampago  " — 
the  lightning  ministry — so  rapidly  did  they  flash  out  of  and 
into  obscurity.  Narvaez  and  Sartorius  returned  to  power  with 
a  somewhat  modified  list  of  colleagues,  and  tried  to  fortify 


r 


'..  '',■ 


CONSTITUTION  OF   1815:'      '  V7  ,  '/.    \^      '  / , 


'//.  ;v.    '  / 


/ 


their  power  by  new  elections,  in  which  the  authority^qf  th6^ 
government  was  exercised  in  so  barefaced  a  manner,  that.it 
scandalised  even  Madrid,  and  the  assembly  which  resulted  from^  / 
this  pressure  was  called  the  "  Congreso  cle  familiar  All  this^-= 
zeal  was,  however,  in  vain.  The  intrigues  of  Christina,  who 
had  quarrelled  with  Narvaez,  were  too  much  for  him,  and 
down  once  more  went  the  Sartorius  ministry.  It  was  now 
the  turn  of  Bravo  Murillo,  who  claimed  the  confidence  of  the 
country  as  a  financial  genius  and  economical  reformer.  So 
determined  was  he  to  have  this  confidence  entire,  that  he 
actually  succeeded  in  excluding  from  the  new  Cortes  the  very 
man  who  had  peopled  the  last  one  with  his  creatures,  and 
Sartorius  found  himself  for  a  time  in  private  life.  The  rock 
upon  which  Bravo  Murillo  ran  was  an  attempt  to  imitate  the 
coup  d'etat,  and  to  remodel  the  Spanish  Constitution  by  getting 
the  Cortes  to  sanction  en  Hoc  nine  new  laws,  which  would 
have  undone  nearly  all  that  had  been  done  since  the  death  of 
Ferdinand.  His  attempt,  eagerly  backed  by  the  court  cama- 
rilla, utterly  failed.  In  vain  he  sent  Narvaez  across  the  frontier. 
The  country  would  have  none  of  his  reforms,  and  he  too 
passed  into  nothingness,  leaving  behind  him  as  his  legacy  the 
Concordat  of  1852,  by  which  the  pope,  to  a  certain  extent, 
accepted  the  measure  of  Mendizabal  in  1836,  and  other 
accomplished  facts,  obtaining  in  return  many  concessions. 
Several  short-lived  cabinets  succeeded,  and  on  the  18th  Sep- 
tember 1853  Sartorius  was  again  the  President  of  the  Council, 
with  the  Marquis  of  Molins,  Calderon  de  la  Barca,  General 
Blaser,  and  others,  to  assist  him. 

The  last  months  of  1853  and  the  first  of  1854  passed  un- 
easily. Every  day  the  scandals  of  the  court  and  of  the 
ministry  became  more  flagrant,  and  the  measures  of  repression 

c 


"/, 


18  SPAIN. 

more  severe.     General  after  general  was  sent  out  of  Madrid, 
and  the  persecutions  of  the  government  fell,  be  it  observed, 
not  on  the  Progressistas,  who  were  keeping  quite  aloof  from 
public  affairs,  but  upon  all  the  sections  of  the  Moderado  party, 
except  the  immediate  followers  of  Sartorius.     Accusations  of 
the  grossest  pecuniary  corruption  against  many  persons  in 
liifdi  places  were  bruited  about,  and  almost  universally  be- 
lieved.    The  crisis  came  in  June  1854     "  Will  you  not  come 
with  us  ?"  cried  General  Dulce  to  the  Minister  of  War,  as  he 
rode  in  the  grey  of  the  morning  out  of  Madrid,  to  try,  as  was 
supposed,  a  new   cavalry  saddle.     "  I   should  like  nothing 
better,"  answered  General  Blaser,  "  but  I  am  too  busy."     In  a 
few  hours  it  was  known   that  Dulce   had   been  joined  by 
O'Donnell,  and  that  the  long-expected  revolt  had  taken  place. 
An  indecisive  action  took  place  between  the  queen's  troops 
and  the  revolted  generals  at  Vicalvaro,  whence  the   name 
Vicalvarist — which  is  now  very  generally  given  to  the  fol- 
lowers of  O'Donnell  ;  and  that  commander  issued  a  procla- 
mation at  Manzanares,  explaining  that  the  pronunciamento 
was  made   in  favour  of  constitutional   government  and  of 
morality.     Up  to  this  point  the  rising,  it  cannot  be  too  dis- 
tinctly understood,  was  a  ^loderado  rising,  and  Narvaez  him- 
self, as  afterwards  appeared,  was  deeply  implicated  in  the 
conspiracy.      But   on  the   17th   of  July  the   whole   aspect 
of  affairs  changed.      An  emcutc  took  place  in  Madrid,  and 
the   revolt   of  O'Donnell   was   swallowed   up   in   a  revolu- 
tion.    After  a  very  agitated  period,  things  began  to  settle 
down.     Tlie   Moderado   regime   of  eleven   years   was   fairly 
at  an  end,  and  the  queen,  with  the  Counts  of  Lucena  and 
Luchana,  O'Donnell  and  Espartero,  was  awaiting  the  meeting 
of  a  Constituent  Cortes,  which  was  to  decide,  amongst  other 


REVOLUTION  OF   1854.  19 

things,  whether  the  Bourbon  dynasty  was  to  continue  to  rule 
in  Spain.  It  met  on  the  9th  November  1854,  and  soon 
decided  that  question — 194  as  against  19  were  quite  willing 
to  keep  Queen  Isabella  on  the  throne  if  she  would  conduct 
herself  with  tolerable  propriety.  The  discussions  on  the  other 
bases  of  the  new  Constitution  took  more  time.  There  was  a 
very  long  one  early  in  1855,  upon  the  question  of  religious 
toleration,  and  other  matters  were  hardly  less  warmly  debated. 
The  greatest  work,  however,  of  the  Constituent  Cortes  was  their 
carrying  out  to  its  legitimate  issue  the  leading  measure  of 
Mendizabal's  administration,  and  freeing  the  soil  of  Spain, 
with  inconsiderable  exceptions,  from  the  tyranny  of  the  dead 
hand,  and  from  the  colossal  entails  under  which  it  had  so 
long  suffered.  The  queen  resisted,  in  the  interest  of  the 
church,  but  yielded  after  a  private  interview  with  O'Donnell 
and  Espartero  at  Aranjuez.  Next  to  this  great  measure,  which, 
although  one  of  its  immediate  results  was  a  Carlist  rising  in 
Arragon,  gave  very  general  satisfaction,  the  best  acts  of  this 
assembly  were  those  which  it  passed  in  furtherance  of  the 
material  interests  of  the  country.  Its  other  purely  political 
performances  were  not  so  successful.  It  settled  the  Constitu- 
tion, but  never  promulgated  it,  and  several  of  the  most  import- 
ant laws  which  were  necessary  to  supplement  that  Constitution 
were  never  finished.  It  should  be  the  first  care  of  all  such 
bodies  to  do  quickly  whatever  their  hand  finds  to  do,  for  if 
their  deliberations  continue  long,  they  invariably  become  un- 
popular, since  they  are  always  accused  of  wishing  unduly  to 
prolong  their  own  power,  while  agitators  are  quite  sure  to  take 
advantage  of  a  provisional  state  of  things  to  pursue  their  own 
objects.  So  it  happened  in  Spain  in  the  spring  of  1856.  Dis- 
turbances, and  above  all  incendiarv  fires,  became  the  order  of 


20  SPAIN. 

the  day.  By  the  middle  of  1856  people  began  to  weary.  The 
conflicts  in  the  Cortes  between  the  moderate  Progressistas  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  advanced  Progressistas,  backed  by  the 
Democrats,  on  the  other,  were  frequent  and  severe.  Not  less 
marked  was  the  division  in  the  cabinet  between  O'Donnell 
and  Espartcro.  At  length  a  quarrel,  occasioned  by  an  attack 
which  was  made  by  Escosura,  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
upon  the  Moderado  views  of  O'Donnell,  brought  about  an  open 
rupture,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  the  14th  July, 
a  ministerial  crisis  took  place.  (In  Madrid,  ministerial  crises 
always  seem  to  take  place  in  the  small  hours,  thanks  to  the 
owl-like  habits  of  society  it  that  capital.)  When  the  Madri- 
lenian  housewives  came  back  from  market,  they  were  able  to 
tell  their  lords  that  a  revolution  had  taken  place  since  they 
went  to  bed.  Their  lords  committed  the  imprudence  of  flying 
to  arms,  and  thereby  gave  O'Donnell  and  the  queen  the  excuse 
they  wanted  for  a  little  coitiJ  d'etat,  O'Donnell  and  his 
colleagues,  the  most  important  of  whom  was  Eios  y  Eosas, 
straightway  dissolved  the  Cortes,  and  as  the  Constitution,  which 
it  had  elaborated,  had  never  been  promulgated,  fell  back  upon 
the  Moderado  Constitution  of  1845,  supplemented  by  an  ad- 
ditional act  of  their  own,  good  as  far  as  it  went,  although  of 
extra-lcf:jal  ori^iiin. 

Henceforth  they  worked  steadily,  and  with  no  unnecessary 
severity,  to  bring  back  matters  to  the  position  in  which  they 
would  have  been  if  the  military  revolt  begun  by  O'Donnell 
and  his  friends  in  1854  had  not  been  followed  by  a  revolution. 
Tins,  considering  their  views,  which  were  those  of  Liberal 
Conservatives  (Union-Liberal),  was  natural  enough ;  but  it 
was  also  quite  natural  that  when  the  court  and  its  corrupt 
adlu'icnts  saw  that  it  was  possible  to  go  so  far  in  a  reactionary 


REACTION   OF   1857.  21 

course,  they  should  wish  to  go  a  little  further  ;  and  so,  after 
three  months  of  power,  O'Donnell  was  tripped  up,  and  Narvaez 
came  in  with  a  cabinet  in  which  he  was  by  no  means  the 
most  anti-liberal  element.  He  pushed  the  reaction  a  good 
deal  further,  and,  above  all,  made  an  arrangement  with  Eome 
by  which  the  sales  of  church  lands  already  effected  were  re- 
cognised, but  all  further  sales  w-ere  stopped,  and  other  con- 
cessions were  made  to  the  clergy.  The  Constitution  of  1845 
was  likewise  altered  in  so  far  as  the  composition  of  the 
Senate  w^as  concerned.  Xarvaez  fell  in  the  autumn  of  1857, 
overthrown  partly  by  the  results  of  his  interference  in  one 
of  those  bedchamber  questions  which  are  so  constantly 
arising  in  the  palace  of  Madrid,  and  partly  by  the  odium 
excited  by  the  rabid  reactionary  tendencies  of  his  colleague 
NocedaL  He  was  succeeded  by  General  Armero,  w^ho  took 
for  his  motto  :  "The  Constitution  of  1845 — neither  more  nor 
less." 

As,  however,  the  Narvaez  Government  had  turned  out  too 
reactionary  for  its  own  party,  the  Armero  Government  turned 
out  to  be  too  much  the  other  way.  In  other  words,  the  Moder- 
ados  hardly  knew  their  own  mind.  One  combination  more 
was  tried.  M.  Isturiz,  the  vir  pietate  gravis  of  his  side  of  poli- 
tics, was  sent  for,  and  formed  an  administration,  which  had  no 
particular  fault,  except  that  it  commanded  the  sympathies  of 
nobody  ;  and  wdien  it  followed  its  predecessors,  as  it  very  soon 
did,  the  queen  once  more  called  O'Donnell  to  her  councils. 
O'Donnell  came  back,  determined  to  represent  the  Union- 
Liberal  more  thoroughly  than  ever,  and  to  construct,  if  possible, 
some  machine  by  w^hich,  amidst  the  decomposition  of  parties, 
he  might  contrive  to  guide  the  politics  of  Spain.  So  concilia- 
tory was  he,  that  in  one  province  it  is  said  he  had  a  Progress- 


22  SPAIN. 

ista  civil  governor,  a  Moderado  secretary,  and  a  military 
commandant  who  belonged  to  the  Union-Liberal.  The  new 
Congress  was  composed  of  equally  diverse  elements,  and  gave 
him  infinite  trouble,  Avhen  very  luckily  the  Italian  war  of  1859 
came  to  call  off  the  attention  of  the  people  from  internal  affairs ; 
and  so  kind  were  the  influences  of  the  Palmerstonian  star 
under  which  he  was  born,  that  no  sooner  was  that  contest 
over,  than  the  Moors  began  to  make  themselves  so  intolerably 
unpleasant,  that  he  had  an  excellent  excuse  for  proposing  to 
his  countrymen  to  go  to  war  on  their  own  account. 

The  speech  of  the  President  of  the  Council,  announcing  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  with  Morocco,  caused  the  greatest 
rejoicings  in  all  parts  of  the  country  ;  and  through  the  five 
months  during  which  the  war  lasted,  the  Government  had  little 
to  complain  of,  even  from  the  Opposition  press.  The  Spanish 
arms  were,  of  course,  victorious,  and  peace  was  soon  restored. 
It  was  fortunate  that  this  was  so,  since,  if  the  struggle  had  lasted 
longer,  the  attempt  of  Ortega — who,  in  the  beginning  of  April 
1861,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ebro  with  the  garrison  of  the 
Balearic  Isles,  of  which  he  was  captain-general,  with  a  view 
to  renew  the  Carlist  wars — might  have  been  more  inconvenient. 
As  it  was,  the  danger  did  not  last  above  twenty-four  hours  ; 
Oi-tega  was  taken  and  shot,  the  Conde  de  MontemoHn  and  his 
second  brother  were  arrested,  and  liberated  after  signing  a  re- 
nunciation of  their  supposed  rights, — a  renunciation  which,  as 
they  had  pledged  their  honour  in  it,  and  were  their  father's 
sons,  they  naturally  made  haste  to  disavow,  so  soon  as  they 
were  in  a  place  of  security.  Their  sudden  and  most  strange 
deaths  at  Trieste,  a  few  months  after,  deprived  these  transac- 
tions of  any  importance,  and  left  their  brother  Don  Juan  at  the 
1 1  ca '  I  ( . r  U 1  u  family.   With  the  return  of  tranquillity  the  struggle 


i 


o'donnell  and  the  "union-liberal."  23 

of  parties  recommenced,  and  was  envenomed  as  well  by  the 
severities  whicli  were  exercised,  or  alleged  to  have  been  exer- 
cised, in  putting  down  a  sort  of  Socialist  rising  or  Jacquerie 
which  broke  out  during  the  summer  at  Loja,  not  very  far  from 
Malaga,  as  by  the  constantly-increasing  influence  of  the  clerical 
camarilla.  O'Donnell,  who  had  now  been  in  power  for  a 
longer  time  than  any  minister  since  Spain  became  a  constitu- 
tional country,  had  become  fond  of  of6.ce,  and,  in  order  to  keep 
it,  allowed  his  measures  to  be  far  too  much  moulded  by  the 
court,  which  was  under  the  control  of  the  Mmcio,  acting 
chiefly  through  the  Nun  Patrocinio,  one  of  those  personages — 
half-deceiver,  half-enthusiast — who  are  so  common  in  Catholic 
countries.  In  the  end  of  1861,  the  attacks  in  both  branches 
of  the  legislature  became  very  frequent  and  fierce.  Olozaga 
particularly  distinguished  himself  by  his  plain  speaking  ;  and 
when  O'Donnell,  with  a  strange  want  of  tact,  appealed  from 
him  to  the  other  great  Progressista  leader,  Don  Pascual  Madoz, 
it  was  only  to  draw  from  that  statesman  a  w^arning  to  the 
administration  to  change  its  ways,  '*  lest  some  one  might  say, 
at  the  head  of  2000  horse,  that  he  would  no  longer  serve  a 
government  which  was  dishonoured  by  a  camarilla'^ — the 
quotation  being  taken  from  O'Donnell's  own  rebel  manifesto. 
A  more  dangerous  adversary  perhaps  than  two  men  so  well 
known  for  their  advanced  Liberal  opinions,  was  Eios  y  Eosas, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  leading  spirit  of  O'Donnell's 
cabinet  in  1856,  the  very  incarnation  of  the  Union-Liberal. 
When  a  politician  of  his  colour  reminds  the  sovereign  that 
princes,  who  are  too  long  obstinate,  generally  finish  their  lives 
in  exile,  the  state  of  affairs  has  become  alarming.  O'Donnell, 
knowing  that  his  internal  policy  would  not  bear  inspection, 
and  satisfied  with  the  success  of  his  Moorish  diversion,  still 


24  SPAIN. 

continued  to  try  to  distract  popular  attention  by  bold  diplo- 
matic strokes.  If  the  additional  Concordat,  published  in  1860, 
made  too  great  concessions  to  the  clerical  interest,  had  he  not 
soon  the  re-incorporation  of  St.  Domingo,  and  the  impetuous 
action  of  the  Spanish  commander  on  the  Mexican  coast,  to 
flatter  the  national  vanity  ?  The  Liberal  party  from  the  first 
pointed  out  to  what  these  measures  must  lead  ;  but  ministers 
live  from  hand  to  mouth  in  Spain,  and  that  is  the  best  course 
which  keeps  things  quiet  for  the  moment. 

The  O'Donnell  cabinet  continued  all  through  1862,  reaped 
what  little  glory  was  to  be  gained  from  the  successes  obtained, 
in  concert  with  France,  in  Cochin-China,  and  incurred  much 
additional  unpopularity  from  the  results  of  the  Mexican  expe- 
dition. It  fell  at  length  early  in  1863,  and  the  Marquis  of 
Miraflores  succeeded  the  Duke  of  Tetuan.  The  new  chief 
allowed  one  of  his  colleagues  to  issue  a  most  imprudent  circular, 
restraining,  after  the  model  of  imperial  France,  the  right  of 
electoral  meetings.  The  result  of  this  mistake  was,  that  the 
whole  Progressista  and  Democratic  parties  refused  to  take  part 
in  the  elections.  Miraflores  succeeded  in  getting  a  Congress, 
composed  of  various  fractions  of  the  several  Conservative 
parties,  but  fell  before  an  adverse  vote  of  the  senate,  on 
the  question  of  reforming  the  composition  of  that  body,  as 
arranged  in  1857. 

The  Mon  Cabinet  settled  for  a  time  the  difficult  question 
about  the  composition  of  the  senate  by  restoring  in  its  integ- 
rity the  Constitution  of  1845  ;  but,  agitated  by  rumours  of  re- 
volutionary projects  in  various  quarters,  they  acted  in  an 
extremely  arbitrary  manner — exiling  Prim,  for  example,  to 
Oviedo,  and  trying  obnoxious  journalists  by  councils  of  war. 
In  thr  iu('antini,.,ll,r  conflict  with  Peru  and  St.  Domingo,  and 


NARVAEZ  GOVERNMENT.  25 

the  state  of  the  finances,  got  more  and  more  desperate.  In 
September  1864  Narvaez  was  sent  for,  and  came  into  power 
with  a  cabinet  which  contained,  besides  himself,  no  less  than 
four  ex-Presidents  of  the  Council. 

The  N'arvaez  Government  *  seemed  at  first  inclined  to  a 
moderate  and  conciliatory  policy.  In  spite  of  the  known 
character  of  their  chief,  who  is  always  ready  to  cut  himself 
out  of  a  difficulty,  sword  in  hand,  sanguine  people  imagined 
that  ministers  might  contrive  to  keep  their  places  without 
shedding  blood.  They  began  by  condoning  press  offences,  by 
repaying  fines  which  had  been  imposed  on  newspapers,  by 
proposing  to  withdraw  from  the  San  Domingo  imhroglio  and 
the  Peruvian  folly,  made  as  if  they  would  do  something  to 
restore  Spanish  credit,  and  allowed  full  liberty  of  discussion 
during  the  elections.  ISTo  sooner,  however,  were  these  over, 
than  M.  Gonsalez  Bravo,  who  had  already,  in  the  month  of 
October,  attempted  to  restrain  the  free-speaking  of  professors, 
issued,  on  November  the  25th,  a  circular  curtailing  this  same 
liberty  of  discussion.  That  document  excited  much  amuse- 
ment in  England,  and  elsewhere,  from  the  absurdity  of  for- 
bidding the  press  to  do  what  had  just  been  proved  to  be 
perfectly  harmless.     The  truth  was,  however,  that  a  struggle 

*  Narvaez  was  born  in  the  j'ear  1800.  In  1822  he  took  the  side  of  the 
Liberal  party,  and  after  the  French  invasion  was  obliged  to  live  very  quietly 
at  Loja,  his  native  place,  until  the  death  of  Ferdinand.  In  1834  he  returned 
to  the  army,  and  distinguished  himself  upon  several  occasions,  more  especially 
in  1836,  when  he  overtook  and  defeated  the  famous  Carlist  leader  Gomez. 
From  this  time  forward  he  became  sufficiently  important  to  be  considered  as 
a  sort  of  rival  to  Espartero.  His  first  attempts  were,  however,  unsuccessful ; 
and  after  a  fruitless  endeavour  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  party,  he  fled 
to  France,  whence,  in  1843,  he  returned,  as  we  have  seen,  to  take  a  decisive 
part  in  the  overthrow  of  the  best  and  most  patriotic  of  Spanish  politicians. 
His  history  from  that  date  has  been  sufficiently  commented  on  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages. 


26  SPAIN. 

which  had  been  going  on  in  the  cabinet  had  been  decided  in 
favour  of  the  less  liberal  fraction  of  it.  This  was  first  be- 
trayed to  the  outer  world  by  the  retirement  of  M.  Llorente. 
Presently  a  cabinet  crisis  occurred,  ostensibly  about  the  with- 
drawal from  San  Domingo,  really  from  a  court  intrigue  ;  and 
the  Narvaez  ministry  seemed  on  the  point  of  being  replaced 
by  a  new  combination.  Keplaced  it  was  not,  however,  and 
the  session  of  the  Cortes  of  1865  o^^ened  under  its  auspices. 
By  this  time,  however,  it  had  drawn  closer  to  the  violent 
Catholic  party,  and  had  gone  further  away  from  any  Liberal 
mlleites  which  it  may  at  first  have  had. 

Just  at  this  crisis  the  queen  made  over  to  the  nation  the 
whole  of  the  remaining  patrimony  of  the  Crown  in  return 
for  a  sum  much  below  its  presumed  value,  for  which  the 
Treasury  became  liable.  Two  views  could  be  taken  of  this. 
It  might  be  regarded  as  a  grand  and  patriotic  act,  or  as  a 
good  bargain.  Foreigners  generally  took  the  former  view — 
so  did  some  Spaniards  ;  but  others  were  not  so  amiable. 
Amongst  these  last  was  M.  Emilio  Castelar,  professor  at  the 
University  of  Madrid,  and  editor  of  the  newspaper  called  the 
Democrazia.  He  published  a  very  strong  article  against  the 
royal  benefaction.  The  government  immediately  prosecuted 
him,  as  it  had  a  right  to  do ;  but  it  did  more.  It  insisted  on 
the  Rector  of  the  University,  M.  Montalvan,  proceeding 
academically  against  the  opposition  journalist.  This  he  de- 
clined to  do,  and  he  was  immediately  dismissed.  The 
students  tlien  applied  for  permission  to  give  him  a  serenade. 
This  was  first  granted — then  refused.  Crowds  collected  in 
the  streets.  On  the  night  fixed  for  the  serenade,  the  7th  of 
April,  there  were  more  crowds,  but  no  disturbance.  On  the 
lOtli,  lidwi'viT,   some  stones  were  thrown  ;    the  troops  were 


PRESENT   GOVERNMENT.  27 

ordered  to  fire ;  about  a  dozen  people  were  killed,  and  more 
than  100  wounded. 

These  violent  proceedings  called  forth  the  most  bitter 
attacks  in  the  Cortes,  and  ministers  came  out  of  the  debate 
terribly  damaged  in  spite  of  the  eloquence  and  daring  of  M. 
Gonsalez  Bravo,  who  bore  the  brunt  of  the  onset.  The  dis- 
quiet of  the  public  mind  reacted  on  the  finances,  and  M. 
Barzanallana  retired  in  desperation  after  having  added  one 
more  wild  expedient  to  the  wretched  make-shifts  of  Spanish 
Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer.  At  length,  in  June  1865,  the 
whole  cabinet,  utterly  discredited,  bankrupt  in  reputation, 
and  at  its  wit's  end,  vanished  into  space  ;  while  O'Donnell 
once  more  reioned  in  its  stead.* 

We  wish  we  could  say  that  he  had  decidedly  mended 
matters,  but  he  has  done  something.  Italy  has  been  recog- 
nised— a  fact  far  more  important  in  its  bearing  upon  internal 
than  external  affairs.  Hopes  have  been  held  out  to  the  negro 
in  Cuba,  the  press  is  more  gently  handled,  a  sort  of  Parlia- 
mentary Eeform  Act  has  been  passed — no  panacea,  alas  !  for 
the  evils — at  least  of  Spain  ;  the  rash  attempt  of  Prim  was 
suppressed  with  singular  gentleness  and  good  temper,  but 
the  "  complaint  in  the  chest "  is  still  alarming,  and  the 
wretched  Chilian  squabble  will  not  improve  it. 

If  we  consider  the  advanced  age  of  Espartero  and  Olozaga, 
the  blunders  of  theii'  party,  the  repeated  failures  of  ISTarvaez, 
the  scanty  following  and  slender  political  experience  of  the 
democratic  leaders,  we  cannot  help  coming  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  government  of  O'Donnell  is  perhaps  the  best  which 

*  For  a  clear  and  very  detailed  account  of  the  last  Narvaez  administration, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  an  article  hy  M.  Charles  de  Mazade  in  the  Revue  des 
Deux  Mondes  for  September  1865. 


28  SPAIN. 

Spain  is  at  present  likely  to  get ;  *  but  let  the  name  of  the 
government  be  Union-Liberal,  or  Progressista,  or  Demo- 
cratic, it  must  keep  the  court  within  bounds,  and  govern 
toleraUi/,  or  another  1854  may  at  any  time  occur. 

The  reader  who  has  followed  us  thus  far  will  be  able  to  judge 
for  himself,  whether  the  country  which  has  passed  through  so 
many  political  vicissitudes  in  thirty  years,  can  be  fairly  de- 
scribed, in  the  words  of  Mr.  Buckle,  as  "  a  torpid  mass."  We 
shall  now  briefly  sketch  its  existing  government,  endeavouring 
to  answer,  as  shortly  as  possible,  the  more  important  questions 
which  an  intelligent  inquirer  into  the  state  of  an  European 
community  is  likely  to  ask.  It  will  be  seen,  we  hope,  that 
the  Spain  of  to-day,  with  all  her  faults,  is  hardly  a  represent- 
ation of  "  the  feelings  and  knowledge  of  the  Middle  Ages."  t 

Dona  Isabel  Segunda,  Queen  of  the  Spains,  rules  over  the 
conterminous,  but  most  hetrogeneous,  provinces  of  Spain  pro- 
per (la  Peninsula)  ;  over  the  "  adyacentes,"  including  the 
Canaries,  the  Balearic  Isles,  the  small  places  (Presidios)  on 
the  north  coast  of  Africa,  with  Fernando  Po  and  Annabon  in 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea  ;  and  over  certain  colonies  in  America 
and  Asia  (Ultramar).  Espaila  Presidial  is,  in  some  respects, 
under  the  same,  in  others  under  different  regulations,  from 

*  The  author  of  a  sensible  article  on  Spain  in  Frascr  for  December  1865, 
says  :  •*  We  are  far  from  assenting  generally  to  the  shallow  doctrine — 
For  forms  of  government  let  fools  contest ; 
Whatever's  best  administered  is  best. 
But  we  do  think  that  the  existing  form  of  government  in  Spain  is  good 
enough  for  all  useful  purposes,  if  it  were  only  well  administered  ;    by  which 
we  mean,  if  the  politicians  engaged  in  the  practical  working  of  the  machinery, 
whether  in  office  or  opposition,  would  simply  act  like  the  politicians  similarly 
t'ligiigfd  in  Eiigliuid — no  very  exalted  or  unattainable  standard  of  public 
virtue." 

t  A  great  deal  of  miscellaneous  information  upon  Spain  is  collected  in  Mr. 
O'Sheu's  Guide,  published  in  1865.     The  bulk,  the  frantic  prejudices,  the  bad 


CONSTITUTION.  29 

the  rest  of  the  monarchy.  The  colonies,  of  wliich  we  shall 
speak  hereafter,  are  subject  to  an  exceptional  regime. 

By  the  Constitution  now  in  force — which  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  that  of  1845 — the  sovereign  can  do  no  wrong,  and  minis- 
terial responsibility  is  fully  recognised.  The  legislative  power 
resides  in  the  Crown  and  in  the  Cortes,  but  far  too  large  a 
space  is  left  for  the  arbitrary  action  of  authority,  and  royal 
decrees  often  do  the  work  which  ought  to  be  done  by  the 
legislature.  The  Cortes  consist  of  two  bodies — a  Senate  and 
a  Congreso  of  Deputies  ;  but  behind  both,  and  stronger  than 
both,  are  the  private  influences  of  the  palace.  Ministers  can 
generally  make  both  Houses  pretty  "  safe,"  but  clouds  gather 
in  a  clear  sky,  and  they  fall  even  with  the  Cortes  at  their  feet. 
It  does  not  fare  much  better  with  the  guarantees  of  public  and 
individual  liberty  common  to  most  constitutions.  They  are 
pompously  paraded  in  the  Moderado  great  charter,  but  con- 
venient little  clauses  are  introduced,  which  leave  the  rulers 
free  to  do  pretty  much  what  they  please.  In  short,  the  exist- 
ing Spanish  Constitution  deserves  what  has  been  said  of  it  by 
many  persons,  and  by  none  more  pointedly  than  by  Gonsalez 
Bravo,  the  late  repressive  Home  Minister.     It  is  neither  one 

taste,  the  inaccuracy  of  Ford's  work,  together  with  the  changes  that  have  taken 
place  since  he  wrote,  make  it  perfectly  natural  that  some  one  should  at- 
tempt to  become  his  rival.  At  the  same  time  his  merits  are  so  great  that  his 
name  ought  to  remain  attached  to  the  English  tourist's  HmidhooTc  for  Spain 
for  at  least  a  generation  longer  ;  and  we  think  that  Mr.  O'Shea  would  have 
conferred  a  greater  benefit  upon  his  countrymen,  to  say  nothing  of  having 
done  a  more  graceful  act,  if  he  had  confined  himself  to  publishing  a  work 
avowedly  as  a  supplement  to  that  of  his  predecessor.  Such  a  book  would 
have  been  bought  by  every  one  who  went  to  Spain  under  the  guidance  of  the 
elder  traveller.  Mr.  O'Shea's  Guide,  in  spite  of  its  very  considerable  merit, 
will  be  unable  to  compete  with  a  judiciously-corrected  edition  of  the  Hancl- 
hook,  and  only  those  who  have  a  very  strong  interest  in  Spain  will,  we  should 
think,  buv  both. 


30  SPAIN. 

thing  nor  another ;  the  product  neither  of  frank  despotism  nor 
of  frank  constitutionalism. 

The  government  of  Spain  is  carried  on  by  nine  ministers. 
The  Premier,  who  is,  unhappily,  but  too  often  a  soldier,  is 
called  the  President  of  the  Council,  and  is  supposed  to  direct 
the  general  policy  of  the  country.     His  colleagues  are — 

The  jMinister  of  Grace  and  Justice. 

The  Minister  of  the  Interior  {de  la  Gobernacion). 

The  Minister  of  Public  Welfare  {de  Fomento). 

The  IVIinister  of  Finance  {dc  Hacienda), 

The  Minister  of  War. 

The  Minister  of  Marine. 

The  Minister  of  the  Colonies. 

The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  {de  Estado). 

To  the  province  of  the  Minister  of  Grace  and  Justice  be- 
longs everything  that  is  connected  with  the  administration  of 
the  law,  both  in  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  courts  ;  and  he 
superintends  the  proceedings  of  all  legal  functionaries,  from 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  tribunal  at  Madrid,  dow^n  to  the 
Alcaldes,  or  mayors  of  the  towns,  and  to  the  juges  de  ;paix  in 
the  country  districts.  The  state  of  the  department  committed 
to  his  charge  is  not  one  of  the  things  upon  which  Spain  can 
be  congratulated,  for  the  confusion,  delay,  and  uncertainty  of 
Spanish  law  is  a  frequent  subject  of  complaint  in  the  country. 
According  to  Mr.  Wallis,  the  last  collection  of  laws  which  had 
any  pretension  to  completeness  was  published  in  1806.  This 
Novissima  rccopilacion  was  founded  on  the  Nueva  recopilacion 
of  Philip  II.  Neither  of  these  two  documents,  however,  quite 
excludes  the  authority  of  some  more  ancient  codes,  which  are 
understood  to  be  in  force,  in  cases  not  otherwise  provided  for. 


ADMINISTRATION — JUSTICE.  31 

We  need  liardly  say  that  the  laws  promulgated  in  1806  have 
been  altered  in  a  thousand  ways  since. 

The  criminal  law,  as  revised  in  1853,  is  decidedly  humane. 
The  punishment  of  death  is  only  inflicted  in  cases  of  wilful 
murder.  The  gallows,  to  which  the  Iberian  mind  has  a  pecu- 
liar objection,  has  been  superseded  by  the  garrotte,  to  which 
it  attaches,  for  some  reason  or  other,  more  agreeable  associa- 
tions. Corporal  punishments  and  the  pillory  have  been  abo-^ 
lished.  Trials  take  place  in  public,  but  there  are  no  juries, 
and  have  never  been  any,  except  in  cases  connected  with  the 
press.  A  curious  description  of  his  own  trial,  at  Lerida,  for 
publishing  a  pamphlet  which  was  charged  with  a  seditious 
tendency,  is  given  by  Garrido.  The  jury  was,  however,  once 
more  abolished  in  press  cases  after  the  counter-revolution  of 
1856.  Prisoners  are  often  detained  a  most  unreasonable  time 
before  they  are  tried  ;  while  caprice,  bribes,  and  the  protection 
of  the  powerful,  have  still  far  too  much  influence  upon  the  lot 
of  the  criminal.  Mr.  Wallis,  himself  a  lawyer,  and  with  a 
keen  interest  in  all  that  relates  to  his  profession,  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  high  character  of  the  leading  advocates  at  Madrid, 
and  was  evidently  much  struck  with  the  advantage  which 
they  have  over  American  lawyers,  and,  to  a  certain  extent, 
over  English  barristers,  in  finding  all  the  lower  and  mechanical 
part  of  litigation  taken  off  their  hands  by  the  attorney  and 
the  notary,  or  escrihano.  This  last-named  personage  is  a  kind 
of  middleman  between  the  attorney  and  the  court.  "  Every 
picture,"  says  Mr.  Wallis,  "  that  is  painted  of  the  law's  delay, 
and  of  the  costly  injustice,  for  which  men  curse  it,  has  for  its 
chief  figure  the  escrihano. 

"  '  Con  semblante  infernal  y  pluma  en  mano.'  " 
All  evidence  "goes  before  the  judge  in  the  shape  of  declarations 


32  SPAIN. 

made  before  the  escribano,  and  reduced  by  him  to  writing.  In- 
deed there  is  nothing  which  concerns  the  case,  in  law  or  in  fact, 
of  which  the  cscrihano  is  not  the  conductor, from  the  judge  to  the 
parties,  and  from  the  parties  to  the  judge,  and  to  each  other." 

This  is  an  evil  inherent  in  the  system.  We  fear,  however, 
that  whatever  evils  there  are  inherent  in  the  system  of  Spanish 
justice,  they  are  far  surpassed  by  the  evils  which  have  been 
engrafted  on  it.  The  worst  of  these  is  the  venality  and  parti- 
ality of  the  judges.  As  long  as  these  prevail  there  is  a  canker 
at  the  root  of  all  prosperity. 

In  the  office  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  all  the  threads 
of  a  most  elaborately-centralised  system  meet  in  one  point. 
France,  as  France  was  under  Louis  Philippe,  supplied  the 
model  upon  which  the  victorious  Moderados  of  1845  re-organ- 
ised their  own  country ;  and  the  changes,  which  have  been 
introduced  since,  have  not  been  favourable  to  local  liberties. 

The  whole  mainland  of  Spain  is  divided,  for  administrative 
purposes,  into  forty-seven  provinces.  Over  each  of  these  is 
an  officer  who  bears,  in  the  province  of  Madrid,  the  title  of 
Political  Chief,  and  in  the  other  forty-six  that  of  Civil  Gover- 
nor. Each  of  these  personages  is  assisted  by  counsellors, 
appointed,  like  himself,  by  the  Crown,  and  by  a  consultative 
body  whose  members  are  elected  by  the  province.  The  local 
administration  is  carried  on  by  Alcaldes^  who  are  also  nominees 
of  the  government,  and  are  helped  in  the  discharge  of  their 
functions  by  elected  councils,  larger  or  smaller,  according  to 
the  population  of  the  district ;  those  same  Ayuntamientos,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken,  and  whose  power,  before  the 
reaction  abridged  it,  was  the  mainstay  of  the  Liberal  party. 
In  the  very  smallest  places  there  is  a  still  humbler  adminis- 
trator, who  is  called  the  Alcalde  pedaneo. 


/ 

ADMINISTRATION — JUSTICE.     '  \  "^   /^   33 

"■'        '  ^.' 

All  these  Alcaldes,  great  and  small,  must  do  as  the  miniS'  / 
ter  of  the  hour  commands,  and  they  are  the  principal  instru- 
ments by  which  the  elections  are  worked  so  as  to  produce  tKey  - 
results  which  are  desired  by  the  party  in  power. 

The  management  of  the  police  forms  another  part  of  the<  ^ 
multifarious  duties  of  the  Minister  of  Gohernacion.  Minutoli  - 
speaks  well  of  it ;  and  all  men  speak  well  of  the  allied  service 
called  the  Guardia  Civil,  which  looks  after  the  safety  of  the 
roads,  and  is  due  to  General  Narvaez.  The  danger  to  which 
the  traveller  is  exposed  from  robbers  in  Spain  has,  of  course, 
been  materially  diminished  by  the  increase  of  railways  ;  but 
even  the  common  roads  are  much  safer  than  they  were. 

There  is  really  hardly  anything  that  does  not  fall  within 
the  province  of  the  minister  of  whom  we  are  writing ;  and 
Minutoli,  in  describing  his  functions,  speaks  ch  omni  scihili 
Of  the  charitable  institutions  of  Spain  he  expresses  warm 
approbation,  and  on  this  head  the  reader  will  do  well  to  con- 
sult the  Attache  at  Madrid,  always  remembering  that  he  is 
reading  the  work  of  a  Eoman  Catholic  neophyte. 

Of  the  lunatic  asylums,  the  state  of  which  Ford  describes 
as  very  bad,  Minutoli  also  gives  a  painful  account.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  says  that  the  prison  at  Valencia  was,  under  the 
management  of  Col.  Montesinos,  the  very  best  which  he  ever 
saw  in  Europe,  except  that  of  Munich  under  Obermayer,  and 
he  certainly  adduces  some  most  remarkable  facts  in  support  of 
his  opinion.  The  aptitude  of  Col.  Montesinos  for  his  work 
must  have  been  quite  exceptional,  and  his  prison  very  unlike 
some  others  in  Spain  ;  for  about  the  very  time  that  he  was 
doincr  wonders  at  Valencia,  the  Carcel  del  Corte  at  Madrid 
was,  as  we  know  from  Borrow,  in  a  frightful  condition. 

The  management  of  the  post  in  Spain  does  scant  credit  to 

D 


'^^r 


34  SPAIN. 

ministerial  wisdom.  Nothing  more  ridiculous  can  be  imagined, 
and  its  in-egularities  are  complained  of  by  all  travellers. 
Tourists  cannot  be  too  earnestly  cautioned  not  to  have  letters 
of  importance  addressed  to  them  at  the  post-office  in  Spain. 
They  should  always  be  sent  to  the  house  of  some  banker,  or 
other  w^ell-known  person. 

The  persecution  of  the  press  is  another  most  important 
part  of  this  minister's  functions  ;  and  whatever  else  he  may 
neglect,  he  generally  fulfils  this  part  of  his  duty  with  great 
zeal.  Still,  even  under  Narvaez,  there  was  more  freedom  for 
public  writers  in  Spain  than  in  France. 

The  Ministry  of  Public  Welfare  has  the  care  of  the  mines, 
of  agriculture,  of  the  scanty  but  priceless  forests,  of  all  public 
works,  of  the  studs,  of  the  telegraphs — in  short,  of  commerce 
and  material  improvement  of  every  kind. 

The  rapid  development  of  the  wealth  of  Spain  during  the 
last  twenty  years  has  excited  more  attention  beyond  her  own 
boundaries  than  any  other  phenomenon  connected  with  her 
recent  history  ;  but  the  very  reasonable  and  proper  attitude 
of  the  London  Stock  Exchange,  towards  a  defaulting  state,  has 
had  the  indirect  effect  of  closing  the  channels  by  which  we  in 
England  should  in  the  natural  course  of  things  have  heard  of 
her  prosperity.  It  is  chiefly  from  France  that  those  supplies 
of  capital  have  come  which  have  swelled  the  not  inconsiderable 
hoards  of  the  natives,  which  appear  to  have  been  kept  out  of 
liarm's  way  during  the  troubles,  and  to  have  come  to  light  in 
recent  and  more  peaceful  times.  Travel  where  you  will  in 
Spain,  you  will  see  more  evidence  of  poverty  than  of  abund- 
ance ;  but  even  in  the  poorest  districts,  let  there  be  a  piece  of 
clerical  or  other  land  to  be  sold  by  the  authorities  upon  ad- 
vantageous terms,  and  it  is  curious  to  see  how  many  people 


ADMINISTRATION — MATERIAL  REVIVAL.  35 

are  able  to  offer  for  it.  Not  less  interesting  is  it  to  notice  that 
the  ill-will  of  the  church  has  had  so  little  effect  in  preventing 
the  acquisition  of  estates  once  devoted  to  pious  uses. 

On  the  subject  of  the  material  revival  of  Spain — a  revival 
to  which  nothing  save  peace  has  contributed  so  much  as  the 
sale  of  lands  which  belonged  to  the  clergy — a  long  array  of 
most  carefully-marshalled  and  significant  figures  appeared  in 
an  article  of  the  too  short-lived  Home  ccnd  Foreign  Review. 
The  WTiter,  who  had  peculiar  means  of  information,  shows 
that  the  population  is  steadily  increasing,  having  risen 
more  than  five  millions  between  1797  and  1860  ;  that 
there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  agricultural  produc- 
tion has  increased  during  the  same  period  more  rapidly  to 
the  south  than  to  the  north  of  the  Pyrenees  ;  that  the  use  of 
meat  is  becoming  more  common,  and  the  number  of  cattle 
and  other  domestic  animals  rapidly  multiplying.  Not  less 
cheering  is  it  to  learn  that  the  consumption  of  coal  has  more 
than  quadrupled  in  the  last  few  years,  and  that  the  possessors 
of  iron  mines  are  not  less  prosperous,  while  exports  and 
imports  had  increased  by  350  per  cent  between  1843  and 
1860. 

There  is  no  more  agreeable  feature  in  the  last  ten  years  of 
Spanish  history  than  the  rapid  development  of  railway  com- 
munication. We  have  seen  that  the  line  from  Bayonne  to 
Madrid  is  quite  finished.  A  gap  occurs  in  the  railway  com- 
munication between  the  capital  and  Cordova ;  but  when  that 
city  is  once  passed  there  is  no  interruption  till  the  traveller 
arrives  at  Cadiz.  Fifteen  hours  of  very  comfortable  railway 
travelling  connect  the  seat  of  government  with  the  port  of 
Alicante,  and  with  the  capital  of  the  wealthy  and  important 
province  of  Valencia ;  while  ere  long  we  may  hope  to  see  the 


3G  SPAIN. 

locomotive  traversing  the  whole  length  of  the  coast-line  from 
the  city  of  the  Cid  to  Perpignan.  Already,  in  1864,  passengers 
were  set  down  at  the  Saguntum.  station,  and  were,  indeed, 
carried  considerably  past  it  to  the  northward. 

From  Barcelona  the  line  is  only  completed  along  the  Cata- 
lonian  shore  as  far  as  Gerona,  but  one  can  go  straight  across 
the  countiy  from  sea  to  sea,  without  any  diligence  travelling. 
Montserrat ;  IManresa,  so  famous  in  the  life  of  Loyola ;  Lerida, 
the  Ilerda  of  Horace  ;  Calahorra,  the  ancient  Calagurris ;  and 
Tudela,  are  all  stations  upon  this  line,  the  latter  half  of 
which  is  singularly  picturesque,  ascending  as  it  does  the 
upper  valley  of  the  rapid  and  beautiful  Ebro,  and  descending 
the  course  of  the  Nervion,  affording  through  almost  every 
mile  the  most  beautiful  views,  and  doing  infinite  credit  to  the 
engineering  skill  of  its  daring  constructors.  The  journey 
from  IMiranda  to  Bilbao  is  the  very  poetry  of  railway  travel- 
ling. The  railway  already  connects  Pamplona  with  Sara- 
gossa,  and  Saragossa  with  the  metropolis  ;  while  the  lounger 
of  the  Puerta  del  Sol  can  hurry  to  the  fresh  breezes  of  San- 
tan  dar,  without  any  of  "  les  belles  horreurs,"  which  Mr.  Bor- 
row has  so  feelingly  described.  Even  Zamorra,  whose  deso- 
lation had  become  as  much  of  a  jest  in  Spanish  literature  as 
that  of  Cum 86  in  the  days  of  Juvenal,  can  now  be  reached  by 
railway  ;  and  if  only  the  lines  from  Santa  Cruz  to  Cordova, 
and  from  INIadrid  to  Badajoz,  were  completed,  the  tourist 
would  really  have  very  little  reason  to  complain.  Several 
other  important  lines  are  in  progress,  and  not  a  few  minor 
lines  are  already  completed ;  but  we  need  not  give  further  de- 
tails, as  Spain  has  already  an  Indicador  of  its  own,  on  the  plan 
of  the  well-known  French  publication. 

The  roads  that  are  to  feed  these  railways  advance  more 


MATERIAL  REVIVAL.  37 

slowly,  but  still  they  advance.  We  can  well  believe  that  the 
Marquis  of  Albaida  tells  an  "  ower  true  tale,"  when  he  says 
that  the  promise  of  a  road  or  a  bridge  is  one  of  the  commonest 
bribes  held  out  by  the  Alcaldes  to  induce  their  fellow-towns- 
men to  vote  for  the  government  candidates, — the  "  Diputados 
di  Alaen/'  as  they  are  wittily  called,  Not  less  true,  we  fear, 
is  it  that  these  roads  and  bridges  are  oftener  promised  than 
made. 

The  coasting  vessels  and  those  for  foreign  trade  advance  in 
numbers,  and  in  the  frequency  of  their  voyages,  while  some- 
thing is  being  done  for  the  harbours,  which,  especially  along 
the  eastern  coast,  are  far  from  being  what  they  must  be,  if 
Spain  is  to  become,  as  she  surely  one  day  will,  a  great  mari- 
time power. 

Judging  by  the  number  of  houses  which  bear  upon  them 
the  device  of  some  insurance  company,  we  should  have 
thought  that  fire  insurance  was  more  generally  practised  than 
the  fifi^ures  before  us  would  lead  us  to  believe.  Banking  is 
very  far  behindhand,  and  credit  walks  still  with  lame  and 
staggering  feet. 

Turn  where  we  wiE,  we  see  what  marvellous  changes  an 
increase  of  science  would  work  in  this  splendid  country. 
There  are  rivers  of  wine,  but  it  is  rarely  fit  to  drink.  There 
are  lakes  of  oil,  but  it  is  equally  abominable.  There  are 
acres  of  peaches,  but  the  fruit  is  a  sort  of  turnip.  There  is  no 
want  of  industry.  The  Spaniard  works  hard  with  his  hands, 
as  those  of  our  engineers  who  have  superintended  railways  in 
Spain  are  ready  to  testify.  Sobriety  is  a  common  virtue. 
Intelligence  is  not  wanting,  and  elementary  education  is  not 
so  very  backward.  It  is  intelligent  direction  which  is  wanted, 
central  direction,  if  nothing  better  can  be  got,  independent 


38  SPAIN. 

local  dii-ectioii  where  that  is  possible.  How  many  Spaniards, 
however,  are  there  who  have  imitated  Espartero,  who  devotes 
the  greater  portion  of  his  time  to  making  his  property  near 
Logrofio  a  model  for  his  neighbours  ? 

It  is  melancholy  when  we  reflect  that  vast  spaces  of  fer- 
tile land  in  Spain  have  been  utterly  waste  since  the  days  of 
Philip  III.,  to  know  that  every  year  large  numbers  of  indus- 
trious persons  emigrate  to  Oran  and  elsewhere,  and  that  the 
attempts  at  colonisation  in  Andalusia  have  not  been  crowned 
with  any  great  success.  The  religious  difficulty  here,  as  else- 
where in  the  old  world,  has  done  much  to  keep  far  from  the 
borders  of  Spain  the  most  hardy  and  useful  colonists. 

Garrido  has  accumulated,  in  his  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
chapters,  statistical  tables  illustrative  of  the  commerce  and 
manufactures  of  Spain.  We  should  be  more  tempted  to  quote 
their  principal  figures,  if  they  were  more  complete,  and  if 
some  of  the  more  important  industries, — as,  for  instance,  the 
cotton-spinning  of  Catalonia, — were  not  exotics  fostered  by 
unwise  laws.  Of  all  Spanish  exports  the  most  important  is 
wine,  and  of  all  Spanish  wines  the  most  important  is  sherry. 
We  observe  that  the  amount  sent  out  of  the  country  doubled 
between  1841  and  1861,  though  the  price  advanced  by  about 
80  per  cent.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that,  as  Ford  points 
out,  sherry,  although  grown  in  Spain,  is  chiefly  made  by  and 
for  foreigners.  There  is  less  wine  drunk  at  a  Spanish  taUe 
cVhdte  in  a  month  than  at  a  German  one  in  a  day. 

One  of  the  most  important  matters  to  which  the  depart- 
ment of  Fomento  could  devote  itself,  would  be  the  increase 
and  better  distribution  of  the  water  supply  of  Spain.  Drought 
is,  next  to  misgovernment,  the  great  curse  of  the  country. 
The  funiuition  of  reservoirs  to  catch  the  wdnter  rains  must 


ADMIXISTRATIOX — FINANCE.  39 

one  day  be  set  about  in  good  earnest,  if  Spain  is  ever  to 
support  a  population  at  all  equal  to  that  whicli  we  see  in 
many  other  countries.  The  replanting  of  those  forests  which 
human  shortsightedness  and  folly  have  destroyed,  is  another 
urgent  necessity ;  but  its  difficulty  is,  alas  !  proportionate  to 
its  importance. 

The  multiplication  of  canals  for  purposes  of  irrigation 
would  be  another  great  boon,  but  unfortunately  this  too  is, 
from  the  character  of  the  Spanish  rivers,  far  from  easy.  Long 
and  loud  has  been  the  clamour  in  favour  of  making  the  upper 
Tagus  and  upper  Douro  navigable,  but  neither  they  nor  the 
Ebro  are  as  yet  of  much  use  for  purposes  of  transit.  One  is 
tempted  to  believe  that  the  Moors,  as  they  quitted  the  soil  of 
Europe,  laid  a  curse  on  the  waters  of  Spain, — so  unsuccessful 
have  their  conquerors  been  in  imitating  their  dealings  with 
that  wayward  element. 

It  was  the  brilliant  and  unfortunate  Larra  who  proposed 
to  inscribe  over  the  gate  of  the  Madrid  Exchange,  "  Aqui  yace 
el  credito  Espanol,"  and  who  observed,  that  when  that  was 
done,  everybody  would  compare  the  building  to  the  Pjrramids 
of  Egypt,  marvelling  that  a  work  so  vast  should  be  raised  for 
the  sepulture  of  a  thing  so  little.  The  English  translation  of 
the  suggested  inscription  has  the  advantage,  as  Ford  perceived, 
of  the  double  meaning  of  the  verb.  Things  are  somewhat 
better  than  they  were  in  those  days  of  repudiation  and  bank- 
ruptcy, but  still  the  Spanish  Finance  Minister  has  a  bad  time 
of  it. 

The  best  source  of  information  to  which  we  can  refer  those 
who  wish  to  know  the  most  important  facts  about  the  public 
debt  and  the  actual  state  of  the  money  matters  of  Spain,  is 
two  sections  of  the  article  "  Espagne,"  in  Block's  Dictionnaire 


40  SPAIN. 

General  dc  la  Politique.  They  are  both  written  by  Barzanallana, 
who  was,  as  we  have  seen,  Finance  Minister  in  the  last  Narvaez 
Government.  He  gives  as  the  total  amount  of  the  debt  on  the 
1st  January  1862, — 14,603,231,950  reals,butithas  of  course  in- 
creased since.  He  also  states  the  amount  of  the  budget  voted 
on  the  4th  March  1862  at  2,003,853,536  reals,  for  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  the  state,  as  against  2,009,938,000  reals,  the  esti- 
mated ordinary  revenue  ;  while  more  than  560,000,000  reals 
were  assigned  to  extraordinary  expenses,  which  it  was  expected 
would  be  met  by  receipts  not  forming  part  of  the  ordinary 
revenue.  We  may  remind  our  readers  that  a  sum  in  reals  may 
be  converted  into  one  in  pounds  sterling,  with  sufficient 
accuracy  for  ordinary  purposes,  if  it  is  divided  by  100. 

]\f  any  of  the  methods  of  raising  the  revenue  are  much  com- 
plained of  by  intelligent  Spaniards.  The  tariff  is  still  ruin- 
ously protective.  The  tobacco  and  other  monopolies  are 
opposed  to  the  most  elementary  principles.  The  barbarous 
octroi  minimises  the  internal  commerce  of  the  country,  loses 
many  hours  of  every  day  to  thousands  of  industrious  people, 
and  fosters  the  vicious  propensities  of  a  whole  army  of  officials, 
whose  illegitimate  gains,  as  every  traveller  knows,  are  far 
greater  than  their  honest  ones.  An  elaborate  and  vexatious 
system  of  stamps  interferes  with  alrnost  every  transaction  of 
life.  With  one  hand  the  Minister  of  Finance  beckons  into 
existence  a  host  of  contrabandAstas,  and  with  another  an 
army  of  carahineros  to  keep  them  in  check.  The  lottery  still 
sows  demoralisation  broadcast  over  the  whole  Peninsula.  In 
sliort,  there  are  few  economical  heresies  which  are  not  em- 
braced as  great  truths  by  Queen  Isabella's  government,  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  many  enlightened  persons  who  translate 
lVistiat,and  otherwise  attempt  to  dispel  the  darkness  of  the  land. 


ADMINISTRATION — FINANCE.  41 

Of  the  wrongs  of  the  bondholders  we  will  say  nothing. 
There  are  few  Spanish  topics  which  are  so  familiar  to  the 
newspaper  reader.  Those,  however,  who  would  learn  what 
can  be  advanced  on  the  Spanish  side  of  the  case,  might  look 
with  advantage  at  the  pamphlet  called  S;pain  and  Morocco,  by 
Mr.  Owen  Eoss. 

So  obvious  are  the  benefits  which  would  accrue  to  Spain 
from  an  honest  arrangement  with  her  creditors,  and  so  perfectly 
able  is  she  to  make  one  which  would  be  accepted  as  satisfac- 
tory, that  we  cannot  doubt  that  such  will  be  made.  Made  it 
would  have  been  ere  this,  if  the  present  state  of  things  had 
not  been  useful  to  speculators,  whose  influence  at  Madrid  is 
more  powerful  than  any  consideration  of  national  prosperity, 
to  say  nothing  of  national  honour. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  year  1858  the  Neo-CathoHc 
party,  which  had  attempted  to  stop  the  sale  of  the  national 
church  lands,  was  obliged  to  give  way  to  the  politicians  of 
the  "  Union-Liberal."  They  recommenced  the  good  work,  and 
an  enormous  amount  of  real  property  has  now  passed  from 
the  dead  to  the  living  hand.  The  money  received  by  the 
state  has  been  and  is  being  applied  to  many  good  objects — 
inter  alia,  to  the  construction  of  harbours  and  lighthouses,  to 
canals,  roads,  and  bridges.  Unfortunately,  vast  sums  have 
been  squandered  on  preparations  for  and  munitions  of  war ; 
while,  according  to  Garrido,  not  one  penny  has  been  spent  in 
promoting  the  increase  of  knowledge — the  great  want  of 
Spain. 

Assuredly  finance  is  not  the  bright  side  of  Iberian  affairs. 
And  yet  let  any  one  compare  the  figures  of  recent  budgets  with 
those  of  the  days  of  Spain's  prosperity  and  pre-eminence, 
asking  himself,  after  he  has  done  so,  what  people  mean  when 


42  SPAIN. 

they  say  that  she  has  declined.  Hen  relative  position  has 
changed,  and  she  has  not  advanced  as  she  ought  to  have  done  ; 
but  how  much  of  that  halo  of  greatness  which  surrounds  her 
past  is  mere  delusion  ?  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
figures  we  have  cited  are  only  those  connected  with  the  central 
•'overnmeut.  Very  large  sums  are  raised  for  public  purposes 
by  tlie  provincial  councils  and  by  the  municipalities.  It 
should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  debt  has  been  much 
increased  by  the  state's  having  given  to  the  former  owners  of 
lands  held  in  mortmain,  obligations  upon  the  National 
Treasury  instead  of  the  estates  which  they  lost. 

The  events  of  the  Peninsular  War  left  on  the  English  mind 
a  somewhat  too  unfavourable  impression  of  the  Spanish  soldier. 
Faults,  which  were  really  attributable  only  to  his  officers  or 
to  the  War  Department,  were  unhesitatingly  ascribed  to  him  ; 
and  his  demerits  are  even  now  popularly  accepted  as  part  of 
the  low  estimate  of  Spain  which  is  usual  amongst  us.  And 
yet  the  great  Captain  who  freed  the  Peninsula  by  no  means 
shared  these  views.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  express  the  highest 
opinion  of  the  warlike  virtues  of  the  Spanish  private  ;  and  a 
person  is  still  living  who  can  testify  to  his  having  said,  ''  The 
British  soldier — if  you  treat  him  w^ell — if  you  feed  him — if 
you  clothe  him — will  go  anywhere  and  fight  anybody  ;  but 
the  Spanish  soldier — if  you  donH  treat  him  well — if  you  don't 
feed  him — if  you  don^t  clothe  him — will  do  the  same." 

The  necessities  of  the  civil  wars  directed  very  great  atten- 
tion to  the  better  organisation  of  the  royal  troops  in  Spain ; 
and  when  peace  returned,  the  wants  of  the  service  were  not 
lost  sight  of.  Minutoli,  who  had  himself  served  for  twenty- 
four  years  in  the  Prussian  army,  gives  a  most  detailed  account 
of  till'  wholu  military  system,  satisfying  in  his  scruj)ulous 


ADMINISTRATION — WAR.  43 

pages  alike  the  curiosity  of  the  drill-sergeant  and  of  the  army 
tailor.  His  summing-up  is  higlily  favourable  to  the  efficiency 
and  high  character  of  the  troops  of  Queen  Isabella,  who,  when 
he  wrote,  had  been  for  some  time  reposing  on  their  laurels. 
When,  a  few  years  afterwards,  they  were  called  to  make  proof 
of  their  valour  and  endurance  in  the  war  with  Morocco,  they 
earned,  it  will  be  remembered,  much  praise  at  the  hands  of  the 
Times  correspondent,  whose  letters  have  since  been  republished, 
and  should  be  referred  to  by  those  who  are  anxious  to  form  an 
opinion  as  to  the  real  importance  of  Spain. 

Official  returns  of  the  year  1863,  quoted  in  the  Statesman's 
Year -took,  give  151,668  men  as  the  total  strength  of  the 
Spanish  military  forces  ;  but  more  than  22,000  of  these  belong 
to  the  Carabineros  and  to  the  Guardia  Civil ;  while  more  than 
44,000  are  militiamen.  There  are  also  troops  in  the  Canaries 
and  in  the  colonies,  which  are  not  included  in  the  above.  The 
army  is  recruited  by  conscription  ;  but  great  privileges  are 
given  to  volunteers,  who  receive  a  large  bounty,  and  substi- 
tutes are  freely  permitted.  Minutoli  calls  particular  attention 
to  the  artillery,  which  is  destined  to  act  in  mountainous  dis- 
tricts,— an  arm  of  the  first  importance  in  the  land  of  Sierras. 
The  exercises  of  the  army  in  general,  and  of  the  cavalry  in 
particular,  are  arranged  on  the  French  model.  We  have  no 
very  certain  information  as  to  how  far  Spain  is  keeping  pace 
with  the  latest  improvements  in  military  science ;  but  a  govern- 
ment which  is  almost  always  presided  over  by  generals  should 
hardly  be  behindhand  in  such  matters.  The  Spanish  navy, 
which  had  sunk  very  low,  rose  rapidly  into  importance  under 
Charles  III.,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  century 
was  still  in  a  very  flourishing  condition.  The  great  disaster 
of  Trafalgar  inaugurated  another  period  of  decline,  from  which 


44  SPAIN. 

it  is  only  now  recovering.  Perhaps  it  is  to  the  filibustering 
expeditions  against  Cuba,  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  that 
we  must  attribute  the  very  marked  improvement  that  is  now 
visible  in  the  Marine  Department.  Some  credit  is  also  due 
to  the  Marquis  of  Molins,  now  minister  in  London — better 
known  by  his  name  of  Eoca  di  Togores — whose  poetical  and 
rhetorical  merits  raised  him  to  the  office  of  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty  about  the  time  that  the  Cuban  question  became 
alarming.  As  early,  however,  as  1845,  things  had  begun  to 
mend  ;  and  Minutoli  speaks  of  as  many  as  78  vessels  being 
in  process  of  construction,  or  undergoing  large  repairs,  in  the 
spring  of  1851.  Ever  since  there  has  been  a  gradual  advance, 
and  now,  like  other  and  greater  powers,  Spain  is  turning  her 
attention  to  the  construction  of  ironclads,  of  which  she  has 
several  afloat. 

The  officers  of  the  Spanish  navy  are  very  highly  spoken  of 
by  Mr.  Wallis  and  others.  Both  the  war  and  commercial 
marine  suff'er  much  from  the  obstinate  adherence  of  the 
authorities  to  a  system  based  upon  the  French  maritime 
inscription.  The  sailor  too  has,  it  would  appear,  other  griev- 
ances, of  which  the  chief  are  a  low  rate  of  pay  and  severe 
punishments.  It  is  probable  that  the  Spanish  Government 
will  follow  in  the  wake  of  their  great  neighbour  in  undoing 
the  mistakes  of  Colbert ;  but  Garrido  says  that  it  as  yet  is 
only  the  Democratic  party  which  urges  this  change. 

The  minister  who  now  presides  over  the  colonies  of  Spain 
has  not  a  very  laborious  office.  Her  gigantic  colonial  empire 
has  now  sunk  to  Cuba,  Porto-Eico,  a  corner  of  the  Virgin 
Islands,  part  of  the  Philippines,*  the  Marian  Archipelago,  with 

*  Tlic  reader  wlio  is  cuiious  about  these  unfamiliar  regions  should  consult 
a  recent  article  in  the  llcvuc  des  Deux  Mondes,  and  Der  Stille  Ocean  icnd  die 


ADMINISTRATION — COLONIES  AND  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS.         45 

the  far-scattered  Carolinian  group.  The  whole  population  of 
these  possessions  may  be  8,000,000,  so  that  Holland  has  now 
many  more  colonial  subjects  than  her  once  terrible  antagonist. 

The  want  of  good  faith  the  Spanish  Government  has  dis- 
played in  all  that  relates  to  the  slave-trade,  has  been  a  frequent 
subject  of  complaint  in  this  country.  Since  the  treaty  of  1817, 
the  slaves  in  Cuba  have  enormously  increased,  and  almost 
every  captain-general  has  made  large  sums  by  conniving  at 
the  importation  of  slaves  from  Africa.  The  most  conspicuous 
exception  to  this  rule  was  General  Valdez,  who  administered 
the  island  during  the  regency  of  Espartero,  and  whose  name 
is  a  synonym  for  honour.  The  Democratic  party  is  of  course 
thoroughly  opposed  to  the  existing  system,  and  its  writers  do 
not  cease  to  point  out  that  soon  or  later  the  sins  of  the  past 
and  present  will  be  washed  out  in  blood.  The  absolute  stop- 
page of  the  slave-trade,  with  gradual  emancipation  immediately 
begun  and  steadily  persevered  in,  are  the  only  possible  methods 
of  conjuring  the  frightful  calamity  which  impends  over  the 
Queen  of  the  Antilles.  The  downfall  of  the  Confederacy  has 
been  a  warning  to  her  to  set  her  house  in  order. 

The  really  liberal  party  in  Spain,  as  we  have  seen,  is  alto- 
gether opposed  to  attempts  at  "  re- vindications"  of  colonial 
empire.  Garrido  even  goes  so  far  as  to  assert,  that  Spain,  if 
she  lost  the  colonies  which  she  has,  would  be  all  the  stronger, 
and  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  that  side  of  the  question.  He 
admits,  however,  that  public  opinion  is  not  ripe  for  such  a 
change  as  this,  and  Spain  will  have  done  all  that  England 
can  expect,  if  she  tries  to  imitate  what  we  have  done  during 

Spanischen  Besitztcngen  im  OstindiscJien  Archijyel,  publislied  at  Vienna  in  1860 
by  the  gifted  Austrian  savant  and  diplomatist,  M.  Ch.  de  Hiigel. 

*  It  is  said  that  very  strict  orders  to  enforce  the  laws  against  the  slave 
trade  have  been  sent  by  O'Donnell  to  the  present  captain-general. 


46  SPAIN. 

the  last  thirty  years,  without  attempting  to  place  herself 
abreast  of  our  most  "  advanced"  colonial  politicians.  Her  de- 
pendencies are  still  governed  by  an  arbitrary  system,  for  the 
laws  promised  in  the  Constitution  of  1837  have  never  been 
introduced.  The  captain-general  of  Cuba,  if  we  believe  the 
Democratic  press,  is  as  despotic  as  a  pasha. 

The  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  is  generally  placed  in  the 
list  of  Spanish  ministers  immediately  after  the  President  of 
the  Council.  We  have  put  him  last,  wishing  thereby  to  indi- 
cate that  there  is  none  of  his  colleagues  who  does  not  occupy 
a  more  really  important  position.  The  advice  of  every  man 
of  common  sense,  who  desires  the  welfare  of  Spain,  to  the 
Spanish  Foreign  Minister,  will,  if  he  understands  the  circum- 
stances of  that  country,  be,  for  thirty  years  to  come,  a  very 
simple  one.  "  Try  to  forget  that  Spain  has  ever  exercised  any 
influence  beyond  her  own  borders.  Instruct  all  your  ambas- 
sadors to  confine  themselves  to  protecting  the  lives  and  rights 
of  their  countrj^men  in  foreign  lands,  and  to  keeping  you  well 
informed,  taking  especial  care  to  hear  as  much  and  to  say  as 
little  as  possible."  If  this  policy  were  persevered  in,  and  the 
other  ministers  were  as  active  as  their  colleague  was  tranquil, 
Spain  would  not,  at  the  end  of  the  period  we  have  named, 
have  to  ask  humbly  to  be  admitted  into  the  councils  of  Europe. 
She  would  be  one  of  the  "  Great  Powers,"  in  virtue  of  being 
a  great  'power. 

Parties  in  Spain  at  the  present  time  may  be  thus  divided : — 

I.  The  Royalists,  "  pures  et  simples,"  who  are  again  split 
into  three  fractions  :  the  Carlists,  the  Neo-Catholics,  and  the 
Royalists  of  Isabella  II. 

IT.  The  Constitutionalists,  who  are  either — 
AToderados  of  several  shades  ; 


PARTIES  AND  PRESS.  47 

Men  of  the  Union-Liberal ; 
Moderate  Progressistas  ; 
Advanced  Progressistas. 
III.  The  Democratic  party,  which  has  two  subdivisions, 
according  as  its  members  are 

Democratic  Progressistas  or  Socialist  Eepublicans. 
Neither  the  Constitutional  Progressistas  nor  the  Democrats 
have  taken  any  part,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  recent  elections, 
but  they,  like  all  the  other  sections,  have  their  representatives 
in  the  press.* 

*  In  the  autumn  of  1864,  the  Carlists  had  for  their  principal  organ  the 
Esperanza,  a  large  paper,  of  very  little  merit,  but  which  had,  we  believe,  a 
great  circulation.  Practically,  this  party,  of  course,  can  only  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  clerical  faction,  the  Neo-Catholics,  whose  chief  paper  was  El  Pen- 
samiento  Espanol.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Neo-Catholicism  in  Spain 
means  something  very  different  from  the  comj)aratively  moderate  views  to 
which  it  is  applied  in  France.  In  the  latter  country  we  connect  it  with  the 
name  of  Montalembert,  and  with  certain  veUeites  towards  Liberalism,  while  in 
Spain  it  is  the  creed  of  the  "real  old  bats  of  bigotry."  The  only  j)aper  in 
Spain  which  supports  the  principles  of  the  Corres2)ondant  was,  in  1864,  so  far 
as  we  are  aware,  the  Diario  di  Barcelona,  an  old-established  journal,  which 
was  then  under  the  direction  of  M.  Mane  y  Flaquer,  a  man  of  intelligence  and 
ability.  The  Eoyalists,  who  have  rallied  round  the  present  dynasty,  had  the 
Rcgeneracion  for  their  organ. 

The  Moderados  had  the  Reino,  the  Contemporaiuo,  and  several  other 
journals. 

The  Union-Liberal  had  the  Epoca,  the  Politica,  etc. 

The  Progi'essistas  had,  amongst  others,  the  Novedades  and  the  Iheria,  the 
latter  of  which  was  perhaps  the  best  Spanish  paper  which  then  appeared.  It 
is  strange  that  it  is  hardly  ever  quoted  by  the  English  press,  while  the  names 
of  verj'  inferior  journals  appear  frequently. 

The  Democrazia,  which  is  edited,  as  already  mentioned,  by  Castelar,  who 
has  attracted  much  attention  by  a  series  of  lectures  at  the  Ateneo,  ui)on  the 
civilisation  of  the  first  five  centuries,  represents  the  opinions  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Progressistas  ;  while  the  Discusion  is  the  organ  of  the  Socialist  Republi- 
cans. Till  1864,  that  journal  was  under  the  guidance  of  a  Catalan,  M.  Pi  y 
Margall,  and  it  still  has  great  influence  in  Barcelona  and  its  neighbourhood. 
In  literary  merit  it  seemed  to  us  very  inferior  to  the  Democrazia,  with  which 
it  lived  on  the  worst  possible  terms. 


48  SPAIN. 

Garrido  gives  279  as  the  number  of  the  journals  of  Spain. 
Of  these,  62  were  daily  and  political,  52  belonged  to  the 
bishops,  58  to  the  government,  and  the  other  93  were  devoted 
to  particular  branches  of  knowledge,  to  commerce,  and  so  forth. 
These  figures  have  probably  not  been  very  much  altered  in  the 
last  two  years  ;  and  although  the  state  of  things  which  they 
disclose  is  not  one  to  make  us  over-sanguine,  yet  compare  it 
with  the  accounts  which  we  have  of  Spain  from  1823  to  1833, 
and  we  seem  to  have  entered  a  new  world. 

Students  of  Spanish  literature  who  have  been  led  down  to 
the  reign  of  Charles  IV.  by  the  learned  and  only  too-pains- 
taking Ticknor,  may  well  be  excused  if  they  decline  to  pursue 
its  history  to  our  own  times  with  such  imperfect  helps  as  they 

The  writer  in  Fraser,  already  quoted,  observes  : — 

*'  The  Moderado  El  Espaiiol,  of  the  31st  October  last,  employed  the  fol- 
lowing language,  which  may  be  taken  as  a  specimen  of  the  licence  of  Spanish 
journalism  : — '  Yicalvarism  (O'Donnellism),  that  political  plague,  that  nega- 
tion of  all  idea,  that  deleterious  miasma  that  decomposes  and  envenoms  the 
political  atmosphere  of  parties,  and  for  Avhich  the  word  country  is  synonjTnoiis 
with  ^;ri;:c;  that  group  of  apostates  and  political  pillagers,  that  sect  without 
faith,  without  creeds,  without  history  except  what  defines  a  period  of  illegality, 
of  violence,  of  pilfer,  and  of  blood  ;  that  vermin's  nest  which  has  bred  and 
grown  witli  the  pest  ; — Vicalvarism,  that  denies  the  history  of  all  parties — 
that  presumes,  insensate  !  to  deny  the  merit  and  the  glory  naturally  and  legiti- 
mately corresponding  to  historical  combinations, — that  is  not  a  party  with 
which  we  ought  to  measure  our  strength,  is  not  a  legitimate  and  noble  adver- 
sary whom  we  ought  to  combat.' 

*  #  *  *•  * 

"  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  happening  to  be  at  Paris  at  a  time  of  more  than 
ordinary  looseness  of  morals,  notes  down  in  his  journal :    '  I  hear  that  Madame 

is  excluded  from  society.     I  really  should  like  to  know  what  her  offence 

can  be.'  Just  so,  when,  after  reading  such  specimens  of  pennitted  journalism 
us  have  fallen  under  our  observation,  we  hear  that  a  newspaper  writer  has 
bi'cn  profiecuted,  we  are  driven  to  wonder  what  his  offence  can  be.  In  the 
midst  of  their  violence,  tlie  opposition  papers  take  good  care  not  to  attack  the 
government  for  the  gravest  errors  of  commission  or  omission,  when  in  accord- 
ance with  the  national  feeling — such  as  the  war  with  Chili,  or  the  culpable 
delay  in  restoring  credit." 


LITERATURE  AND  EDUCATION.  49 

can  find.  They  must  not,  liowever,  conclude,  as  too  many  do, 
that  nineteenth-century  Spam  has  no  literature  worthy  of  the 
name.  The  only  substitute  for  Ticknor  whicli  we  can  suggest 
to  them,  of  course  a  very  imperfect  one,  is  the  two-volume 
collection  of  extracts  from  Spanish  contemporary  writers, 
edited  by  Ochoa  for  Baudry  in  1840.  A  biographical  notice 
of  each  author  is  prefixed  to  the  passages  taken  from  him. 
Amongst  many  now  dead  they  will  find  the  names  of  Hartzen- 
busch,  Pacheco,  the  Duke  of  Eivas,  Ventura  de  la  Vega,  and 
not  a  few  others  who  are  still  alive.  There  are  also  several 
writers  who  have  appeared  since  Ochoa's  collection  was  given 
to  the  world.  Such  is  Campoamor,  whose  short  pieces,  called 
Doloras,  are  of  really  very  great  merit,  and  may  be  most 
strongly  recommended  to  those  lovers  of  fugitive  poetry  who 
have  come  to  the  end  of  all  that  the  better  known  literatures 
have  to  offer  in  this  kind. 

If  quantity  were  of  great  importance  in  literature,  great 
would  be  the  place  which  would  be  filled  in  the  eyes  of  his 
contemporaries  by  Don  Modesto  Lafuente,  the  twenty-second 
volume  of  whose  history  of  Spain  only  brings  us  down  to  1814 ; 
but  those  best  entitled  to  speak  with  authority  upon  such  a 
subject  accuse  him  of  much  too  great  haste,  and  of  pandering 
to  some  of  the  worst  prejudices  of  his  countrymen.  The  his- 
tory of  the  reign  of  Charles  III.,  by  Ferrer  del  Eio,  relates  in 
minute  detail  the  annals  of  a  period  which  is  very  imperfectly 
known,  and  has  been  favourably  received  by  foreign  critics. 
Like  these,  the  great  statistical  work  of  Don  Pascual  Madoz 
has  found  its  way  into  good  English  libraries.  Amador  de  los 
Eios  is  retracing  in  fuller  detail  the  ground  already  so  well 
traversed  by  Ticknor.  Beginniug,  however,  with  the  beginning, 
he  thinks  it  necessary  to   go  back  not  only  to  Lucan  and 

E 


50  SPAIN. 

^Martial,  but  even  to  I'ortius  Latro,  the  worthy  rhetorician  who 
was  the  teacher  of  Seneca. 

The  Marquis  of  Pidal,  long  prominent  in  politics,  is  a  historian 
of  a  higher  order,  and  unlike  Lafuente,  who  is  said  to  have  spent 
only  five  days  at  Simancas,  has  brought  many  new  facts  to  light. 

The  lady  who  writes  under  the  assumed  name  of  Fernan 
Caballero  is  perhaps  better  known  out  of  her  own  country 
than  any  living  Spanish  writer,  and  at  least  one  of  her  novels 
has  been  translated  into  English.  It  is  unfortunate  that  her  in- 
fluence, such  as  it  is,  is  thrown  into  the  scale  of  the  anti-liberal 
party.  This  is  the  case,  too,  with  the  popular  poet  and  romance 
writer,  Don  Antonio  de  Trueba.  Those  who  care  to  know  more 
about  living  Spanish  \\  riters  may  turn  to  the  work  of  Latour, 
Etudes  Litteraires  sur  L'Espagne.  We  should  warn  them,  how- 
ever, that  this  author  is  but  the  one-eyed  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
blind,  and  we  only  recommend  him  because,  superficial  and 
prejudiced  as  he  is,  we  know  no  better  guide.  When  will 
some  one  do  for  Spain  what  Marc  Monnier,  in  V Italic  est  elle 
la  Terre  des  Morts  .^  has  done  for  the  sister  Peninsula  ? 

Although  the  state  of  education  in  Spain  is  very  far  from 
being  satisfactory,  even  when  compared  with  other  Catholic 
countries,  it  would  be  a  sad  mistake  to  suppose,  as  too  many 
do,  that  it  is  no  better  than  Mr.  Borrow  found  it.  In  the 
year  1832  there  were  in  the  whole  country  only  700  educa- 
tional establishments,  and  in  1839  these  had,  thanks  to  the 
civil  wars,  increased  only  to  900.  In  the  end  of  1851,  Minu- 
toli  calculated  that  were — 

17,009  Boys'  Schools,  attended  by       .     626,882  scholars. 

5,021  Girls'  Schools,  attended  by       .     201,200       „ 
287  Asylums  for  Children,  educating    11,100       „ 

Total       .     839,182       „ 


LITERATURE  AND  EDUCATION.  51 

On  the  1st  of  January  1861,  according  to  official  returns 
quoted  by  the  writer  in  the  Home  and  Foreign  Review  already 
aUuded  to,  the  number  of  children  receiving  instruction  had 
risen  to  1,046,558,  and  the  proportion  between  the  sexes  had 
materially  altered  ;  for  whereas  in  1851  there  were  three  times 
as  many  boys  as  girls  in  the  schools,  the  ratio  in  1861  was  as 
nine  to  four — a  change  which  can  hardly  fail  to  be  fruitful  of 
good  to  the  next  generation.  Minutoli,  speaking  from  personal 
observation  in  many  parts  of  Spain,  says  that  in  spite  of  their 
low  salaries  the  schoolmasters  are  in  general  very  tolerable, 
and  that  he  came  from  time  to  time  upon  schools  which  were 
quite  excellent. 

All  this  progress  has  been  made  in  little  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  for  the  first  school-law  that  seems  to 
have  had  any  effect  was  framed  in  1838.  In  1797  there  were 
not  400,000  children  attending  the  primary  schools. 

Very  little  good,  we  fear,  can  be  said  of  the  class  of  schools 
corresponding  to  the  French  Lycees.  They  are  few  in  number, 
and  ill  attended.  Hence  the  Universities  have  to  do  much  of 
the  work  that  ought  to  be  got  over  in  the  years  of  boyhood — 
an  evil  of  which  we  know  something  nearer  home.  In  Spain, 
Greek,  which  in  the  sixteenth  century  had  a  very  heretical 
flavour,  has  never  been  much  studied,  and  we  were  recently 
assured  by  an  eminent  professor  of  the  University  of  Madrid, 
that  the  instruction  in  Latin  usually  given  in  Spanish  schools 
was  extremely  imperfect. 

The  Universities  are  ten  in  number,  but  of  these  Madrid 
is  the  only  one  which  is  organised  on  the  scale  of  a  great 
national  establishment.  It  represents  the  famous  University 
of  Alcala — whose  name  we  connect  with  Cardinal  Ximenes 
and  the  Complutensian  Polyglott.     It  alone  bears  the  title  of 


52  SPAIN. 

"Central,"  while  its  humbler  sisters  are  only  "District 
Universities."  These  are  situated  at  Barcelona,  Granada, 
Oviedo,  Salamanca,  Seville,  Santiago,  Valencia,  Valladolid,  and 

Saragossa. 

The  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages  still   lies  deep  upon 

Valladolid  and  Salamanca,  but  in  Seville  the  ideas  of  our  time 
have  at  least  one  worthy  exponent.  In  the  capital  of 
Catalonia  the  Scotch  philosophy  contrives  to  reconcile  itself 
with  the  fervent  Catholicism  of  Balmez,  a  foeman  more  worthy 
the  steel  of  Protestant  controversalists  than  any  whom  Spain 
has  produced  since  the  commencement  of  her  decline ;  and 
the  general  tone  of  that  University  appears  for  the  moment  to 
be  singularly  alien  to  the  Democratic  tendencies  which  have 
of  late  been  so  prominent  in  the  most  active  and  turbulent  of 
Spanisli  provinces.  The  University  of  Saragossa  shares  in  the 
general  decay  of  the  old  capital  of  Arragon ;  a  decay  whose 
persistence  is  all  the  more  remarkable,  when  it  is  remembered 
how  favourably  it  is  situated  with  respect  to  railway  com- 
munication. The  library  of  this  institution  is  really  one  of 
the  most  touching  spectacles  which  the  lover-  of  letters  is 
likely  to  see  in  any  part  of  Europe.  Eoom  after  room  may  be 
traversed  without  finding  almost  a  single  book  likely  to 
interest  any  one,  except  the  hihliomane.  Yet  even  here,  where 
so  little  provision  is  made  for  giving  solid  instruction  to  the 
students,  we  could  mention  the  name  of  one  professor  who  is 
honourably  distinguished  among  his  reactionary  colleagues  by 
liberality  and  intelligence. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  IMadrid  University,  with  all  the 
api)aratus  of  higher,  secondary,  and  primary  instruction  which 
it  sets  in  motion,  is  to  be  found  in  a  convenient  little  volume, 
the  Mcmorin-Aiivario  de  la  Univcrsidad  Centred.      On  paper, 


EDUCATION.  53 

at  least,  everything  seems  well  ordered,  and  in  a  course  of 
steady  improvement.  Whether  Dr.  Pattison  and  Mr.  Arnold 
would  give  as  pleasant  a  picture  of  the  actual  working  of  the 
machine  is  quite  another  question.  It  is,  however,  undoubt- 
edly doing  good  service  to  sound  learning;  and  the  tone  of 
the  very  important  philosophical  faculty  is  extremely  liberal. 
Not  the  least  remarkable  of  its  professors  is  M.  Sanz  del  Eio, 
whose  Ideal  de  la  Humanidad  para  la  vida  now  lies  before  us. 
Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  but  it  is  the  philosophy  of  Krause  which 
is  now  taught  to  the  rising  generation  in  the  metropolis  of  the 
autodafe — of  Krause,  who  found  in  freemasonry  the  germ  of 
that  higher  order  in  which  he  believed  that  all  states  and 
churches  would  one  day  merge.  Vera  is  preaching  Hegel  at 
Naples,  and  Krause  is  indoctrinating  the  "  only  court."  It  is 
enough  to  bring  Philip  11.  out  of  his  grave  again. 

Garrido  observes,  that  although  the  laAv  of  1856,  which 
now  governs  public  instruction  in  Spain,  was  framed  by  a 
very  reactionary  cabinet,  the  ideas  of  the  time  have  been  too 
strong  for  its  contrivers,  and  it  is  to  a  great  extent  working  in 
a  liberal  direction.  He  tells  an  amusing  anecdote  of  the 
troubles  of  an  unfortunate  boy  at  a  school  in  Andalusia,  wdio, 
when  examined  by  the  priest  with  regard  •  to  the  creation  of 
the  world,  made  the  same  answer  which  he  had  been  taught 
to  make  in  the  natural  history  class  of  the  same  establishment. 
Everywhere  throughout  Spain,  the  old  and  the  new,  super- 
stition and  enlightenment,  are  in  presence  of  each  other,  but 
nowhere  do  they  meet  in  sharper  conflict  than  in  the  educa- 
tional institutions.  All  attempts  to  make  the  scientific  works 
used  even  tolerably  conformable  to  the  teaching  of  the  church 
seem  to  have  been  given  up.  Education  is  certainly  cheap, 
even  when  we  consider  that  Spain  is  a  poor  country  ;    and 


54  SPA.IN. 

indeed  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  tolerably  competent 
professors  can  be  secured  for  the  very  small  remuneration 
which  is  offered. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  we  cannot  refer  those  who  desire  to 
know  something  of  the  religious  state  of  Spain,  to  any  recent 
work  which  can  bear  comparison  with  Doblado's  Letters,  which 
are  now  more  than  forty  years  old,  for  there  is  no  subject  on 
which  it  is  more  difficult  for  a  foreigner  to  speak.  A  few 
facts,  however,  we  may  note  as  certain : — First,  The  existing 
Spanish  Constitution,  although  it  still  contains  no  clause  pro- 
claiming religious  toleration,  is  in  this  one  respect  very  much 
more  liberal  than  that  of  Cadiz,  which  distinctly  committed 
the  nation  to  intolerance.  At  present  the  legislation  of  Spain 
recognises  the  liberty  of  religious  opinions,  but  does  not  recog- 
nise the  liberty  of  religious  \vorship.  The  distinction  is  a 
]Ditiful  one  for  these  our  days,  but  still  it  is  very  real,  and  re- 
presents the  abolition  of  an  enormous  amount  of  tyranny  and 
annoyance.  Secondly,  The  territorial  power  of  the  priest- 
hood, once  so  great,  has  ceased  to  exist ;  monasteries  are  a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  in  their  place  we  find  only  a  few  scattered 
mission-houses,  while  the  whole  number  of  ecclesiastics  has 
been  diminished  by  many  thousands.  Thirdly,  Although  it 
might  be  imagined  that  the  sacrifice  of  so  large  a  portion  of 
its  worldly  advantages  might  have  been  repaid  to  the  Spanish 
clergy  by  an  increase  of  spiritual  influence,  this  has  certainly 
not  been  the  case,  and  every  traveller  knows  that  neither  they 
nor  their  office  are  respected  by  large  sections  of  the  community. 

Some  curious  evidence  with  regard  to  this  point  is  supplied 

by  a  book  published   in   1851,  and   entitled.    The  Practical 

Worldng  of  the  Church  in  Spain.     Its  authors  (for  more  than 

one  liand  fontriluitcd  to  its  pages)  belong  or  belonged  to  that 


STATE  OF  RELIGION.  05 

section  of  English  Churchmen  who  talk  of  Dr.  Pusey  as  *'  one 
wliose  words  are  priceless."  It  may  then  readily  be  inferred 
that  they  went  to  the  Peninsula  expecting  to  see  and  hear  much 
with  which  they  could  sympathise.  They  thought  that  they 
were  entering  a  land  of  "  happy  peasants,  all  holy  monks,  all 
holy  priests,  holy  everybody ;"  and  great,  accordingly,  was  their 
consternation  when  they  found  ceremonies  profaned,  confession 
laughed  at,  and  the  clergy  despised.  In  Malaga  and  Cadiz,  in 
Seville  and  Cordova,  through  all  south-eastern  Spain,  they  be- 
held the  old  religion  sinking  into  contempt.  The  priests  can- 
didly confessed  that  they  had  lost  their  hold  over  the  middle 
class;  or,  to  use  their  own  peculiar  diction,  they  said,  ''  If  it  was 
not  for  the  poor,  there  would  be  no  worship  of  God  in  the  land." 
Sometimes,  when  a  sermon  of  an  exceptionally  startling  kind 
woke  up  the  slumbering  consciences  of  the  masses,  the  ancient 
fanaticism  flared  up  again  in  a  ghastly  way ;  but  it  was  a  mere 
momentary  revival,  and  things  soon  returned  to  their  accustomed 
course.  We  strongly  recommend  those  who  are  interested  in 
Spain  to  read  this  little  work,  because  the  testimony  which  it 
gives  is  evidently  wrung  from  its  authors  with  great  reluctance. 
They  had  no  sympathy  with  some  of  the  more  flagrant  delu- 
sions of  the  Koman  system, — with  its  Mariolatry,  for  example  ; 
but  with  much  that  to  a  real  Protestant  is  quite  as  objection- 
able, they  were  thoroughly  at  one. 

If  we  turn  to  the  debates  wliich  took  place  in  the  Con- 
stituent Cortes  with  regard  to  religious  toleration,  and  which 
have  been  published  in  a  separate  volume,  we  shall  see  that 
not  only  were  several  of  the  amendments  brought  forward  by 
the  Liberal  party  very  respectably  supported,  but  that  the 
reasons  given  by  some  of  the  most  influential  persons  in  sup- 
port of  the  less  liberal  proposal  of  the  committee,  which  was 


56  SPAIN. 

ultimately  adopted,  were  by  no  means  such  as  could  be 
acceptable  to  conscientious  bigots,  while  the  counter-proposal 
which  was  brought  forward  by  tlie  ISTeo- Catholic  party  met 
with  very  little  fovour.  The  motion  of  Montesinos,  deputy 
for  Caceres  in  Estremadura,  to  establish  complete  religious 
toleration,  was  only  lost,  on  the  loth  of  January  1855,  by  103 
votes  to  99.  There  is  little  doubt  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  difficulties  occasioned  by  the  bigotry  of  Queen  Isabella, 
and  the  fear  of  introducing  another  element  of  disturbance 
into  an  ah'eady-agitated  countr}^,  the  amendment  we  have 
just  alluded  to  would  have  been  carried. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  barbarous  suppression 
of  the  Eeformed  tenets  was  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
decline  of  Spanish  glory,  but  we  do  not  feel  by  any  means 
sure  that  the  introduction  of  a  considerable  leaven  of  Pro- 
testantism into  sixteenth-centrny  Spain  might  not  have 
exercised  so  powerful  a  dissolving  force  as  to  have  undone 
the  work  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  by  breaking  the  country 
once  more  into  two  or  more  separate  kingdoms.  Xo  one  has 
a  right  dogmatically  to  assert  that  this  would  not  have  been 
so,  until  he  has  well  weighed  and  considered  the  centrifugal 
forces  which  have  long  worked,  nay  which  are  even  now 
Avorking,  in  Spanish  politics.  It  is  not  impossible  that  the 
historians  of  the  twentieth  century  may  think  that  they 
understand  why  it  was  that  the  good  cause  was  allowed  so 
utterly  to  fail ;  and  as  they  narrate  the  discomfiture  which 
assuredly  awaits  the  "  Great  Church"  in  the  Peninsula,  may 
sec  how  fatal  to  the  interests  of  superstition  has  been  that 
national  unity  of  which  its  advocates  have  said  so  much. 
The  shades  of  iEgidius  and  San  Ptoman  are,  if  we  mistake 
nul,   likely  to  be  far  more  thoroughly  avenged  upon  their 


STATE    OF   KELIGION.  57 

enemy  than  they  wonld  have  been  by  the  kind  of  partial 
success  which  followed  efforts  similar  to  theirs  in  France  or 
Southern  Germany;  and  those  who  read  their  story  by  the 
light  of  what  is  now  passing  in  Spain  may  comfort  them- 
selves with  the  saying — 

"  Thougli  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly, 
Yet  they  grind  exceeding  small." 

It  would,  however,  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  there  is 
any  tendency  towards  the  Confessions  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury on  the  part  of  any  appreciable  number  of  Spaniards. 
The  expedition  of  Mr.  Borrow,  except  in  so  far  as  it  produced 
a  book  which  has  been  well  called  "  Gil  Bias  in  Water- 
Colours,"  was  a  perfect  failure,  as  is  well  explained  in  Captain 
Widdriugton's  second  work.  The  more  recent  movement,  to 
which  the  name  of  Matamoros  is  attached,  has  not  even  the 
proverbial  importance  of  straws  that  show  which  way  the 
wind  blows.  If  any  exhortations  of  ours  were  likely  to  reach 
the  class  of  persons  who  find  a  vent  for  their  superfluous 
energy  in  missions  to  the  Mediterranean,  we  would  advise 
them  for  the  present  to  devote  all  their  attention  to  Italy. 
There  they  will  And,  under  the  protection  of  an  enlightened 
government,  a  fair  field  and  certainly  no  disfavour.  There, 
by  a  plentiful  expenditure  of  money  and  zeal,  they  will  be 
able  thoroughly  to  test  how  far  their  views  are  suitable  to 
Latin  populations  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  cause  of 
progress  can  only  gain  by  their  having  full  scope  for  their 
operations,  whether  judicious  or  otherwise.  In  Spain  the  case 
is  ^^ery  different  :  they  have  to  deal  with  a  half-enlightened 
government,  and  with  a  people  which,  so  long  as  we  hold 
Gibraltar,  will  be  apt  to  look  with  intense  dislike  on  every- 
thing which  has  a  peculiarly  English  colour.     Whatever  they 


58  SPAiSr. 

do,  let  them  at  least  not  make  Gibraltar  the  pivot  of  their 
operations.  The  only  result  of  doing  so  will  be  to  stultify 
their  own  efforts,  and  to  alienate  the  sympathy  of  Spaniards 
from  any  of  their  converts  who  may  get  into  trouble.  Our 
own  impression  is,  that  the  form  of  Eomanism  which  prevails 
in  Spain  is  lower,  and  retains  less  of  the  real  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity, than  that  which  exists  in  any  other  Catholic  country 
with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Over  the  lower  classes  it  still 
has  very  considerable  hold  ;  but  rather  as  a  superstition 
than  as  a  religion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  creed  of  the 
bulk  of  the  men  among  the  educated  classes  is  pure  in- 
differentism,  and  probably  in  their  hearts  the  majority 
of  those  who  are  opposed  to  religious  toleration  oppose  it 
in  order  that  they  may  not  have  the  trouble  of  settling  what 
attitude  they  are  to  take  up  towards  the  religion  of  the 
state.  At  present  they  are  Catholics,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
just  as  they  are  Spaniards.  If  they  could  be  anything  else, 
they  would  be  ashamed  to  profess  belief  in  a  system  which 
they  utterly  despise.  This  state  of  things  need  surprise  no- 
body :  it  is  the  natural  result  of  the  forcible  suppression  of  free 
thought,  and  is  seen  in  a  less  degree  even  in  those  countries — 
pagan  and  other — where  public  opinion,  and  not  penal  legis- 
lation, is  the  supporter  of  the  existing  creeds.  We  cannot 
expect  this  miserable  hypocrisy,  injurious  alike  to  morality,  to 
literature,  and  to  statesmanship),  soon  to  pass  away  ;  but  a 
beginning  is  made.  Any  one  who  knows  Spain  could  men- 
tion the  names  of  Spaniards  who  are  as  enlightened  in  these 
great  matters,  and  as  earnest,  as  the  best  amongst  ourselves  ; 
and  just  as  surely  as  the  opinions  of  Luther  and  Melancthon 
would,  through  the  Enzinas  family  and  many  others,  have 
taken  root  in  Spain  and  converted  a   large  minority  of  the 


DIFFICULTIES.  59 

nation,  if  tlie  persecutions  of  Philip  11.  and  his  successors 
had  not  made  it  absolutely  impossible,  so  one  or  other  of  the 
forms  of  pure  Christianity  which,  under  various  names  and 
with  differences  more  or  less  marked,  but  not  of  vital  import- 
ance, are  becoming  the  creed  of  most  thinking  men  in  the 
countries  of  Europe  generally  recognised  as  progressive,  will 
most  certainly,  before  the  end  of  this  century,  have  great  in- 
fluence in  rapidly  reviving  Spain.  Only  let  all  concerned 
remember  that  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  foreigners  to  hasten 
this  good  work  will  only  retard  it.  There  is  an  excellent 
Castilian  proverb  which  impatient  reformers  would  do  well 
to  remember  :  "  JVo  ])or  nmiclio  madrugar,  amanece  mas  tem- 
'prano  ;"  "  However  early  you  get  up  in  the  morning,  the 
dawn  comes  never  the  sooner." 

All  this  is  not  very  like  the  Middle  Ages  ;  and  we  can- 
not help  thinking  that  if  IMr.  Buckle  had  lived,  he  would 
have  found  it  necessary  to  reconsider  the  latter  part  of  his 
elaborate  and  valuable  treatise  on  Spain.  We  think  that  the 
key  to  modern  Spain  is  to  recollect  that  she  is  essentially  not 
mediaeval,  but  that,  in  the  room  of  the  old  faith,  loyalty,  and 
punclonor,  she  has  not  as  yet  got  any  great  national  belief, 
philosophy,  or  idea,  in  the  light  of  which  to  live.  The  old 
principles  were  bad  enough,  yet  let  no  man  condemn  them 
too  utterly,  till  he  has  seen  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo,  and  read 
Avhat  is  best  in  Calderon.  Nearly  all  the  moral  and  social 
phenomena  which  we  now  observe  amongst  the  educated 
classes  of  Spain,  may  be  explained  by  the  influence  of  a 
superficial  French  culture  acting  upon  a  people  in  whom  long 
tyranny  had  dried  up  the  springs  of  national  life. 

The  question  which  underlies  all  other  questions  in  the 
Peninsula  is  the  question  of  the  dynasty.     Will  this  wretched 


GO  spa!n. 

Bourbon  race  ever  be  able  honestly  to  reconcile  itself  with 
constitutional  government,  or  must  it  be  trampled  down  at 
Madrid  as  elsewhere.  Our  readers  will  have  gathered  that, 
altogether  apart  from  the  play  of  the  political  forces,  there  is 
an  evil  influence  which  is  perpetually  interfering  with  the 
action  of  government.  As  long  as  there  is  the  camarilla  in 
the  palace,  there  will  be  a  constant  danger  of  revolution  in 
the  streets.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  Queen  Isabella 
would  ere  this  have  been  set  aside,  if  it  were  possible  to  put 
anybody  in  her  place ;  but  against  every  candidate  whose 
claims  have  ever  been  canvassed,  there  are  great  objections, 
and  he  must  be  an  ardent  republican,  indeed,  v/ho  would 
seriously  propose  to  try  his  favourite  form  of  government  in 
such  a  country.  As  long  as  the  queen  persists  in  giving  her 
confidence  to  priests,  swindlers,  and  favourites,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  say  what  may  happen  from  hour  to  hour  ;  but  if  the 
royal  difficulty  could  be  got  over,  and  the  intelligence  of  the 
country  could  be  once  for  all  reconciled  with  its  dynasty, 
which  we  should  be  heartily  glad  to  see,  the  next  great  poli- 
tical step  should  be,  if  not  to  restore  the  Constitution  of  1837, 
at  least  very  much  to  alter  that  of  1845,  and,  above  all,  to 
sweep  away  those  dishonest  saving  clauses  which  leave  it 
open  to  a  minister  to  exercise  despotic  authority  under  con- 
stitutional forms.  It  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  even 
good  political  change  is  so  important  for  Spain  as  quiet  and 
decently-honest  government.  Anyhow,  the  improvement  that 
would  be  effected,  if  all  parties  would  consent  to  abstain  from 
the  exercise  of  that  undue  influence  which  has  been  employed 
against  all  in  turn,  would  be  so  enormous,  that  all  questions 
sink  by  comparison  into  insignificance.  Corruption  by  private 
persons  has  never  made  much  progress  in  Spain,  although 


DIFFICULTIES.  61 

there,  as  in  France,  it  is  upon  the  increase.  If  these  reforms 
conlcl  be  effected,  Englishmen  could  look  with  great  equani- 
mity upon  a  nominated  Senate,  and  the  continued  abeyance 
of  the  Xational  Guard,  althouoh  we  are  far  from  venturing  to 
assert  that  real  reforms  will  be  carried  out  without  recurrence 
to  the  use  of  that  powerful  but  dangerous  instrument.  An- 
other cr3'ing  evil,  which  it  would  be  most  imjDortant  to 
sweep  away,  is  the  intolerable  number  of  functionaries  and^ 
pensioners,  who  eat  up  the  revenues  of  the  state,  and  eke  out 
their  wretched  pay  by  bribery  and  oppression.  This,  how- 
ever, is  an  evil  with  which  the  constitutional  government  of 
Spain  finds  it  as  diflicult  to  deal  as  does  the  Autocrat  him- 
self It  is  easier  to  say  that  Spain  ought  to  have  half  the 
number  of  employes  which  she  now  has,  and  to  double  their 
salaries,  than  to  propose  any  feasible  means  of  effecting  such 
a  reform.  It  is  no  less  clear  that  her  policy  ought  to  be 
to  have  a  small,  thoroughly  well-appointed  army,  which, 
in  the  improbable  case  of  a  really  necessary  war,  might 
act  as  a  nucleus  round  which  her  population — than  which 
none  in  Europe  more  easily  adopt  the  habits  of  the  soldier — 
might  rapidly  rally.  ISTor  would  it  be  less  desiral)le  that 
Spanish  generals  should  confine  themselves  to  their  own 
art,  standing  aloof  from  politics,  and  imitating,  in  this  respect, 
their  naval  brethren.  We  have  alluded  already  to  the  ruinous 
results  ^^•hich  have  followed  the  unfair  dealing  of  Spanish 
Finance  Ministers,  to  the  abominations  of  the  tariff,  and  the 
whole  fiscal  system,  as  well  as  to  the  extreme  impolicy  of  the 
excessive  centralisation  which  prevails  in  every  department  of 
the  state.  We  canaot,  however,  too  strongly  impress  upon 
our  readers  that  the  punctual  execution  of  the  laws  which 
even  now  exist  in  Spain,  bad  as  these  laws  in  many  parti- 


62  SPAIN. 

culars  are,  would  very  much  improve  the  position  of  the 
countiy.  Everywhere  there  is  slackness,  gross  dishonesty, 
want  of  business  habits,  and  falsehood.  With  regard  to  all 
this  side  of  Spanish  affairs,  the  observations  of  Ford  cannot  be 
too  frequently  read,  or  too  carefully  treasured.  Against  such 
evils  as  these  the  best  government  can  do  but  little,  and  any 
man  who,  like  Espartero  and  some  of  his  friends,  stood  erect 
amidst  the  general  abasement,  deserves,  although  their  conduct 
amounts  to  little  more  than  a  protest,  to  be  placed  upon  the 
same  level  as  far  more  successful  reformers  in  more  fortunate 
lands.  The  railways  and  the  abolition  of  passports  have  done, 
and  will  do,  much  to  diminish  that  intense  provincial  jealousy 
which  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  Spanish  rulers. 
Intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  which  has  now  become  so 
easy,  will  gradually  force  the  Spaniards  of  the  upper  and 
middle  classes,  both  men  and  women,  to  become  more  educated. 
The  bull-light,  at  once  an  index  and  a  stimulant  of  national 
brutality,  is  now  more  flourishing  than  ever ;  but  this  may  be 
accounted  for  by  increased  wealth,  and  everywhere  there  is  an 
intelligent  minority  which  protests  against  it.  We  should, 
however,  only  be  too  happy  to  think,  that  the  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  day  on  which  Jovellanos  attacked  it  would  see 
it  beginning  to  vanish. 

If  Spain  had  only,  at  the  commencement  of  the  present 
reign,  adopted  a  reasonable  policy  towards  her  colonies,  she 
might  ere  this  have  stood  towards  them  in  a  position  at  once 
honourable  and  profitable,  and  have  acted  in  Europe  as  the 
head  of  the  Spanish  race  in  all  parts  of  the  globe.  As  it  is,  it 
is  more  probable  that  she  will  lose  the  last  of  them,  than  that 
she  will  be  wise  in  time,  and  introduce  a  good  government. 
H<'r  colonial,  like  her  foreign  policy,  has  remained  that  of 


TKUE   POLICY   OF  SPAIN.  63 

Ferdinaud  VII.  There  is  surely  no  power  in  Europe  to 
which  non-inten^ention  is  more  recommended  by  nature,  for 
the  Pyrenees,  as  has  been  truly  said,  "  damp  the  sound  of  her 
voice."  She  has  but  two  real  foreign  interests,  and  both  these 
are  peninsular  :  the  union  with  Portugal,  and  the  possession 
of  Gibraltar.  The  former  of  these  will,  we  think,  certainly 
come  about  when  both  nations  arrive  at  a  higher  point  of 
development,  for  such  a  union  will  increase  the  powder  of 
both  in  geometrical  ratio.  We  should  not,  however,  be 
deceived,  for  as  yet  nothing  is  prepared  for  it,  and  the 
Pcdrist  intrigues  of  1854  were  quite  premature.  There  are 
hardly  two  capitals  in  Europe  which  have  so  little  intercourse 
w^itli  each  other  as  Lisbon  and  Madrid.  When  the  frontier  is 
cut  by  half-a-dozen  railways  it  will  be  very  different,  and  ere 
that  time  may  we  not  hope  to  see  a  really  free  and  good 
government  in  both  countries  ?  At  present,  Portugal  is 
politically  much  in  advance.*  With  regard  to  Gibraltar, 
we  do  not  care  to  discuss  the  question  either  from  an  English 
or  a  Spanish  point  of  view.  Those  who  imagine  that  it  will 
not  have  one  day  to  be  very  seriously  discussed,  must  have  odd 
ideas  about  the  future  of  the  Mediterranean.  There  seems, 
however,  at  present  to  be  little  likelihood  of  its  becoming  a 
subject  of  immediate  interest  in  this  generation. 

Spain  w^ould  have  made  a  very  great  step  towards  pros- 

*  There  is  an  interesting  paper  on  Portugal  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Moncles 
for  1864.  In  tlie  opinion  of  its  intelligent  author,  the  tendency  of  public 
feeling  in  Portugal  is  altogether  against  any  rcqipTochement  to  Spain.  Since 
the  idea  of  annexation  was  taken  up  by  a  portion  of  the  Spanish  press  in  1861, 
he  says  that  it  has  become  the  fashion  in  Portugal  to  affect  ignorance  even  of 
the  language  of  their  nearest  neighbours.  "  The  two  nations  are  brothers,  but 
brothers  who  desire  to  live  apart."  A  similar  dislike  on  the  part  of  Scotland, 
did  not,  however,  prevent  the  Union,  and  the  logic  of  interest  and  events  will 
one  day  perhaps  be  too  strong  for  national  prejudice. 


64  SPAIN. 

perity,  if  slie  could  only  understand,  that  all  intelligent 
Englislimen  wish  that  she  should  rise  to  a  point  of  national 
wealtli  and  real  power,  such  as  she  has  never  as  yet  attained. 
They  are  quite  aware  that,  in  the  present  condition  of  the 
world,  Spain  cannot  be  prosperous  without  being  enlightened, 
peaceful,  and  industrious  ;  and  they  well  know  that  the  trans- 
formation of  the  Iberian  Peninsula  into  an  enlightened, 
peaceful,  and  industrious  state,  would  not  only  be  a  great 
blessing  to  mankind,  but  would  add  enormously  to  the  well- 
being  of  their  own  country,  which  is  becoming  every  day 
more  and  more  the  workshop  and  the  entrepot  of  the  world, 
Nor  will  the  complete  regeneration  of  Spain  be  less  important 
to  us  in  an  intellectual  than  in  a  material  point  of  view. 
Consider  what  she  did  when  she  was  enslaved  to  a  faith  only 
less  bloody  than  that  which  she  overthrew^  in  Mexico, — a  faith 
at  which  all  intelligent  Eomanists  now  shudder  ;  then  judge 
what  she  may  do  when  the  fine  intellects  of  her  people  are 
freed  from  the  bondage  of  ignorance,  and  she  has  her  fair  share 
of  the  knowledge  of  those  facts  of  the  universe,  which  are  now 
acquired  for  humanity.  So  surely  as  a  new  product  of  any 
value  is  discovered,  it  soon  finds  it  way  to  England.  So  surely 
as  a  new  idea  is  born  into  the  world,  it  soon  finds  its  way 
liither  also ;  and  no  nation  can  now  become  rich  or  wise  with- 
out largely  contributing  to  the  increase  of  our  riches  and 
wisdom. 


CHAPTEE   11. 

RUSSIA. 

EussiA,  said  a  French  historian  to  an  English  friend,  is  a 
siren,  with  whom  it  is  dangerous  to  parley.  "  Just  look  at 
Haxthausen's  book  ;  he  starts  as  a  very  good  German,  but  he 
becomes  more  Muscovite  than  Muscovy,  before  he  gets  to  the 
end."  If  the  remarkable  man  who  used  these  words  had 
ever  thought  of  Eussia,  except  as  a  subject  for  dithyrambic 
rhetoric,  he  would  probably  have  reflected  that  to  say  of  a 
country  that,  the  more  you  examine  it,  the  better  your  opinion 
of  it  is  likely  to  be,  is  to  pass  upon  it  a  very  equivocal  kind 
of  censure.  We  place  his  remark,  however,  at  the  very  com- 
mencement of  this  article,  in  order  that  the  reader  may  not 
be  unwarned,  but  may  suspect  us,  if  he  finds  anything  more 
favourable  to  Eussia  than  he  anticipates,  to  have  listened  too 
long  to  the  voice  of  the  siren. 

What  are  the  elements  which  make  up  the  ordinary  ideas 
about  Eussia,  now  floating  in  English  society  ?  Eirst,  there  is 
a  general  feeHng  of  dislike,  not  unmingled  with  disgust,  which 
may  be  traced  up  perhaps  to  the  publication  of  Dr.  Clarke's 
travels.  That  writer,  who  influences  many  who  never  read  a 
line  of  his  works,  visited  Eussia  during  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Paul,  and  suffered,  like  most  who  did  so,  from  the 
caprices  of  that  maniac.  His  descriptions  have  been  criti- 
cised, but  were  probably  in  the  main  correct,  and  the  state  of 

F 


66  RUSSIA. 

society,  which  he  found  in  Eussia,  was  eminently  detestable. 
The  impression  which  his  book  left  upon  the  mind  of  Western 
Europe  was  heightened  by  the  bitter  diatribes  of  Custine  ;  and 
even  those  who  would  have  been  willing  to  look,  with  a 
friendly  eye,  upon  the  Eussian  people  and  their  advancing 
civilisation,  have  been  revolted  by  the  impudent  pretensions 
of  their  government  to  give  law  to  Europe,  and  by  that  long 
succession  of  presumptuous  follies  which,  commencing  with 
1814,  only  came  to  an  end  when  the  heart-strings  of  the  Em- 
peror Nicholas  cracked  in  the  agony  of  defeat  and  humiliation. 
The  bloody  repression  of  two  Polish  insurrections,  the  long 
grim  t}Tanny  of  Nicholas,  and  the  fact  that  the  events  of  even 
the  present  reign  come  to  us  coloured,  as  has  been  well  said, 
either  by  the  views  of  Germans  who  fear,  or  of  Poles  who 
hate  Eussia,  have  combined  to  make  the  task  of  any  one 
who  asks  the  Liberal  party  in  England  to  look  upon  the 
empire  of  the  Czars  as  it  really  is,  very  far  indeed  from  an 
easy  one. 

Alexander  I.,  during  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign, 
seemed  inclined  to  give  his  attention  to  the  internal  affairs  of 
his  empire.  Too  soon,  however,  he  was  dragged  into  the 
whirlpool  of  the  revolutionary  wars,  and  ere  long  the  utter 
failure  of  Napoleon's  mad  attempt  put  him  in  a  position  to 
dictate  to  the  Continent.  He  caught  too,  beyond  his  own 
frontiers,  that  strange  malady  of  religious  enthusiasm  which 
broke  out  all  over  Europe,  when  the  subject  nations  began 
first  to  hope  for  an  opportunity  of  shaking  off  the  domination 
of  France.  Opposition  to  the  Eevolution  estranged  the  pupil 
of  Laharpe  from  the  doctrines  of  his  master.  The  influence 
of  Madame  de  Kriidener  made  the  eldest  son  of  the  Holy 
Eastern  Church  a  mvstic  accordinjz  to  the  Western  manner. 


THE  HOLY  ALLIANCE.  67 

After  the  peace  he  still  cherished  hopes  of  making  Warsaw  a 
centre,  whence  a  modified  Liberalism  might  be  conducted,  at 
the  good  pleasure  of  the  Czar,  from  one  city  of  Paissia  to 
another  ;  but  the  difficulties  he  met  with  from  a  people, 
which  then  as  now  cared  much  more  for  national  freedom 
than  for  forms  of  government,  of  however  liberal  a  character, 
gradually  altered  the  views  of  Alexander  about  Poland,  while 
he  became  engaged  ever  more  and  more  deeply  in  the  Con- 
gress politics,  of  which  Metternich  was  the  moving  spirit. 
Before  he  died  he  was  little  more  than  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  for  Eussia,  while  the  legitimate  functions  of  the  Auto- 
crat were  discharged,  and  discharged  detestably,  by  his  all- 
powerful  favourite  Araktcheieif.  We  have  said  that  Alex- 
ander was  gradually  led  into  this  unfortunate  policy  ;  indeed, 
nothing  would  be  more  mistaken  than  to  suppose  that  even 
the  signature  of  the  Holy  Alliance  was  coincident  with  his 
reaching  any  very  advanced  point  on  the  political  "  descensus 
Averni."  So  much  nonsense  has  been  talked  of  late  about 
the  Holy  Alliance,  in  connection  with  the  Carlsbad  and  Kis- 
singen  interviews  of  1864,  that  we  shall  not  do  wrong  to  re- 
mind our  readers  what  that  agreement  really  was. 

The  document  called  the  Holy  Alliance  was  originally 
sketched  at  Paris,  in  the  French  language,  by  Alexander's 
own  hand,  after  a  long  and  animated  conversation  with 
Madame  de  Krlidener  and  Bergasse.  It  was  suggested,  per- 
haps, by  words  spoken  by  the  king  of  Prussia  after  the 
battle  of  Bautzen,  but  was  chiefly  the  result  of  the  influence 
upon  a  mind  always  inclined  to  religious  ideas,  of  the  conver- 
sation of  Madame  de  Krlidener  and  of  the  philosopher  Bader;, 
the  admirer  of  Tauler,  Jacob  Boehm,  and  St.  Martin,  the 
deadly  foe  of  Kant  and  his  successors  in  Germany — a  man 


68  RUSSIA. 

who  may  be  called,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  father  of  the 
Tractarian  movement,  and  who  used  to  speak  of  the  Eeforma- 
tion  as  a  deformation,  just  as  Eichard  Froude  did  at  Oxford 
some  twenty  years  afterwards. 

The  Czar  dreamt  of  founding  a  Communion  of  states, 
bound  together  by  the  first  principles  of  Christianity.  He 
hoped  to  see  the  Turk  driven  out  of  Europe,  and  he  had  not 
much  more  affection  for  the  Pope  than  for  the  Turk.  The 
king  of  Prussia  signed  the  paper  from  motives  of  friendship 
for  the  Czar,  without  attaching  much  importance  to  what  he 
did,  to  the  vexation  of  Madame  de  Krudener,  to  whom,  of 
course,  his  carelessness  appeared  a  sort  of  profanation.  The 
emperor  of  Austria,  the  least  sentimental  of  mankind,  at  first 
declined  to  sign,  "  because,"  he  said,  "  if  the  secret  is  a  political 
one,  I  must  tell  it  to  Metternich  ;  if  it  is  a  religious  one,  I 
must  tell  it  to  my  confessor."  Metternich  accordingly  was 
told,  and  observed  scornfully,  "  Cest  du  verhiage."  Indeed  no 
one  of  the  princes  who  adhered  to  the  Holy  Alliance,  with 
the  single  exception  of  Alexander  himself,  ever  took  it 
seriously.  It  was  doomed  from  its  birth.  As  M.  de  Bern- 
hardi  observes  :  "  It  sank  without  leaving  a  trace  in  the 
stream  of  events,  never  became  a  reality,  and  never  had  the 
slightest  real  importance."  What  had  real  importance  was 
the  continuance  of  the  good  understanding  between  the 
powers  who  had  put  down  Napoleon,  and  their  common 
fear  of  France. 

This  good  understanding  and  that  common  fear  led  to 
the  treaty  of  the  20th  November  1815,  by  which  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  Powers  should,  from  time  to  time,  hold 
Congresses  with  a  view  to  regulating  the  welfare  of  nations 
and  the  peace  of  Europe.     It  was  these  Congresses,  and  not 


NICHOLAS.  69 

the  Holy  Alliance,  which  kept  up  close  relations  between 
the  rulers,  of  Eussia,  Prussia,  and  xA.ustria,  and  enabled  them, 
when  the  liberal  movement  on  the  Continent,  which  followed 
the  conclusion  of  the  w^ar,  began  to  be  alarming,  to  take 
measures  for  a  combined  system  of  repression. 

Alexander  I.,  when  he  lay  on  his  deathbed  at  Tag- 
anrog, had  wandered  far  away  from  his  mystic  benevo- 
lence of  ten  years  before.  The  danger  of  revolution  had 
come  much  nearer,  and  although  he  did  not  know  all  before 
he  closed  his  eyes,  he  knew  enough  to  understand  that  the 
whole  of  his  system,  and  even  the  lives  of  the  imperial 
family,  were  in  imminent  danger.  It  is  well,  perhaps,  for 
his  reputation  as  a  humane  and  well-meaning  sovereign,  that 
he  did  not  return  to  encounter  the  rival  conspiracies  of  the 
south  and  of  the  north — the  republicanism  of  Pestel,  or  the 
constitutionalism  of  Eyleieff. 

His  brother  Mcholas,  v/ho  succeeded  him  after  a  short 
but  most  dangerous  interval,  w^as  a  man  of  narrow  views, 
and  brave  rather  from  the  force  of  will  than  from  impulse. 
At  the  critical  moment  when  the  attempted  revolution  had  to 
be  encountered  and  put  down,  he  behaved  with  great  spirit, 
but  his  nerves  were  unquestionably  shaken  by  what  occurred. 
Long  afterwards  he  said  to  an  English  diplomatist,  who  re- 
marked to  him  that  only  two  thrones  in  Europe  were  secure, 
that  of  England  and  of  Eusssia  :  "  Speak  of  England,  if  you 
please,  but  I,  you  know,  sit  upon  a  volcano."  Y\"hen  he  came 
to  examine  into  the  state  of  the  empire,  he  found  nothing  to 
reassure  him.  All  was  in  disorder.  He  set  to  work,  and 
from  that  time  till  his  death,  although  his  principles  were 
false,  and  the  objects  which  he  set  before  him  were  impossible, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  tried  hard  to  improve  the  country 


70  RUSSIA. 

over  which  he  ruled.  He  had,  however,  inherited  from  Alex- 
ander the  unfortunate  legacy  of  the  foreign  policy,  which  had 
been  inaugurated  during  the  years  which  followed  the  Peace  ; 
and  his  own  imperious  temper,  no  less  than  his  extreme  fear 
lest  the  revolutionary  spirit  should  cross  his  frontiers,  led  him 
to  plunge  deeper  into  the  com]olications  of  Western  Europe. 
He  strove  so  successfully  to  sliow  his  hatred  to  liberalism,  if 
not  to  counteract  its  efforts,  that  the  name  of  Paissia  became 
detested  by  every  intelligent  man  in  Europe,  and  only  the 
few  who  were  led  by  accident  fully  to  examine  the  character 
of  the  man,  and  the  nature  of  the  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed,  could  ever  think  of  Nicholas  except  as  a  demon 
reigning  over  one  of  the  circles  of  the  Inferno.  Those  who 
knew  the  truth  could  make  more  allowances,  and  could  per- 
fectly understand  how  it  was  that  the  type  of  all  absolutism 
should  have  quizzed  Lord  Heytesbury  about  the  fears  with 
which  the  English  Tories  regarded  the  Eeform  Bill,  and  have 
assured  that  minister,  that  if  he  had  been  the  sovereign  of 
England,  he  would  have  found  no  difficulty  in  assenting  to  it. 
The  mistaken  foreign  policy  of  two  reigns  bronght  its  own 
punishment.  The  conduct  of  Eussia  in  the  commencement  of 
the  Crimean  dispute  is  intelligible  enough,  and  it  would  not 
be  impossible  to  justify  some  of  the  claims  of  the  Czar. 
Certainly  the  war  would  never  have  occurred,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  utter  abhorrence  with  which  Eussia  was  regarded 
by  all  the  liberal  and  progressive  elements  of  Western  society. 
The  English  Cabinet  went  to  war  for  Turkey,  but  enlightened 
public  opinion  supported  it,  because  it  saw  an  opportunity  of 
striking  a  heavy  blow  at  the  stolid  power  which  lent  itself  to 
])ro])  up  every  decaying  throne  and  every  worn-out  authority 
in)iii  the  Vistula  to  the  Ocean. 


THE  CRIMEAN   WAK.  71 

The  great  struggle  began,  and  although  short,  was  decisive. 
It  ended  too  soon,  perhaps,  for  the  glory  of  the  English  arms, 
but  not  before  the  object  which  the  nation,  as  distinguished 
from  the  government,  had  at  heart,  was  thoroughly  attained, 
for  peace  was  followed  by  the  utter  break-down  of  the  whole 
system  of  Nicholas  at  home  and  abroad. 

With  the  death  of  the  great  oppressor,  and  the  accession 
of  a  sovereign  who  was  justly  supposed  to  resemble  rather 
his  uncle  than  his  father,  a  change  came  over  the  tone  of 
society  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow.  All  tongues  seemed 
to  be  loosed.  The  government  was  as  freely  criticised  in 
many  drawing-rooms  as  if  it  were  not  still  omnipotent,  and. 
even  to  the  press  an  altogether  unwonted  latitude  was 
allowed.  Numerous  projects  of  reform — social,  political,  and 
industrial — were  put  forward  and  discussed.  Out  of  all  this 
fermentation  there  has  hardly  come,  up  to  this  time,  a  propor- 
tionate amount  of  solid  advantage,  although  it  would  be  most 
unjust  to  deny  that  Eussia  is  much  better  prepared  for 
reforms  of  many  kinds  than  she  was  ten  years  ago.  One 
extremely  important  measure  has  indeed  become  law  ;  we 
allude,  of  course,  to  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs.  There  is, 
we  trust,  every  reason  to  believe  that  as  this  was  a  change 
without  which  no  real  improvement  in  any  direction  was 
possible,  so  it  will  be  only  the  first  of  a  series  of  measures 
which  may  reflect  glory  upon  the  reign  of  Alexander  II., 
laying  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  the  true  greatness 
and  prosperity  of  Eussia  ;  and  we  hope  indeed  to  show,  ere 
we  conclude,  that  many  salutary  innovations  are  tolerably 
far  advanced. 

Before  we  give  some  account  of  the  emancipation  of  the 
serfs,  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  care  that  our  readers  should 


72  RUSSIA. 

have  a  clear  notion  of  the  condition  of  the  Eussian  peasant 
before  1861.  It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  all 
Eussian  peasants  were  serfs  up  to  that  year.  Several  large 
exceptional  classes  must  be  deducted  from  the  mass  of  the 
peasantry,  before  we  come  to  those  who  were  actually 
serfs. 

First,  There  were  the  small  proprietors,  or  odnodvortzi — a 
word  which  signifies  possessors  of  a  single  house  or  court. 
M.'  N.  TourguenefP,  who  wrote  in  1847,  calculates  their 
numbers  at  1,400,000.  They  were  not  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  other  peasants,  either  by  their  dress  or  manner  of 
life  ;  but  they  retained  the  recollection  of  the  days  when 
they  had  been  in  the  position  of  the  scJiliachta,  or  "petite 
noUesse"  of  Poland,  about  which  we  have  lately  heard  so 
much ;  and  these  recollections  combined  with  their  personal 
freedom  before  the  law,  to  keep  up  their  self-respect, 
although  they  were  too  often  treated  by  their  wealthier 
neighbours,  and  by  the  agents  of  government,  as  if  they  were 
actually  serfs. 

Secondly^  The  Cossacks,  a  numerous  body,  or  rather 
aggregation  of  bodies,  scattered  through  different  parts  of  the 
empire  enjoying  peculiar  privileges,  and  forming  the  nucleus 
round  which  cluster  many  of  the  most  incredible  stories  which 
are  told  about  Eussia. 

When  Napoleon  said  that  in  fifty  years  Europe  would  be 
either  Cossack  or  republican,  he  made  a  false  prophecy  in  the 
most  unlucky  language  possible.  "  Free  as  a  Cossack "  is  a 
common  proverb  in  Eussia.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is 
that  the  first  Cossack  communities  were  composed  of  bands 
of  heterogeneous  adventurers,  who,  at  first  little  better  than 
brigands,   were   at  length    allowed  to    establish   themselves 


THE  COSSACKS.  73 

on  the  frontier  of  the  empire,  with  a  view  to  protect  it 
against  the  Tartars  and  other  barbarous  tribes.  In  return 
for  a  nominal  allegiance,  and  for  their  warlike  service,  they 
were  permitted  to  rule  themselves  after  their  own  fashion. 
The  most  celebrated  of  the  Cossack  associations  is  that 
of  the  Don.  Dr.  Clarke  visited  it  before  the  changes  which 
were  introduced  into  its  organisation  by  Alexander  I.,  and 
he  gives  a  very  curious  and  far  from  unpleasing  picture 
of  Cossack  manners  and  mode  of  life,  contrasting  them 
very  favourably  with  those  of  the  inhabitants  of  Great 
Eussia.  They  are  now  chiefly  known  as  largely  contributing 
to  the  light  troops  of  the  empire,  and  making  themselves 
extremely  useful  in  keeping  up  communication,  cutting  off 
stragglers,  and  so  forth.  For  actual  fighting  they  are  not  well 
adapted.  Small,  rough-looking  men,  on  small,  rough-look- 
ing horses,  they  swarmed  in  Poland  during  the  recent  insur- 
rection, and  no  doubt  had  their  fair  share  in  the  atrocities 
that  were  so  freely  committed  on  both  sides.  At  the  same 
time,  we  believe  that  M.  Tourgueneff  is  supported  by  the 
testimony  of  all  entitled  to  judge,  in  saying  that  the  Cossack 
is  not  naturally  cruel ;  probably  it  may  be  very  truly  said  of 
him,  as  w^as  said  by  one  who  was  laughing  over  the  alarming 
stories  about  the  Croats,  which  were  circulated  in  Germany 
during  the  Hungarian  war,  and  into  which  reminiscences  of  the 
days  of  Tilly  and  Pappenheim  very  largely  entered  :  "  Ah  !  the 
modern  Croat  is  much  improved,  he  prefers  plunder  to  murder." 
Thirdly,  The  free  labourers,  a  class  which  was  called  into 
existence  during  the  reign  of  Alexander  I.  They  were  cal- 
culated by  M.  Tourgueneff  at  only  about  70,000,  because  the 
endless  formalities  with  which  the  transformation  of  serfs  into 
peasants  of  this  class  was  attended,  had  prevented  the  bene- 


74  RUSSIA. 

volent  design  of  the  emperor  being  carried  out  as  fully  as  he 
had  expected. 

Fmirthly,  The  foreign  colonists,  numbering  about  84,000, 
and  dispersed  over  very  distant  regions.  Full  and  interesting 
accounts  are  given  of  some  of  these  by  Haxthausen,  more 
especially  of  the  Mennonite  settlers  in  the  south  of  European 
Eussia. 

Fifthly,  The  enormous  class  of  the  Crown  peasants,  who, 
although  very  much  harassed  by  the  employes,  were  really 
free  ''  comme  on  Test  en  Eussie,"  as  M.  Tourgueneff  observes, 
who,  inhabiting  the  domains  of  tlie  Crown,  were,  in  addition 
to  the  capitation-tax,  only  bound  to  pay  a  small  sum,  of  the 
nature  of  rent,  in  return  for  their  share  of  the  communal 
lands.  It  has  been  often  said  that  these  peasants  were  worse 
off  than  the  serfs  themselves,  because  they  were  oppressed  by 
the  inferior  agents  of  government,  and  were  without  the  pro- 
tection of  any  seigneur.  This  is,  however,  a  complete  mis- 
take, as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  happiest  serfs  were 
always  ready  to  make  great  sacrifices  to  pass  into  the  hands 
of  the  Crown,  and  so  to  become  Crown  peasants. 

Sixthly,  The  peasants  of  the  apanages — serfs  in  all  but  the 
name — consisting  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  large  number  of 
properties  which  were  separated  under  Paul  I.  from  the 
domains  of  the  Crown,  to  be  a  special  provision  for  the 
members  of  the  imperial  family. 

Seventhly,  The  peasants  of  the  arendes,  a  class  which 
was  created  by  Alexander  I.,  who  put  an  end  to  the  bad 
old  custom  of  giving  away  to  private  persons  domains  belong- 
ing to  the  Crown,  with  the  peasants  inhabiting  them ;  thus 
reducing  these  peasants  to  the  position  of  serfs  ;  but  instead 
of  it  introduced  the  nearly  equally  bad  custom  of  giving  to 


M.   N.   TOURGU^NEFF.  75 

persons  whom  lie  desired  to  favour,  leases  of  portions  of  the 
Crown  lands  called  arendes.  The  lot  of  the  peasants  who 
were  in  this  way  let  to  private  persons,  was  extremely 
wretched.  The  custom  existed  only  in  the  Baltic  provinces, 
and  in  those  governments  which  formed  part  of  ancient 
Poland. 

EiglitJdy,  Peasants  attached  to  the  establishments  of  the 
Crown,  employed  in  the  government  mines,  factories,  and 
works,  and  sometimes  even  in  those  of  private  persons.  They 
formed  a  large  and  often  very  ill-used  class,  calculated  by  M. 
Tourgueneff  at  about  200,000. 

Ninthly,  The  peasants  attached  to  the  administration  of 
the  post,  or  yamscliiki,  also  very  hardly  used,  but  not  falling 
within  the  class  of  serfs. 

The  government,  by  recent  legislation,  has  facilitated  the 
acquisition  of  a  portion  of  land  by  each  family  of  Crown  and 
apanage  peasants,  so  that  in  less  than  fifty  years  the  whole  of 
this  immense  mass  of  men  will  be  turned  into  peasant  pro- 
prietors, holding  in  fee-simple,  except  in  so  far  as  the  rights 
of  the  commune  may  continue  to  exist. 

At  length  we  arrive  at  that  large  and  interesting  class 
which  has  recently  passed  from  serfdom  to  liberty  amidst  the 
applause  and  thanksgiving  of  the  whole  civilised  world. 
And  before  we  go  further,  we  should  advise  all  those  who 
take  an  interest  in  the  question  of  serf-emancipation  to  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  that  portion  of  M.  Mcholas  Tour- 
gueneff's  book,  La  Bussie  et  les  Russes,  which  deals  with  this 
subject.  That  excellent  and  very  distinguished  man  was,  in 
early  life,  attached  as  Eussian  Commissary  to  Stein  during 
the  advance  of  the  armies  of  the  Czar  upon  Paris.  After  the 
peace  he  returned  to  his  own  country,  and  was  the  first,  or 


76  RUSSIA. 

almost  the  first,  to  press  the  importance  of  the  serf  question 
upon  the  Eussian  reformers  of  that  period.      He  and  his 
brother,    along   with    some   other    much    larger   proprietors, 
presented  a  project  of  emancipation  to  Alexander  I.     For- 
tunately   for    M.    Tourgueneff,    he    was    travelling    abroad 
when  the  attempted  revolution  of  December  1825  broke  out. 
Summoned   to  return  by  the   government   of  Nicholas,  he 
wisely  refused,  and  Mr.  Canning  treated  with  silent  contempt 
a  proposal  for  his  extradition  from  England.     There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  in  the  then  temper  of  the  Czar  he  would  have 
been  sent  to  Siberia  or  put  to  death,  although  there  was  not 
a  tittle  of  evidence  to  connect  him  with  any  of  the  treasonable 
designs  which  were  undoubtedly  cherished  by  some  of  the 
persons  with  whom  he  was  more  or  less  connected.     For  many 
years  he  has  lived  in  Paris,  and  was  there  at  the  time  when 
he  composed  the  book  to  which  we  are  calling  attention,  and 
which,  although  nineteen  years  have  elapsed  since  its  publi- 
cation, is  still  one  of  the  best  which  we  possess  upon  Eussia. 
No  living  man  has  laboured  so  long  and  so  steadily  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  serfs,  not  only  because  he  sympathised 
most  deeply  with  a  body  of  men  whose  excellent  qualities  he 
well  knew,  but  because,  half-a-century  ago,  he  saw,  what  few 
then  perceived,  that  this  great  reform  was  a  sine  gud  non  for 
all  real  progress  in  Eussia. 

The  novels  of  his  namesake,  M.  Ivan  Tourgueneff,  are  also 
most  valuable,  as  giving  a  faithful  picture  of  the  working  of 
serfdom  ;  and  some  portions  of  Haxthausen  compared  with, 
and  to  some  extent  corrected  by,  the  appendix  to  M.  Hertzen's 
Du  D^veloppement  des  Id^es  Revolutionnaircs  en  Russie,  ought 
to  be  read  by  any  one  who  desires  to  have  a  fair  notion  of 
the  state  of  the  Eussian  serf  up  to  1861. 


THE  COMMUNE.  77 

Every  person  in  Eussia  wlio  does  not  belong  to  the 
nobility,  or  the  hourgeoisie,  must  necessarily  belong  to  some 
commune.  The  commune  of  Eussia  is  simply  a  slightly  modi- 
fied form  of  the  village  community  which  was  one  of  the 
earliest  institutions  of  the  Indo-Germanic  race,  and  is  still 
the  basis  of  society  in  Hindostan. 

Modern  jurisprudence,  following  the  mature  Eoman  law, 
looks,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Maine,  "upon  co-ownership  as  an 
exceptional  and  momentary  condition  of  the  rights  of  pro- 
perty ;"  but  in  India,  and  we  may  add  in  Eussia,  this  order 
of  ideas  is  reversed.  It  is  separate  proprietorship  that  is 
exceptional,  while  co-ownership  is  normal.  The  word  mir, 
by  which  the  Eussian  describes  his  commnne,  is  the  same 
word  wdiich  he  uses  when  he  wishes  to  speak  of  the  Kosmos. 
Haxthausen  says,  and  we  think  he  is  right,  that  it  is  un- 
translatable by  any  word  in  the  Eomance  or  Teutonic  lan- 
guages, and  he  gives  a  most  curious  list  of  proverbs  which 
illustrate  the  idea  of  sanctity  attached  to  it. 

The  commune  or  microcosm  is,  or  rather  should  be,  in 
theory  as  regards  the  state,  a  single  individual.  The  state 
has  no  right  to  go  beyond  it.  It  is  responsible  for  all  its 
members,  and  its  deliberations  ought  to  be  regarded  by  all 
external  to  it,  as  we  in  the  West  should  regard  the  workings 
of  a  man's  own  mind.  Each  commune  possesses  a  certain 
amount  of  land,  and  has  the  absolute  power  of  parcelling  out 
this  land  in  equal  portions  to  the  individuals  who  compose  it, 
the  individual  obtaining  only  the  usufruct,  wliile  the  pro- 
perty remains  in  the  commune.  The  commune  decides  with- 
out appeal  what  portion  of  the  taxes  imposed  by  government 
upon  itself,  is  to  be  borne  by  each  of  its  members,  or  rather, 
by  the  land  whose  usufruct  belongs  to  each  member.     Every 


78  RUSSIA. 

male  dwelling  in  the  commune  has  a  right,  as  soon  as  he 
arrives  at  majority,  to  demand  a  portion  of  land,  and  then 
becomes  entitled  to  a  voice  in  the  communal  affairs,  and  is 
subject  to  pay  his  share  of  taxes.  The  elective  head  of  the  com- 
mune, or  Starost,  has  great  authority  over  every  individual,  but 
no  authority  over  the  commune  itself.  M.  Hertzen  points  out 
that  M.  Haxthausen  makes  a  great  mistake  in  saying  that 
the  authority  of  the  Czar  is  reflected  in  the  Starost.  The 
truth  is,  that  the  Starost  can  only  act  despotically  when  he 
is  supported  by  the  public  opinion  of  the  commune.  This 
local  administration  was,  before  the  emancipation,  and  still  is, 
in  fresh  observance.  The  power  of  the  seigneur  stopped  with 
the  commune.  In  the  words  of  M.  Hertzen  :  "  Le  seigneur 
peut  reduire  la  terre  concedee  aux  paysans ;  il  pent  choisir 
pour  lui  le  meilleur  sol ;  il  peut  agrandir  ses  bien-fonds,  et, 
par  1^,  le  travail  du  paysan  ;  il  peut  augmenter  les  impots, 
mais  il  ne  peut  pas  refuser  aux  paysans  une  portion  de  terre 
sufifisante,  et  la  terre,  une  fois  appartenant  a  la  commune, 
demeure  completement  sour  I'administration  communale  la 
meme  en  principe  que  celle  que  regit  les  terres  libres  ;  le 
seigneur  ne  se  mele  jamais  dans  ses  affaires." 

An  Englishman  finds  it  very  difficult  to  understand  how 
such  a  degree  of  self-government  was  consistent  with  serfdom, 
but  his  surprise  is  diminished  when  he  reflects  that  these 
communes  were  very  much  isolated,  and  had  often  but  little 
communication  even  with  the  communes  which  formed  part 
of  their  own  group.  The  serf  since  the  days  of  Peter  the  Great 
bowed  low  his  head,  in  the  words  of  M.  Hertzen,  and  allowed 
misfortune  to  pass  over  him.  It  is  his  absolute  retirement, 
within  the  circle  of  the  commune,  from  everything  like  poli- 
tical life,  that  accounts  for  his  having  kept  many  good  qualities, 


THE  COMMUNE.  '  ^  y  "^9"^/'' 

'■        ■'         ^ /> 

i    which,  if  the  whole  weight  of  tyranny  had  pressefl/ipon  hinj,  ' '     i 

would  have  crushed  all  good  out  of  his  character.  .^  ,  /  • 

How  was  it,  however,  that  not  only  an  absolute  gove'rii^  -  ^  /  - 

ment,  but  the  thousand  petty  local  tyrants,  respected  the  / 
organisation  of  the  commune  ?  The  answer  to  this  is,  that 
there  are  some  things  which  every  government  must  respect, 
and  on  the  few  occasions  on  which  the  Eussian  government  , 
was  imprudent  enough  not  to  respect  the  communes — as,  for 
instance,  in  the  affair  of  the  military  colonies  under  Alexander 
I. — it  was  met  by  a  resistance  which,  coming  from  one  of  the 
gentlest  of  races,  seemed  so  preternaturally  savage  that  it  has 
for  a  long  time  taken  good  care  to  let  well  alone. 

The  justice  of  the  village  tribunal  is,  it  would  appear,  of  a 
very  rough-and-ready  kind,  and  by  no  means  dispenses  with 
the  argument  from  the  stick,  which  is  so  frightfully  common 
in  Eussia.  Those  who  have  witnessed  a  meeting  of  villagers 
to  discuss  their  common  affairs,  give  a  curious  account  of  the 
gradual  process  by  which  a  conventional  unanimity  is  arrived 
at;  and  it  has  been  well  pointed  out  how  completely  this 
Sclavonic  idea  of  a  conventional  unanimity  broke  down,  when, 
transferred  from  the  narrow  circle  of  the  commune,  it  was 
adapted,  in  the  Polish  Diet,  to  great  affairs. 

Most  persons  will  see  in  the  communal  institutions  of 
Eussia  merely  an  interesting  sample  of  arrested  social  deve- 
lopment, and  will  look  with  interest  for  the  slow  and  gradual 
breaking-up  of  the  communes,  and  their  replacement  by  indi- 
vidual ownership.  M.  Hertzen  is,  or  was  in  1853,  of  a  different 
opinion.  He  thinks,  or  thought,  that  Eussia  with  her  com- 
mune stands  before  an  epoch  in  which  the  anti-communal 
civilisation  of  feudalism  and  the  Eoman  law  has  come  to  a 
deadlock,  and  he  dreams  or  dreamt  that  "  the  barbarians  of  the 


80  KUSSIA. 

north,  and  our  home  barbarians,  may  find  out  that  they  have 
a  common  enemy — the  old  feudal  monarchical  edifice,  and  a 
common  hope — the  social  revolution."  His  friend,  M.  Ogareff, 
wrote  his  Lcttres  a  un  Anglais,  published  in  1862,  chiefly  to 
briuo-  out  and  defend  the  Socialist  side  of  Eussian  institutions. 
Tliey  are  well  worth  studying  * 

The  communal  institutions  of  Eussia  are  far  older  than  its  \ 
serfdom.  They  saw  that  evil  institution  begin,  as  they  have 
seen  it  end.  Serfdom,  properly  so  called,  only  began  in  Eussia 
with  the  reign  of  the  usurper  Boris  Godunoff,  and  w^ith  St. 
George's  day  of  the  year  1593.  It  was  on  that  day  that  the 
peasants,  whose  right  of  moving  from  one  master  to  another 
had  been  for  some  time  confined  to  that  festival,  became 
through  enormous  districts  adscripti  glebce.  Afterwards,  how- 
ever, and  more  especially  in  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great, 
things  became  much  worse,  but  it  was  Catherine  II.  who 
completed  the  iniquity  by  introducing  serfdom  into  the  wide 
region  called  Little  Eussia,  which  did  not  form  part  of  the 
empire  of  Boris  Godunoff. 

The  agricultural  serfs  were  divided  into  two  great  classes : — 
Those  who  were  obliged  to  work  for  a  certain  length  of  time, 
generally  three  days  in  the  week,  for  their  masters,  and  those 
who  were  bound  to  pay  an  ohroTc  or  rent.  This  rent  was  almost 
always  moderate,  and  the  peasants  who  paid  it  were  generally 
the  happiest.  This  was  particularly  the  case  in  the  great  cen- 
tral governments  of  Jaroslav,  Kostroma,  and  Vladimir,  whose 
iiihabitants  wander  all  over  Eussia,  exercising  their  various 

*  Only  very  recently  a  Russian  paper  announced  that  the  mission  of  that 
oouiiti  y  was  to  proclaim  the  universal  equality  of  all  citizens  before  the  state, 
and  the  duty  of  the  state  to  give  lands  in  fee-simple  to  all  its  citizens.— (See 
the  Reimr.  des  Deux  Mondes,  for  March  15,  1866.) 


THE  EMANCIPATION.  81 

trades,  and  paying  to  their  seigneur  a  small  acknowledgment. 
A  few  grand  seigneurs  possessed  serfs  who  were  enormously 
wealthy.  This  was  the  case  more  especially  with  the  great 
family  of  Cheremetieff.  Of  course,  according  to  law,  all  the 
property  of  these  wealthy  serfs  belonged  to  their  masters,  but 
a  custom  stronger  than  law  prevented  this  right  being  often 
enforced,  although  there  were  exceptions,  and  sometimes  very 
melancholy  exceptions,  to  this  rule,  for  an  account  of  some  of 
which  we  may  refer  to  La  Bussie  et  les  Busses. 

In  addition  to  the  agricultural  serfs,  there  was  a  still  more 
unhappy  class  who  were  really  very  nearly  slaves,  and  who 
were  called  personal  serfs  or  clvorovye.  M.  Tourgueneff  says 
of  them:  "  On  les  appelle  en  Eussie^e?is  de  cour  (clvorovye),  et 
pour  ne  pas  donner  aux  courtisans  la  meme  denomination  on 
a  invente  pour  eux  une  variante,  en  les  appellant  gens  pres 
de  la  cour  (pridvornvye). 

The  idea  of  emancipating  the  serfs  was  not  a  new  one. 
The  serfs  of  the  Baltic  provinces  became  freemen  in  name,  if 
in  name  only,  under  Alexander  I.;  and  Nicholas  during 
the  latter  part  of  his  reign  bestowed  much  attention  upon  a 
project  which  was  to  apply  to  the  whole  of  the  rest  of  the 
country  where  servitude  existed.  It  is  said  that  the  present 
emperor  was,  when  heir  to  the  throne,  by  no  means  favourable 
to  the  project,  and  that  the  Grand-duke  Constantine  was  its 
chief  partisan  in  the  imperial  family  ;  while  Count  Kisseleff, 
Count  Bludoff,  who  died  this  year  in  honourable  poverty  after 
having  exercised  enormous  power  for  many  years,  and  General 
Bibikoff  who  had  already  introduced  considerable  improve- 
ments in  the  situation  of  the  peasantry  in  Kieff,  Volhynia, 
and  Podolia,  were  its  principal  supporters  in  their  immediate 
entourage.    Prince  Dolgoroukoff  tells,  in  the  first  number  of  his 

G 


82  RUSSIA. 

Keview  called  Le  Veridique,  a  curious  story  of  the  deathbed 
of  Nicholas,  and  traces  what  Alexander  II.  has  done  since 
to  the  words  of  his  father  upon  that  occasiou. 

When  the  emancipation  had  been  fairly  determined  upon, 
the  nobles  were  requested  to  send  in  their  views  as  to  the 
way  in  which  certain  general  principles,  which  the  emperor 
declared  were  to  be  the  basis  of  his  great  reform,  should  be 
carried  out.  Forty-six  provincial  committees  laboured  for 
eif^hteen  months  to  come  to  an  agreement  as  to  details,  but 
without  arriving  at  any  result  very  satisfactory  to  the  govern- 
ment, which  afterwards  took  the  affair  into  its  own  hands. 
Upon  one  point,  and  almost  upon  one  only,  were  all  parties 
agreed,  and  that  was  that  no  indemnity  was  to  be  paid  to  the 
proprietors  for  their  personal  rights  over  the  serfs. 

The  state  of  feeling  which  prevailed  during  the  transition 
period  which  intervened  between  the  announcement  of  the 
intention  of  the  government,  and  the  production  of  its  plan, 
was  well  described  to  English  readers  in  the  pages  of  Russia 
by  a  Recent  Tramller,  a  small  but  very  remarkable  book  which 
was  published  at  the  office  of  the  Continental  Review  in  the 
year  1859.*  The  situation  was  to  the  last  degree  uneasy,  and 
might  have  become  dangerous.  The  government  only  obeyed 
the  dictates  of  common  sense  in  at  last  determining  to  act  for 
itself. 

The  landed  proprietors,  by  the  testimony  of  one  who  had 
perhaps  a  better  right  to  express  an  opinion  upon  the  subject 
than  any  other  man,  showed  in  the  whole  transaction  all  the 
defects  and  all  the  merits  of  the  Eussian  character.  While 
the  method  of  emancipation  was  still  uncertain,  they  were 
most   unpractical   and    unsatisfactory   in   their   suggestions. 

*  S<«('  also  a  piip(?v  \^\  Ainclio  r.nddfus  in  Unftere  Zcit  for  1858. 


THE  EMANCIPATION.  88 

When  it  was  once  settled,  they  threw  themselves  heartily  into 
it,  and  have  tried,  honestly  to  carry  it  out. 

The  whole  number  of  serfs,  male  and  female,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1861  was  about  twenty-three  millions,  but  of  these 
considerably  more  than  half  a  million  may  be  left  out  of  ac- 
count, as  the  arrangements  which  applied  to  them  were  special, 
and  not  those  of  the  general  measure  of  enfranchisement.  The 
22,500,000  serfs  to  whom  that  measure  applied  were  scattered 
for  the  most  part  over  forty-six  governments  of  European 
Eussia.  The  excepted  governments  were  Archangel,  where 
there  were  hardly  any  serfs ;  the  three  Baltic  provinces,  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  were  under  a  different  regime;  and  the  district 
inhabited  by  the  Cossacks  of  the  Black  Sea,  where  serfdom 
never  existed.  In  Siberia  there  were  in  all  only  3700  serfs. 
Out  of  these  22,500,000,  about  1,300,000  were  dvorovye,  the 
rest  were  ordinary  peasants. 

The  proclamation  of  enfranchisement  was  issued  on  the 
3d  of  March  1861.  By  that  proclamation  all  the  serfs  in- 
stantly acquired  personal  liberty  and  civil  rights,  but  it  re- 
mained to  regulate  the  relations  between  them  and  their 
former  masters  in  respect  to  the  land.  For  this  a  period  of 
two  years  was  allowed. 

With  a  view  to  effect  this  purpose,  the  government  created 
a  new  body  of  officials,  answering  somewhat  to  our  Justices  of 
the  Peace,  and  taken  from  amongst  the  gentry  of  the  country. 
On  them  was  thrown  the  duty  of  arbitrating,  upon  certain 
fixed  principles,  between  the  serfs  and  their  former  lords,  and 
of  .seeing  that  the  deeds  of  agreement  between  these  parties 
were  correctly  drawn  up.  The  clearest  and  most  succinct 
account  of  what  has  been  done  which  we  can  recommend  to 
the  ordinary  reader,  is  the  pamphlet  published  by  M.  Milutine 


84  RUSSIA. 

ill  1863  in  Paris,  and  which  was  originally  read  as  a  paper 
at  the  meeting  of  the  French  Politico-Economical  Society,  in 
May  1863.  M.  Milutine  took  a  very  active  part  in  carrying 
out  the  fTovernment  scheme,  and  no  man  is  better  entitled 
to  speak  about  it. 

In  May  1863,  when  he  read  his  paper  before  the  Econo- 
mists of  Paris,  nearly  all  the  necessary  agreements  had  been 
drawn  up.  Out  of  112,000  which  had  to  be  concluded, 
110,098  were  already  finished,  besides  a  number  of  agree- 
ments between  the  A^ery  small  proprietors  and  their  serfs. 
Authentic  details  had  only  been  received  with  regard  to 
99,420  agreements.  These  99,420  agreements  represented  an 
equal  number  of  communes,  with  a  male  population  of 
8,762,956  ;  out  of  that  number,  48,023  agreements  were 
drawn  up  in  consequence  of  friendly  agreement  between  the 
parties,  and  they  applied  to  a  male  population  of  3,617,079  ; 
51,397  agreements,  applying  to  a  male  population  of  5,145,877, 
were  drawn  up  by  the  proprietors,  and  received  the  sanction 
of  certain  provincial  commissions  created  for  the  purpose,  and 
were  afterwards  accepted  by  the  serfs,  although  not  so  freely 
as  those  in  the  other  class.  There  were  three  kinds  of  agree- 
ments :  the  first,  of  which  there  were  30,368,  reserved  for  the 
proprietors  provisionally  the  right  of  corvees  or  forced  labour, 
giving,  however,  to  the  peasants  the  right  of  compounding  for 
that  forced  labour  by  an  annual  payment ;  the  second  cate- 
gory, wliich  consisted  of  57,750,  reserved  only  a  rent  and 
abolished  all  corvees  ;  the  third  category,  consisting  of  11,302, 
abolished  all  land  relations  whatsoever  between  the  serfs  and 
their  former  lords,  so  that  the  former  became,  for  a  considera- 
tion, subject  of  course  to  the  rights  of  the  commime,  absolute 
«>\viK'is  of  tli(^  soil,  or  of  some  portion  of  the  soil  which  they 


THE  EMANCIPATION.  85 

had  formerly  cultivated  as  serfs  ;  or,  in  other  words,  arrived 
— except  in  so  far  as  the  commune  still  remains — at  that 
position  to  which  it  is  the  object  of  the  Kussian  government, 
by  means  of  a  complicated  system  of  arrangement  of  advances 
made  through  the  bank,  eventually  to  raise  the  whole  mass  of 
the  peasantry.  It  may  be  reckoned  that  already,  in  1864  15'5 
of  the  Eussian  serfs  had  become  proprietors,  50*8  paid  the  ohrok 
or  rent  until  they  were  able  to  acquire  the  fee-simple  of  their 
lands,  and  337  remained  provisionally  subject  to  forced  labour, 
which  may,  however,  be  commuted  for  rent. 

The  dvorovye  received  their  liberty  on  the  same  day  as  the 
others^  but  their  obligations  towards  their  masters  were  j^rovi- 
sionally  retained  for  two  years.  These  obligations  consisted 
either  in  household  or  farm  service,  or  in  payment  of  a  rent. 
Many  of  these  serfs  appear  by  a  legal  fiction  to  have  had 
their  names  inscribed  on  the  rolls  of  the  rural  communes, 
and  many  in  tliis  way  have  become  entitled  to  a  share  in 
the  lands  allotted  to  the  communes  of  serfs  adscripti  glebce ; 
others,  however,  were  not  so  provided  for,  and  in  this  way 
some  think  that  a  dangerous  element  of  pauperism  has  been 
introduced.  This  does  not,  however,  seem  to  be  M.  Milu- 
tine's  opinion,  and  economists  in  the  west  of  Europe  will 
generally  share  his  views.  Eussia,  during  the  next  generation, 
will  be  a  battlefield  in  which  the  rival  principles  of  indi- 
vidual property  and  socialism  will  contend  for  the  mastery. 
We  shall  be  well  content  to  see  the  experiment  fairly 
tried.* 

*  It  is  possible,  as  lias  been  stated  to  us  on  very  good  autliority,  that  ]\I. 
Milutine  took  rather  too  favourable  a  view  of  the  success  wliich  the  measure 
in  which  he  was  so  much  interested  had  met  with  at  the  time  when  he  read 
his  paper  ;  but  we  have  seen  no  figures  which  can  claim  equal  authority  with 
those  given  above. 


86  KUSSIA. 

Aniougst  other  wholesome  changes  which  may  result  from 
the  enfranchisement  of  the  serfs,  we  should  give  particular 
prominence  to  the  great  reinforcement  which  will  accrue  to 
the  class  of  the  resident  gentry.  Many  persons  who  have 
hitherto  neglected  their  estates,  now  find  themselves  obliged 
to  go  to  look  after  them,  and  it  seems  probable  that  during  the 
next  twenty  years  necessity  will  cause  the  landed  proprietors 
of  Russia  to  learn  how  to  make  their  diminished  possessions 
more  productive  under  a  system  of  free  labour  than  they  ever 
were  in  the  bad  old  times. 

Many  of  the  effects  of  serf-emancipation  are,  of  course,  ex- 
tremely doubtful,  and  the  ablest  of  those  who  have  studied  the 
question  have  probably  in  store  for  them  not  a  few^  surprises. 
No  one  can  say  to  w^hat  an  extent  the  break-up  of  the  old 
communal  system  may  go,  nor  how"  far  the  love  of  wandering, 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  half-nomade  Russian,  may  ere 
long  be  carried.  Then,  again,  is  it  certain  that  the  peasant 
who  has  hitherto  only  communicated  with  the  state  through 
the  commune  and  his  lord,  will  very  readily  come  to  under- 
stand the  allegiance  which  he  now"  ow^es  to  the  law  ?  AYill 
the  district  tribunal  receive  the  same  cheerful  obedience  as  the 
patriarchal  assembly  of  the  village  ?  Will  not  the  tendency 
be  ever  more  and  more  to  forsake  the  country  and  to  crowd 
into  towns,  to  exchange  the  allegiance  to  the  commune  for  the 
ever-changing,  elastic  combinations  of  the  trades'  associations 
or  artels  ?  Will,  again,  the  proprietors  try  to  use  their  power 
in  the  provincial  assemblies  for  the  re-introduction  of  serfdom 
in  some  form  or  other?  Time  only  can  answer  these  and 
other  questions  ;  but  one  thing  is  certain,  the  abolition  of 
serfdom  is  the  corner-stone  of  all  real  reform  in  Russia.  If 
that  corner-stone  is  displaced,  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  the 


THE   POLISH   INSURRECTION.  87 

cou sequences,  but  our  anticipations,  if  anything  of  the  kind 
occurs,  cannot  be  too  gloomy.* 

In  the  spring  of  1861  a  large  party  was  gathered  together 
at  the  house  of  a  well-known  Eussian  in  London  to  celebrate 
the  emancipation  of  the  serfs.  It  was  a  meeting  of  a  kind 
not  usual  in  our  staid  metropolis,  for  the  whole  of  the  exterior 
of  the  building  in  which  it  took  place  was  illuminated,  to 
the  astonishment  and  confusion  of  the  neighbourhood.  The 
house  would  have  been  as  gay  within  as  it  appeared  to  be 
without,  if  it  had  not  been  for  intelligence  which  had  reached 
London  a  few  hours  before,  and  had  thrown  a  gloom  over  the 
festival. 

It  was  the  news  of  the  first  collision  between  the  troops 
and  the  people  at  AVarsaw.  What  the  news  of  that  tragedy 
was  to  the  gathering  in  London,  that  the  Polish  insurrection 
has  been  to  the  reign  of  Alexander  11.  It  has  dimmed — 
nay,  in  the  minds  of  many  it  has  altogether  blotted  out — 
the  glory  which  had  accrued  from  the  emancipation.  And 
yet  nothing  can  be  more  utterly  false  than  the  statement 
which  is  often  made  by  those  who  arrogate  to  themselves  the 
title  of  friends  of  the  Poles,  that  they  "  were  driven  to  revolt 
by  the  bad  government  of  the  last  two  reigns."  What  the 
Poles  wanted,  it  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  was  not  better 
government,  but  national  independence.  National  independ- 
ence they  had  a  perfectly  good  right  to  wish  for,  and  to 
demand,  if  they  thought  they  were  strong  enough  to  obtain 
it,  at  the  sword's  point ;  but  to  say  that  they  were  driven  by 
oppression  to  revolt,  is  simply  to  pervert  history. 

*  Perhaps  hardly  enough  has  been  said  of  the  great  sacrifices  made  by  the 
Russian  proprietors.  They  were,  to  be  sure,  inevitable,  but  not  the  less  hard 
to  bear. 


88  KUSSIA. 

Alexander  I.  returned  to  his  own  dominions  after  the 
great  peace,  full  of  tlie  most  generous  intentions  towards 
Poland.  In  earlj  life,  while  his  grandmother  was  still  alive,  he 
had  knit  the  closest  relations  wdth  Prince  Adam  Czartoryski, 
which  be^^an  in  a  sort  of  stolen  interview  in  the  Tanrida 
Gardens  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  ended  in  a  close  friendship. 
At  one  time  he  even  dreamt  of  re-annexing  to  Poland  those 
w^estern  provinces  of  Eussia  which  she  won  back  in  1772 
from  her  old  enemy  and  former  oppressor ;  but  the  strong 
feeling  which  was  excited  by  this  proposal,  and  wdiich  found 
a  mouthpiece  in  the  historian  Karamsine,  soon  induced  him 
to  dismiss  from  liis  mind  his  half-formed  purpose.  The  liberal 
inclinations  of  Alexander  never  hardened,  so  to  speak,  into 
liberal  principles;  they  were  vcUeites,  as  the  French  say, 
nothing  more.  He  w^as  ready  to  let  everybody  have  the  most 
perfect  liberty,  provided  that  that  liberty  was  never  used 
except  just  as  he  wished  it.  In  Poland,  as  elsewhere,  he  w^as 
always  halting  between  two  opinions  ;  and  whilst  with  one 
arm  he  upheld  the  Polish  constitution,  with  the  other  he 
upheld  the  authority  of  his  half-madman,  half-monster  brother, 
Constantine.  This  regime,  at  once  irritating  to  national  pride, 
and  stimulant  of  national  hopes,  gave  rise  to  an  extensive 
conspiracy,  which  w^as  connected  with  that  of  Pestel,  and 
would  have  broken  out  simultaneously  with  it,  if  a  premature 
end  had  not  been  put  to  the  designs  of  that  enterprising  man. 
After  the  failure  of  both  the  Eussian  conspiracies,  the  Poles 
determined  to  act  alone,  and  broke  into  open  revolution  some 
years  afterwards.  As  usual,  they  chose  a  most  unlucky 
moment,  and  as  usual  they  w'ere  utterly  defeated.  Nicholas, 
wliou  once  fairly  their  master,  used  his  power  without  a 
thought  of  mercy,  and  every  hope  of  Polish  independence 


THE  POLISH   INSURRECTION.  '  89 

seemed  for  a  moment  to  be  for  ever  crushed,  except  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  had  escaped  over  the  frontier.  Gradually, 
liowever,  two  tendencies  began  to  manifest  themselves  amongst 
the  Poles  in  Poland — for  we  leave  the  exiles,  who  were  feeding 
on  hope,  as  usual,  out  of  account.  When  Nicholas  was  dead, 
and  it  became  possible  to  breathe  freely,  these  two  tendencies 
showed  themselves  more  openly,  and  their  representative 
men  in  the  early  years  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  II.  were  the 
Marquis  Wielopolski  and  Count  Andr6  Zamoyski.  The  first 
of  these,  who  had  been  the  envoy  of  the  insurrectionary 
government  in  England  in  1831,  was  fully  convinced  that 
Poland  had  nothing  to  hope  from  the  Western  Powers  ;  that 
the  time  was  come  for  her  to  resign  all  ideas  of  political 
independence,  and  to  ask  only  for  administrative  independ- 
ence. The  other  hoped,  by  improving  the  material  prosperity 
of  the  country,  gradually  to  make  it  strong  enough  to  try 
another  fall  with  its  mighty  neighbour.  The  views  of  these 
two  men  unequally  divided  the  gentry  of  Poland ;  the  former 
having  very  few,  the  latter  very  many  partisans.  Between 
1831  and  1861,  however,  a  new  power  had  grown  up.  Some- 
thing like  a  middle-class  had  been  called  into  existence. 
This  middle-class  was  composed  of  the  so-called  lesser  nobility 
(an  absurd  term  which  we  use  for  want  of  a  better,  although 
the  persons  who  composed  it  were  chiefly  in  the  position  of 
the  humbler  portion  of  the  middle-class  in  England),  of  the 
Jews,  and  of  the  Catholic  clergy.  These  sections,  from 
various  motives,  but  above  all  from  a  very  natural  and  laud- 
able patriotic  sentiment,  were  excessively  anxious  for  national 
independence,  and  they  kept  up  the  closest  relations  possible 
with  the  democratic  section  of  the  emigration  ;  while  what  we 
may  call  the  aristocratic  section  of  the  emigration  was  in 


90  RUSSIA. 

equally  close  connection  with  the  party  of  Count  Andre 
Zamoyski.  The  rule  of  Alexander  II.  in  Poland  at  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign  was  milder  than  anything  that  had  been 
known  since  the  death  of  his  uncle ;  and  encouraged  by  the 
comparative  mildness  of  his  government,  and  hopeful  of  great 
convulsions  in  Eussia  as  the  result  of  stirring  the  serf  ques- 
tion, both  the  Zamoyski  party  and  the  democratic  party 
prayed  and  worked. 

Tlie  former  had  for  their  chief  organ  the  Agricultural 
Society.  The  latter  gradually  wove  a  great  secret  conspiracy 
extending  over  the  whole  of  Poland,  and  connected  by  in- 
visible threads  with  the  democratic  party  in  most  Continental 
countries.  Presently  demonstrations  of  a  religious  character 
took  place.  The  government,  at  once  afraid  of  being  in- 
human, and  afraid  of  allowing  the  movement  to  get  too  strong 
for  it,  wavered  and  took  half-measures.  Things  got  more  and 
more  alarming,  and  at  last  unarmed  multitudes  were  attacked 
in  the  streets  of  Warsaw,  and  the  first  blood  was  shed.  Then 
began  the  period  of  which  M.  de  Montalembert  gave  an 
account  to  Europe  in  the  eloquent  and  sentimental  pages  of 
La  Nation  en  deuil.  Every  day  through  1861  and  1862  the 
excitement  in  Poland  grew  more  intense,  and  the  determina- 
tion of  Eussia  to  hold  her  own  more  savage.  Tt  was  perfectly 
clear  that  the  breaking  out  of  a  deadly  struggle  was  only  a 
question  of  time.  The  beginning  of  the  year  1863  saw  the 
government  of  Poland  in  the  hands  of  the  Marquis  Wielo- 
polski.  Holding  the  views  which  he  held,  there  was  nothing 
which  he  so  much  dreaded  as  the  outbreak  of  a  revolution. 
Standing  aloof  from  the  great  mass  of  his  countrymen,  and 
thinking  the  Zamoyski  party  and  the  democratic  party  equally 
unwise,  he  fondly  hoped  to  be  able  to  save  his  country  in 


WlELOPOLSia.  91 

>pite  of  them  both.  Haughty  to  an  excess,  he  was  restrained 
by  neither  affection  nor  pity  from  doing  what  appeared  to  him 
to  be  abstractedly  best.  Clear-sighted  and  able,  but  destitute 
of  political  tact,  he  did  not  feel  that  it  is  impossible  to  save  a 
nation  against  its  will,  and  that  his  only  proper  course  would 
have  been  to  retire  from  a  position  where  he  could  do  no 
good,  and  to  leave  the  sanguine  Poles  and  the  grimly-resolved 
Ptussians  to  the  only  arbitrament  which  they  could  accept. 

He  decided  otherwise,  and  fancied  that  by  a  stroke  of 
statecraft  he  would  get  out  of  his  difficulties. 

Since  the  close  of  the  Crimean  war  there  had  been  no 
conscription  in  Eussia  or  in  Poland,  but  a  new  one  had  been 
ordered  for  the  beginning  of  1863.  Between  the  close  of  the 
Crimean  war  and  the  commencement  of  1863,  a  new  law  had 
passed,  by  which  the  old  system  of  conscription  in  Poland, 
imder  which  the  government  had  the  j)ower  of  taking  any  one 
it  pleased,  had  been  done  away  with,  and  a  system  like  the 
French  had  been  introduced.  In  order  to  carry  this  out,  it 
would  have  been  necessary  to  collect  large  bodies  of  men  in 
the  towns  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  lots,  and  Wielopolski 
saw  clearly  that  if  this  was  done,  the  revolution  which  he  so 
much  dreaded,  as  likely  to  prove  absolutely  fatal  to  tlie 
country,  would  immediately  break  out.  He  determined,  there- 
fore, deliberately  to  break  the  law,  and  to  cause  the  conscrip- 
tion to  be  made  after  the  old  fashion,  with  a  view  to  get  into 
his  power,  and  to  draft  off"  into  the  army,  the  persons  whom  he 
thought  most  dangerous.  His  secret  was  badly  kept,  and  his 
coup-cVetat  utterly  failed,  for  many  of  those,  whom  he  most 
desired  to  seize,  escaped,  and  getting  into  the  woods,  began 
the  insurrection.  The  broad  outlines  of  the  history  of  what 
followed  are  sufficiently  familiar  to  all  readers  of  newspapers. 


92  RUSSIA. 

Through  the  whole  of  1863  the  hopes  of  the  revolutionists 
were  buoyed  up  by  expectations  of  assistance  from  abroad, 
and  more  especially  from  France.  When,  however,  Austria, 
which  had  connived  at  the  export  of  arms  and  munitions  of 
war  across  her  frontier,  changed  her  policy,  and  began  to  be 
as  severe  in  her  repression  as  the  Eussians  themselves,  all 
reasonable  Poles  saw  that  the  game  was  up,  a  conclusion  to 
which  less  interested  observers  had  come  some  months  before. 
Now  that  all  is  over,  we  do  not  care  to  criticise  the  con- 
duct either  of  our  own  government  or  of  any  other,  with 
regard  to  the  Polish  question ;  but  w^e  do  wish  to  press  upon 
all  serious  political  students  the  importance  of  coming  really 
to  understand  the  difficulties  of  this  question,  so  that  when 
next  the  affairs  of  Poland  come  up  for  discussion,  they  may 
be  able  to  give  some  advice  which  will  be  worth  listening  to 
upon  the  subject.  They  will  be  met  at  the  outset  by  one 
great  difficulty :  there  is  no  really  good  book  about  Poland, 
answering,  for  example,  to  Mr.  Paget's  work  on  Hungary. 
The  late  war  has  brought  into  existence  several  livres  cU 
circoTistance,  of  which  far  the  best  is  Mr.  Bullock's  interesting 
Polish  Experiences,  written  from  the  insurgent  point  of  view  ; 
with  which  may  be  compared  Mr.  O'Brien's  book  written 
in  the  interest  of  the  victors.  A  paper  in  Vacation  Tourists 
by  the  Cambridge  Public  Orator,  two  articles  which  ap- 
peared last  autumn  in  the  Spectator  and  the  National  Bemew, 
and  a  series  which  appeared  in  BlachivoodJs  Magazine,  may 
also  be  mentioned.*      What  we  want,  however,  before  we 

*  Since  this  was  written,  Mr.  Sutherland  Edwards  has  published  his 
Private  History  of  a  Polish  Insurrection,  a  more  valuable  work  than  any  of 
the  above.  See  also  "  Le  Lendemain  de  la  Victoire  en  Pologne,"  in  the 
lirvuc  dcs  Deux  Mondcs  for  November  1864.  We  want,  however,  to  know 
nmch  more  of  Poland  than  we  do.     To  how  many  readers  will  not  the  follow- 


i 


THE  POLISH   QUESTION.  93 

can  form  any  very  definite  opinions  about  the  future  of 
Poland,  is  a  book  of  a  quite  different  kind — a  book  which 
shall  sum  up  all  the  resources  belonging^  to  the  one  party  and 
the  other,  which  shall  point  out  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
Eussia's  assimilating  Poland,  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
Poland's  becoming  reconciled  to  Eussia;  and  after  having  gone 
minutely  into  all  this,  shall  attempt  to  strike  the  balance  and 
say,  Whether  any  future  Polish  insurrection  will  or  will  not 
deserve  the  sympathies  of  the  Liberal  party  in  Europe  ?  Do 
those  who  struggle  for  Polish  independence  follow  a  reason- 
able instinct  which  will  one  day  lead  them  to  attain  what 
they  desire  ;  or  has  the  time  come  when  they  must  submit 
for  ever  to  that  "  inexorable  necessity,"  the  idea  of  which 
enraged  the  emigration  so  much  when  that  phrase  was  used 
in  January  1864  with  reference  to  the  war  which  was  then 
drawing  to  a  close  ? 

It  is  not  only  from  sympathy  for  a  brave  and  unhappy 
race,  but  because  we  are  anxious  to  see  Eussia  far  greater 
than  she  is,  that  we  long  for  some  satisfactory  arrangement 
of  her  Polish  difficulty.  When,  however,  we  ask,  What  is  to 
be  done  ?  a  load  of  despondency  settles  down  upon  us.     The 

ing  paragraph,  which  we  take  from  Man  and  Nature,  by  G.  P.  Marsh,  be  new 
and  startling  ? — "There  are  still  unsubdued  sand-wastes  in  many  parts  of 
interior  Europe,  not  familiarly  known  to  tourists  or  even  geographers.  '  01- 
kucz  and  Schiewier  in  Poland,'  says  Naumann,  '  lie  in  true  sand  deserts,  and 
a  boundless  plain  of  sand  stretches  around  Ozenstockau,  on  which  there  grows 
neither  tree  nor  shrub.  In  heavy  winds  this  plain  resembles  a  rolling  sea, 
and  tlie  sand-hills  rise  and  disappear  like  the  waves  of  the  ocean.  The  heaps 
of  waste  from  the  Olkucz  mines  are  covered  with  sand  to  the  depth  of  four 
fathoms.'  No  attempts  have  yet  been  made  to  subdue  the  sands  of  Poland, 
but  Avhen  peace  and  prosperity  shall  be  restored  to  that  unhappy  country, 
there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  measures,  which  have  proved  so  success- 
ful on  similar  formations  in  Germany,  may  be  employed  with  advantage  in 
the  Polish  deserts." 


94  RUSSIA. 

struggle  which  so  recently  ceased  has  left  behind  it  embers 
from  which  may  burst  forth  a  conflagration  more  terrible  even 
than  itself  Seven  years  ago  many  enlightened  Eiissians 
wished  to  give  up  the  kingdom.  Few  indeed  would  venture 
to  propose  that  now,  for  there  flows  between  Warsaw  and 
Moscow  a  stream  of  blood  too  wide  and  deep  to  cross. 
Another  generation  will,  however,  soon  grow  up  which  has 
forgotten  the  past.  That  is  the  only  hope  ;  but  it  is  a  faint 
one.  The  Eussians  have,  as  Ave  shall  presently  see,  under  the 
able  guidance  of  M.  Milutine,  lately  introduced  into  the  king- 
dom a  territorial  arrangement  highly  favourable  to  the  peasants. 
Their  intention  has  been  partly,  no  doubt,  to  confer  a  benefit  on 
the  country,  but  partly  also  to  conciliate  the  sympathies  of 
that  class  which  was  least  concerned  in  the  insurrection.  Will 
they  succeed  ?     It  is  more  than  doubtful. 

The  peasants  did  not  take  a  very  active  part  in  the 
national  movement, — not  because  they  liked  the  Eussian 
government, — not  because  they  had  any  great  dislike  to  the 
gentry,  but  because  they  had  not  sufficient  education  to  come 
within  the  spell  of  Polish  nationality.  Wealth,  however, 
will  bring  education,  and  with  education  that  spell  will  come. 
The  year  1888  may  find  Eussia  face  to  face  with  an  insurrec- 
tion as  much  more  formidable  than  that  of  1863,  as  it  was, 
teste  Mouravieff,  more  formidable  than  that  of  1831.  We  are 
quite  ready,  nay,  only  too  anxious  to  be  convinced  that  there 
is  a  happy  future  for  Poland  ;  but  nothing  that  we  have  ever 
heard,  either  from  the  partisans  of  the  insurrection  or  from 
the  partisans  of  Eussia,  leads  us  to  hope  that  either  are  strong 
enough  to  overcome  the  others,  and  so  arrive  at  a  state,  so  to 
speak,  of  stable  equilibrium.  Poland  must  remain,  we  fear, 
the  Irc^lnnd  of  Eussia,  as  much   more  perplexing  than  our 


THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH.  95 

Ireland  as  Eussia  is  larger  than  Great  Britain.  The  fathers 
have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on 
edge.  Well  will  that  Eussian  deserve  of  his  country  who 
can  in  any  w^ay  rid  her  of  this  terrible  embarrassment. 

Of  course  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  it  is  not  a 
positive  advantage  to  Western  Europe,  that  Eussia,  for  some 
time  to  come,  till  she  has  transformed  herself  into  a  thoroughly- 
civilised  state,  should  have  a  joint  in  her  armour  through 
which  she  can  always  be  attacked  with  deadly  effect.  ]^ay, 
looking  only  to  the  interests  of  the  rest  of  Continental  Europe, 
it  would  probably  be  exceedingly  desirable  to  have  a  small 
state  bitterly  hostile  to  Eussia  interposed  between  Germany 
and  that  country.  The  question  is  not,  however.  Is  this  desir- 
able? but,  Is  it  possible?  and  if  so,  is  it  w^orth  the  sacrifices 
which  Western  Europe  would  have  to  make  in  order  to  obtain 
it  ?  We  are  far  from  disposed  to  answ^er  that  last  question  by 
an  absolute  negative. 

During  the  first  debate  which  took  place  in  1863  in  the 
House  of  Commons  about  Poland,  there  was,  if  we  remember, 
only  one  person  w^ho  alluded  to  the  religious  element  in  the 
insurrection.  For  once,  that  monomaniacal  horror  of  the  Jesuits, 
which  makes  him  see  the  finger  of  Eome  everywhere,  led  Mr. 
Newdegate  not  right,  but  in  a  right  direction.  It  is  quite  true, 
that  on  that  frontier-land  between  tw^o  civilisations,  Eome  and 
Byzantium  were  "  fighting  the  old  quarrel  out."  There  were 
causes  enough  of  a  purely  political  kind  to  bring  the  war  about, 
but  the  venerable  feud  of  the  "Eilioque"  was  not  without  its 
influences.  The  pleasant  lectures  of  Dr.  Stanley,  who  always 
seizes  so  well  the  picturesque  aspect  of  a  subject,  have  done 
something  to  rouse  our  interest  in  those  far-scattered  and  too- 
much-forfyotten  communities  which,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Xeale, 


96  RUSSIA. 

"  extend  from  the  icefields  which  grind  against  the  walls  of  the 
Solovetsky  Monastery  to  the  burning  jungles  of  Malabar;"  but 
we  suspect  that,  in  spite  of  Dr.  Stanley's  vivid  pictures,  the 
reader  must  actually  stand  in  the  Kremlin  and  Troitza  before 
he  fully  realises  what  a  mighty,  although  latent  power,  the 
Greek  Church^  still  is,  and  how  great  a  part  it  may  have  to  play 
in  the  drama  of  human  history.  Inert,  abject,  superstitious, 
full  of  abuses,  it  undoubtedly  is.  It  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
done  anything  for  literature  or  for  art,  nothing  at  least  that  has 
become  famous  beyond  its  own  frontier ;  and  yet  a  form  of  reli- 
gion which  has  supported  its  adherents  under  the  successive 
deluges  of  misery  w^hich  flowed  over  Eussia  during  the  middle 
ages,  and  in  spite  of  the  dull  weight  of  wretchedness  which  has 
weighed  on  the  Eussian  peasant  almost  up  to  the  present  hour, 
has  made  him  so  gentle,  so  enduring,  so  tolerant,  must  have 
some  not  inconsiderable  merits.  Its  education  of  a  thousand 
years  must  have  something  to  do  with  that  inexhaustible  gentle- 
ness which,  in  the  words  of  Schedo-Ferroti,  is  the  base  of  his 
character ;  with  "  that  incomparable  sweetness  of  temper 
which  causes  his  soul  to  reflect  everything  in  a  way  difterent 
to  that  which  we  observe  in  the  lower  classes  of  other 
nations." 

We  have  more  than  once  asked  lay  and  clerical  members 
of  the  Eussian  Church,  whether  there  was  any  book  which 
could  give  us  the  same  sort  of  glimpse  into  the  influence  of 
their  communion  upon  the  minds  of  its  adherents,  which  Miss 
Sewell's  novels  do  with  regard  to  the  Church  of  England  at 
this  moment,  or  the  Memoirs  of  Eugenie  de  Guerin  do  with 
regard  to  the  contemporary  Church  of  France?  We  have 
never  received  a  satisfactory  answer,  and  do  not  believe  that 
anytliing  of  the  kind  exists. 


THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH.  9*7 

The  art  of  the  Russian  Church  is,  as  is  well  known, 
essentially  conventional  ;  but  of  late  years  it  has  become  less 
purist  than  formerly,  and  some  of  the  modern  pictures  are  at 
least  graceful.  The  exquisite  music,  a  modification  of  the  old 
Gregorian  chant,  has  often  been  described,  and  can  never  be 
over-praised.  It  is  amusing  to  observe  that  controversies  of 
which  we  know  something  nearer  home  have  agitated  the 
Russian  Church.  Mr.  Sutherland  Edwards  mentions  that  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  was  anxious  to  introduce  an  organ  into  the 
Cathedral  of  the  Assumption  at  Moscow,  but  that  the  Metro- 
politan Philaret  threatened  to  resign  if  this  sacrilegious  inno- 
vation was  attempted.  The  story  may  or  may  not  be  true, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  dislike  of  the  Russian  peasant 
to  the  "  kist  fa'  o'  whistles"*  would  be  quite  as  intense  as  any- 
thing to  be  found  in  Scotland. 

The  reforms  necessary  in  the  Russian  Church,  are,  alas  !  of 
a  very  rudimentary  kind.  Before  any  accommodation  of  its 
dogma  to  the  existing  state  of  human  knowledge  can  be  hoped 
for,  the  great  mass  of  the  clergy  must  be  raised  out  of  the  state 
of  abasement  in  which  they  now  are.  Some  means  of  provid- 
ing a  decent  subsistence  for  the  secular  clergy,  who  are  obliged 
by  the  ecclesiastical  law  to  incur  the  expense  of  a  family, 
must  be  discovered.  They  must  be  better  educated,  and  edu- 
cated if  possible,  as  Schedo-Eerroti  proposes,  along  with  those 
who  are  destined  for  other  callings.  At  present  the  son  of  a 
priest  usually  enters  an  establishment  in  connection  with  the 

*  This  **  organ  question"  has  been  making  the  tour  of  Europe.  The  writer  was 
visiting  some  months  ago  the  great  Calvinist  church  of  Debreczin,  in  company 
with  one  of  the  professors  of  the  neighbouring  college.  "  Oh  ! "  he  said,  "  you 
have  got  an  organ  here."  "Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "it  was  introduced  some 
twenty  years  ago,  and  caused  some  discussion  at  first,  but  all  that  has  long 
passed  away." 

H 


98  RUSSIA. 

theological  seminar}-  at  eight  years  old,  and,  until  his  educa- 
tion is  finished,  associates  only  with  persons  who  are  destined 
to  take  orders.  Further,  they  must  be  freed  from  the  abject 
subservience  in  which  they  are  held  by  their  bishops,  who  are 
taken  from  the  regular  or  black  clergy ;  and  lastly,  they  must 
be  taught  that  they  have  duties  which  are  quite  incompatible 
with  their  performing  the  functions  of  assistants  of  the  police. 

M.  Golobensky,  whom  Haxthausen  saw  at  the  Troitza,  is 
now  dead.  Such  persons  are  of  course  quite  exceptional,  but 
it  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  priests  there  are 
in  the  whole  of  the  Eussian  Church  who  have  studied  any 
of  the  more  important  works  of  theology  or  biblical  criti- 
cism, which  have  been  produced  during  the  present  century 
to  the  west  of  the  Vistula.  The  theological  seminary  attached 
to  the  Troitza  would  be  called  in  any  country  but  Russia  a 
truly  wretched  place  ;  and  although  the  educated  society  at 
Moscow  speak  highly  of  the  harmony  and  ability  of  its  pro- 
fessors, we  venture  to  doubt  whether  they  apply  to  them  a 
very  high  standard  of  excellence. 

A  reader  would,  we  think,  carry  away  too  favourable  an 
impression  of  the  Eussian  Church  if  he  were  to  trust  only  to 
the  interesting  sketch  of  Dean  Stanley  ;  and  perhaps  if  he  were 
to  take  his  ideas  exclusively  from  the  pages  of  Russia  hy  a 
Recent  Traveller,  he  might,  on  the  other  hand,  rate  its  merits 
too  low.  The  truth  is,  that  a  very  strong  line  must  be  drawn 
between  the  clergy  of  high  rank  and  the  ordinary  priests.  The 
former  are  much  looked  ujd  to,  and  a  high  position  is  favour- 
able to  the  development  of  their  best  qualities.  The  latter, 
when  not  in  the  exercise  of  their  sacred  ofiice,  are  thoroughly 
<lespised,  ;iiid  the  contempt,  with  which  they  are  regarded, 
reacts  upon  their  characters  and  lives. 


THE  DISSIDENTS.  99 

It  is  sad  to  tliiuk  that  even  if  the  mighty  improvements 
were  carried  out,  to  which  we  have  alluded,  the  Eussian  priests 
would  not  be  necessarily  superior  to  some  of  those  who  are 
justly  considered  nuisances  and  obstructions  in  ^Yestern 
Europe  ;  but,  bad  as  things  are  in  some  other  countries,  there 
is  in  Eussia  a  lower  deep  still,  and  as — 

"  Die  Weltgeschiclite  gelit  imendUch  lang," 
it  may  well  be  a  hundred  years  before  even  these  changes 
come  to  pass. 

The  question  of  the  Dissidents  is  one  of  the  gravest  with 
which  Eussia  has  to  deal.  Stated  in  a  sentence  it  is  this  : 
There  are  some  nine  millions  of  subjects  of  the  Czar  who  are 
for  most  purposes  beyond  the  pale  of  the  law.  The  govern- 
ment ignores  their  existence  that  it  may  not  be  forced  to  act 
up  to  its  own  detestable  principles,  and  to  persecute  them 
accordingly.  Every  act  which  these  people  can  perform  from 
birth  to  death  is  performed  on  sufferance  or  in  secret.  They 
have  neither  family  nor  right  of  inheritance  ;  indeed  they 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  an}"  civil  existence  at  all.  Through 
the  mazes  of  this  difficult  subject  the  Western  reader  is  for- 
tunate in  possessing  the  guidance  of  the  admirably-informed 
and  most  sensible  writer  who  masks  himself  under  the  nom 
de  plume  of  Schedo-Eerroti. 

It  is  constantly  said  in  and  out  of  Eussia  that  great  danger 
may  one  day  arise  to  the  empire  from  a  rebellion  among  the 
Dissidents,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  they  are  treated  with 
so  much  harshness.  Schedo-Eerroti,  in  a  chapter  which  is 
simply  a  demonstration,  combats  this  idea.  His  reasoning  is 
in  a  few  words  as  follows  : — ''  There  are  two  kinds  of  Dis- 
sidents, the  '  Bespopowzi'  and  the  '  Popowzi ;'"  that  is  to  say, 
the  anti-hierarchical  and  the  hierarchical  :  the  first  kind  is 


100  RUSSIA. 

divided  into  two  classes— the  sectaries,  who  have  nothing  in 
common  with  the  Russian  Church,  and  the  schismatics,  who 
have  kept  its  creed  and  traditions.  This  religious  subdivision 
corresponds  to  a  political  subdivision,  so  that  we  have  not  two 
but  three  different  ways  of  thinking  with  regard  to  the  state 
as  with  regard  to  the  church.  The  wild  sects  who  form  the 
first  subdivision,  full  of  apocalyptic  ideas  madder  than  those 
of  Dr.  Gumming  himself,  dream  either  of  the  imperishable 
empire  of  Ararat,  or  of  the  return  of  Peter  III.,  or  of  Napoleon, 
or  of  Christ.  Not  one  of  them  cares  the  least  for  the  Russia 
of  to-day,  and  they  all  with  one  accord  look  to  the  East.  If 
China  were  inhabited  by  a  great  and  warlike  people,  and 
some  barbaric  conqueror  marched  from  it  through  Siberia, 
proclaiming  that  he  had  found  the  Christ  in  that  country,  or  if 
not  the  Christ,  then  some  of  the  other  expected  ones,  the  result 
would  no  doubt  be  formidable  enough  ;  but  this  is  out  of  the 
question,  and  there  is  not  the  very  slightest  chance  of  any  of 
these  people  joining  an  enemy  coming  from  the  West. 
Except  the  Napoleon  sect,  they  all  existed  in  1812,  and  none 
of  them  joined  the  Erench  army,  or  dreamt  of  doing  so.  Tlie 
schismatics,  who  admit  the  priesthood  on  principle,  but  as 
a  matter  of  fact  have  no  priests,  have  nothing  in  common 
except  their  hatred  to  the  church  and  government  of  to-day, 
and  their  love  for  those  of  the  long  ago.  Bring  back  Ivan  the 
Terrible,  and  his  Boyards  and  his  priests,  and  these  men 
might  rally  around  him  ;  but  if  no  such  miracle  is  worked, 
they  are  not  to  be  feared.  We  come,  then,  to  the  noncon- 
formists— the  still  hierarchical  old  believers — peaceable, 
laborious,  well  off;  they  disapprove  of  the  church  as  it  is, 
and  long  for  the  times  before  Nicon  ;  but  they  submit  quietly 
to  the  state,  are  perfectly  inoffensive,   and  conservative  in 


THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH.  101 

their  inclination.  The  position  of  the  Dissidents  in  Russia  is, 
we  thus  see,  only  so  far  dangerous  as  any  frightful  social 
injustice  is  dangerous.  It  retards  her  civilisation,  it  weakens 
her  power ;  it  must  be  speedily  amended,  but  a  rebellion 
amongst  these  oppressed  people  is  not  to  be  feared. 

Of  course,  amongst  the  Eussian  laity,  who  travel  so  much, 
it  is  'easy  to  meet  with  persons  whose  religious  ideas  are 
those  which  are  common  amongst  the  most  educated  classes 
in  the  West.  The  simplest  and  purest  form  of  Christianity 
has  no  national  colour,  and  belongs  to  a  region  far  above 
the  contentions  of  rival  churches;  but  there  is  a  being  in 
Russia  rarely  seen  in  the  West,  who,  thoroughly  and  intensely 
attached  to  what  he  calls  the  Orthodox  Church,  yet  holds  its 
tenets  as  an  educated  man.  The  typical  instance  of  this  was 
the  poet  Chamiakoff,  now  dead,  whose  works,  published  in 
French,  we  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  as  giving  an 
insight  into  the  Russian  Church. 

So  surely  as  an  Englishman  is  introduced  to  a  Russian 
priest  of  rank,  he  will  hear  some  civil  things  about  the  pos- 
sible future  union  of  the  two  Churches.  The  name  of  William 
Palmer  is  familiar  to  many  both  in  Scotland  and  England, 
and  there  now  lies  before  us  a  pamphlet,  called  Papers  of  the 
Busso-Greek  Committee^  which  show  that  the  dreams  which 
were  once  cherished  by  him  still  live  both  in  England  and  in 
America.  Those  persons  who  dream  of  effecting  a  union 
between  the  Anglican  and  orthodox  communion  little  know 
the  signs  of  the  times.  They  remind  one  of  Philip  de  Comines, 
who,  as  Arnold  so  truly  observes,  wrote  as  if  the  idea  had 
never  crossed  him  that  the  knell  of  the  middle  ages  had 
sounded.  On  the  eve  of  carrying  farther  the  great  and 
glorious  work  of  the  Reformation,  we  have  something  else 


102  RUSSIA. 

to  do  tluui  to  coquet  with  the  Eastern  Church.  And  yet 
these  men  are  doing  an  immense  deal  of  good.  They  are 
multiplying  the  personal  relations  between  England  and 
Eussia^  they  are  mcreasing  good-A^all  and  toleration  by  in- 
creasing knowledge,  the  mother  of  both.  We  wisli  to  speak 
of  them  with  the  greatest  respect,  although  we  believe  that 
their  efforts  will  have  no  direct  effect  at  all,  till  the  day  dawns 
for  that  general  reconciliation  of  Christendom  which  lies  away 
far  down  the  centuries,  in  a  time  that  we  shall  not  know. 

Politically,  we  are  convinced  that  England  and  Eussia  have 
all  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  by  being  better  acquainted. 
M.  Hertzen,  writing  under  the  name  of  Iscander,  asked,  in 
1858  :  "Is  it  not  time  to  destroy  the  delusion  of  a  rivalry, 
which  has  its  foundation  only  in  an  ignorance  of  geography?" 
Where  is  it  that  our  interests  and  those  of  Eussia  are  likely  to 
clash  ?  Is  it  in  Asia,  is  it  in  the  Eastern  Peninsula,  or  is  it 
in  Central  Europe  ? 

Sir  Henry  Eawlinson,  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Geogra- 
phical Society,*  remarked  upon  the  apathy  with  regard  to 
Eussian  aggrandisement  in  Asia  which  had  succeeded  to  the 

*  The  publication  of  M.  Vambery's  work,  sliortly  after  the  above  was  written, 
recalled  the  attention  of  the  English  public  to  this  interesting  subject.  The 
views  of  M.  Vamb^ry  himself,  expressed  at  no  great  length,  are  a  little 
alarmist,  but  if  any  corrective  is  needed  it  Avill  be  found  in  an  admirable 
article  upon  his  book  which  appeared  last  year  in  the  Quarterly.  1865  also 
brought  us  a  work  compiled  or  translated  from  Eussian  sources  by  the  Messrs. 
Michell,  which  contains  much  that  is  curious.  This  publication  Avas,  in  its 
turn,  also  made  the  subject  of  an  article  in  the  Quarterly  by  another  hand.  A 
pam])hlet,  published  in  1864  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Long,  of  Nil  Durpan  memory, 
should  also  be  consulted  ;  but  Mr.  Long  has,  we  think,  been  driven  by  a  not 
unnatural  annoyance  at  the  Russophobia  of  some  circles  with  which  he  was 
acquainted,  to  take  too  roseate  a  view  of  the  great  northern  empire.  As  our 
temptation,  however,  in  England,  lies  generally  in  an  opposite  direction,  ]\Ir. 
Long's  partiality  will  not  bia.s  any  one  who  is  once  warned  that  he  must  not 
take  lliis  j.iimphlet  as  an  iiifallibh-  guide. 


RUSSIA  IN  ASIA.  103 

panic  of  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  he  pointed  out  that  the 
frontiers  of  our  empires  are  now  much  nearer  to  each  other 
than  they  were  then.     To  us  it  seems  that  tlie  governments 
of  England  and  of  Eussia,  if  directed  by  wise  counsels,  ought 
to  be  not  rivals  but  a  support  each  to  each  in  Asia.     Neither 
of  us  can  hurt  the  other  seriously,  except  by  exciting  insur- 
rections amongst  our  respective  subjects,  or  stimulating  the 
hostility  of  the  tribes  conterminous  to  our  borders.     Such  a 
policy  must  react  against  the  power  that  uses  it,  for  against 
both  the  cry  of  religion  in  danger,  and  the  cry  for  independ- 
ence, can  be  easily  raised.      If  the    statesmen  of  the  two 
empires  thoroughly  understood  each  other,  it  could  be  nothing 
but  a  cause  of  rejoicing  to  us  that  Khiva  and  Bokhara  re- 
ceived  laws   from   St.  Petersburg,  and  the  reaction  against 
barbaric  invasion  which  was  begun  by  Demetrius  of  the  Don, 
had  reached  at  length  the  ancient  capital  of  Timur. 

Much  has  been  said  about  its  being  the  destiny  of  Eussia 
to  renovate  our  decrepit  civilisation.  Our  civilisation  is  not 
decrepit,  and  her  mission  is  a  nobler  one.  It  is  to  take  re- 
venge on  the  countries  which  sent  forth  the  hordes  that 
ravaged  Europe,  by  forcing  them  to  submit  to  the  arms  and 
to  learn  the  arts  of  Frangistan.  Writers  like  M.  Michelet, 
who  have  listened  too  exclusively  to  the  prejudices  and  the 
"  history  made  to  order,"  by  Duchinski  and  a  certain  school 
of  Polish  writers,  think  that  the  LIuscovite,  as  they  delight  to 
call  him,  is  incapable  of  civilising  Asia.  We  entirely  dis- 
agree with  them,  and  looking  to  what  has  actually  been 
accomplished,  we  may  say  of  this  problem,  solvitur  am- 
hulando. 

There  are  many  in  this  country  who  think  that  the  im- 
portance of  Constantinople  has  been  exaggerated,  and  some 


104  RUSSIA. 

who  even  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  that  great  and  ancient  city 
is  in  our  days  less  really  important  than  a  mushroom  growth 
like  Chicago.     This  last  is,  we  think,  a  very  questionable  pro- 
position, and  we  are  sufficiently  anxious  not  to  see  the  Eastern 
Eome  added  to  the  gigantic  empire  of  Eussia,  to  listen  with 
satisfaction  to  any  who  tell  us  that  Eussia  would  not  be  pre- 
pared to  make  for  its  possession  any  very  enormous  sacri- 
fices.    Constantinople  should,  we  think,  become,  when  the 
Turkish  Empire  breaks  up,  a  free  city  under  the  guarantee 
of  all  Europe.      Haxthausen  points  out  that  the  religious 
sentiment  which  draws  the  Eussian  people  towards  St.  Sophia 
is  one  of  the  vaguest  kind,  and  believes  that  if  it  were  ever 
to  lead  to  a  successful  attempt  upon  the  Bosphorus,  it  would 
undo  much  of  the  work  that  has  been  accomplished  since  the 
accession  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  make  Charkoff  and  Odessa, 
rather  than  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow^  the  centres  of  the 
Eussian  government.     Doubtless,  in  case  of  any  reconstruc- 
tion of  Turkey,  Eussia  might  with  perfect  justice  insist  upon 
obtaining  considerable  advantages  ;  but  we  should  trust  that, 
before  that  event  arrives.  Western  Europe  may  have  come  to 
so  good  an  understanding,  with  respect  to  her  own  interests 
in  the  matter,  and  public  opinion  in  Eussia  may  have  been 
led  to  take  so  reasonable  a  view  of  what  her  government  has 
a  riglit  to  claim,  that  any  renewal  of  the  events  of  ten  years 
ago  may  be  quite  impossible.     We  do  not  dream  of  a  golden 
age,  but  the  increasing  amount  of  intelligence,  which  is  every 
year  brought  to  bear  upon  public  affairs,  can  hardly  permit 
nations  to  fight  as  fiercely  for  imaginary  interests,  as  they 
doubtless  will  continue  to  do   for  real  gains  or  to  avenge 
wounded  pride. 

Are  we  tlien  likely  to   l)e  brought  into  collision  with 


PANSCLAVISM.  105 

Eussia,  in  order  to  prevent  an  invasion  of  Central  Europe  by 
I  the  "New  Huns  ?"  We  confess  that  we  think  this  to  the  last 
degree  improbable.  It  may  be  presumptuous  to  disagree  with 
Aurelio  Buddeus,  whose  remarks  upon  this  subject  in  Rtiss- 
lands  Sociah  Gegenicart  should  most  certainly  be  read  ;  but 
we  have  been  too  much  accustomed  to  the  panic  fear  with  re- 
gard to  ^Russia,  which  prevails  from  time  to  time  in  Germany, 
to  attach  the  same  importance  to  his  views  upon  this  as  upon 
other  subjects.  Germany  is  in  some  respects  fifty,  in  some  a 
hundred,  years  ahead  of  Eussia,  and  if  she  has  anything  to 
fear  from  that  country  it  is  entirely  her  own  fault.  If  Ger- 
many becomes  united,  or  anything  like  united,  round  a  free 
Prussia,  she  may  laugh  at  the  bare  idea  of  peril  from  Paissia. 
If  there  were  any  danger  of  her  falling,  for  any  length  of 
time,  into  the  hands  of  such  rulers  as  Bismark  and  his  friends, 
no  reasonable  human  being  need  care  how  soon  the  Cossacks 
are  encamped  in  the  Mark  of  Brandenburg. 

We  have  not  very  much  respect  for  those  Eussians — a 
very  numerous  class,  nevertheless — who  still  raise  the  Pans- 
clavist  banner,  and  urge  their  government  to  make  reforms, 
chiefly  that  it  may  be  more  able  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  op- 
pressed Sclavonians  everywhere,  on  its  w^ay  to  the  conquest 
of  Europe.  Those  who  have  not  learnt  by  this  time  that 
Eussia  is  weak  for  aggression,  must  be  very  unapt  scholars. 
In  these  days  there  are  two  conditions  without  which  real 
power  cannot  exist.  They  are  wealth  and  knowledge,  and 
Eussia  is  deplorably  deficient  in  both.  Before  she  has 
gained  wealth  and  knowledge,  all  classes  will  have  come  to 
see  that  they  can  do  something  better  than  to  ape  Attila,  and 
the  strong  barriers  of  a  German  union,  and  a  united  Italy, 
will  have  been  formed  across  their  path. 


106  RUSSIA. 

We  fully  believe  that  the  result  of  Eussia's  entering  into 
the  sort  of  retirement  into  which  she  entered  when  Gort- 
schakoff  said,  "  La  Eussie  se  recueille,"  will  be  that  she  will 
come  forth  stronger  but  less  inclined  to  aggression.  The  Prus- 
sian is  naturally  peaceful ;  it  is  the  German  government  that 
has  made  of  the  empire  a  great  camp.  Intensely  true  is  the 
sentiment  of  that  poem  of  Chamiakoff's  which  is  quoted  by 

Haxthausen  : — 

"A  LA  Eussie. 

"  Le  flatteiir  dit  :  Courage,  sois  fier,  oh  pays  au  front  couronne,  au 
glaive  invincible,  toi  qui  disposes  de  la  nioitie  de  I'univers. 

"  Pas  de  frontieres  a  ton  empire.  La  fortune  obeit  a  un  signe  de 
ta  main.     Le  monde  t'appartient  et  plie  en  esclave  devant  ta  Jiiajeste. 

"  La  steppe  s'epanouit  en  champs  feconds,  tes  montagnes  elevent  dans 
les  airs  leur  tete  boisee,  et  tes  rivieres  ressemblent  a  I'ocean.  Oh  mon 
pays,  depose  ta  fierte,  n'ecoute  pas  les  flatteiirs. 

"  Et  quand  tes  rivieres  rouleraient  des  ondes  comme  I'ocean,  et  quand 
tes  montagnes  ruisseleraient  de  riibis  et  d'emeraudes,  et  quand  sept  niers 
t'apporteraient  leur  tribut, — 

"  Et  quand  des  peuples  entiers  baisseraient  les  yeux  devant  I'eclat 
de  ta  toute  puissance,  depose  ta  fierte,  n'ecoute  pas  les  flatteurs. 

"  Rome  a  ete  plus  puissante,  les  Mongols  plus  invincibles  :  Ou  est 
Rome,  que  sont  devenus  les  Mongols  ? 

"  Ta  mission  est  plus  haute,  plus  sainte,  c'est  le  sacrifice  et  I'amour, 
c'est  la  foi  et  la  fraternite." 

Of  course  the  Eussian  people  have  inclinations  of  con- 
quest ;  what  people  have  not  ?  This  very  Chamiakoff  asto- 
nished a  friend  of  ours  by  his  minute  knowledge  about  India, 
and  the  way  in  which  his  mind  seemed  dazzled  by  the  possi- 
bilities of  Eussia's  future  there.  Long,  however,  is  the  way 
from  inclinations  to  acts.  Let  the  Eussian  people  once  be 
the  masters  of  their  own  destiny,  and  the  seventh  part  of  the 
land  surface  of  the  globe,  with  some  moderate  rectifications  of 
frontier,  will  seem,  we  think,  enough  for  them. 

The  chief  question  for  us  to  ask  is  :  Are  reforms  progress- 


FOREIGN   POLITICS   OF  RUSSIA.  107 

ing  whicli  may  destroy  for  ever  the  artificial  military  organisa- 
tion ?  Of  some  we  have  already  spoken,  of  a  few  others  we 
must  speak  very  briefly.  Let  it  then  be  observed  that  the 
army  has  no  longer,  as  it  had  under  the  reign  of  Nicholas, 
the  precedence  of  all  other  services — that  one  of  the  results 
of  the  Crimean  war  was  to  depress  the  German  or  Peters- 
burg i^arty,  which  is  always  thinking  of  Eussia's  position 
in  Europe,  and  to  exalt  the  national  or  Moscow  party,  which 
looks  to  improvement  in  Eussia  by  means  of  local  self- 
government,  and  Avhich,  full  enough  of  Pansclavic  aspirations, 
adjourns  the  commencement  of  its  Pansclavic  victories  for  a 
long  time.  Again,  the  organisation  of  provincial  assemblies 
of  a  constitutional  kind,  which  is  already  far  advanced,  will 
tend  to  increase  the  interest  in  internal  reforms  ;  while  the 
great  judicial  changes  which  are  already  carried,  or  about  to 
be  carried,  into  execution,  will  entail  others,  and  tend  still 
further  to  occupy  the  national  mind  Avith  its  own  affairs.  The 
intense  desire  for  increase  in  material  prosperity,  which  burst 
out  after  the  Crimean  war  ui  so  many  bubble  speculations, 
has  only  been  checked,  not  stopped,  by  the  recent  commercial 
crisis.  Vast  educational  reforms  have  been  rendered  more 
necessary  than  ever  by  the  emancipation  which  has  created,  so 
to  speak,  many  millions  of  persons  in  Eussia,  where  before 
these  were  only  fractional  parts  of^  or  dependents  on,  persons. 
Lastly,  let  it  be  remembered  that  a  profound  self-distrust  may 
be  observed  in  the  conversation  of  all  Eussians  who  know 
anything  of  Western  Europe,  and  we  think  we  have  accumu- 
lated reasons  enough  to  show  that  it  will  not  be  a  trifle  that 
will  make  Eussia  engage  in  an  aggTessive  war,  for  many  a  day 
to  come.* 

*  The  following  passage,  quoted  in  the  Echo  dc  la  Presse  Russe,  of  the  21st 


108  KUSSIA. 

For  the  purposes  of  a  defensive  war  she  is  of  course  enor- 
mously strong,  and  is  becoming  stronger.  Nor  will  it  do  too 
much  to  reckon  upon  joints  in  her  armour.  Finland  already 
possesses  a  sort  of  constitution  of  her  own,  and  although  there 
is  a  Swedish  party,  consisting  chiefly  of  persons  of  Scandi- 
navian blood,  the  mass  of  the  people  is  by  no  means  inclined 
to  separate  from  Eussia.  It  will  be  the  fault  of  the  Czar 
himself  if  he  ever  loses  that  province.  If  it  is  decently 
governed,  it  will  become  in  time  as  dependable  as  Livonia, 
Esthonia,  and  Coiirland,  which  are  about  as  likely  to  break 
their  connection  with  Eussia  as  the  Shetlands  are  to  break 
theirs  with  Scotland. 

of  March  1866,  pretty  mucli  represents  wliat  we  believe  to  be  the  state  of 
Russian  feeling  on  this  subject  : — 

*'  Nous  empruutons  a  la  revue  politique  de  la  Gazette  (russe)  de  VAcademie 
le  passage  suivant : 

*'  Le  peuple  russe,  nous  semble-t-il,  n'a  aucun  motif  de  vouloir  la  guerre  : 
il  a  beaucoup  a  faire  en  temps  de  paix.  II  lui  faut  avant  tout  poser  une  base 
solide  pour  ses  affaires  interieures  ;  et  s'il  faut  accepter  comme  juste  la  sent- 
ence continuellement  repetee  par  les  journaux  fran9ais  soi-disant  democratiques, 
que  la  Russie  et  I'Europe  occidentale  sout  deux  niondes  radicalement  opposes  ; 
si  tot  ou  tard  une  lutte  ouverte  est  inevitable  entre  le  Russe  et  I'Europeen 
occidental,  dont  le  genre  de  vie  et  la  fagon  de  penser  ressemblent  si  peu  a  ceux 
du  Russe,  et  qui  continue  opiniatrement  a  envisager  la  Russie  de  son  point  de 
vue  suranne  et  etroit ; — si  cette  lutte  est  inevitable,  nous  avons  toute  raison  de 
desirer  qu'elle  soit  remise  a  une  epoque  plus  ou  moins  eloignee.  Mais  cela 
ue  veut  pas  dire  que  le  peuple  russe  puisse  tranquillement  permettre  aux  autres 
puissances  de  se  poser  en  maitres  dans  les  affaires  qui  interessent  immediate- 
men  t  la  Russie.  Cela  ne  veut  pas  dire,  par  exemple,  que  le  peuple  russe  puisse 
voir  d'un  (cil  indifferent  I'Autriche  occuper  les  Principautes  danubiennes,  et 
en  general  la  voir  s'agrandir  aux  depens  de  la  Turquie  sans  la  participation  de 
la  Russie.  Si  cet  evenement  venait  a  s'accomplir,  si  les  bruits  qui  representent 
cctte  eventualite  comme  possible  venaient  a  s'accrediter,  la  Russie  ne  pourrait 
pas  s'empecher  de  s'opposer  a  ce  qu'elle  se  realisat,  Ce  ne  serait  pas  seulement 
le  gouveruement  qui  verrait  dans  un  evenement  semblable  un  casus  belli,  mais 
le  pays  tout  entier  dans  le  sens  le  plus  large  de  ces  mots.  Nous  en  sommes 
pcrsuudi',  tout  comme  nous  sommes  persuade  que  la  Russie  ne  desire  pas  faire 
la  guerre  saus  causes  tres-graves,  sans  une  necessite  absolue." 


FINANCES.  109 

As  to  Circassia,  we  cannot  do  better  than  refer  the  reader 
to  an  article  in  a  recent  number  of  Fraser's  Magazine  for 
1864,  on  the  Eussian  side  of  the  question,  as  compared  with 
one  in  the  Quarterly  for  the  same  year,  which  is  vehemently 
hostile  to  Eussia.  Every  humane  person  must  regret  the 
misfortunes  of  a  gallant  people,  but  for  years  it  has  been 
perfectly  clear  that  the  subjugation  or  expulsion  of  these 
brave  barbarians  was  only  a  question  of  time. 

The  disorder  of  Eussia's  finances,  as  to  which  the  reader 
should  consult  M.  Wolowski's  recent  work,  tells  naturally 
more  on  her  capacity  for  offence  than  for  defence.  It  is  much 
to  be  hoped  that  the  disorder  in  her  affairs  may  induce  her, 
ere  long,  to  revise  her  whole  fiscal  and  commercial  system. 
Fortunately  the  free-trade  party  is  growing  rapidly,  and  we 
do  not  think  that  Eussia  will  be  the  last  country  in  Europe 
to  abandon  false  economical  views. 

Our  hopes  of  Eussia  becoming  a  good,  instead  of  what  it 
has  long  been,  an  evil  force  in  the  world,  depend  of  course 
entirely  on  the  non-resurrection  of  the  system  which  pre- 
vailed up  to  the  death  of  Mcholas,  and  the  success  of  the 
wiser  portion  of  the  Liberal  party. 

'  The  Liberals  in  Eussia,  as  elsewhere,  are  divided  into 
several  sections.  Of  these  we  may  count  four: — 1.  The 
bureaucratic  Liberals ;  2.  The  Constitutionalists ;  3.  The 
moderate  Eepublicans  ;  4.  The  Socialists.  The  first  of  these 
is  headed  by  the  Grand-duke  Constantino.  It  is  relatively 
strong  in  men  of  ability,  and  is  the  party  which  at  this  mo- 
ment has  far  more  power  than  any  other.  Indeed  it  may  be 
said  just  at  present  to  govern  Eussia.  The  second  has  its 
centre  at  Moscow,  and  is  strong  in  several  of  the  provinces. 
The  landed  proprietors  of  Twer  and  of  Toola,  more  especially, 


110  RUSSIA. 

Iiave  shown  themselves  strongly  in  favour  of  its  views.  The 
Western  reader  is  fortunate  in  possessing  an  excellent  guide  to 
these  in  the  works  of  Prince  Dolgoroukoff.  The  traces  of 
strong  personal  resentment  break  out  continually  in  his  writ- 
ings, but  the  very  fact  that  these  occur  so  often  puts  those 
who  use  them  on  their  guard.  In  helping  to  complete  the 
picture  of  Eussia  as  it  is,  his  books  are  most  valuable,  being 
full  of  matter  which  it  is  difficult  to  procure  elsewdiere,  and 
they  are  characterised  very  often  by  sound  sense  and  political 
knowledge. 

A  remarkable  article  in  the  Quarterly  Eevieiu  for  January 
1863  brings  out  into  strong  relief  the  too  unfamiliar  fact  that, 
although  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  Eussia  with  ideas  of 
an  almost  Asiatic  despotism,  parliamentary  government  has 
been,  in  former  ages,  by  no  means  unknov/n  on  these  wide 
Eastern  plains.  Taking  the  courtly  Karamsine  and  the  more 
ultra-national  Aksakof,  with  some  other  writers,  chiefly 
Eussian,  for  his  principal  guides,  the  author  shows  us  how 
"  the  Sclave  worked  out  his  earlier  civilisation  very  much 
like  the  Germanic  races  ;"  how,  as  early  as  997,  we  hear  of  a 
Veche  or  Wittenagemote  at  Kieff ;  how,  in  1219,  the  Yeche 
of  Novgorod  the  Great  told  their  prince  :  ''  If  you  forget  your 
oath,  we  will  bow  you  out  of  the  city."  "We  follow  the  writer 
with  interest  as  he  points  out  how  the  great  bells  which  sum- 
moned the  citizens  to  deliberate  on  their  common  affairs, 
continued  to  sound,  though  becoming  ever  rarer  all  through 
tlie  period  of  the  Tartar  domination,  until  in  1510  the  liberties 
of  Pskof  were  overthrown  by  Basil  IV.  Witliin  a  generation 
after  this  commenced  the  period  of  those  assemblies,  irregu- 
larly summoned,  and  varying  from  time  to  time  in  their 
character  and  powers,  which   may  be  called    the    Eussian 


PARTIES.  Ill 

States-General.  These  reached  almost  to  the  accession  of 
Peter  the  Great,  with  whom  began  the  period  of  purely  auto- 
cratic rule,  broken,  but  hardly  broken,  by  the  short-lived 
Commission  of  1767,  called  by  Catherine  II.  to  draft  a  new 
code,  consisting  of  565  deputies,  and  "  a  parliament  all  but  in 
name."  From  that  time  to  the  death  of  Nicholas,  little  indeed 
was  heard  of  representative  government.  But  the  reader 
should  bear  these  facts  in  mind  before  he  too  rashly  concludes 
that  a  government  like  that  which  Prince  Dolgoroukoff  desires 
is  not  suited  for  Eussia.  The  third  or  moderate  Eepublican 
party  desires  to  see  Eussia  divided  into  several  great  feder- 
ative republics,  and  this  is  the  programme  which  would  be 
generally  supported  by  the  revolutionary  party  in  the  rest  of 
Europe.  Tliis  section  is  not  very  strong  in  point  of  num- 
bers, but  it  is  increasing.  The  fourth  or  Socialist  section  is 
very  strong  amongst  young  men,  much  stronger  than  the  pre- 
ceding. Many  of  its  adherents  are,  no  doubt,  persons  of  good 
intentions,  but  it  comprises  in  its  ranks  a  great  many  danger- 
ous lunatics.  A  ridiculous  and  detestable  document,  pro- 
ceeding from  this  section,  may  be  read  in  Le  Veridique. 

It  is,  we  presume,  with  the  Socialists  that  we  ought  to 
class  a  man  who  has  been  long  well  known  in  England,  and 
has  done  very  great  services  to  his  country,  though,  of  course, 
we  do  not  for  a  moment  suspect  him  of  having  favoured  any 
of  the  wilder  views  of  the  party,  and  although  he  is  utterly 
disclaimed  by  its  most  advanced  members.  M.  Hertzen  v/as 
Ions  the  severest  and  the  most  dreaded  censor  of  Eussian  mis- 
government.  Not  only  has  he,  by  publishing  his  memoirs,  given 
the  AVestern  world  a  most  curious  picture  of  the  difficulties 
which  beset  the  man  who  was  bold  enough  to  think  for  himself 
under  the  rule  of  Nicholas.     Not  only  has  he  printed  the 


112  KUSSIA. 

secret  memoirs  of  Catherine  II.,  and  traced  the  development 
of  revohitionary  ideas  in  Eussia,  but  he  has,  by  means  of  liis 
newspaper,  the  Kolokol*  or  Bell,  kept  up  an  unceasing  warfare 
against  all  those  proceedings,  either  on  the  part  of  the  go- 
vernment or  of  individual  functionaries,  which- did  not  appear 
to  him  to  be  politic  or  just.  It  has  been  said  that  the  em- 
peror himself  was  one  of  his  readers  during  the  earlier  part 
of  his  reign  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  M.  Hertzen's  news- 
paper was,  in  spite  of  rigorous  prohibitions,  very  generally 
circulated  in  Eussia.  Since  the  commencement  of  the  Polish 
insurrection,  however,  his  popularity  has  much  diminished. 
Before  it  broke  out  he  was  thought  to  be  only  a  stern  monitor 
of  his  country.  Of  late  he  has  been  too  generally  considered 
to  be  her  enemy.  The  views  of  M.  Hertzen,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  more  or  less  deeply  tinged  with  Socialism,  have 
shared  his  unpopularity,  and  since  his  name  has  ceased  to  be 
one  which  it  was  dangerous  to  pronounce,  and  he  has  been 
freely  quoted  and  criticised  by  the  Eussian  press,  he  has  lost 
that  prestige  which  always  attaches  to  what  is  forbidden  and 
mysterious.  He  is  in  some  sort  the  Mazzini  of  Eussia, 
although  differing  in  many  and  most  essential  particulars 
from  that  remarkable  man.  We  do  not  think  that  the  views 
which  he  advocates,  and  which  will  be  most  readily  gathered 
by  the  reader  from  his  work,  Du  DevelopiJement  des  Idees  Bevo- 
lutionnaires  en  Eussie,  are  likely  to  prevail  either  in  Eussia  or 
elsewhere,  but  his  name  should  always  be  mentioned  with 
respect. 

The  antiliberal  party  is  by  no  means  large,  chiefly  because 
the  Czar  has  put  himself  at  the  head  of  reforms,  and  partly 

Tlie  A'oZoAroZ  has  now  been  transferred  from  TiOn don  to  Geneva,  and  onl}'', 
we  believe,  just  contrives  to  exist. 


DEMOCRATIC  ORGANISATION.     A,  ^   AIS 

■  ■// 

because  an  immense  number  of  tlie  landed  proprietors,  who  ^/ 
were  no  friends  to  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs,  have  since 
that  event  determined  to  try  whether,  in  return  for  their  loss    ^y  . 
of  material  advantages,  they  could  not  obtain  greater  poliy        y 
tical  rights,  and  have  in  consequence  joined  the  Constitu-  .--/^ 
tionahsts. 

No  attempt  to  cast  the  horoscope  of  Eussia  will  succeed, 
if  we  fail  to  remember  that  that  great  empire  rests  on  a  demo- 
cratic basis.  The  middle  class  is  altogether  insignificant. 
We  doubt  whether  there  are  half-a-million  of  people  who 
coidd  be  with  propriety  included  in  it.  The  nobility  is  a 
body  utterly  different  from  our  own,  and  just  as  different  from 
that  of  Germany.  Primogeniture  is  recognised  neither  by 
law,  nor  by  custom,  except  in  a  very  few  families.  The 
extraordinary  wealth  of  certain  great  houses,  and  the  reckless- 
ness which  makes  many  Eussians  of  moderate  means  appear 
very  rich  when  they  travel,  because  they  are  spending  their 
capital,  deceives  the  nations  of  "the  old  civilisation."  We 
suspect  that  out  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  £2000  a-year 
is  a  large  fortune  for  Eussia.  The  attainment  of  a  very  low 
tchin  or  rank  in  the  government  service  gives  personal  no- 
bility. The  higher  ranks  give  hereditary  nobility,  which 
before  the  emancipation  carried  with  it  the  right  of  possessing 
serfs. 

The  so-called  Eussian  nobility,  in  the  widest  sense  of  the 
term,  consists,  according  to  Buddeus,  of  more  than  three 
million  persons,  but  of  these  not  much  more  than  100,000 
were  owners  of  serfs,  and  even  in  this  class  an  enormous 
number  were  extremely  poor.  Very  many,  again,  of  the 
members  of  old  families  have  hardly  any  property  at  all.  Of 
the  120  Prince  Galitzins,  for  example,  a  large  proportion  are 

I 


114  RUSSIA. 

princes  only  in  name.  It  is  imlucky  indeed  that  the  word 
Kniaz  cannot  be  translated  by  some  word  less  hopelessly 
misleading]:  to  Enf^jlish  ears. 

The  venality  and  incapacity  of  the  tchinovniks  or  func- 
tionaries, all  of  whom  above  a  certain  class  are,  as  we  have 
seen,  noble  in  virtue  of  their  offices,  does  scant  credit  to  their 
order,  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
empire.  The  organisation  of  this  powerful  body,  introduced 
by  Peter  the  Great,  but  much  modified  since,  has  been  often 
explained,  and  is  found  in  all  the  common  books  about  Eussia. 
It  was  borrowed  from  countries  whence  it  has  long  disappeared, 
and  the  sooner  it  is  improved  off  the  face  of  creation  the 
better.  "Who  is  the  devil?"  said  a  Eussian  peasant's  child 
to  his  father.  "The  chief  of  all  the  tchinovniks^'  was  the 
ready  reply.  A  considerable  check  to  the  unrighteous  gains 
of  this  class  has  resulted  from  the  abolition  of  the  brandy 
farming. 

Without  entering  the  government  service,  nobility  is  not 
retained  for  more  than  three  generations.  Those  who  desire 
to  inform  themselves  about  the  few  families  amongst  the 
Eussian  nobility  which  have  anything  like  historical  illustra- 
tion to  boast  of,  will  find  a  full  account  of  them  in  a  book  by 
Prince  Dolgoroukoff,  which  has  been  translated.  They  are, 
however,  few  and  far  between.  "  The  only  aristocrat  in  my 
dominions,"  said  the  Emperor  Paul,  "  is  he  to  whom  I  speak 
while  I  speak  to  him."  It  must  be  said,  to  the  credit  of  the 
Eussian  nobility,  that,  while  it  reckons  amongst  its  ranks  the 
worst  enemies,  it  contains  also  the  warmest  friends  of  liberty, 
and  this  is  true  of  all  its  fractions.  Almost  a  nation  in  point 
of  numbers,  it  is  divided  into  as  many  parties  as  divide  the 
nation  at  large. 


RUSSIAN  LAW.  115 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Nicholas  was  to  entrust  to  the 
eminent  jurist  Speranski  the  codification  of  the  Eussian  law. 
A  full  and  interesting  account  of  the  circumstances  which  led 
to  this  measure,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  carried  out, 
will  be  found  in  Schnitzler's  *  Histoire  intime  de  la  Russie,  a 
book  which  deserves  to  be  better  known  in  England.  Al- 
though, however,  Eussia  is  more  favourably  situated  than  our 
own  country  in  respect  of  the  form  of  her  law,  her  code  must  be 
completely  remodelled  before  she  can  be  called  by  any  en- 
lightened man  a  thoroughly  civilised  state.  It  has  been  well 
observed,  that  it  would  be  an  immense  boon,  not  only  to 
England,  but  to  mankind,  if  this  country,  which  has  incom- 
parably the  best  system  of  law  in  the  world,  could  only  point 
to  some  series  of  volumes,  not  requiring  the  study  of  a  life, 
from  which  that  law  could  be  learned.  It  sounds  like  a 
paradox,  but  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  codification 
of  the  English  law  would  do  more  to  advance  good  government 
in  Eussia  and  over  the  whole  of  the  Continent,  than  any  other 
measure  that  occurs  to  us. 

The  censorship  has  been  of  late  relaxed,  and  in  truth 
a  great  deal  of  latitude  is  allowed,  provided  certain  limits 
are  not  transgressed.      For  a  history  of  Eussian  literature 

*  This  writer,  whose  Herodotean  naivete  often  makes  his  readers  smile, 
knows  probably  more  about  the  larger  or  Hussian  portion  of  Europe  than 
any  inhabitant  of  the  smaller  or  historical  portion  of  it,  although,  in 
some  departments  of  research,  M.  de  Bernhardi,  M.  Bodenstedt,  and  others, 
are  doubtless  superior  to  him.  Up  to  this  time,  France  and  Germany 
have  done  most  to  make  us  acquainted  with  Eussia.  We  much  want  a 
good  American  work  on  that  country,  to  bring  out  the  analogies  between 
it  and  the  United  States.  Railways,  that  greatest  material  blessing  of  the 
future  to  the  empire  of  the  Czar,  will  no  doubt  give  us  this.  Scotland,  at 
least,  has  done  her  duty,  as  the  names  of  Gordon  of  Auchleuchries,  of  his 
namesake  who  wrote  the  Life  of  Peter  the  Great,  of  Bell  of  Antermony, 
of  Wylie,  of  Bremner,  and  last,  not  least,  of  Murchison,  sufficiently  prove. 


116  RUSSIA. 

in  recent  times,  in  its  bearing  on  politics,  the  reader  should 
compare  the  work  of  the  absolutist  Gerebtzoff  upon  Civilis- 
ation in  Paissia,*  with  M.  Hertzen's  book  on  the  Growth 
of  Eevolutionary  Ideas,  to  w^hich  we  have  already  alluded. 
Mr.  Sutherland  Edwards — whose  Btissians  at  Rome  is,  for 
the  Enolishman  who  w^ants  to  read  only  one  book  on  Eussia, 
far  the  best  we  know — gives  much  interesting  information 
about  Eussian  newspapers  and  reviews.  M.  Katkoff,  editor 
of  two  very  important  periodicals  at  Moscow,  is  perhaps 
at  this  moment  one  of  the  most  popular  persons  in  the  whole 
empire. 

One  of  these  periodicals  is  a  newspaper,  the  Moscow  Gazette, 
which  has  taken  the  lead  in  the  anti-Polish  and  patriotic  cru- 
sade of  the  last  three  years.  In  its  eyes  the  Grand-duke  Con- 
stantine  is  what  "  Clemency  Canning"  was  during  the  Indian 
mutiny  to  the  Calcutta  press.  It  has  exalted  Mouraviefif  into 
a  national  hero,  and  fostered  the  enthusiasm  which  reached 
its  culminating  point  when  his  admirers  presented  him  with 
a  statue  of  the  Archangel  Michael !  Before  \ve  too  severely 
condemn  this  effervescence  of  patriotic  savagery,  let  us  reflect 
how  we  should  feel  if  there  was  a  serious  insurrection  in 
Ireland.  Those  of  us  who  most  fully  admit  that  there  has 
been,  in  times  past,  much  atrocious  injustice  there,  and  that 
all  is  not,  even  now,  as  it  should  be,  would,  we  fear,  be  hardly 
as  humane  as  Cromwell,  who  at  least  offered  his  enemies  the 
alternative  of  "  Hell  or  Connaught."  And  the  Irish,  it  should 
not  be  forgotten,  have  never  invaded  England,  while  the  Poles 
perpetrated  the  most  frightful  cruelties  in  the  very  heart  of 
Eussia,  only  252  years  ago.     Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  we 

A  great  deal  of  useful  information  is  collected  in  F.  R.  Graham's  Science 
and  Art  in  Jiussia,  piiblislied  hy  Blackwood. 


JOURNALISM.  117 

think  that  ere  long  the  conductors  of  the  Moscow  Gazette  will 
feel  that  they  went  too  far,  and  will  acknowledge  that  men 
like  WalouiefP  and  Suvaroff,  who  did  not  quite  wish  to  "  eat 
up  the  Poles  alive,"  were  wiser  than  they. 

Another  remarkable  figure  amongst  Eussian  journalists  is 
M.  Aksakoff,  who,  since  the  death  of  his  brother,  has  been 
the  most  conspicuous  of  the  Sclavophiles.  The  student  of 
contemporary  history  may  compare  with  gi*eat  advantage  the 
Oxford  movement  of  1833  mth  that  of  which  he  is  the  Cory- 
phaeus. As  that  was  an  attempt  to  fall  back  upon  old  Eng- 
lish, so  this  was  an  attempt  to  fall  back  upon  old  Eussian 
ideas.  What  William  III.  was  to  our  Tractarians,  that  Peter 
the  Great  was  to  the  Sclavophiles.  The  liberalism  which  Dr. 
NewTnan  hated  so  heartily  was  closely  allied  to  those  "  West- 
ern ideas"  which  were  the  bugbears  of  his  representatives  in 
"  Moscow  the  Holy."  The  beautiful  description  of  that  sacred 
city,  which  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Sutherland  Edwards  from  the 
History  of  the  Russian  Church,  by  the  brother  of  the  terrible 
Dictator  of  Lithuania,  is  conceived  in  the  very  spirit  of 
Faber's  sonnets  about  Oxford. 

The  oldest  Eussian  UniA^ersity  has  only  existed  for  about 
a  century.  In  the  22d  volume  of  the  Statistical  Journal  will 
be  found  a  paper  upon  the  Eussian  Universities,  which  we 
recommend,  not  only  because  it  contains  a  concise  and  in- 
telligible account  of  those  institutions,  but  because  its  tone 
represents  extremely  well  the  current  views  of  the  best  class 
of  young  men  in  Eussia.  Its  author,  M.  Koloomzine,  would 
certainly  have  been  inter  primos  amongst  his  contemporary 
Oxonians.  We  learn  from  him  that  in  1856  the  whole 
number  of  students  at  the  Eussian  Universities  was  over  4000 ; 

*  His  journal  has,  we  believe,  this  year  (1866)  ceased  to  appear. 


118  RUSSIA. 

thus  divided  : — 2634  sons  of  nobles  and  employes  ;  181  sons 
of  priests  ;  316  sons  of  merchants  ;  797  sons  of  persons  above 
the  rank  of  serfs.  "  The  freedom  of  speech  of  the  professors  in 
their  lectures,"  says  M.  Koloomzine,  ''  and  the  perfect  freedom 
of  the  students,  causes  their  general  spiiit  to  be  very  high  and 
liberal."  It  should  be  observed  that  this  paper  was  written 
before  the  disturbances  at  the  University  of  St.  Petersburg, 
which  attracted  some  attention  in  England,  and  which  gave 
an  opportunity  to  the  reactionary  clique  to  try  to  alarm  the 
emperor.*  Since  those  events,  the  Eussian  University  system 
has  been  in  confusion,  but  plans  have  been  considered  for  its 
re-organisation,  and  it  is  hoped  that  these,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  M.  Golownine,  the  present  Minister  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, who  is  a  man  of  ability  and  liberal  inclinations,  will 
soon  be  in  thorough  working  order. 

The  education  of  the  higher  classes  in  Eussia  is  conducted 
to  a  great  extent  at  home,  a  custom  of  which  Nicholas  natur- 
ally enough  disapproved.  Their  proficiency  in  modern  languages 
has  often  been  remarked.  This  arises  much  more  from  the 
fact  that  they  travel  a  great  deal,  and  are  accustomed  from 
their  earliest  years  to  speak  several  languages,  than  from  any 
peculiar  aptitude.  It  is  said,  and  probably  with  truth,  that 
their  attainments  are  somewhat  superficial ;  but  we  are  in- 
clined to  thinlc  that  a  Eussian  of  good  family  at  twenty-two 
will  in  general  be  more  really  educated,  as  well  as  more  ac- 

*  These  disturbances  were  mainly  traceable  to  the  measures  introduced  by 
Admiral  Putiatine,  a  worthy  man,  n)uch  respected  by  his  private  friends,  and 
much  at  home  on  the  quarter-deck,  who  had  been  made  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  The  notion  of  an  admiral  being  placed  in  such  a  position  is,  of 
itself,  sufficiently  ridiculous ;  but  Admiral  Putiatine  was  peculiarly  ill-fitted 
for  his  place,  because  he  had  added  to  the  fanatical  prepossessions  of  an 
orthodox  Greek  some  of  the  special  delusions  of  the  Tractarian  party  in 
Oxford.    ■ 


EDUCATION.  119 

complislied,  than  an  Englishman  who  has  gone  through  Eton 
and  Oxford  with  no  more  than  the  usual  knowledge  of  those 
who  only  aspire  to  take  an  ordinary  degree.  It  is  later  in  life 
that  an  Englishman,  who  has  been  an  idle  boy  at  school  and 
idle  man  at  college,  is  forced  by  the  pressure  of  competition, 
or  by  the  duties  that  are  thrown  iipon  him,  to  become  fit  for 
something  ;  while  the  young  Eussian,  hampered  by  a  vicious 
political  system,  too  often  sinks  into  a  lounger  or  a  debauchee. 
It  is  English  public  and  professional  life  which  reflects  light 
on  our  wretched  English  education. 

The  dark  side  to  all  this  progress,  and  to  all  those  inclina- 
tions towards  improvement,  does  not  reveal  itself  till  we  know 
how  brilliant  was  the  promise  of  the  years  from  1815  to  1826, 
and  how  terrible  was  the  period  which  succeeded  to  that 
premature  spring.  Liberty  has  hardly  yet  struck  roots  in  the 
Eussian  soil.  Let  but  the  Autocrat  give  the  sign,  and  many 
of  the  wise  words  which  we  now  hear  will  cease  to  be  uttered. 
Luckily,  humanity  has  a  hostage  in  the  interest  of  those  in 
power,  no  less  than  in  their  good-will.  A  return  to  the 
system  of  Nicholas  means  political  ruin.  It  means  a  period 
of  insolent  triumph  at  home,  and  lowered  influence  abroad, 
followed  by  conspiracies,  outbreaks,  and  revolution. 

Buddeus  mentions  that  the  Czar  constantly  repeats  the  words, 
"  Better  from  above  than  from  below."  If  so,  he  is,  as  Cavour 
once  said  to  the  writer  of  this  paper,  when  speaking  of  Louis 
Napoleon,  "  Un  homme  liahile  qui  connait  sonpeuple  et  son  temps!^ 
We  hope  everything  for  Eussia ;  but  our  hopes  are  mingled 
with  fears,  which  the  reader  who  has  accompanied  us  through 
the  preceding  pages  will  hardly  think  unreasonable.  What 
Custine  said  is,  we  fear,  still  true : — ''  Eussia  is  the  country  in 
Europe  where  men  are  most  unhappy."     Before  she  reaches 


120  RUSSIA. 

the  point  at  which  we  in  England  have  arrived — great  as  are 
the  still  uncured  evils  of  our  society — she  has  many  a  difficult 
crisis  to  traverse.  Will  she  ever  succeed  in  reconciling 
Poland  to  her  sway,  or  in  cutting  adrift  and  converting  into 
a  peaceful  and  friendly  neighbour  so  much  of  that  country  as 
she  cannot  assimilate  ?  Will  she  be  able  to  substitute  for  her 
communal  organisation,  so  unfavourable  to  individual  enter- 
prise, a  system  like  that  of  the  West,  without  creating  a  mass 
of  pauperism  worse  than  that  with  which  we  are  struggling  ? 
or,  if  not,  will  she  succeed  in  a  new  experiment,  and  reconcile 
the  commune  with  advanced  agriculture  and  civilisation? 
Will  the  empire  hold  together  under  one  central  authority  ? 
or,  if  not,  will  its  surface  be  covered  by  independent  com- 
munities, which  will  keep  the  peace,  and  do  no  hurt  each  to 
the  prosperity  of  each  ?  Will  the  Eussian  Church  shake  off 
those  unnumbered  superstitions,  and  rise  from  that  abase- 
ment which  makes  it,  for  all  purposes  of  influencing  human 
conduct,  far  inferior  to  Eome,  although  it  has  never  committed 
itself  to  the  worst  Eoman  absurdities?  Will,  in  short,  the 
high  and  pure  form  of  Christianity,  which  is  held  by  the  best 
minds  in  Germany  and  England,  be  substituted  in  any  reason- 
able length  of  time  for  the  delusions  which  now  prevail? 
Will  the  universal  venality  of  the  functionaries  be  gradually 
amended?  Will  the  army  be  reduced  within  reasonable 
limits,  and  military  service  cease  to  be  a  curse  and  a  scourge 
to  the  population  ?  Will  justice  and  law  be  soon  substituted 
for  the  arbitrary  decisions  of  power?  Will  the  Eussian 
government,  while  asserting  its  fair  claims  as  a  European 
power,  more  especially  in  the  Eastern  Peninsula,  learn  that 
its  true  field  of  fame  is  Northern  and  Central  Asia  ?  Will  the 
experiments  we  are  workinsj  out  teach  Eussian  statesmen  that 


I 


FUTURE   OF  RUSSIA.  121 

nothing  is  gained  by  fostering  brandies  of  industry  which 
have  no  real  affinity  for  the  country  ?  Will  a  succession  of 
wise  and  moderate  rulers  inaugTirate  and  watch  over  the  com- 
mencement of  constitutional  government ;  or  will  Eussia  have 
to  win  her  liberties,  as  others  have  won  them,  with  blood  and 
toil  ?  "V\^io  can  answer  these  questions  ?  and  yet,  while  they 
remain  unanswered,  how  uncertain  must  be  the  future  of  this 
mighty  empire,  and  of  the  political  state-system  of  which  it 
forms  so  important  a  part ! 

■5'r  '""  -5;-  % 

The  period  of  twenty  months  which  has  passed  since  the 
preceding  paragraph  was  originally  published,  has  not,  w^e 
need  hardly  say,  given  any  answer  to  the  questions  contained 
in  it.  Under  the  calm  surface  of  official  Eussia  there  is  still 
a  vast  ocean  heaving  nnder  contending  winds,  and  agitated  by 
opposing  currents.  What  the  end  may  be  it  is  impossible  to 
say  ;  but  we  may  safely  assert  that  no  generation  of  English- 
men, except  that  which  saw  the  first  French  Eevolution,  has 
ever  assisted  at  so  remarkable  a  spectacle  as  is  likely  to  be 
presented  between  this  and  the  end  of  the  century  in  the  vast 
dominions  of  the  Czar.  Amongst  the  more  satisfactory  symp- 
toms, we  may  note  the  gradual  carrying  out  of  the  arrange- 
ments between  the  peasants  and  their  landlords,  which  are 
every  year  placing  a  larger  number  of  ci-devant  serfs  in  the 
position  of  free  proprietors.  Another  favourable  circumstance 
is  the  continuance  in  office  of  several  ministers  who  are,  at 
least  relatively,  liberal  and  enlightened.  The  most  important 
of  these  are,  the  Minister  of  War,  General  Milutine,  brother  of 
the  administrator  of  that  name,  of  whom  we  have  already 
spoken,  and  M.  von  Eeutern,  who  manages  the  finances.  M. 
Golownine  has  just,  we  regret  to  say,  retired,  but  the  ministry  of 


122  RUSSIA. 

the  Interior  remains  under  the  control  of  M.  Walouieff,  a  man 
of  much  ability  and  very  liberal  tendencies,  against  whom  we 
have  never  heard  any  reproach,  except  that  he  is  said  by  some 
to  be  over-conciliatory,  whence  his  Eussian  nickname  of 
"  Vilaieff,"  the  T acker.  All  these  men  are  understood  to  share 
the  views  of  the  Grand-duke  Constantine,  and  they  are,  in 
consequence,  bitterly  detested  by  those  who  think  that  the 
system  of  Nicholas  was  perfection,  and  by  the  would-be  ultra- 
patriotic  party.  As  there  is  no  solidarity  in  the  Russian 
Council  of  [Ministers,  which  is  in  no  sense  a  cabinet,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  several  of  the  colleagues  of  the  persons,  whom 
we  have  mentioned,  should  have  quite  other  views. 

The  great  fires  which  occurred  in  the  heart  of  St.  Peters- 
burg in  the  summer  of  1862,  following  as  they  did  the  dis- 
turbance at  the  University  already  noticed,  were  connected 
in  the  language,  and  perhaps  in  the  minds,  of  the  reactionary 
party,  with  the  designs,  not  only  of  an  extreme  anarchical 
faction,  but  with  the  liberal  feeling  which  was  generally 
abroad.  It  is,  however,  more  than  doubtful  whether  they 
would  have  succeeded  in  making  political  capital,  out  of  these 
events,  if  the  great  moral  conflagration  of  the  Polish  insur- 
rection had  not  speedily  followed.  The  friends  of  the  old 
order  were,  of  course,  not  slow  to  attribute  this  to  the  en- 
couragement given  in  high  quarters  to  the  political  heresies 
of  the  times,  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  their  explanation  was 
to  a  great  extent  correct.  If  the  system  pursued  by  Nicholas 
in  Poland  had  been  continued  by  his  successor,  the  same  re- 
sults would  have  attended  it,  and  the  Polish  insurrection, 
instead  of  breaking  out  in  1863,  would  have  been  deferred  to 
the  moment  when  an  enlightened  ruler  found  the  process  of 
slowly  strangling  a  nation   incompatible  with  his   ideas   of 


;  THE  PATRIOTIC  REACTION.  123 

right.  But  it  was  not  the  reactionary  party  alone  that  was 
earned  away  by  its  anti-Polish  rage.  M.  Katkoff  was,  as  we 
have  seen  above,  some  few  years  ago,  by  no  means  a  reactionist. 
Far  from  it,  he  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  self-government, 
and  more  than  siis]3ected  of  Anglomania.  No  one,  however, 
has  been  more  furious  in  his  denunciations  of  anything  ap- 
proaching moderate  measures  since  the  suppression  of  the 
Polish  insurrection.  No  one  has  attributed  more  sinister 
political  meaning  to  the  fires  which  have  raged  so  much  of 
late  years  in  Eussia.  No  one  has  been  more  defiant  towards 
Western  Europe.  No  one  has  been  so  quick  to  discover 
separatist  tendencies  in  Georgia,  or  in  the  Baltic  provinces. 
No  one  has  gone  such  lengths  in  attacking  the  Grand-duke 
Constantine,  and  indeed  every  other  human  being  who  has 
ventured  to  think  that  a  Pole  had  a  right  to  live,  or  a  Eussian 
to  differ  from  the  Moscoio  Gazette.  If  this  was  to  be  attribu- 
table merely  to  the  insanity  of  an  individual,  it  woidd  be  of 
no  great  importance,  but  it  means  more  than  this..  It  means 
that  the  Polish  insurrection  has  reacted  unfavourably  on  vast 
numbers  of  people  in  Eussia,  and  has  thrown  back  the  advance 
of  enlightenment  in  that  country  for  some  years. 

The  death  of  the  heir  to  the  crown  in  the  spring  of  1865 
cast  a  gloom  over  the  whole  of  Eussia.  All  accoimts  com- 
bine to  represent  his  character  as  a  singularly  attractive 
one  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  been  entirely  devoid  of  that 
passion  for  soldiering  which  is  so  great  a  snare  to  Eussian 
rulers.     About  the  same  time  took  place  an  event  which  had 

*  In  1864  there  were  13,000  fires,  attributable  partly,  no  doubt,  as  in 
Turkey,  to  political  discontent,  but  largely  also  to  the  great  increase  of 
drunkenness,  to  the  careless  use  of  lucifer  matches,  and  to  the  innumerable 
accidents  to  which  wooden  houses  are  always  liable  in  a  climate  where  great 
artificial  heat  is  a  necessary  condition  of  human  life. 


124  RUSSIA. 

been  long  looked  for  and  ardently  desired — the  recal  of 
General  Mouravieff.  We  wish  we  could  say  that  the  sway 
of  his  successor  had  been  as  much  milder  as  the  moderate 
party  desired.  In  the  kingdom  General  Berg  seems  to  have 
been  relaxing  the  rigour  of  his  reign  as  far  as  the  "res  dura 
et  regni  novitas"  permitted,  which  is,  perhaps,  not  saying  a 
great  deal ;  but  in  the  western  provinces  an  effort  is  being 
made  to  get  rid  of  the  Polish  proprietors  altogether  and  to 
replace  them  by  Eussians.  It  may  be  said,  of  course,  that 
this  is  a  just  retribution  for  the  foolish  attempt  of  the  Poles 
to  wrest  these  wide  districts  from  their  mighty  neighbour  ; 
but  the  doctrine  of  the  "v?e  victis,"  carried  out  to  all  its 
consequences,  is  shocking  to  the  nineteenth-century  mind,  at 
least  in  this  part  of  Europe.  Nor  does  it  appear  to  us  at  all 
very  clear  that  Eussia  will  attain  her  object ;  and  if  she  does 
not,  the  amount  of  "  misery  in  waste,"  as  Bentham  would 
have  called  it,  will  be  tremendous.  A  fierce  polemic  upon 
this  subject  has  been  raging  in  the  Eussian  press — the  leading 
champions  being  the  Moscow  Gazette,  which  represents,  we 
need  hardly  say,  the  Pole-devouring  party,  and  the  Wiest,  a 
journal  directed  by  M.  Skariatine,  and  established  chiefly 
for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  high-handed  system  of 
dealing  with  property,  which  the  changes  necessitated  by  the 
emancipation  of  the  serfs  have  made  dangerously  familiar  to 
this  generation  of  Eussians.  The  varying  fortunes  of  the 
strife  between  these  journals,  and  indeed  the  whole  play  of 
Eussian  political  thought,  may  now  be  followed  with  the 
greatest  ease  by  all  educated  persons  in  this  country.  For 
nearly  a  year  there  has  appeared  twice  a-week  in  Brussels, 
under  tlie  editorship  of  M.  Schedo-Ferroti,  a  journal  called 
TJEvlw  de  la  Presse  Busse.     The  editor  makes  it  his  business 


l'echo  de  la  pkesse  russe.  125 

to  examine  all  the  principal  Eussian  newspapers,  and  to 
select  from  them  the  more  important  articles,  wholly 
irrespective  of  the  opinions  advocated.  Most  of  the  extracts 
are  of  course  in  Eussian,  but  some  are  in  French  and 
German ;  and  a  careful  French  rmtme,  filling  generally 
about  two  columns  of  large  print,  is  prefixed  to  the  whole. 

So  excellent  a  means  of  acquiring  information  about  what 
is  passing  in  Eussia,  being  now,  so  to  speak,  brought  to  the 
very  doors  of  our  political  writers,  we  trust  that  they  will 
take  advantage  of  it,  and  not  content  themselves  with  infor- 
mation filtered  through  Central  European  newspapers,  which 
are  often  accidentally  and  often  intentionally  incorrect  in 
their  Eussian  information  * 

A  circumstance  which  happened  in  connection  with  M. 
Schedo-Ferroti  in  1864  curiously  illustrates  the  state  of 
parties  in  Eussia.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  he  wrote  a 
singularly  moderate  and  sensible  little  book,  called  Que 
fera-t-on  de  la  Pologne.  It  reflected  very  exactly  the  kindly 
and  conciliatory  views  with  respect  to  that  unhappy  country, 

*  On  the  history  of  Russia  during  the  last  two  years,  an  article  by  M.  C. 
de  Mazade,  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes  of  the  15th  March  1866,  should  be 
consulted.  This  paper  has  been  furiously  attacked  by  the  Moscoiv  Gazette, 
which  attributes  it — we  believe  without  the  slightest  shadow  of  foundation — 
to  the  object  of  that  journal's  especial  aversion,  M.  Schedo-Ferroti.  One 
would  think  that  that  gentleman,  instead  of  being,  as  he  is,  a  Courlander — a 
native,  that  is,  of  one  of  the  provinces  most  faithful  to  the  Imperial  House — 
was  a  Pole  or  a  Frenchman,  so  fierce  is  the  animosity  of  the  crazy  party  of 
which  M.  Katkoff  is  the  mouthpiece. 

A  valuable  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  Russian  commerce  has  been 
made  by  the  report  on  the  present  state  of  the  tirade  between  Great  Britain 
and  that  country,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Michell,  one  of  the  secretaries  to 
Her  Majesty's  Embassy  at  St.  Petersburg  ;  and  we  believe  it  is  to  the  same 
gentleman  that  English  travellers  are  now  indebted  for  a  handbook  which 
has  replaced  the  miserable  performance  which,  up  to  last  year,  disfigured  Mr. 
Murray's  list. 


126  RUSSIA. 

which  the  most  extreme  provocation  does  not  seem  to  have 
banished  from  the  mind  of  the  Grand-duke  Constantine. 
This  book  was  sent  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  by 
the  ^Minister  of  Public  Instruction  to  many  establishments  of 
which  they  had  the  official  superintendence.  Amongst  others 
it  was  sent  to  the  University  of  Moscow,  but  was  returned 
unopened  by  that  body,  while  a  perfect  storm  burst  upon  the 
heads  of  the  unlucky  ministers,  and  a  howl  of  execration, 
led  of  course  by  M.  Katkoff,  reached  the  quiet  study  of  the 
enlightened  publicist  at  Brussels,  who  had  dared  to  counsel 
moderation  and  common  sense.  The  violence  of  the  Moscow 
Gazette  became  so  intolerable  that  the  two  insulted  ministers 
attempted  to  restrain  it,  but  all  in  vain.  Opinion  was  too 
strong,  and  the  struggle  ended  in  the  majority  of  the  imperial 
advisers  taking  the  side  of  the  journalist. 

The  rigour  of  the  censorship  has  been  of  late  relaxed  in 
favour  of  the  newspapers  of  the  capitals,  and  a  system  of 
avertissements  on  the  French  plan  to  some  extent  substituted 
for  it.  This  indulgence  is  not,  however,  extended  to  the 
provinces,  and  we  witness  at  this  moment  an  amusing  result. 
The  Moscow  Gazette  may  abuse  the  system  on  which  the 
relations  between  the  Esthonian  or  Lettish  peasantry  and 
the  German  landowners  of  the  Baltic  provinces  is  founded, 
and  the  Riga  Gazette  is  not  allowed  to  say  a  word  on  the  other 
side. 

With  regard  to  the  re-organisation  of  Poland,  which  has 
been  proceeding  steadily  since  the  close  of  the  insurrection, 
we  do  not  feel  ourselves  qualified  to  speak.  The  views  of  the 
Polish  proprietors  have  found  eloquent  expositors  in  the 
French  press,  and  those  wlio  desire  to  know  them  will  find 
no   difficulty   in    informing  themselves ;    but  we   make   no 


LAND-QUESTION  IN  POLAND.  127 

apology  for  laying  before  our  readers  the  following  extract 
from  an  unpublished  work  by  M.  Nicholas  Tourgueneff,  a 
man  not  likely  to  take  a  violent  or  prejudiced  view  of  this  or 
any  other  subject,  and  who  has  lived  for  more  than  forty 
years  far  away  from  "  Muscovite  "  influences,  in  the  very  centre 
and  focus  of  the  civilisation  of  the  West. 

Speaking  of  the  arrangements  introduced  by  M.  Milutine, 
he  says  : — 

"  Preparee  sagement,  honnetement,  justement,  la  grancle  ceiivre  a 
ete  accomplie  de  meme.  Nous  ne  dirons  pas  que  nous  sommes  fiers 
mats  on  nous  permettra  bien  cle  dire  que  nous  sommes  lieureux  de  ce 
qu'elle  a  ete  accompUe  par  un  tzar  Kusse  et  par  des  Kusses. 

"  Ceux  dont  les  interets  ont  souffert  peuvent  etre  mecontents — cela, 
86  comprend  ;  mais  ce  qui  est  incomprehensible  c'est  que  des  hommes 
desinteresses  materiellement,  des  hommes  professants  des  idees  hberales, 
n'aient  salue  cette  reforme  que  par  des  declamations  sur  le  sociaHsme, 
etc.  ;  ne  se  donnant  pas,  et  ne  voulant  pas  se  donner  la  peine  d'appro- 
fondir  tant  soit  peu  la  question. 

"  La  reorganisation  de  I'etat  des  paysans  dans  le  royaiune  de  Pologne, 
nous  I'appelons  emancipation,  quoique  ces  paysans  fussent  deja  en  pos- 
session de  la  liberte  personelle  ;  en  reahte  leur  position  ne  diiferait 
guere  de  celle  des  paysans  serfs.  Jadis  les  paysans  polonais  comme  les 
paysans  russes,  etant  serfs,  possedaient  quelque  chose  :  le  betail,  les 
instruments  de  travail,  la  maison  qu'ils  habitaient,  tout  cela  ils  le  con- 
sideraient  comme  leur  bien  et  ce  n'est  que  tres-rarement  qu'on  voyait 
les  proprietaires  les  en  priver ;  mais  bientot  apres  le  decret  de  Napoleon 
et  I'introduction  du  code  civil  qui  octroyaient  aux  jiaysans  la  liberte 
personelle,  parut  un  edit  du  Eoi  de  Saxe,  Grand-due  de  Varsovie,  qui 
declara  tous  ces  biens  des  paysans  appartenant  aux  proprietaires.  La 
fameuse  'juridiction  patrimoniale '  qui  existe  encore  de  nos  jours  en 
Mecklenburg,  s'etabht  dans  le  duche  de  Varsovie,  puis  dans  le  Royaume. 
Le  proprietaire  etait  en  meme  temps  voit  ou  administrateur  de  la  com- 
mune, juge  de  premiere  instance  et  maitre  de  police,  avec  le  droit 
d'infliger  aux  paysans  des  punitions  corporelles.  Peu  a  peu,  les  pro- 
prietaires, trouverent  avantageux  de  diminuer  ou  de  supprimer  les  lots 
de  terre  occupes  par  les  paysans,  transformant  ainsi  les  hotes  ou  fer- 
miers  en  simples  ouvriers  ou  proletaires. 

"En  1846,  un  decret  de  I'Empereur  Nicolas  interdit  aux  proprie- 


128  RUSSIA. 

taires  de  priver  les  pay  sans  de  leur  terres  on  de  les  renvoyer.  Ce  decret 
ne  fut  jamais  execute.  L'administration  polonaise  a  force  de  ruses  et 
d'interpretations,  fit  de  cette  ordonnance  une  lettre  morte  quoique  la 
volonte  de  I'Empereur  fut  claire  et  precise.  A  la  tete  de  cette  adminis- 
tration se  trouvait  le  vice-roi  russe,  mais  les  employes  qui  I'entouraient 
etaient  des  Polonais  devoues  aux  interets  non  des  paysans,  mais  des 
proprietaires.  Les  paysans  continuerent  a  etre  prives  de  leur  terres 
et  sur  trois  millions  et  demies  ils  en  trouva  1,300,000  prives  de  toute 
propriete  territoriale,  des  proletaires  enfin. 

"  L'eniancipation  des  paysans  en  Pologne  dans  ses  bases  principales, 
correspond  k  I'emancipatiou  des  paysans  en  Eussie. 

"  Comme  en  Russie,  les  paysans  polonais  re5oivent  en  toute  pro- 
priete la  terre  sur  laquelle  ils  vivent  et  qu'ils  cultivent  pour  leur  propre 
compte.  Le  pouvoir  administratif  municipal  et  le  pouvoir  judiciaire  de 
premiere  instance  sont  confies  a  des  hommes  elus  par  les  paysans  eux- 
memes.  Les  proprietaires  re9oivent  pour  la  terre  acquise  par  les  paysans 
des  obligations  rapportant  4%  et  amortissable  en  42  ans.  Mais  dans 
I'application  de  ces  principes  fondamentaires  il  y  a  un  difference  impor- 
tante  entre  I'emancipation  en  Russie  et  en  Pologne. 

"  En  Russie  la  somme  entiere  du  racbat  des  terres  donnees  aux 
paysans  tombe  sur  les  paysans  eux-memes  et  cela  les  oblige  a  un 
tres  lourd  impot  pendant  49  ans.  En  Pologne  on  a  augmente  pour  ce 
rachat  les  impots  directs  sur  la  propriete  immobiliere  a  I'exception  de 
la  propriete  des  paysans.  En  outre  une  partie  des  biens  de  la  couronne 
doit  etre  vendue,  et  le  produit  de  la  vente  employe  au  racbat.  Quant 
aux  paysans,  ils  auront  a  payer  comme  impot  le  double  de  ce  qu'ils 
paient  a  present,  soit  au  gouvernement,  soit  a  la  commune.  De  cette 
maniere  les  paysans  contribueront  aussi  au  racbat. 

"  Un  autre  difference  existe  dans  I'application  du  principe  de  Tad- 
ministration  communale  (self-government).  Les  proprietaires  russes  en 
perdant  leur  anciens  droits  seigneuriaux,  ne  perdent  pas  leur  autres 
droits  et  privileges  de  caste.  La  noblesse  est  restee  caste,  avec  ses  mare- 
cbaux  elus,  ses  assemblees  et  toutes  les  attributions  d'une  classe  privi- 
legiee  et  l'administration  communale  et  les  tribunaux  communaux 
ne  peuvent  avoir  d'action  que  sur  les  paysans. 

"  Dans  le  royaume,  les  droits  et  privileges  des  proprietaires  ne  con- 
sistaient  que  dans  leur  droits  seigneuriaux  ;  en  perdant  ces  droits,  ils 
doivent  necessairement  faire  partie  de  la  commune,  comme  les  autres 
habitants.     lis  ne  peuvent  en  etre  detaches. 

"  De  toutes  les  objections  a  I'emancipation,  deux  seulement  nous 
paraissent  dignes  de  mention." 


LAND-QUESTION  IN   POLAND.  129 

Here  follow  some  remarks  about  the  riglits  allowed  to  the 
peasants  in  the  woods  of  the  proprietors,  and  the  power  given 
them,  under  certain  circumstances,  to  reclaim  lands  taken  from 
them  contrary  to  the  ukase  of  1845. 

"  Le  Comite  Constitiitif  ne  manqnera  pas  de  trancher  avec  son  eqiiite 
habituel,  ces  difficultes.  Malgre  toute  la  bonne  volonte  du  gouvernement, 
il  ne  pent  pas  esperer  de  donner  des  terres  a  tons  les  proletaires,  il  laisse 
beaucoup  d'entre  eux  dans  leur  situation  actuelle,  ceux  snrtout  cjiii  ont 
ete  prives  de  leur  maisons  et  loges  dans  une  espece  de  casernes  construites 
par  les  proprietaires  ;  mais  autant  que  possible  les  proletaires  seront 
etablis  sur  les  terres  de  la  Couronne. 

"  Si  Ton  reprocbe  au  gouvernement  d'avoir  favorise  les  pavsans 
centre  les  proprietahes,  nous  repondrons  par  les  cbiffres  d'estiniation  des 
prestations  personelles  des  paysans,  cliiffres  qui  ont  servi  de  base  a 
revaluation  due  de  I'indemnite  aux  proprietaires  :  en  Galicie  un  jour 
de  travail  d'un  ouvrier  a  ete  evalue  a  3  kops.  d'argent  et  un  jour  avec 
attelage  de  deux  boeul's  ou  de  deux  chevaux  a  1 5  kops. ;  dans  le  royaume, 
line  joiirnee  est  fixee  de  7^  a  12  kops.  et  une  journee  avec  attelage  30 
a  45  kopecks. 

"  La  somme  du  racbat,  capitalisee  d'apres  une  evaluation  aussi 
moderee  etait  divisee  en  Gahcie  en  trois  parts  dont  une  part  tombait 
sur  le  paysan  qui  etait  oblige  de  la  payer  au  proprietaire.  La  seconde 
a  ete  payee  a  ce  dernier  par  le  gouvernement  on  la  province,  et  la 
derniere  tombait  sur  le  proprietaire  lui  menie,  c'est  a  dire  qu'il  la  perdait. 
En  Posnanie,  comme  dans  toute  la  Priisse,  les  paysans  re9urent  gratuite- 
ment  leur  maisons,  et  la  moitie,  dans  certains  cas  les  deux  tiers,  de  la 
terre  occupee  par  eux,  avec  le  droit  de  racheter  I'autre  moitie  ou  le 
tiers  restant.  Cela  prouve  jusqu'a  I'evidence  que  sous  le  rapport  de 
I'appropriation  des  terres  aux  paysans,  les  proprietaires  du  royaume  de 
Pologne  se  sont  trouves  dans  une  position  plus  avantageuse  que  les  pro- 
prietaires de  la  Gahcie  et  de  la  Posnanie. 

"  n  etait  impossible  de  compter  sur  la  sympatlue  des  nobles  Polonais 
dans  cette  aflfaire  et  I'execution  dut  en  etre  confiee  a  des  Russes.  Des 
bomnies  conniis  par  leur  valeur  morale  et  intellectuelle,  de  jeunes 
officiers  pleins  de  zele  et  de  devouement  contribiierent  par  un  travail 
acharne  an  succes  de  Tentreprise.  '  Marchez  au  travail,'  disait  a  ces 
hommes  de  bonne  volonte  celui  qui  les  duigeait,  '  marchez  au  travail,  et 
faites  en  sorte  que  dans  la  posterite  la  plus  reculee,  quand  il  n'y  aura 
peut-etre  plus  de  Russes  en  Pologne,  on  ne  souvieime  encore  parmi  le 
peuple,  qu'un  jour  le  tzar  de  Russie  envoya  des  Russes  qui  donnerent 
aux  paysans  la  terre  et  la  liberte !' 

K 


130  RUSSIA. 

"  De  telles  instructions  pourront  paraitre  etranges  a  ceux  qu  de- 
clament  avec  tant  de  complaisance  contre  la  Russie.  EUes  different 
sans  doute  des  instructions  donnees  generalement  en  des  occasions 
semblables,  des  conseils,  par  exemple,  que  donnait, — dans  des  spheres 
sans  doute  incomparablement  plus  hautes, — I'Empereur  Napoleon  a  son 
frere  Joseph  roi  de  Naples. 

"  Le  fait  est  que  tout  ce  qui  a  ete  accompli  en  Pologne  pour  I'eman- 
cipation  des  paysans  I'a  ete  honnetement,  sagement  et  jusqu'a  present 
avec  succes.  Les  j)aysans  temoignent  une  confiance  illimitee  aux  Russes 
charges  d'  introduire  le  nouveau  reglement.  Les  elections  faites  par  les 
paysans  ont  ete  en  general  satisfaisantes.  lis  ont  nomme  comme  maire 
(voit),  quelques  un  des  ancieus  proprietaires  on  de  leur  intendants  ;  le 
plus  souvent,  sans  doute,  des  paysans  jouissant  de  la  consideration 
generale. 

"  On  pent  assurement  considerer  cette  emancipation  des  paysans 
Polonais,  en  la  detachant  de  toute  circonstance  environnante,  comme  une 
grande  chose,  juste  et  equitable,  et  contribuante  au  bien  de  I'humanite. 
Peut-etre  dans  I'avenir  apparaitra-t-elle  aux  Polonais  plus  bienfaisante 
qu'ils  ne  le  supposent  a  present.* 

"  Neamnoins  la  situation  generale  du  pays  est  triste,  douloureuse  et 
nous  ne  nous  serious  jamais  decides  a  parler  en  ce  moment  de  la  Pologne 
et  de  son  avenir,  si  son  sort  n'etait  intimement  lie  a  celui  de  la  Russie,  et 
c'est  uniquement  sous  ce  rapport  que  nous  pouvons  et  que  nous  voulons 
parler  de  la  Pologne. 

"  Les  Polonais  ont  evidemment  sur  leur  pays  leur  maniere  de  voir, 
leur  desirs,  leur  esperances  ;  pour  nous,  desirs  et  tendances  ne  vont 
pas  au  dela  de  la  Russie. 

M.  Tourgii^neff  believes  that  Eussia  and  Poland,  which  it 
has  been  found  impossible  to  weld  together  under  a  despotism, 
might  be  bound  to  each  other  by  a  common  constitution,  and 
a  common  parliament.     In  his  ardent  attachment  to  constitu- 

*  A  present  meme,  quelques  Polonais  eclaires  en  rcconnaissent  I'utilite. 
Au  proces  de  Berlin,  un  des  prevenUs,  Monsieur  Niegolewski,  membre  de  la 
Chambre  des  Deputes  Prussienne,  dit  dans  son  interrogatoire  :  "  Je  me  felicite 
d'avoir  pris  part  a  cette  lutte  qui  a  amene,  en  fin  de  compte,  1' emancipation 
des  paysans  du  royaunie  de  Pologne  et  de  la  Galicie,  reclaniee  en  vain  depuis 
tant  d'annees  par  la  noblesse."  —  Le  Temps,  8  Septembre  1864.  Nous  ne 
Savons  si  c'est  un  eireur  du  traducteur  qui  rnentionne  la  Galicie,  ou  I'emanci- 
pation  avec  la  terre  a  en  lieu  d6s  1849.  Quant  a  I'ancien  desir  de  la  noblesse, 
nous  nous  bornerons  k  dire  :  Tant  niieux  ! 


RESULTS  OF  THE  PRESENT  REIGN.  131 

tional  government,  even  for  Eussia,  lie  differs  at  once  from 
reformers  like  M.  Milutine,  and  from  reformers  like  M.  Schedo- 
Ferroti,  but  he  has  with  him  a  large  and  increasing  party 
amongst  the  educated  class  in  Eussia.  Hitherto,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Czar  has  shown  itself  singularly  impatient  of  any 
hints  at  a  desire  for  a  central  representative  government,  and 
the  nobles  of  Moscow,  in  1865,  were  rebuked  almost  as  sharply 
as  those  of  Twer  and  Toola  in  1862.  Nov  does  it  appear  that 
there  is  for  the  present  the  slightest  chance  of  anything  being 
done  in  this  direction.  The  best  that  we  can  expect,  is  the 
gradual  introduction,  from  above,  of  judicious  measures  of 
improvement,  many  of  which  will  look  better  on  paper  than 
they  will  work  ;  but  by  which,  nevertheless,  a  vast  amount 
of  evil  will  be  swept  away.  After  all,  the  rule  of  the  present 
Czar  has  lasted  only  ten  years,  and  ye^  how  much  has  been 
effected  !  To  say  nothing  of  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs,  and 
the  gradual  creation  of  an  enormous  mass  of  free  proprietors — 
surely  one  of  the  greatest  changes  for  good  which  has  ever  been 
effected  by  a  single  act — we  have  the  relaxation  of  the  censor- 
ship, the  reduction  of  the  price  of  passports  from  £80  to  a  figure 
which  permits  any  one  to  travel,  the  abolition  of  several  atro- 
cious methods  of  punishment,  the  institution  of  representative 
bodies  for  local  matters,  an  amnesty  which  restored  to  their 
country  many  of  the  victims  of  Nicholas,  a  humaner  system  in 
the  navy,  improvements  in  the  Universities,  increased  facilities 
for  communication,  and  a  generally  gentler  and  more  civilised 
spirit  in  the  administration.  Wlien  we  reckon  up  the  gains 
and  the  losses  of  the  Crimean  war,  do  not  let  us  omit  to  re- 
member that  these  were  amongst  the  things  which  it  procured. 
Nothing  less  violent  than  that  catastrophe  would  have  sufficed 
to  break  up  the  system  of  Nicholas.     We  know  that  there  are 


132  EUSSIA. 

many  dark  shades  which  must  be  filled  in  if  we  would  com- 
plete the  picture.  We  appreciate,  to  the  full,  the  horror  of 
the  Polish  tragedy.  We  know  that  people,  writing  of  the  rule 
of  General  Kauffmann  in  Lithuania,  speak  of  ''  le^  bon  vieux 
temps  de  Mouravieff."  We  know  that  the  Eussian  nobility  has 
suffered  severely,  to  the  extent  often  of  a  fourth  or  more  of  its 
income.  We  know  that  there  is  a  violent  anti-social  faction, 
and  a  faction  which  thinks  that  the  system  of  Nicholas  was 
perfection.  We  know  that  many  of  the  improvements  which 
we  have  instanced  are  merely  beginning  to  work,  and  that 
Eussia  is  only  commencing  the  race  of  civilisation  ;  but  after 
making  every  deduction,  we  still  think  that,  unless  the  policy 
of  Alexander  II.  very  materially  alters,  he  is  likely  to  take  a 
high  place  amongst  the  benefactors  of  mankind.  The 
atrocious  attempt  to  assassinate  him  which  has  just  startled 
Europe  will,  we  fain  hope,  turn  out  to  have  been  the  act  of  a 
man  of  impaired  intellect.  Certain  it  is  that  nothing  more 
unfortunate  for  the  cause  of  the  liberal  party  in  Eussia  could 
possibly  have  occurred.  It  has  been  taken  advantage  of  by 
the  most  savagely  "  National"  section  of  the  press  to  call  for 
vengeance  upon  all  Poles  and  revolutionists,  while  the  govern- 
ment, we  regret  to  see,  has  confided  the  conduct  of  the  inves- 
tigation to  General  Mouravieff,  an  officer  whose  iron  rule  in 
Lithuania  at  a  time  when  the  stamping  out  the  rebellion  in 
that  district  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death  for  Eussia,  can  be 
readily  explained,  but  who  is  surely  the  last  man  in  the  world 
to  be  entrusted  with  an  investigation  which  requires  great 
tact,  complete  absence  of  prejudice,  and  a  judicial  mind. 


I 


CHAPTER   HI. 

AUSTKIA. 

Mr.  Boner,  in  the  first  chapter  of  his  very  agreeable  book  on 
Transylvania,  tells  us  that  he  went  one  day  into  a  bookseller's 
shop  at  Vienna,  and  asked  for  a  map  of  that  country.  On 
examining  the  one  which  was  handed  to  him,  he  observed  to 
the  bookseller,  "  that  the  different  divisions  of  the  districts 
were  not  marked."  "  That  is  no  matter,"  said  the  man,  quite 
gravely  ;  "  in  a  week  perha]3S  all  may  be  changed.  If  I  were 
to  give  you  the  map  you  want,  before  you  reached  Transyl- 
vania very  likely  everything  might  be  altered." 

The  answer  was  a  sensible  one  enough,  and  the  bookseller's 
words  hold  good  not  only  of  the  boundaries  of  Transylvanian 
districts,  but  of  almost  everything  in  the  Austria  of  to-day, 
except  the  natural  features  of  the  land.  All  is  in  a  state 
of  chaos, — a  chaos  out  of  which  we  ardently  hope  that  a 
new  and  fairer  empire  may  arise,  but  a  chaos  which  no 
one  would  attempt  to  describe  in  detail,  and  the  ultimate 
outcome  of  which  no  wise  man  would  attempt  to  predict, 
except  in  the  broadest  of  most  general  terms.  It  can  hardly 
be  doubted,  however,  that  all  through  1866  the  affairs 
of  Austria  will  engage  the  earnest  attention  of  those  for 
whom  European  politics  have  any  interest ;  and  in  this  belief 
we  have  thought  it  not  undesirable  to  lay  before  our  readers 
such  a  sketch  of  recent  Austrian  history  as  may  enable  them 
to  judge  for  themselves  as  to  the  bearing  of  the  events  which 


134  AUSTKIA. 

will  folloAv  each  other  in  that  country,  through  the  successive 
months  of  a  year,  which  can  hardly  fail  to  determine  whether 
Austria  is,  or  is  not,  during  the  remainder  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  to  have  any  claim  to  her  traditional  epithet  of 
''  FeKx." 

We  shall  not,  of  course,  shrink  from  expressing  our 
opinions  upon  the  most  important  questions  relating  to  the 
empire,  which  are  now  demanding,  or  will  soon  demand,  solu- 
tion ;  but  we  sliall  express  those  opinions  with  the  utmost 
diffidence,  and  in  the  fullest  conviction  that  the  statesmen 
who  shall  conduct  Austria  happily  through  the  next  tw^o 
decades  of  her  history,  will  have  to  deal  with  a  succession 
of  problems  as  difficult  as  any  which  have  ever  called  forth 
political  genius  and  administrative  ability. 

An  attempt  to  sketch  the  recent  history  of  Austria  has 
been  much  facilitated  by  the  publication  of  the  Geschichte 
Oesterreichs  seit  dcm  Wiener  Frieclen,  1809,  by  Professor 
Springer  of  Bonn,  the  second  volume  of  wdiich  appeared  a  few 
months  ago.  This  elaborate  and  most  able  w^ork  terminates 
with  Gorgei's  surrender  at  Vilagos  in  August  1849,  and  we 
have  used  it  as  our  guide  down  to  the  revolution  of  1848. 
The  period  from  1849  to  the  present  day  is  hardly  yet 
historical,  but  there  is,  of  course,  no  lack  of  information 
with  regard  to  it  in  pamphlets  and  articles,  to  some  of 
the  best  of  which  we  will  refer  in  the  proper  place. 
Upon  Hungary,  which  is  at  this  moment  the  most  in- 
teresting part  of  the  empire,  the  English  reader  is  for- 
tunate in  possessing  two  works,  written  by  no  common  men, 
from  very  different  points  of  view.  These  are  the  travels  of 
Mr.  Paget  and  of  Mr.  Paton.  The  first  of  these  books  was 
published  in  1839,  and  the  author  looks  at  the  politics  of  that 


PAGET  AND  PATON.  135 

period  like  a  Hungarian  Whig,  if  indeed  we  can  properly 
apply  a  term,  taken  from  our  own  party  warfare,  to  that  of  a 
country  so  dissimilar.  Numerous  and  important  as  are  the 
events  which  have  occurred  in  Hungary  since  Mr.  Paget' s 
volumes  were  given  to  the  public,  they  still  deserve  to  be 
read ;  and  it  is  strange  that  so  useful  a  work  should  not  have 
sold  more  extensively  than  we  have  reason  to  believe  it  has 
done. 

Mr.  Paton,  so  well  known  for  his  travels  in  the  Eastern 
Peninsida,  visited  Hungary  immediately  after  the  surrender 
at  Vilagos,  and  remained  a  considerable  time  in  the  country. 
His  book  is  extremely  useful  as  a  corrective  to  the  one-sided 
accounts  which  were  so  freely  supplied  to  our  press  by  the 
Kossuthian  propagandists  in  London.  He  is  by  no  means 
disposed  to  justify  the  violent  measures  of  centralisation 
which  were  introduced  under  the  auspices  of  M.  Bach  ;  but 
his  sketches  of  that  politician,  as  well  as  of  Schwartzenberg, 
appear  to  us  much  too  favourable.  At  the  same  time,  we 
think  that  no  one  who  attempts  to  form  an  opinion  about 
recent  Austrian  history,  exclusively  from  English  authorities, 
would  do  at  all  wisely  to  neglect  a  careful  perusal  of  what 
this  most  intelligent,  painstaking,  and  well-informed  author 
has  to  say  upon  the  unpopular  side. 

Mr.  Boner  writes  rather  as  a  traveller  and  observer  of 
manners  than  as  a  politician,  but  in  all  that  he  says  about 
politics  he  evidently  desires  to  be  thoroughly  impartial,  and 
his  observations  must  be  taken  as  "  evidence  to  go  to  a  jury," 
in  favour  of  the  system  which  prevailed  from  1861  till  last 
September.  Great  insight  into  the  real  wants  of  the  Hungary 
of  to-day  is  given  by  the  work  of  Dr.  Erasmus  Schwab,  of 
which,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  only  the  first  volume  has  ap- 


13G  AUSTRIA. 

peared.  Tliis  gentleman  was  for  eiglit  years  a  schoolmaster 
in  Northern  Hungary,  during  which  period  he  not  only  came 
to  know  intimately  the  district  in  which  he  was  settled,  but 
travelled  on  foot  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  became 
familiarly  acquainted  with  all  ranks  and  classes.  The  book 
is  full  of  conversations,  which  bear  the  stamp  of  truth,  and  is 
a  most  valuable  contribution  to  our  knowledge. 

The  modern  history  of  Austria  may,  for  our  purpose,  be 
considered  to  commence  with  the  reign  of  Joseph  II.     The 

^  imperial  philosopher  had  drunk  deep  and  long  at  the  foun- 
tains of  eighteenth-century  enlightenment,  and  hastened,  as 
soon  as  he  became  the  sole  ruler  of  his  hereditary  dominions, 
to  carry  his  revolutionary  ideas  into  effect.  He  saw  around 
him  an  array  of  provinces  connected  with  each  other  by  their 
common  allegiance  to  himself,  and  by  the  influence  of  long 
habit  or  artificial  arrangements.  Scattered  across  Europe 
from  the  English  Channel  to  the  half-barbarous  regions  where 
the  Crescent  and  the  Cross  carried  on  a  ceaseless  warfare,  the 
possessions  of  the  House  of  Austria  were  bound  to  each  other 
by  few  of  those  links  which  usually  hold  together  a  body 
politic.     The  critical  eye  could  distinguish  only  one  feature 

^whicli  was  common  to  them  all.     They  were  all  behind  the 

.  age  ;  they  were  all  governed  rather  by  custom  than  by  right 
reason.  Everywhere  there  was  a  clergy,  always  obscurantist, 
always  jealous  of  the  civil  power,  and  but  too  often  inclined 
to  persecute.  Everywhere  there  was  a  nobility,  penetrated 
sometimes  by  rays  from  the  sun  of  Paris,  but  for  the  most 
part  thinking  of  little  except  the  preservation  of  its    own 

^  privileges.  Everywliere  there  was  a  peasantry,  oppressed  and 
unhappy — subject  in  some  districts  to  feudal  exactions,  and  in 
others  bftund  by  customs  different  from,  but  not  less  unjust  than, 


JOSEPH  II.  137 

those  of  feudalism.     Into  this  world  of  unreason  and  of  wronc 
the  emperor  determined  to  introduce  regularity  and  common- 
sense.     That  he  may  have  been  influenced  to  some  extent  by  <^ 
personal  motives,   we  do  not  care  to  deny ;  nay,  rather,  we 
have  no  doubt  that   he   expected   his  own  position   to   be 
materially  improved  by  the  change.      Still  his  motives,  al- 
though mixed,  were  mainly  good,  and  he  has  hardly  yet  re-  ^ 
ceived  from  his  countrymen,  or  from  Europe,  as  much  praise 
as  he  merits.     In  laying  his  plans,  however,  Joseph  II.  charac- 
teristically omitted  to  allow  for  the  disturbing  influence  of 
two  forces, — the  blind  attachment  of  ignorance  to  old  usages,  ^ 
and  that  regard  for  traditional  rights,  even  when  they  work  C^ 
ill,  which  is  one  of  the  best  features  of  half-civilised  com- 
munities.    These  two  forces  were  quite  enough  to  break  up 
the  whole  of  his  elaborate  scheme  for  the  reconstruction  of  / 
Austria,  the  former  acting  chiefly  in  the  Germanic  and  Ger- 
manised provinces,  the  latter  in  Hungary. 

In  that  country  the  fierce  and  intractable  spirit  of  the  rul-  ^ 
ing  class  showed  itself  immediately,  but  in  the  other  crown 
lands  the  storm  did  not  burst  in  its  full  fury  imtil  the  em- 
peror was  in  his  gi'ave,  although  he  had  to  recal  most  of  his 
acts.  It  was  left  for  Leopold  to  receive  from  all  the  assem-  ^_^ 
blies  of  the  Germanic  or  Germanised  provinces  earnest  repre- 
sentations as  to  the  ruinous  consequences  which  would  follow, 
if  the  peasants  were  not  replaced  in  their  old  state  of  vassal- 
age ;  if  the  privileges  of  the  nobles  were  not  extended  and  in- 
creased ;  if  the  Jews,  Freethinkers,  Protestants,  and  foreigners 
were  not  once  more  oppressed  ;  if  pilgrimages  were  any  longer 
discouraged ;  if  the  schools  were  not  again  put  under  the  con- 
trol of  ecclesiastics,  and  if  the  old  privileges  in  matters  of  tax- 
ation were  not  immediately  restored. 


138  AUSTRIA. 

To  some  of  these  representations  the  government  listened 
with  pleasure,  to  others  it  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  in  aU  cases 
it  acted  on  the  principle  of  keeping  as  much  as  possible  of  the 

^^ Josephine  legislation,  when  that  legislation  was  favourable  to 
the  central  authority,  but  surrendering  as  much  of  it  as  it 
well  could,  when  what  it  surrendered  was  favourable  to 
popular  rights  and  the  freedom  of  opinion. 

(^         The  movement  in  Hungary  was  far  more  serious,  for  here 

the  government  had  to  do,  not  with  discontented  nobles,  but 

with  an  angry  nation.     The  popular  belief  as  to  the  relations 

between  the  king  and  the  people  of  Hungary  was  summed  up 

in  the  phrase — '^  Princeps  est,  qui  jurat,  quijurata  servat  et  qui 

coronatus  est!'     Now  Joseph  II.,  intending  to  introduce  great 

changes  in  Hungary,  and  not  wishing  to  incur  the  charge  of 

perjury,  had  never  taken  the  oaths,   and   had   never  been 

crowned.     Many  of  the  changes  which  he  had  introduced  were 

excellent,  but  in  introducing  them  he  had  not  only  altogether 

exceeded  his  powers,  but  had  given  a  fair  colour  to  the  asser- 

Lytions  of  those  who  maintained  that,  under  the  circumstances, 

it  was  no  longer  necessary  that  the  Hungarian  crown  should 

rest  on  the  brow  of  a  prince  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg- 

Lorraine.     The  emperor  wisely  yielded  on  most  points,  and 

Uagreed  even  to  the  assembling  of  the  Diet  in  1790.     Before  it 

'^ame  together,  he  had  breathed  his  last.     His  two  successors 

had  much  to  do  to  calm  the  agitation  which  he  had  caused, 

but  they  succeeded  for  a  time,  and  the  real  results  of  the  re-  ' 

^action  from  his  centralising  legislation  did  not  appear  till  the 

winds  were  loosed  in  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Ferdinand. 

•^^^The  liberal  innovations  of  Joseph  II.  had  been  the  result 

of  his  personal  convictions,  and  these  were  by  no  means  shared 

by  the  councillors  who  surrounded  his  successor.     It  did  not 


LEOPOLD  IL  139 

suit  them,  liowever,  to  allow  the  nobility  to  reap  the  full  ad-  ^ 
vantage  of  the  reaction,  and  to  get  into  their  hands  a  large 
share  of  the  power  which  had  been  hitherto  vested  in  the  high 
officials.      They  fell   back   accordingly   upon    the  venerable  L- 
Austrian  maxim,  ''  Divide,  et  imjpera,''  and  checked  the  rising 
ambition  of  the  Provincial  Estates  by  favouring  the  pretensions 
of  the  peasants.     By  this  policy  they  contrived  to  bring  back 
things  to  a  state  of  stable  equilibrium  ;  and  to  careless  ob- 
servers, the  empire,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Francis,' 
in  1792,  did  not  appear  materially  different  from  that  which 
had  acknowledged  the  sway  of  Maria  Theresa.     Those  who 
could  look  deeper  saw  that  the  legislation  and  the  general^ 
principles  of  government  were  full  of  inconsistencies  and  con- 
tradictions, the   Josephine   maxims  and  ideas   coming  into 
perpetual  collision  ^dth  the  state  traditions.     It  was  not  till 
the  days  of  Schwartzenberg  and  Bach,  that,  as  we  shall  see   ^ 
hereafter,  a  consistent  and  logical  attempt  was  made  to  expel 
the  liberal  poison  which  had  been  introduced  by  Joseph  II. 
Leopold,  Francis,  and  Ferdinand  aU  lived  upon  expedients  ;<^ 
and  the  more  intelligent  of  their  servants  saw,  every  day  more 
and  more  clearly,  that  sooner  or  later  a  crash  would  come. 
The  time,  however,  was  not  yet,  and  the  echoes  of  the  first 
French  Eevolution  in  Austria  were  not  very  loud  or  long-re- 
sounding, while  the  war  which  followed  afforded  ample  excuse 
for  letting  internal  reforms  alone. 

The  poHcy  of  Leopold,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  {_ 
his  antecedents  in  Tuscany,  only  seems  illiberal  when  com-  ^ 
pared  with  that  of  his  immediate  predecessor ;  but  it  was 
succeeded  by  a  policy,  consciously  and  intentionally  illiberal  ^^ 
in  the  highest  possible  degree.     During  the  first  eighteen  years 
of  his  long  reign,  the  Emperor  Francis  was,  perforce,  obliged 


9 


140  AUSTRIA. 

^/to  entertain  the  plans  of  military  or  other  reform,  of  which  the 
Archduke  Charles  was  at  one  time  the  conspicuous  advocate. 
But  his  reasonable  distrust  of  his  brother  was  not  likely  to 
predispose  him  to  favour  any  of  the  Archduke's  views  ;  and 
'  after  the  treaty  of  Vienna  in  1809,  and  still  more  conspicuously 
after  the  pacification  of  Europe,  the  political  wisdom  of  the 
rulers  of  Austria  inclined  them  ever  more  and  more  to  the 
maintenance  of  that  state  of  things  which  was  known  to  friends 
and  foes  as  the  system. 

L^    But  what  was  the  system  ?     It  w^as  the  organisation  of 
do-nothing.     It  cannot  even  be  said  to  have  been  reactionary : 

lA\,  was  simply  inactionary.  About  the  contemporary  proceedings 
of  the  restored  tyrant  in  Piedmont,  when  he  sent  for  a  copy 
of  the  old  court  almanac,  and  had  everything  arranged  on  the 
pre-revolutionary  model,  there  was,  it  must  be  admitted,  a 
certain  foolish  vigour  ;  but  in  Austria  there  was  nothing  of  the 
kind.  '  Mark  time  in  place '  was  the  word  of  command  in 
every  government  office.  The  bureaucracy  was  engaged  from 
morning  to  night  in  making  work,  but  nothing  ever  came  of 
i/it.  Not  even  were  the  liberal  innovations  which  had  lasted 
through  the  reign  of  Leopold  got  rid  of  Everything  went  on 
in  the  confused,  unfinished,  and  ineffective  state  in  which  the 
great  war  had  found  it.  Such  was  the  famous  system  which 
was  venerated  by  the  ultra-Tories  of  every  land,  and  most 
venerated  where  it  was  least  understood. 

Two  men  dominate  the  history  of  Austria  during  this  un- 
happy time — men  who,  though  utterly  unlike  in  character 
and  intellect,  were  nevertheless  admirably  fitted  to  work 
together,  and  whose  names  will  be  long  united  in  an  unenvi- 

\/ible  notoriety.     These  were  the  Emperor  Francis  and  Prince 
^letternich.     The  first  was  the  evil  genius  of  internal  politics ; 


THE  EMPEROR  FRANCIS.  141 

the  second  exercised  a  hardly  less  baneful  influence  over 
foreign  affairs. 

The  Emperor  Francis  was  born  at  Florence  in  1768.  His 
slender  natural  abilities  received  little  aid  from  education 
during  the  first  sixteen  years  of  his  life,  but  in  1784  he  was 
summoned  to  Vienna,  to  be  trained,  under  the  eye  of  Joseph 
II.,  for  the  great  ofiice  to  which  his  birth  had  destined  him. 
An  account  of  his  hopeful  pupil,  by  the  emperor's  own  hand, 
still  remains  to  us  ;  and  it  would  be  difficult  anywhere  to  find  a 
more  pungent  satire.  The  selfishness,  the  falsehood,  the  dislike 
of  intellectual  exercise,  the  love  of  all  things  mean  and  trifling 
— which  are  the  principal  features  in  the  imperial  portrait,  as 
traced  by  the  hands  of  his  guardian — grew  with  his  growth, 
and  were  not  corrected  by  his  misfortunes.  True  it  is,  that 
whereas  in  youth  he  shunned  all  public  business,  he  worked  in 
age  with  the  assiduity  of  a  laborious  employe,  but  this  was  only 
because  he  had  discovered  that  public  as  well  as  private  aflairs 
have  their  trifling  side.  In  later  life  he  liked  to  have  as  many 
documents  as  possible  accumulated  in  his  cabinet ;  but  it  was 
always  the  important  ones  which  lay  for  weeks  upon  his  table, 
and  the  unimportant  ones  to  which  he  attended.  In  every 
part  of  his  empire,  as  in  his  own  entourage,  he  loved  to  repress 
whatever  was  vigorous  or  noble,  to  promote  what  was  common- 
place and  insignificant.  "  I  want,"  he  said  to  the  professors 
at  Laybach,  "obedient  subjects,  and  not  men  of  learning." 
"  Totus  mundus"  he  declared  at  Pesth,  ''shdtizat  et  mdt  Jiahere 
novas  constitutiones ;"  and  although  this  sally  was  coupled 
with  a  compliment  to  the  ancient  franchises  of  Hungary,  his 
conduct  amply  showed  that  he  hated  them  as  heartily  as  the 
bran-new  charters  of  Cadiz  or  of  Paris.  His  natural  love  of 
what  was  vulgar  led  him  to  prefer  the  Vienna  dialect ;  and  he 


142  AUSTRIA. 

was  cunning  enougli  to  see  that  lie  could,  by  indulging  this 
taste,  obtain  no  little  popularity  in  the  capital.  His  fancy  for 
busy  idleness  made  him  delight  in  giving  audiences ;  and  dur- 
ing a  single  journey  in  Italy  he  is  said  to  have  received  20,000 
people.  This  habit  gained  him  the  approbation  of  the  unre- 
flecting, who  forgot  that  the  time  spent  in  this  useless  activity 
was  stolen,  not  from  the  amusements  or  pageants  of  the  court, 
but  from  the  real  duties  of  the  monarch — duties  which,  had 
he  honestly  sought  to  discharge  them,  would  have  overwhelmed 
a  far  abler  man ;  for  he  had  concentrated  in  his  hands  the 
management,  or  mismanagement,  of  the  whole  of  the  Home 
Department,  and  of  the  Police.  This  last  was  his  favourite 
branch  of  administration,  because  the  reports  of  his  agents 
supplied  him  with  all  the  gossip  of  the  empire,  a  pleasure 
which  he  purchased,  as  all  rulers  do  who  have  similar  tastes, 
by  becoming  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  the  vilest  of  mankind. 
Such  a  character  and  such  a  system  of  government  naturally 
resulted  in  driving  the  best  men  far  away  from  court,  and  in 
giving  a  premium  to  worthlessness  and  servility.  Some  idea 
of  the  state  of  things  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  one 
of  his  prime  favourites  was  the  infamous  Kutschera,  who, 
when  in  the  height  of  his  influence,  got  into  trouble  with  the 
police,  for  appearing,  of  course  in  the  most  primitive  of  all 
costumes,  at  one  of  the  so-called  Adamite  balls  in  Vienna — a 
proceeding  which  was  passed  over  by  his  master,  with  a  re- 
mark which  had  rather  the  character  of  a  jest  than  of  a  repri- 
mand. Yet  the  private  life  of  the  monarch  was  correct,  and 
he  may  be  not  unreasonably  suspected  of  having  encouraged 
the  prevailing  vices  of  those  around  him  with  the  express  ob- 
ject of  degrading  them. 

The  father  of  Prince  Metternich  had  left  the  service  of 


METTERNICH.  143 

the  elector  of  Treves  for  that  of  the  emperor,  and  had  been 
employed  in  various  diplomatic  missions,  chiefly  amongst 
the  small  courts  of  the  Ehineland.  His  son,  born  at  Coblentz 
in  1783,  won  in  his  earliest  days  the  character  which  he  pre- 
served to  the  end,  and  was  ''fin,  faux,  and  fanfaron  "  before 
he  passed  out  of  boyhood.  Throughout  life  he  preserved  the 
impress  of  tlie  gay  and  joyous  life  which  characterised  the 
capitals  of  the  small  potentates,  whom  the  revolutionary  period 
swept  away  ;  and  long  as  he  lived  in  Vienna  he  never  became 
an  Austrian,  or  understood  the  vast  and  heterogeneous  empire 
with  which  his  name  is  so  closely  connected.  Neither  at  the 
University  of  Strasburg  nor  elsewhere  does  he  seem  to  have 
received  more  than  a  superficial  culture,  and  his  first  success 
was  gained  while  acting  a  part  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  im- 
perial coronation  at  Frankfort,  rather  by  the  elegance  of  his 
manners  and  his  good  looks,  than  by  any  more  solid  acquire- 
ments. He  soon  passed  into  the  imperial  service,  and  was 
sent  as  Minister  to  the  court  of  Dresden,  when  only  eight- 
and-twenty.  Here  there  was  little  to  do,  but  Berlin,  to  which 
he  was  presently  removed,  offered  a  wider  field  for  his  fine 
powers  of  intrigue.  He  managed  so  dexterously  to  recom- 
mend himself  to  his  French  colleagues,  that  it  was  soon  inti- 
mated at  Vienna  that  his  presence  as  Austrian  minister  in 
Paris  would  be  agreeable  to  Napoleon,  and  immediately  after 
the  battle  of  Wagram  he  took,  as  the  supposed  representative 
of  French  interests,  the  reins  of  the  Foreign  Department, 
which  he  held  till  they  dropped  from  his  hands  in  the  grand 
overturn  of  March  1848.  His  relations  to  his  suspicious 
master  must  have  been  at  first  extremely  difficult,  but  his 
great  tact  soon  enabled  him  to  make  himself  indispensable, 
and  the  pair  thoroughly  understood  each  other.     "  Sinere  res 


144  AUSTKIA. 

vadere  ut  vadunt"  was  the  motto  of  the  emperor  in  internal 
affairs  ;  and  for  the  external  policy  of  Prince  Metternich,  the 
first  and  most  necessary  condition  was,  that  Austria  should 
o-ive  to  Europe  the  impression  of  fixed  adherence  to  the  most 
extreme  Conservative  views.  So  for  many  years  they  worked 
too-ether,  Prince  Metternich  always  declaring  that  he  was  a 
mere  tool  in  the  hands  of  his  master,  but  in  reality  far  more 
absolute  in  the  direction  of  his  own  department  than  the  em- 
peror was  in  his.  For  Prince  Metternich,  although  by  no 
means  a  man  of  very  great  intellect,  or  dee^^  and  broad  cul- 
ture, was  at  least  ''pa?'  n&gotiis  ;"  while  his  master,  potent  in 
details  and  inefficiently  active,  was  constantly  being  led,  in 
important  matters,  by  men  who  appeared  to  be  the  humblest 
of  his  creatures.  Prince  Metternich  had  the  power  of  making 
the  most  of  all  he  knew,  and  constantly  left  upon  persons  of 
real  merit  the  impression  that  he  was  a  man  of  lofty  aspira- 
tions and  liberal  views,  who  forced  himself  to  repress  such 
tendencies  in  others  because  he  thought  that  their  repression 
was  a  sine  qua  non  for  Austria.  The  men  of  ability,  who 
knew  him  intimately,  thought  less  well  of  him.  To  them  he 
appeared  vain  and  superficial,  with  much  that  recalled  the 
French  noblesse  of  the  old  regime  in  his  way  of  looking  at 
things,  and  emphatically  wanting  in  every  element  of  great- 
ness. 

With  the  outbreak  of  the  Greek  insurrection  in  1821,  began 
a  period  of  difficulty  and  complications  for  the  statesmen  of 
Austria.  There  were  two  things  of  which  they  were  mortally 
afraid — Russia  and  the  revolution.  Now,  if  they  assisted  the 
Greeks,  they  would  be  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  second  ; 
and  if  they  opposed  the  Greeks,  they  would  be  likely  to  em- 
Ijroil  tliemselves  with   the  first.     Tlie  whole   art  of  Prince 


END   OF  THE  DIPLOMATIC  PERIOD.  145 

Metternicli  was  therefore  exerted  to  keep  things  quiet  in  the 
Eastern  Peninsula,  and  to  postpone  the  intolerable  "  qiiestion 
dj  Orient!'  Many  were  the  shifts  he  tried,  and  sometimes,  as 
just  after  the  accession  of  Nicholas,  his  hopes  rose  very  high. 
All  was,  however,  in  vain.  England  and  Eussia  settled  matters 
behind  his  back  ;  and  although  the  tone  which  the  publicists 
in  his  pay  adopted  towards  the  Greeks  became  more  favour- 
able in  1826-7,  the  battle  of  Navarino  was  a  sad  surprise  and 
mortification  to  the  wily  chancellor.  Not  less  annoying  was 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  on  the  Danube  between 
Eussia  and  the  Porte.  The  reverses  with  which  the  gTeat 
neighbour  met  in  his  first  campaign  cannot  have  been  other- 
wise than  pleasing  at  Vienna.  But  the  unfortunate  success 
which  attended  his  arms  in  the  second  campaign  soon  turned 
ill-dissembled  joy  into  ill-concealed  sorrow,  and  the  treaty  of 
Adrianople  at  once  lowered  Austria's  prestige  in  the  East,  and 
deposed  Metternich  from  the  commanding  position  which  he 
had  occupied  in  the  councils  of  the  Holy  Allies.  It  became, 
indeed,  ever  more  and  more  evident  in  the  next  few  years  that 
the  age  of  Congress  politics,  during  which  he  had  been  the 
observed  of  all  observers,  was  past  and  gone,  that  the  diplo- 
matic period  had  vanished  away,  and  that  the  military  period 
had  begun.  The  very  form  in  which  the  highest  international 
questions  were  debated  was  utterly  changed.  At  Vienna,  in 
1814,  the  diplomatists  had  been  really  the  primary,  the 
sovereigns  only  secondary  personages  ;  while  at  the  inter\dew 
of  Miinchengratz,  between  Nicholas  and  the  Emperor  Francis, 
in  1833,  the  great  autocrat  appeared  to  look  upon  Prince 
Metternich  as  hardly  more  than  a  confidential  clerk. 

The  dull  monotony  of  servitude  which  oppressed  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  empire  was  varied  by  the  agitations  of  one  of  its 

i  L 


146  AUSTRIA. 

component  parts.  When  the  Hungarian  Diet  was  dissolved 
in  1812,  the  emperor  had  solemnly  promised  that  it  should  be 
caUed  together  again  within  three  years.  Up  to  1815,  accord- 
ingly, the  nation  went  on  giving  extraordinary  le^des  and 
supplies  without  much  opposition.  When,  however,  the 
appointed  time  was  fulfilled,  it  began  to  murmur,  and  very 
soon  the  government  discovered  that,  instead  of  dealing  with 
a  single  Diet  assembled  at  Presburg,  it  was  engaged  in  the 
still  more  hopeless  task  of  attempting  to  coerce  a  miniature 
Diet  in  every  county  of  the  kingdom.  The  inhabitants  of 
more  civilised  portions  of  the  monarchy — the  Viennese  them- 
selves, for  example — could  be  amused  and  kept  in  good 
humour  without  thinking  of  politics  ;  but  to  the  Hungarians 
the  excitement  of  political  life  was  a  necessity.  It  was  as 
hopeless  to  try  to  eradicate  from  their  minds  the  desire  for 
free  political  discussion  as  it  has  been  found,  in  many  districts 
of  Western  Europe,  to  root  out  the  attachment  to  particular 
forms  of  religion  which  were  not  to  the  taste  of  the  ruling 
powers.  Year  by  year  the  agitation  went  on  increasing,  till 
at  last  the  breaking  out  of  the  Greek  revolution,  and  the 
threatening  appearance  of  Eastern  politics,  induced  Prince 
Metternich  to  join  his  entreaties  to  those  of  many  other 
counsellors,  who  could  not  be  suspected  of  the  slightest  lean- 
ing to  constitutional  views.  At  length  the  emperor  yielded, 
and  in  1825  Presburg  was  once  more  filled  with  the  best 
blood  and  most  active  spirits  of  the  land,  assembled  in  parlia- 
ment. 

Long  and  stormy  were  the  debates  which  ensued.  Bitter 
was,  from  time  to  time,  the  vexation  of  the  emperor,  and 
great  was  the  excitement  throughout  Hungary.  In  the  end, 
however,  the  court  of  Vienna  triumphed.     Hardly  any  griev- 


THE   GREEK   REVOLUTION.  147 

ances  were  redressed,  while  its  demands  were  fully  conceded. 
The  Diet  of  1825  was,  however,  not  without  fruit.  The  dis- 
cussion which  took  place  advanced  the  political  education  of 
the  people,  who  were  brought  back  to  the  point  where  they 
stood  at  the  death  of  Joseph  II.  — that  is,  before  the  long  wars 
with  France  had  come  to  distract  their  attention  from  their 
own  affairs.  The  hands  of  the  party  which,  while  it  wished  to 
preserve  the  old  constitution  as  against  Austria,  saw  that 
that  constitution  required  amendment,  were  greatly  strength- 
ened, and  France  and  England  were  taught  for  the  first  time 
to  sympathise  with  the  liberal  aspirations  of  a  country  which 
had  most  truly,  up  to  that  time,  been  "  Terra  Incognita." 

Sharp  as  was  the  contest  between  the  government  and  the 
people  in  Hungary,  it  caused  little  excitement  in  the  provinces 
on  the  western  bank  of  the  Leitha.  The  tranquil  surface  of  the 
public  mind  was,  however,  rippled  by  the  Greek  revolution. 
There  was  too  little  classical  knowledge  in  Austria  to  call  forth 
such  enthusiasm  as  was  excited  in  England,  or  even  in  North 
Germany  ;  but  some  memories  of  the  Turkish  wars  remained, 
and  in  Prague  the  Czechish  population,  which  was  beginning 
to  awake  from  a  sleep  of  two  centuries,  did  not  forget  that  in 
Bosnia,  in  Servia,  and  in  other  districts  of  the  Eastern  Peninsula, 
men,  of  blood  and  language  nearly  allied  to  their  own,  were 
suffering  under  a  yoke  from  which  they  had  themselves  only 
been  saved  by  the  exploits  of  a  Sclavonic  hero — the  gallant 
John  Sobieski.  There  were  not  wanting,  also,  in  the  Ger- 
manic provinces,  persons  of  a  conservative  turn  of  mind, 
who  dreamt  of  compensating  the  losses  of  the  mediatised 
princes  by  cutting  up  Eoumelia,  Bulgaria,  and  other  such 
outlandish  districts,  into  little  principalities  for  those  injured 
potentates ;  while   others,  who  thought  that   the  only  two 


148  AUSTRIA. 

things  which  the  well-disposed  in  Central  Europe  wanted 
were  "  the  Word  of  God  and  a  navy/'  fancied  that  both  those 
good  things  might  be  brought  to  them  if  only  the  Turk 
could  be  driven  back  "  to  his  old  Asian  seats."  For  the  first 
four  years  of  the  war  the  Austrian  government  spared  no 
pains  to  show  its  contempt  for  these  illusions.  Ypsilanti 
was  shut  up  in  Munkacs.  No  phil-Hellenes  were  allowed  to 
pass  through  Austria  to  the  scene  of  the  conflict,  and 
Austrian  subjects  were  protected  against  the  Greek  cruisers 
in  carrying  contraband  of  war  to  their  enemies  ;  while  the 
utmost  publicity  was  given  in  the  of&cial  organs  to  every 
piece  of  news  which  was  calculated  to  influence  public  opinion 
against  the  Greeks.  All  this,  as  we  have  seen,  was  slightly 
modified  in  the  last  years  of  the  struggle,  but  the  general  re- 
sult was,  that  the  Greek  revolution  had  very  little  effect  in 
stimulating  a  desire  for  liberty  in  Austria. 

Far  more  formidable  was  the  wave  of  sentiment  which 
was  propagated  over  the  country  by  the  Polish  struggle  of 
1831.  In  Hungary  the  storm  rose  very  high,  and  the  county 
meetings  offered  large  supplies  in  men  and  money  to  the 
government  if  it  woidd  take  the  field  on  the  side  of  the 
insurgents  ;  but  Hungary  did  not  stand  alone,  and  more 
especially  in  Bohemia  the  public  mind  was  very  deeply  stirred. 
In  that  province  the  successes  of  the  Poles  were  considered 
as  national  glories  by  a  population  which,  while  it  dreamt  of 
a  great  Pan-Sclavic  future,  amusingly  enough  forgot  that  this 
was,  from  a  Pan-Sclavic  point  of  view,  only  a  civil  war — one 
portion  of  the  illustrious  and  high-destined  family  cutting 
the  throats  of  the  other.  The  Austrian  government  secretly 
encouraged  tlie  revolution  of  1831,  just  as  it  encouraged  the 
more  recent  revolution  which  we  have  so  lately  witnessed. 


THE  POLISH  INSURRECTION  OF  1831.  149 

So  good  ail   opportunity  of  weakening  the  Colossus  which 
overshadowed  the  empire  it  was  not  in  human  nature  to  lose ; 
but  even  if  it  had  not  wished  well  to  the  movement,  it  would 
have  found  it  difficult  openly  to  take  the  side  of  Eussia. 
The  hopes  and   sorrows  of  the   Poles   touched  a  chord  in 
Austria  which  no  other  revolution  had  struck  there.     We 
see  in  this  the  first  great  political  result  of  that  spirit  of 
nationality  which  was  evoked  in  many  of  the  provinces  by 
the  essentially  German  legislation  of  Joseph  II.     Of  this  we 
shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter.     For  the  present  the  effect 
was  only  a  wave  of  sympathy  which  rolled  across  the  empire. 
The  slumbers  of  Austria  were  not  yet   over.     The  system 
dragged  its  slow  length  along.     Little  or  nothing  was  done 
for  the  improvement  of  the  country.     Klebelsberg  adminis- 
tered the  finances  in   an  easy  and  careless  manner.     Con- 
spiracies and  risings  in  Italy  were  easily  checked,  and  batches 
of  prisoners  sent  off  from  time  to  time  to  Mantua  or  Spielberg. 
Austrian  influence  rose  ever  higher  and  higher  in  all  the 
petty  courts  of  the  Peninsula ;    and  even  Nicholas,  in  his 
hatred    of    revolution,   was    induced,    contrary   to    the    old 
traditions  of  Eussia,  to  aid  the  advance  of  Austrian  garrisons 
further  and  further  towards   the   south.     In   other  regions 
Eussia  or  England  might  be  willing  to  thwart  him,  but  in 
Italy  Prince  Metternich  might  proudly  reflect  that  Austria 
was  indeed  a   "great   power."      The  French  Eevolution  of 
1830  was   at  first  alarming  ;    but  when  it  resulted  in  the 
enthronement  of  a  dynasty  which  called  to  its  aid  a  ''  cabinet 
of  repression,"  all  fears  were  stiUed.     The  Emperor  Francis 
continued  to    say,   when    any   change   was   proposed,    "  We 
must  sleep  upon  it,"  and  died  in  1835  in  "  the  abundance  of 
peace." 


150  AUSTRIA. 

The  mob  of  Vienna,  when  they  raged  against  Prince 
"  Mitternacht"  in  1848,  were  under  a  great  mistake— a 
mistake  which  they  shared  with  their  betters  in  most  coun- 
tries. They  fancied  that  he  was  the  pivot  round  which  the 
whole  state  machine  revolved,  and  that  without  him  it  could 
not  exist.  In  truth,  however,  the  period  of  Prince  Metter- 
nich's  hi^'^hest  influence  in  European  politics  extends  from 
1814  till  the  rising  of  the  twin  but  adverse  stars  of  Canning 
and  of  Nicholas.  The  liberal  policy  of  the  one,  and  the 
purely  hayonet  policy  of  the  other,  were  both  fatal  to  the 
ascendancy  of  a  system  which  was  based  upon  diplomatic 
intrigue.  As  far  as  Austria  herself  was  concerned.  Prince 
Metternich's  influence  was  unimpaired,  within  his  own 
department,  up  to  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Francis  in  1835 ; 
and  although  the  testament  in  which  that  monarch  recom- 
mended the  veteran  statesman  to  his  successor  as  the  most 
faithful  of  his  adherents  turned  out  to  be  a  forgery,  it  doubt- 
less expressed  his  real  opinions. 

It  was  no  secret  in  Vienna  that  the  harmless  and 
amiable  Ferdinand,  who,  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  succeeded 
his  imperial  father,  was  quite  unequal  to  the  duties  which 
absolute  power  imposes  upon  him  who  wields  it.  The 
necessity  of  providing  some  substitute  had  been  long  fore- 
seen, but  had,  characteristically  enough,  not  been  provided 
for,  as  anything  seemed  better  than  agitating  the  minds  of 
men  by  a  premature  announcement  to  all  the  empire  of  the 
sovereign's  weakness.  After  many  months  spent  in  discus- 
sion and  intrigue.  Prince  Metternich,  Count  Kolowrat,  and  the 
Archduke  Louis,  were  formed  into  a  triumvirate,  and  became 
for  a  time  the  wtual  rulers  of  Austria.  Kolowrat  had  long  been 
the  riglit-liand  man  of  the  Emperor  Francis  in  the  manage- 


THE  TRIUMVIRATE.  ^V /  ^^P 

ment  of  internal  affairs,  and  the  imagination  of  the  multitude  «    ) 

had  quite  erroneously  invested  him  with  a  halo  of  liberalism, 
so  that  he  passed  for  the  antithesis  of  Metternich,  whose  name  . 
had  been  long  a  byword  for  his  opposition  to  all  reform.  In  ^ 
truth,  Kolo^Tat,  although  more  educated  than  his  master, 
shared  the  narrow  views  of  the  emperor,  and  was  little  better, 
as  far  as  his  imMic  character  was  concerned,  than  the  civil 
equivalent  of  Kutschera,  the  notorious  adjutant,  whose  name 
we  have  akeady  mentioned.  The  Archduke  Louis  had  no 
higher  idea  of  governing  than  to  take  care  that  everything 
should  be  done  as  it  had  been  done  in  the  time  of  his  brother, 
whose  passion  for  inefficient  acti\dty  in  the  details  of  adminis- 
tration he  fully  shared.  It  was  under  the  auspices  of  these 
three  personages  that  the  old  order  in  Austria  dragged  itseK 
towards  its  doom.  The  system,  which  two  of  them  had  done 
much  to  create,  they  kept  to  the  end.  Day  by  day  it  became 
less  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  time,  and  day  by  day  the  gulf 
between  the  people  and  their  governors  became  wider  and 
wider.  As  years  passed  on,  it  seemed  as  if  the  noisy  but 
wholly  ineffective  clatter  of  the  state  machine  had  lulled  those 
who  managed  it  into  sleep.  Metternich,  more  especially  after 
his  diplomatic  mishaps  in  the  year  1840,  became  quite  super- 
annuated, and  the  real  business  of  his  office  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Ficquelmont  and  other  secondary  persons. 

Meanwhile  dissatisfaction,  and  even  insubordination,  were 
spreading  in  the  most  diverse  shapes  over  every  province. 
In  the  Tyrol  it  was  the  clergy  who  felt  themselves  sufficiently 
strong  to  force  the  government  to  come  to  terms.  The  Em- 
peror Francis,  it  must  be  remembered  to  his  honour,  had, 
while  he  professed,  and  doubtless  entertained,  highly  orthodox 
opinions,  walked  in  the  paths  of  Joseph  II.,  so  far  as  the  re- 


152  AUSTRIA. 

lations  of  tlie  church  and  the  state  were  concerned,  and  asserted 
his  own  supremacy  with  sufficient  sternness.  The  reins  were 
now  somewhat  looser,  and  the  wary  ecclesiastics  soon  saw 
their  advantage.  It  was  in  1837,  two  years  after  the  death 
of  Francis,  that  the  eleven  years'  contest  about  the  Protestants 
of  the  Zillerthal  ended  in  those  unfortunate  persons  accepting 
the  hospitality  of  the  king  of  Prussia,  and  leaving  their  own 
beautiful  valley  to  seek  an  asylum  in  Silesia,  after  undergoing 
a  long  course  of  molestation,  which  was  equally  opposed  to 
the  Josephine  laws  and  to  the  federal  obligations  of  the 
Austrian  empire.  The  conduct  of  the  government  iii  this 
matter  was  determined  rather  by  weakness  than  by  evil  will, 
and  it  showed  itself  almost  equally  powerless  in  dealing  with 
opponents  of  a  very  different  kind. 

Long  before  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Francis  the  national 
spirit  in  Hungary  had,  as  we  have  seen,  become  thoroughly 
roused  ;  but  in  the  Diet — which  assembled  in  1832,  and  con- 
tinued to  sit  till  1836 — symptoms  of  a  far  more  serious  kind 
became  visible  than  any  which  had  been  seen  in  1825.  The 
old  patriotic  party,  which  had  only  thought  of  defending  the 
ancient  constitution,  with  all  its  merits  and  abuses,  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  Kaiser,  was  now  pushed  aside  by  a  new 
party,  which  aimed  at  procuring  for  Hungary  a  series  of  re- 
forms wliich  should  make  her  a  liberal  state  after  the  western 
model.  It  was  in  this  Diet  that  the  grievances,  which  had 
been  formulised  by  the  Diet' of  1790,  first  came  on  for  serious 
debate.  These  were,  according  to  Paget,  who  was  himself  in 
Hungary  at  this  time — 

"  That  Dalmatia,  Transylvania,  Galicia,  and  Lodomeria  should  be 
re-incorporated  with  Hungary  ;  that  the  military  frontiers  should  be 
placed  under  the  command  of  the  Palatine,  and  governed  by  Hungarian 
laws ;  tliat  thi>  duty  on  salt  should  be  reduced  ;    that  the  edicts  of  go- 


HUNGARY.  153 

Vernment  to  officers  of  justice  should  be  discontinued  ;  that  the  laws 
respecting  the  taxes  on  the  clergy  should  be  observed  ;  that  the  Hun- 
garian chancery  should  be  made  really,  not  merely  nominally,  inde- 
pendent of  the  Austrian  chancery  ;  that  the  coinage  should  bear  the 
arms  of  Hungary,  and  that  the  exportation  of  gold  and  silver  should  be 
prevented  ;  that  the  j)aper  money  should  be  abolished,  and  a  return 
made  to  a  metallic  currency  ;  that  the  Himgarian  language  should  be 
used  in  all  official  business  ;  that  the  fiscal  estates,  such  as  have  fallen 
to  the  crown  on  the  extinction  of  the  families  to  whom  they  were 
granted,  should,  as  the  law  directs,  be  given  only  as  the  reward  of 
public  services,  and  not  sold,  as  at  present,  to  the  highest  bidder ;  and, 
lastly,  that  spies  should  not  be  employed  and  trusted  by  the  Austrian 
government." 

But  the  discussion  of  grievances  was  not  all.  'New  names 
and  new  projects  appeared.  It  was  now  that  Kossuth  first 
made  himself  conspicuous,  not  by  his  speeches — for  his 
subordinate  position,  as  the  mere  delegate  of  a  magnate's 
widow,  did  not  give  him  the  right  to  vote,  and  hardly 
the  right  to  speak — but  by  the  system  of  reporting  which 
he  organised.  It  was  in  this  Diet  too  that  the  good  Stephen 
Szechenyi  first  proposed  the  building  of  a  chain-bridge 
to  unite  Pesth  with  Buda — a  proposal  which,  imimportant 
as  it  appears  at  first  sight,  contained  the  germ  of  a  com- 
plete political  and  social  revolution.  Some  of  our  readers 
may  remember  the  long  bridge  of  boats  which  in  the 
simimer  of  1847,  and  perhaps  for  some  time  Jater,  connected 
the  two  lialves  of  the  Hungarian  capital.  If  so,  they  must 
have  observed  that  while  most  of  the  persons  whose  dress  and 
appearance  showed  that  their  position  in  society  was  a  humble 
one,  paid  toll  as  they  passed  the  bridge,  most  of  those  who 
appeared  to  belong  to  the  higher  ranks  passed  without  chal- 
lenge. The  immunity  which  the  Hungarian  nohilis,  who  was 
in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  in  no  respect  what  we 
call  a  noble,  but  merely  a  freeman,  or  member  of  a  p^rivileged 


154  AUSTRIA.  :' 

class,  and  indeed  often  a  pauper,  enjoyed  at  this  bridge,  was 
a  type  of  the  immunity  which  he  boasted  from  all  dues  and 
taxes  whatever,  which  were  borne  by  the  misera  contribiiens 
plehs.  Szechenyi  proposed  that,  with  a  view  to  defray  the 
expense  of  the  new  bridge,  the  nobles  should  abdicate,  as  far 
as  it  was  concerned,  their  special  privilege  ;  and  it  was  clear 
that  when  such  a  privilege  was  abandoned  in  any  one  instance 
for  the  sake  of  the  pubHc  weal,  its  final  abolition  was  only  a 
matter  of  time.  The  proposition  was  carried,  as  were  also 
several  other  measures  of  reform,  and  with  this  Diet  the  pre- 
paration for  the  Hungarian  revolution  may  be  considered  to 
have  begun.  The  flowing  tide  of  liberal  sentiment  in  Hun- 
gary was  soon  aided  by  an  agitation,  chiefly  amongst  the  Mag- 
yar population  of  Transylvania,  which  in  1834  forced  the 
government  to  convoke  the  Transylvanian  Diet,  which  had, 
contrary  to  law,  been  left  unsummoned  for  twenty-three  years. 
The  leader  of  the  patriotic  movement  in  Transylvania,  the  im- 
petuous Wesselyeni,  the  true  son  of  his  father,  who  had  been 
shut  up  for  four  years  in  Kufstein  for  storming  the  castle  of 
an  obnoxious  neighbour,  soon  passed  beyond  safe  limits,  and 
was  imprisoned  by  the  government,  a  fate  which  also  befell 
Kossuth,  and  some  young  men  who  had  tried  to  walk  in  his 
steps.  But  these  measures  only  tended  to  increase  the  un- 
popularity of  the  ruling  powers,  and  to  sow  disaffection  wider. 
The  lead  in  the  movement  was  taken  by  the  Magyars,  who 
comprised  a  very  much  larger  portion  of  the  privileged  class 
than  any  of  the  other  numerous  nationalities  which  inhabit 
Hungary.  Unfortunately  for  them,  their  pre-eminence  was 
too  undisputed,  and  day  by  day  the  agitation  assumed  more 
of  a  Magyar  character,  while  it  became  evident  that  the  victory 
of  the  movement  party  would  be  anything  but  a  triumph  for 


CROATIA.  155 

the  Sclave,  or  the  Eoiiman  population.  A  national  revival 
which  had  taken  place  amongst  the  Sclavacks,  or  Sclaves  of 
north-western  Hungary,  had  taken  the  form  partly  of  a  pas- 
sive resistance  to  the  exaggerated  claims  of  the  Magyars, 
partly  of  a  controversy  with  the  Czechs  of  Prague,  as  to  the 
respective  merits  of  the  Sclavack  and  Czechian  dialects.  But 
the  linguistic  enthusiasm  of  the  Croats,  another  branch  of  the 
great  Sclave  family,  soon  became  more  formidable.  For  gener- 
ations there  had  existed  a  party  in  Croatia  which  resisted  what 
it  considered  the  exaggerated  claims  of  the  Presburg  Diet,  and 
aimed  at  giving  greater  power  to  the  minor  Diet  which  as- 
sembled at  Agram.  A  long  controversy  had  been  waged  about 
the  relations  to  Croatia  and  Hungary  respectively,  of  the  dis- 
trict between  the  Save  and  the  Danube,  which  is  usually 
known  as  Sclavonia,  and  about  the  port  of  Fiume  in  the  Ad- 
riatic. These,  and  other  ancient  matters  of  dispute,  were  of 
course  called  into  new  life  when  the  Magyars  proposed  to 
abolish  the  use  of  the  Latin,  which  had  for  ages  been  the  lan- 
guage of  business  in  Hungary,  and  to  oblige  every  one  who 
wished  the  smallest  possible  public  office  throughout  the 
whole  of  Hungary  to  speak  Magyar,  thereby  coniming  in 
practice  the  use  of  all  other  languages  to  the  family  circle. 
It  is  possible  that  the  reaction  in  favour  of  their  own  nation- 
ality among  the  Croats  might  not  have  reached  a  dangerous 
height  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  efforts  of  Louis  Gai,  a  joiu-nal- 
ist  of  great  talent,  who,  after  having  been  brought  up  at  a 
German  university,  returned  to  Croatia,  and  started  a  news- 
paper, with  the  view  of  advocating  the  claims  of  his  country- 
men to  become  the  leaders  of  a  great  lUyrian  movement, 
which  was  to  embrace  not  only  Dalmatia,  Croatia,  and  Scla- 
vonia, but  also  a  large  portion  of  European  Turkey.     Increased 


156  AUSTRIA. 

experience  of  tlie  world  soon  showed  Gai  that  his  dreams  were 
at  least  premature,  but  he  roused  an  enthusiasm  which  was 
artfully  taken  advantage  of  by  men  who  were  looking  nearer 
home,  to  excite  the  Croats  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the 
Magyar  majority  in  the  Presburg  l)iet.  When,  therefore,  that 
majority  succeeded,  in  1844,  in  getting  the  Vienna  authorities 
upon  theu'  side,  and  in  making  Magyar  the  official  language 
of  the  whole  of  Hungary,  the  irritation  of  the  Croats  became 
very  bitter,  and  they  were  in  consequence  a  ready  instrument 
in  the  hands  of  the  Austrian  government,  some  years  later, 
in  opposing  the  ultra-Magyar  party,  by  force  of  arms,  although 
there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that,  at  the  moment  of  which  we 
are  speaking,  the  policy  of  Vienna  was  dictated  by  any  "vdews 
about  the  use  to  which  the  Croats  might  be  put,  if  the  worst 
came  to  the  worst,  in  Hungary.  Indeed,  the  evidence  is  all 
the  other  way.  The  men  of  the  system  followed  their  wonted 
habit,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  keeping  things  quiet.  "  If 
the  Hungarians  were  to  ask  for  the  moon,"  it  was  truly  said 
at  this  time,  "  I  verily  believe  that  the  Austrian  government 
would  not  refuse  their  request,  but  would  only  say  that  the 
matter  required  matm^e  consideration." 

Wliile  the  linguistic  controversy  was  inflaming  the  pas- 
sions of  the  Magyars,  and  exciting  anti-Magyar  feelings 
through  all  the  non-Magyar  populations  of  Hungary,  a  number 
of  other  irritating  questions  were  being  discussed  in  successive 
Diets,  in  the  county  meetings,  and  in  the  press,  which  last, 
chiefly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Kossuth,  had  suddenly 
grown  into  a  great  power.  There  was  the  question  of  the  re- 
ligious education  to  be  given  to  the  children  of  mixed  mar- 
riages— a  most  important  matter  in  a  country  where  the 
rrotestants  arc  so  numerous.     This  subject  of  dispute,  after  a 


HUNGARIAN    PARTIES.  157 

long  struggle  with  the  Ultramontanes,  was  settled  in  a  liberal 
sense.  There  was  the  question  of  the  abolition  of  the  im- 
munities of  the  ^whiles  in  matters  of  taxation,  of  the  increase 
of  the  political  power  of  the  urban  commimities,  of  the  better 
ordering  of  the  counties,  of  the  criminal  law%  of  improving  the 
material  condition  of  the  country,  with  many  others.  Dis- 
cussion gTadually  opened  the  eyes  of  nearly  all  politicians  to 
the  necessity  of  making  vast  changes  in  Hungary,  and  three 
parties  slowly  separated  themselves  and  fell  into  rank. 
These  were — (1.)  the  Conservatives,  led  by  the  Chancellor 
Appon}d,  who  wished  for  a  strongly-centralised  government 
of  the  absolutist  kind,  the  driving-wheel  of  which  should  be 
in  Vienna ;  (2.)  the  Liberals,  led  by  Deak,  who  wished  for  a 
government  of  the  constitutional  kind,  based  on  a  reform  of 
the  old  institutions  of  Hungary,  the  driving-wheel  of  which 
should  be  the  Diet ;  (3.)  a  party  whose  views  were  as  yet  in- 
determinate, but  which  became,  in  1848-49,  the  revolutionary 
and  democratic  party,  and  which,  in  the  Diet  of  1847,  was  led 
by  Kossuth.  Count  Stephen  Szechenyi  became  a  little  before 
this  time  identified  with  the  Conservative  party,  much  in  the 
same  way  in  which  we  have  seen  M.  Michel  Chevalier 
gradually  become  an  out-and-out  imperialist,  because  he 
thought  that  through  the  Conservatives  and  the  Vienna 
government  his  plans  for  the  material  amelioration  of  the 
country  would  best  be  carried  out. 

An  important  section  of  the  second  party  was  led  by  Baron 
Joseph  Eotvos,  who,  possessing  a  far  deeper  knowledge  of 
political  science  than  most  of  his  countrymen,  and  entitled, 
from  his  wide  and  varied  knowledge,  to  take  rank  among  the 
best  of  his  contemporaries,  looked  with  impatience  on  the 
many  follies  and  atrocities  of  the   old  Hungarian  system, 


158  AUSTRIA. 

which  he  has  satirised  in  The  Village  Notary,  aud  would  have 
desired  to  govern  Hungary  on  a  more  centralised  system,  the 
driving-wheel  of  which  should  be  the  Diet,  amended  and  made 
into  a  parliament  after  the  English  manner. 

These  parties  met  in  the  Diet  of  1847,  and  in  its  discus- 
sions were  being  gradually  shaped  and  moulded.  What  forms 
they  aU,  and  especially  the  third,  might  ultimately  have  taken, 
if  the  Eevolution  had  not,  in  February  1848,  broken  out  in 
Paris,  it  is  impossible  to  say  ;  but  that  event  acted  in  Hungary, 
as  in  so  many  other  places,  like  a  torch  in  a  powder  magazine. 
On  the  1st  of  March  1847,  Kossuth  rose  and  said :  ''  Tliere 
are  moments  when  the  legislature  must  not  only  demand  re- 
forms, but  also  w^ard  off  dangers."  With  these  words  the 
curtain  fell  upon  the  old  party  contests. 

The  interest  wliich  attaches  to  all  that  is  passing  in  Hun- 
gary at  the  present  moment  has  induced  us  to  trace  the  course 
of  events  in  that  country  at  far  greater  length  than  it  will  be 
necessary  to  do  those  of  the  rest  of  the  empire. 

The  assemblies  of  the  nobles  in  the  provinces  on  this  side 
the  Leitha,  more  especially  in  Bohemia  and  Lower  Austria, 
began  also  during  this  period  to  show  symptoms  of  discontent. 
Their  efforts  were,  as  was  perhaps  natural,  chiefly  directed  to 
obtain  greater  liberty,  and  some  substantial  share  of  political 
power,  for  their  own  class  ;  but  their  members  were  by  no 
means  unaffected  by  the  liberal  aspirations  of  more  advanced 
countries.  Many  of  them  were  more  or  less  familiar  with 
French  and  English  literature,  or  had  travelled  in  Western 
Europe  ;  and  their  efforts,  if  barren  of  immediate  political 
advantage  to  themselves,  nevertheless  cast  further  discredit 
upon  the  system,  by  showing  not  only  its  inapplicability  to 


GENERAL  DISAFFECTION.  159 

inoderu  exigencies,  but,  in  some  cases,  its  distinct  opposition 
to  still  unrepealed  laws. 

The  nobility  was  the  only  class  which  could  give  voice  to 
its  complaints,  but  the  professional  and  commercial  classes 
suffered  at  least  equally.  The  system  had  succeeded  in  re- 
pressing, but  not  Id  crushing,  the  intelligence  of  the  empire. 
There  grew  up  after  the  year  1815,  very  slowly  and  gradually, 
a  race  of  men  to  whom  the  articles  of  the  court  journalists 
and  the  verses  of  the  court  poets  were  wholly  intolerable. 
There  was  a  time  when  the  self-satisfied  saying — 

"  s'ist  nur  a  Kaiserstadt  s'ist  niir  a  Wien," 

represented  the  creed  of  all  the  German-speaking  subjects 

of  the  kaiser ;  but  that  delusion  had   hardly  outlived  the 

Emperor  Francis,  and  by  the  year  1840  had  quite  vanished 

away.     The  censorship  was  now  felt  to  be  an  evil  which  was 

only  endurable  because  it  was  so  constantly  evaded.     It  had 

become,  indeed,  to  a  great  extent  inoperative ;  for  so  surely 

as  a  work  was  pronounced  harmless  by  the  censor,  the  public 

refused  to  buy  it,  and  so  surely  as  a  work  printed  in  Leipzig 

or  Hamburg  obtained  the  distinction  of  a  "  damnatur,"  it  was 

sure  to  be  smuggled  in  scores  over  all  the  northern  frontiers. 

Instead  of  the  literature  of  the  Eomanticists,  some  of  w^hom 

I    had  looked  lovingly  to  Austria,  and  had  even  selected  it  for 

their  habitation,  there  were  the  spirit-stirring  verses  of  Count 

Auersperg  (Anastasius  Grlin),  whose  Spaziergdnge  eines  Wiener 

Poeten  attacked  the  existing  state  of  things  in  no  measured 

!     way.     The  government  itself  was  obliged  to  call  in  the  assist- 

I     ance  of  strictly-prohibited  journals,  if  it  wished  to  defend 

I     ItseK  with  effect  ;    for  to  the  statements  of  the  authorised 

organs  no  credence  at  all  was  attached.     The  schools  were 


160  AUSTRIA. 

everywhere  in  an  utterly  A\Tetched  condition ;  and  the  few 
Austrian  subjects  who  could  boast  of  any  superior  acquire- 
ments had  either  obtained  them  abroad,  or  only  after  a 
laborious  course  of  study  at  home,  the  first  step  of  which  was 
to  blot  out  from  their  memories  nine-tenths  of  what  they  had 
acquired  from  their  teachers. 

The  last  blow  was  given  to  the  tottering  edifice  by  the 
events  which  took  place  in  the  Polish  provinces  in  1846. 
For  some  months  it  had  been  manifest  to  all  who  had  eyes  to 
see,  that  the  Poles  of  the  emigration  were  about  to  make  a 
new  attack  upon  their  enemies.  Warsaw  was  their  principal 
object,  but  they  proposed  to  begin  operations  in  Posen  and 
Galicia.  The  little  independent  republic  of  Cracow,  the  last 
remnant  of  ancient  Poland  which  had  not  been  seized  by  the 
spoiler,  was  the  centre  of  their  patriotic  but  foolish  machina- 
tions ;  and  the  21st  of  February  1846  was  destined  for  the 
outbreak  of  the  insurrection.  The  Austrian  government, 
although  quite  aware  of  what  was  intended,  took  its  measures 
so  badly  as  to  allow  General  Collin,  who  had  marched  into 
Cracow  at  the  request  of  the  representatives  of  the  three 
partitioning  powers,  to  be  overwhelmed  and  driven  out, — 
the  honour  of  the  Austrian  flag  being  only  saved  by  the 
courage  and  conduct  of  Benedek,  whose  name  became 
then  for  the  first  time  famous.  The  same  carelessness 
which  the  rulers  showed  in  not  sufficiently  strengthening 
the  hands  of  Collin,  led  them  to  neglect  giving  specific 
orders  to  the  officials  who  were  scattered  through  the  Polish 
provinces.  The  result  of  this  was,  that  when  the  insurrection 
broke  out,  and  the  Euthenian  peasants  came  to  ask  what  part 
tliey  slioiild  take,  they  were  too  often,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
directed  by  men  who  were  in  panic-fear  for  their  own  lives 


THE  GALICIAN  MASSACRES.  161 

to  secure  the  persons  of  their  disaffected  Polish  landlords, 
living  or  dead. 

How  far  the  Vienna  authorities  were  accessories  before 
the  fact  to  the  hideous  massacres  which  followed,  it  is  very- 
difficult  to  decide.  Certain  it  is,  that  after  the  insurrection 
had  broken  out,  rewards  were  paid  by  Austrian  emiploy&s 
to  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  massacres.  And 
on  the  heads  of  those  whose  culpable  negligence  permitted 
such  things  to  happen,  must  rest  an  amount  of  reprobation 
but  little  inferior  to  what  would  have  been  their  due  if,  as 
was  loudly  asserted  by  the  Poles,  and  very  generally  believed 
throughout  Europe,  they  had  deliberately  planned  out  for  the 
assassins  their  bloody  and  terrible  work. 

Before  the  end  of  the  year  1846  Cracow  was  seized  by 
Austria,  in  spite  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  France  and  Eng- 
land,— a  proceeding  for  which  there  is  but  one  excuse,  and 
that  is,  that  Prince  Metternich  knew  ]3erfectly  well  that  if 
Austria  hesitated  to  do  the  deed,  Eussia  was  determined  not 
to  be  so  scrupulous.  The  massacres  had  excited  the  people 
against  Austria  all  through  Western  Europe.  The  incorpora- 
tion of  Cracow  was  not  less  successful  in  alienating  states- 
men. By  that  act  Metternich  stultified  his  whole  life,  threw 
ridicule  upon  the  treaty  of  Yienna,  and  illustrated  once  more 
the  true -words  of  the  poet — 

"  Qiiam  temere  in  nosmet  legem  sancimus  iniquam," 

by  affording  an  admirable  precedent  to  be  followed  in  the 
case  of  Lombardy* 

Such  were  the  effects  of  the  occurrences  in  Austrian 
Poland  upon  the  foreign  relations  of  the  empire,  but  they 
were  hardly  less  momentous  in  their  influence  upon  its  inter- 
nal condition.     The  detestation  with  which  the  Euthenian 

M 


162  AUSTRIA. 

peasants  regarded  their  Polish  landlords  was  the  result  not 
only  of  differences  of  race  and  of  religion,  but  of  long  ages  of 
oppression.  It  was  quite  clear  that  the  relations  between  the 
owners  and  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  those  provinces  must  be 
materially  altered  ;  but  no  sooner  was  the  idea  of  an  import- 
ant alteration  anywhere  introduced,  than  the  leading  idea  of 
the  SYSTEM  was  shown  to  be  unsound.  From  the  moment 
that  changes  began  to  be  made  in  the  landed  tenures  of  the 
Polish  provinces,  partial  and  ineffective  though  those  changes 
were,  the  desire  for  change  seized  the  one  class  which  had 
hitherto  been  on  the  side  of  the  government,  from  Bodenbach 
to  Orsova.  The  stu;^id  Conservatism  of  the  peasants  was  at 
an  end,  and  one  more  element  of  confusion  was  introduced. 

Those  who  were  politically  or  pecuniarily  interested  in 
Austria,  will  not  soon  forget  with  what  anxiety  they  watched 
for  the  first  news  of  the  effect  which  should  be  produced  in 
that  country  by  the  news  of  the  February  revolution  in  Paris. 
No  one  could  have  visited  any  part  of  the  empire,  during  the 
course  of  1847,  without  perceiving  that  everywhere  a  most 
dangerous  spirit  was  at  work.  The  question  which  no 
stranger  who  had  not  enjoyed  very  exceptional  opportunities 
could  answer,  was,  How  far  mil  it  be  in  the  power  of  the 
government  to  put  down  firmly  and  finally  any  troubles  that 
may  break  out  ?  For  as  to  the  certainty  of  troubles  breaking 
out  there  really  could  be  no  doubt,  unless,  indeed,  in  the 
minds  of  Prince  Metternich  and  his  friends,  who  seem  to 
have  foreseen  nothing,  and  provided  against  nothing. 

The  first  effects  were  seen  in  Presburg,  but  the  echo  of  the 
words  of  Kossuth,  to  which  we  have  alluded  above,  died 
away  before  they  reached  our  shores,  and  Englishmen  first 
learned  that  a  storm  was  about  to  burst  when  thev  heard  of 


KOSSUTH.  163 

the  disturbances  in  tlie  Austrian  capital  upon  the  13th  of 
March,  followed,  as  they  soon  were,  by  the  resignation  and 
flidit  of  Prince  Metternich. 

The  words  of  Kossuth  on  the  1st  of  March  marked,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  end  of  "  the  old  order."  From  that  moment 
the  great  agitator  abandoned  himself  to  the  impulses  of  the 
moment,  and,  partly  acted  on  by  events,  partly  exercising  a 
reflex  action  upon  them,  hurried  along  his  strange  and  mete- 
oric course,  till  the  day  when,  in  the  great  church  at  De- 
breczin,  amidst  the  plaudits  of  a  multitude  which  had  gone  vn\d 
with  excitement,  he  proclaimed  the  dethronement  of  the  house 
of  Hapsburg-Lorraine  and  the  independence  of  Hungary. 

The  events  of  the  1st  of  March  1848  at  Presburg  were 
followed  by  six  weeks  crowded  with  events  of  the  most 
exciting  and  important  character,  the  array  of  which  was 
closed  by  the  emperor's  going  in  person  to  that  city,  and 
formally  sanctioning  a  series  of  resolutions  of  a  highly  revo- 
lutionary character,  which  had  been  passed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  orator  who  had  attained  in  a  few  days  a  world- 
wide reputation.  These  are  the  laws  of  1848,  about  which 
we  have  heard  so  much.  "We  give  a  precis  of  them,  taken 
from  a  work  called  Hungary  and  its  BevohUions,  u'iiJi  a 
Memoir  of  Kossuth,  which  affords,  on  this  head,  more  detailed 
information  than  the  work  of  Professor  Springer  : — 

"  The  substance  of  the  resolutions  passed  in  this  Diet,  and  confirmed 
by  the  king,  was  as  follows  : — That  the  executive  power  should  be 
exercised  through  the  ministry  alone.  That  the  palatine,  in  the  absence 
of  the  king,  should  be  mvested  with  all  royal  power,  excepting  the 
appointments  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  officers  of  the  army,  the 
high  barons  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  disposal  of  the  army  when  out  of 
Hungary.  That  every  member  of  the  cabinet  should  be  responsible 
for  his  official  acts,  liable  to  impeachment  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
and  to  be  tried  by  a  committee  from  the  Chamber  of  Magnates.     That 


164  AUSTRIA. 

the  sessions  of  the  Diet  be  held  at  Pesth,  and  the  laws  sanctioned  during 
the  session  by  the  king.  That  perfect  equality  of  rights,  as  well  as  of 
public  burdens,  should  be  established  among  all  the  people  of  Hungary, 
without  distinction  of  class,  race,  or  denomination.  That  the  franchise 
should  be  extended  to  every  man  possessing  property  to  the  value  of 
three  hundred  florins,  or  an  income  of  one  hundred  ;  to  every  one  who 
had  received  a  diploma  in  a  university  ;  and  every  artisan  who  em- 
ployed an  apprentice.  That  with  the  concurrence  of  both  countries, 
Hungary  and  Transylvania,  and  their  Diets,  should  be  incorporated. 
That  the  number  of  representatives  sent  by  Croatia  to  the  Diet  should 
be  increased  from  three  to  eighteen,  and  the  internal  institutions  of 
that  province  remain  the  same  as  before.  That  the  military  frontiers 
of  Hungary,  or  border  troops,  should  be  placed  under  the  authority  of 
the  Hungarian  Minister  of  War." 

We  do  not  propose  to  enter  into  any  detail  as  to  the 
events  of  the  revolutionary  period,  which  occupied  nearly  the 
whole  of  1848  and  1849.  The  direct  influence  of  the  trans- 
actions which  then  occurred  upon  the  history  of  Austria, 
during  the  last  sixteen  years,  has  not  been  so  great  as  might 
have  been  expected  ;  and  if  we  were  to  attempt  to  describe 
with  any  minuteness  the  elements  which  then  came  to  the 
surface,  and  which  may  be  expected  to  work  in  various  ways 
during  the  years  that  are  coming,  we  should  be  carried  far 
beyond  the  limits  to  which  even  the  longest  article  can  be 
extended.  Through  the  complications  of  the  eventful  months 
which  followed  the  flight  of  Prince  Metternich  we  know  no 
more  sober  guide  than  Professor  Springer,  and  for  no  period 
of  recent  history  is  a  sober  guide  more  wanted.  Greater 
issues  were  decided  before  Sebastopol,  far  larger  masses  of 
men  were  hurled  against  each  other  in  the  American  civil 
conflict,  but  no  war  of  our  time  has  ever  approached  in  romantic 
interest  that  which  was  waged  in  1848  and  1849  upon  the 
plains  of  Hungary. 

The  English  public  was  plentifully  supplied,  from  1850 


1848—1849.  165 

to  1854,  with  the  narratives  of  rival  generals,  and  with  the 
pamphlets,  sometimes  disguised  in  the  form  of  history,  of  the 
contending  parties  ;  but  we  know  no  narrative  and  no  po- 
litical treatise  in  English,  referring  to  these  events,  which  we 
could  venture  to  recommend,  without  advising  the  reader  to 
follow  up  its  perusal  with  that  of  a  work  of  diametrically 
opposite  tendency. 

The  two  great  gains  which  the  moral  earthquake  of  1848 
brought  to  Austria  were,  that  through  wide  provinces  of  the 
empire,  and  more  especially  in  Hungary,  it  swept  away  the 
sort  of  semi-vassalage  in  which  the  peasantry  had  been  left 
by  the  Urbarium  of  Maria  Theresa,  and  other  reforms  akin 
to  or  founded  upon  it,  and  introduced  modern  in  the  place 
of  middle-age  relations  between  the  two  extremes  of  society. 
Secondly,  it  overthrew  the  policy  of  do-nothing — a  surer 
guarantee  for  the  continuance  of  abuses  than  even  the  de- 
termination, which  soon  manifested  itseK  at  head-quarters,  to 
make  the  head  of  the  state  more  absolute  than  ever. 

After  the  taking  of  Vienna  by  Windischgratz,  the  National 
Assembly  had,  on  the  15th  of  November  1848,  been  removed 
from  the  capital  to  the  small  town  of  Kremsier,  in  Moravia, 
Here  it  prolonged  an  ineffective  existence  till  March  1849, 
when  the  court  camarilla  felt  itself  strong  enough  to  put  an 
end  to  an  inconvenient  censor,  and  in  March  1849  it  ceased 
to  exist.  A  constitution  was  at  the  same  time  promulgated 
which  contained  many  good  provisions,  but  which  was  never 
heartily  approved  by  the  ruling  powers,  or  vigorously  carried 
into  effect — the  proclamation  of  a  state  of  siege  in  many 
cities,  and  other  expedients  of  authority  in  a  revolutionary 
period,  easily  enabling  it  to  be  set  at  nought.  The  successes 
of  the  reaction  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  above  all  the 


166  AUSTRIA. 

cowp  (Xetat  in  Paris,  emboldened  Schwartzenberg  to  throw  off 
the  mask  ;  and  on  the  last  day  of  1851  Austria  became  once 
more  a  pure  despotism. 

The  young  emperor  had  taken  "  Viriius  ^mitis"  for  his 
motto  ;  and  his  advisers  interpreted  those  words  to  mean  that 
Austria  was  henceforward  to  be  a  state  as  highly  centralised 
as  France — a  state  in  which  the  minister  at  Vienna  was  ab- 
solutely to  govern  everything  from  Salzburg  to  the  Iron  Gate. 
The  hand  of  authority  had  been  severely  felt  in  the  pre-re- 
volutionary  period,  but  now  advantage  was  to  be  taken  of  the 
revolution  to  make  it  felt  far  more  than  ever.  In  Hungary, 
for  example,  which  had,  as  we  have  seen,  always  proved  in- 
tractable, even  when  the  Germanic  provinces  were  living  in 
contented  servitude,  it  was  fondly  imagined  that  there  would 
be  no  more  trouble.  The  old  political  division  into  counties 
was  swept  away ;  the  whole  land  was  divided  into  five  pro- 
vinces ;  and  the  courtiers  might  imagine  that  from  henceforth 
the  Magyars  would  be  as  easily  led  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Upper  Austria.  These  delusions  soon  became  general,  but 
they  owed  their  origin  partly  to  the  enthusiastic  ignorance  of 
those  who  were  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  partly  to  two 
men,  about  whom  we  must  say  a  word.  The  first  of  these 
was  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  the  son  of  the  generalissimo  of  the 
allied  army  in  the  campaign  of  1814.  Bred  to  diplomacy,  he 
was  the  Austrian  minister  at  Naples  when  the  revolution  broke 
out  in  that  capital,  then  served  for  a  short  period  under  the 
imperial  flag  in  Northern  Italy,  and  shortly  afterwards  re- 
turned to  tlie  centre  of  affairs,  to  animate  the  drooping  spirits 
of  the  court.  Several  of  his  sayings  will  be  remembered,  and 
they  show  a  certain  amount  of  shrewdness  and  insight ;  but 
there  is  nolhinq-  recorded,  either  of  his  words  or  actions,  which 


SCHWARTZENBERG  AND   BACH.  167 

bears  evidence  of  a  high  capacity  for  statesmanship,  to  say 
nothing  of  wisdom  or  matured  political  ability.  He  had  energy 
and  power  of  will,  nor  would  it  be  difficult  to  draw  a  parallel 
between  him  and  Count  Bismark,  although  we  are  bound  to 
say  that  the  latter  has  given  much  greater  proof  of  talent. 
In  audacity,  however,  there  is  little  to  choose  between  them  ; 
and  in  the  "  Systole  and  Diastole"  of  German  politics  the 
Prussian  statesman  played  in  1865,  to  the  disadvantage  of 
Austria,  just  the  same  part  which  the  Austrian  statesman 
played  in  1850  to  the  disadvantage  of  Eussia.  Those  who 
are  tempted  to  attach  too  much  importance  to  such  triumphs 
of  audacity  should  remember  how  much  easier  it  is  to  cut 
knots  than  to  unravel  them,  and  wait  to  see  the  end. 

Whether  Prince  Schwartzenberg  might  have  developed  any 
higher  powers  if  his  life  had  been  prolonged,  we  cannot  say. 
He  died  suddenly  in  April  1852. 

More  space  to  develop  his  energies,  we  might  almost  say 
"  more  rope  to  hang  himself,"  was  given  to  Alexander  Bach, 
who  succeeded  the  conservative,  but  able,  and  by  no  means 
bigoted  Stadion,  when  the  health  of  that  statesman  broke  down 
in  1849.  Bach  was  born  in  1813,  and  was  the  son  of  a  provin- 
cial em'ploye  under  the  department  of  Justice,  who,  however, 
eventually  removed  to  the  capital,  where  he  established  a 
thriving  business  as  an  attorney.  His  son  began  life  as  a 
clerk  in  his  father's  office,  studied  the  law  with  success,  and 
became  a  Doctor  Juris.  He  then  travelled,  and  ultimately 
succeeded  his  father.  Before  1848  he  was  so  conspicuous, 
both  as  a  jurist  and  as  a  reformer,  that  he  was  called  to  take 
the  portfolio  of  Justice  in  the  ministry  which  came  into  power 
in  May  1848.  His  behaviour  in  this  office  gave  much  offence 
to  the  extreme  revolutionary  party  ;  and  during  the  disturb- 


168  AUSTRIA. 

ances  whicli  marked  the  month  of  October  in  that  year,  his 
life  was  in  some  danger.  Whether  it  was  that  the  experiences 
of  that  stormy  time  cooled  his  reforming  ardour, — or  whether 
it  was  that  the  temperature  of  that  ardour  had  been  always 
exaggerated, — or  whether,  as  his  enemies  assert,  he  distinctly 
changed  sides  to  further  his  own  purposes, — or  whether  again 
he  was  gradually  led  further  than  he  meant  to  go  down  the 
slope  of  reaction, — we  need  not  here  inquire  ;  but  certain  it  is, 
that  after  the  first  successes  of  the  court  he  soon  became  one 
of  its  most  trusted  agents.  His  two  leading  ideas  were  to 
cover  the  whole  empire  with  a  German  bureaucracy,  and  to 
draw  closer  the  ties  which  connected  the  court  of  Vienna  with 
that  of  Eome.  In  his  view,  and  in  that  of  the  ecclesiastics 
who  worked  with  him,  much  of  the  evil  that  prevailed  in  the 
empire  could  be  traced  to  the  anti-religious  influences  which 
had  acted  on  the  mind  of  Joseph  II.  ;  and  it  was  under  his 
auspices,  and  those  of  Count  Leo  Thun,  that  Austria  made 
that  extraordinary  retrograde  movement  which  was  announced 
to  Europe  by  the  conclusion  of  the  Concordat.  If  absolutism 
in  Austria  liad  a  fair  trial  from  the  31st  of  December  1851  to 
the  Italian  war,  it  is  to  Bach  that  it  was  owing  ;  and  if  it 
utterly  and  ludicrously  failed,  it  is  he  more  than  any  other 
man  who  must  bear  the  blame. 

Already,  in  1849,  the  bureaucracy  had  been  reorganised, 
but  in  1852  new  and  stricter  regulations  were  introduced. 
Everything  was  determined  by  precise  rules — even  the  exact 
amount  of  hair  which  the  employ^  was  permitted  to  wear 
upon  his  face.  Hardly  any  question  was  thought  sufficiently 
insignificant  to  be  decided  upon  the  spot.  The  smallest 
matters  had  to  be  referred  to  Vienna,  if  their  settlement  had 
not  been  provided  for  in  \\\q  instructions  previously  issued. 


THE  BACH   SYSTEM.  169 

The  higher  officials  were  directed  to  keep  an  accurate  record 
of  the  political  dispositions  of  their  subordinates,  and  the 
non-official  citizens  were  subjected  almost  as  completely  to 
the  despotism  of  these  subordinates  as  they  were  to  that  of 
their  superiors.  The  result  of  all  this  was,  that  in  spite  of 
many  improvements  upon  the  pre-revolutionary  system  in 
matters  of  detail,  and  a  greatly  increased  vigour  at  head- 
quarters, the  internal  affairs  of  the  empire  soon  fell  into 
hopeless  confusion.  The  finances,  which  had  been  thrown 
into  terrible  disorder  by  the  events  of  the  revolution,  and  by 
the  expenses  attendant  on  the  menacing  attitude  adopted 
towards  Prussia  in  1850,  showed  no  tendency  to  recovery. 
The  new  communal  organisation  was  put  off  from  year  to 
year,  and  was  at  last  promulgated  in  1859,  only  to  be  found 
absurd  and  unworkable.  The  new  criminal  code,  which  was 
one  of  the  few  things  actually  accomplished  during  this 
period,  revived  obsolete  punishments,  was  particularly  severe 
upon  the  press,  and  in  all  respects  disgraceful.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  Concordat  concluded  in  1855,  of  which 
the  best  that  can  be  told  is,  that  it  has  never  been  so  fully 
carried  out  as  its  promoters  desired,  and  that  it  was  a  most 
efficient  instrument  in  exciting  hatred  against  the  party  to 
which  it  owes  its  origin.  The  best  thing  between  the  paci- 
fication of  Hungary  and  October  1860  was  the  remodelling 
of  the  system  of  public  mstruction  by  Count  Leo  Thun, — a 
statesman  who,  although  his  opinions  led  him  to  promote  the 
views  of  the  Ultramontane  party,  had  yet  sufficient  lirmness 
not  to  let  it  drag  him  further  than  he  wished  to  go,  and  suf- 
ficient enlightenment  to  see  that  the  state  of  the  Austrian 
schools  and  universities  was  simply  disastrous  and  intolerable. 
In  general,  however,  the  politicians  of  the  reactionary  period 


170  AUSTRIA. 

showed  themselves  singularly  incapable  of  translating  their 
ideas  into  accomplished  facts,  partly,  perhaps,  from  want  of 
ability,  but  much  more  because  the  task  which  they  had  set 
themselves  was  absurd  and  impossible.  It  was  a  time  of 
great  activity  in  the  public  offices,  of  endless  instructions, 
counter-instructions,  revised  counter-instructions,  and  so 
forth ;  and  when  we  learn  that  between  1849  and  1860  the 
medical  department  of  the  army  was  reorganised  four  times, 
the  artillery  and  engineers  three  times,  the  Judge- Advocate's 
department  three  times,  and  the  War  Office  at  least  four 
times  ;  when  we  learn,  further,  that  the  same  spirit  prevailed 
in  other  branches  of  the  administration,  we  can  hardly  be 
surprised  that  the  great  ruin  of  the  Italian  war  brought  down 
with  a  crash  the  whole  edifice  of  the  reaction. 

"While  the  internal  affairs  of  the  empire  were  going  from 
bad  to  worse,  its  external  affairs  were  by  no  means  prosper- 
ous. All  those  who  understood  the  German  question  saw 
that  the  triumph  gained  at  the  expense  of  Prussia  in  1850 
could  only  be  of  temporary  importance.  There  were  fewer 
who  were  aware  that  Louis  Napoleon  had  been  on  the  very 
point  of  declaring  war  against  Austria,  immediately  after  the 
news  of  the  battle  of  Novara  had  reached  Paris,  or  who  felt 
certain  that  the  day  would  ere  long  arrive  when  France 
would  break  with  a  strong  hand  the  web  of  treaties  which 
Metternich  had  woven  around  the  limbs  of  Italy.  A  quarrel 
with  Switzerland,  and  another  with  Piedmont,  came  to  em- 
bitter public  opinion  in  Europe  against  the  cabinet  of  Vienna, 
already  roused  by  the  exaggerated  but  eloquent  declamations 
of  Kossuth,  as  well  in  tlie  New  as  in  the  Old  World.  The 
mission  of  Count  Leiningen  to  Constantinople  on  the  subject 
ul'  Montenegro  was  by  numy  supposed  to  be  a  diversion  in 


INCREASING  DIFFICULTIES.  171 

favour  of  Eussia  ;  and  althougii  this  has  never  been  proved, 
and  is  in  itself  improbable,  it  did  not  tend  to  make  Austria 
more  popular  either  in  France  or  England.  Her  uncertain 
attitude  during  the  Crimean  war  alternately  flattered  and 
dashed  the  hopes  of  the  West ;  and  although  the  diplomatist 
can  hardly  blame  her,  the  opinion  of  intelligent  Europe  was 
not  gained  to  her  side,  while  she  became  to  Eussia  the  object 
of  the  most  deadly  hostility.  Thus,  at  the  table  of  the  Con- 
gress in  Paris  she  had  hardly  a  single  real  friend,  and  men 
began  to  watch,  with  all  the  pleasures  of  malevolence,  the 
struggle  between  her  and  the  wily  Genevese-Italian,  who  was 
destined  to  rob  her  of  all  she  had  won  in  the  Peninsula  by 
the  laboiu's  and  the  crimes  of  more  than  forty  years. 

The  isolated  position  in  which  Austria  was  placed  after 
the  conclusion  of  the  Eussian  war  had  a  very  unfavourable 
influence  upon  her  internal  politics.  The  watchword  of  the 
new  system  was,  as  we  have  seen,  "  Virihus  unitis"  but  now 
the  wielders  of  these  "  united  forces,"  the  ministers  at  Yienna, 
at  length  thoroughly  awake  to  the  fact  that  their  system  was 
a  failure,  began  to  throw  the  blame  upon  each  other.  Bruck, 
the  one  man  of  real  insight  amo-ngst  them,  occupied  his  high 
position  as  Finance  Minister  solely  in  \T.rtue  of  his  merit,  and 
had  none  of  those  powerful  connections  which  are  necessary 
to  one  who  would  carry  through  great  reforms  without 
popular  support.  He  passed  his  time  making  one  concession 
here,  another  there,  in  the  vain  hope  of  getting  something 
useful  done.  It  was  all  in  vain.  From  the  beginning  of  1849 
to  the  end  of  1858,  the  public  debt  rose  from  1200  million 
florins  to  2292  million  florins,  and  every  source  of  taxation 
had  in  the  meantime  been  strained  to  the  uttermost.  The 
years  1857  and  1858  passed  in  peace,  but  without  producing 


172  AUSTRIA. 

any  important  improvements  in  the  state  of  things  ;  and  at 
last,  in  1859,  the  long-deferred  retribution  came. 

There  was  no  violent  outbreak  of  disaffection,  and 
although  Kossuth  accompanied  the  emperor  in  his  Italian 
campaign,  ready  to  do  what  he  could  to  raise  Hungary  as 
soon  as  the  French  flag  aj)peared  on  Hungarian  soil,  he 
prudently  insisted  upon  its  appearance  there  as  a  condition 
precedent.  It  is  of  good  augury  for  the  non-resurrection  of 
absolutism  in  Austria  that  it  was  not  overthrown,  but  died  a 
natural  death.  Bach  was  dismissed  in  August  1859,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Count  Goluchowski,  a  man  of  much  inferior 
abihty,  who  had  been  governor  of  Galicia,  but  who  did  not 
do  anything  as  minister  to  justify  the  respectable  reputation 
which  he  brought  into  the  government.  M.  de  Hubner 
became  at  the  same  time  Minister  of  Police,  and  showed, 
during  his  short  tenure  of  office,  far  more  consideration  for 
the  press,  and  far  more  desire  for  reform,  than  his  predecessor. 
Both  he  and  the  Foreign  Minister,  Count  Eechberg,  are 
believed  to  have  seen,  even  at  this  period,  that  concessions  to 
Hungary  had  become  absolutely  necessary.  Indeed,  M.  de 
Hubner  is  said  to  have  resigned  his  portfolio  in  consequence 
of  tlie  rejection  of  his  plans  for  effecting  something  in  this 
direction. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  through  the  reactionary 
period  the  so-called  "  Old  Conservative  party"  (whose  name, 
be  it  remembered,  has  nothing  now  to  do  with  the  sort  of 
questions  which  divide  our  Liberals  and  Conservatives) 
amongst  the  Hungarian  magnates,  had  been  protesting  as 
ardently  against  the  system  of  M.  Bach  as  they  had  protested 
against  the  ideas  of  Kossuth  in  1848.  Those  who  would 
follow  the  outs  and  ins  of  their  long  struggle — and  no  one, 


FALL   OF  M.   BACH.  173 

we  are  persuaded,  can  follow  them  without  having  his 
impression  of  the  political  capacity  of  the  Magyars  consider- 
ably raised — should  read  the  earlier  pages  of  the  work  called 
Drei  JaJire  Verfassungsstreity  the  author  of  which  is  well 
known,  and  is  a  person  whose  possession  of  the  best  infor- 
mation can  be  relied  upon. 

The  resolution  to  break  with  the  system  of  M.  Bach  was 
not,  however,  taken  in  a  day  ;  and  even  after  his  dismissal 
things  went  on  for  a  time  in  the  old  fashion.  Numerous 
commissions  were  called  into  life  charged  to  advise  the 
government,  but  nothing  decisive  was  done  except  by  a 
Hungarian  conamission,  which  refused  to  report,  and  reminded 
the  rulers  that  if  they  wanted  advice  about  Hungary,  the  best 
plan  would  be  to  obey  the  laws  and  summon  the  Hungarian 
Diet.  Abroad,  the  Austrian  diplomatists  fought  hard  to 
recover  the  ground  which  they  had  lost  in  Italy,  and  are  said 
to  have  arranged  the  preliminaries  of  a  grand  Catholic 
league,  which  they  fondly  believed  would  replace  them  in 
their  old  position,  and  which  would  perhaps  have  given 
serious  trouble  if  it  had  not  been  for  Garibaldi's  timely  land- 
ing at  Marsala.  At  home,  the  reactionists  obtained  a  triumph 
by  driving  Bruck  to  commit  suicide — not,  however,  before  he 
had  publicly  pointed  out  that  the  whole  system  of  govern- 
ment in  Austria  was  rotten  to  the  core. 

The  first  step  in  advance  was  made  in  the  end  of  May 
1860,  by  calling  together  the  assembly  which  was  known  as 
the  "  Yerstarkte  Eeichsrath"  (strengthened  Council  of  the 
Empire).  Ever  since  1851  there  had  existed  a  Eeichsrath  ; 
but  this  was  a  mere  governmental  board,  remarkable  for 
nothing,  unless  it  were  that  it  was  a  shade  more  illiberal 
than  the  other  public  departments.     The  new  Eeichsrath  was 


174  AUSTRIA. 

an  assembly  of  notables  from  all  parts  of  tlie  empire,  chiefly, 
but  not  exclusively,  composed  of  men  of  very  high  rank. 
What  the  government  expected  from  the  Eeichsrath  was 
advice  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  in  the  dire  perplexity  into 
which  want  of  money,  Hungarian  disaffection,  and  its  other 
misfortunes,  had  thrown  it ;  but  of  specific  advice  it  succeeded 
in  getting  very  little.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Eeichsrath 
thoroughly  condemned  the  existing  state  of  things,  and 
begged  the  emperor,  in  his  omnipotence,  to  find  out  and 
apply  a  remedy.  Nothing  was  further  from  its  views  than 
to  make  an  energetic  demand  for  a  constitution  ;  and  the 
Saxon  Transylvanian  M.  Maager,  who  ventured  to  pronounce 
that  dreaded  name  too  loudly,  was  no  doubt  thought  by  the 
majority  of  his  colleagues  a  very  dangerous  person.  The 
chief  difference  of  opinion  which  was  manifested  in  the 
Eeichsrath  related  to  the  amount  of  centralisation  and  de- 
centralisation to  be  maintained  in  the  reorganised  empire. 
The  opinion  of  the  de-centralising  or  federalist  party  pre- 
vailed, and  the  government  proceeded,  a  week  or  two  after 
the  four  months'  session  of  the  "  strengthened  Council  of  the 
Empire"  came  to  an  end,  to  issue  the  diploma  of  the  20th 
October  1860.  The  broad  difference  between  the  system  of 
M,  Bach  and  that  inaugurated  by  the  October  diploma  was 
this — that  while  in  the  Bach  system  everything  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  regulated  down  to  the  minutest  detail  by  the 
government  offices  at  Vienna,  acting  under  the  pressure  of 
unmitigated  despotism ;  in  the  system  inaugurated  by  the 
October  diploma  a  broad  distinction  was  drawn  between 
those  general  concerns  of  the  empire  which  had  to  be  regii- 
lated  at  Vienna,  and  those  particular  concerns  of  the  pro- 
vinces   which    had    to    be    regulated    by    the    provincial 


THE  OCTOBER  DIPLOMA.  l75 

assemblies.  Fiuiher,  a  sort  of  modified  system  of  repre- 
sentation was  introduced,  by  the  creation  of  a  new  sort  of 
Eeichsratli,  consisting  of  one  hundred  persons,  whose  mem- 
bers were  to  be  selected  by  the  emperor  from  the  provincial 
assemblies. 

This  was  well,  so  far  as  it  went,  but  it  did  not  go  far 
enough.  Hungary,  indeed,  had  her  Diet,  which  could  imme- 
diately be  called  together,  and  could,  if  the  nation  were  so 
minded,  proceed  to  take  its  share  in  working  this  new"  system. 
Hungary,  however,  positively  refused  to  do  anything  of  the 
sort,  and  the  measures  taken  to  enable  it  to  elect  members 
to  the  Diet,  in  the  manner  customary  before  the  revolution,  ^ 
wholly  failed  to  lead  the  country  to  give  up  its  determination 
to  stand  firm  in  its  legal  position,  and  to  have  the  laws  of 
1848,  or  nothing.  The  difiiculty  in  the  Germanic  or  German- 
ised provinces  w^as  different,  but  not  less  great.  In  them 
there  were  no  provincial  assemblies  at  all  adequate  to  modern 
necessities,  and  when  Count  Goluchowski  was  rash  enough 
to  pubbsh  the  scheme  of  provincial  assemblies  devised  by 
M.  Bach,  in  the  height  of  the  reaction,  retaining  as  it  did 
many  of  the  worst  features  of  the  pre-revolutionary  period, 
he  was  met  with  a  shout  of  derision,  and  soon  afterwards 
retired  from  office,  having  made  himself  "  impossible  "  on 
both  sides  of  the  Leitha. 

His  successor  was  M.  Schmerling,  of  whom  w^e  shall  have 
more  to  say  presently,  but  in  the  meantime  we  may  observe 
that  it  was  in  the  winter  of  1860-61  that  the  two  parties 
which  at  this  r  moment  divide  the  empire  began  to  take  a 
definite  shape.  The  nucleus  of  these  two  parties,  respect- 
ively, were  the  Hungarian  advisers  of  the  court,  who  thought 
that  Jf  Hungary  could  only  be  fully  conciliated,  other  things 


176  AUSTRIA. 

would  ill  the  end  come  right  of  themselves,  and  those  German 
advisers,  who  thought  that  if  the  Germanic  or  Germanised 
provinces   could   be   fully   conciliated,    Hungary   might    he 
coerced,  and  obliged  to   take  its   part  in  working  a   new 
system,  the  driving-wheel  of  which  should  be  a  parliament 
at  Vienna,  acting  under  moderate  pressure  on  the  part  of  the 
sovereign, — a   parliament  in  Avhich  the  non-Germanic  pro- 
vinces should  indeed  be  fairly  and  liberally  represented,  but 
in  the  eye  of  which  even  Himgary  should  be  merely  a  pro- 
vince like  the  Vorarlberg,  and  not  a  kingdom  connected  with 
the  rest  of  the  empire  by  the  link  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction. 
One  of  the  most  important  incidents  of  this  period  was 
the  summoning  to  Vienna  of  Baron  Nicholas  Vay,  the  leader 
of  the  Hungarian  Protestants,  in  their  struggle  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  central  authorities,  which  was  one  of 
the  many  results  of  the  unlucky  policy  which  was  inaugu- 
rated by  M.  Bach.      Vay  had  been  three   times   tried   by 
Haynau's   military  commissions  ;   twice   he  was    acquitted, 
but  at  last  convicted,  and  imprisoned  for  two  years  in  There- 
sienstadt.     At  this  moment  he  was  the  most  popular  man  in 
Hungary  ;  for  the  religious  contest  had  been  really  a  political 
one,  and  had  engaged  the  sympathies,  not  only  of  the  Pro- 
testants, but  of  other  confessions  also.     This  man  was  now 
made  chancellor  of  Hungary,  and  exerted  a  most  important 
influence,  until  he  was  obliged  to  retire  in  the  summer  of 
1861.     He  is  understood  to  have  been  one  of  those  most 
instrumental  in  raising  M.   Schmerling  to  power,  probably 
because,  knowing  his  ability,  and  miscalculating  the  strength 
of  his  Germanism,  he  thought  that  he  would  understand  and 
be  equal  to  the  situation. 

It  soon  became  clear,  however,  that  it  was  not  to  the 


SCHMERLING.  177 

views  of  Baron  Vay  that  M.  Schmerling  would  give  his 
support. 

There  ought,  indeed,  as  it  seems  after  the  event,  to  have 
been  little  doubt  as  to  the  scale  into  which  the  new  minister 
would  throw  his  influence.  Born  in  1805,  of  a  family  which 
belonged  originally  to  the  Ehineland,  but  which  settled  last 
century  in  Lower  Austria,  he  had  passed  his  early  manhood 
and  middle  life  in  the  bureaucracy,  and  is  before  all  things  a 
bureaucrat — liberal  in  the  ends  he  pursues,  not  liberal  in  the 
means  by  which  he  would  compass  them.  A  decided  oppo- 
nent of  the  SYSTEM,  he  had  made  himself  observed  in  the 
provincial  assembly  of  Lower  Austria  before  1848,  and  had 
been  sent  in  the  spring  of  that  year  to  represent  Austrian 
interests  at  Frankfort.  There  he  took  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Gross-Deutsch  party,  and  combated  with  all 
his  might  the  idea  of  the  Pnissian  Hegemony.  On  his  return 
to  Vienna  he  became  a  member  of  Prince  Schwartzenberg's 
ministry,  but  retired  from  it  when  it  began  to  move  fast 
down  the  steep  of  reaction. 

A  man  with  these  antecedents  was  not  likely  to  yield 
without  a  struggle  to  the  pretensions  of  Himgary.  If  the 
Hungarians  could  make  good  their  claims,  farewell  for  ever  to 
the  idea  of  a  great  united  Germany,  to  which  Vienna  should 
give  the  word  of  command  !  The  views  of  the  new  minister 
were  no  secret  to  his  colleagues,  and  the  breach  between  him 
and  those  who  represented  the  interests  of  Hungary  in  the 
government  became  every  day  wider  and  wider. 

The  first  result  of  M.  Schmerling's  activity  was  the  Patent 
of  February  26,  1861.  This  document  was  in  form  an 
addition  to  the  Diploma  of  October  1860,  but  in  reality  it 
amounted  to  a  new  constitution.     Instead  of  the  Reichsrath 

N 


178  AUSTRIA. 

of  a  hundred  members,  sitting  in  one  chamber,  it  created  a 
much  larger  Eeichsrath,  sitting  in  two  chambers  ;  and  whereas 
the  Diploma  of  October  contemplated  a  federalist  organis- 
ation, the  Patent  of  February  contemplated  a  centralised 
organisation,  worked  by  a  real  Parliament,  which  might 
eventually  grow  to  be  as  powerful  as  our  own.  There  is 
nothing  in  such  a  conception  that  can  be  otherwise  than 
agreeable  to  an  Englishman.  But  that  is  not  the  question. 
The  question  is,  Are  the  circumstances  of  Austria  such  as  to 
make  it  possible  to  create  and  to  work  such  an  organisation  ? 
The  events  of  the  last  five  years  have  answered  that  question 
for  us,  but  in  the  early  spring  of  1861  it  was  not  so  easy  to 
answer.  The  experiment  was  of  course  to  the  last  degree 
hazardous  ;  but  one  can  hardly  blame  a  statesman  who  held 
M.  Schmerling's  views  with  regard  to  Central  European 
politics,  if  he  determined  to  make  a  fight  for  it. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  call  together  the  Hmi- 
garian  Diet,  which  had  not  met  since  the  Eevolution,  and  to 
try  whether  it  could  not  be  induced  to  come  to  terms.  The 
next  step  was  to  summon  the  new  Eeichsrath,  in  the  consti- 
tution of  which  an  arrangement  was  introduced  for  turning  it 
into  a  "  special  or  restricted  Eeichsrath,"  for  the  discussion  of 
the  affairs  of  the  German  and  Germanised  provinces,  so  that 
its  activity  would  not  necessarily  be  suspended,  even  if  the 
Hungarians  were  to  prove  obstinate. 

The  Hungarian  Diet  met  upon  the  6tli  of  April ;  at  first 
in  Buda,  and  immediately  afterwards  in  Pesth,  Some  time 
was  occupied  with  the  verification  of  the  elections,  and  then 
the  struggle  of  parties  commenced.  The  point  debated  was 
whether  the  Diet  should  reply  to  the  Crown  by  an  address  or 
by  a  resolution.     The  Moderates,  lead  by  Deak,  preferred  an 


THE  DIET  OF   1861.  l79 

address  ;  the  extreme  party,  led  by  Count  Teleki,  preferred  a 
resolution,  taking  tlieir  stand  upon  the  undoubted  fact  that 
the  emperor  was  not,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  pre-revolu- 
tionary  period,  de  jure  king  of  Hungary  ;  for,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  according  to  the  old  view,  "  Princeps  est  qui 
jurat,  qui  jurata  servat,  et  qui  coronatus  est!'  Just  at  this 
crisis  Count  Teleki  committed  suicide,  having  found  himself 
in  a  position  from  which  he  thought  he  could  not  escape 
without  either  being  false  to  his  political  convictions  or  break- 
ing a  promise  which  he  had  given  to  the  emperor.  The  views 
of  the  "  address  party  "  in  the  end  prevailed,  but  they  made 
some  concessions  to  the  views  of  their  opponents,  and  amongst 
other  things  omitted  the  title  of  "  Imperial  Eoyal,"  in  address- 
ing the  emperor.  This  was  objected  to  at  Vienna,  and  the 
address  was  finally  voted  unanimously  in  the  form  in  which 
it  was  originally  proposed  by  Deak. 

It  is  far  from  impossible  that,  if  the  government  had 
shown  itself  disposed  to  make  concessions  to  Hungary,  it 
would  have  got  better  terms  than  it  is  now  likely  to  have  to 
put  up  with ;  but  concession  was  the  last  thing  of  which  it 
thought.  The  jurists  in  the  service  of  M.  Schmerling  an- 
swered the  Hungarian  address,  and  showed,  at  least  to  their 
own  satisfaction,  that  Hungary  had  no  shadow  of  right  to 
stand  upon,  that  the  revolution  had  swept  away  all  her  old 
franchises,  and  that  she  was  in  no  better  position  than  any 
other  province  of  the  empire.  Between  parties  so  diametri- 
cally opposed  as  those  of  Deak  and  Schmerling,  it  was  evident 
that  there  could  be  no  rapprochement,  and  so  in  August  the 
Diet  was  dissolved,  and  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna  determined  to 
break  the  spirit  of  the  nation,  by  reinvigoratiag,  for  the  coun- 
tries beyond  the  Leitha,  the  worst  maxims  of  M.  Bach. 


180  AUSTRIA. 

The  day  will  come,  we  hope,  when  the  story  of  the  stern 
resistance  of  Hungary,  during  the  period  of  four  years  which 
intervened  between  the  dissolution  of  the  Diet  and  the  issuing 
of  the  Patent  of  the  20th  of  the  last  September,  will  be  fully 
told  to  Western  Europe.  There  would,  we  think,  be  material 
in  it  for  many  pages  like  the  best  of  those  in  Baron  Eotvos's 
Village  Notary.  We  are  far  from  wishing  to  assert  that  such 
a  record  would  contain  only  pages  creditable  to  Hungary.  At 
the  county  meetings,  held  previously  to  the  meeting  of  the 
Diet  in  1861,  much  appears  to  have  been  said  and  done  which 
was  quite  unjustifiable  ;  but  the  Hungarians  were  right  in  the 
main,  and  we  must  forgive,  in  a  people  which  has  been  so 
misgoverned,  many  excesses  which  would  be  unpardonable  if 
the  ordinary  march  of  affairs  had  not  been  broken  by  revolu- 
tion and  counter-revolution.  M.  Boner's  chapters  on  Transyl- 
vanian  politics  show  the  effect  that  the  vehement  one-sided- 
ness  of  the  Magyars  produced  on  the  mind  of  a  friendly  ob- 
server, who  was  not  persuaded  of  what  we  believe  to  be  true — 
that,  viz.,  the  system  attempted  to  be  carried  out  in  Hungary 
after  the  dissolution  of  the  Diet  could  lead  to  no  good  result. 

We  may  now  return  to  Vienna,  where  the  Eeichsrath  as- 
sembled a  week  or  two  later  than  the  Hungarian  Diet,  and 
was  opened  by  a  speech  of  great  vigour,  in  which  a  breach 
with  the  old  absolutist  system  was  distinctly  promised.  The 
place  of  meeting  was  but  badly  filled,  for  neither  Hungary, 
Croatia,  Transylvania,  Galicia,  Venice,  nor  Istria  had  sent 
deputies,  and  of  the  three  hundred  and  forty-three  members 
who  ought  to  have  attended,  only  some  two  hundred  were 
there.  It  soon  became  clear  that  of  these  two  hundred  about 
two-thirds  were  distinctly  centralist  and  governmental  in  tone, 
altogether  opposed  to  the  ideas  of  the  Federalist,  or,  as  they 


THE  SCHMERLING  ADMINISTRATION.  181 

have  been  called,  State-right  party.  In  the  Upper  House, 
too,  the  governmental  majority  was  decisive.  The  tone  of 
these  majorities,  as  shown  in  their  first  debates,  had  a  bad 
influence,  it  would  seem,  upon  ministers,  or,  if  this  was  not 
the  case,  the  traditions  of  the  Bach  system  and  of  the  pre- 
revolutionary  period,  were  too  strong  to  be  overcome,  for  cer- 
tainly very  little  was  done  during  the  years  in  which  M. 
Schmerling  enjoyed  power,  even  for  the  Germanic  and  Ger- 
manised provinces.  Trade  was  still  in  fetters,  the  transgres- 
sions of  the  press  were  punished  by  long  and  cruel  im- 
prisonments, no  right  of  association  for  political  purposes 
could  even  be  dreamt  of,  and  societies  formed  for  non-political 
purposes  were  always  in  danger  of  being  suppressed,  if  they 
strayed  at  all  too  near  the  charmed  boundary.  During  its 
later  period  the  Eeichsrath  showed  itself  far  less  complaisant 
to  ministers,  and  they  had  to  endure  very  sharp  criticisms  ; 
but  a  dispassionate  observer  will  hardly  consider  that  the  re- 
sults of  the  working  of  the  February  Patent  in  Austria  were 
such  as  to  make  him  very  much  regret  the  suspension  of  the 
sort  of  constitutional  life  which  was  enjoyed  under  it. 

Ever  since  the  dissolution  of  the  Hungarian  Diet  and  the 
retirement  of  Vay  and  Szechen,  close  relations  had  been  kept 
up  between  the  Himgarian  "Old  Conservatives"  and  the  Fede- 
ralist section  of  the  Eeichsrath.  They  showed,  on  the  other 
hand,  great  attention  to  Deak,  and  endeavoured  to  come  to  an 
understanding  with  him,  as  the  leader  of  the  moderate  Hunga- 
rian Liberals.  At  last,  about  Easter  1865,  a  highly-conciliatory 
article  appeared  in  his  organ  at  Pesth,  and  that  was  speedily 
followed  by  three  letters  from  Pesth,  which  appeared  in  the 
Dehatte,  laying  down  authoritatively  the  programme  of  the 
moderate  Hungarian  Liberals.     The  Dehattey  acting  in  the  in- 


182  AUSTRIA. 

terest  of  the  "  Old  Conservatives,"  claimed  for  these  most  remark- 
able letters  a  careful  and  candid  perusal,  which  they  obtained 
in  very  wide  circles,  nor  can  we  doubt  that  they  contributed 
materially  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  good  understanding. 

The  principal  points  laid  down  in  these  letters  are,  that, 
without  the  retirement  of  M.  Schmerling,  no  good  understand- 
ing between  Hungary  and  Vienna  could  be  dreamt  of ;  that 
Deak  was  in  the  habit  of  speaking  in  the  most  friendly  terms 
of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Eeichsrath  ;  and  that  his  friends 
were  generally  in  favour  of  a  conciliatory  policy.  They  then 
go  on  to  point  out  that  the  Hungarians  take  their  stand  upon 
the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  and  that  to  leave  so  firm  a  standing- 
ground  would  be  unpossible.  Looking,  then,  to  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction  as  the  ultimate  authority  on  all  questions  between 
Hungary  and  its  monarch,  the  writer  asks — 

1.  Are  there  any  affairs  which  are  common  to  all  the  lands 
of  the  Austrian  empire  ? 

2.  If  so,  what  are  they  ? 

3.  How  should  they  be  managed  ? 

The  first  of  these  questions  was  answered  by  the  laws  of 
1848  and  the  addresses  of  the  Diet  in  1861. 

There  are  affairs  luhicli  are  common  to  all  the  lands  of  the 
Austrian  empire. 

The  answer  to  the  second  question  can  easily  be  deduced 
from  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  if  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be 
guided  by  the  principle,  that  all  affairs  which  are  common 
to  all  the  lands  of  the  Austrian  empire,  are  so  only  in  so  far 
as  their  being  treated  as  common  affairs  is  necessary  to  the  safety 
of  the  monarchy. 

The  Pragmatic  Sanction,  then,  contemplates  all  the 
Austrian  lands  as  belonging  to  one  common  ruler.     The  first 


THE  LETTERS  FROM  PESTH.  183 

comiiiou  afi'air  is  then  the  keeping  up  the  position  and  dignity 
of  the  common  rider.  Next,  the  Pragmatic  Sanction  binds  the 
several  lands  to  niutucd  supp)ort  That  mutual  support  must 
be  of  a  twofold  kind,  peaceful  and  warlike — that  is,  diplomatic 
and  military.  Hence  the  management  of  foreign  relations  and 
of  the  army  are  common  affairs.  The  management  of  foreign 
relations  must  necessarily  be  entirely  common,  and  guided  by 
one  hand.  Not  so  the  army.  Tlie  command  of  the  army,  and 
all  that  relates  to  its  internal  management,  must  belong  to  the 
emperor ;  but  the  right  of  determining  all  matters  relating  to 
Himgarian  troops,  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  idea  of  a 
common  army  should  belong  to  one  hand,  must  belong  to  the 
Diet.  This  relates  to  such  matters  as  time  of  ser\dce,  recruit- 
ing, amount  of  force,  billeting,  and  so  forth.  Of  course  there 
is  nothing  in  this  demand  to  exclude  common  deliberation  as 
to  the  quota  of  troops  to  be  furnished  by  Hungary. 

Another  common  affair  is  the  providing  of  money  for  all 
common  affairs,  and  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  Hungarian 
Finance  Minister  to  furnish  to  the  Imperial  Finance  Minister 
Hungary's  proper  quota  ;  but  he  would  at  the  same  time 
manage  the  finances  of  the  nation,  in  so  far  as  they  were  not 
common  affairs,  according  to  the  pleasure  of  the  Diet.  So, 
too,  the  highest  and  broadest  questions  of  commercial  policy  must 
also,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  common  affairs,  and  a  good 
understanding  about  them  can  hardly  be  difficult  to  arrive  at, 
when  we  remember  that  the  tendency  of  the  age  is  in  all 
countries  towards  uniformity. 

The  answer  to  the  last  question  is  more  difficult,  and  the 
writer  speaks,  when  he  comes  to  deal  with  it,  with  more 
diffidence.  His  leading  principles  are  :  That  a  central  parlia- 
ment is  impossible  ;  that  a  separate  Hungarian  ministiy  is 


184  AUSTRIA. 

indispensable ;  and  that  the  countries  east  and  west  of  the 
Leitha  must  "be  considered  as  two  aggregations  of  lands,  having 
a  'parity  of  rights.  Into  his  other  suggestions  we  need  not  go, 
for  they  have,  to  a  considerable  extent,  been  already  left  be- 
hind by  the  progTess  of  events  ;  but  we  have  analysed  his  first 
two  letters  in  some  detail,  because  they  form  the  very  best 
answer  which  we  have  met  with  to  the  question — What  is  it 
precisely  that  the  Hungarians  want  ? 

AVe  ought,  perhaps,  to  say  something  of  the  man  to  whom 
all  Hungary  was  now  looking,  and  whose  views  are  supposed 
to  be  embodied  in  these  letters. 

Francis  Deakwas  born  in  the  year  1803,  on  an  estate  be- 
longing to  his  father  in  the  county  of  Szalad.  He  studied  at 
Baab,  and,  like  most  of  the  Hungarian  gentry,  began  to  attend 
the  county  meetings  as  soon  as  he  was  of  age.  There  he  soon 
became  conspicuous,  and  acquired  the  goodwill  of  the  Cortes, 
or  electors,  in  so  high  a  degree,  that  he  had  no  difficulty  in 
succeeding  his  elder  brother  as  their  deputy  to  the  Diet,  which 
sat  from  1832  to  1836.  By  1840,  his  position  as  the  leader 
of  the  Liberal  party  was  acknowledged,  and  he  had  become 
known  beyond  the  limits  of  his  country,  for  his  profound 
acquaintance  with  her  laws,  as  well  as  for  his  wisdom,  politi- 
cal tact,  and  conciliatory  temper.  He  was  not  a  member  of 
the  Diet  of  1847,  but  held  a  portfolio  in  Count  Louis  Batthy- 
ani's  first  cabinet,  in  1848.  This  he  resigned  when  Kossuth 
and  his  immediate  supporters  seemed  bent  upon  pushing 
matters  to  extremity ;  and  his  last  public  appearance  during 
the  revolutionary  period  was  as  a  negotiator  in  the  camp  of 
Windischgriitz,  when  that  commander  was  marching  upon 
Pesth.  After  the  revolution,  the  government  of  Prince 
Schwartzenberg  tried  to  induce  him  to  aid  them  in  their  plans 


THE  RETIREMENT  OF  SCHMERLING.  185 

for  re-arranging  the  institutions  of  Hungary.  Although,  how- 
ever, the  changes  which  he  had  proposed  to  introduce  as 
minister  were  very  great,  their  leading  ideas  were  so  utterly 
different  from  those  which  were  entertained  at  this  period  in 
Vienna,  that  he  declined  the  advances  made  to  him,  and  lived 
as  a  private  citizen,  till  the  events  of  1861  brought  him,  as 
we  have  seen,  once  more  into  prominence.  And  now,  again, 
"the  wheel  has  come  full  circle,"  and  he  stands  before  Europe 
as  the  first  man  of  his  people.  If  his  wise  and  moderate 
policy  succeeds,  no  one  now  living  will  better  deserve  the  title 
of  ^^  faUr  ipatrioer 

Even  before  the  reconstruction  of  the  cabinet  last  summer, 
the  royal  visit  to  Hungary,  which  has  been  so  well  described 
in  the  Eevioe  des  Deux  Mondes,  the  retirement  of  M.  Schmer- 
ling,  and  other  symptoms,  showed  that  a  change  of  system 
was  in  contemplation.  Of  the  new  ministers  who  were 
gathered  under  the  wing  of  Count  Mensdorff-Pouilly,  whose 
importance  is  not  in  connection  with  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
empire.  Count  Belcredi  became  Minister  of  the  Interior  for 
all  the  provinces  not  linked  with  the  crown  of  Hungary.  Of 
Italian  descent,  he  has  property  in  Moravia,  has  been  Statt- 
halter  of  Bohemia,  and  is  favourably  known  as  a  good  ad- 
ministrator, averse  to  the  "Zopf"  of  the  old  bureaucratic 
system ;  Count  Larisch,  a  nobleman  of  good  intentions  and 
liberal  views,  but  by  no  means  a  Gladstone,  took  charge  of 
the  finances ;  while  George  von  Majlath,  an  extremely 
able  man,  became  Chancellor  of  Hungary.  The  name,  how- 
ever, which  has  been  chiefly  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  overthrow  of  the  Schmerling  policy,  is  that  of 
Count  Maurice  Esterhazy,  who  has  been  in  the  govern- 
ment ever  since  the  retirement  of  Baron  Vay.     His  name, 


186  AUSTRIA. 

it  must  be  admitted,  associated  as  it  is  with  intrigue  and 
Jesuitry,  has  been  anything  but  a  tower  of  strength  to  his 
colleagues. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Schmerling  policy  was  finally  an- 
nounced to  the  empire  by  the  imperial  manifesto  of  the  20th 
September  1865.  ^Vhether  we  agree  or  disagree  with  the  views 
which  dictated  it,  it  is  impossible  to  read  that  document  without 
feeling  that  the  intentions  of  those  who  framed  it  were  honest. 
By  it  the  emperor  declares  his  intention  of  falling  back  upon 
the  Diploma  of  20th  October  1860,  suspending  the  effect  of 
the  Patent  of  the  26th  February  1861,  with  all  its  conse- 
quences. In  fact,  he  admits,  in  effect,  that  the  system  of 
centralisation  by  which  M.  Schmerling  had  attempted  to  work 
out  and  to  modify  the  ideas  of  the  October  Diploma,  had  been 
an  utter  failure,  and  that  upon  the  foundation  of  that  Diploma 
a  new  system  must  be  erected,  carrying  out  its  ideas  without 
any  modification,  at  least  in  a  centralist  sense. 

The  effect  produced  upon  public  opinion  in  Vienna  by  this 
proclamation  was  of  course  very  great ;  and  those  who,  like 
the  writer  of  this  paper,  chanced  to  be  upon  the  spot,  heard 
the  most  diverse  opinions.  "  The  situation,'^  said  one,  "  is  as 
triste  as  possible.  The  ministry  stands  alone,  and  has  really 
no  party,  except  in  Hungary."  "  Why  do  you  come  here  at 
present  ?"  said  a  second  ;  *'  you  can  learn  nothing  now.  All 
that  was  has  disappeared,  and  nothing  has  been  put  in  its 
place."  "  The  present  position  of  affairs,"  said  a  third,  "  is 
very  puzzling,  and  the  Germans  are  not  unnaturally  irritated  ; 
but  the  change  of  system  having  been  once  announced,  there 
is  nothing  for  it  but  to  help  it  to  work.  The  new  ministers 
are  honourable  men — men  of  the  world,  aristocratical  in  tend- 
ency, and  hence  unpopular  with  the  German  party,  which  is 


THE  SEPTEMBEK  MANIFESTO.  187 

essentially  of  the  middle  class."  "  Talk  of  governing  Austria 
by  the  Hungarians!"  said  a  fourth;  "talk  of  governing 
England  by  the  gipsies  I"  Some  there  were  who  thought  that 
the  irritation  of  the  emperor  against  certain  members  of  the 
Eeichsrath  had  had  much  to  do  with  the  suspension  of  its 
powers.  Others,  again,  looked  at  the  whole  matter  from  a 
very  different  point  of  view.  "  Of  course,"  they  said,  "  for 
Liberals  to  rejoice  at  the  suspension  of  a  constitution  has  an 
ugly  look  ;  but  if  that  constitution  is  only  laid  aside  in  order 
to  put  something  better  in  its  place,  they  are  surely  right  in 
rejoicing.     The  recent  change  was  the  only  thing  possible." 

This  chaos  of  opinion  *  still  continues,  and  will  continue  ; 
and  while  we  range  ourselves  on  the  side  of  the  new  minis- 
ters, we  do  so  with  the  full  consciousness  that  some  of  the 
most  impartial  and  best  informed  observ^ers  of  Austrian 
politics  have  taken  the  other  view. 

To  our  thinking,  then,  it  would  be  infinitely  desirable  that 
the  idea  of  that  Austrian  Guizot,  M.  Schmerling,  should  be 
carried  out,  and  that  there  should  be  in  Vienna  a  Parliament 
whose  decrees  on  all  subjects  should  be  as  much  respected  in 
Essek  and  Sissek,  in  Debreczin  and  Kronstadt,  as  those  of 

*  About  a  month,  after  this  paper  originally  appeared,  an  extremely  interest- 
ing article  upon  the  "Situation  in  Austria"  "was  published  in  the  Westminster 
Review  of  April  1866.  It  should  be  read  in  connection  Avith  another  article, 
evidently  by  the  same  hand,  which  enriched  the  pages  of  the  same  periodical 
about  three  years  ago.  Both  are  the  productions  of  one  who  had  a  good 
right  to  interpret  to  England  the  views  of  the  part}^  most  opposed  to  the 
September  Patent,  more  especially  the  Boheroian  section  of  it.  The  following 
paragraphs,  which  we  quote  from  this  well-informed  and  able  writer,  express 
with  very  gi-eat  clearness  the  views  taken  by  the  various  provincial  assemblies, 
of  tbe  lands  unconnected  with  the  Hungarian  crown,  about  the  great  change  of 
last  autumn  : — 

'  *  All  the  Diets  of  the  countries  on  this  side  the  Leitha,  seventeen  in  num- 
ber, met  towards  the  end  of  last  November,      We  give  below,  in  a  tabular 


188 


AUSTEIA. 


our  own  are  from  London  to  Unst  or  St.  Kilda ;  but  that  seems 
to  us  just  one  of  the  many  desirable  things  which  are  simply 

form,  the  votes  for  and  against  the  present  government  in  the  different  Diets, 
with  the  population  of  the  countries  represented,  the  number  of  members  in 
such  Diet,  and  their  quotas  of  deputies  to  the  Reichsrath,  according  to  the 
Patent  of  February  1861 : — 


In  respect  to 

Number  of 

Population 
represented. 

the  Sep.  Patent ; 

Members  in  the 

Countries  and  Seats  of  Diets. 

Votes 
for  and  against 

the  Ministry. 

Diet. 

rath. 

Galicia — Lemberg 

4,612,000 

149 

1 

150 

38 

Bukowina — Czernowltz  . 

462,000 

30 

— 

30 

5 

*Moravia — Briinu     ... 

1,887,994 

51 

42 

100 

22 

*Caniiola — Laibach ... 

451,941 

18 

12 

37 

6 

Gorz — Gradiska — Gorz  . 

195,000 

13 

6 

22 

2 

Istria — Parenzo 

235,000 

30 

— 

30 

2 

Trieste — Trieste     ... 

95,000 

36 

4 

40 

2 

Dalmatia — Zara 

404,499 

32 

3 

43 

c       5 

Bohemia — Prague  ... 

4,705,525 

118 
10 

97 
46 

241 
66 

54 
18 

Lower  Austria — Vienna 

13,038,959 

1,681,697 

Upper       „           Linz    ... 

707,450 

12 

34 

50 

10 

Styria — Gratz 

1,056,773 

7 

50 

63 

13 

Salzburg 

146,769 

— 

26 

26 

3 

Silesia — Troppau    

443,912 

1 

30 

31 

6 

Carinthia — Klagenfurth 

332,456 

7 

28 

37 

5 

Vorarlberg  — Bregenz     . . . 

•• 

102,000 

2 

18 

20 
68 

2 
10 

fTyrol — Iimspruck 

4,471,057 

774,000 

513 

393 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  above  table  that  seven  of  the  Diets,  representing  a 
population  of  about  four  and  a  half  millions,  have,  either  iu  resolutions  or 
addrescs  to  the  Throne,  expressed  more  or  less  dissatisfaction  with  the  Sep- 
tember Act.  It  has  been  most  decidedly  pronounced  in  the  addresses  of  Lower 

*  Although,  as  regards  confidence  in  the  present  ministry,  the  votes  in 
these  two  Diets  were  as  above,  yet  in  neither  were  motions  of  addresses  to  the 
Crown,  to  express  thanks  or  dissatisfaction,  carried.  That  for  the  expression 
of  gi-atitude  for  the  September  Act  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  three  in  the  Diet 
of  Moravia  ;  that  to  express  dissatisfaction  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  nine. 

f  The  Diet  of  Tyrol  did  not  enter  into  any  discussion  of  the  September 
manifest.  It  was  received  in  silence.  The  Diet  is  not  satisfied  with  the 
present  ministry  on  the  Protestant  question.  It  never,  however,  approved  of 
Schmerling's  policy. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  AUSTRIA.  189 

impossible.  We  can  well  understand  how  painful  it  is  to  the 
members  of  the  "  Great- Austrian  party  "  to  be  obliged  to  give 
up  a  brilliant  and  clierished  dream  ;  but  they  must  learn,  we 
fear,  to  recognise  the  limitations  of  existence,  and  to  say,  with 
the  philosophy  which  distinguishes  their  race,  "  Es  ist  nun 
einmal  so."  There  may  be  a  time  far  off  when  their  dream 
shall  become  a  reality  ;  but  it  must  be  at  a  time  so  remote  as 
to  lie  quite  beyond  the  ken  of  the  politician. 

It  is  but  too  true  that  even  if  the  question  which  now 
divides  opinions  in  Austria  were  settled  in  the  most  satisfac- 
tory manner,  and  if  the  Hungarian  Diet  and  the  Central 
Assembly  at  Vienna  were  working  side  by  side,  with  most  of 
the  minor  provincial  assemblies,  from  the  Lake  of  Constance 
to  Cattaro,  following  suit,  the  empire  would  still  be  an  object 
of  considerable  anxiety  to  all  politicians.  It  is  hardly  pos- 
sible that  such  a  state  of  concord  can  be  perpetual ;  nothing, 
at  least,  has  ever  occurred  in  the  world's  history  to  entitle  us 

Austria  and  Vorarlberg.  That  of  the  latter  little  province  was  couched  in 
language  so  violent  and  disrespectful  to  the  Crown  that  it  has  not  been  received. 
In  this  land,  as  in  T}to1,  the  greater  portion  of  the  countiy  population  has 
alwaj's  been  opposed  to  the  policy  of  the  late  government ;  and  it  has  been 
owing  to  the  influence  of  the  Protectionist  wealthy  German  manufacturers 
and  the  people  in  their  employ  (most  of  them  immigrants  from  Switzerland 
and  Southern  Germany)  that  the  action  of  the  Diet  has  been  decided. 

The  Diets  of  Galicia,  Bukowina,  Bohemia,  and  of  the  coast-lands  (Istria, 
Trieste,  etc.),  have  acted  in  a  direction  contrary  to  the  above,  and  have  pre- 
sented addresses  to  the  Throne  expressing  deep-felt  gratitude  for  the  Septem- 
ber manifest,  and  the  change  of  policy  involved  therein.  The  Diet  of  Dalmatia 
likewise  voted  an  address  appro\dng  the  manifest,  but  at  the  same  time 
regretting  the  suspension  of  the  lesser  Reichsrath.  This  clause  was  introduced 
through  the  influence  of  the  officials,  too  many  of  whom,  owing  to  Schmer- 
ling's  election  manoeuvres,  have  seats  in  this  assembly,  greatly  to  the  dis- 
satisfaction of  the  Slavonic  population  of  that  country.  If  we  include 
Dalmatia,  the  Diets  which,  in  addresses  to  the  Throne,  have  expressed 
approval  of  the  September  Act,  represent  a  population  of  upwards  of  ten  and 
a  half  millions. " 


190  AUSTEIA. 

to  cherisli  so  bright  a  hope.  The  best,  perhaps,  to  which  we 
can  look  forward  is,  that  some  day  or  other,  under  circum- 
stances different,  and  far  more  favourable  than  the  present,  it 
may  be  given  to  some  statesmen  to  turn  the  personal  union 
which  Deak  now  conceives  to  exist  between  Austria  and 
Hungary  ;  or  the  real  union  which  Wheaton  and  other 
publicists  see  in  their  connection  ;  or  the  unnamed  union  he- 
tween  a  real  and  personal  union,  for  which  the  author  of 
Drei  Jahre  Verfassungsstreit  contends,  into  an  incorporative 
union  like  that  which  exists  between  England  and  Scotland. 
The  increase  of  railways  and  other  means  of  communication 
may  make  this  come  quicker  than  seems  possible  at  present, 
but  it  must  still  be  very  far  away. 

There  is  in  this  mighty  empire  the  strangest  intermingling 
of  society  as  it  Avas  in  the  seventeenth  century  with  society 
as  it  is  now  in  the  most  highly-advanced  nations.  How  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  believe  that  the  scenes  which  Mr.  Boner  describes 
in  the  Transylvanian  Saxon-land  are  going  on  at  this  moment ; 
or  that  in  the  Eouman  nation,  which  is  called  to  equal  rights 
with  the  most  civilised  populations  of  the  empire,  there  should 
be  only  about  150  educated  men  ! 

The  difficulties  which  have  been  entailed  upon  the  present 
rulers  of  Austria  by  the  follies,  crimes,  and  neglects  of  many 
generations,  are  so  great,  that  we  ought  to  judge  particular 
acts,  if  they  continue  as  now  to  be  clearly  animated  by  honest 
intentions,  with  the  greatest  forbearance,  and  give  much 
weight  to  what  such  writers  as  Mr.  Paton  and  Mr.  Boner 
have  to  say  about  the  doings  of  Austrian  employes,  even  at  the 
worst  and  most  painful  moments  of  recent  years.  We  hope 
that  if  the  questions  which  at  present  agitate  the  empire  can 
be  in  any  way  tolerably  arranged,  the  next  few  years  will  be 


THE    COMMERCIAL   TREATY.  191 

given,  as  much  as  possible,  to  material  improvement.  Much, 
even  since  we  first  saw  Hungary,  nineteen  years  ago,  has 
been  done  for  the  improvement  of  that  magnificent  country  ; 
but  millions  of  capital  must  still  be  expended  before  her 
resources  are  even  half  developed  ;  and  we  cannot  help 
thinkmg  that  Mr.  Boner  is  right  in  pointing  to  Transylvania 
as  a  very  profitable  field  for  English  enterprise. 

A  most  wise  beginning  has  been  made  by  the  present 
ministers  of  Austria  in  the  commercial  treaty  with  England — 
a  measure  which,  as  has  been  truly  said,  marks  a  turning- 
point,  not  only  in  the  policy  of  their  country,  but  in  that  of 
ours  ;  in  the  policy  of  their  country,  because  they  give  up  the 
prohibitive  system  in  which  they  have  so  long  delighted  ;  in 
that  of  ours,  because,  far  more  decidedly  than  in  the  French 
treaty,  we  come  forward  as  the  assertors  of  the  principle  that 
for  a  nation  to  refuse  to  exchange  with  us  those  commodities 
which  can  be  exchanged  with  mutual  advantage  by  both 
nations,  is  an  unfriendly,  semi-hostile  act,  and  because  we 
give  it  distinctly  to  be  understood,  that  far  from  thinking  it 
necessary  to  buy  ''  concessions"  by  "  concessions''  on  our  part, 
we  think  that  by  persuading  the  Austrians  to  make  these 
^' concessions"  we  are  conferring  at  least  as  great  a  benefit 
upon  them  as  on  ourselves.  The  "  concessions  "  which  we 
make  with  regard  to  the  timber  duties,  and  to  the  duties 
on  wines  in  bottle,  are  really  no  equivalents  at  all  for 
their  "concessions,"  for  not  only  are  they  trifling  in  them- 
selves, but  we  should  very  soon  have  made  them  for  our  own 
purposes.  In  fact,  their  being  treated  as  "  concessions"  at 
all,  is  only  an  accommodation  to  the  weakness  of  haK-con- 
verted  neophytes. 

The  history  of  this  treaty  is  a  curious  one.     Springing  out 


192  AUSTRIA. 

of  the  anti-Frencli  sympathies  of  a  small  knot  of  English 
politicians,  becoming  complicated  with  questions  of  a  loan 
and  the  private  arrangements  of  capitalists,  it  gradually 
slipped  into  the  hands  of  the  two  men  most  fitted  to  carry  it 
to  a  successful  issue — Mr.  Morier,  one  of  the  ablest  of  that 
not  too  numerous  class  of  diplomatists  who  take  au  serieux 
their  noble  profession,  and  Mr.  Mallet  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
whose  great  knowledge  of  mercantile  affairs,  wide  sympathies, 
and  high  political  ability,  are  known  and  appreciated  by  all 
who  have  watched  our  commercial  progress  in  the  last  ten 
years.  Great  credit  is  also  due  to  Mr.  Somerset  Beaumont 
for  having  originated  the  idea  of  a  treaty  with  Austria,  and 
for  having  paved  the  way  for  it,  at  the  cost  of  infinite  time 
and  trouble — efforts  which  have  as  yet  by  no  means  been,  in 
our  opinion,  sufficiently 'appreciated.  These  three  gentlemen 
should  divide  between  them  most  of  the  praise  which  accrues 
to  England  from  this  transaction,  although  other  figures  flitted 
across  the  negotiations,  and  were  sometimes  helpful  enough. 
On  the  Austrian  side  all  credit  is  due  to  Count  Mensdorfif  and 
Baron  Wtillerstorf,  especially  to  the  former,  whose  conduct 
was  loyal  and  honourable  in  the  highest  degree. 

The  direct  effects  of  the  treaty  in  promoting  trade  between 
Austria  and  this  country  will  not  be  very  great  or  very  im- 
mediate, although  we  need  hardly  say  that  the  average  of  the 
new  duties  will  be  far  below  the  maximum  of  25  per  cent. 
A  very  large  trade  between  Austria  and  Switzerland,  and 
Austria  and  Italy,  may  presently  be  expected  to  arise,  and 
when  any  impulse  is  given  to  the  general  trade  of  Europe, 
we  shall  not  be  long  without  reaping  great  indirect  advantage. 

The  finances  of  Austria  may  be  expected  to  improve 
under  this  judicious  change  of  system,  and  we  may  trust  that 


DIFFICULTIES   OF  AUSTRIA.  193 

in  twenty  years  the  least  advanced  of  Austrian  economists 
will  look  back  with  astonishment  on  the  fact  which  Count 
Larisch  lately  announced  to  the  world,  that  the  state  lotteries 
brought  into  his  coffers  more  than  half  as  much  again  as  the 
customs.  Still  we  must  not  expect  to  see  the  fruit  of  all  this 
late  wisdom  ripen  too  soon.  Austria  is  terribly  poor,  and  it 
will  be  long  before  she  feels  in  all  her  members  the  vivifying 
influence  of  a  just  commercial  legislation. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  even  if  the  relations  of  the 
lands  of  the  Hungarian  crown  to  the  rest  of  the  empire  were 
definitely  settled,  much  tact  and  good  sense  would  be  required 
on  the  part  of  Hungarian  statesmen  to  prevent  the  outbreak 
of  those  jealousies  of  nationality  which  proved  so  fatal  to 
Hungarian  aspirations  in  1848  and  1849.  Doubtless,  the 
tyranny  of  the  Bach  period,  by  showing  all  the  nationalities 
that  they  had  a  common  enemy  in  the  centralisers  of  Vienna, 
did  a  good  deal  to  destroy  the  memory  of  old  feuds.  "  The 
Croat,"  said  a  man  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Agram  to  the 
writer,  in  1851,  "put  down  the  Hungarian,  but  he  will  take 
uncommonly  good  care  not  to  do  it  again."  A  very  little 
manifestation,  however,  of  the  old  ultra-Magyar  spirit  would 
soon  make  the  Eoumans  or  the  Euthenians  more  unwilling  to 
take  laws  from  Pesth  than  even  from  Vienna,  if,  indeed,  the 
former  will  not  be  hostile  to  any  Magyar  ascendancy,  however 
beneficent.  Baron  Eotvos,  who  shows  in  his  recent  pamphlet, 
Die  Nationalitdten-Frage,  that  he  thoroughly  understands  the 
force,  while  he  does  not  estimate  too  highly  the  wisdom,  of 
the  nationality  cry,  takes  a  hopeful  view  of  this  subject,  and 
thinks  that  many  of  the  difiicidties  which  are  involved  in  the 
question  of  Hungarian  nationalities  will  be  got  over,  if  only 
the  state  will  leave  as  much  play  as  possible  to  individual 

0 


194  AUSTRIA. 

liberty  ;  and  without  pronouncing  any  opinion  upon  a  ques- 
tion about  which  no  one  who  has  not  lived  long  in  the  country, 
and  transacted  business  in  many  parts  of  it,  has  a  right  to 
speak,  we  would  fain  accept  the  views  of  one  who  is  at  once 
a  patriot  and  a  man  of  enlightenment  * 

The  question  of  Venetia  is  extremely  difficidt — far  more 
difficult  than  it  appears  at  first  sight  to  most  of  our  country- 
men. In  the  first  place,  The  military  reasons  which  have  been 
so  fully  stated  in  England  by  Mr.  Bonamy  Price  in  favour  of 
the  retention  of  the  Quadrilateral,  deserve  serious  attention ; 
secondly,  The  pride  of  the  Austrian  army  appears  to  be  engaged 
in  favour  of  not  surrendering  this  piece  of  ItaKan  soil  without 
a  struggle  ;  thirdly.  The  emperor  is  himself  understood  to  feel 
very  strongly  on  the  subject ;  fourthly,  A  very  large  number 
of  persons  in  the  Germanic  provinces  would  consider  the 
abandonment  of  Venetia  as  a  heavy  blow  and  a  great  dis- 
couragement ;  fifthly.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Hun- 
garians, if  their  own  demands  were  satisfied,  would  not  be 
willing  to  fight  against  Italy. 

To  these  various  considerations  we  may  reply,  first,  that 
if  Italy  becomes  reasonably  powerful,  there  is  little  chance  of 
French  armies  repeating  against  Austria  the  tactics  of  IsTapo- 
leon's  Italian  campaigns,  while  it  is  hardly  probable  that  the 
Italians,  if  once  they  have  Venetia,  will  allow  themselves  to 
listen  to  those  zealots  who  would  teach  them  to  clamour  for 
Istria  and  other  such  rcvendications.  The  second  and  third 
objections  are  serious,  and  we  confess  we  do  not  see  how  any- 
thing but  the  ultima  ratio  regum  is  likely  to  overcome  them. 

*  For  a  more  formal  statement  of  the  views  of  Hungarian  Liberals  on  this 
subject,  see  the  translation  of  the  Second  Addi'ess  of  the  Diet  of  1861  in  Mr. 
Home  Payne's  Collection  of  Documents  illustrative  of  Hungarian  history  in 
that  year. 


VENETIA.  195 

To  the  fourth  we  answer  that  we  do  not  believe  the  majority 
of  persons  in  the  Germanic  provinces  would  allow,  when  it 
came  to  the  point,  their  passions  to  overcome  their  interest  in 
a  matter  which  is  capable  of  being  translated  into  a  ques- 
tion of  figures.  We  have  heard  a  prominent  member  of  the 
most  essentially  German  section  of  the  Eeichsrath  admit  that 
the  question  of  Venetia  must  one  day  be  settled  against 
Austria,  although  not  without  a  war.  To  the  fifth  objection 
we  hardly  see  what  to  reply,  but  trust  that  the  argimient  of 
the  purse  might,  at  the  critical  moment,  not  be  without  its 
influence  on  the  other  side  of  the  Leitha. 

When  we  balance  these  considerations,  we  may  well  doubt 
whether  Austria  is  at  all  likely  to  sell  Venetia,  but  hold  it  to 
be  more  than  probable  that,  if  she  does  not  do  so,  she  will  ere 
long  lose  it  by  war.  Much  depends  on  the  course  that  things 
take  in  Italy.  If  the  new  kingdom  becomes  gradually  con- 
solidated, if  its  miserable  finances  are  put  in  order,  if  the 
brigandage  which  makes  people  almost  long  for  the  'rule  of 
the  Dukes  and  the  Bourbons  is  effectually  put  down,  if  the 
Eoman  question  is  solved,  and  the  country  begins  to  be  re- 
spected rather  than  patronised — public  opinion  in  Europe,  and 
common-sense  at  home,  may  possibly  become  too  strong  even 
for  the  pride  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg-Lorraine,  and  the 
susceptibilities  of  that  devoted  army  to  which  it  owes  so  much. 
In  one  way  or  another,  however,  we  cannot  doubt  that  Italy 
must  eventually  possess  Venetia,  and  that  Austria  must  make 
up  her  mind  to  the  loss,  if  loss  indeed  it  be. 

The  future  position  of  Austria  with  regard  to  Northern 
and  Central  Germany  is  another  question  of  even  greater 
difficulty.  The  relations  of  Austria  to  Germany  have  been 
treated  at  great  length  in  a  very  interesting  work  by  Baron 


196  AUSTRIA. 

Eotvos.  His  thesis  is  that  the  unity  of  Germany  is  necessary 
to  the  peace  of  Europe,  and  that  the  legislative  separation  of 
Hungary,  and  her  connection  with  the  rest  of  the  empire  by  a 
merely  personal  union,  is  a  necessary  condition  of  German 
unity.  Unlike  Baron  Eotvos,  we  should  prefer  to  see  Austria 
altogether  divorced  from  her  connection  with  the  Bund, 
although  we  are,  of  course,  not  insensible  to  the  grand  features 
of  the  so-called  Gross-Deutsch  idea,  and  to  the  maimed  and 
truncated  appearance  which  Germany  would  present,  if  she 
lost  all  the  fair  and  historic  German-speaking  lands  which 
are  politically  connected  with  Austria.  Looking,  however, 
not  to  what  is  abstractedly  desirable,  but  to  what  is  not 
wholly  impossible,  we  pronounce  for  the  view  which  finds 
favour  in  Prussia.  So  vast,  however,  are  the  difficulties  which 
lie  in  the  way  of  any  such  solution  of  the  German  question, 
so  much  has  the  popular  sentiment  in  the  Middle  States  been 
damped  by  the  succession  of  follies  which  have  characterised 
the  reign  of  the  present  king  of  Prussia,  so  fiercely  will  a 
hundred  menaced  interests  fight  each  for  their  own  hand 
against  the  Klein-deutsche  solution  of  the  problem,  that,  it 
may  well  be,  several  decades  may  pass  before  any  revolution  in 
Germany  comes  about.  German  patriots  pray  for  sages  on  the 
throne  of  Prussia,  and  fools  on  all  the  minor  thrones  ;  but  as 
yet  their  prayers  do  not  meet  with  any  very  satisfactory  answer. 
There  are  some  who  say,  and  we  can  well  believe  them, 
that  the  Austrian  dynasty  will  give  up  anytliing  rather  than 
its  hold  upon  Germany.  Venetia  may  go,  Hungary  may  go, 
anything  and  everything,  rather  than  the  old  recollections 
of  Frankfort.  Nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  the  kaiser 
should  think  the  felicity  of  reigning  over  any  given  number  of 
Koumans,  Bulgarians,  or  Bosnians,  would  be  dearly  bought  by 


AUSTRIA   AND    TURKEY.  197 

the  loss  of  even  a  single  German  province  ;  and  if  we  look  at 
the  latest  information  from  Northern  Turkey  in  Europe — the 
little  work  lately  edited  by  Mr.  H.  Sandwith  for  two  enter- 
prising English  ladies — we  shall  see  great  reason  to  doubt 
whether  the  prospect  of  only  exchanging  Turkish  for  Austrian 
ride,  would  excite  any  particular  enthusiasm  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  Save.  If  this  be  so,  however,  and  if  it  be  true,  as 
we  fear  it  is,  that  the  Austrian  occupation  of  the  Principalities 
has  left  behind  it  more  bitter  recollections  than  either  the 
Eussian  or  the  Turkish,  what  is  the  idea  of  an  Austria  whose 
centre  shall  be  Pesth,  and  which  shall  extend  all  down  the 
Danube  valley,  but  a  pleasant  dream?  We  say  this  with 
sorrow,  and  should  like  nothing  better  than  that  some  one 
might  prove  to  us  that  we  are  too  desponding ;  for  since  the 
resignation  by  the  Emperor  Erancis  of  the  imperial  German 
crown,  with  all  its  shadowy  and  sublime  prerogatives,  this  has 
seemed  the  natural  and  logical  solution  of  many  of  the  great 
difficulties  of  Central  Europe. 

We  do  not  wonder,  then,  that  the  policy  of  the  modern 
statesmen  of  Austria  with  regard  to  Turkey  should  be,  and 
has  been,  a  Conservative  one.  They  have  quarter-barbarians 
enough  of  their  own  to  manage  without  the  addition  of  a 
few  million  semi-barbarians  from  the  spoils  of  Turkey ;  and 
considering  the  powers  of  national  deglutition  and  digestion 
which  Eussia  has  shown,  they  may  well  fear  that  the  death 
of  the  Sick  Man  would  add  far  too  largely  to  her  inheritance. 

The  views  which  any  one  will  form  about  the  Polish  ques- 
tion in  its  bearings  upon  Austria,  will  of  course  depend  upon 
his  views  of  the  far  larger  question  as  to  the  future  of  Poland, 
of  which  we  have  elsewhere  spoken. 

Ever  since  the  famous  prophecy  of  Maria  Theresa,  Austria 


198  AUSTRIA. 

has  been  more  favourably  disposed  to  tliat  unhappy  country 
than  either  of  the  two  other  partitioning  powers  ;  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  she  should  have  thought  it  far  more  important, 
at  more  than  one  period  of  her  recent  history,  to  have  a  strong 
barrier  between  herself  and  Eussia,  than  to  possess  the,  after 
all,  not  very  extensive  territory  which  was  her  reward  for  the 
part  she  took  in  the  evil  transactions  for  which  Europe  has 
paid  and  will  still  pay  so  dearly.  The  hopeless  and  inextri- 
cable difficulties  with  which  the  Polish  question  is  surrounded 
have,  however,  up  to  this  time,  wholly  prevented  anything 
definite  being  done.  Some  little-known  details  will  be  found 
in  a  recent  article  by  M.  Klaczko  in  the  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes. 

Wlien  we  remember  how  bitterly  hated  the  Austrian 
government  was  in  this  country  only  a  few  years  ago,  it  is 
satisfactory  to  see  with  how  much  good  feeling  our  press  has 
recognised  the  efforts  which  it  has  recently  made  to  improve 
the  institutions  of  the  empire.  There  are,  however,  still  per- 
sons among  us  who  can  only  look  at  Austria  through  Italian 
spectacles,  and  who  believe  that  out  of  her  no  good  thing  can 
come.  We  are,  we  need  hardly  say,  of  a  very  different  opinion. 
There  is  no  country  of  the  Continent  for  whose  prosperity  we 
feel  more  anxious.  This  Europe  in  miniature — comprising  in 
itself  more  contrasts  of  climate,  of  scenery,  of  race,  of  language, 
of  religion,  of  civilisation,  than  any  other  region  of  equal  ex- 
tent in  this  quarter  of  the  globe — can  hardly  fail  to  excite  the 
interest  and  conciliate  the  goodwill  of  every  one  who  makes 
a  study  of  her  affairs.  We  cannot  name  any  country  which 
affords  so  many  facilities  for  experiments  of  living,  under 
unfamiliar  but  not  unfavourable  conditions.  That  out  of 
lier  disorder  may  come  a  many-sided  order,  that  out  of  her 


THE  FUTUKE.  199 

discouragement  may  come  cheerfulness,  and  out  of  her  errors 

wisdom,  is  our  fervent  hope ;  but  as  we  close  the  review  of 

her  recent  history  —  by  no  means  the  darkest  portion  of  her 

annals — ^Ye  cannot  help  counting  up  the  sins  of  her  rulers,  and 

asking  ourselves  whether  it  is  not  but  too  possible  that  for 

those  sins  there  may  yet  come  a  day  of  reckoning,  even  worse 

than  that  of  1848.     How  often,  during  the  period  through 

which  we  have  been  conducting  our  readers,  must  not  the 

wisest  observers  of  what  was  passing  at  Vienna  have  been 

tempted  to  exclaim  with  the  poet, — 

"  Aber  sie  treiben's  toll  ; 
Ich  filrcht  ?  es  breche  ? 
Nicht  jeden  Wochenscliluss 
Macht  Gott  die  Zeche." 

5fC  ^fZ  ^f*  T* 

The  three  agitated  months  ,that  have  passed  since  this 
paper  was  first  printed  have  not,  we  think,  veiy  materially 
altered  the  situation  in  Austria.  The  negotiations  between 
the  Hungarians  and  the  government  still  drag  their  slow  length 
along,  and  impartial  observers  can  hardly  help  fearing  that 
in  their  desire  to  get  as  much  as  they  can  for  themselves, 
each  party  runs  the  risk  of  putting  off  a  settlement  until  some 
sudden  event  may  force  them  to  accept  one,  which  may  be 
anything  but  agreeable.  Sometimes  we  even  doubt  whether 
they  really  wish  to  come  to  terms,  and  whether  each  does  not 
hope  more  from  the  chapter  of  accidents  than  from  their  long- 
continued  parley. 

Since  w^e  wrote,  great  clouds  have  gathered,  both  on  the 
south  and  north  of  the  empire,  and  the  German  and  Italian 
questions  have  alike  become  threatening.  If  an  appeal  is  made 
to  force,  no  one  can  venture  to  say  what  may  be  the  issue ; 
but  if  things  are  left  to  take  their  natural  course,  we  do  not, 


200  AUSTRIA. 

on  reconsideration,  feel  inclined  to  change  much  that  we  have 
said,  although  perhaps  our  view  of  the  Hungarian  question 
was  a  little  too  hopeful. 

It  is  hard  to  see  how  war,  should  it  unfortunately  break 
out,  can  materially  alter  the  relations  of  Austria  either  to  the 
Bund  or  to  Italy, — always  supposing  that  Austria  continues  to 
exist  in  anything  like  her  present  shape.  Once  let  war  break 
out,  and  even  that  becomes  uncertain,  for  who  can  say  what 
unforeseen  circumstances  may  arise  ?  Whatever  may  be  the 
strength  of  their  armies,  Prussia  is  a  natural,  Austria  an 
artificial  body.  We  have  already  said  that  it  seems  to  us, 
in  the  necessity  of  things,  that  the  German  and  Venetian 
questions  must  be  eventually  settled  in  accordance  with  the 
views  of  Berlin  and  Florence.  Even  if  Austria  were  for  a 
time  signally  victorious,  it  would  make  no  very  material  dif- 
ference in  the  end.  Should  war  not  arise,  it  is  possible  that 
the  discussions  which  have  been  and  are  taking  place  may,  on 
the  other  hand,  pave  the  way  for  us  to  arrive  more  speedily 
at  a  settlement  of  the  aflairs  of  Central  Europe,  which  may 
have  some  chance  of  being  permanent. 

Of  the  internal  events  of  the  empire,  not  the  least  curious 
which  has  occurred  within  the  last  few  weeks,  is  the  fresh 
outbreak  of  Czechish  agitation  at  Prague.  Nothing  could 
better  illustrate  the  extraordinary  and  quite  exceptional  diffi- 
culties of  Austria. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

PRUSSIA. 

The  politics,  no  less  than  the  scenery  of  North -eastern 
Germany,  are  by  no  means  attractive.  The  interminable 
marshes  of  the  Havel,  the  dreary  sand-waste  which  surrounds 
the  capital,  the  rich  but  unlovely  plain  of  Magdeburg,  have 
all  their  antitypes  in  the  history  of  Prussia.  From  time  to 
time  some  enterprising  English  newspaper  sends  a  corre- 
spondent to  Berlin  ;  but  the  editor  soon  discovers  that 
not  one  reader  in  a  thousand  pays  any  attention  to  his  let- 
ters, and  the  veil  once  more  descends  upon  those  confused 
struggles,  of  which,  even  more  truly  than  of  the  pictures 
of  Wouvermans,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  difficult  to  make 
out  "  which  is  plaintiff  and  which  defendant/' 

But  Prussian  politics  have  a  meaning  after  all,  and 
sometimes,  as  at  this  moment,  very  grave  issues  are  depend- 
ing on  the  decisions  of  Prussian  rulers  and  the  good  sense  of 
the  Prussian  people.  We  propose,  accordingly,  to  set  down  a 
few  notes,  which  may  save  those  who  wish  to  have  a  toler- 
ably clear  idea  of  what  has  of  late  been  passing  at  Berlin, 
some  trouble  in  turning  over  books  and  newspapers. 

In  the  recent  history  of  Prussia  it  is  easy  to  distinguish 
four  well-marked  periods. 

The  first  of  these  extends  from  the  accession  of  Frederick 
AYilliam  IV.,  in  June  1840,  to  the  opening  of  the  "  Vereinigte 
Landtag,"  in  April  1847. 


202  piiussiA. 

The  second  commences  with  that  event,  and  terminates 
with  the  dissolution  of  the  National  Assembly  and  the  pro- 
clamation of  the  new  Constitution  on  December  5,  1849. 

The  third  begins  with  the  proclamation  of  the  new  Con- 
stitution, and  extends  to  the  assumption  of  the  regency  by  the 
prince  of  Prussia. 

The  fourth  opens  with  that  occurrence,  and  is  still  in 
progress. 

To  the  three  first  of  these  periods  we  may  with  confidence 
assign  the  names  of  the  period  of  expectation,  the  period  of  re- 
volution,  and  the  period  of  reaction  ;  but  he  who  could  with 
confidence  give  a  distinctive  name  to  the  fourth  would  know 
the  secret  of  the  future  of  Germany. 

In  June  1840  Frederick  William  III.  closed  his  long  and 
chequered  career.  Tried  by  both  extremes  of  fortune,  he  had 
shown  few  great  qualities  in  either,  and  the  numerous  ex- 
pressions of  regret  which  followed  his  decease,  proved  only 
the  loyal  sentiments  of  his  deceived  and  long-suffering  sub- 
jects. The  advent  of  his  successor  was  heralded  by  many 
hopes.  The  Crown  Prince  was  not  very  well  known ; 
but  those  who  had  been  admitted  to  his  society  spoke  highly 
of  his  accomplishments,  his  learning,  and  his  liberal  opinions. 
His  good  disposition  had  not,  people  said,  been  changed 
by  his  altered  position.  He  had  remarked,  it  was  reported, 
to  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  that  as  Crown  Prince  he 
was  necessarily  the  first  noble  of  the  realm,  but  that  as 
king  he  was  only  the  first  citizen.  The  new  reign  opened 
with  a  series  of  gracious  and  popular  acts.  A  general 
amnesty  for  political  offences  ;  the  recal  to  high  office  of 
Schon,  the  illustrious  and  beloved  fellow-labourer  of  the 
deeply-venerated  Stein  ;  the  advancement  of  Boyen,  who  was 


FREDERICK  WILLIAM  IV.  203 

regarded  as  the  inheritor  of  the  traditions  of  Scharnhorst  and 
of  Gneisenau,  cheered  the  hearts  of  all  enlightened  and 
liberal  Prussians,  and  excited  no  little  alarm  at  Vienna  and 
St.  Petersburg.  The  morning  which  dawned  so  brightly  was 
not,  however,  destined  to  be  long  unclouded.  The  first  un- 
toward event  was  the  answer  given  by  the  monarch  to  the 
states  of  East  Prussia,  when,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Homage 
ceremonial  at  Konigsberg,  they  ventured  to  express  their 
hopes  that  the  long-promised  constitution  would  at  last  be- 
come a  reality.  Somewhat  later  an  order  in  council  appeared, 
which  left  no  doubt  on  the  minds  of  reflecting  men  as  to  the 
real  intentions  of  the  king.  It  was  clear  that  the  sort  of 
change  which  he  contemplated  was  not  that  which  the  nation 
wished.  Some  half  middle-age,  half  lower-empire  organisa- 
tion might  take  the  place  of  the  old  order,  but  of  a  constitu- 
tion founded  on  the  abstract  ideas  of  what  was  right  and  just, 
or  on  the  actual  necessities  of  the  nation,  there  was  no  chance 
whatever.  The  appointment  of  Eichhorn,  a  member  of  the 
ultra-pietistic  and  absolutist  party,  to  the  important  ofiice  of 
minister  of  public  instruction,  in  the  room  of  the  wise  Alten- 
stein,  the  one  man  of  enlightenment  who  had  contrived  to  the 
last  to  retain  the  favour  of  the  old  king,  further  increased 
the  uneasiness  of  the  public  mind.  The  advancement  of 
this  mischievous  tool*  of  obscurantism  was  the  signal  for  a 
series  of  coercive  and  ill-conceived  measures,  many  of  them 
attributable  to  the  king  himself,  which  had  their  natural 
result  in  the  antagonistic  follies  and  excesses  of  1848.  The 
censorship  grew  ever  stricter  and  stricter ;  numerous  press 
prosecutions  took  place,  the  most  famous  of  which  was  that 

*  Eichliorn  was  no  worse  than  some  of  his  colleagues,  but  the  king  took 
more  interest,  and  did  more  mischief,  in  his  department,  than  in  any  other. 


204  PRUSSIA. 

of  which  Dr.  Jacoby  of  Konigsberg  was  the  victim,  on  ac- 
count of  his  pamphlet  Vicr  Fragen  heantwortet  von  einem 
Ost-Preussen,  and  which  ended  in  the  acquittal  of  the  accused 
by  the  High  Court  of  Berlin,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  king 
and  of  the  government.  Eichhorn  extended  his  mischievous 
activity  into  all  departments.  Students  were  encouraged  to 
denounce  the  religious  or  political  heresies  of  their  professors ; 
the  books  in  the  libraries  of  schoolmasters  were  carefully  in- 
spected ;  the  standard  of  elementary  education  was  intention- 
ally lowered  ;  men  were  advanced  in  the  various  gymnasia 
and  universities,  not  on  account  of  their  attainments,  but  on 
account  of  their  attachment  to  the  views  of  the  pietists.  The 
regime  of  the  most  literary  of  contemporary  monarchs  seemed 
destined  to  result  in  the  same  hostility  to  all  real  learning 
which  was  openly  avowed  by  the  Emperor  Francis.  It  was, 
however,  too  late.  In  vain  Hengstenberg  and  his  crew 
tried  to  bring  in  a  Prussian  if  not  a  Eoman  popery ;  in 
vain  Eichhorn  travelled  from  university  to  university, 
suspending  here,  denouncing  there ;  in  vain  successive 
ministers  of  the  interior  seconded  him  with  all  their  power, 
ordering  domiciliary  visits,  turning  Liberals  from  other  Ger- 
man states  out  of  the  country  at  two  hours'  notice,  suppress- 
ing newspapers,  and  so  forth.  In  vain  the  king  himself,  for 
seven  long  years,  scolded  now  this  city  and  now  that — 
Breslau  one  day  and  Berlin  another ;  in  vain  he  speechified 
and  in  vain  he  cajoled  ;  in  vain  he  dismissed  petition  after 
petition,  which  the  provincial  state  assemblies  addressed  to 
him ;  in  vain  he  tried  to  make  the  Prussian  people  content 
with  a  representation  formed  of  an  agglomeration  of  com- 
mittees, chosen  from  the  different  provincial  state  assemblies, 
and  possessed  merely  of  a  deliberative  voice.     The  pressure 


THE   "historical"   SCHOOL.  205 

from  without  grew  too  strong,  and  at  lengtli,  after  mature 
consultation  with  confidential  advisers,  the  "patent"  of  Febru- 
ary 3,  1847,  was  given  to  the  world. 

The  king  was  a  most  ardent,  as  he  was  certainly  a  most 
influential,  disciple  of  the  "  historical "  school  of  publicists 

Lj  and  of  jurists.  It  would  be  difficult  to  speak  too  highly  of 
the  merits  of  Savigny  and  his  fellow-labourers,  as  long  as  they 
confined  themselves  to  explaining  the  present  by  the  past ;  but 
unfortunately  these  same  men,  when  they  came  to  be  minis- 

I  ters  of  state,  made  an  altogether  improper  use  of  their  own 
researches.  They  were  justly  proud  of  having  shown  how 
baseless  were  the  speculations  by  which  their  immediate  pre- 
decessors had  attempted  to  account  for  existing  phenomena 
in  the  domain  of  politics.  They  hated  the  d  jj't'iori  verbiage 
which  had  been  the  cant  of  the  day  during  the  French  Ee- 
volution,  and  they  jumped  to  the  conclusion,  that  all  the  state 
arrangements  which  were  historically  explicable,  and  which 
had  once  been  reasonable,  should  still  be  kept  unimpaired,  or 
at  most  should  be  developed.  They  forgot  that  for  more  than 
half-a-century  the  people  for  whom  they  had  to  legislate 
had  been  sitting  at  the  feet  of  those  often-mistaken  but  still 
effective  teachers  against  whom  they  had  made  war. 

The  "  Vereinigte  Landtag,"  which  was  called  into  being  by 
the  "  patent "  of  the  3d  of  February,  was  a  masterpiece  of 
learned  reconstruction ;  but  it  was  not  a  body  likely  to  be  of 
much  use  in  a  world  of  hard  realities."'  It  met  on  the  11th  of 
April,  and  sat  through  a  considerable  part  of  the  summer.  The 
king  had  told  it  that  the  last  thing  in  the  world  which  he  wished 

*  This  was  not  the  fault  of  its  members,  many  of  whom  showed  great 
talent  and  most  remarkable  firmness  ;  but  its  position  was  an  "  impossible  " 
one. 


206  PRUSSIA. 

its  members  to  do,  was  to  represent  the  feelings  of  the  people— 
"  The  role  of  so-called  representatives  of  the  people "  was  an 
object  of  supreme  contempt  to  the  royal  savant.  Neverthe- 
less, the  one  good  result  which  it  produced  was  to  give  vent 
to  the  popular  uneasiness.  Already  the  names  of  Vincke  and 
others,  who  have  since  been  famous  for  their  advocacy  of 
liberal  opinions,  began  to  make  themselves  familiar  to  the 
public  ear.  The  king  talked  theocratic  nonsense  :  "  Never, 
never,  will  I  allow  a  piece  of  written  paper,  like  a  second 
providence,  to  force  its  way  between  our  Lord  God  in  heaven 
and  this  land,  to  rule  us  with  its  paragraphs,  and  to  supersede 
by  them  the  old  holy  loyalty."  No  wonder,  then,  that  he 
was  embittered  by  the  language  held  by  some  of  the  deputies, 
and  that  he  closed  the  session  in  no  good  humour.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  how  long  the  farce  might  have  lasted,  if  events 
had  not  occurred  beyond  the  frontier  which  changed  altogether 
the  aspect  of  affairs. 

The  news  of  the  outbreak  in  Paris  came  to  Berlin  on  one 
of  those  sunny  February  days  which  cheer  the  long  cold  spring 
of  the  great  German  plain.  Groups  were  soon  gathered  on 
the  Linden,  and  the  exciting  intelligence,  passing  from  mouth 
to  mouth,  soon  reached  the  remotest  quarter  of  the  city.  The 
tidings  of  the  flight  of  Louis  Philippe,  and  of  the  fall  of  the 
monarchy  of  July,  followed  in  quick  succession.  On  the  6th 
of  March  the  first  public  meeting  took  place  in  the  Thier- 
garten.  The  events  of  the  13th  at  Vienna  brought  the  re- 
volution nearer,  and  on  the  18th  Berlin  was  in  full  revolt. 
No  little  mystery  still  shrouds  tlie  occurrences  of  that  day 
and  of  the  one  which  followed  it.  Thus  much  is,  however, 
clear  :  the  impulse  to  actual  violence  came  from  abroad. 
Poles  and  Parisian  builders  of  barricades  were  in  the  city  by 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF   1848.  207 

hundreds.  In  the  palace  the  greatest  indecision  prevailed. 
The  king  lost  his  head,  and  his  nearest  relatives  were  more  oc- 
cupied in  intriguing  for  their  own  advantage  than  in  taking 
measures  to  insure  his  triumph.  At  length,  while  the  contest 
was  still  undecided,  when  the  military  were  in  full  possession 
of  the  principal  streets  and  squares,  and  the  insurgents  had 
fallen  back  into  the  side  streets  and  suburbs,  the  order  went 
forth  from  the  highest  authority  that  the  troops  should  be 
withdrawn.  Withdrawn  they  were,  to  the  annoyance  of  many 
moderate  Liberals,  who  felt  that  either  the  conflict  should  have 
been  avoided  altogether,  or  the  insurrection  should  have  been 
effectually  crushed. 

With  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  began  eight  uneasy 
months,  in  which  no  party,  and  hardly  any  public  man,  in 
Prussia,  gathered  any  laurels.  The  first  scene  was  the  deep 
humiliation  of  the  king,  who  was  made  to  stand  with  uncovered 
head  before  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  defence  of 
the  barricades,  while  a  hymn,  composed  by  his  ancestress,  the 
wife  of  the  great  Elector,  "  Jesus  meine  Zuversicht,"  was  sung 
by  the  immense  crowd  which  had  gathered  under  the  win- 
dows of  the  palace.  In  the  beginning  of  April  the  "  Vereinigte 
Landtag "  was  called  together,  but  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  the  way  for  the  ISTational  Assembly,  which  was  to 
succeed  it,  and  which  was  opened  on  the  22 d  of  May.  This 
body,  which  ought  to  have  fulfilled  the  functions  of  a  con- 
stituent assembly,  proved  itself  curiously  incapable  of  useful 
work.  The  king,  whose  imaginative  and  excitable  tempera- 
ment had  been  impressed  by  the  "  Grossartigkeit ''  of  the 
popular  movement,  seems  really  at  first  to  have  wished  to 
deal  honestly  by  his  people  ;  but  he  was  pushed  further  and 
further  towards  the  reactionists,  partly  by  the  blunders  of  the 


208  PRUSSIA. 

national  representatives,  and  partly  by  the  growing  insolence 
and  atrocity  of  the  mob.  The  plundering  of  the  arsenal  on 
the  night  of  the  15th  of  June — the  outrageous  attack  on  the 
hotel  of  the  Liberal  minister  Auerswald  in  the  month  of 
August — the  revolutionary  harangues  of  such  wretched  dema- 
gogues as  Held  and  Miiller  of  the  Linden — the  assaults  which 
were  made  upon  unpopular  journalists,  showed  that  the  lower 
classes  of  the  population  as  little  understood  the  difference 
between  liberty  and  licence  as  the  reactionary  coteries  among 
the  nobles,  the  clergy,  and  the  military,  understood  the  dis- 
tinction between  order  and  servitude. 

The  National  Assembly  was  divided  into  unnumbered 
cliques  and  fractions  of  cliques ;  but  we  may  distinguish  in 
it  four  very  well  marked  shades  of  opinion.  First,  there  was 
the  "  extreme  left,"  the  foremost  names  of  which  were  AYal- 
deck  and  Jacoby ;  the  former  an  impetuous  and  able  speaker, 
who  united  strong  Eomanist  religious  sympathies  with  ex- 
treme popular  opinions — the  other,  the  author  of  that  famous 
pamphlet  of  which  we  have  spoken  above,  and  which  had 
been  to  the  Prussian  revolution  wdiat  the  tract  of  the  Abbe 
Sieyes  on  the  Tiers  Etat  had  been  to  that  of  France.  This 
section  leant  to  republican  ideas. 

Next  to  it,  but  separated  by  a  real  though  narrow  division, 
stood  the  "  left  centre,"  which  was  led  by  Eodbertus,  and  was 
distinctly  antirepublican,  although  determined  to  carry  out 
to  their  fullest  logical  consequences  the  concessions  made  by 
the  king  in  the  month  of  March,  and  to  turn  the  old  absolutist 
Prussia  into  a  limited  monarchy,  governed  on  advanced  liberal 
principles.  To  this  section  also  belonged  Schultze-Delitzsch, 
of  whom  we  shall  have  something  to  say  hereafter. 

Tlie  true  "  centre"  was  led  by  Von  I^nruh,  who  was  for 


THE  YEAR  OF  REVOLUTIONS.  209 

some  time  Speaker,  and  whose  name  was  associated  with  the 
last  adventures  of  the  short-lived  and  unfortunate  body  over 
which  he  presided. 

The  "right"  numbered  amongst  its  foremost  names  the 
gifted  Catholic  lawyer,  A.  Eeichensperger,  well  known  as  a 
passionate  lover  of  Gothic  architecture,  and  the  celebrated 
Protestant  preachers  Jonas  and  Sydow,  both  names  to  be 
had  in  honour,  and  the  last  of  whom  is  still  closely  con- 
nected with  the  liberal  ProtestantiscJie  Kirclien-Zeitung,  and 
represents  the  traditions  of  Schleiermacher  in  the  pulpit  of 
Berlin. 

On  the  whole,  however,  there  was  less  ability  in  the 
Assembly  than  might  have  been  expected,  and,  above  all, 
there  was  a  deplorable  want  of  political  experience  and  tact. 
The  successive  ministries  which  had  to  deal  with  it  were  not 
■  more  skilful.  The  so-called  "  transition  "  ministry  of  Camp- 
hausen,  which  was  called  into  existence  on  the  29th  of 
March,  gave  way  in  the  course  of  the  summer  to  the 
Hansemann  cabinet,  which  called  itself,  somewhat  self- 
consciously, the  "  ministry  of  action."  When  the  king  had 
begun  to  despair  of  any  good  results  being  attained  by  the 
National  Assembly,  and  had  cast  his  eyes  on  Wrangel  and 
his  battalions,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  destined  means  of 
restoring  the  old  state  of  things,  the  Hansemann  ministry 
was  succeeded  by  that  of  General  von  Pfuel,  and  that  again 
in  a  few  weeks  by  the  ministry  of  Count  Brandenburg, 
who  on  the  9th  of  November  announced  to  the  assembled 
deputies  that  their  sittings  were  adjourned  to  the  27th,  and 
that  their  next  meeting  was  to  be  held,  not  at  Berlin,  but  at 
Brandenburg.  We  need  not  follow  the  Assembly  through  its 
last  inglorious  days.     On  the  11th  the  National  Guard  was 

p 


210  PRUSSIA. 

disbanded ;  on  the  12th  the  state  of  siege  was  proclaimed  at 
Berlin ;  and  on  the  5th  of  December  the  National  Assembly- 
was  dissolved,  and  the  new  constitution  announced. 

Arrived  at  the  end  of  the  revolutionary  and  at  the 
opening  of  the  reactionary  period,  we  may  pause,  and  ask 
whether  the  Prussian  people  had  gained  anything  by  the 
agitations  and  losses  of  1848.  The  answer  must  be  in  the 
afiirmative.  The  constitution  of  the  5th  of  December  was 
not  by  any  means  perfect,  and  some  of  the  modifications 
introduced  into  in  the  year  which  followed,  were  far  from 
being  improvements;  but  the  step  in  advance  was  not  the 
less  great  and  real.  It  was  more  than  worth  the  blood  which 
had  been  shed,  and  the  property  which  had  been  wasted. 

The  dissolution  of  the  National  Assembly  had  been 
pronounced  by  M.  Manteuffel ;  and  as  it  was  his  influence 
which  was  in  the  ascendant  during  the  whole  of  the  reaction, 
this  is  the  proper  place  to  say  a  few  words  about  him.  The 
Freiherr  Otto  von  Manteuffel  was  born  in  Lusatia  in  1805, 
and  belongs  to  an  ancient  family.  He  entered  the  Prussian 
bureaucracy  early  in  life,  and  rose  rapidly  through  all  its 
grades,  giving  ever  new  proofs  of  his  diligence,  his  attorney- 
like acuteness,  and  his  knowledge  of  administrative  detail. 
In  the  Landtag  of  1847  he  defended  the  bureaucratic  method 
of  government  against  the  advocates  of  the  parliamentary 
system ;  and  when  he  came  into  power  in  the  end  of  1848 
he  lost  no  time  in  showing  that  he  regarded  himself  simply 
as  a  servant  of  the  crown,  and  that  he  was  absolutely 
indifferent  to  the  opinion  of  the  parliamentary  majority. 
Those  who  have  read  the  Gcsprdche  cms  der  Gegenwart  of 
Eadowitz — whicli  is,  we  may  remark  in  passing,  one  of  the 
best  helps  to  understanding  the  state  of  things  in  Germany 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  211 

on  the  eve  of  1848 — will  remember  the  character  of  OEcler. 
M.  Manteuffel  was  the  spokesman  of  aU  the  (Eder  class  ;  the 
bureaucrat  ]}ar  excellence.  He  is  a  man  of  few  illusions  and 
of  no  high  aims.  He  was  clear-sighted  enough  to  understand 
that  the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party  was  an  anachronism,  but  he 
could  not  reconcile  himself  to  an  honest  constitutional  policy, 
His  favourite  weapon  was  intrigue,  and  his  favourite  depart- 
ment was  the  police.  To  keep  his  own  place  and  to  advance 
his  own  fortune  was  his  first  object ;  to  prevent  sudden 
changes  and  to  keep  things  quiet  was  his  second  aim. 

The  first  parliament  elected  under  the  new  constitution 
assembled  in  the  beginning  of  1849 ;  but  the  Second 
Chamber  was  dissolved  in  the  month  of  April,  chiefly  on 
account  of  its  vote  against  the  maintenance  of  the  state  of 
siege.  Before  allowing  the  elections  to  proceed,  a  new 
electoral  law  was  enacted  by  the  simple  process  of  a  royal 
edict ;  and  the  democratic  party,  seeing  that  it  had  no  chance 
of  success,  retired  from  the  contest,  and  brought  forward  no 
more  candidates  till  1861. 

When  the  new  Chamber  met  in  August,  it  was  found  that 
the  ministers  had  not  been  mistaken  in  their  calculations. 
The  reactionists  were  in  a  decided  majority,  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  revise  the  constitution  in  an  anti-liberal  sense. 
When  their  labours  were  finished,  the  revised  constitution 
was  laid  before  the  king.      In  the  first   days  of  1850   he 

I  replied  by  a  message,  in  which  he  asked  for  further  conces- 
sions.    The  Chambers  took  the  royal  proposals  into  considera- 

\  tion,  accepted  some  and  rejected  others.  At  last  a  com- 
promise was  arrived  at,  and  the  king,  with  much  solemnity, 
swore  to  the  constitution  in  the  palace  at  Berlin.  In  a  speech 
which  he  delivered  on  the  occasion  he  explained  the  reason 


212  PRUSSIA. 

which  had  led  him  to  proclaim  the  much  more  Hberal  con- 
stitution of  December  1848.  He  then  thanked  the  Chambers 
for  having  revised  his  own  work,  and  diminished  its  dangerous 
liberahsm. 

The  "  German  question,"  in  the  meantime,  grew  ever 
more  important.  Prussia,  which  had  definitively  broken  with 
the  Frankfort  Parliament,  and  had  given  up  all  hopes  of 
obtaining  the  hegemony  of  the  whole  of  Germany,  had  been 
trying  plan  after  plan  for  a  smaller  federation,  in  which  she 
might  have  the  undisputed  lead.  Alliances  quickly  made 
and  as  quickly  broken,  a  congress  of  princes  and  a  college  of 
their  plenipotentiaries,  a  parliament  at  Erfurt,  and  what 
not,  the  affairs  of  the  Germanic  Confederacy  in  1849  and 
1850  are  not  a  labyrinth  into  which  our  readers  would  thank 
us  for  conducting  them  unawares.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  in 
December  1850  the  question  presented  itself — thanks  to  the 
Hessian  complication — in  the  form  of  submission  to  the 
dictates  of  Austria  and  peace,  or  adherence  to  the  Germanic 
pretensions  of  Prussia  and  war.  The  conciliatory  Branden- 
burg died.  The  more  determined  Eadowitz*  was  dismissed. 
Manteuffel  was  not  the  man  to  play  double  or  quits ;  he 
hurried  to  Olmlitz,  and  gave  up  everything. 

*  The  feelings  at  this  period  of  this  noble  and  highly-gifted  man,  whose 
mystical  views  and  false  political  position  cannot  prevent  our  feeling  a  deep 
sympathy  for  him,  are  well  shown  in  a  letter  addressed  in  the  very  first  days 
of  1851  to  Mr.  Hay  ward,  and  quoted  by  that  gentleman  in  not  the  least 
pleasant  and  instructive  of  his  many  pleasant  and  instructive  essays  : — 

*  *  Ces  reflexions  avec  lesquelles  vous  finissez  votre  article,  sont  a  tr^s  pen 
pres  les  memes  qui  se  sont  presentes  h  moi  lors  de  la  revue  retrospective  que 
j'ai  faite  le  dernier  jour  de  I'an.  J'ai  du  en  faire  une  application  toute  per- 
sonelle.  '  Triste  du  mal  que  je  prevois,  impuissant  pour  le  bien  que  je  desire, 
je  voudrais  finir  par  un  peu  de  repos  une  vie  que  je  n'ai  point  epargnee,  mais 
que  j(!  n'ai  pu  rendre  utile.'  Ces  temps  actuels  sont  dijfficiles — je  dois  dire  plus, 
lis  sont  impossibles.'' 


THE  MANTEUFFEL  CABINET.  213 

The  disaster  of  Olmlitz  soon  led,  by  way  of  the  Dresden 
Congress,  to  its  natural  result, — the  re-establishment  of  the 
federal  relations  which  had  been  overturned  in  1848,  and  the 
revival  of  that  ill-contrived  body,  the  Frankfort  Diet,  which 
one  of  the  most  rising  of  German  statesmen,  M.  de  Eoggen- 
bach,  has  aptly  called  *'  the  contradiction  of  thirty-five  wills." 
In  internal  as  well  as  external  affairs  the  party  of  reaction 
grew  ever  bolder.  M.  Manteuffel  declared  in  so  many  words, 
in  the  first  days  of  1851,  that  the  government  meant  to  break 
finally  with  the  revolution.  M.  von  Westphalen,  who  repre- 
sented in  the  cabinet  the  feudal  section  of  the  Conservative 
party,  called  once  more  into  life  the  old  provincial  assemblies, 
which  all  Europe  had  thought  finally  laid  to  rest  by  the  legis- 
lation of  the  previous  year.  The  journey  of  the  king  to  meet 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  at  Warsaw  added  to  the  uneasiness  of 
the  Liberals,  and  the  couiJ  d'etat  of  the  2d  of  December  in 
France  encouraged  the  pamphleteers  of  M.  Manteuffel  to  call 
loudly  for  a  new  revision  of  the  constitution.  The  year  1852 
brought  no  change  for  the  better,  except  in  so  far  as  it  showed 
more  distinctly  the  diversity  of  opinion  between  the  two 
halves  of  the  dominant  party;  Manteuffel  and  the  bureau- 
cratic Conservatives  looking  across  the  Ehine  for  a  line  of  con- 
duct to  imitate,  and  the  Feudalists  vehemently  denouncing 
the  French  ruler,  and  reserving  their  sympathies  for  the 
emperor  of  Eussia,  who  visited  Berlin  in  the  month  of  May. 
The  elections,  which  took  place  in  the  autumn,  were  so 
managed  by  the  government  that  very  few  Liberals  were  re- 
turned ;  and  the  power  of  the  reactionists,  from  this  time  to 
the  end  of  1857,  was  modified  only  by  their  internal  dissen- 
sions, and  by  the  presence  in  the  lower  house  of  a  powerful 
body  of  Catholic  representatives,  who  frequently  voted  with 


214  PRUSSIA. 

the  opposition,  to  subserve  the  special  interests  of  their 
co-religionists. 

The  negotiations  which  preceded  the  Eussian  war,  and 
that  war  itself,  diverted  for  a  considerable  period  the  attention 
of  Prussian  Liberals  from  their  internal  affair's.  They  had 
given  up  all  hope  of  a  speedy  change  for  the  better  at  home  ; 
but  they  trusted  that  if  the  government  could  be  forced  into 
siding  with  the  Western  powers,  a  new  turn  would  be  given 
to  the  fancies  of  the  king.  The  nation  was  soon  divided  into 
three  parties, — the  Liberals  of  all  sliades  desiring  an  alliance 
with  France  and  England  ;  the  feudal  faction  urging  the 
government  to  assist  Eussia ;  and  Manteuffel's  adherents 
determined  to  uphold  the  neutrality  of  Prussia  at  any  sacrifice. 

The  name  of  the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party  became  now  for  the 
first  time  familiar  to  Europe.  This  name  was  given  to  the 
Feudalists  in  consequence  of  their  having  for  their  principal 
organ  the  newspaper  started  to  assist  the  reaction,  and  called 
the  Neue  Preussische  Zeitung,  but  which,  in  order  to  show  its 
orthodoxy  and  patriotism,  bore  the  Prussian  Landwehr  Cross 
of  1813  on  its  first  page.  The  leaders  of  this  party  were 
Stalil  and  Gerlach.  The  former,  who  died  in  1861,  was 
originally  a  Jew,  but  changed  his  religion  at  seventeen.  He 
was  born  in  1802  at  Munich,  and  studied  chiefly  at  the  small 
Bavarian  university  of  Erlangen.  In  time  he  became  a 
professor  there,  and  was  summoned  thence  to  Berlin  in  1840 
by  Frederick  William  IV.,  for  whom  his  biblico-juristical 
mysticism   had    a  great    fascination.*      From   first    to   last 

*  Of  the  many  things  that  liave  been  said  and  written  with  regard  to 
Frederick  William  IV.,  nothing  has,  we  think,  so  Avell  hit  the  mark  as  the 
following  observations  which  we  extract  from  the  extremely  remarkable  little 
book,  which  was  published  in  1862,  by  Dr.  Strauss,  upon  H.  S.  Reimanis,  who 
is  now  known  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  once  mysterious  and  celebrated 


STAHL  AND   GERLACH.  v^.  215/ 

Stahl's  influence   was   simply   mischievoui^, :   Intolerant-  ^nji  // 

obscurantist,   he  would,  if  he  had  appeared  earlier/ ot:x  the'  /  .. 
scene,  have  been  a  most  dangerous  counsellor  ;  but  the  catv^e  *  Oy 

of  religious  liberty  was  virtually  gained  in  Prussia  before     ^   ^ 
he  arose.     As  it  was,  he  and  his  friends  did  infinite  evil.  ,       '' 

The  President  von  Gerlach,  and  his  brother  the  general, 

Wolfenhlittel  Fragments.  Some  of  oiir  readers  may  recollect  tliat  many  years 
ago  Dr.  Strauss  published  a  hrochure  about  the  late  king  of  Prussia,  which, 
under  the  name  of  "  Julian  the  Apostate,  or  the  Eomanticist  on  the  Throne 
of  the  Ceesars,"  was  more  talked  about  in  England  than  German  pamphlets 
usually  are — as,  indeed,  it  well  deserved  to  be, 

*'  Ein  Berliner  Pliilosoph  hat  neulich  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  eiuen 
historischen  Geist  genannt.  Mag  ihm  der  Geist  der  Geschichte  eine  solche 
Lasterung  vergeben ;  aber  so  viel  ist  richtig,  jener  Fiii'st  war  recht  eine 
Verkorperung  dessen,  was  das  neunzehnte  Jahrhundert  ist,  sofern  es  das 
achtzehnte  verleugnet.  Ueberfluss  an  Geist,  aber  Mangel  an  Meuschenver- 
stand ;  Gefiihl  nur  gar  zu  viel,  aber  Charakter  doch  gar  zu  wenig ;  mehr 
Edelmuth  als  Rechtlichkeit ;  Andacht  ohne  Ernst  der  Gesinnung  ;  vornehme 
geschichtliche  Liebhaberei  ohne  gesunden  geschichtlichen  Trieb,  ohne  die 
Lust  uud  die  Kraft,  von  dem  Blattern  in  dem  Biklerbuche  der  Vergangenheit 
hinweg  einen  mannlichen  Schritt  in  die  Zukiuift  hinein  zu  thun.  Und  kann 
man  denn  einen  Geist  historisch  nennen,  der  eben  die  nachstliegende  Vergan- 
genheit aus  dem  Buche  der  Geschichte  streichen  mochte  ?  der  zwar  das 
Mittelalter  zu  verstehen  und  zu  lieben  meint,  aber  das  Zeitalter  Friedrich's  und 
Josejjh's,  der  deutschen  Vernunftkritik  und  der  Franzosischen  Staatsumwal- 
zung  verkennt,  ja  selbst  an  einem  Luther  und  Calvin  eigentlich  nur  von  ihrer 
riickwarts  dem  Mittelalter  zugekehrten  Seite  sich  angesprochen  findet  ? 

"  Es  gehort  zu  den  unwillkiirlichen  Verdiensten,  deren  der  romantische 
Konig  sich  manche  erworben,  selbst  der  blodesten  Fassungskraft  thatsachlich 
gezeigt  zu  haben,  wohin  unser  Jahrhundert  mit  solcher  Verleugnung  der 
Errungenschaften  des  achtzehnten  kommt.  Verdumpfung  und  begonnene 
Faulniss  in  alien  Gebieten,  in  Staat  and  Kirche,  Schule  und  Wissenschaft 
war  das  Erbe,  welches  die  jetzige  Regierung  Preussens  vor  drei  Jahren  antrat. 
Und  auch  jetzt  sind  noch  lange  nicht  genug  Fenster  dem  freien  Luftzuge 
geoffnet,  noch  lange  nicht  alle  faulen  Eeste  der  vorigen  Wirthschaft  beseitigt. 
Es  gilt  immer  noch  entschiedener  an  das  Jahrhundert  der  Aufklarung  und 
Humanitat,  der  Volks  und  Menschenrechte  anzukniipfen,  noch  offener  anzuer- 
kenuen,  dass  jeder  Fortschritt  liber  dasselbe  hinaus  durch  Aneignung  seiner 
Ergebnisse,  durch  Weitergehen  auf  seinem  Wege,  nicht  durch  Umkehr  von 
demselben  bedingt  ist. 


216  PRUSSIA. 

were  devoted  to  the  same  cause.  The  name  of  the  latter  was 
mixed  up  with  the  disgraceful  intrigues  by  which  the  Kreuz- 
Zeitung  faction  tried  to  support  their  influence  at  court,  and  of 
which  so  much  was  said  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  in  connection 
with  the  names  of  the  spies  Lindenberg  and  Techen.  The 
President  von  Gerlach  is  a  man  of  great  although  misused 
ability.  He  was  born  in  1795,  and  is  sprung  from  a  respect- 
able family,  but  one  which  by  no  means  belongs  to  the  old 
gentry,  whose  cause  he  has  always  supported.  He  served  in 
the  war  of  independence,  and  after  its  conclusion  entered  the 
magistrature.  Unlike  Manteuffel,  his  nature  is  not  bureaucratic. 
Nay,  rather,  he  is  the  enemy  of  centralisation,  the  friend  of  local 
government.  The  government  which  he  prefers  is  not,  how- 
ever, self-government,  but  that  of  an  infinite  number  of  petty 
despots — a  parish  and  county  government,  administered  by 
squires  and  parsons.  From  the  first  he  has  been  consistent. 
Already,  more  than  forty  years  ago,  he  contributed  to  a  news- 
paper which  took  for  its  motto,  "  iSTot  counter-revolution,  but 
the  contrary  of  revolution  ;"  and  before  1848  he  got  into  great 
trouble  with  the  bourgeoisie,  for  maintaining  that  only  men  of 
noble  birth  should  be  permitted  to  be  officers  in  the  army. 
He  would  have  the  nobles  gathered  into  chapters,  the  citizens 
gathered  into  guilds,  and  all  things  as  like  the  golden  days  of 
the  German  middle  age  as  they  well  can  be.  He  is  a  friend  to 
England,  but  it  is  the  old  church-and-king  England  of  which 
he  thinks.  He  dislikes  the  autocratic  system  of  Eussia,  but 
leans  to  her  as  an  exponent  of  the  divine  character  of  king- 
ship, and  sympathised  with  her  during  the  Crimean  war.  A 
ready  and  powerful  debater,  he  was  ever  at  the  breach  at- 
tacking the  constitution,  and  holding  aloft  the  banner  of 
"  Deutsches  Eecht  imd  Evangelisches  Christenthum." 


VINCKE.  217 

The  Liberals  at  this  time  were  led  by  Vincke,  one  of 
whose  speeches  made  a  great  sensation  in  England  in  1854. 
The  descendant  of  an  old  Westphalian  house,  the  Freiherr  von 
Vincke  was  born  in  1811.  His  father  and  most  of  his  ances- 
tors had  been  in  the  bureaucracy,  and  the  young  Vincke,  after 
studying  at  Gottingen  and  elsewhere,  pursued  for  some  time  the 
same  career.  Perhaps,  however,  his  most  valuable  training  was 
gained  in  the  provincial  assemblies,  and  when  he  appeared 
in  the  Vereinigte  Landtag  of  1847  he  w^as  already  an  orator. 
He  spoke  in  favour  of  a  real  constitution,  of  the  liberty  of 
the  press,  of  the  Polish  nationality,  against  the  disabilities  of 
Jews  and  Christian  dissenters,  and  connected  himself  w^ith 
all  the  best  movements  of  the  time.  In  1848  he  sat  on  the 
right,  and  opposed  revolution  as  strongly  as  he  had  opposed 
absolutism.  So  great  w\as  his  influence  over  the  Moderate 
Conservatives  and  Liberals  at  Frankfort,  that  the  Club  Milani, 
to  w^hich  Ptadowitz,  Count  Schwerin,  and  Bruck,  who  was 
afterwards  finance-minister  in  Austria,  belonged,  w^as  called 
*'  The  fortyfold-repeated  voice  of  Vincke."  He  has  since 
been  accused  of  being  sometimes  too  fond  of  fighting  for  his 
own  hand,  and  preferring  the  fame  of  a  daring  guerrilla  to 
that  of  a  wise  general.  His  oratory  would  seem  to  have 
something  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Bright's,  but  his  political 
sympathies  and  his  party  connections  are  quite  different. 
He  is  more  of  a  Whig,  or  Liberal  Conservative,  than  a  Eadical ; 
though  perliaps  we  can  hardly  use  these  terms  in  relation  to 
Prussian  affairs  without  giving  rise  to  confusion  and  misun- 
derstanding. 

The  most  remarkable  result  of  the  differences  of  opinion 
about  the  Eussian  war  was  the  breach  betw^een  the  prince  of 
Prussia  and  the  government.     The  heir  to  the  throne  had  no 


218  «  PRUSSIA. 

great  liking  for  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  who  was  by  no  means 
over-cautious  in  his  treatment  of  his  Prussian  relatives.  Nor 
did  he  believe  in  the  success  of  the  imperial  system  of  repres- 
sion. On  one  occasion,  after  Nicholas  had  been  expressing 
himself  with  more  than  his  wonted  violence  against  coquetting 
with  liberalism,  the  prince  asked  a  Eussian  who  stood  high 
in  the  favour  of  his  master,  whether  he  thought  that  revo- 
lutionary notions  had  been  effectually  kept  out  of  Eussia. 
"  So  far  am  I  from  thinking  so,"  was  the  answ^er,  "  that  I  do 
not  believe  my  head,  or  the  head  of  any  of  the  emperor's 
advisers,  is  worth  ten  days'  purchase  after  his  eyes  are 
closed." 

The  prince  represented  the  old  Prussian  military  spirit, 
which  never  forgave  the  emperor  for  telling  the  officers  of  the 
royal  guard  at  Berlin,  as  he  had  the  want  of  tact  to  do,  that 
they  were  his  advanced  posts  ;  and  the  feelings  of  the  high- 
spirited  soldier  grew  more  and  more  bitter  as  Prussia  sank 
lower  and  lower  in  the  estimation  of  Europe. 

During  these  years,  the  various  sections  of  the  Conserva- 
tive party  maintained  their  ascendancy  in  the  internal 
politics  of  Prussia.  The  long-adjourned  question  of  the 
definitive  organisation  of  the  Upper  House  was  settled  in 
October  1854  in  a  manner  which,  although  it  did  not  entirely 
meet  the  views  of  the  Feudalists,  was  at  least  far  more  favourable 
to  them  than  they  had  any  right  to  expect.  The  provincial  and 
communal  legislation  of  1850,  which  was  redolent  of  the  modern 
theories  of  1848,  was  seriously  modified  in  1852,  but  rather  in 
the  sense  of  the  bureaucratic  than  of  the  feudal  faction.*  This 
last,  however,  succeeded  in  giving  the  name  of  "  Herrenhaus" 

*  The  local  police  was,  however,  restored  to  the  landowners.     Every  pro- 
prietor of  a  Ritlergut  is  now,  as  before  1848,  de  jure  his  own  head-constable. 


THE  EEACTION  CONTINUES.  219 

to  the  First,  and  that  of  *'Abgeordneten-Haus"  to  the  Second 
Chamber,  a  trifling  matter  which  it  had  much  at  heart.  The 
elections  of  October  1854  were  extremely  unfavourable  to  the 
Liberals,  in  spite  of  the  strong  support  of  the  Catholic  clergy, 
who,  for  reasons  relating  to  their  own  church  affairs,  were  opposed 
to  the  government,  and  more  especially  to  the  High  Lutheran 
and  Kreuz-Zeitung  zealots  who  presided  over  the  ministry  of 
the  interior  and  that  of  public  instruction.  Vincke,  who  had 
been  the  great  orator  of  the  constitutional  opposition  in  the 
two  preceding  parliaments,  declined  to  stand,  and  his  friends 
in  the  Lower  House  were  led  by  Count  Schwerin  and  by  M. 
Patow.  The  Kreuz-Zeitung  faction  was  very  strong,  and  was 
commanded  as  usual  by  Gerlach.  As  well  without  as  within 
the  walls  of  parliament,  it  asserted  itself  in  a  very  offensive 
way,  and  the  adherents  of  M.  Manteuffel  were  almost  forced 
into  the  position  of  Liberals.  The  bad  feeling  between  the 
two  Conservative  factions  reached  its  height  in  1856,  and  was 
made  notorious  to  all  Europe  by  the  duel  between  the 
bureaucratic  Hinckeldey,  the  director-general  of  the  police, 
and  M.  von  Eochow,  a  young  man  of  landed  property,  and  a 
member  of  the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party  in  the  Herrenhaus. 

So  complete,  indeed,  was  the  reaction  that  many  have 
wondered  why  the  victorious  party  permitted  even  any  traces 
of  constitutionalism  to  continue,  and  have  ascribed  its  for- 
bearance sometimes  to  fear  of  conscientious  scruples  on  the 
part  of  the  king,  sometimes  to  his  vacillation.  There  was  a 
league  of  the  bureaucracy,  the  orthodox  clergy,  and  the  small 
provincial  noblesse,  supported  by  a  section  of  the  proletariate, 
against  all  the  intelligent  classes  in  the  nation.  That  a  por- 
tion of  the  proletariate  should  have  joined  a  party  w^hose 
interests  are  so  opposed  to  its  own,  is  not  surprising,  when  we 


220  piiUSSiA. 

remember  the  gross  political  ignorance  and  the  uncultivated 
condition  in  which  the  Prussian  countryman  lived  in  many 
districts  before  1848.  By  the  legislation  of  1850  no  less 
than  twenty-four  feudal  obligations  were  swept  away,  wdiich 
had  up  to  that  time  remained  in  vigour ;  nor  must  it  be 
forgotten  that  the  grandfathers  of  the  men  who  were  ready 
to  march  with  their  flails  against  the  democrats  of  the  towns 
had  some  of  them  themselves  been  almost  in  the  position  of 
serfs. 

But  how  are  we  to  reconcile  this  political  ignorance  and 
want  of  cultivation  with  all  we  have  heard  about  the  excel- 
lence of  Prussian  popular  education  ?  The  following  sen- 
tences, quoted  by  Mr.  Pattison  in  his  report  to  the  Educa- 
tion Commission  which  was  presided  over  by  the  late 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  from  a  work  by  Mr.  Horace  Mann, 
who  travelled  in  1843,  may  afford  a  satisfactory  answer  to 
this  question  : — 

"  A  proverb  has  obtained  currency  in  Prussia  which  ex- 
plains the  whole  mystery  of  the  relation  between  their  schools 
and  their  life  :  *  The  school  is  good  ;  the  world  is  bad.'  The 
quiescence  or  torpidity  of  social  life  stifles  the  activity  excited 
in  the  school-room.  Whatever  pernicious  habits  and  customs 
exist  in  the  community  act  as  antagonistic  forces  against  the 
moral  training  of  the  teacher.  The  power  of  the  government 
presses  upon  tlie  partially-developed  faculties  of  the  youth 
as  with  a  mountain's  weight.  .  .  .  When  the  children 
come  out  from  the  school  they  have  little  use  either  for  the 
faculties  that  have  been  developed,  or  for  the  knowledge  that 
has  been  acquired." 

We  recommend  this  passage  to  the  consideration  of  those 
who  think  that  the  reason  why  the  Prussians  do  not  make 


EDUCATION  IN  PEUSSIA.  221 

greater  exertions  to  obtain  tlie  management  of  their  own 
affairs,  is,  that  they  have  been  over-educated  by  a  too  zealous 
government. 

That  elementary  instruction  in  Prussia  is  in  an  advanced 
state  is  indisputable.  It  is  now  said  that  of  the  recruits  from 
the  Saxon  Province  only  4  in  1000  are  unable  to  read,  write, 
and  cipher ;  but  before  1848  the  stagnation  of  the  peasant's 
intelligence  was  indescribable.  He  did  nothing  with  his  ele- 
mentary instruction  when  he  had  got  it — at  least  in  many 
districts. 

In  Prussia,  as  elsewhere,  it  was  too  little,  not  too  much, 
light,  that  made  the  reaction  possible,  and  the  reactionary 
party  well  knew  its  enemy,  for  on  no  class  did  its  hand  fall 
more  heavily  than  on  newspaper- writers  and  men  of  letters  ; 
nor  would  it  be  impossible  to  darken  our  pages  by  stories  of 
their  persecutions,  which  almost  recal  the  atrocities  of  the 
ISTeapolitan  Bourbons. 

No  material  change  took  place  in  the  situation  of  parties 
until  the  king's  illness  in  October  1857.  It  was  clear  that  if 
the  prince  of  Prussia  should  succeed  to  the  regency,  the  days 
of  the  Manteuffel  ministry  were  numbered.  Nevertheless, 
the  friends  of  the  future  ruler  observed  a  wise  silence, 
and  made  no  sign.  The  Kreuz-Zeitung  faction  at  court  did 
what  it  could  to  prevent  the  heir-presumptive  succeeding 
to  the  regency  with  full  powers,  as  provided  by  the  con- 
stitution. Their  efforts  were,  however,  in  vain,  and  a  royal 
ordinance  of  October  1858  put  an  end  to  the  exceptional 
state  of  affairs,  and  conferred  the  regency  upon  the  prince, 
who  summoned  the  Chambers  to  meet  him  upon  the  20th  of 
that  month. 

The   first   change    was   the    retirement   of  the    detested 


222  PRUSSIA. 

Westphalen,  who  had  been  deeply  concerned  in  all  the  in- 
trigues against  his  new  master.  On  the  26th  the  regent 
swore  to  the  constitution,  and  on  the  6th  of  November 
the  Manteuffel  ministry  was  dismissed.  The  leading  spirits 
of  the  new  cabinet  were  the  Prince  of  HohenzoUern-Sig- 
maringen,  MM.  von  Schleinitz,  Patow,  Bethmann-Hollweg, 
and  Auerswald. 

The  prince  of  HohenzoUern,  the  head  of  the  new  cabinet, 
was,  up  to  1849,  an  independent  prince.  In  that  year  he  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  Prussia,  by  which  he  surrendered  all  his 
sovereign  rights,  retaining  only  the  title  of  Hoheit  and  the 
position  of  a  younger  son  of  the  royal  house.  His  mother 
was  a  niece  of  Murat,  and  one  of  his  daughters  married  the 
late  king  of  Portugal.  He  is  a  Catholic ;  and  his  appoint- 
ment had  a  good  effect  upon  the  Ehenish  populations.  For 
the  rest,  he  is  a  man  of  wide  political  knowledge,  and 
of  moderate  and  enlightened  ideas,  while  his  practical  ad- 
hesion to  the  views  of  those  who  think  that  the  position 
of  the  smaller  princes  is  becoming  impossible  makes  him 
acceptable  to  all  who  desire  the  reform  of  the  Germanic  Con- 
federation. 

The  Freiherr  Alexander  von  Schleinitz  was  born  in  1807, 
and  belongs  to  the  Brunswick  branch  of  his  family.  He  has 
been  employed  chiefly  in  the  home  and  foreign  departments 
of  the  diplomatic  service,  and  owes  his  political  importance 
principally  to  the  friendship  of  the  prince  regent,  whom  he  had 
sheltered  on  the  memorable  night  of  the  19th  March  1848, 
when  the  life  of  the  unpopular  heir  to  the  throne  was  in  con- 
siderable danger.  He  is  said  to  be  too  fond  of  pleasure,  and 
though  not  without  ability,  he  made  only  an  indifferent 
minister  for  foreign  affairs. 


THE  REGENCY.  223 

The  FreiheiT  von  Patow  was  born  in  1807.  Possessed  of 
considerable  property,  and  in  the  position  of  an  English 
country  gentleman,  he  has  spent  nearly  his  whole  life  in  the 
bureaucracy,  and  up  to  1848  was  understood  to  belong  to  the 
"  OEder  "  section  of  administrators,  to  which  we  have  alluded 
above.  Summoned  to  take  the  place  of  minister  of  commerce 
and  public  works  in  the  Camphausen  cabinet,  he  had  the  sense  to 
recognise  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  has  ever  since  been  a 
good  constitutionalist.  His  qualifications  for  the  post  which 
was  given  him  in  the  Hohenzollern  cabinet — that,  viz.,  of 
finance  minister — are  unquestionably  very  great. 

A  far  more  interesting,  though  not  more  useful  personage, 
is  M.  Bethmann-HoUweg,  to  whom  was  assigned  the  delicate 
task  of  inaugurating  the  new  system  in  the  management  of 
religious  and  educational  matters.  He  was  born  in  1795  at 
Frankfort,  and  was  the  son  of  a  M.  HoUweg,  who  married  a 
daughter  of  the  wealthy  house  of  Bethmann.  His  private 
tutor  was  the  great  geographer  Karl  Piitter,  and  his  early 
education  —  conducted  partly  at  home  and  partly  at  the 
Frankfort  gymnasium,  where  Schlosser  and  Matthiee  then 
taught — was  as  careful  and  thorough  as  admirable  manage- 
ment and  large  means  could  make  it.  He  became  professor 
of  jurisprudence  at  Berlin  after  a  distinguished  university 
career.  Thence  he  went  to  Bonn,  where  he  held  a  similar 
position.  In  1840  he  entered  the  service  of  the  government, 
and  has  ever  since  been  an  important  public  character  in 
Prussia.  Like  the  late  king,  he  has  been  influenced  very 
strongly  by  the  romanticists  ;  but  he  possesses  a  better  head 
and  a  deeper  culture.  In  church  matters,  to  which  he  has 
ever  given  great  attention,  he  belongs  to  the  ''mediation" 
school  ;  and  his  tall  figure  and  grave  countenance  might  some 


224  PRUSSIA. 

years  ago  often  be  remarked  at  Nitzsch's  sermons.  He  is  a 
great  patron  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  which  has  at  least 
the  merit  of  being  bitterly  hated  by  the  zealots  who  follow 
Hengstenberg,  and  which  should  hardly  be  judged  by  the 
names  of  the  persons  who  are  connected  with  it  in  this 
country.  M.  Bethmann-HoUweg  is  the  much-to-be-envied 
proprietor  of  Eheineck,  which  he  has  restored  with  great 
splendour. 

Eudolf  von  Auerswald  was  one  of  several  brothers  belong- 
ing to  an  excellent  family  at  Konigsberg,  who  were  brought  up 
in  close  intimacy  with  the  present  and  the  last  king  during  the 
residence  of  the  royal  house  in  East  Prussia.  All  of  them  had 
the  good  sense  not  to  wish  for  the  position  of  court  favourites,  but 
worked,  each  his  own  way,  by  surer  although  slower  methods. 
The  eldest,  a  distinguished  officer,  was  murdered  with  Prince 
Lichnowsky  at  Frankfort.  The  youngest  sat  in  the  Camp- 
hausen  cabinet,  and  the  second  in  that  which  followed  it.  It 
was  he  who  again  appeared  as  an  important  actor  in  1858.  He 
was  for  some  time  in  the  army,  but  his  chief  training  was 
that  of  a  county  magnate  and  a  provincial  administrator.  All 
the  Auerswalds  belonged  to  the  school  of  East- Prussian 
Liberals,  of  which  Schon  was  so  great  an  ornament,  and  in 
which  the  influence  of  Kant,  and  the  hated  neighbourhood  of 
Eussia,  tempered  the  old  aristocratic  and  exclusive  tradi- 
tions. 

Conservative  influences  were  not  entirely  unrepresented 
in  the  cabinet.  Von  der  Heydt  kept  his  place  as  minister  of 
commerce,  and  M.  Simons  remained  for  a  time  as  minister 
of  justice.  Later,  too,  General  von  Eoon  superseded  the 
Liberal  General  von  Benin. 

riottwell,  who  took  for  a  time  the  department  of  the  in- 


THE  REGENCY.  225 

terior,  is  an  enlightened  bureaucrat,  who  had  been  much  em- 
ployed under  Schon,  and  Count  Schwerin,  who  soon  suc- 
ceeded him,  is  a  strong  constitutionalist,  who  belongs  to  the 
family  of  the  celebrated  general  of  Frederick  the  Great,  and 
has,  as  the  son-in-law  of  Sclileiermacher,  always  taken  a 
strong  part  on  the  liberal  side  in  Prussian  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  Perhaps  he  is  most  in  his  place  as  president  of  an 
assembly. 

The  regent  lost  no  time  in  issuing  a  manifesto,  in  which, 
while  making  many  reserves,  he  acknowledged  the  necessity 
of  amending  the  communal  legislation — much  altered,  as  we 
have  seen,  since  1850 — and  pronounced  strongly  against  the 
mixing  up  religion  with  politics,  which  had  been  so  character- 
istic of  his  brother's  rule. 

The  new  elections  completely  changed  the  balance  of 
parties.  The  Feudalists  who,  thanks  to  the  zeal  of  M.  de 
Westphalen,  had  been  so  successful  in  1852  and  1854,  were 
reduced  to  62  ;  while  the  ministerial  Liberals  counted  236 — 
38  Catholics  and  18  Poles  made  up  the  Assembly. 

It  may  be  asked  by  those  who  remember  1848,  how  it 
was  that  the  accession  of  the  prince  of  Prussia  to  the  regency 
excited  the  hopes  of  the  Liberals,  and  was  followed  by  the  ad- 
vent of  a  Liberal  ministry.  In  that  year  it  is  notorious  that 
the  absence  of  the  heir-presumptive  from  Berlin  was  considered 
necessary  to  his  personal  safety ;  and  if  we  turn  to  the  poli- 
tical writings  of  the  time,  or  even  to  so  impartial  an  authority 
as  the  remarkable  article  on  Prussia  in  the  Bevue  des  Detcx 
f  Mondes  of  October  1847,  we  shall  see  that  he  was  regarded  as 
anything  but  a  friend  to  popular  rights. 

The  answer  to  this  question  will  throw  some  light  on  the 
occurrences  of   the  last  few  years.      The  prince  of  Prussia 

Q 


226  PRUSSIA. 

was  in  one  respect  radically  different  from  the  king.  He  had 
not  a  particle  of  his  religious  mysticism  ;  nay,  rather  his 
"  Haiisbackener  Eationalismns"  was  revolted  by  the  maudlin 
follies  of  his  brother's  court.  When,  then,  the  reactionary 
party  began  to  be  all-powerful,  and  such  advisers  as  General 
von  Gerlach  ruled  the  day,  the  prince  made  no  secret  of  his 
annoyance  and  disgust.  The  attitude  of  Prussia  during  the 
Eussian  war,  as  we  have  seen,  irritated  him  excessively,  and 
led  to  something  very  like  a  breach  between  him  and  his 
brother's  ministers.  The  influence  of  his  wife,  a  woman  of 
talent,  the  granddaughter  of  Karl  August,  was  exerted  in  a 
liberal  direction,  as  well  from  choice  as  from  policy  ;  and, 
above  all,  his  experience  of  Kreuz-Zeitung  rule  in  the  Ehine- 
land,  and  his  personal  quarrel  with  E^eist-Eetzow — a  pro- 
minent member  of  the  feudal  party,  who  occupied  part  of  the 
same  palace  at  Coblentz — tended  effectually  to  open  his  eyes. 
Subsequent  events  have  shown  that  his  liberalism  did  not  go 
very  deep. 

The  first  mistake  of  the  new  reign  was  the  coronation  at 
Konigsberg.  That  unlucky  ceremonial  was  not  even  his- 
torical, for  nothing  of  the  sort  had  taken  place  since,  in  1701, 
the  elector  of  Brandenburg  first  turned  himself  into  a  king. 
It  was  a  compromise  between  the  Liberal  ministers  who 
thought  that  quite  enough  had  been  done,  when  the  king  had, 
in  presence  of  the  Houses,  taken  the  oath  to  the  constitution, 
and  the  Junker  or  feudal  party,  which  claimed  the  right  for 
a  portion  of  the  noblesse,  or  rather  squirearchy,  to  do  homage 
after  the  old  feudal  fashion.  In  so  far  as  this  celebration 
refreshed  in  the  mind  of  the  king  those  divine  right  fancies 
which  he  had  naturally  imbibed  from  his  absolutist  educa- 
tion, it  did  of  course  some  harm  ;  but  the  harm  would  not 


THE  MILITARY  QUESTION.  227 

have  been  abiding  if  the  military  question  had  not  soon 
come  to  make  a  gulf  between  the  well-meaning  monarch  and 
his  people. 

The  Prussian  military  organisation,  which  had  served  its 
purpose  for  some  time  extremely  well,  and  was  popular  with 
the  nation  from  the  recollections  of  1813,  had  in  1850  and 
1856  given  signs  of  breaking  down,  and  when  the  Italian  war 
of  1859  again  required  the  Landwehr  to  be  put  on  a  war  footing, 
the  symptoms  became  still  more  alarming.  The  king,  who  had 
all  his  life  made  a  study  of  military  matters,  and  looked  at 
everything  from  an  adjutant's  point  of  view,  saw  clearly  all  the 
defects  of  the  old  system  and  not  a  little  underrated  the  sacri- 
fices which  the  changing  it  would  impose  upon  the  country. 
Fully  supported  then  by  those  military  counsellors  in  whom 
he  most  trusted,  he  devised  a  new  and  very  large  scheme,  the 
object  of  which  was,  in  one  word,  immensely  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  regular  army  and  to  diminish  proportionately 
the  importance  of  the  Landwehr.  The  king  had,  no  doubt, 
only  one  purpose,  and  that  was  the  good  of  the  country,  but 
some  of  his  advisers  may  well  be  suspected  of  ha\dng  had 
other  views.  The  officers  of  the  regular  army  have  always 
been  very  closely  connected  with  the  Junker  party,  and  that 
party  knew  that  if  the  number  of  officers  was  multiplied  its 
power  would  be  largely  reinforced.  The  Liberal  ministry, 
unwilling  to  offend  the  king,  persuaded  that  he  was  to  a 
great  extent  right  from  a  military  point  of  view,  but  fearing, 
also,  to  throw  on  the  shoulders  of  a  poor  country  a  burden  of 
taxation  greater  than  it  could  easily  bear — knowing  too  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  was  wedded  to  the  old  system— 
'attempted,  as  was  their  wont,  a  compromise.  How  far  they 
might  have  succeeded  if  no  tliird  party  had  come  upon  the 


228  PRUSSIA. 

scene,  it  is  difficult  to  say  ;  but  things  did  not  so  turn  out. 
The  so-called  democratic  or  advanced-liberal  section,  which 
had  disappeared  from  practical  politics,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
1849,  feeling  that  it  had  now  a  large  portion  of  the  popula- 
tion behind  it,  once  more  put  forth  a  programme,  relying 
pai-tly  upon  its  opinions  on  internal  matters,  and  partly  on 
the  vast  impulse  that  had  been  given  to  national  feeling  in 
Germany  by  the  Italian  war  of  1859.  Very  wisely,  however,  it 
now  changed  its  name,  and  called  itseK  the  "  German  party  of 
Progress,"  to  show  that  it  desired  at  once  internal  reforms 
and  the  settlement  of  the  German  question. 

The  principal  aims  of  the  Fortschritts  Partei,  as  set  forth 
in  its  address,  were  as  follows  : — 

1.  Eeform  of  the  Upper  House. 

2.  A  liberal  system,  conscientiously  carried  out  in  all  the 
details  of  the  administration,  with  a  view  to  avoidiDg  the 
scandals  now  of  frequent  occurrence,  when  an  obstinate  or 
bigoted  official  sets  at  defiance  the  liberal  initiations  of  the 
government,  trusting  to  backstairs  influence. 

3.  Ministerial  responsibility. 

4.  An  easy  method  of  bringing  to  justice  guilty  officials, 
who  are  at  present,  as  in  France,  in  all  conflicts  with 
simple  citizens,  like  men  armed  cap-a-jpic  fighting  with  the 
defenceless. 

5.  The  abolition  of  all  disqualifications  on  account  of 
religious  opinion. 

6.  An  improved  system  of  national  education,  which  has, 
since  the  victory  of  the  reactionists,  been  deliberately,  and  of 
malice  prejpcnse,  lowered  and  corrupted,  with  the  express 
purpose  of  subjecting  the  minds  of  the  young  to  the  yoke  of 
the  feudal  and  fanatical  party. 


THE  PARTY  OF  PROGRESS.  229 

7.  The  abolition  of  certain  privileges  of  the  landowners, 
such  as  the  appointment  of  their  own  police, 

8.  A  revision,  in  a  liberal  sense,  of  the  laws  relating  to 
trade. 

9.  Economy  in  the  management  of  the  army,  main- 
tenance of  the  Landwehr,  physical  training  of  the  youth  of 
the  country. 

10.  The  adoption  of  a  firm  line  of  policy,  with  a  view  to 
place  Prussia  at  the  head  of  a  united  Germany. 

Parliament  met  on  January  14th,  1862.  The  Lower  House 
was  constituted  pretty  nearly  as  follows  : — 


Ministerialists      ...... 

156 

Party  of  Progress  and  Fraction  Harkort 

100 

Koman  Cathofics           ..... 

50 

Poles 

18 

Feudahsts             ...... 

16 

Doubtful     ........ 

12 

352 

The  cry  which  the  party  of  progress  had  raised  most 
loudly  at  the  elections  was  the  cry  of  economy.  In  the 
former  parliament  the  ministry  had  brought  forward  a  pro- 
posal, to  which  it  was  understood  the  king  attached  the 
greatest  possible  importance,  relative  to  the  organisation  of 
the  army.  Of  this  we  shall  presently  give  some  account ; 
but  before  doing  so  it  may  be  well  to  state  a  few  particu- 
lars as  to  the  principal  persons  who  had  seats  in  the  new 
Chamber. 

The  leading  man  of  the  Fortschritt  party  was  perhaps 
AValdeck,  surnamed  the  Bauern-Konig,  from  his  constant 
advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  Westphalian  peasants.  His 
tall   commanding   figure   and   striking  countenance   do   not 


230  PKUSSIA. 

bear  so  many  traces  of  political  persecution  as  might  have 
been  expected  in  one  who  suffered  so  much  at  the  hands  of 
the  reactionaries.     Close  beside  this  white-haired  leader,  but 
differing  from  him  on  several  points,  notably  on  the  German 
question,  is  Schultze,  called  from  his  birth-place  Schultze- 
Delitszch,  a  man  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  who  is  best  known 
as  the  apostle  of  cooperative  associations  in  Germany,  but  is 
also  honourably  distinguished  as  an  orator,   a  poet,  and  a 
magistrate.     Waldeck  is  "  Grossdeutsch  ; "  that  is,  he  wishes 
for  a  united  Germany  including  Austria.     Schultze  wishes  for 
a  narrower  confederacy,  exclusive  of  Austria  ;  he  is,  in  other 
words, "  Kleindeutsch."   Virchow,  a  most  eminent  medical  pro- 
fessor at  Berlin,  was  another  active  member  of  the  Fortschritt 
party,  and  soon  achieved  considerable  success  in  debate,  in 
spite  of  a  certain  dryness  of  expression  and  perhaps  a  touch 
of  pedantry. 

We  have  reckoned  along  with  the  Fortschritt  party  the 
section  known  as  the  Fraction  Harkort  ;  so  called  from  M. 
Harkort,  an  old  man  who  was  wounded  at  Ligny,  and  has 
since  led  a  most  active  and  useful  life,  promoting  the  material 
prosperity  of  his  native  Westphalia  and  other  districts, — 
advocating  railways  and  steam-navigation,  enlightening  the 
peasantry,  and  fighting  in  Berlin,  now  the  mob  and  now  the 
reaction. 

The  chief  persons  of  the  less  advanced  Liberal  party  were  : 
— Grabow,  who  was  chosen  president,  and  Simson,  an  ex- 
professor  of  jurisprudence  at  Konigsberg,  who  is  celebrated 
in  Prussia  as  one  of  the  ablest  of  her  orators  and  as  a  model 
president.  His  imprudently  over-loyal  behaviour  at  the  time 
of  the  coronation  festivities  lost  him  his  old  seat,  and  he  was 
returned  for  a  small  place  too  Lite  to   be  chosen  president, 


THE   NEW  MINISTRY.  231 

although  he  was  thought  to  be  better  fitted  for  that  office 
than  the  excellent  Grabow,  who  is  somewhat  deaf.  Vincke 
declined  to  stand,  and  remained  watching  events. 

The  great  point  at  issue  was  of  course  the  military  question, 
and  that  grew  ever  more  and  more  embittered.  The  king 
was  determined  not  to  yield  ;  the  moderate  Liberals  were  no 
longer  masters  either  in  the  Court  or  in  the  Lower  House. 
The  Fortschritt  deputies  were  numerous  and  uncompro- 
mising, and  ere  long  a  motion  brought  forward  by  one  of 
their  number  led  to  the  resignation  of  the  ministry  and  the 
dissolution  of  the  second  branch  of  the  legislature. 

In  May  the  elections  took  place,  and  in  the  same  month 
the  deputies  found  themselves*  again  in  Berlin.  Things 
looked  worse  for  the  king  than  ever,  for  the  Fortschritt  party 
had  gained  considerably.  The  new  ministry  was  very  inferior 
to  the  old.  Its  more  prominent  members,  in  addition  to  Von 
der  Heydt,  were — M.  von  Jagow,  a  man  much  hated  for  his 
annoying  and  arbitrary  measures  when  he  was  director  of 
police  ;  Prince  Hohenlohe,  a  member  of  one  of  the  less  violent 
sections  of  the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party  ;  M.  Miihler,  who,  as  the 
author  of  the  excellent  Bacchanalian  song  "  Grad'  aus  dem 
Wirthshaus,"  deserved  some  reward,  but  for  whom  a  place 
more  suitable  than  that  of  Minister  of  Instruction  and  Public 
Worship  might  possibly  have  been  found.  He  is  said  too,  by 
his  enemies,  to  atone  for  the  merriment  of  his  youth  by  the 
fanaticism  of  his  age.  Von  Eoon  kept  his  place,  and  Bern- 
storff,  well  known  in  England. 

These  were  not  the  men  to  meet  and  manage  such 
an  assembly  as  that  with  which  they  had  to  deal.  Most 
of  the  leading  Fortschritt  politicians  had  come  back  fiercer 
than  ever  ;  and  the  moderate  Liberals,  although  they  tried 


232  PRUSSIA. 

to  prevent  the  last  extremities,  were  not  by  any  means 
friendly. 

The  principal  speakers  of  the  moderate  Liberal  party  in 
the  new  parliament  were  Vincke,  who  again  appeared  on  the 
scene,  and  Professor  von  Sybel,  the  well-known  and  popular 
historian. 

Heinrich  von  Sybel  was  born  at  Dusseldorf  in  1817. 
He  studied  at  Berlin,  and  became  a  passionate  admirer  of 
Eanke,  whose  method  he  has  adopted,  and  his  most  important 
historical  works  relate  to  the  Crusades  and  to  the  French 
Eevolution.  He  was  the  youngest  member  of  the  Parlia- 
ment at  Erfurt,  by  which  Prussian  statesmen  hoped  to  arrive 
at  some  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  German  question  ;  and, 
in  a  speech  which  excited  great  attention,  he  urged  Prussia 
to  fulfil  her  great  mission,  and  to  raise  up  anew  a  German 
empire.  His  ideas  on  this  subject  did  not  prevent  his  being 
called  to  Munich  by  King  Maximilian  ;  and  he  remained 
there  in  great  favour  till  the  events  of  1859  resuscitated  the 
hopes  of  the  Gotha  party,  which  had  slumbered  since  the 
disaster  of  Olmutz.  Munich  then  became  too  hot  to  hold 
him,  and  he  accepted  the  chair  at  the  university  of  Bonn,  left 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Dahlmann.  He  was  elected  in  1861, 
but  was  prevented  by  illness  from  taking  his  seat.  In  1862 
he  was  again  returned,  and  became  from  the  first  one  of  the 
most  important  figures  in  the  left-centre,  or  Bockum-Dolffs 
party,  which  included  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  moderate 
Liberals. 

The  recognition  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy  brought  some 
goodwill  to  the  government,  and  they  carried  the  ratification 
of  the  commercial  treaty  with  France  by  a  large  majority ;  but 
the  fatal  question  of  the  military  expenditure  could  at  last 


M.  BISMARK.  233 

no  longer  be  postponed,  and  an  unusually  fierce  debate  ended, 
on  the  20th  of  September,  by  the  absolute  rejection,  of  the 
demands  of  the  government,  with  regard  to  the  money  re- 
quired for  the  reorganisation  of  the  army.  Bernstorff  and  Yon 
der  Heydt  had  the  wisdom  to  retire,  and  IM.  von  Bismarck- 
Schonhausen  took  the  unenviable  post  of  president  of  the 
council.*  His  first  act  was  to  withdraw  the  budget  of  1863, 
which  was  about  to  meet  the  fate  of  its  predecessor  ;  his 
second,  to  send  to  the  Herrenhaus  the  budget  of  1862,  and  to 
have  the  military  part  of  it,  which  had  been  eliminated  by 
the  representatives  of  the  tax-payers,  reintroduced  and 
authorised  by  that  imprudent  assembly  ;  his  third  was  to 
prorogue  the  Second  Chamber,  which  had  protested  against  the 
unconstitutional  proceedings  of  the  other  House,  until  January 
1863. 

But  who  was  this  new  minister,  then  so  little  known,  now 
so  notorious?  M.  von  Bismarck-Schonhausen  was  born  at 
Brandenburg  in  1813.  Already  as  a  very  young  man  he  con- 
nected himself  closely  with  the  ultra-conservative  party  in  the 
district  assembly  of  the  Saxon  province  of  Prussia,  in  which 
he  has  property,  and  in  1848  he  pursued  the  same  course  at 
Berlin,  making  himself  particularly  conspicuous,  when  the 
German  national  enthusiasm  for  the  first  Schleswig-Holstein 
war  was  at  its  height,  by  speaking  of  the  Prussian  interven- 
tion in  that  struggle  as — "  Ein  hochst  ungerechtes  frivoles 
und  verderbliches  Unternehmen  zur  Unterstutzung  einer 
ganz  unmotivirten  Ptevolution."     He  was  a  member  of  the 

*  We  all  cheat  liim  of  liis  full  designation,  and  very  often  of  one  letter  of 
his  name.  Let  it  stand  here  in  full  for  once— Otto  von  Bismarck  auf  Schon- 
hausen  und  auf  Kniephof  !  !  AVhy  has  no  one  translated  the  exhaustive  article 
about  him  in  the  eighth  volume  of  Unsere  Zeit  ? 


234  PRUSSIA. 

assembly  of  tlie  Conservative  party  to  which  the  name  of  the 
Junker-Parlament  was  given,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Kreuz-Zeitung.  He  was  present  at  Erfurt,  and  was  a 
secretary  of  the  assembly,  getting  there  also  into  a  quarrel 
with  the  press  by  way  of  prelude  to  more  serious  attacks  upon 
it  in  after  years.  His  good  services  to  the  reactionary  party 
gained  for  him  in  1851  the  post  of  First  Secretary  of  Legation 
at  Frankfort,  an  appointment  which  was  all  the  more  remark- 
able because  he  had  never  before  been  in  the  diplomatic 
service.  Three  months  afterwards,  however,  he  was  promoted 
to  the  first  place  as  Prussian  representative  to  the  Diet,  and 
this  post  he  occupied  until  he  was  succeeded  by  a  much 
better  man,  Baron  von  Usedom.  This  was  in  the  early  days 
of  the  present  king  ;  before  his  failure  to  obtain  the  approval 
of  the  people  for  his  scheme  of  army  organisation  had  driven 
him  from  the  right  path — the  happy  time  which  German 
Liberals  too  hastily  called  the  Neue  uEra.  In  that  happy 
time  M.  Bismark  was  sent  off  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  it  is 
indeed  unfortunate  that  he  did  not  remain  in  a  country  for 
which  he  is  far  better  suited  than  his  own.  The  destinies, 
however,  had  other  work  in  store  for  him  ;  for,  after  a  short 
period  of  duty  in  Eussia  and  France,  he  was  summoned  to 
Berlin,  and  in  September  1862,  on  the  very  day,  as  it  hap- 
pened, upon  which  Lord  Ptusseirs  famous  Gotha  dispatch 
began  a  new  x^hase  of  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question,  he 
became  first  minister. 

The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  attempting  to  pass  judg- 
ment upon  a  man  who  is  still  in  the  midst  of  his  career  ; 
but  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  his  action  upon  the 
affairs  of  Europe  has  hitherto  been  simply  evil.  His  worst 
enemies  do  not  deny  that  he  has  great  readiness,  a  strong 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  QUESTION.  235 

will,  and  audacity  almost  amounting  to  genius.  The  ground- 
tone  of  his  character,  it  has  been  truly  said,  is  i^ft/c,  but  that 
uISpic,  which  takes  in  public  life  so  offensive  a  form,  does  not 
seem  incompatible  in  his  case  with  much  geniality  in  private 
life,  and  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  cite  instances  of  the  ease 
with  which  he  obtains  influence  over  persons  who  are  brought 
across  him.  Many  stories  are  current  which  show  that  his 
conservatism  does  not  go  really  so  deep  as '  that  of  many 
men  who  make  less  parade  of  their  anti-liberal  views  ; 
and  we  think  it  far  from  impossible  that  as  the  drama  of 
German  politics  unfolds  itself  we  may  be  destined  to  see 
this  unscrupulous  politician  in  more  than  one  unfamiliar 
character. 

That,  however,  is  a  matter  of  speculation  ;  for  the  present 
we  have  before  us  a  sort  of  composite  being — half  French- 
Imperialist,  half  disciple  of  M.  Gerlach — "  making,"  to  use  his 
own  expression,  "  Junker-Politik  "  in  the  face  of  an  angry  but 
powerless  nation. 

The  new  session  of  the  Lower  House  was  opened  on  the 
l-Jrth  of  January  1863,  by  a  very  decided  and  manly  speech 
from  President  Grabow,  but  the  real  fighting  did  not  com- 
mence till  the  27th,  when  the  address  came  on  for  discussion. 
All  fractions  were  represented  on  this  occasion,  but  the 
majority  of  the  deputies  supported  the  draft  address,  to  which 
the  names  of  Dr.  Virchow  and  M.  Carlowitz,  asking  for  a 
return  to  a  constitutional  state  of  things,  were  attached.  Of 
the  former  of  these  we  have  already  spoken.  The  latter,  a 
Saxon  by  birth,  and  long  a  member  of  the  Dresden  Chambers, 
as  also  of  the  short-lived  Erfurt  Assembly,  has  in  recent 
years  bought  property  in  Prussia,  and  become  an  active 
Liberal  politician  in  that  country.     One  of  the  incidents  of  the 


236  PRUSSIA. 

debate  was  a  telling  speech  by  M.  Waldeck  against  tlie  new- 
president  of  the  council.  To  this  the  latter  replied  very 
vigorously,  contesting  the  right  of  the  Lower  House  to 
exercise  a  paramount  control  over  the  budget,  as  well  as 
accusing  that  body  of  a  desire  to  take  from  the  House  of 
Hohenzollern  its  constitutional  rights,  and  to  transfer  them 
to  a  Parliamentary  majority.  The  views  of  the  Liberals  were 
supported  after  a  long  discussion  by  255  votes  to  60. 

The  secret  convention  with  Eussia,  which  was  concluded 
on  the  8th  of  February,  afforded  a  further  ground  of  quarrel ; 
the  Lower  House  insisting  upon  absolute  neutrality,  while 
the  government,  supported  by  the  Upper  House,  wished  to 
play  into  the  hands  of  the  Czar, 

The  hostile  feeling  of  the  ministers  and  the  representatives 
of  the  people  went  on  increasing,  till  at  last,  on  the  11th  of 
May,  they  came  to  an  open  rupture.  The  immediate  cause 
of  this  was  the  refusal  of  M.  von  Eoon,*  the  Minister  for 
War,  to  recognise  the  authority  of  the  chair ;  a  proceeding 
which  would  in  this  country  be  simply  impossible,  but  in 
which  he  was  supported,  not  only  by  his  colleagues,  but  by 
the  king,  who,  finding  the  House  determined  not  to  yield, 
prorogued  it  on  the  27th  of  JNIay. 

Five  days   after  this,    M.   Bismark,   being  now  more  at 

*  General  von  Roon,  whose  name  is  probably  chiefly  known  to  those  of 
our  readers  who  glance  at  the  news  from  Germany,  as  a  rough,  coarse  soldier, 
is  really  a  man  of  more  merit  than  his  doings  in  the  Chamber  would  lead 
people  to  believe.  Like  all  his  class,  he  was  brought  uj)  in  one  of  the  cadet- 
schools  ;  but  his  abilities  were  sufficient  to  entitle  him  in  very  early  life  to  be 
made  an  instructor  there,  and  he  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  and  follower  of 
the  great  geographer  Karl  Hitter.  His  own  works  are  chiefly  upon  geography, 
especially  as  seen  from  a  soldier's  point  of  view,  and  their  success  has  been 
such  as  to  entitle  him  to  take  a  respectable  rank  amongst  the  pupils  of  his 
illustrious  master. 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  QUESTION.  237 

his  ease,  persuaded  the  king  to  issue  an  illegal  ordinance 
restraining  the  liberty  of  the  press,  an  act  against  which 
not  o;ily  the  principal  newspapers  of  the  capital  protested, 
but  which  was  condemned  in  the  strongest  terms  by  the 
heir  to  the  crown,  in  a  speech  delivered  on  the  5th  of  June 
at  Danzig. 

The  high-handed  proceedings  of  M.  Bismark  with  regard 
to  the  press  were  very  naturally  resented  by  the  municipality 
of  Berlin,  which  presently  sent  an  address  to  the  Crown, 
remonstrating  with  it  for  such  an  abuse  of  power.  The 
example  of  the  capital  was  followed  in  various  provincial 
towns ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that,  if  the  municipalities 
throughout  the  country  had  stood  firm,  they  might  have  so 
bombarded  the  king  with  addresses,  as  to  make  him  sacrifice 
his  obnoxious  minister.  The  Prussians,  however,  as  a  people, 
showed  on  this  occasion  a  certain  want  of  that  political  tact 
which  tells  those  nations  which  possess  it  when  to  fight  and 
when  to  give  way,  just  as  their  Liberal  leaders  have  shown 
a  certain  want  of  statesmanship.  The  government  threatened, 
and  in  many  places  the  municipalities  allowed  themselves 
to  be  intimidated.  The  victory  of  this  passage  of  arms 
remained,  not  with  right,  but  with  might. 

The  summer  passed  on,  without  in  any  respect  changing 
the  state  of  affairs,  but  in  the  autumn  the  king  dissolved 
Parliament,  in  the  hope  of  finding  himself  better  supported 
by  the  nation  at  large  than  by  the  authorised  exponents  of 
its  wishes. 

The  demands  of  the  Liberal  party,  as  set  forth  in  the  Fort- 
schritt  address,  which  was  issued  on  this  occasion,  were  : — 

1.  Freedom  of  the  press,  and  the  setting  aside  of  the  press 
ordinances  of  the  1st  of  June. 


238  PRUSSIA. 

2.  The  passing  of  a  law  of  ministerial  responsibility,  as 

promised  by  the  Constitution. 

3.  Acknowledgment  in  fact  of  the  control  of  the  Lower 

House  over  expenditure. 
4  Eeform  of  the  Upper  House. 

5.  An  army  on  a  popular  basis  with  two  years'  service. 

6.  A  German  Parliament,  freely  elected  by  the  people. 
These   demands  were   supported   by  a   majority  of  the 

electors.  M.  Bismark  had  misunderstood  the  situation,  for 
while  the  most  moderate  or  Vincke  section  of  the  Liberals 
lost,  the  party  of  progress  and  the  left-centre  or  Bockum- 
Dolffs  party — so  called  from  their  leader,  a  Westphalian 
gentleman  of  considerable  property,  much  independence,  and 
great  power  of  work — were  largely  recruited.  The  Kreuz- 
Zeitung,  however,  gained  a  little,  counting  in  the  new  House 
37  as  ao'ainst  11  in  the  old  one.  The  new  Parliament  was 
opened  on  the  9th  of  November,  and  the  true  colour  of  the 
Lower  House  was  soon  apparent,  even  to  the  sanguine 
minister.  M.  Grabow  was  re-elected  president,  and  M. 
von  Unruh  and  Bockum-Dolfts  vice-presidents.  M.  von 
der  Heydt,  who  was  supported  by  the  government  as  theii' 
candidate  for  the  presidential  chair,  was  beaten  by  224 
to  37. 

A  more  friendly  House  than  that  which  had  been  collected 
would  have  been  provoked  by  the  proposal  which  the  govern- 
ment soon  made,  that,  for  the  future,  in  cases  where  the 
ministry  and  the  Lower  Chamber  could  not  agree  about  the 
budget,  the  last  budget  voted  should  be  considered  as  the  legal 
budget  for  the  ensuing  year. 

The  formidable  turn  which  Avas  given  by  the  death  of 
Frederick  VII.  of  Denmark  to  tlie  Schleswig-Holstein  ques- 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  QUESTION.  239 

tiou,  was  a  new  embarrassment  to  ministers,  and  brought  out 
new  points  of  dissension  between  them  and  their  opponents. 
It  would  be  unprofitable  to  attempt  to  foUoAv  their  skirmish- 
ings in  detail ;  but  we  may  safely  say  that  the  end  of  the  year 
1863  saw  the  contending  parties  no  nearer  a  reconciliation 
than  they  were  at  its  commencement. 

They  did  not,  indeed,  long  remain  in  presence  of  each 
other,  for  a  fresh  prorogation  took  place  before  the  end  of 
January  1864 ;  not,  however,  till  M.  Bismark  had  defined 
in  the- most  offensive  manner  the  position  of  the  Prussian 
government  with  regard  to  the  Bund,  by  stating  that  "  pohtical 
questions  were  questions  not  of  law  and  right  but  of  might ; 
that  Prussia  could  not  allow  herself  to  be  out-voted  by  a 
majority  in  the  Diet,  which  might  only  represent  some  two 
millions,  and  that  the  two  German  great  powers  acted  as 
a  greenhouse  in  protecting  the  Bund  from  the  cold  blasts  of 
the  winds  of  Europe."  Not  less  offensive  was  his  attitude 
with  regard  to  the  Parliamentary  opposition  as  set  forth  in 
the  speech  by  which  he  closed  the  session  in  the  name  of  the 
king  ;  for  he  accused  it  of  a  desire  to  increase  the  importance 
of  the  Lower  House,  at  the  expense  of  the  other  bodies  of  the 
state,  condemned  its  dealings  with  the  budget,  its  opposition 
to  the  army  organisation,  and  contrasted  with  its  hostility  the 
loyal  and  friendly  behaviour  of  the  Upper  House.  A  week 
or  two  after, 'the  resolution  of  the  government  to  govern  with- 
out a  budget  was  openly  announced,  and  a  detailed  explana- 
tion was  given  of  the  course  which  it  proposed  to  adopt  in 
dealing  with  the  public  expenditure.*    The  whole  real  interest 

*  Unfortunately  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  present  detestable  govern- 
ment of  Prussia  manages  the  finances  extremely  well.  Nothing  makes  the 
action  of  the  Liberal  party  against  abuses  so  difficult  as  this. 


240  PRUSSIA. 

of  Prussian  history  for  the  last  eleven  months  of  the  year 
1864  centres  in  the  Danish  war,  or  the  negotiations  which 
sprang  out  of  it ;  and  the  general  course  of  what  occurred  is  in 
the  recollection  of  all.     It  would  be  unfair  to  deny  that  the 
large  land  and  the  scanty  sea  forces  engaged  on  the  part  of 
Prussia  behaved  with  considerable  spirit,  and  that  oflBlcers 
and  men  acquitted  themselves  very  creditably.     The  raptures 
into  which  the  good  Prussians  went  over  their  victories  may 
well  make  Englishmen  smile  ;  but  then  we  are  hardly  ever 
without  a  war  going  on  in  some  portion  of  our  donainions, 
while  to  the  Prussian  of  1864  a  real  war  was  quite  a  new 
excitement.     Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  the  Prussian  army 
is  recruited  from  all  ranks  of  society,  and  the  interest  with 
which  the  tidings  from  Duppel  were  looked  for,  was  more  of 
the  kind  which  we  should  expect  if  a  large  number  of  our 
volunteer  regiments  were  engaged  in  foreign  service,  than  any- 
thing with  which  we  are  familiar.    Upon  internal  politics  the 
result  of  the  war  was  utterly  mischievous.    It  gained  a  certain 
amount  of  prestige  for  M.  Bismark,  and  it  roused  to  such  an 
extent  the  passion  for  territorial  aggrandisement  that  before 
the  end  of  the  year  nearly  all  the  principal  newspapers  of 
Prussia  had  declared  in  favour,  either  of  the  annexation  of 
the  Duchies  to  their  own  country,  or  at  least  of  a  very  excep- 
tionally close  union  between  it  and  them.     Meantime,  the 
Prussian  government  proceeded  to  injure  the  state  in  the 
most  fatal  way  that  could  have  been  devised.     They  set  to 
work  every  means  to  influence  the  tribunals  in  all  political 
trials,  thus  striking  a  blow  at  a  system  of  administration  of 
justice,  which  had  been  for  many  years  reputed  to  be  singu- 
larly pure  and  upright. 

No  advance  of  much  importance  was   made   by  either 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  QUESTION.  241 

party  with  regard  to  the  constitutional  question  in  1865. 
The  conduct  of  M.  Bismark  was  more  defiant  and  outrageous 
than  ever  ;  but  the  general  features  of  the  situation  remained 
unchanged.  Prussia  gained  a  kind  of  triumph  over  her  great 
rival  by  the  terms  of  the  convention  of  Gastein,  and  acquired 
amongst  the  unthinking  a  certain  amount  of  prestige ;  but  the 
violent  and  illegal  proceedings  which  filled  the  long  recess 
only  stored  up  new  difficulties,  so  that  the  session  of  1866 
opened  under  even  gloomier  auspices  than  its  immediate 
predecessors.  The  stopping  of  the  Cologne  banquet  in  the 
summer,  the  high-handed  proceedings  with  respect  to  Lauen- 
burg,  and  the  decree  which  a  section  of  the  Supreme  Court 
at  Berlin,  carefully  packed  for  the  purpose,  had  pronounced 
in  limitation  of  the  liberty  of  speech  guaranteed  to  all 
deputies  by  the  constitution,  had  embittered  men's  minds  to 
a  great  degree.  These  events,  and  the  dealings  of  the 
government  with  the  Cologne  and  Minden  Eailway,  were  the 
principal  subjects  of  discussion  during  the  short  and  agitated 
session  which  was  closed  before  the  end  of  February,  on  the 
pretext  that  the  Lower  House  was  acting  unconstitutionally. 
The  speeches  during  this  session  appear  to  have  been  of  a 
very  high  order  of  excellence ;  and  that  of  Dr.  Gneist,  on  its 
last  day,  of  very  exceptional  merit. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  even  the  form  of  constitutional 
government  can  be  kept  up  if  the  present  ministry  remains 
in  power ;  and  the  leader  of  the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party  avowed, 
in  answer  to  Dr.  Gneist,  that  what  he  and  his  friends  were 
aiming  at  was  the  alteration  of  the  constitution.  Meanwhile, 
in  spite  of  the  deep  disapproval  with  which  the  conduct  of 
the  government  is  viewed,  public  order  has  nowhere  been 
disturbed ;  and  in  consequence  no  excuse  has  been  given  to 


242  PRUSSIA. 

M.  Bisniark — now,  by  the  way,  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  Count — 
to  tell  the  king  that  violent  measures  are  necessary. 

The  sneers  which  are  constantly  directed  by  a  portion  of 
our  press  against  the  Prussian  Liberals  for  not  resorting  to 
those  methods  of  resistance  by  which  our  English  liberties 
were  preserved  during  the  seventeenth  century,  betray  either 
the  strangest  misconception  of  the  present  state  of  Europe,  or 
a  spirit  of  the  most  reckless  mischief  The  task  which  was 
performed  by  Hampden,  Cromwell,  and  the  other  heroes  of 
the  great  rebellion,  was  mere  child's  play  in  comparison  with 
the  task  to  which  many  English  journalists  invite  the  people  of 
Prussia.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  central  government 
was  extremely  weak,  and  any  robust  countryman  or  citizen 
was  speedily  turned  into  a  soldier  quite  as  good  as  any  whom 
the  king  could  oppose  to  him.  In  our  days  all  governments 
are  indefinitely  stronger  than  they  were,  as  long  as  the  armed 
force  remains  true  to  them  ;  and  in  no  country  can  the 
government  more  implicitly  reckon  upon  the  armed  force 
than  it  can  in  Prussia.  The  reason  of  this  is  to  be  sought  in 
the  national  history  and  in  the  geographical  position  of  the 
land. 

The  Prussians  feel  that  for  them  a  large  and  powerful 
armed  force  is  absolutely  necessary.  That  is  a  point  upon 
which  all  parties  are  agreed.  The  difference  between  the  king 
and  the  people  turns  upon  the  character  of  the  armed  force  to 
be  kept  up,  not  upon  the  question  as  to  whether  Prussia 
should  or  should  not  be  preeminently  a  military  state. 
Whatever  glory  she  has  to  boast,  other  than  that  which  accrues 
to  her  from  a  certain  number  of  learned  men,  is  military 
glory.  In  Prussia  every  man  has  been  a  soldier  for  a  part  of 
his  life,  and  he  retains,  with  some  of  the  virtues,  also  some  of 


THE   FEUDAL  PARTY.  243 

tlie  weaknesses  of  the  military  character.     The  officers  be- 
longing, for  the  most  part,  to  a  class  hostile  to  the  great  body 
of  their  fellow-citizens,  use  every  endeavour  to  instil  into  the 
minds  of  their  privates  a  contempt  for  eveiy  one  who  does 
not  wear  uniform,  and  with  this  view  they  are  not  only  per- 
mitted but  encouraged  to  use  their  arms  in  case  of  any  quarrel 
with  the  civilians.     Similar  efforts  are  made  to  cause  the  men 
to  attach  an  altogether  absurd  importance  to  the  military  oath, 
which  they  are  carefully  trained  to  consider  a  far  more  sacred 
bond  than  that  which  engages  them  as  citizens  to  uphold  the 
constitution.     That  there  are  far  more  officers  in  the  Prussian 
army  who  take  liberal  and  reasonable  views  than  is  generally 
believed,  we  well  know  to  be  the  case  ;  but  still  they  form  so 
small  a  minority  and  are  so  carefully  watched,  that  little  can 
be  hoped  from  them.     There  are  few  things  more  melancholy 
than  to  talk  to  an  average  Prussian  officer,  and  to  see  how 
little  his  thoughts  have  travelled  beyond  his  narrow,  old- 
fashioned,  poverty-stricken,   little  world.     Indeed,  it  is  this 
same  poverty  that  meets  one  at  every  turn  in  dealing  with 
Prussian  affairs.     If  the  class  from  which  the  officers  are  re- 
cruited were  a  real  aristocracy,  with  wealth  and  wide-reaching 
European  connections,  their  sons  could  not  be  half  so  wedded 
as  they  are  to  antiquated  pretensions  at  which  their  foreign 
associates  would  only  smile. 

The  Junker  or  feudal  class,  out  of  which  the  Prussian 
army  is  principally  officered,  corresponds  to  nothing  which 
exists  in  this  country.  It  can  by  no  means  compare  in  wealth 
or  cultivation  with  our  landed  gentry,  while  it  advances 
claims  which  are  not  advanced  by  our  nobility.  Some  names 
there  are  in  it  which  go  far  back  in  German  history  ;  many 
more  which  are  connected  with  the  short,  though  creditable 


244  PRUSSIA. 

military  annals  of  Prussia  ;  but  a  large  portion  of  it  can  boast 
no  historical  illustration  at  all. 

An  aristocracy  might  be  a  very  good  thing  in  Prussia,  as 
in  other  countries,  if  it  had  existed  for  a  long  time  ;  but  to 
patch  up  a  bran-new  aristocracy  out  of  a  handful  of  media- 
tised princes,  whose  recollections,  if  they  have  any,  are  Ger- 
man-Imperial, not  specifically  Prussian  recollections,  reinforced 
by  proprietors  of  estates  which  have  remained  a  hundred 
years  in  their  family,  was  a  hopeless  design,  and  like  too 
many  other  proceedings  of  the  romanticist  Frederick  WilKam 
rV.  has  much  of  gingerbread  Gothic  about  it.  The  Herren- 
haus  of  1854  is  not,  we  may  be  sure,  destined  for  long 
duration,  even  as  improved  by  the  first  ministry  of  the  pre- 
sent king.  There  seems  no  particular  reason  why  the  media- 
tised princes  of  whom  we  have  spoken  should  not  continue  to 
sit  in  it,  although  there  is  really  none  why  they  should  ;  and 
the  nominated  life  members  might  be  a  valuable  element ;  but, 
on  the  whole,  the  Belgian  senate  forms  perhaps  the  best  model 
of  a  Second  Chamber  for  such  a  country  as  Prussia. 

The  result  of  the  measures  which  the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party 
would  fain  introduce  is  well  shown  in  Mecklenburg,  which 
has  long  enjoyed  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being  the  worst 
governed  district  in  Germany,  and  is  managed  to  this  day 
upon  strict  Kreuz-Zeitung  principles.  There  the  landed 
proprietors,  after  1848,  did  everything  in  their  power  to 
encourage  emigration,  hoping  to  get  rid  entirely  of  the  unruly 
spirits  who  chafed  against  the  truly  mediaeval  order  of  things 
which  they  kept  up  upon  their  estates.  Now,  however,  the 
tables  are  turned  ;  emigration  has  gone  so  far  that  their  own 
personal  interests  are  grievously  threatened ;  and  they  are 
making  convulsive,  but  perfectly  ineffectual  efforts  to  throw 


THE  FEUDAL  PARTY.  245 

difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  people  leaving  the  country,  or 
trpng  by  foolish  little  palliatives  to  make  their  native  land 
less  intolerable  to  them.  There  are  to  be  found,  we  think, 
in  this  Mecklenburg  affair,  some  hints  for  people  nearer  home  ; 
and  we  much  wish  that  some  Englishman  who  has  eyes,  ears, 
and  a  good  knowledge  of  German,  would  turn  his  tourist  steps 
towards  that  little-visited  region,  and  tell  us  something  about 
the  doings  of  the  Schack-Basthorsts,  and  Pentz-Gremmelins, 
and  the  Klockmann-Hoppenrades,  and  all  the  rest  of  them. 
This  kind  of  folly  is  only  possible  in  an  out-of-the-way 
country  which  has  little  communication  with  its  neighbours. 
When  any  institutions  come  directly  in  contact  with  the 
spirit  of  the  time,  they  may  resist  for  five  years,  or  ten,  or 
twenty,  but  down  they  must  go  in  the  end.  And  so  we  can 
afford  to  contemplate  the  position  of  Prussia  at  this  moment 
with  tolerable  equanimity,  and  share  to  the  full  the  indig- 
nant confidence  of  a  recent  speaker  at  Berlin,  who  said,  with 
reference  to  the  tampering  with  the  courts  of  justice  :  "  For  a 
time  even  the  impossible  is  possible,  but  only  for  a  time." 
Nothing  would  more  complicate  the  situation  than  the  resort 
of  the  Liberal  party,  under  the  advice  of  half-informed  sympa- 
thisers, to  anything  like  violence. 

One  French  writer  at  least,  we  mean  M.  Forcade,  under- 
stands the  state  of  the  case  much  better  than  some  of  our 
instructors  ;  and  we  find  in  the  Bevue  des  deux  Mondes,  for 
February  1,  1865,  amidst  much  judicious  praise  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  Lower  House  at  Berlin  in  the  beginning  of  last 
year,  the  following  remarks,  which  are  worth  quoting  as 
showing  that  the  good  example  of  the  Prussians  gives  com- 
fort to  their  less  fortunate  brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Rhine.     After  commenting  on  the  dignified  speech  of  Presi- 


246  PRUSSIA. 

dent  Grabow  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  M.  Forcade 
says :  "  Les  peuples  europeens  ont  de  notre  temps  une 
faculty  merveilleuse  ;  ils  ont  I'air  de  dormir,  ils  dorment 
meme  solidement,  et  ils  se  reveillent,  comma  la  belle  au  bois 
dormant,  sans  avoir  rien  perdu  de  leur  jeunesse.  Nous 
retrouvous  la  cbambre  Prussienne  comme  nous  I'avons 
laiss(^e,  et  nous  nous  figurons  que  le  jour  ou  la  France 
couronnera  I'^difice,  on  la  retrouvera  aussi  liberale  qu'il  y  a 
vingt  ans,  et  qu'il  n'y  aura  de  vieux,  de  laid  et  de  decrepit 
parmi  nous  que  les  absolutistes." 

The  simplest  and  most  satisfactory,  but,  alas !  the  least 
probable  solution  of  the  present  difficulty  would  be  the 
king's  abdication.  Public  opinion  forced  Louis  of  Bavaria  to 
resign,  and  placed  the  Austrian  diadem  on  the  head,  not  of 
the  rightful  heir,  but  of  his  son  the  young  Francis  Joseph. 
There  is  everything  to  be  said  for,  and  nothing  to  be  said 
against,  this  plan.  William  I.,  junior  to  his  brother  by  only 
seventeen  months,  was  an  ensign  at  ten  years  old,  and  never 
till  comparatively  lately  contemplated  his  accession  to  the 
throne  as  a  probable  event.  He  is  simply  incapable  of  com- 
prehending the  position  of  a  monarch  with  a  real  constitution. 
His  views  are  analogous  to  those  of  an  old  French  legitimist 
duke  who  remarked  to  Niebuhr,  when  asked  whether  he  had 
not  had  a  hand  in  framing  the  Charte  :  "  Oh,  yes,  I  had  ;  but, 
good  God !  do  you  suppose  I  ever  imagined  that  the  king  was 
not  to  do  what  he  liked  in  spite  of  it  V 

In  the  event  of  his  abdication,  his  son  would  be  able 
gracefully  to  retire  from  an  untenable  position,  and  the 
state-machine  might  at  length  be  got  into  good  working 
order.  We  only  fear  that  such  a  course  is  too  wise  a  one 
to  have  any  chance  of  being  adopted.     True  it  is  that  the 


THE  FUTURE.  247 

brood  of  "  court  theologians,  missionary  deaconesses,"  and  the 
like,  who  enraged  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  no  longer  flit 
about  the  palace.  The  king  is  in  the  hands  of  a  militaiy 
clique — of  the  "  Ungeist  in  uniform"  as  the  Berliners  say  ; 
and  the  policy  which  it  is  likely  to  recommend  will  hardly 
be  one  of  concession.  What,  then,  is  to.be  the  remedy? 
Much,  v/e  think,  may  l^e  hoped  from  a  new  reign,  which,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  cannot  be  very  far  distant.  It  will  be 
said  that  this  is  a  hope  which  always  rises  up  in  Prussia, 
and  is  always  disappointed.  We  do  not  think  that  that 
statement  is  quite  fair.  The  advance  made  from  reign  to 
reign  has  not  been  so  great  as  was  expected,  but  still  there 
has  been  an  advance ;  and  the  Prussia  of  1866,  unfortunate 
as  its  condition  is,  need  not  envy  the  Prussia  of  1820.  Un- 
doubtedly the  present  Crown  Prince  has,  to  say  nothing 
of  his  English  marriage,  been  brought  up  under  infinitely 
better  influences  than  his  uncle,  whose  mediaeval  dreams 
ruined,  for  the  practical  purposes  of  life,  a  very  fine  intelli- 
gence, and  all  Germany  looks  with  great  confidence  to  his 
succession.  At  the  same  time  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
influences  brought  to  bear  in  an  opposite  direction  will  be 
very  powerful ;  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Fortschritt  party 
during  the  earlier  part  of  the  present  king's  reign  do  not  lead 
us  to  expect  any  extraordinary  development  of  political  tact 
upon  its  part.     However  this  may  be,  we  look  with  absolute 

I  confidence  to  the  gradual  spread  of  enlightenment  even 
amongst  the  Prussian  Junkers,  and  above  all  to  the  increase 
of  the  wealth  and  position  of  the  middle  class.  If  any  one 
were  to  take  a  list  of  the  Prussian  Lower  House  at  present, 
and  to  run  through  the  names  with  the  aid  of  some  one  who 

\     knew  well  the  circumstances  of  the  persons  included  in  it,  he 


248  PRUSSIA. 

would   be  surprised  to  find  upon  how  many  of  tliem  the 
government  can  put  a  very  serious  pressure.     These  men  are, 
however,  the  most  spirited  of  their  order  ;  and  for  one  who 
ventures  to  come  forward  boldly  to  back,  his  opinion,  there 
may  well  be  ten  who  do  not  do  so.     Every  day,  however,  the 
power  of  the  middle  class  is  growing ;  if,  indeed,  we  might 
not  almost  say  that  a  new  upper  class  is  rising  up  which 
may  push  the  present  conventional  upper  class  out  of  its 
place  by  the  sheer  weight  of  greater  real  importance.     It  is 
reserved,  perhaps,  for  the   sons  of  the   men  who  are  now 
making  fortunes  to   build  up  on  a  thoroughly  satisfactory 
basis  the  edifice  of  Prussian  freedom.     When  Germans  tell 
us,  as  they  often  do,  that  their  country  is  only  just  recovering 
the  ravages  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  we  are  at  first  tempted 
to  smile  ;  but  if  we  examine  into  the  matter  closely,  we  shall 
find  that  their  statement  is  literally  and  perfectly  correct.     It 
is  only  in  this  century  that  Prussia  has  become  anything 
more  than  a  court,  an  army,  and  a  bureaucracy.     The  real 
wonder  is,  not  that  she  is  so  far  back,  but  that  she  has  made 
so  much  progress.     Those  who  would  realise  what  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  really  was,  and  who  cannot  turn  to  M.  Preytag's 
Sketches,  may  look  at  a  useful  little  book,  Gustavus  Adolplms, 
partly  founded  on  them,  by  the  archbishop  of  Dublin,  which 
wiU  explain  to  them  very  clearly  how  the  effects  of  that 
great  struggle  have  been  so  lasting ;  and  it  need  hardly  be 
said  that  the  wars  of  the  Great  Frederick  and  of  Napoleon, 
although  comparatively  slight  visitations,  helped  very  much 
to  retard  the  natural  progress  of  the  country. 

Sooner  or  later,  we  do  not  in  the  least  doubt  that  the 
existing  confederation  must  break  up,  and  that  a  large  part 
of  the  middle  states  must,  in  one  form  or  another,  be  grouped 


THE  FUTURE.  249 

round  Prussia  ;  and  as  well  for  the  tranquillity  of  Europe  as 
for  the  internal  progress  of  Germany,  we  think  it  desirable  that 
it  should  be  so.  But  this  may  be  done  in  two  ways  :  either, 
as  M.  Bismark  and  his  friends  desire,  by  fraud  and  force — that 
is,  by  the  old  methods  of  "  II  Principe," — or  by  a  natural  but 
slower  process.  The  feeling  in  favour  of  German  unity  had 
been  gi'owing  so  powerful  for  many  years  previously  to  the 
accession  of  the  present  king  of  Prussia,  that  if  he  had  adopted 
a  frankly  constitutional  and  progressive  course,  being  content 
to  be  king  in  the  sense  in  which  Leopold  was  king  in 
Belgium,  or  Her  Majesty  is  queen  in  England,  the  force  of 
attraction  which  would  have  been  exerted  by  Prussia,  over  all 
the  smaller  states,  would  have  been  so  great  that  we  cannot 
doubt  that  for  all  diplomatic  and  military  purposes  they  would 
in  a  few  years  have  become  mere  provinces  of  Prussia.  Now, 
however,  Count  Bismark  has  succeeded  in  bringing  about  so 
great  a  reaction  that  everything  has  again  become  uncertain, 
and  the  satisfactory  solution  of  the  German  question  seems 
indefinitely  postponed. 

Those  who,  like  the  writer,  were  in  Prussia  just  before  and 
soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Schles wig-Hoist ein  war,  can- 
not have  failed  to  perceive  that  a  very  disagreeable  change 
had  taken  place  in  the  views  of  a  large  portion  even  of  the 
Liberal  party.  Before  the  struggle,  they  were  content  to  look 
at  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question  from  the  point  of  view 
which  was  maintained  by  the  Diet  through  the  whole  of  1863. 
After  it  they  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  seduced  by  the 
prospect  of  direct  advantage  to  Prussia,  and  talked  of  nothing 
but  annexation,  thus  drawing  a  broad  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  internal  and  external  policy  of  Count  Bismark. 
We  are  far  from  saying  that  all  the  Prussian  Liberals  thus 


250  PRUSSIA. 

bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  but  the  number  which  did  so  was  far 
too  great.  Many  Englishmen,  irritated  by  the  conduct  of 
Prussia  in  the  Danish  war,  so  far  forgot  themselves  as  to 
desire  that  France  should  avenge  Denmark  by  seizing  the 
Khine.  That  there  is,  even  amongst  highly-intelligent  and 
well-informed  French  politicians,  an  ardent  desire  for  the 
frontier  of  the  Khine  we  know  too  well,  but  a  wilder  dream 
never  entered  into  the  imagination.  Any  attempt  to  realise 
it  would  bring  about  such  a  union  of  Germany  as  few  have 
ever  hoped  for.  Those  who,  in  answer  to  this,  would  point  to 
the  French  feeling  which  existed  for  some  years  after  1815,  in 
the  Ehineland,  probably  forget  what  was  the  condition  of  things 
to  which  the  French  domination  there  put  an  end.  If  so,  they 
will  find  the  real  state  of  the  case  extremely  well  summed  up 
in  an  address  delivered  last  summer  at  Bonn,  by  Professor 
von  Sybel ;  but  they  may  rest  assured  that,  in  spite  of  M. 
Bismark,  the  Ehinelanders  have  no  desire  whatever  to  return 
to  the  imperial  fold. 

The  conclusion  which  we  have  formed,  and  which  we 
should  wish  our  readers  to  form,  from  a  study  of  the  last 
twenty-five  years  of  Prussian  history,  is  this  :  Through  aU  that 
time  the  country  has  been  steadily  advancing.  It  is  on  the 
whole  well  governed  and  prosperous,  nor  are  there  any  ele- 
ments out  of  which  a  really  reactionary  system  of  policy  can 
be  created.  M.  Bismark  himself  has  a  liberal  side — as,  for 
instance,  in  commercial  matters — and  admitted,  in  so  many 
words,  the  other  day  in  the  Lower  House  that,  sooner  or  later, 
a  Liberal  ministry  must  come  into  power.  The  present  situa- 
tion is  only  temporary,  and  a  Liberal  party,  composed  of  the 
best  of  the  landowners  and  the  best  of  the  bourgeoisie,  will 
have  it  all  its  own  way  in  the  end.     It  may  be  a  question  of 


THE  FUTUKE.  251 

one  decade  or  two,  or  even  of  a  generation,  tliougli  we  do  not 
expect  it  to  be  nearly  so  long  :  but  tlie  "  Ungeist"  in  uniform, 
wMcli  rules  the  present  king,  no  less  than  the  ''  Ungeist "  in 
priestly  garb,  which  ruled  the  late  king,  are  both  doomed  to 
give  way. 


CHAPTEE  V. 

THE   GEKIVIANIC   DIET. 

Amongst  the  states  of  which  the  European  political  system 
is  composed,  there  are  three  which,  although  having,  as 
regards  their  fellows,  all  the  attributes  of  individual  political 
existences,  are  really  groups  of  two  or  more  states  connected 
mechanically,  but  not,  so  to  speak,  chemically  united.  These 
are  : — 1.  Norway  and  Sweden  ;  2,  Switzerland  ;  3.  Germany. 
The  first-mentioned  is  a  unique  example  of  a  confederation 
with  a  common  hereditary  sovereign  ;  the  second  is  collected 
under  an  elective  president,  and  is  ruled  by  a  Federal  Council 
of  seven,  which  forms  the  executive,  by  a  States-Council  or 
Senate  of  forty-four  (two  for  each  canton),  and  by  a  National 
Council  or  Lower  House,  in  which  each  member  represents  a 
certain  amount  of  population.  It  forms  thus  an  organisatiofi 
closely  akin  to  that  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  is  a 
perfect  example  of  what  German  political  writers  mean  by  a 
Bundes-Staat  or  Federative  State.  The  third  is  the  much 
looser  political  organisation  of  which  we  propose  to  give  in 
this  paper  a  somewhat  detailed  account,  and  with  regard  to 
which  we  wish,  first  and  foremost,  to  impress  upon  our 
readers  that  it  is  emphatically  not  a  Bundes-Staat,  but  a 
Staaten-Bund  ;  or,  in  other  words,  not  a  federative  state,  but  a 
confederation  of  states. 

The   Holy  Koman   Empire,  powerful   once,   but   always 
much  more  dignified  than  powerful,  invested  as  it  was  with 


THE  CONFEDERATION  OF  THE  RHINE.         253 

certain  vague  attributes  wliich  had  descended  from  the  days 
when  there  really  were  Csesars,*  had  come  in  the  eighteenth 
century  to  be  a  shadow  of  its  former  self,  and  to  deserve  the 
taunt  of  Voltaire,  that  it  was  neither  "  Holy,  nor  Eoman,  nor 
even  an  Empire."  It  is  not  by  organisations  of  this  kind 
that  powerful  shocks  from  without  are  successfully  resisted ; 
and  so  in  1806  it  crumbled  to  pieces.t  The  Emperor  Francis 
assumed  the  title  of  Emperor  of  Austria,  surrendering  his 
infinitely  more  dignified  position  ;  and  in  the  room  of  the  old 
order  Europe  saw  a  chaos  of  unequal,  unconnected  states, 
and  the  Confederation  of  the  Ehine.  That  body,  more 
celebrated  than  honoured,  was  called  into  existence  in  the 
month  of  July  1806,  by  the  document  styled  "  L'Acte  de  la 
Confederation  du  Ehin,  ou  traite  entre  sa  majeste  I'Empereur 
des  Eran9ais  Eoi  d'ltalie,  et  les  membres  de  I'Empire 
Germanique  denommes  dans  ce  traite."  It  consisted  at  first 
of  sixteen  members,  varying  in  importance  from  the  king  of 
Bavaria  down  to  the  Prince  von  der  Leyen.  Within  the 
next  three  years,  however,  twenty-three  other  members 
adhered  to  it,  so  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1810  it 
comprised  a  population  of  fourteen  and  a  half  millions, 
although  this  number  was  soon  after  diminished.  It  was  a 
purely  international  union.  The  central  authority  of  the 
Confederation  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  internal 

*  :Mr.  Bryce,  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  has  lately  traced  for  English 
readers  the  history  of  this  wonderful  institution,  in  an  extremely  interesting 
work.  His  treatise  grew  out  of  an  essay  written  for  the  Arnold  prize — a  fact 
wliich  makes  us  sigh  to  think  how  much  might  be  effected  for  learning 
in  this  country,  if  only  our  great  universities  would  devote  a  larger  portion 
of  their  revenues  to  the  encouragement  of  manly  as  distinguished  from 
boyish  studies. 

t  The  best  authority  on  the  present  constitution  and  recent  history  of  the 
Confederation  is  Kaltenborn. 


254  THE  GER^IANIC  DIET. 

regulations  of  the  various  states  of  which  it  was  composed. 
Napoleon  was  its  hereditary  protector,  and  reserved  to  himself 
the  power  of  summoning  the  Federal  Assembly ;  of  initiating 
all  discussions  in  it  through  its  prince-president,  the  duke  of 
Dalberg  ;  the  right  of  naming  the  prince-president,  and  the 
right  of  commanding  it  to  make  war  or  peace.  The  Federal 
Assembly  was  composed  of  ambassadors  accredited  by  each 
state,  and  was  divided  into  two  colleges — the  Eoyal  Grand 
Ducal  and  the  Princely.  The  Confederation  of  the  Ehine 
had  hardly  time  to  develop  itself,  or  to  show  what  were 
likely  to  be  the  results  of  French  influence  acting  upon  a 
German  body-politic  ;  but  its  tendencies,  so  far  as  they 
showed  themselves,  were  unfavourable  to  individual  and  local 
liberties — despotic  and  bureaucratic. 

The  fortunes,  however,  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Ehine 
were  destined  to  be  "  of  hasty  growth  and  blight."  Germany, 
which  had  been  at  first  paralysed  by  the  success  of  the  French 
arms,  gradually  recovered  her  consciousness,  and  began  to 
plan  a  rising  when  a  suitable  occasion  should  present  itself. 
Ere  long  the  disasters  of  the  Great  Captain  in  Spain  and  in 
Eussia,  the  successes  of  Kutusoff  and  of  Wellington,  made 
Leipzig  possible,  and  the  allied  armies  of  Central  and  Eastern 
Europe  rolled  across  the  Ehine.  Paris  fell,  and  with  it  the 
prestige  of  the  conqueror.  The  Confederation  of  the  Ehine 
did  not  even  wait  for  the  final  decision  of  the  struggle  to 
dissolve  itself ;  nay,  it  did  not  even  die  by  any  formal  diplo- 
matic act.  It  melted  gradually  away,  one  member  after 
another  falling  off,  and  joining  the  victorious  march  of  the 
avenging  hosts. 

Germany  was  now  utterly  disintegrated.    The  Holy  Eoman 
Empire  had  ceased  to  exist ;  the  Confederation  of  the  Ehine 


THE  NEGOTIATIONS  OF   1814.  255 

had  followed  it ;  and  from  the  Black  Forest  to  the  Enssian 
frontier  there  was  nothing  but  angry  ambitions,  vengeances, 
and  fears.     If  there  was  ever  to  be  peace  again  in  all  these 
wide  regions,  it  was  clearlj  necessary  to  create  something 
new.     What  was  to  be  created  was  a  far  more  difficult  ques- 
tion ;  but  already,  on  the  BOth  of  jNfay  1814,  the  powers  had 
come  to  some  sort  of  understanding,  if  not  with  regard  to  the 
means  to  be  pursued,  at  least  with  regard  to  the  end  to  be 
attained.     In  the  Treaty  of  Paris  we  find  these  words  :  ''  Les 
etats  de  I'Allemagne  seront  independants  et  unis  par  un  lien 
federatif "     But  how  w^as  this  to  be  effected  ?     There  were 
some  who  wished  the  Holy  Ptoman  Empire  to  be  restored. 
This  was  naturally  enough  the  view  which  found  favour  with 
most    of    the    mediatised    princes  ;    and    many   individual 
thinkers,  whose  interests  were  not  affected,  had  come  to  the 
same  conclusion.      Of  course  neither  Prussia,  Bavaria,  nor 
Wurtemberg,  could  look  kindly  upon  a  plan  so  obviously  un- 
favourable to  them  ;  but  not  even  Austria  really  wished  it, 
and  indeed  it  had  few  powerful  friends.     Then  there  was  a 
project  of  a  North  and  South  Germany,  with  the  Maine  for 
boundary  ;  but  this  was  very  much  the  reverse  of  acceptable 
to  the  minor  princes,  who  had  no  idea  of  being  grouped  like 
so  many  satellites,  some  around  Austria  and  some  around 
Prussia.     Next  came  a  plan  of  reconstruction  by  circles,  the 
effect  of  which  would  have  been  to  have  thrown  all  the  power 
of  Germany  into  the  hands  of  a  few  of  the  larger  states.     To 
this  all  the  smaller  independent  states  were  bitterly  opposed, 
and  it  broke  down,  although  supported  by  the  great  authority 
of  Stein,  as  well  as  by  Gagern.     If  Germany  had  been  in  a 
later  phase  of  political  development,  public  opinion  would 
perhaps  have  forced  the  sovereigns  to  consent  to  the  forma- 


256  THE  GERMANIC  DIET, 

tion  of  a  really  united  Fatherland  with  a  powerful  executive 
and  a  national  parliament — but  the  time  for  that  had  not 
arrived.  Whsit  was  the  opposition  of  a  few  hundred  clear- 
sighted men  with  their  few  thousand  followers,  that  it  should 
prevail  over  the  masters  of  so  many  legions  ?  What  these 
potentates  cared  most  about  were  their  sovereign  rights,  and 
the  dream  of  German  unity  was  very  readily  sacrificed  to  the 
determination  of  each  of  them  to  be,  as  far  as  he  possibly 
could,  absolute  master  in  his  own  dominions.  Therefore  it 
was  that  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  results  of  the  de- 
liberation on  the  future  of  Germany  would  be,  not  a  federa- 
tive state,  but  a  confederation  of  states — a  Staaten-Bund,  not 
a  Bundes-Staat.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  much  mis- 
chief might  have  been  avoided  if  all  the  stronger  powers  had 
worked  conscientiously  together  to  give  this  Staaten-Bund  as 
national  a  character  as  possible  ;  to  gratify  as  far  as  they 
could  the  natural  desire  of  most  active-minded  Germans,  that 
their  country,  which  covers  so  large  a  space  on  the  map  of 
Europe,  should  play  a  part  in  Europe  somewhat  commen- 
surate with  its  vast  extent ;  and  that  the  internal  arrange- 
ments of  the  different  states  should,  as  regards  commerce, 
justice,  postal  communications,  and  many  other  matters,  be 
one  and  the  same.  Prussia  was  really  honestly  desirous  to 
effect  something  of  this  kind,  and  Stein,  Hardenberg,  William 
von  Humboldt,  Count  Miinster,  and  other  statesmen,  laboured 
hard  to  bring  it  about.  Austria,  on  the  other  hand,  aided  by 
Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  and  Baden,  did  all  she  could  to  oppose 
such  projects.  Things  would  perhaps  have  been  settled  better 
than  they  ultimately  were,  if  the  return  of  Napoleon  from 
Elba  had  not  frightened  all  Europe  from  its  propriety,  and 
turned  the  attention  of  the  sovereigns  towards  warlike  pre- 


THE   FEDERAL  ACT.  257 

paratious.  Tt  was  perfectly  natural  that  the  labour  necessary 
to  perfect  the  new  machine  should  be  grudged  when  all  men's 
thoughts  were  directed  towards  the  new  struggle  which  had 
commenced. 

The  document  by  which  the  Germanic  Confederation  is 
created  is  of  so  much  importance  that  we  may  say  a  word 
about  the  various  stages  through  which  it  passed.  First, 
then,  it  appears  as  a  paper  drawn  up  by  Stein  in  March  1814, 
and  submitted  to  Hardenberg,  Count  Miinster,  and  the  Em- 
peror Alexander.  Next,  in  the  month  of  September,  it  took 
the  form  of  an  official  plan,  handed  by  Hardenberg  to  Met- 
ternich,  and  consisting  of  forty-one  articles.  This  plan  con- 
templated the  creation  of  a  confederation  which  should  have 
the  character  rather  of  a  Bundes-Staat  than  of  a  Staaten- 
Bund  ;  but  it  went  to  pieces  in  consequence  of  the  difficulties 
which  we  have  noticed  above,  and  out  of  it,  and  of  ten  other 
official  proposals,  twelve  articles  were  sublimated  by  the  rival 
chemistry  of  Hardenberg  and  Metternich.  Upon  these  twelve 
articles  the  representatives  of  Austria,  Prussia,  Hanover,  and 
Wurtemberg,  deliberated.  Their  sittings  were  cut  short 
partly  by  the  ominous  appearance  which  was  presented  in  the 
autumn  of  1814  by  the  Saxon  and  Polish  questions,  and 
partly  by  the  difficulties  from  the  side  of  Bavaria  and 
Wurtemberg,  which  we  have  already  noticed.  The  spring 
brought  a  project  of  the  Austrian  statesman  Wessenberg,  who 
proposed  a  Staaten-Bund  rather  than  a  Bundes-Staat ;  and 
'  out  of  this  and  a  new  Prussian  project  drawn  up  by  W.  von 
Humboldt,  grew  the  last  sketch,  which  was  submitted  on  the 
23d  of  May  1815  to  the  general  conference  of  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries of  all  Germany.  They  made  short  work  of  it  at 
the  last,  and  the  Federal- Act  (Bundes-Acte)  bears  date  June 

S 


258  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

8th,  1815.  This  is  the  document  which  is  incorporated  in  the 
principal  act  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  and  placed  under  the 
guarantee  of  eight  European  powers,  including  France  and 
England. 

Wurtemberg,  Baden,  and  Hesse-Homburg,  did  not  form 
part  of  the  Confederation  for  some  little  time — the  latter  not 
till  1817  ;  but  after  they  were  added  to  the  powers  at  first 
consenting,  the  number  of  the  sovereign  states  in  the  Con- 
federation was  altogether  thirty-nine.  The  outward  and 
visible  sign  of  their  unity  was  the  presence  in  Frankfort  of 
representatives  from  each  state  forming  the  Diet,  of  whose 
powers  and  method  of  conducting  business  we  shall  have 
more  to  say  when  we  have  traced  the  history  of  the  Con- 
federation to  our  owm  times,  but  which,  we  may  obser^^e  in 
passing,  has  always  been  thoroughly  inefficient  for  any  good 
purpose. 

The  following  are  the  chief  stipulations  of  the  Federal 
Act.  The  object  of  the  Confederation  is  the  external  and 
internal  security  of  Germany,  and  the  independence  and 
inviolability  of  the  confederate  states.  A  diete  federative 
(Bundes-Versammlung)  is  to  be  created,  and  its  attributions 
are  sketched.  The  Diet  is,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  draw  up 
the  fundamental  laws  of  the  Confederation,  l^o  state  is  to 
make  war  with  another  on  any  pretence.  All  federal  terri- 
tories are  mutually  guaranteed.  There  is  to  be  in  each  state 
a  "  Landstandische  Verfassung" — "  il  y  aura  des  assemblees 
d'etats  dans  tons  les  pays  de  la  Confederation."  Art.  14  re- 
serves many  rights  to  the  mediatised  princes.  Equal  civil 
and  political  rights  are  guaranteed  to  all  Christians  in  all 
German  States,  and  stipulations  are  made  in  favour  of  the  Jews. 

The  Diet  did  not  actually  assemble  before  the  5th  of  No- 


THE  FINAL  ACT.  259 

vember  1816.  Its  first  measures,  and,  above  all,  its  first 
words,  were  not  unpopular.  The  Holy  Allies,  however, 
pressed  with  each  succeeding  month  more  heavily  upon 
Germany,  and  got  at  last  the  control  of  the  Confederation 
entirely  into  their  hands.  The  chief  epochs  in  this  sad 
history  were  the  Congress  of  Carlsbad,  1819 — the  resolutions 
of  which  against  the  freedom  of  the  press  were  pronounced  by 
Gentz  to  be  a  victory  more  glorious  than  Leipzig  ;  the  mini- 
sterial conferences  which  immediately  succeeded  it  at  Vienna  ; 
and  the  adoption  by  the  Diet  of  the  Final  Act  (Schluss  Acte) 
of  the  Confederation  on  the  8th  of  June  1820. 

The  following  are  the  chief  stipulations  of  the  Final  Act : — 
The  Confederation  is  indissoluble.  No  new  member  can  be 
admitted  without  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  the  states,  and 
no  federal  territory  can  be  ceded  to  a  foreign  power  without 
their  permission.  The  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  business 
by  the  Diet  are  amplified  and  more  carefully  defined.  All 
quarrels  between  members  of  the  Confederation  are  to  be 
stopped  before  recourse  is  had  to  violence.  The  Diet  may 
interfere  to  keep  order  in  a  state  where  the  government  of 
that  state  is  notoriously  incapable  of  doing  so.  Federal 
execution  is  provided  for  in  case  any  government  resists  the 
authority  of  the  Diet. 

Other  articles  declare  the  right  of  the  Confederation  to 
make  war  and  peace  as  a  body,  to  guard  the  rights  of  each 
separate  state  from  injury,  to  take  into  consideration  the  dif- 
ferences between  its  members  and  foreign  nations,  to  mediate 
between  them,  to  maintain  the  neutrality  of  its  territory,  to 
make  war  when  a  state  belonging  to  the  Confederation  is 
attacked  in  its  non-federal  territory  if  the  attack  seems  likely 
to  endanger  Germany.     The  constitutions  of  the  respective 


260  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

states  are  made  expressly  as  little  inconvenient  to  the 
sovereigns  as  possible  :  "  der  Souveran  kann  durch  eine 
lands tandische  Verfassung  nur  in  der  Auslibung  bestimmter 
Eechte  an  die  Mitwirkung  der  Stande  gebunden  werden." 
The  liberty  of  the  press  is  restrained. 

No  very  material  event  in  the  history  of  the  Confedera- 
tion between  1820  and  1834,  when  there  were  again  mini- 
sterial conferences  at  Vienna,  in  consequence  of  the  revolu- 
tionary agitation  which  had  been  called  forth  by  the  fall  of 
the  elder  branch  of  the  Bourbons.  Frederick  William  IV.  of 
Prussia  was  really  anxious  for  a  change  in  the  constitution 
of  the  Confederation,  and  many  plans  were  agitated,  but 
nothing  came  of  them. 

On  the  1st  of  January  1848,  Prince  Metternich  assembled 
the  diplomatists  who  were  then  in  Vienna,  and  made,  accord- 
ing to  his  usual  custom,  a  statement  with  regard  to  the  posi- 
tion of  public  affairs.  With  a  sagacity  truly  worthy  of  him- 
self and  of  the  school  of  statesmen  to  which  he  belonged — a 
school  unfortunately  not  yet  extinct — he  assured  his  listeners 
that  never  was  Austria  so  tranquil,  nor  the  peace  of  Europe 
more  assured.  Within  three  months  he  was  on  his  way  to 
the  frontier,  and  Vienna  and  Berlin  were  in  insurrection. 
The  news  of  the  Paris  revolution  worked  not  less  powerfully 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ehine  than  on  the  Danube  and  the  Spree. 
Before  the  first  symptoms  of  insubordination  had  been  ob- 
served in  either  of  the  two  great  capitals,  upon  the  5th  of 
March,  fifty-one  political  writers,  professors,  and  other  per- 
sons of  importance,  had  assembled  in  Heidelberg,  and  had 
summoned  all  who  were  or  had  been  members  of  German 
constitutional  assemblies  to  meet  in  Frankfort.  Many  re- 
sponded to  their  call,  and  the  body  thus  got  together,  which 


THE  FEANKFORT  PARLIAMENT.  261 

was  called  the  Vorparlament,  and  the  committee  which  suc- 
ceeded it  devised  the  electoral  law  under  which  the  assembly 
of  the  German  people  was  presently  convoked.  The  sove- 
reigns neither  did  nor  could  attempt  to  resist  the  movement, 
and  very  soon  the  deputies  of  Austria,  Prussia,  and  the  minor 
states  had  gathered  in  the  Paul's  Kirche.  On  the  12  th  of 
July  the  Diet  formally  resigned  its  powers  into  the  hands  of 
the  Eeichsverweser  or  Vicar  of  the  Empire,  the  Archduke 
John,  and  the  laborious  work  of  the  diplomatists  of  1814  and 
1815  seemed  to  have  finally  disappeared.  Already,  however, 
there  had  risen  in  the  minds  of  the  Frankfort  legislators  the 
terrible  question.  What  is  this  Germany  for  which  we  are  to 
devise  a  constitution  ?  and  very  soon  the  assembly  fell  into 
two  bitterly  hostile  sections.  These  were  the  since  celebrated 
Klein-deutsche  and  Gross-deutsche  parties.  The  first  of  these 
wished  to  exclude  Austria  from  the  Confederation,  and  to 
group  the  smaller  states  around  Prussia.  The  second  desired 
to  retain  in  the  Confederation  all  the  German  provinces  of 
Austria,  and  to  throw  the  hegemony  into  her  hands.  The 
former  party  was  embraced  by  the  most  thoughtful  and  truly 
constitutional  deputies,  and  was  supported  as  a  matter  of 
course  by  the  great  bulk  of  the  Prussian  people.  The  latter 
was  strong  in  Southern  Germany,  strong  in  the  support  of 
the  ultra-democrats,  who  saw,  in  the  constitutional  leanings 
of  their  adversaries,  a  most  dangerous  obstacle  to  their  designs, 
and  was  aided  by  all  the  power  and  prestige  of  the  Haps- 
burgs.  The  opponents  were  well  matched.  The  struggle  was 
long  and  doubtful,  but  in  the  end  of  1848  the  Klein-deutsche 
party  prevailed.  Heinrich  von  Gagern,  the  son  of  the  man 
whose  name  we  have  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  first 
conferences  about  the  Federal  Act,  succeeded  M.  Schnierling ; 


262  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

and  on  March  28tli,  1849,  the  crown  of  the  resuscitated  Ger- 
man Empire  was  decreed  to  Frederick  William  of  Prussia. 
The  feeble  monarch  after  some  hesitation  declined  it,  making, 
as  an  English  publicist  of  that  day  remarked,  "ilgran  rifiuto" 
of  our  times.  He  wrote  to  Arndt,  the  author  of  the  famous 
song,  "  Was  ist  des  Deutschen  Vaterland  ?"  in  these  char- 
acteristic words  :  "  Is  this  offspring  of  the  revolution  of  1848 
really  a  crown  ?  It  has  no  cross  on  it.  It  does  not  mark  on 
the  brow  of  him  who  wears  it,  the  seal  of  the  grace  of  God. 
It  is  the  iron  collar  which  would  reduce  to  the  position  of  a 
slave  the  descendant  of  twenty-four  electors  and  kings,  the 
chief  of  sixteen  millions  of  men,  and  of  the  bravest  and  most 
devoted  army  in  the  world." 

The  refusal  of  Frederick  William  was  a  death-blow  to  the 
Frankfort  Parliament.  It  lingered  some  time  longer,  but  at 
last  transferred  itself  to  Stuttgardt,  where  it  was  dispersed  by 
the  police — a  fate  akin  to  that  of  the  great  river  of  the 
Fatherland,  "  which  streams  forth  from  the  glaciers  of  the 
Adula,  and  ends  in  the  sluices  of  Katwyk." 

The  king  of  Prussia  had  too  little  courage,  or  perhaps 
too  tender  a  conscience,  to  "  play  at  the  gold  table  ; "  but  the 
advice  of  some  of  his  best  friends,  his  own  ideas  of  what  was 
right,  and  his  personal  ambition,  combined  to  make  him  put 
himself,  on  the  26th  of  May  1849,  at  the  head  of  the  so-called 
''League  of  the  Three  Kings,"  his  colleagues  being  the  rulers 
of  Hanover  and  Saxony.  Eound  these  three  were  grouped 
twenty-four  minor  states  ;  and  the  whole  was  formed  into 
the  body  known  for  some  time  to  the  politicians  of  Germany 
as  the  "Union,"  or  the  "Engere  Bundes-Staat"  (restricted 
confederation).  After  reading  the  explanation  of  Eadowitz, 
it  is  difficult  not  to  believe  that  the  king  of  Prussia  was 


THE  "UNION."  263 

really  anxious  to  meet  to  some  extent  the  aspirations  of  the 
people.  ISTot  so  their  majesties  of  Hanover  and  Saxony. 
They  merely  bowed  to  events.  The  real  supporters  of  the 
"Union"  were  the  men  of  the  "party  of  Gotha" — so  named 
from  the  assembly  which  took  place  in  that  town  in  June 
1849  ;  and  their  ranks  included  many  of  the  best  patriots  in 
Germany. 

Of  course,  this  Sonderhund  was  anything  but  agreeable 
to  Austria.  She,  however,  in  May  1849,  w^as  too  hard 
pressed  to  make  an  effectual  resistance.  She  "bided  her 
time,"  and  had  not  to  bide  long.  The  first  advantage  which 
she  gained  was  the  treaty  of  the  30th  September  1849.  By 
it  Austria  and  Prussia  arranged  for  an  interim  management 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Confederation  in  the  room  of  the  Eeich- 
sverweser,  who  was  about  to  abdicate ;  and  henceforward 
two  Austrian  and  two  Prussian  plenipotentiaries  sat  at 
Frankfort. 

The  reaction,  however,  was  growing  ever  stronger  and 
stronger.  In  the  month  of  August  the  surrender  of  the 
Hungarian  army  at  Vilagos  materially  improved  the  position 
and  prospects  of  Austria.  No  sooner  had  this  occurred  than 
Saxony  and  Hanover  began  to  draw  off  from  their  close  union 
with  Prussia  and  to  gravitate  towards  her  rival.  They  had 
associated  themselves,  they  maintained,  with  their  northern 
neighbour,  not  because  they  liked  her  projects  for  a  reconsti- 
tution  of  Germany,  but  because  they,  equally  with  the  reac- 
tionary party  in  Prussia,  cared  above  all  things  for  the  sup- 
pression of  revolution  in  their  respective  territories.  Prussia, 
however,  unwilling  to  sacrifice  the  advantage  which  she  had 
gained  from  the  temporary  weakness  of  Austria,  insisted  upon 
holdinof  them  to  the  alliance  of  the  three  kings,  and  to  the  re- 


264  THE  GEKMANIC  DIET. 

stricted  confederation.  Hanover  broke  away  before  the  end 
of  1 849.  Saxony  showed  an  unmistakeable  intention  of  doing 
so;  but  even  in  the  spring  of  1850,  when  she  opened  the 
assembly  of  Erfurt,  Prussia  affected  to  regard  them  as  still 
bound  to  her.  A  significant  answer  to  the  Prussian  summons 
to  Erfurt  was  given,  only  a  few  days  before  the  assembly  met, 
by  the  king  of  Wurtemberg,  who  made  a  speech,  in  which  he 
withstood  the  pretensions  of  Prussia  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  so-called  league  of  the  four  kings — Saxony,  Bavaria, 
Hanover,  and  Wurtemberg — who  naturally  enough  inclined 
to  the  opinion  of  those  who  thought  the  future  constitution 
of  Germany  should  be  based  upon  a  parliament,  to  which 
Austria,  Prussia,  and  the  united  smaller  states  should  each 
send  a  hundred  members  ;  and  a  directory  of  seven,  in  which 
Austria,  Prussia,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Hanover,  and  Wurtemberg 
should  each  have  a  voice,  while  Electoral  and  Grand-ducal 
Hesse  had  each  half  a  voice.  The  Prussian  star  was  evi- 
dently not  in  the  ascendant  when  Eadowitz  first  addressed, 
in  the  name  of  his  sovereign,  the  great  council  of  the  re- 
stricted confederation,  the  Assembly  of  Erfurt.*  The  project 
of  a  reconstituted  Germany,  with  a  less  democratic  constitu- 
tion than  that  which  had  been  elaborated  at  Frankfort,  which 
he  laid  before  that  assembly,  was  adopted  in  its  entirety,  after 
much  discussion.  Nothing  more  embarrassing  to  Prussia 
could  have  occurred ;  for  even  that  project  was  a  great  deal 

*  We  have  called  attention  on  a  former  page  to  the  first  series  of  Gesprdche 
mis  der  Gegemvart.  "Wliat  it  is  to  the  period  before  1847,  that  the  second 
series  is  to  the  years  1848,  1849,  and  1850.  To  the  general  reader  the  second 
work  will  be  less  interesting  than  the  first ;  but  to  those  who  wish  to  under- 
stand the  politics  of  Germany  it  is  even  more  important,  because  Eadowitz, 
the  Waldhoim  of  the  conversations,  was  an  actor  of  first-rate  importance 
thiough  the  whole  of  the  revolutionary  period. _, 


THE   CRISIS   OF    1850.  265 

more  democratic  than  what  her  rulers  really  wished  for.  The 
Duke  of  Coburg  came  to  their  assistance  with  a  proposal  for 
a  congress  of  princes.  The  congress  met,  not  in  Gotha,  but 
in  Berlin,  and  was  composed  of  the  states  most  favourable  to 
Prussia.  The  majority  of  these  unfortunately  were  only  of  a 
third  or  fourth  rate  importance,  and  neither  it  nor  the  college 
of  plenipotentiaries,  from  these  various  princes,  which  followed 
it,  came  to  any  result.  The  game,  however,  now  became  more 
exciting.  Austria  replied  by  convoking  the  old  Plenum  at 
Prankfort ;  and  before  the  autumn  was  out  the  kings  of 
Bavaria  and  Wurtemberg  had  met  Francis  Joseph  at  Bregentz 
and  exchanged  toasts  and  promises  of  the  most  warlike 
character.  AVhere  so  many  causes  of  estrangement  existed, 
it  was  easy  to  find  a  pretext  for  quarrel.  That  pretext  was 
furnished  by  the  affairs  of  the  most  t^^ically  misgoverned  of 
German  countries.  Electoral  Hesse.  We  need  not  go  into  the 
details  of  the  constitutional  struggle  in  that  ill-starred  district : 
sufi&ce  it  to  say,  that  the  Elector  appealed  to  Prankfort  and  to 
Vienna ;  the  people  appealed  to  the  restricted  confederation  and 
to  Berlin.  Troops  marched  from  north  and  south.  Shots  were 
exchanged  between  the  Austrian  and  the  Prussian  outposts. 
The  situation  was  almost  precisely  what  it  was  in  the  first 
days  of  April  1866.  In  1850,  however,  the  Emperor  Mcholas 
was  at  the  height  of  his  power.  He  had  poured,  in  1849,  a  vast 
force  into  Hungar)%  and  had  apparently,  with  the  greatest 
ease,  restored  that  country  to  the  House  of  Hapsburg.  He 
had  kept  revolution  far  away  from  his  own  borders,  and  in 
the  intoxication  of  success  he  almost  believed  himself  some- 
thing more  than  a  man.  Strong  in  his  yet  unbroken  prestige, 
strong  in  the  personal  ascendancy  which  he  had  established 
over  the  court  of  Berlin,  he  threw  his  whole  influence  into 


266  THE    GERMANIC   DIET. 

the  scale  of  peace — not  because  lie  disliked  war,  but  because 
he  identified  the  cause  of  Austria  with  the  cause  of  order. 
Other  influences,  and  above  all  the  temper  of  the  king,  made 
the  position  of  Eadowitz  untenable.  He  was,  as  we  have  seen 
in  the  preceding  article,  driven  from  power,  and  with  him 
went  down  with  a  crash  the  whole  fabric  of  the  "Union." 
With  him  too  passed  away  for  a  time  all  hopes  of  Prussian 
hegemony. 

Deep  was  the  humiliation  and  bitter  the  wrath  of  all  the 
best  men  in  Germany,  but  on  that  we  must  not  dwell.  So 
elated  with  his  victory  was  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  that  at 
the  Dresden  conferences  which  presently  assembled  he  had 
actually  the  assurance  to  propose  that  Austria  should  enter 
into  the  Germanic  Confederation  with  all  her  non-Germanic 
provinces.  Luckily  France,  England,  and  Eussia  came  to  the 
rescue.  Baron  Brenier,  in  a  remarkable  dispatch,  pointed  out 
that  this  was  altogether  inadmissible,  and  perfectly  opposed  to 
the  views  of  the  three  great  non-Germanic  powers  who  had 
guaranteed  the  order  established  in  1815.  So  Prussia  had, 
after  all,  a  sort  of  poor  little  triumph  wherewith  to  console 
herself  for  the  disgrace  of  Olmiitz  ;  and,  in  less  than  three 
years  after  its  disappearance,  back  came  the  old  Frankfort  Diet 
again,  with  all  its  lumbering  and  unsatisfactory  machinery, 
and  German  hopes  and  aspirations  once  more  slumbered,  if 
they  did  not  sleep. 

What,  then,  is  the  constitution  of  this  most  unloved 
assembly  ?  We  have  seen  that  the  Confederation  originally 
consisted  of  thirty-nine  sovereign  states.  Of  these,  six  have 
ceased  to  exist.  Gotha  has  been  divided  between  Coburg  and 
Meiningen  ;  Anhalt-Cothen  has  merged  in  Anhalt-Dessau ;  so, 
within  the  last  few  years,  has  Anhalt-Bernburg ;  while  the 


THE  CONFEDERATION  AS  IT  IS.  267 

two  HohenzoUerns — Hecliingen  and  Sigmaringen — have  been 

ceded  to  Prussia,  and  only  a  month  or  two  ago  Hesse-Homburg 

fell  to   the   grand-duke   of  Darmstadt.*      There   are   now, 

therefore,  only  thirty-three  states  included  in  the  Germanic 

Confederation.      These  are — 1,  Austria  ;    2,  Prussia  ;    3,  Ba- 

I     varia  ;  4,  Saxony  ;   5,  Hanover  ;  6>  Wurtemberg  ;   7,  Baden  ; 

8,  Hesse-Cassel  ;    9,  Hesse-Darmstadt  ;    10,  Schleswig-Hol- 

stein  ;    11,  Luxemburg  and  Limburg  ;  12,  Brunswick  ;    13, 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin  ;     14,    Nassau  ;    15,    Weimar  ;     16, 

Meiningen  ;    17,  Altenburg;    18,  Coburg-Gotha  ;    19,  Meck- 

lenburg-Strelitz  ;  20,  Oldenburg ;  21,  Anhalt ;  22,  Schwarz- 

burg-Sondershausen ;  23,  Schwarzburg-Ptudolstadt ;  24,  Lich- 

tenstein  ;  25,  Waldeck  ;  26,  Eeuss-Greiz  ;  27,  Eeuss-Schleiz  ; 

28,  Schaumburg-Lippe  ;  29,  Lippe-Detmold  and  the  four  free 

towms  ;  30,  Lilbeck  ;  31,  Prankfort ;  32,  Bremen  ;  and  33, 

Hamburg.     Of  these  states  the  1st  is  ruled  by  an  emperor  ; 

the  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th,  and  6th,  by  kings  ;  the  7th,  9th,  11th, 

13th,  15th,  19th,  and  20th,  by  grand-dukes ;  the  8th  by  an 

elector  ;  the  10th  is  in  an  exceptional  position  ;   the  12th, 

14th,  16th,  17th,  18th,  and  21st,  are  ruled  by  dukes  ;  from 

the  22d  up  to  the  29th  inclusive,  the  rulers  are  princes  ;  and 

the  four  others  are  small  republics. 

The  executive  power  of  the  Confederation,  and  its  legis- 
lative power,  in  so  far  as  any  such  exists,  are  vested  in  the 
body  which  is  popularly  called  the  Diet  (Bundes-Versamm- 
lung),  so  styled  from  dies,  as  meeting  from  day  to  day.  That 
name,  however,  although  accurately  applied  to  the  old  assembly 
of  the  empire,  has  no  such  fitness  when  applied  to  the  existing 
directory  of  the  Confederation.    This  directory  appears  in  two 

*  This  potentate  has  now  become  Grossherzog  von  Hessen  imd  bei  Ehein 
uud  Souveraner  Laudgraf  zu  Homburg  ! 


268  THE  GERMANS IC  DIET. 

forms — 1,  as  a  Plenum,  or  extraordinary  convention  ;  2,  as  a 
committee  (Engere  Eath,  or  Conseil  Eestreint).  In  tlie  former 
of  these  assemblies  each  of  the  thirty-three  states  has  at  least 
one  vote,  while  Austria  and  the  kingdoms  have  four  ;  Baden, 
the  two  Hesses,  Luxemburg  and  Limburg,  each,  three  ;  Bruns- 
wick, Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  and  ISTassau,  each,  two.  In  the 
smaller  assembly  all  the  estates  which  have  three  or  four  voices 
in  the  larger,  have  one ;  while  all  the  rest  have  only  fractions  of 
a  voice,  being  classed  together  for  this  purpose  in  "  curie,"  or 
colleges,  whence  the  distinction  between  virile  and  curial  voices. 
The  sixteenth  college  is  composed  of  no  less  than  six  small 
states;  those  namely,  which  are  marked  above  from  24  to  29  in- 
clusive. As  a  general  rule,  all  matters  not  specially  withdrawn 
by  the  Federal  and  Final  Acts  from  the  control  of  the  Engere 
Eath  are  decided  by  it,  and  by  a  simple  majority.  In  the  Plenum, 
on  the  other  hand,  a  majority  of  two-thirds  at  least  is  always 
necessary.  To  the  Plenum  are  referred — 1.  Questions  about 
changes  in  fundamental  laws  ;  2.  Questions  about  changes  in 
organic  institutions  ;  3.  Proposals  as  to  the  admission  of  new 
members  ;  4.  Affairs  of  religion.  No  discussion  takes  place 
in  the  Plenum  ;  but  in  the  Engere  Eath  every  subject  may  be 
fully  discussed.  When  it  is  proposed  to  change  a  funda- 
mental law,  a  unanimous  vote  must  be  first  taken  in  the 
Plenum  in  favour  of  entertaining  the  question,  after  which 
the  details  are  worked  out  in  the  Engere  Eath.  Decisions 
about  the  admission  of  a  new  member  also  require  unanimity. 
It  is  obvious  that  in  the  larger  assembly  the  influence  of  the 
smaller  states  is  much  greater  than  in  the  other. 

Everything  which  is  within  the  purview  of  the  Federal 
and  Final  Acts  is  within  the  competence  of  the  Diet.  For 
greater  clearness  m  e  may  give  the  following  summary  : — 1.  It 


THE  CONFEDERATION  AS  IT  IS.  269 

watches  over  the  international  relations  of  Germany,  the 
maintenance  of  internal  peace,  and  of  all  the  fundamental 
laws  which  regulate  the  existence  of  the  Confederation.  2.  It 
settles  all  quarrels  between  members  of  the  Confederation, 
either  by  mediation  or  by  a  complicated  judicial  process, 
known  as  un  jugemcnt  cmstregal,  from  Austrag,  a  decision  (a 
subject  on  which  a  perfect  literature  has  accumulated  in  half- 
a-century).  3.  To  it  belongs  the  settlement  of  disputes  be- 
tween sovereigns  and  their  subjects,  when  all  constitutional 
methods  have  failed.  (We  need  hardly  say  that  this  power  has 
been  frequently  abused.)  4  The  duty  of  taking  care  that  each 
state  in  the  Confederation  should  have,  in  accordance  with  the 
Federal  Act,  a  "  Landstandische  Verfassung,"  was  originally 
imposed  upon  the  Diet,  and  it  was  also  directed  to  provide 
that  no  constitution  once  given  should  be  modified  except 
by  constitutional  means.  Further,  it  was  directed  to  prevent 
any  constitution  being  so  worked  as  to  make  it  impossible  for 
the  state  in  which  it  existed  to  fulfil  its  Federal  obligations. 
(Here  was  a  field  opened  for  infinite  oppression,  and  under 
this  head  the  action  of  the  Diet  has  always  been  very  unsatis- 
factory.) 5.  The  Diet  watches  over  the  rights  of  the  medi- 
atised princes,  and  of  private  individuals  who  may  have  a  locus 
standi  to  appeal  to  it.  6.  The  Diet  receives  ambassadors, 
and  has  the  power  of  sending  them  if  it  pleases.  7.  It  regu- 
lates all  things  relative  to  the  military  force  of  the  Confedera- 
tion. 

All  the  resolutions  of  the  Diet  which  have  an  executive 
character,  and  are  taken  constitutionally,  become  at  once  valid 
for  all  purposes.  Not  so  decisions  which  have  a  legislative 
character.  These  must  be  first  approved  by  the  respective 
Chambers  of  the  confederated  states. 


270  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

The  Engere  Rath  meets  every  Thursday,  but  may  adjourn 
for  not  more  than  four  months  after  concluding  its  discussion 
on  any  subject.  It  has  no  power  over  its  members,  who  are 
only  responsible  to  the  governments  which  they  represent. 
A  decree  of  the  8th  of  March  1860  permitted  the  publication 
of  its  proceedings. 

Eight  committees — permanent  or  renewable — attend  each 
to  some  specified  department,  and  report  to  the  Engere  Eath 
on  finance,  general  political  affairs,  commerce,  military  matters, 
the  publication  of  its  proceedings,  upon  the  14tli  article  of 
the  Federal  Act,  which  relates  to  the  affairs  of  the  medi- 
atised princes,  upon  cases  which  arise  for  federal  execution, 
and  upon  petitions.  The  funds  of  the  Confederation  are 
under  two  different  systems  of  management,  according  as  they 
are  applicable  to  mere  routine  matters — such  as  the  support  of 
the  Federal  chancery  ;  or  to  great  enterprises — such  as  war, 
and  enforcement  of  Federal  authority.  The  Federal  army  con- 
sists of  503,072  men,  of  which  Austria  contributes  158,037, 
Prussia  133,769,  and  the  small  states  all  the  rest.  Five 
great  fortresses — Landau,  Luxemburg,  Mayence,  Eastadt,  and 
Ulm — are  garrisoned  by  Federal  troops. 

Austria  has  the  largest  area  in  square  miles  protected  by 
the  Confederation  and  controlled  by  the  Diet,  but  Prussia  has 
the  largest  amount  of  population  in  the  same  position  : 
Austria  having  75,822  square  miles  to  71,698  of  Prussia, 
and  Prussia  having  14,138,804  inhabitants  to  12,802,944  of 
Austria,  according  to  the  census  of  1861.  More  than  twenty- 
two  millions  of  Austrian  subjects  are  not  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Confederation,  which  extends  only  to  the  arch- 
duchy of  Austria,  Bohemia,  Styria,  T}to1,  Moravia,  and  part 
of  Illyria  ;  whereas  little  more  than  four  millions  of  Prussians 


THE  CONFEDEEATION  AS  IT  IS.  27l 

are  beyond  its  limits.  6,860,000  Austrians  protected  by  the 
Confederation  are  not  Germans,  and  825,000  Prussians. 
Lichtenstein,  with  64  square  miles,  is  the  smallest  of 
the  sovereign  states ;  and  Frankfort,  with  43  square  miles 
of  territory,  is  the  least  considerable  in  extent  of  the  free 
cities  ;  its  population  is,  however,  much  larger  than  that 
of  Lubeck,  which  rules  over  a  district  nearly  three  times  as 
large.* 

*  A  few  words  as  to  the  political  life  of  some  of  tlie  German  States,  con- 
sidered not  in  tlieir  corporate  but  in  their  individual  capacity,  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here. 

The  ];)ati'onage  bestowed  upon  artists  by  King  Louis  of  Bavaria  has 
diverted  attention  from  the  narrow-minded  and  bigoted  character  of  his  rule. 
No  similar  consideration  detracts  from  the  credit  due  to  the  efforts  of  his  son  to 
collect  round  him  men  of  letters  and  enlightenment.  Possessed  of  good  but 
not  brilliant  abilities,  he  played  no  remarkable  role  in  Germany;  but  he 
steadily  carried  out  what  he  thought  right,  and  kept  faith  with  his  people. 
The  character  of  the  present  king  is  probably  stillnmmature,  and  is  criticised 
in  the  most  opposite  ways.  The  kingdom  to  which  he  has  succeeded  is  the  only 
member  of  the  Germanic  Confederation — except  the  leviathans  of  the  south 
and  north — which  could  ever  do  more  than  dream  of  playing  an  independent 
part.  Internally,  it  is  fairly  prosperous  and  contented  ;  and  the  Bavarian 
has  rather  to  complain  of  a  teazing  care  for  his  welfare  on  the  part  of  the 
government  than  of  any  intentional  oppression.  In  the  last  three  chapters 
of  Mr.  Wilberforce's  Social  Life  in  Munich  will  be  found  a  clear  account 
of  the  infinite  leading-strings  which  shackle  him,  more  especially  of  the 
restraints  on  marriage  and  upon  trade,  both  of  which  produce  the  most 
disastrous  results, 

"Wurtemberg  lost  in  her  late  sovereign  a  man  who,  if  he  had  been  the 
prime  minister  of  a  large  state,  not  the  king  of  a  small  one,  would  have  left 
in  all  probability  a  great  name  to  history  ;  but  the  chief  importance  of  this 
part  of  Germany,  in  our  generation,  has  been  theological  rather  than  political. 
The  university  of  Tiibingen  was  the  university  of  Strauss,  the  publication  of 
■whose  Lehen  Jesu  in  1832  is  the  epoch  with  which  the  history  of  recent 
theological  movements  in  Germany  commences.  Here,  too,  a  few  years  ago, 
died  F.  C.  Baur,  whose  scholars,  scattered  over  all  German-reading  countries, 
have  given  to  the  Tiibingen  school  so  great  a  renown. 

Saxony  has  fallen  from  her  high  estate,  and  her  capital  is  now  far  more 
remarkable  for  its  collections  of  art  than  for  its  political  significance  or  the 
resort  to  it  of  learned  men  ;  but  the  industrial  life  of  some  Saxon  districts 


272  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

Among  the  seventeen  plenipotentiaries  who  form  the 
ordinary  council  of  the  Bund,  there  is  only  at  this  moment 
one  man  of  very  great  eminence.     He  is  the  representative  of 

is  unusually  active,  and  trade  has  been  freed  \^itllin  the  last  five  years  from 
many  antiquated  shackles.  The  accident  of  the  royal  family  being  attached 
to  a  very  rigid  school  of  Catholicism  is  an  iinfortunate  circumstance,  but  has 
had  more  influence  upon  the  foreign  than  the  internal  politics  of  the  country. 
The  king  is  a  highly-cultivated  man,  has  translated  the  Divina  Commedia, 
and  is,  strange  to  say,  a  very  excellent  jurist.  A  natural  distrust  of  Prussia, 
and  perhaps  the  personal  ambition  of  M.  von  Beust,  has  made  the  Saxon 
government  very  active  in  trying  to  raise  up  a  third  power  in  Germany  ;  and 
during  the  Schleswig-Holstein  controversy  these  same  influences — aided,  it  is 
said,  by  the  personal  convictions  of  the  king — have  had  the  good  efl"ect  of 
keeping  this  little  state  thoroughly  true  to  the  German,  as  distinguished  from 
the  Austrian  or  Prussian,  view  of  the  question. 

The  Hanoverian  government  has  adhered  with  but  too  much  persistence 
to  the  evil  course  which  was  given  to  its  politics  by  our  own  notorious  Duke 
of  Cumberland.  Obliged  to  yield  for  a  time  to  popular  demands  in  1848, 
it  felt  itself  strong  enough  to  make  a  long  step  backward  in  1855  ;  and  although 
the  king  is  not  personally  unpopular,  his  advisers  have  rarely  shared  his 
good  fortune.  In  1862  the  attempt  to  substitute  a  catechism  strongly  tinged 
with  neo-Lutheran  views,  in  the  place  of  the  comparatively  reasonable  one 
which  had  been  in  use  for  some  seventy  years,  brought  about  disturbances 
which  might  easily  have  taken  a  serious  turn  ;  and  it  is  characteristic  of  the 
state  of  chronic  opposition  in  which  the  bulk  of  the  population  lives,  that  the 
idea  of  the  National  Verein  should  have  been  first  developed  in  the  brain  of 
the  leader  of  the  Liberal  party  in  Hanover,  M.  von  Bennigsen. 

The  peaceful  laisser  faire  of  Brunswick  contrasts  advantageously  with  the 
efforts  which  are  made  by  antiquated  parties  in  the  neighbouring  states  to 
maintain  a  power  which  events  have  undermined.  Both  here  and  in  Olden- 
burg the  rulers  are  decidedly  popular  ;  and  in  those  two  districts,  as  well  as 
in  Weimar  and  Coburg-Gotha,  the  year  of  revolutions  was  followed  by  no  re- 
action. 

The  Grand-duchy  of  "Weimar,  containing  only  about  270,000  inhabitants, 
and  not  quite  so  large  as  Sussex,  has  attracted  to  itself  a  greater  amount  of 
attention  than  many  much  larger  countries.  AVhat  is  still  better,  it  contrives 
to  be  extremely  happy.  The  present  ruler  is  a  grandson  of  Karl  August,  and 
has  inherited  much  of  his  love  for  art,  and  other  good  qualities.  In  the  pre- 
sent circumstances  of  Germany  it  would  be  impossible  even  if  any  Gothes  or 
Schillers  were  to  be  found,  to  connect  them  with  a  small  court  after  the  fashion 
of  the  great  days  of  "Weimar.     The  pleasant  little  town,  however,  has  been 


ROBERT  VOX  MOHL.  273 

Baden,  Eobert  von  Mohl,  one  of  that  family  of  distingnished 
brothers,  amongst  whom  M.  Jules  Mohl,  the  professor  of  Per- 
sian at  the  College  de  France,  is  probably  the  best  known  in 

chosen  as  a  place  of  residence  by  several  men  of  letters  and  painters  of  some 
distinction.  Nowhere  has  the  practical  morality  which  was  inculcated  by 
Rohr  and  his  school  produced  better  results  than  amongst  the  poor  but  honest 
population  of  the  Grand-duchy,  and  in  no  country  have  the  principles  of  re- 
ligious toleration  been  better  carried  out. 

The  Grand-duke  of  Hesse-Darmstadt  has  thrown  his  influence  very  deci- 
dedly into  the  scale  of  the  Middle  State  policy,  a  proceeding  which  is  natural 
enough  on  his  part,  but  has  by  no  means  tended  to  increase  the  popularity  of 
his  family,  which  has  been  at  various  times  involved  in  disagreeable  discus- 
sions with  the  representatives  of  the  people  about  the  Civil  List.  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  though  by  no  means  a  model  state,  shows  to  gi*eat  advantage  by 
the  side  of  Electoral  Hesse,  where  for  two  generations  the  ruled  and  the  rulers 
have  been  in  a  state  of  war.  Their  cjuarrel,  which  from  time  to  time  has 
seemed  on  the  point  of  setting  all  Germany  in  a  blaze,  has  made  itself  but 
little  talked  of  since  1862  ;  but  when  so  wayward  a  personage  as  the  Elector 
Frederick  "William  is  in  the  case  we  shall  never  be  surprised  at  hearing  that  it 
has  broken  out  again  with  more  violence  than  ever. 

It  is  gratifying  to  turn  from  Hesse-Cassel  to  a  country  in  every  respect^ 
its  antithesis — to  the  Grand-duchy  of  Baden,  which,  under  the  rule  of  an 
enlightened  prince,  may  fairly  be  said  to  lead  the  Liberal  movement  in  Ger- 
many. "Whether  we  look  at  its  constitution,  at  its  ecclesiastical  condition, 
or  at  the  line  which  it  takes  in  the  affairs  of  the  Confederation,  we  shall  see 
much  that  is  satisfactory. 

Post  lucem  tenehrce. — The  two  Mecklenburgs,  ruled  by  sovereigns  of  Scla- 
vonic race,  of  which  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  is  about  five  times  larger  than  the 
other,  although  the  titles  of  their  rulers  are  the  same,  are  the  most  backward 
states  of  the  Confederation.  There  are  no  disti'icts  in  which  the  life  of  Germany, 
as  Germany  was  before  the  Napoleonic  wars,  could  be  better  studied. 

The  Grand-duke  of  Oldenburg  rules  over  three  small  patches  of  territory  : 
Oldenburg  proper,  the  principality  of  Liibeck,  and  Birkenfeld.  The  former  lies 
between  Hanover  and  Holland,  and  is  a  flat  unlovely  strip  cut  out  of  the  great 
northern  plain,  very  similar  in  character  to  the  adjoining  province  of  Friesland. 
The  second  is  surrounded  by  Holstein,  and  the  third  lies  in  the  hilly  region 
along  the  Nahe,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  ;  Oberstein,  so  famous  for  its 
agate-cutting,  is  the  best  known  spot  in  it.  The  Grand-duke  is  a  man  of 
high  cultivation  and  good  abilities.  Up  to  1848,  his  territories  were  under 
one  of  the  least  liberal  governments  in  Germany  ;  but  the  reverse  is  now 
the  case.     He  is  nearly  connected  with  the  imperial  family  of  Russia,  and 

T 


274  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

England.  The  other  two,  Hugo  and  Moritz,  have  made  them- 
selves famous,  the  one  as  a  microscopic  botanist,  and  the  other 
as  a  very  active  member  of  the  parliament  of  Wurtemberg. 

has  been  accused  of  being  too  friendly  to  the  European  policy  of  his  powerful 
relatives. 

The  dukedom  of  Anhalt-Dessau,  which  has  now  swallowed  up  its  kindred 
dukedoms  of  Zerbst,  Cothen,  and  Bernburg,  is  remarkable  chiefly  for  its 
fertility.  The  revolutionary  shock  of  1848  was  felt  here  with  unusual  inten- 
sity, and  the  reaction  was  proportionably  greater  than  in  most  parts  of  Germany. 
Hence  the  reigning  house  is  very  far  from  popular. 

The  two  small  principalities  of  Schwarzburg-Sondershausen  and  Schwarz- 
burg-Kudolstadt  divide  unequally  between  them  the  highland  district  called 
the  *'  Upper  County,"  amid  the  Thuringian  hills,  and  the  "Lower  County," 
which  lies  considerably  to  the  north  of  the  other,  within  the  edge  of  the 
great  northern  plain.  The  former  contains  318,  and  the  latter  about  340 
square  miles, 

Lichtenstein  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Khine,  between  Switzerland 
and  the  T3nrol,  Its  capital  is  the  little  town  of  Vaduz,  over  which  rises  the 
old  castle,  which  is  the  "  Stammhaus  "  of  its  princes.  The  ruler  of  Lichten- 
stein, although  the  least  of  sovereigns,  now  that  Kniphausen  is  merged  in 
Oldenburg,  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  nobles,  possessing  estates  in  Austria 
thirty-four  times  larger  than  his  principality.  He  draws  no  revenue  from 
Lichtenstein,  and  the  only  grievance  of  which  his  subjects  have  recently  com- 
plained is  his  absenteeism.  Even  this  is  now  remedied,  for  he  has  agreed  to 
spend  a  portion  of  every  year  at  Vaduz. 

"Waldeck  contains  in  all  466  square  miles,  of  which  32  belong  to 
Pyrmont,  and  the  rest  to  Waldeck  proper.  The  latter,  a  picturesque  and 
hilly  country,  lies  out  of  the  path  of  tourists,  and  is  very  rarely  visited, 
although  not  far  from  the  town  of  Cassel,  which  is  upon  one  of  the  great  lines 
of  communication.  The  well-known  mineral  springs,  and  the  usual  attractions 
of  a  watering-place,  make  Pyrmont,  which  is  separated  from  Waldeck  proper, 
and  considerably  to  the  north  of  it,  much  better  known.  The  reigning  prince, 
George  Victor,  was  born  in  1831,  and  came  to  the  throne,  after  a  long  minority, 
in  1852. 

This  small  country  has  given  in  very  recent  years  three  names  to 
Germany,  without  which  her  contemporary  annals  would  be  much  poorer. 
These  are  Ranch  the  sculptor,  Kaulbach  the  painter,  and  Bunsen,  to  whom 
not  Prussia  only,  but  also  England,  owes  so  much.  Since  1848  the  system 
of  government  in  every  department  has  been  remodelled,  and  although 
great  questions — such  as  one  about  the  price  of  firewood — sometimes  shake  it 
to  its  centre,  and  call  forth  the  sternest  patriotic  resistance  in  its  parliament 


ROBERT  VOX  MOIIL.  275 

Eobert  von  Mohl  was  born  in  1799.  He  studied  at  Tubingen, 
and  was  afterwards  professor  of  political  science  in  that  uni- 
versity.    He  w^as  then  for  some  time  a  member  of  the  Cham- 

of  fifteen  members,  it  must  be  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  best  governed  por- 
tions of  the  Fatherland  ;  and  it  will  be  a  happy  day  for  the  Prussians  when 
they  enjoy  la  liherte  comme  en  WaldccJc.  It  appears,  indeed,  to  suffer  under 
no  evils  except  those  which  are  necessarily  incidental  to  so  tiny  a  state — Aaz. 
a  superabundance  of  public  functionaries  and  a  superfluity  of  public  establish- 
ments— the  former  badly  paid,  and  the  latter  poorly  kept  up.  Then  there  is, 
of  course,  an  absence  of  all  object  for  ambition — a  want  of  many  institutions 
for  w^hich  large  means  are  indispensable,  and  a  relaxed,  sleepy  mode  of  life. 
"Wliat  we  say  of  the  evils  of  Waldeck  holds  equally  true  of  all  the  German 
states  below  those  of  the  second  rank,  if  indeed  we  might  not  include  those  of 
the  second  rank  also. 

The  elder  or  Greitz  branch  of  the  ancient  house  of  Eeuss  niles  over  a  terri- 
tory which  is  smaller  than  the  county  of  Eutland ;  but  the  younger  or  Schleitz 
branch  has  succeeded  to  the  possessions  of  the  now  extinct  lines  of  Gera, 
Lobenstein,  and  Ebersdorf,  and  possesses  a  district  more  than  three  times  as 
large  as  its  rival.  The  scattered  patches  which  belong  to  them  lie  partly  in 
the  Thuringian  uplands,  partly  in  the  Erzgebirge  and  the  richer  lowlands  of 
Saxony.  The  family  custom  of  calling  each  succeeding  head  of  the  house  by 
the  name  of  Henry,  and  distinguishing  him  by  some  number  between  one  and 
a  hundred,  is  well  known.  The  present  sovereign  of  Eeuss-Greitz  is  Henry 
XXII. ,  and  of  Eeuss-Schleitz,  Henry  LXVII.  The  elder  branch  counts  up 
to  one  hundred  ;  the  younger  begins  a  new  reckoning  with  the  century. 

The  little  principality  of  Lippe-Detmold  lies  close  to  PjTmont,  and  is 
about  the  size  of  "Waldeck.  It  contains  about  445  square  miles  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  is  about  three  times  the  size  of  the  Isle  of  "Wight.  It  is  a  rugged  and 
much-wooded  country,  and  is  sav^ed  from  insignificance  by  the  fact  that  it 
witnessed  that  famous  defeat  of  the  Eomans  under  Yarns,  which  Arnold,  per- 
haps not  unjustly,  considered  to  be  one  of  the  turning-points  of  history.  A 
statue  of  Arminius,  the  Hermann  of  the  Germans,  has  been  erected  at  Det- 
mold,  the  town  which  is  the  residence  of  the  prince. 

Schaumburg-Lippe,  which  is  close  to  the  other,  is  not  quite  half  so  large, 
and  in  every  way  unimportant. 

The  fate  of  Schleswig-Holstein  still  trembles  in  the  balance  ;  nor  can  we 
consider,  in  the  face  of  the  opposition  of  the  Prussian  Lower  House,  that  the 
statijbs  of  Lauenburg  is  definitely  settled. 

Luxemburg  and  Limburg  belong  to  the  king  of  the  Netherlands.  The  old 
Orand-duchy  of  Luxemburg,  which  was  part  of  the  possessions  of  the  House  of 
Austria,  in  the  Low  Countries,  was  joined  to  the  Germanic  Confederation  at 


2*76  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

ber,  but  in  1847  was  called  as  professor  to  Heidelberg.  He 
took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Vorparla- 
ment,  was  closely  associated  with  the  policy  of  Heinrich  von 
Gagern  through  the  eventful  years  of  1848  and  1849,  and  is 
a  partisan  of  the  Prussian  or  Klein-deutsche  theory  of  German 
reconstruction. 

This  article  would  be  even  more  incomplete  than  the  diffi- 
culty of  compressing  so  large  a  subject  into  narrow  limits 
renders  almost  necessary,  if  we  were  not  to  give  a  brief 
account  of  the  various  plans  which  have  recently  been  sug- 
gested for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Germanic  Confederation. 
The  present  system  has  been  condemned  by  all  parties.  Its 
extreme  complication,  the  opportunities  for  obstruction  which 
it  affords,  and  the  fact,  that  as  long  as  it  exists  Germany  can 
never  really  take  its  place  as  a  great  power  beside  France 
and  England,  irritate  beyond  all  bearing  a  people  which, 
Satisfied  with  its  achievements  in  literature  and  science,  is 
passionately  desirous  of  political  renown. 

The  years  which  immediately  succeeded  the  revolutionary 
period  of  1848,  1849,  and  1850,  were  marked  in  Germany 
rather  by  the  successful  prosecution  of  industrial  enterprises 
than  by  political  combinations.     The  reaction  had  triumphed 

the  Congress  of  Vienna,  but  nearly  the  whole  of  it  revolted  in  1830  ;  and  it 
was  only  in  1839,  after  the  Dutch  had  made  up  their  minds  to  accept  the  basis 
of  the  treaty  of  the  Twenty-four  Articles,  that  about  half  the  country  was 
handed  back  to  its  old  allegiance.  So  violent  was  the  feeling  in  Belgium  at 
this  time  that  M.  Gendebien,  in  voting  against  the  surrender,  said:  "No! 
380, 000 'times  No!  for  the  380,000  Belgians  whom  you  are  sacrificing  to 
fear,"  and  resigned  his  seat  then  and  there.  That  Avas  one  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, but  on  the  other  the  king  of  Holland  thought  that  half  Luxemburg  was 
a  poor  exchange  to  offer  to  the  Germanic  Confederation  for  the  whole  of  it,  so 
he  added  Limburg,  which  became  thus,  de  jure,  Federal  territory.  It  has 
never,  however,  become  so  dc  facto  ;  and  thus,  perhaps,  room  is  left  open  for 
a  querelle  Allcmande  on  some  future  day. 


PLANS  OF  REFOKM.  277 

ill  Prussia,  and  it  soon  became  clear  that  nothing  could  be 
done  so  long  as  Frederick  William  IV.  dragged  on  his  un- 
happy life.  The  commencement  of  the  reign  of  his  successor 
brought  some  glimmerings  of  hope,  soon  to  be  overcast ;  but, 
on  the  whole,  things  went  on  at  Frankfort  very  much  in  the 
old  way  imtil  the  Italian  war  of  1859.  jSTo  sooner  had  it 
broken  out  than  all  Germany  went  mad  with  fear  of  France, 
and  the  results  were  similar  to  those  which  were  observed  in 
1813,  1840,  and  1848.  A  violent  desire  for  German  union 
became  once  more  developed.  In  some  parts  of  the  country 
the  people  would  have  hailed  with  delight  a  declaration  of 
war,  and  were  quite  ready  to  subscribe  to  the  marvellous 
doctrine  that  the  Mincio  is  the  true  frontier  of  Germany.  In 
Bavaria,  more  especially,  the  warlike  excitement  was  intense. 
In  Prussia  and  the  north,  although  there  was  a  strong  war 
party,  the  passions  of  the  nation  were,  so  to  speak,  driven  in- 
ward, and  the  result  was  the  formation  of  the  great  society 
called  the  National  Verein,  which  adopts  the  ideas  which  found 
favour  at  Frankfort  and  Gotha  ten  years  before.  To  this  same 
impulse  from  without  was  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  previous  article,  the  renewed  activity  of  the 
democratic  party  at  Berlin. 

The  most  conspicuous  names  which  are  connected  with 
the  National  Verein  are  those  of  politicians  who  belong  to  the 
Fortschritt  section  in  the  Prussian  Chamber.  We  should  per- 
haps make  an  exception  in  favour  of  one  remarkable  man, 

who  seemed  inclined  for  a  time  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  that 

« 

section,  and  may  very  probably  do  so  again.  We  allude  of 
course  to  the  brother  of  the  late  Prince  Consort.  The  names 
of  the  twin  duchies  of  Coburg  and  Gotha  are  more  familiar 
to  En<^lish  readers  than  those  of  most  of  the  small  states  of 


278  THE  GERMANIC   DIET. 

Germany,  and  will  one  day  probably  be  even  better  known 
than  tbey  are  now,  as  Prince  Alfred  is  heir-presumptive  to 
both  of  them.  The  two  together  are  but  little  larger  than 
Worcestershire,  and  have  a  population  of  about  160,000  ; 
nevertheless,  they  are  governed  by  separate  Chambers,  which, 
however,  combine  for  the  transaction  of  common  affairs  every 
second  year.  The  duke  resides  part  of  the  year  in  each,  but 
his  establishment  in  Coburg  is  the  more  important  of  the 
two  which  he  maintains.  His  relations  to  his  subjects  have 
not  always  been  of  the  happiest,  owing  rather  to  the  old-w^orld 
notions  of  the  ruled  than  to  the  shortcomings  of  the  ruler. 
Few  stranger  political  pamphlets  have  appeared  in  recent 
years  than  that  which,  under  the  title  of  Der  Herzog  von 
Cdbiirg-Gotha  tend  sei7i  VolJc,  was  put  forth  in  1861  by  Ernest 
II.  Amongst  all  the  minor  princes  of  Germany,  he  is  the 
most  conspicuous  figure ;  his  character  presents  a  striking  con- 
trast to  that  of  his  brother — the  one  is  as  impetuous  as 
the  other  was  prudent.  He  has  been  well  described  by  one 
of  his  intimate  friends  as  a  Husaren-Natur,  and  he  was  in 
some  sort  for  a  brief  period  the  leader  of  the  Liberal  party 
in  Germany.  Within  the  last  few  years  his  politics  have 
been  Prussian,  Austrian,  and  Middle  State ;  so  that,  thanks 
rather  to  circumstances  than  to  any  change  of  ultimate  aim 
on  his  own  part,  he  has  boxed  the  compass  of  opinion  upon 
the  affairs  of  the  Fatherland.  His  range  of  accomplishments 
and  information  is  very  great,  and  his  position  as  head  of  that 
fortunate  family  which  has  arrived  at  such  great  destinies  in 
Portugal,  Belgium,  and  England,  has  mixed  him  up  with  the 
grande  politique  to  a  very  great  extent.  His  life,  passed  under 
the  shadow  of  his  ancestral  fortress,  which  rises  over  Coburg, 
or  in  his  cheerful  capital  on  the  other  side  of  the  Thuringian 


PLANS  OF  REFOKM.  279 

range,  varied  by  frequent  journeys,  and  enlivened  by  a  con- 
stant stream  of  society,  is  about  as  pleasant  as  the  life  of  a 
potentate  without  real  power  can  be  ;  yet  he  obviously  thirsts 
for  a  larger,  if  less  dignified,  sphere  of  action,  and  incarnates 
the  vain  longing  for  more  real  national  life,  which  is  felt  by 
the  subjects  of  all  the  dukelets  and  princelets  within  the 
limits  of  the  Confederation. 

The  most  important  official  steps  which  have  been  taken 
for  the  reform  of  the  Confederation  since  1859  have  been  : — 

1.  The  proposals  of  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Meiningen,  in  1860, 
for  a  personal  interview  of  the  sovereigns,  with  the  view  to 
arrange  the  establishment  of  a  directory  of  three,  in  which 
one  member,  elected  by  the  smaller  states,  should  sit  by  the 
side  of  the  representatives  of  Austria  and  Prussia. 

2.  The  declaration  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha  in  1861,  made 
formally  in  the  Diet,  that  if  the  monarchical  principle  was  not 
to  be  sacrificed,  German  unity  could  only  be  brought  about 
by  an  individual  will,  resting  on  a  general  representation  of 
the  German  people. 

3.  The  proposal  of  M.  de  Beust,  the  Saxon  minister,  in 
October  and  November  1861,  the  chief  features  of  which  were 
the  retention  of  the  Engere  Bath  as  it  now  stands,  but  with 
the  proviso  that  it  should  sit  one  month  in  the  year  in  North 
Germany,  under  the  presidency  of  Prussia,  and  one  month  in 
the  year  in  South  Germany,  under  the  presidency  of  Austria  ; 
that  in  the  intervals  the  affairs  of  the  Confederation  should 
be  managed  by  a  directory  of  three,  on  the  Meiningen  plan  ; 
and  that  from  time  to  time  the  Engere  Path  should  be  assisted 
by  an  assembly  of  128  delegates,  selected  from  the  several 
German  Parliaments. 

4.  The  proposal  of  M.  Bernstorff,  in  the  name  of  Prussia, 


280  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

which  had  in  view  the  creation  of  a  smaller  Prussian  Con- 
federation within  the  great  Confederation,  of  which  Austria 
formed  part. 

5.  The  project  brought  before  the  assembled  princes  of 
Frankfort,  in  the  month  of  August  1863,  by  the  great  Kaiser 
himself  He  proposed  that  Germany  should  henceforth  be 
governed  :  a.  By  an  executive  directory  of  five — that  is,  by 
Austria,  Prussia,  Bavaria,  and  two  representatives  elected  by 
the  minor  states  ;  h.  By  a  Federal  Council,  which  was  to 
consist  of  twenty-one  representatives,  and  which  was  to  have 
very  considerable  powers  ;  c.  By  a  Chamber  composed  of  the 
princes,  who  were  to  have  the  right  of  accepting,  rejecting,  or 
modifying  all  the  proposals  which  were  brought  before  them. 
cl.  A  General  Assembly  of  300,  of  whom  200  were  to  be 
elected  by  the  Lower,  and  100  by  the  Upper  Houses  of  the 
Confederation.  Austria  was  to  send  75  members ;  Prussia, 
75  ;  Bavaria,  27  ;  Hanover,  Saxony,  and  Wurtemberg,  15 
each  ;  and  the  smaller  states  from  1  to  12  each.  The  effect 
of  this  plan  would  have  been  to  throw  the  preponderance  into 
the  scale  of  Austria,  and  to  have  formed  the  princes  into  a 
sort  of  league  of  mutual  assurance  against  their  subjects.  Its 
warmest  supporter  was  the  king  of  Saxony. 

The  first  of  these  projects  was  overthrown,  chiefly  by  the 
opposition  of  Bavaria,  because  it  might  well  have  happened 
that  its  sovereign  should  not  have  been  the  third  member  of 
the  directory.  The  Duke  of  Coburg's  proposal  coincided  with 
the  desires  of  the  great  mass  of  the  German  people,  but  was 
eminently  distasteful  to  most  of  the  sovereigns,  and  was  used 
by  his  enemies  to  give  colour  to  the  report  that  he  aspired  to 
be  emperor  of  Germany.  The  idea  of  Baron  Beust  was  strongly 
opposed  by  Prussia  and  by  Baden  :  while  that  of  Count  Berns- 


/  , 

COUNT  BISMAKK'S  PROPOSALS.  '  /   /,    281 

torff  brought   half  the   Confederation   abput   nii^  "years,  andf    > 
threatened  another  Olmlitz.     Prussia  had  hefr^^i'eyeng'e'most         /" 
amply  in  1863  at  Frankfort ;  putting,  so  to  sp eat/a i'spoke  in/ 
the  wheel  of  her  old  enemy  with  eminent  success.  ''',  V ^        ^ 

As  these  sheets  are  going  through  the  press,  we  learn  that* 
Count  Bismark  has  proposed  to  checkmate  Austria  by  calling 
together  at  Frankfort  a  German  Parliament  elected  by  uni- 
versal suffrage.  Up  to  the  time  at  which  we  write,  little  favour 
has  been  shown  to  this  proposal,  a  fact  which  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  when  we  knoAv  that  as  far  back  as  the  22d  of 
August  1862,  it  was  announced  by  the  Grentzboten,  before,  it 
will  be  observed,  Count  Bismark  had  become  minister,  that 
one  of  his  plans  was  to  win  over  the  democracy  by  summon- 
ing a  German  Parliament ;  to  get  rid  of  that  German  Parlia- 
ment when  it  had  done  as  much  work  for  Prussia  as  Count 
Bismark  desired ;  next  to  reintroduce  the  absolute  regime  at 
Berlin,  and  to  extend  it  by  military  demonstrations  to  all 
the  states  which  had  accepted  Prussian  hegemony.  "  Surely 
in  vain  is  the  net  spread  in  the  sight  of  any  bird." 

No  feasible  scheme  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Con- 
federation has  yet  been  presented  to  the  world.  Are  we, 
therefore,  to  join  in  the  cry  which  is  so  often  heard,  that 
Germany  is  incapable  of  reasonable  political  action  ?  This 
would,  we  think,  be  most  unjust.  !N'o  political  sagacity  which 
has  ever  yet  been  exhibited  in  this  planet,  would  be  sufficient 
to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos  of  German  politics,  as  long  as 
the  throne  of  Prussia  is  occupied  by  a  weak  or  unworthy  man. 
Cavour  himself  could  have  done  nothing  if  his  lot  had  been 
cast  in  Modena. 

All  the  plans  which  have  been  suggested  have  been  modi- 
fications of  three  ideas.     The  largest  and  most  imposing  (for 


282  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

we  leave  the  idea  of  Austria's  entering  the  Bund  with  all  her 
non-Germanic  provinces  on  one  side  as  being  utterly  out  of 
the  question)  would  be  the  union  in  one  confederation,  like 
the  Swiss  Confederation,  of  all  really  German  lands. 

That  is  the  Gross-deutsche  Idee,  far  the  most  striking, 
most  poetical,  and  least  political  of  all.  To  it  there  are  two 
great  objections — objections  so  great  that  all  the  smaller  ones 
fall  into  the  shade. 

First,  it  is  impossible  that  Prussia  should  ever  consent  to 
subordinate  herself  to  Austria  in  the  way  which  would  be 
necessary,  if  this  idea  were  to  be  carried  out. 

Secondly,  such  a  Germany  as  would  thus  be  created 
would  have  no  internal  principle  of  cohesion. 

The  most  unobservant  traveller  can  hardly  fail  to  remark 
the  difference  of  Northern  and  Southern  Germany.  The 
scenery,  the  vegetation,  the  climate,  the  mode  of  life — every- 
thing but  the  language  of  the  middle  or  upper  classes  is 
dissimilar ;  and  a  Bavarian  transplanted  from  Munich  to 
Berlin,  or  a  Suabian  banished  to  Bonn,  is  very  apt  to  feel 
like  a  fish  out  of  water.  Hence  a  vague  dislike,  which  some- 
times almost  passes  into  antipathy,  and  does  not  go  for 
nothing  amongst  the  influences  which  make  a  close  union  of 
Germany,  in  its  widest  sense,  nothing  better  than  "  a  pious 
wish." 

Of  even  greater  importance  is  the  difference  of  religion. 
There  are,  of  course,  wide  Protestant  districts  in  Southern 
Germany,  and  wide  Catholic  districts  in  Northern  Germany  ; 
but  speaking  broadly  and  generally,  the  first  is  distinctly 
Catholic,  and  the  second  as  distinctly  Protestant.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  dogmatic  decomposition  which  is  going 
on  alike  amongst  the  Lutherans,  the  Eeformed,  and  the  ad- 


I 


GERMAN  UNITY.  283 

lierents  of  the  old  religion,  will  at  some  distant  period  unite 
the  vast  majority  of  those  who  are  now  kept  asunder  by  dis- 
tinctions of  creed  in  attachment  to  the  same  ideas ;  but  the 
process  which  is  bringing  this  about  is  a  very  slow  one,  and 
no  political  results  will  flow  from  it  in  our  days.  Nay,  for 
all  calculations  as  to  the  near  future  of  Germany,  it  is  more 
needful  to  regard  the  tendencies  which  are  adverse  to  this 
tendency  towards  unity.  The  philosopher  may  think  of 
the  bigotry  of  Maintz,  and  its  allied  phenomena,  as  mere 
back-waters  which  tell  nothing  about  the  set'  of  the  main 
current,  but  to  the  politician  they  are  of  great  moment. 
During  the  last  few  years  the  distinctions  between  Catholics 
and  Protestants  have  been  drawn  sharper  in  many  districts, 
and  men  never  meet  each  other,  whose  fathers  were  accustomed 
to  live  together  in  the  same  clubs  altogether  oblivious  of  con- 
fessional differences  * 

Next  come  plans,  founded  on  the  so-called  Trias-Id^e, 
which  contemplate  the  reform  of  the  Confederation  by 
raising  up  a  third  power  out  of  the  middle  states  to  balance 
Austria  and  Prussia.  Against  these  we  think  that  the  same 
objections   may   be   brought   which   are   urged   against   the 

*  To  those  wlio  wisli  to  know  as  much  of  the  history  of  modern  theological 
movements  in  Protestant  Germany  as  is  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of 
Prussian  and  German  politics,  we  recommend  with  gi-eat  confidence  the  last 
edition  of  the  GescMclite  cler  Neuesteii  Theologie,  by  Dr.  Carl  Schwartz,  Court 
preacher  at  Gotha.  We  say  emphatically  the  last  edition,  because,  in  the 
interval  between  the  publication  of  the  second  in  1856  and  the  thii'd  in  1864, 
the  whole  aspect  of  Germany  altered.  The  reaction  had  done  its  worst,  and 
the  tide  of  liberal  opinion  flowed  again. 

Much  valuable  information  upon  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant  aflairs  in 
the  most  recent  times  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  fifth  volume  of  F.  C.  Baur's 
Church  History,  but  we  cannot  say  that  it  is  conveyed  to  the  reader  in  so 
agreeable  a  manner.  Dr.  Schwartz  is  one  of  the  best  prose  writers  in  Ger- 
man v. 


284  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

present  Confederation.  We  do  not  see  any  device  by  which 
the  real  strength  of  the  smaller  states  could  be  made  equal  to 
that  of  either  of  the  two  German  great  powers  ;  and  as  long 
as  this  is  so,  any  such  arrangement  would  want  all  real 
guarantees  of  stability. 

Last,  and  least  poetical,  but  most  political,  is  the  humbler 
Klein-deutsche  Idee,  which  merely  contemplates  something 
like  the  "  Union"  of  1849  around  Prussia,  a  union  which 
it  might  be  hoped  would  gradually  grow  closer  and  closer 
until  the  minor  princes  became  merely  great  German  nobles, 
and  all  Northern  and  Central  Germany  was  gradually  fused  into 
one  country.  If  this  came  about  in  our  time,  and  if  Austria 
became  more  and  more  an  Ost-Eeich,  or  Empire  of  the  East, 
finding  her  centre  of  gravity  not  in  Vienna  but  in  Pesth,  there 
is  no  reason  why  such  a  Germany  might  not  attract  to  itself 
all  German  lands  ;  but  that  is  a  mere  matter  of  speculation. 
Nothing  of  the  sort  could  now  be  brought  about  except  by 
force,  and  Prussia  has  nothing  like  the  force  necessary  to 
bring  it  about,  to  say  nothing  of  other  difficulties  which  we 
have  pointed  out  elsewhere. 

If  a  war  were  to  break  out  now  between  Austria  and  her, 
the  very  best  that  could  happen  would  be  that  at  the  end  we 
might  see,  by  evil  and  violent  means,  some  such  a  fusion  of 
Northern  and  Central  Germany  in  Prussia,  or  of  Prussia  in 
Northern  and  Central  Germany,  as  can,  we  believe,  be 
arrived  at  by  patience  and  fair  means  ;  but  a  war  would  put 
everything  on  the  hazard  of  the  die,  and  no  information 
exists  anywhere,  to  enable  the  acutest  statesman  to  guess 
when  and  how  such  a  war  would  end  ;  because,  even  if 
we  knew  with  the  utmost  accuracy  the  exact  distribu- 
tion of  forces  in  Germany,  no  one  can  form  even  a  guess 


GERMAN  UNITY.  285 

as  to  the  views  and  intentions  of  more  than  one  non-German 
power. 

The  problem  of  German  unity  would  be  sufficiently 
difficult,  if,  in  order  to  solve  it, .  it  were  only  necessary  to 
compel  the  wavering  wills  of  the  people,  and  to  break  the 
obstinate  wills  of  some  of  the  sovereigns.  Even  for  this  a 
revolutionary  period  is  a  necessary  condition.  There  are, 
however,  other  influences  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  and 
above  all  the  opposition  of  France.  It  is  perfectly  natural 
that  no  French  statesman  of  any  political  party  should  par- 
ticularly approve  the  creation  of  a  vast  new  power  beyond 
the  Ehine,  more  especially  as  that  new  power,  although  for 
the  most  part  pacifically  inclined,  would  be  uncomfortably 
desirous  to  rectify  its  frontiers.  One  thing,  however,  is 
certain,  and  that  is,  that  German  unity  has  no  terrors 
for  this  country.  We  may  not  be  very  enthusiastic  for  it; 
we  may  feel  to  the  full  what  Montalembert  has  so  well 
insisted  on — the  superiority  of  small  and  happy  little  states, 
like  Weimar,  to  a  few  centralised  despotisms ;  we  may  ac- 
knowledge all  that  Pai'ticularismus  has  done  for  mankind — 
the  vast  intellectual  treasures  which  have  been  accumulated 
in  the  universities  of  Germany^  the  works  of  genius  which 
have  been  produced  under  the  enlightened  patronage  of  her 
too-much-reviled  princes  : — Still  the  Germans  know  what  is 
best  for  themselves  ;  their  hearts  are  set  upon  more  real 
political  life,  and  the  hopes  of  nations,  "like  all  strongest 
hopes,"  generally  fulfil  themselves. 

How  they  will  be  fulfilled  no  one  can  venture  to  prophesy ; 
but  the  most  favourable  conditions  for  their  fulfilment  would, 
as  it  appears  to  us,  be  the  coincidence  of  some  sudden  agita- 
tion, like  that  of  1859,  with  the  occupation  of  the  Prussian 


286  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

throne  by  a  thoroughly  constitutional,  English-minded  ruler, 
who,  not  desiring  to  injure  his  small  brother-potentates  more 
than  was  necessary,  nevertheless  fully  recognised  the  truth 
that  kings  and  princes  exist  only  for  their  people.  All  beyond 
this  must,  we  think,  be  little  better  than  guess-work.  Very 
striking  are  the  words  with  which  Eadowitz,  speaking  in  the 
character  of  Waldheim,  closes  the  second  series  of  his  Con- 
mrsations : — 

"  What,  you  get  angry  at  an  idea  which  others  only  find 
silly  !  My  dear  old  friend,  as  once  at  the  turning-point  of  the 
world's  history  it  befel  the  everlasting  verity  that  some  thought 
it  foolishness  and  others  a  stumbling-block,  so  it  is  now  with 
an  earthly  verity.  That  the  German  nation  should  desire  to 
rise  out  of  its  confusion  and  abasement  to  a  true  corporate 
existence  ;  that  by  this  means,  and  only  by  this  means,  can 
the  revolution  be  ended  ; — this  to  some  is  foolishness,  and  to 
some  a  stumbling-block  ;  but  '  fata  viam  invenient :'  farewell 
— '  the  rest  is  silence.' 

It  is  unfortunate  that  a  natural  sympathy  for  the  weaker 
party  has  combined  with  much  ignorance  of  the  real  merits 
of  the  question,  to  create  during  the  last  few  years  in  England 
a  very  strong  feeling  in  favour  of  Denmark  in  her  quarrel  with 
Germany.  There  are  many  persons  in  this  country  at  present, 
who  would  willingly  see  Austria  and  Prussia  fall  out,  to  the 
desolation  of  half  the  Continent,  merely  to  gratify  their  feel- 
ings, which  were  wounded  so  deeply  by  the  events  of  1864. 
We,  who  have  been  all  along  strongly  opposed  to  the  conduct 
of  these  two  states,  and  partisans  of  the  German,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Austro-Prussian  view  of  the  question, 
may  be  permitted  to  remind  these  unwise  friends  of  Denmark 
that  if  our  view  of  the  matter  had  prevailed — if  a  strong 


THE  SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN  IMBROGLIO.  287 

pressure  had  been  brought  to  bear  in  time  upon  the  Danes, 
causing  them  to  give  up  Holstein  and  Southern  Schleswig, 
and  uniting  these  two  districts  into  a  separate  state  under 
the  much-abused  Augustenburg,  but  in  the  closest  union  with 
Prussia  compatible  with  the  rights  of  their  inhabitants — not 
only  would  the  demands  of  justice  have  been  fulfilled,  but 
much  blood,  treasure,  and  heart-burning  would  have  been 
saved  to  Europe. 

Far  from  having  the  slightest  vestige  of  dislike  to  Den- 
mark, we  have  the  greatest  respect  and  admiration  for  that 
country ;  and  we  only  wish  that  the  Tory  party  here,  which 
took  up  its  cause  so  eagerly,  would  advocate  some  of  its  in- 
stitutions. If  we  suffered  ourselves  to  be  guided  merely  by 
feeling,  we  should  have  been  decidedly  in  favour  of  leaving 
everything  as  it  w^as  before  1846  ;  but  feeling  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  matter. 

We  are  far  from  denying  that  a  great  deal  of  absurdity  has 
been  mixed  up  with  the  contests  of  the  rival  languages  and 
nationalities  in  the  Cimbric  peninsula  ;  but,  after  all,  who 
have  so  good  a  right  to  go  mad  upon  the  question  of  nation- 
alities as  those  very  peoxDle  of  Holstein,  amongst  whom  was 
bred  the  man  who  first  originated  the  nationality  mania — the 
illustrious,  but  not,  as  we  venture  to  think,  politically-sagacious 
Kiebuhr  ? 

The  question  having  been  once  stirred  between  Denmark 
and  Germany — legal  right  being,  as  we  venture  to  tliink,  on  the 
side  of  Germany,  the  enormous  superiority  of  material  force 
being  also  on  the  side  of  Germany ;  the  modern  passion  for 
nationality — the  desire,  as  has  been  said,  "  that  those  who  re- 
semhle  should  assemhle,''  pointing  to  a  division  of  Schleswig 
into   two  parts — we  cannot   understand  why  all  statesmen 


288  THE  GERMANIC  DIET. 

who  were  biassed  neither  by  Eider-Dane  nor  Schleswig- 
Hol  stein  sympathies  should  not  have  combined  to  force  upon 
both  parties  a  solution  so  conformable  to  common-sense. 

However  this  may  be,  the  results  of  the  Schleswig-Holstein 
war  have  left  England  and  Germany,  who  ought  to  be  united 
in  the  bonds  of  the  closest  friendship,  somewhat  estranged 
from  each  other.  All  this,  however,  is  merely  temporary. 
Increased  knowledge  of  each  other's  language,  and  increased 
personal  intercourse,  must  continue  to  draw  closer  and  closer 
two  countries  whose  interests  can  never  clash,  and  who  are 
peculiarly  fitted  to  act  and  react  upon  each  other  with  infinite 
advantage  to  the  development  of  each. 


tJ&il 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

HOLLAND. 

Ten  hours'  sail  from  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  lies  a  long 
low  line  of  coast — *'a  bare  strand  of  hillocks,  heaped  from 
ever-shifting  sand."  These— more  desolate  than  the  Lido,  and 
beat  by  a  wilder  sea  than  the  Adriatic — are  the  famous  Dunes 
of  Holland. 

Behind  them  stretches  to  the  frontier  of  Germany  on  the 
east,  to  the  hills  which  border  the  upper  and  middle  valleys 
of  the  Mouse,  upon  the  south-east  and  south,  a  country  which 
is  one  of  the  least  inviting  and  most  remarkable  on  the  globe. 
It  comprises  the  whole  of  what  we  now  call  Holland,  and  the 
northern  or  Flemish  part  of  Belgium. 

"The  ocean  there,"  says  a  Eoman  author,  "pours  in  its 
vast  tides  twice  every  day,  and  makes  it  a  matter  of  uncer- 
tainty whether  the  country  is  to  be  considered  a  part  of  the 
land  or  of  the  sea.  The  miserable  inhabitants  establish  them- 
selves upon  such  slightly-raised  pieces  of  ground  as  they  can 
find,  or  in  huts  built  upon  piles,  so  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  highest  tides.  When  the  waters  advance,  they  look  like 
navigators  at  sea ;  when  these  recede  they  seem  as  if  they  were 
shipwrecked.  And  yet,"  he  goes  on  a  little  later  to  tell  us, 
"  these  people,  if  they  fall  under  the  dominion  of  Eome,  com- 
plain of  their  hard  fate,  and  speak  of  being  reduced  to  servitude." 

Could  Pliny  revisit  now  the  country  which  he  thus  de- 
scribed, he  would  see  strange  changes.      The  wretched  huts 

u 


290  HOLLAND. 

of  which  he  speaks  have  grown  into  stately  houses,  and  mul- 
tiplied into  great  cities.  An  immense  network  of  canals 
connects  the  most  remote  villages  with  the  centres  of  trade 
and  civilisation  ;  huge  dykes  prevent  the  overflowing  of  the 
rivers ;  others,  even  more  gigantic,  keep  out  the  sea.  Nowhere 
has  labour  encountered  such  difficulties,  and  nowhere  has  it  ob- 
tained such  triumphs ;  lakes  have  been  turned  into  rich  pasture- 
fields,  and  wastes  of  sand  have  become  provinces  of  gardens. 

The  children  of  those  miserable  fishermen  who  starved 
upon  their  mud-banks,  but  clung  nevertheless  to  their  un- 
happy independence,  have  earned  themselves  a  name  which 
history  will  not  willingly  let  die.  They  have  fought,  not  un- 
successfully, with  three  great  empires — they  have  won  and 
lost  wide  possessions  from  which  they  are  separated  by  half 
the  world — they  have  sailed  far  into  the  Arctic  Sea — they 
have  colonised  Southern  Africa — they  have  opened  a  com- 
merce with  Japan  and  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  They 
have  numbered  amongst  them,  scholars  and  jurists,  statesmen 
and  warriors,  theologians  and  philosophers.  They  have  filled 
their  country  with  works  of  art — pictures  and  painted  glass, 
noble  organs  and  noble  churches. 

But  Holland  has  quite  another  side.  Indeed  Europe  has 
been  laughing  at  the  Dutch  for  the  last  three  centuries. 

One  English  writer  says — 

"  They  built  their  watery  Babel  far  more  high 
To  reach  the  sea,  than  those  to  scale  the  sky  ; 
Yet  still  his  claim  the  injured  ocean  laid, 
And  oft  at  leapfrog  o'er  their  steeples  played  ; 
The  fish  ofttimes  the  burgher  dispossessed, 
And  sat  not  as  a  meat,  but  as  a  guest." 

Another  tells  us — 

"  In  Holland  the  laws  of  nature  seem  to  be  reversed  ;  the 


i 


BOOKS    ON   HOLLAND.  291 

sea  is  higher  than  the  land  ;  the  lowest  ground  in  the  coiuitr}^ 
is  24  feet  below  highest  water-mark,  and  v/hen  the  tide  is 
driven  high  by  the  wind,  30  feet !  In  no  other  country  do 
the  keels  of  the  ships  float  above  the  chimneys  of  the  houses, 
and  nowhere  else  does  the  frog  croaking  from  among  the  bul- 
rushes look  down  upon  the  swallow  on  the  house-top." 

These  and  similar  jests,  duly  reproduced  by  Murray, 
remain  in  our  memories,  and  are  not  wholly  without  their 
influence  on  our  mental  attitude  when  we  enter  Holland. 
We  go  thither  expecting  to  find  the  quaint  and  unusual, 
and  we  are  apt  to  come  away  after  we  have  run  through 
the  usual  list  of  sights  and  oddities  without  discovering  that 
there  is  anything  worthy  of  our  attention  in  the  social  or 
political  life  of  the  people.  That  is  perhaps  one  of  the  reasons 
why  there  are  so  few  links  of  connection  between  Dutch  and 
English  society.  Let  any  one,  after  a  long  experience  of 
London,  count  up  how  many  Dutchmen  unconnected  with 
the  diplomatic  service  he  has  met  here,  and  the  number, 
we  suspect,  will  not  be  very  great.  Our  countrymen,  again, 
after  a  glance  at  the  canals  and  the  pictures,  hurry  on  to  Ger- 
many and  the  Ehine,  disgusted  with  the  badness  of  the  hotels, 
the  expense  of  living,  and  the  harshness  of  the  language. 

Till  lately,  there  have  been  no  good  books  about  Holland 
in  any  of  the  widely-read  languages  of  Europe.  Now,  how- 
ever, there  are  two,  from  either  of  which  a  great  deal  is  to  be 
learned.  The  first  of  these  is  La  Neerlande  et  la  Vie  Holland- 
aise,  by  that  same  M.  Alphonse  Esquiros  who  has  done  so 
much  to  make  England  better  understood  in  France.  It  con- 
sists of  only  two  small  volumes,  is  most  agreeably  written, 
and  in  every  respect  to  be  recommended.  The  second  is  a 
somewhat  larger  work,  entitled  Die  Nicderlande,  Hire  Vergan^ 
genheit  imd  Gegemoart,  by  Dr.  Albert  Wild,  constructed  mainly 


292  HOLLAND. 

on  the  basis  of  Esquiros  and  Baedeker,  but  with  some  ad- 
ditional information  derived  from  personal  knowledge.  It  is 
a  vulgar  and  unpleasant,  but  certainly  a  useful,  guide. 

Referring  to  these  works  for  a  vast  amount  of  miscellaneous 
information  about  Holland,  and  to  the  agreeable  volume 
recently  published  by  M.  Emile  de  Laveleye  upon  its  agri- 
culture, which  has  become  of  late  years  so  extremely  remark- 
able, we  propose  to  confine  ourselves  to  some  observations 
upon  the  politics,  the  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  the  education 
of  the  country. 

The  earlier  history  of  Holland  has,  thanks  to  the  labours 
of  Mr.  Motley,  become  familiar  in  many  English  and  American 
households,  but  of  its  recent  history  few  of  us  know  anything, 
and  we  were  not  surprised  to  be  told  some  years  ago,  by  a 
Dutch  gentleman  at  the  Hague,  that  a  person  of  some  position 
in  London  had  asked  him  the  name  of  the  present  stadtholder. 

The  modern  life  of  Holland  dates  from  the  French  Revo- 
lution. In  1795,  Pichegru  entered  Amsterdam  with  his  mob 
of  gallant  and  ragged  followers.  William  V.  sailed  for  Eng- 
land. The  friends  of  the  old  order  escaped  as  well  as  they 
could  over  the  frontier,  and  the  Batavian  Republic  was  pro- 
claimed. The  constitution  of  1*795  lasted  till  1801,  but  was 
changed  in  that  year,  and  again  in  1805.  In  1806  Louis 
Bonaparte,  the  father  of  the  present  emperor  of  the  French, 
was  made  king,  and  bore  rule  for  four  years,  not  without 
many  rebukes  from  his  domineering  brother  for  his  too  great 
attachment  to  the  special  interests  of  the  people  over  whom 
he  had  been  made  satrap.  In  1810  a  celebrated  and  charac- 
teristic proclamation  announced  the  incorporation  of  Holland 
with  the  French  empire;  but  in  1813  "the  wheel  had  come 
full  circle,"  and  the  son  of  the  fugitive  stadtholder,  returning 

amidst  the  acclamations  of  his  partizans,  once  more  estab- 

I 


RECENT   HISTORY   OF   HOLLAND.  293 

lished  himself  in  the  possessions  of  his  ancient  house,  and 
having  received,  by  the  will  of  united  Europe,  the  fair  pro- 
vinces which  lay  between  them  and  the  French  frontier,  as- 
sumed in  1815  the  title  of  King  of  the  United  Netherlands. 

Since  that  date  Dutch  history  falls  into  four  very  well 
marked  divisions. 

The  first  extended  to  1830,  and  was  entirely  occupied  by 
attempts,  sometimes  judicious,  but  oftener  the  reverse,  to 
weld  together  into  one  state  the  countries  which  we  now 
know  as  Holland  and  Belgium.  The  motto  of  the  second  may 
be  said  to  have  been  "  Perseverance."  It  extended  to  the 
final  negotiations  with  Belgium,  and  to  the  accession,  in  1840, 
of  the  late  king,  who  was  so  well  known  in  England  as  Prince 
of  Orange.  This  period  was  characterised  chiefly  by  the 
obstinate  determination  of  the  court  to  recover  the  territory 
which  had  been  lost — a  determination  which  was  at  first 
seconded  by  great  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  nation,  but  which, 
during  its  later  stages,  was  not  looked  upon  with  the  same 
favour  by  public  opinion.  The  third  period  extended  from 
1840  to  1848,  and  was  chiefly  occupied  by  preparations  for 
the  great,  peaceful,  and  eminently  salutary  change  which  took 
place  in  the  last-named  year. 

The  fourth  period  has  been  illustrated  by  carrying  out  in 
every  department  of  national  life  the  maxims  which  influenced 
that  mighty  reform. 

The  reign  of  the  present  king  falls  entirely  within  the  last 
of  our  four  periods,  having  commenced  on  the  17th  of  March 
1849.  He  has  kept  faith  with  his  people,  and  has  been  re- 
warded by  their  loyal  attachment — an  attachment  which  Avas 
much  increased  some  years  ago  by  his  courage  and  self-sac- 
rifice in  one  of  the  great  inundations.  He  married  Sophie, 
the  daughter  of  the  late  king  of  Wurtemberg,  who,  as  we  have 


294  HOLLAND. 

elsewhere  said,  would  probably,  if  lie  bad  been  placed  in  a 
less  brilliant  and  more  really  influential  position,  have  left  a 
great  name  in  European  liistor}^  The  same  fate  seems  to 
attend  his  descendants;  for  if  anything  shall  prevent  the 
present  queen  of  Holland  being  remembered  with  the  most 
remarkable  of  those  women  who  shed  a  lustre  over  the  great 
days  of  French  society,  it  will  only  be  the  accident  of  her 
royal  birth. 

When  the  history  of  this  great  period  comes  to  be  written, 
one  name  will  be  found  peculiarly  prominent,  the  name  of  a 
personage  whose  lot  it  has  been  to  be  a  great  statesman  in  a 
small  country,  in  a  time  which  has  been  singularly  prolific  of 
small  statesmen  in  great  countries.  The  fame  of  M.  Thor- 
becke  has  reached,  we  suspect,  but  few  persons  amongst  us. 
He  was  born  in  the  year  1796  at  Zwolle — the  home  of  one 
whose  work  in  the  world,  though  not  less  noble,  was  strangely 
different — the  home  of  Thomas-a-Kempis,  once  believed  to 
have  written,  but  now  more  generally  thought  to  have  first 
made  widely  known  to  Europe,  the  Imitation  of  Christ!^ 

*  ^I.  lleiican,  in  his  Etudes  cVHistoire  Rcligieuse,  decides  in  favour  of  Ger- 
sen,  abbot  of  St.  Stephen's  at  Vercelli.  The  reader  will  hardly  blame  us  for 
reminding  him  of  one  passage  in  M.  Renan's  paper  which  is  worthy  to  be 
treasured  as  a  companion  picture  to  Mr.  Euskin's  Era  Angelico  or  to  the  St. 
Jerome  in  the  National  Gallery : — 

"  II  ne  sortit  jamais  de  sa  cellule  de  Verceil.  II  ne  lut  d'Aristote  que  la 
premiere  ligne,  omnis  homo  naturalitcr  scire  desiderat,  et  il  ferma  le  livi'8  tout 
scandalise  :  *  A  quoi  sert,  dit-il,  do  savoir  des  choses  sur  lesquelles  nous  ne 
serous  point  examines  au  jour  du  jugement?'  (liv.  i.  ch.  ii.  iii.)  C'est  par  la 
qu'il  est  incomplet,  mais  c'est  par  Ih  aussi  qu'il  nous  charme.  Que  je  vou- 
drais  etre  peintre  pour  le  montrer  tel  que  je  le  concois,  doux  et  rccueilli,  assis 
en  son  fauteuil  de  chene,  dans  le  beau  costume  des  benedictins  du  Mont-Cassin  ! 
Par  le  treillis  de  sa  fenetre,  on  vcrrait  le  monde  revetu  d'une  teinte  d'azur, 
comme  dans  les  miniatures  du  XIV®  siecle :  au  premier  plan,  une  campagne 
parsemee  d'arbres  legers,  a  la  maniere  du  Perugin  ;  a  I'horizon,  les  sommets 
des  Alpes  converts  de  ueige.  .  .  .  Ainsi  je  me  le  figurais  a  Verceil  meme, 
en  feuilletant  les  manuscrits  maintenant  deposes  au  D&me,  et  dont  plusieurs 
pcut-etre  ont  passes  par  ses  mains." 


M.    THORBECKE.  295 

M.  Thorbecke  graduated  at  Ley  den  in  1820,  then  passed 
two  years  in  Germany,  applying  himself  chiefly  to  the  study 
of  philosophy.  When  he  returned  to  his  own  country  he  found 
that  he  was  thought  not  "practical"  enough  for  Holland,  and  so, 
for  a  time,  he  went  back  to  the  land  of  students,  and  lectured 
as  "privat-docent"  at  Giessen  and  Gottingen.  Eventually  he 
was  named  professor  of  history,  statistics,  and  political 
economy  at  Ghent ;  became,  in  fact,  one  of  those  too-liberal 
Dutchmen  whose  intrusion  into  the  hallowed  seats  of  supersti- 
tion was  so  hateful  to  the  Belgian  episcopate,  and  had  so 
much  to  do  with  the  revolution.  Driven  over  the  frontier  by 
that  event,  he  obtained  a  chair  at  Leyden,  where  he  gave  lec- 
tures, first  on  Eoman  and  commercial  law,  and  later  on  the 
history  and  constitution  of  his  country.  He  entered  the 
Chamber  in  1844  as  deputy  for  the  provincial  estates  of  South 
Holland.  The  effect  of  his  vigorous  mind  and  strong  politi- 
cal convictions  was  soon  visible ;  and  on  the  10th  of  December 
1844  he  took  a  leading  part  in  submitting,  in  common  with 
some  other  members,  a  detailed  project  for  the  reform  of  the 
constitution.  The  movement,  then  begun,  resulted  in  the 
constitution  of  the  3d  of  November  1848,  by  which  the  Upper 
House  became  substantially  what  the  Lower  House  had  been 
before — a  representation  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  highly- 
taxed  portion  of  the  community,  while  the  Lower  became  a 
true  popular  assembly. 

M.  Thorbecke  has  twice  for  a  considerable  period  been  at 
the  head  of  affairs,  and  even  when  not  in  the  cabinet,  as  at 
present,  he  exercises  great  influence. 

If  he  at  all  resembles  any  English  statesman,  it  is  the  late 
Sir  George  Lewis.  Perhaps  if  jNIr.  Mill  had  entered  the  House 
of  Commons  twenty  years  ago,  he  might  have  been  the  Eoglish 


296  HOLLAND. 

Thorbecke.  Perhaps,  on  the  other  hand,  the  forces  of  evil  are 
still  so  strong  in  this  country,  that  no  Englishman  of  our  gener- 
ation, even  if  he  had  had  all  the  gifts  and  more  than  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  illustrious  member  for  Westminster,  could  have 
been  to  England  what  Thorbecke  has  been  to  his  native  land. 

Since  1848  not  a  year  has  passed  without  bringing  to  Hol- 
land some  new  good  law  or  wise  alteration  of  an  old  one.  The 
provincial  and  communal  legislation  was  presently  remodelled 
according  to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  and  the  antiquated 
state  of  things  in  which  Old  Dutch,  French  imperial,  and 
post-revolutionary  Dutch  arrangements  struggled  for  the 
mastery,  was  superseded  by  a  system  instinct  with  the  modern 
spirit.  Trade  soon  felt  the  benefit  of  the  new  impulse.  The 
navigation  laws  fell  in  1850,  and  improvements  were  rapidly 
made  in  taxation  and  the  tariff ;  railways  were  pushed  for- 
ward, a  geological  survey  of  the  whole  country  was  made, 
and  the  judicial  system  was  reorganised. 

In  1853  a  storm  suddenly  gathered  in  a  clear  sky.  The 
Vatican,  following  up  the  same  policy  which  led  to  our  Eccle- 
siastical Titles  Bill,  converted  Holland,  which  had  been  hither- 
to a  mission,  into  a  country  regularly  provided  with  an  episco- 
pate. This  it  had,  no  doubt,  a  perfect  right  to  do,  for  in  modern 
Holland  the  state  has  nothing  to  say  to  the  internal  arrange- 
ments of  the  various  churches  which  it  recognises  and  pa}  s. 

It  was  not  surprising,  however,  that  a  people  whose  history 
was  so  deeply  coloured  by  hatred  of  Kome  should  have  taken 
alarm  at  such  an  exercise  of  power,  and  there  was  nothing 
about  the  manner  of  the  proceeding  to  make  the  matter  of  it 
more  palatable.  The  ministry  itself,  while  it  could  not  take 
exception  to  what  had  been  done,  was  justly  provoked  by  the 
way  in  which  it  was  done.     M.  Thorbecke,  however,  did  not 


RAPID   POLITICAL  ADVANCE.  29*7 

think  himself  justified  in  throwing  himself  into  the  first  ranks 
of  the  agitation  against  this  papal  aggression.  The  tide,  never- 
theless, of  popular  feeling  was  too  strong  for  him,  and,  deserted 
by  the  king,  he  and  several  of  his  colleagues  left  the  cabinet. 
The  issue  of  this  agitation — the  April  movement,  as  it  was 
called — was  a  bill  regulating  the  relations  of  the  state  and  the 
religious  communities,  which  obtained  the  support  of  the  more 
moderate  Liberals,  and  the  storm  passed  by  without  doing  any 
serious  damage  to  the  free  institutions  of  Holland. 

The  terrible  inundations  of  1855,  and  the  anxieties  which 
a  small  neutral  state  not  unnaturally  felt  during  the  Eussian 
war,  checked  for  a  little  the  political  advance,  but  did  not  pre- 
vent the  Dutch  manufacturers  showing  at  the  Paris  exhibi- 
tion that  they  had  made  most  remarkable  progress  in  the  four 
years  that  had  elapsed  since  they  contended  in  London. 

The  next  great  question  that  came  on  for  solution  was  that 
of  primary  education,  which  was  settled,  we  trust  finally, 
in  1857.  How  it  was  settled  we  shall  have  occasion  presently 
to  state. 

This  done,  the  next  subject  which  was  taken  in  hand  by 
the  reformers  was  that  of  West  Indian  slavery,  which  was 
soon  satisfactorily  disposed  of  by  a  measure  of  emancipation. 
Then  the  completion  of  the  network  of  railways  became  for  a 
time  the  matter  which  was  uppermost  in  the  public  mind ; 
and  now,  again,  it  is  the  reform  of  the  system  under  which 
the  Dutch  possessions  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago  are  managed, 
which  is  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  the  day. 

We  have  said  enough  to  show  that,  since  the  great  change 
of  1848,  Holland  has  been  adopting  one  after  another  all  those 
steps  which  have  made  the  glory  of  our  own  legislation  during 
the  last  five-and-thirty  years.      In  some  of  these  reforms  she 


298  HOLLAND. 

has  followed  in  our  wake ;  but  there  are  two  departments  of 
national  life  in  which,  thanks  not  least  to  Thorbecke,  she  is 
far  in  advance  of  ourselves,  as  of  every  other  European  nation. 
These  are — 1.  Her  ecclesiastical  system  ;  and  2.  Her  element- 
ary education.  Into  both  these  subjects  we  must  enter  at 
some  length. 

The  waters  of  Dutch  theology,  which  had  been  violently 
agitated  by  the  storms  of  the  sixteenth  century,  congealed  in 
the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  into  an  orthodoxy  as  icy 
as  that  which  about  the  same  time  overspread  North  Ger- 
many. There  was  this  difference,  however  :  the  orthodoxy  of 
Holland  was  Calvinist,  while  that  of  her  eastern  neighbour 
was  Lutheran.  The  indigenous  form  of  Protestantism,  best 
represented  in  the  Netherlands  by  Wessel  Gansfoort  of  Gron- 
in^en,  but  which  has  also  left  its  traces  in  the  life  aM  writ- 
ings  of  the  great  and  of  late  too-much-decried  Erasmus,  failed 
to  hold  its  own  against  the  sterner  system  which,  taking  its 
rise  in  the  northern  provinces  of  France,  and  counting  as  its 
chief  apostle  the  fierce  and  resolute  Calvin,  was  brought  into 
Holland  by  the  Walloon  immigrants,  and  was  eagerly  embraced 
by  men  who  were  engaged  in  a  death-struggle  with  the  old 
religion.  It  was  then  not  unnatural  that  the  narrow  theology 
of  Gomarus  should  be  preferred  by  the  uneducated  masses  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  more  liberal  Arminius.  In  1610  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  latter  presented  their  celebrated  remonstrance  to 
the  States  of  Holland.  In  November  1618  the  Synod  of  Dort 
assembled  after  years  of  debate  and  trouble  ;  and  on  the  29th 
May  1619  it  rose,  having  condemned  in  toto  the  Arminian 
opinions.  The  unscrupulous  Maurice  of  Nassau,  who  cared 
as  little  for  counter-remonstrants  as  for  their  opponents,  saw 
clearly  that  the  fanaticism  of  tlie  masses  was  his  best  means 


THEOLOGY   IN    HOLLA.ND.  299 

of  combating  tlie  aristocratic  party,  which  leant  to  the  Ar- 
minian  teaching ;  and  the  judicial  murder  of  Olden-Barneveld, 
as  well  as  the  persecution  of  Grotius,  had  his  full  and  entire 
sanction.  Science  fled  the  field,  and  fanaticism  was  victorious 
along  the  whole  line. 

About  the  middle  of  the  century  the  influence  of  the 
Cartesian  philosophy  began  to  show  itseK  in  the  writings  of 
theologians  ;  and  Balthasar  Bekker,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty- four  in  1698,  maintained  in  his  Enchanted  World 
opinions  in  some  points  analogous  to  those  afterwards 
defended  by  the  famous  Semler.  It  was  Cocceius,  however, 
a  professor  at  Leyden,  who  had  the  honour  to  give  his  name 
to  the  Liberal  party  of  his  day  ;  while  Voet  of  Utrecht,  his 
opponent,  became  the  idol  of  all  those  who  thought  that 
religion  was  most  honoured  by  a  morose  exterior  and  an 
intolerant  spirit.  Friends  to  Greek  and  Oriental  studies, 
though  misled  by  false  principles  of  exegesis,  the  Cocceians 
were,  as  may  readily  be  guessed,  attached  to  the  aristocratic 
or  republican  party ;  while  their  enemies,  who  thought  that 
all  truth  was  summed  up  in  the  canons  of  Dort,  and  hated 
biblical  criticism  as  the  mother  of  novelties,  relied  on  the 
stadtholder  and  the  mob.  In  1677  their  disputes  had 
become  so  fierce  that  the  magistrates  of  Amsterdam  were 
obliged  to  interfere  and  to  force  them  to  agree  to  a  com- 
promise, by  which  each  party  was  to  have  a  right  to  an 
equal  number  of  representatives  in  the  city  pulpits.  This 
happy  device  was  imitated  elsewhere  ;  and  when  a  third 
school — that  of  the  Lampians,  which  may  be  defined  as  a 
reform  of  the  Cocceians — came  to  add  itself  to  the  older 
factions,  it  took  its  place  quite  naturally  by  their  side,  and 
enjoyed  its  share  of  church  accommodation.      Lampe,  who 


300  HOLLAND. 

gave  Ms  name  to  this  section,  was  a  professor  at  Utrecht,  and 
died  in  1729.  Contemporary  with  him  were  Vitringa,  whose 
harmonious  Frisian  name  is,  we  should  imagine,  more 
familiar  to  the  present  generation  than  even  his  work  qn 
Isaiah,  but  who  was  really  a  man  of  eminence  ;  and  AVitsius, 
who  took  for  his  motto,  "  In  necessariis  unitas,  in  minus 
necessariis  libertas ;  in  omnibus  sapientia  et  charitas." 
Through  the  efforts  of  such  writers  as  these,  the  old  asperities 
of  Cocceian  and  Voetian  theology  were  worn  down,  and 
practical  religion  was  naturally  a  gainer.  The  person  who 
has  the  credit  of  having  finally  laid  their  differences  to  sleep 
was  a  clergyman  of  eighty  years  of  age,  who  bore  the,  to  our 
ears,  appropriately  soporific  name  of  Mommers.  The  work 
by  which  he  effected  this  excellent  object  appeared  in  1736. 

When  the  violence  of  debate  had  calmed,  theologians 
began  to  devote  themselves  to  studies  really  more  congenial 
to  their  profession,  although  perhaps  less  exciting  than  those 
which  had  been  too  long  in  vogue ;  and  the  names  of  Venema 
and  of  Albert  Schultens  became  famous  throughout  Pro- 
testant Christendom.  It  was  not  till  about  1790  that  the 
Latin  language  began  to  yield  to  the  vernacular  as  a  medium 
for  theological  exposition — a  change  which,  while  it  contri- 
buted to  the  fame  of  Dutch  writers  in  their  own  country, 
sadly  diminished  it  abroad.  The  Voltairian  ideas  never  had 
any  great  influence  in  the  Netherlands,  although  even  to  this 
day  individuals  may  be  found  amongst  those  advanced  in 
years,  whose  religious  notions  are  of  the  Ferney  type.  The 
writings  of  the  early  rationalisers  of  Germany,  and  of  the 
Rationalists,  properly  so  called,  had  a  wider  influence  ;  but 
the  tendency  which  found  most  favour  in  the  beginning  of 
this  century  was  perhaps  that  which  bears  the  clumsy  but 


BILDEKDYK.  301 

expressive  name  of  rational-supernaturalism,  and  which,  in 
its  Dutch  variety,  is  best  represented  by  the  writings  of  Van 
der  Palm  (1762-1838),  whose  translation  of  the  Bible,  with 
notes  and  introductions  to  the  several  books,  has  long  enjoyed 
an  immense  reputation  in  the  Netherlands,  and  has  formed  the 
basis  of  the  religious  life  of  a  large  portion  of  the  community. 

The  same  wave  of  reaction  which  brought  about  the  con- 
versions of  r.  Schlegel  and  the  Stolbergs,  and  which  showed 
itself  in  our  own  country,  first  in  the  religious  excesses  of 
Methodism,  then  in  the  Clapham  school,  and  at  length  in  the 
more  graceful  pietism  of  the  Oxford  movement,  early  extended 
itself  to  Holland,  and  had  as  its  leading  champion  the  poet 
Bilderdyk. 

This  remarkable  man  was  born  in  1756,  and  was  educated 
for  the  bar,  which,  however,  lie  soon  abandoned,  in  order  to 
devote  himself  to  science  and  literature.  He  followed  the 
last  stadtholder  into  exile,  and  passed  some  time  in  England 
as  well  as  in  Germany,  but  returned  to  his  own  country  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Louis  Bonaparte,  and  was  received  with  much 
favour.  When,  however,  Napoleon  thought  proper  to  put  an 
end  to  his  brother's  rule,  Bilderdyk  lost  his  pension,  and  was 
once  more  obliged  to  live  by  literature.  The  restoration  of 
the  House  of  Orange  was  hailed  by  him  with  all  the  eagerness 
of  one  who  had  a  personal  as  well  as  a  political  quarrel  with 
France,  and  he  it  was  who  invented,  or  at  least  revived,  the 
Orangiolatry  which  forms  so  remarkable  a  feature  in  the  modern 
ultra-conservatism  of  Holland.  His  religious  views  were  in 
conformity  with  his  political  prepossessions,  and  he  used  all 
the  resources  of  his  vast  knowledge  and  of  his  great  poetical 
genius  in  trying  to  turn  back  the  current  of  the  times.  Bilder- 
dyk died  in  1831,  but  his  work  was  continued  by  two  remark- 


302  HOLLAND. 

able  men — M.  da  Costa,  and  M.  Groen  van  Prinsterer.  M. 
da  Costa,  who  died  very  recently,  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy 
Portuguese  Jew,  and  was  converted  to  Christianity  under  the 
influence  of  Bilderdyk.  The  form  of  our  religion  which  he 
adopted,  or  rather  constructed  for  himself,  was  a  very  strange 
one.  The  present  dispensation  was  only,  in  his  eyes,  the 
church  of  the  Gentiles,  and  would  ultimately  give  way  to  a 
new  order  of  things,  in  which  the  chosen  people  should  be  re- 
stored to  more  than  their  old  pre-eminence.  Some  of  M.  da 
Costa's  historical  and  theological  writings  have  been  translated 
into  English,  and  have  no  doubt  done  their  part  in  spreading 
the  wild  ideas  about  the  past  and  future  of  Israel  which  pre- 
vail among  certain  religious  cliques  in  this  country.  M.  da 
Costa  owed  his  influence  in  Holland  partly  to  his  poetical 
power  and  partly  to  his  undoubted  eloquence,  the  remem- 
brance of  which  is  cherished  by  many  who  detest  his  ideas, 
and  think  but  little  of  his  written  prose. 

M.  Groen  van  Prinsterer  is  a  man  who,  if  providence  had 
assigned  to  him  a  wider  stage,  would  perhaps  have  been  no 
less  famous  than  De  Maistre.  As  it  is,  we  dare  venture  to 
guess,  that  of  those  who  will  read  these  lines,  not  one  in  ten 
has  ever  heard  of  him.  Neither  in  the  English  work  called 
Men  of  the  Time^  nor  in  the  German  Manner  der  Zeit,  nor  in 
the  huge  French  Dictionnairc  des  ContemjJorains,*  do  we  find 
him  alluded  to.  In  his  own  country,  however,  his  name  is  as 
much  a  household  word  as  that  of  Lord  Derby  is  in  England. 
His  enemies  usually  speak  of  him  as  the  Stahl  of  Holland, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  they  are  justified  in  doing  so.  That 
remarkable  person  was,  however,  too  much  of  an  adventurer. 
The  Bavarian  Jew  was  too  oddly  out  of  place  as  the  leader  of 
*  His  name  does  not  appear  even  in  the  new  edition  of  this  useful  book. 


M.   GROEN   VAN   PEINSTERER.  303 

the  squires  of  the  Mark,  the  teacher  and  spokesman  of  the 
ultra-Lutheran  fanatics  who  chistered  round  the  late  kino-  of 

o 

Prussia,  to  form  a  good  ^pendant  to  the  Dutch  statesman. 
Shall  we  be  intelligible  to  our  readers  if  we  call  him  a  Stahl- 
de-Bonald — half-professor  and  half-cavalier  ?  If  we  are  not, 
we  must  refer  them  to  a  pamphlet  by  M.  Groen  himself 
which  gives  a  very  full  and  clear  account  of  the  views  of  the 
party  which  he  leads  and  inspires. 

Le  Parti  Anti-Revolutionnaire  et  Confessionel  dans  VEglise 
Beformee  des  Pays-has  is  an  elaborate  reply  to  some  strictures 
passed  upon  the  conduct  of  the  religious  and  political  connec- 
tion to  which  M.  Groen  belongs,  by  a  writer  whose  point  of 
view  was  that  of  M.  Yinet.  It  is  divided  into  three  chapters, 
of  which  the  first  explains  the  character,  objects,  and  tenden- 
cies of  the  confessional  party,  and  points  out  that  it  is  not 
strictly  correct  to  say  that  it  represents  exactly  the  theolo- 
gians of  Dort ;  nay,  rather  that  the  influence  of  modern 
foreign  writers,  and  of  the  Methodist  movement,  which  is 
spoken  of  in  France,  Switzerland,  and  elsewhere,  as  the  Eeveil, 
have  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  its  course.  In  the  second 
chapter  he  explains  at  great  length  what  he  means  by  "  Ze 
princi^e  anti-revolutionnairer     The  revolution,  he  says — 

"  C'est  dans  sa  source  et  ses  resultats,  la  doctrine  qui,  lib- 
rement  developpee,  detruit  I'Eglise  et  I'Etat,  la  societe  et  la 
famille,  produit  le  desordre  sans  jamais  fonder  la  liberte  ou 
retablir  I'ordre  moral,  et,  en  matiere  de  religion,  conduit  im- 
manquablement  ses  consciencieux  adeptes  k  I'atheisme  et  au 
desespoir.  Le  principe  anti-revolutionnaire,  c'est  le  contraire 
de  la  revolution  ;  c'est  I'Evangile  et  I'llistoire  qui  resistent  k 
I'anarchie,  au  nom  de  la  religion,  du  droit,  du  progres,  et  de 
la  liberte." 


304  HOLLAND. 

M.  Groen's  opinions  were  formed  as  far  back  as  1831,  in 
which  year  he  published  a  sketch  of  the  course  of  events  since 
1789.  There  is  nothing  very  original  in  his  political  views. 
Haller  is  apparently  one  of  his  favourite  teachers ;  but  he 
has  affinities  with  ^lontalembert,  with  Guizot,  with  Burke, 
and  with  Mallet  du  Pan — in  so  far,  at  least,  as  these  writers 
are  the  enemies  of  the  Eevolution.  In  one  respect  his  ideas 
are  diametrically  opposed  to  those  of  the  first-named  poli- 
tician, for  M.  Groen  thinks  that  Catholicism  is  unable  to  cope 
with  the  tendencies  of  1789,  and  that  the  churches  of  the 
Eeformation  have  alone  that  power : — 

"  On  parle  souvent  des  analogies  de  la  Eevolution  et  la 
Eeforme  ;  tachons  de  les  resumer.  La  Eevolution  part  de  la 
souverainete  de  I'homme ;  la  Eeforme  de  la  souverainete  de 
Dieu.  L'une  fait  juger  la  revelation  par  la  raison ;  Tautre 
soumet  la  raison  aux  verites  revelees.  L'une  debride  les 
opinions  individuelles ;  I'autre  amene  I'unite  de  la  foi. 
L'une  relache  les  liens  sociaux  et  jusqu'aux  relations  domes- 
tiques  ;  I'autre  les  reserre  et  les  sanctifie.  Celle-ci  triomphe 
par  les  martyres,  celle-la  se  maintient  par  les  massacres. 
L'une  sort  de  I'abime  et  I'autre  descend  du  ciel." 

M.  Groen  is  no  absolutist : — "  Personne  n'a  mieux  que  moi 
desire  les  realit^s  du  gouvernement  representatif,  developpe- 
ments  naturels  de  la  glorieuse  histoire  de  mon  pays  ;"  but  he 
feels  towards  the  Dutch  constitution  of  1848  as  Stahl  felt 
towards  the  Prussian  constitution  of  1850,  and  would  gladly 
change  it  by  all  legal  means.  In  the  third  and  concluding 
chapter  of  his  pamphlet  he  details  the  very  spirited  struggle 
of  himself  and  his  handful  of  friends  against  the  Liberals  and 
the  Liberal  Conservatives — efforts  which  received  a  heavy 
blow  and  great  discouragement  when,  in  1857,  the  excellent 


I 


M.    GROEN  VAN  PRINSTERER.  305 

Dutch  school  law  of  1806  was  still  further  amended,  and  all 
sectarian  influences  were  banished  from  the  schools  supported 
by  the  state. 

M.  Groen  is  not  only  a  very  able  political  leader,  and  a 
most  eloquent  speaker,  but  a  very  voluminous  and  much 
admired  historian.  Many  think  that  it  would  have  been  well 
for  his  fame  if  when,  in  1833,  he  stepped  back  for  a  time 
from  the  political  scene,  he  had  remained  for  the  rest  of  his 
life  occupied  in  the  tranquil  investigation  of  past  ages.  Any 
one  who  glances  at  the  notes  to  Mr.  Motley's  works,  will  see 
under  what  heavy  contributions  he  has  been  laid  by  that 
popular  writer.  M.  Groen,  however,  was  thinking  of  the 
politics  of  the  nineteenth  century  while  he  was  writing  the 
annals  of  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  was  trying  to  undermine 
the  liberalism  of  the  Netherlands,  by  exalting  the  party  of  the 
House  of  Orange  and  decrying  the  party  of  the  States.  The 
religious  and  political  opinions  of  this  excellent  man  are  not 
shared  in  their  entirety  by  any  very  considerable  number  of 
his  countrymen.  His  following  is  chiefly  drawn  from  two 
very  different  strata  of  society — from  a  portion  of  the  higher 
class,  and  from  amongst  the  uneducated  masses.  It  seems 
hardly  probable  that  his  ideas  are  destined  to  be  largely  repre- 
sented in  the  ensuing  generation. 

The  theology  of  one  who,  like  M.  Groen,  believes  that 
Christianity  and  the  anti-revolutionary  principle  are  identical, 
is  of  course  of  the  narrowest  description.  All  the  wealth 
which  modern  biblical  criticism  and  the  enlightened  study  of 
ecclesiastical  antiquity  have  brought  to  the  religious  inquirer, 
is  to  him  of  no  avail.  He  is  a  Protestant  Christian,  not  of 
the  nineteenth,  but  of  the  sixteenth  century,  although  we  have 
heard  it  whispered  that  even  he  would  be  judged  unsound  on 

X 


306  HOLLAND. 

the  question  of  predestination,  if  he  stood  before  the  bar  of 
Professor  Gomarus. 

Amidst  the  motley  company  which  poetry,  politics,  and 
the  influence  of  the  Eeveil  have  collected  under  the  banners 
of  the  past,  M.  Groen  is  the  most  distinguished ;  and  some 
very  eminent  politicians  share  his  religious  views.  The  party 
is  not,  however,  strong  in  theologians. 

M.  Oosterzee,  who  was  some  years  ago  transferred  from  a 
parochial  charge  at  Eotterdam  to  a  professor's  chair  at  Utrecht, 
is  famous  for  his  eloquence,  which  gives  pleasure  even  to  those 
who  most  dissent  from  the  principles  which  he  seeks  to  en- 
force ;  but  he  is  not  remarkable  for  learning.  Professor 
Doedes,  a  very  erudite  biblical  critic  and  expositor,  belongs 
to  the  extreme  left  of  the  party ;  and  so  does  M.  Beets,  the 
poet  and  novelist.  Separated  from  the  orthodox  fraction  by 
a  very  distinct  line  of  demarcation,  but  sympathising  with  it 
to  a  considerable  extent,  are  the  friends  of  the  late  M.  Trottet, 
and  of  M.  Chantepie  de  la  Saussaye.  Both  these  writers  have 
given,  in  French,  an  account  of  their  relations  to  the  school  of 
M.  Groen  van  Prinsterer,  and  of  the  condition  of  Protestantism 
in  tlie  Netherlands.  M.  Chantepie  de  la  Saussaye  was  till 
recently  a  pastor  attached  to  the  Walloon  churches,  of  which 
we  shall  speak  hereafter ;  but  he  is  now  connected  with  the 
Dutch  Church  proper,  and  is  settled  at  Eotterdam,  where  his 
great  talents  as  a  preacher  make  him  extremely  popular.  No 
one  who  has  sufficient  interest  in  the  subject  of  which  we 
write  to  care  to  pursue  it  beyond  the  limits  of  this  paper 
should  fail  to  read  his  pamphlet — La  Crise  Beligieuse  en  Hol- 
lands (Leyden,  1860).  He  looks  at  the  situation  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  disciple  of  Vinet,  which  is  not  ours  ;  but  he 
expresses  himself  with  great  moderation,  and  puts  his  ideas  be- 


THE  GRONINGEN  SCHOOL.  307 

fore  the  reader  in  a  very  attractive  way.  He  has  not  escaped, 
at  the  hands  of  his  opponents,  the  criticism  to  which  the  great 
professor  of  Lausanne,  no  less  than  his  followers,  is  by  many 
considered  to  have  laid  himself  open — that,  viz.,  of  want  of 
clearness. 

Of  the  once  very  important  and  still  much-followed  school 
to  which  we  must  next  call  attention,  M.  Chantepie  de  la 
Saussaye  observes  :  "  L'ecole  de  Groningue  a  fait  son  temps. 
Elle  ne  fait  plus  d' adept es.  On  pent  en  dire  de  bien,  sans 
craindre  de  se  voir  enrole  sous  sa  banniere."  Some  people 
would  hardly  agree  with  him,  if  we  may  judge  by  a  work 
which  now  lies  before  us — Die  Groningtr  Theologen,  dargestellt, 
von  Dr,  P.  Hofstede  de  Groot  {cms  dcm  HolldndiscJien  uber- 
setzt),  Gotha,  1863. 

This  brochure,  which  forms  a  goodly  volume  of  two  hun- 
dred pages,  gives  at  great  length,  and  with  a  minuteness  and 
rigour  of  arrangement  which  might  be  called  pedantic  if  it  were 
not  so  perfectly  in  place,  the  fullest  possible  account  of  the 
mental  history,  the  labours,  and  the  aspirations  of  its  author 
and  his  associates.  Most  earnestly,  and  with  obvious  sin- 
cerity, does  he  disclaim  the  wish  to  be  the  leader  of  a  party 
or  to  form  a  school. 

Van  Heusde,  of  Utrecht,  celebrated  as  one  of  the  most 
enthusiastic  modern  followers  of  Plato,  was  the  person  who, 
acting  first  on  his  pupils  at  Utrecht,  and  then  indirectly  upon 
a  contemporary  circle  of  thoughtful  students  at  Groningen, 
gave  the  impulse  to  the  new  way  of  thinking.  He  did  this 
not  only  by  his  Platonic  lectures,  but  also  by  his  constant  re- 
ference to  the  old  history  of  the  Netherlands,  to  the  stirring 
of  religious  thought  in  Wessel  Gansfoort,  and  in  the  "  Bretli- 
ren  of  the  Common  Life."    To  this  was  added  the  influence  of 


308  HOLLAND. 

Schleiermaclier  and  other  German  writers.  C.  L.  Nitszcli,  the 
father  of  the  well-known  ecclesiastic  at  Berlin,  would  appear 
to  have  arrived,  by  an  independent  route,  at  much  the  same  con- 
clusion as  the  Groningen  theologians  ;  and  more  recently  the 
"mediation"  divines  of  Germany,  more  especially  Ullman, 
have  exercised  great  influence  over  them.  Of  their  own 
number — in  addition  to  Hofstede  de  Groot — Pareau,  Muurling, 
and  Van  Oordt,  are  perhaps  the  most  famous.  Their  leading 
and  all-pervading  idea  is  that  the  most  important  feature  of 
Christianity  is  the  "  revelation  and  education  "  which,  in  the 
words  of  their  apologist  and  leader,  "  God  has  given  to  us  in 
Jesus  Christ,  to  make  us  more  and  more  like  unto  God." 
This  notion  of  the  education  of  the  human  race  by  God  recurs  in 
almost  every  page  of  Professor  Hofstede  de  Groot's  work,  and  is, 
of  course,  not  original — nay,  is  as  old  as  Lessing ;  but  we  are  not 
aware  that  it  has  ever  before  formed  the  keystone  of  a  whole 
system  of  theology.  The  Groningen  doctors  deny  the  equality 
of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  or,  in  the  words  of  our  author, 
"Wir  halten  den  Sohn  fur  den  Sohn,  nicht  aber  fur  den 
Bruder  Gottes."  Again,  with  regard  to  the  Third  Person  of 
the  Trinity  :  "  Der  Heilige  Geist  ist  uns,  der  Geist,  das 
Leben,  die  Wirksamkeit  und  Kraft  Gottes,  die  von  Gott  durch 
Christum  der  Menschheit  mitgetheilt  wurde ; "  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  comparatively  modern  doctrine  which  has  been 
widely  accepted  in  Christendom,  they  attach  as  much  import- 
ance to  the  life  and  teaching  as  to  the  death  of  Christ.  They 
have  ever  taken  a  peculiarly  active  share  in  the  charitable 
works  so  characteristic  of  the  Netherlands.  Their  learning, 
although  obscured  by  various  prepossessions,  is  respectable  for 
Holland,  and  would  be  eminent  in  England.  Above  all,  their 
whole  way  of  looking  at  things  is  remarkable  for  its  extreme 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LEYDEN.  309 

amiability  and  gentleness.  The  last  few  pages  of  Dr.  Hofstede 
de  Groot's  pamphlet  upon  the  future  of  the  work  in  store  for 
himself  and  his  followers,  are  beyond  all  praise — full  of  wide 
sympathy,  apostolic  fervour,  and  forgetfulness  of  self  in  the 
advancement  of  those  objects  in  which  all  religious  men  are 
agreed.  An  account  of  the  views  of  the  Groningen  doctors, 
in  a  very  agreeable  form,  will  be  found  in  the  Pastor  of 
Vliethuizen  (Trubner,  London),  a  novel  which  has  been  trans- 
lated into  English  by  M.  Marquard,  the  editor  of  a  Dutch 
liberal  newspaper  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  does  very 
good  work  in  that  colony. 

We  may,  it  will  be  seen,  characterise  the  Groningen  school, 
very  roughly  and  generally,  as  Unitarians,  without  any  of 
that  hardness  which  has  been  often  attributed  to  the  followers 
of  that  sect  in  this  country  ;  and  as  mystics,  without  any  of 
that  contempt  for  learning  which  has  often  characterised  the 
mystical  writers,  as  well  of  Protestant  as  of  Catholic  Christen- 
dom, The  doctrines  of  Groningen,  although  well  calculated 
to  form  a  bridge  between  the  easy-going  biblicalism  of  Van 
der  Palm,  and  the  system  which  will  satisfy  an  age  which 
does  not  shrink  from  raising  questions,  were  evidently  not 
fitted  for  a  long  existence.  The  reader  will  not,  therefore, 
be  surprised  to  find  that,  like  the  widely  different  views  which 
began  to  be  current  in  England  about  the  same  date,  they  have 
ceased  to  influence  the  majority  of  younger  men.  We  have 
heard  it  said  that  even  in  Groningen  many  of  the  students  are 
more  acted  upon  by  other  teachers  than  by  those  of  their  own 
university.  The  school  which  is  now  in  the  ascendant  is  more 
philosophic  in  its  method,  more  deeply  learned,  and  more 
ready  to  break  with  the  forms  of  the  past,  while  retaining 
what  was  good  in  its  spirit.     The  teachers  of  the  school  of 


310  HOLLAm). 

Leyden  have  had  the  advantage  of  the  years  of  theological 
debate  which  have  taken  place  in  Germany,  since  the  daring 
private  tutor  of  Tubingen  threw  his  sword  into  the  scale. 
They  have  studied  not  only  the  destructive  process  of  Strauss, 
and  of  those  who  thought  to  equal  his  fame  by  surpassing  his 
audacity,  but  have  entered  into  the  labours  of  Baur  and  his 
numerous  pupils.  Last,  but  not  least,  between  the  rise  of 
the  school  of  Groningen  and  of  its  successor  was  interposed 
that  great  political  change  which  has  given  to  Holland  a  lead- 
ing position  amongst  free  and  constitutional  states. 

The  head  of  the  school  of  Leyden  is  Professor  Scholten,  a 
man  who  may  be  now  about  sixty  years  of  age.  He  has 
laboured  chiefly  in  the  field  of  dogma,  and  has  attempted  to 
form  a  system  which  shall  be  as  strict  and  logical  as  the  old 
system  of  Dort,  without  in  any  way  shocking  the  reason  or 
the  feelings  of  enlightened  men.* 

Professor  Kuenen,  whose  domain  is  exegesis,  is  an  author 
whose  writings  are  perhaps  more  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
English  mind  at  the  present  conjuncture,  f 

Professor  Ptawenhoff,  who  is  still  a  very  young  man,  and 
teaches  ecclesiastical  history,  is  also  likely  to  sustain  the 
credit  of  the  school  of  Leyden,  and  the  other  actmg  professor. 
Dr.  Prins,  holds  similar  views.  The  aged  Van  Hengel,  now 
"  Emeritus,"  was  famous  in  his  day  for  his  labours  on  the  text 
and  grammar  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  stiU,  on  the  extreme 
verge  of  life,  is  full  of  encouragement  to  those  of  the  younger 
generation  who  are  serving  the  cause  of  sound  learning  and  true 
religion  with  other  arms.     The  whole  faculty  of  theology,  in 

*  Professor  Scliolten's  History  of  Ecligion  and  Philosoj^hy  has  been  trans- 
lated into  French,  and  published  by  Treuttel  and  "Wurtz  of  Strasburg. 

+  The  whole  of  Professor  Kuenen's  great  work  on  the  Old  Testament  has 
now  (18CG)  been  translated  into  French,  and  a  part  of  it  has  appeared  in  English. 


THE    "MODERN   THEOLOGY."  311 

sliort,  in  the  noble  and  ancient  university,  wliicli  is  perhaps 
the  grandest  memorial  of  the  rise  of  the  liepublic  and  the 
overthrow  of  the  Eoman  Church  in  the  Netherlands,  is 
thoroughly  pervaded  with  the  liberal  spirit,  and  sends  the 
"  fresh  blood  from  it  year  by  year,"  into  the  remotest  districts 
of  the  country,  even  into  those  sleepy  and  old-world  corners 
which  are  described  in  the  novel  lately  translated,  called  The 
Manse  of  Mastland, 

The  theologians  of  Leyden  hardly  form  the  extreme  left 
of  the  Dutch  Church.  Beyond  them  is  ranged  a  group  of  men 
who  are  ordinarily  spoken  of  as  the  followers  of  the  ''  modern 
theology ;"  but  the  distinction  is  not  very  clear,  and  perhaps 
something  too  much  has  been  made  of  it.  It  is  against  the 
dogmatic  theology  of  Professor  Scholten  that  the  movement 
may  be  considered  as  directed,  but  the  amount  of  agreement  is, 
after  all,  very  much  greater  than  the  amount  of  divergence. 

This  ''modern  theology"  counts  its  most  distinguished 
champions  in  the  ranks  of  the  Walloon  churches.  These 
communities,  which  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  principal 
cities  of  Holland,  form  one  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of 
the  Dutch  Church.  They  date  from  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century — from  the  days  of  William  the  Silent,  and  of  his 
friend  Marnix  de  St.  Aldegonde,  who  carried  that  restless 
energy  which  is  immortalised  in  his  famous  motto,  "  Eepos 
ailleurs,''  as  well  into  the  theological  and  literary,  as  into  the 
military  and  political  arena. 

In  1685  they  were  largely  reinforced  from  France  by 
the  refugees  who  left  that  country  when  the  edict  of  Nantes 
was  revoked.  To  this  day  they  have  their  own  synod  and 
manage  their  internal  affairs,  although  they  have  the  same 
confession  of  faith  as  the  much  larger  division  of  the  church 


312  HOLLAND. 

wliicli  carries  on  public  worship  in  Dutch,  and  they  take  part  in 
the  general  synod.  The  service  in  the  Walloon  churches  has 
many  points  of  resemblance  with  that  which  is  usual  amongst 
French  Protestants.  •  They  have  always  been  remarkable  for 
the  excellence  of  their  preachers  ;  and  the  names  of  Jurieu, 
Saurin,  and  Basnage  will  not  be  strange  to  any  eye. 

These  Walloon  churches  form  the  principal  link  between 
the  Protestants  of  France  and  those  of  the  Netherlands.  In 
the  year  1855  the  commission  which  regulates  their  affairs 
put  forth  a  report  upon  the  state  of  their  own  body  and  of 
Dutch  Protestantism  generally,  which  is  a  perfect  model  of 
good  sense,  moderation,  and  christian  charity,  and  which  we 
most  strongly  recommend.  Its  full  title  is,  Expose  liistorique 
de  Vetat  cle  Veglise  reformat  des  Pays  Bas,  joour  Stre  presente 
de  la  part  de  la  Reunion  Wallonne  aux  Eglises  reformhs 
etrangeres,  spicialement  aux  Eglises  de  la  Finance  et  de  la  Suisse 
Fran^aise,  This  admirable  paper  is  perhaps  rather  too  long 
for  the  general  reader,  and  might  possibly  escape  the  atten- 
tion of  those  whose  interest  in  the  subject  had  not  been 
already  excited.  It  was  then  a  fortunate  circumstance  for 
the  Protestants  of  the  Netherlands  that,  thanks  to  the 
organisation  of  the  Walloon  churches,  they  chanced  to  num- 
ber in  their  ranks  a  Frenchman  whose  general  literary  ability 
was  such  as  to  entitle  him  to  become  connected  with  the 
Eevue  des  Deux  Moiides,  and  through  it  to  speak  in  their  name 
to  all  educated  Europe.  The  appearance  of  M.  Albert 
Eeville's  article  in  1860,  upon  La  TMologie  Contemporaine  en 
Hollande,  revealed  to  many  the  existence  of  a  powerful  liberal 
movement  in  the  Dutch  Church,  and  gratified  to  a  certain 
extent  the  curiosity  which  had  been  excited  in  others  by  the 
brief  notices  of  Dutch  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  those  charm- 


/ 


M.  E^VILLE.  ,/       ^  A.         315'. 


ing  volumes  of  M.  Esquiros  which  we  have  already  men-        -/ 


/  ^ 


tioued.  ^  /       'A'  ^i 

M.  Eeville  was  born  at  Dieppe,  and  was  brought  u;^bv  ' 

his  father,  who  shared  the  moderate  opinions  which  were  s6-  ^  ■ 
common  among  French  Protestants  before  the  Beveil  His.  -<^ 
progress,  however,  to  a  clearer  and  higher  view  of  theology 
was  brought-about  chiefly  by  German  influences.  Although 
he  is  for  the  present  established  in  Holland,  he  keeps  his  eye 
stedfastly  fixed  upon  France,  and  labours,  by  his  numerous 
writings,  to  awaken  in  that  country  an  interest  in  biblical 
studies  and  in  religious  thought.  His  chief  organs  of  com- 
munication with  the  public  are  the  Bevue  de  Strasbourg, 
which  is  edited  by  Colani,  and  ought  to  be  better  known  in 
this  country,  and,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  Revue  des 
Deux  Mondes.  A  number  of  his  contributions  to  various 
periodicals  have  been  collected  into  a  volume,  and  are  pub- 
lished under  the  title  of  Essais  de  Critique  Eeligieuse  (Paris, 
Cherbuliez,  1860).  The  excellent  paper  on  Nero  as  Anti- 
christ will  give  to  those  who  have  not  time  to  read  the  whole 
book  a  sufficient  idea  of  M.  E^ville's  manner,*  and  of  the 
direction  in  which  his  influence  is  exerted. 

.  A  little  to  the  left  and  on  the  extreme  limits  of  thcologiccd 
as  distinguished  from  philosophic  liberalism,'^  is  M.  Busken 
Huet,  of  Haarlem,  a  member  of  the  Protestant  branch  of  the 
family  which  gave  to  the  see  of  Avranches  its  most  famous 
and  learned  occupant.  M.  Busken  Huet  has  written  Letters 
on  the  Bible,  and  is  considered  to  be  a  master  of  Dutch  prose. 
His  style  does  not  appear  to  be  conciliatory  ;  and  M.  de  la 
Saussaye  describes  him  as  "  le  veritable  bouc  Azazel  de  la 

*  In  1863  M.  Reville  published  a  very  interesting  Manuel  d' Instruction 
Eeligieuse:  Cherbuliez,  Paris. 


314  HOLLAND. 

theologie  positive."  He  himself,  however,  while  entirely  dis- 
agreeing with  the  views  of  M.  Huet,  speaks  of  his  abilities 
and  of  his  character  with  great  respect. 

To  such  of  our  readers  as  are  acquainted  with  modern 
German  theology,  we  may  perhaps  best  convey  a  clear  idea 
of  the  tendencies  of  the  school  to  which  M.  Eeville  and  M. 
Huet  belong  by  mentioning  that  their  views  are  very 
analogous  to  those  which  are  maintained  in  the  Geschichte  der 
Ne^testeii  Theologie,  by  Dr.  Karl  Schwartz  of  Gotha,  court 
preacher  to  the  elder  brother  of  the  late  Prince  Consort,  and 
the  hardly  less  interesting  w^ork  of  Lang,  Bin  Gang  durch  die 
Christliche  Welt 

In  classing  M.  Eeville  and  M.  Busken  Huet  together,  and 
separating  them  from  the  school  of  Leyden,  we  rather  mean 
to  point  out  that  they  form  part  of  a  sort  of  group,  connected 
by  their  relation  to  the  Walloon  churches,  than  to  draw  any 
strong  line  between  them  and  the  followers  of  Scholten.  All 
of  them  would  speak  of  that  great  divine  with  profound 
respect,  and  would  acknowledge  the  greatest  obligations  to 
him.  All  of  them  would  acknowledge  having  felt  the 
influence  of  another  teacher,  who  starts  from  a  point  very 
different  from  that  whence  M.  Scholten  starts,  and  has  at 
various  times  come  into  collision  with  the  great  doctor  of 
Leyden. 

This  remarkable  man  is  not  a  professional  theologian,  but 
a  philosopher,  and  he  speaks  from  Utrecht,*  where  the 
pinched  but  not  unpleasant  features  of  old  Voetius  must 
meet  his  eye  whenever  he  enters  the  council-room  of  the 
professors.     M.  Opzoomer  has  been  formed  by  Comte  or  J.  S. 

*  Utrecht  is  now  mucli  tamed.     Her  tlieology  is,  says  Eeville,  of  the 
Whatclcian  cast. 


M.   OPZOOMER.  315 

Mill ;  shall  we  not  add,  to  some  extent  by  Eenan  ?  His 
system  is  defined  by  Eeville  as  "  spiritual  empiricism."  He 
rejects  the  a  'priori  reasoning  of  the  Hegelian  school ;  and, 
commencing  with  facts,  observes,  classifies,  criticises  them; 
thus  drawing  the  materials  of  his  system  from  every  science. 
The  great  influence  which  he  exerts  is  owing,  not  to  any 
body  of  doctrines  which  he  teaches,  but  to  his  method.  He 
thinks  that  the  empirico-critical  investigation  of  Christianity 
is  the  chief  business  of  the  theologian,  and  considers  that 
the  system  pursued  by  the  great  masters  of  physical  science 
is  that  which  the  student  of  divine  things  ought  also  to 
follow. 

In  addition  to  the  three  forms  of  liberal  opinion  which 
we  have  been  characterising,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
school  which  we  have  connected  with  the  name  of  Van  der 
Palm  has  still  very  numerous  adherents  amongst  the  older 
clergy,  but  they  are  divided  into  various  groups,  according  as 
they  have  been  most  influenced  by  Groniagen  or  Leyden,  or 
by  the  modern  theology.  Nay,  some  of  them  would  appear 
to  be,  in  their  dislike  to  recent  innovations,  more  inclined  to 
fraternise  with  the  "confessional"  section  than  with  any 
of  the  newer  forms  of  liberalism.  If  we  take  all  shades  of 
this  party  together,  we  shall  perhaps  be  not  very  wrong  in 
saying  that  they  stand  to  the  more  active  and  stirring 
fractions  of  the  church,  as  our  own  High  and  Dry  do  to  our 
Tractarians,  Broad  Churchmen,  or  Evangelicals. 

Vinke  of  Utrecht,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  was  perhaps 
the  most  eminent  representative  of  the  views  of  the  respect- 
able but  rather  arrieres  theologians  of  whom  we  are  speaking ; 
and  as  his  chair  has,  as  we  have  seen,  been  filled  by  a 
professor  who  has  grown  up  under  other  influences,  it  is 


316  HOLLAND. 

improbable  that  they  will  be  further  represented  in  the  Dutch 
universities. 

Some  readers  will  doubtless  be  surprised  that  we  have 
not,  in  speaking  of  Dutch  theology,  found  it  necessary  ere 
this  to  introduce  the  great  name  of  Spinoza.  The  truth  is, 
however,  that  he  produced  no  appreciable  effect  upon  the 
course  of  religious  thought  within  the  Dutch  Church.  He 
came  far  too  early.  Men  were  in  his  day  occupied,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  disputing  about  the  inferences  to  be  drawn 
from  certain  premises  which  they  never  dreamt  of  disputing. 
They  were  far  from  being  prepared  to  listen  to  the  still  small 
voice  which  asked  if  these  premises  were  indeed  themselves 
indisputable.  The  Dutch  intellect,  to  say  the  truth,  is  not 
very  much  inclined  to  philosophy  proper.  In  this  respect, 
perhaps,  it  stands  about  half-way  between  the  Scotch  and  the 
English,  but  nearer,  we  should  say,  to  the  latter. 

A  word  or  two  as  to  the  various  sects  of  Holland  which 
are  not  connected  with  the  Eeformed  Church.  Of  these  the 
Eoman  Catholics  are  far  the  most  numerous,  amounting  to 
about  thirty-eight  per  cent  of  the  population,  and  forming  a 
political  power  which  has  exercised  a  great  influence  on  the 
recent  history  of  the  country.  The  small  Eoman  Catholic 
community  called  "the  Old  Church,"  and  sometimes  improperly, 
the  "  Jansenist  Church  "  of  Holland,  ought  to  be  better  known 
than  we  suspect  it  is  in  England.  Mr.  Neale  has  written  an 
account  of  it,  and  a  still  more  accurate  one  has  been  lately 
published  in  Latin  by  M.  Gerth  van  Wyk. 

The  Protestants  number  amongst  them  Lutherans,  who  are 
largely  recruited  from  Germany  ;  Mennonites,  the  peaceable 
and  well-to-do  descendants  of  the  once  fierce  Anabaptists; 
about  5000  Eemonstrants,  now  less  liberal  than  the  Calvinist 


THE    SECTS    OF   HOLLAND.  317 

Church,  from  which  they  seceded  ;  a  few  Moravians,  and 
a  rather  large  body  of  Dissenters,  who  broke  off  from  the 
Eeformed  Church  some  thirty  years  ago,  and  belong  to  a 
deeper  shade  of  Calvinism  than  even  the  most  extreme 
section  which  remains  within  its  pale,  but  are,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, without  social  or  intellectual  importance.  The  largest 
of  these  sects  is  the  Lutheran.  In  most  of  them  there  is  some 
movement  of  mind — chiefly,  perhaps,  amongst  the  Lutherans 
and  Memionites.  The  Jews  number  about  65,000,  but  there 
is  not  amongst  them  any  theological  school  which  calls  for 
remark. 

About  fifty-four  per  cent  of  the  population  belong  to  the 
Eeformed  Church,  which  consists,  according  to  the  most  re- 
cent statistics  we  have  seen,  of  considerably  more  than 
1,800,000  adherents,  and,  speaking  roughly,  about  1500  clergy- 
men. Of  these  perhaps  three-fourths  belong  to  one  or  other 
of  the  four  liberal  sections  which  we  have  mentioned,  and  of 
the  remaining  foicrth,  which  will  fall  to  the  "■  orthodox,'^  not  a 
few  would  pass  for  Broad  Churchmen  in  England. 

Up  to  the  revolution  of  1795,  the  Eeformed  Church  was 
established  and  dominant.  Since  that  date  it  has  ceased  to 
have  an  exclusive  pre-eminence,  although  its  clergy,  like  those 
of  all  the  other  denominations,  which  do  not  object  to  state 
aid,  are  paid  by  the  government.  Its  organisation  is  on  the 
old  Presbyterian  model  which  prevailed  in  France  before  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  but  it  has  been  much  modi- 
fied during  the  present  century,  especially  in  1816  and  1851. 
The  clergy  are  supposed  to  be  elected  by  their  flocks,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  election  is  really  in  the  hands  of  the  con- 
sistories— bodies  closely  resembling  the  Scotch  kirk-sessions. 
This  variation  between  the  theory  of  the  ecclesiastical  consti- 

f 


318  HOLLAND. 

tutioD  and  the  actual  practice  causes  a  certain  amount  of  dis- 
cussion. The  salary  of  a  clergyman  in  the  country  is  very 
small,  say  about  £70  a-year.  In  the  large  towns  it  ranges 
from  £150  to  £200,  but  these  small  figures  are  augmented  by 
various  funds,  though  they  never  rise  beyond  a  very  modest 
amount.  The  more  credit  does  a  church  deserve  whose  pastors 
surpass  so  generally  in  theological  learning  their  wealthier 
brethren  in  this  country. 

When  thirty  years  have  passed  away,  we  may  trust  that 
some  forms  of  opinion  which  we  have  described  may  have 
nearly  ceased  to  exist,  and  a  more  general  community  of  ob- 
ject may  be  attained.  Peace  is,  we  fear,  not  the  lot  of  this 
generation.  In  the  admirable  words  of  the  writer  of  a  paper 
on  Dutch  ecclesiastical  affairs,  which  is  worthy  to  be  put  by 
the  side  of  M.  Eeville's,  and  is  to  be  found  in  Geltzer's  Protes- 
iantische  MonatsUdtter  for  June  1861  : — "With  regard  to  all 
differences,  in  all  times  and  in  all  places,  one  truth  holds 
good,  that  to  every  form  of  opinion,  even  the  most  highly 
praised  and  celebrated,  is  that  saying  of  Hase's  applicable — 
'  It  is  but  an  attempt  to  grasp  the  Infinite,  which  is  revealed 
to  us  as  a  secret.' "  Every  theologian  now  alive  who  loves 
truth  will  at  tlie  end  of  his  career  have  to  apply  to  himself 
the  words  of  De  Wette — 

Icli  fiel  in  cine  wirre  Zeit, 
Die  Glanbens-Eintraclit  war  veriiiclitet  ; 
Ich  mischte  mich  mit  in  den  streit, 
Umsonst,  icli  liab'ihn  niclit  geschlichtet. 

But  even  strife  and  trouble  are  better  than  a  sleepy  acqui- 
escence in  falsehood,  and  we  are  not  without  hope  that  some 
of  those  who  are  fighting  the  battle  of  religious  freedom  in 
this  country  may  be  cheered  by  the  report  which  we  have 
broudit  back  from  the  other  side  of  the  North  Sea.     When 


REPLY   OF   THE    GENERAL   SYNOD.  319 

shall  we  be  able  to  say  that  three-fourths  of  the  English  clergy 
belong  to  some  shade  of  liberal  opinion  ?  * 

*  *  *  * 

People  in  this  country  are,  it  would  seem,  just  beginning 
to  find  out  that  a  battle  is  being  fought  in  Holland  which 
well  deser\^es  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  whole  Protestant 
world,  and  we  see  from  time  to  time  in  various  periodicals 
accounts  of  Dutch  books  or  notices  of  Dutch  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  In  an  article  of  the  Contemporary  Revieiv  we  find  the 
following  wise  and  noble  reply  made  by  the  General  Synod 
to  some  zealots  who  asked  it  to  interfere  after  the  good  old 
persecuting  fashion : — 

"  It  is  clear  that  the  true  source  of  the — in  many  respects 
—distressing  and  confused  condition  of  our  church  lies  in  a 
scientific  strife.  The  amazing  progress  of  the  natural  sciences, 
and  the  rich  discoveries  of  history,  have  given  rise  to  a  con- 
templation of  the  universe  which  is  at  variance  with  the 
hitherto  accepted  theology.  If  that  contemplation  of  the 
world  is  w^hoUy  in  the  right,  the  theology  which  has  been 
prevalent  liitherto  will  fall  altogether.  If  it  is  altogether  in 
the  wrong,  theology  wiU  overthrow  it.  If  truth  and  right  side 
only  in  part  with  it,  it  will  conquer  as  far  as  that  part  is 
concerned,  and  theology  will  by  the  strife  change  much,  but 
also  become  purified  and  sanctified,  and  after  some  time 
blossom  more  brightly  than  before.  But  whatever  may  be 
the  result,  that  result  will  only  be  possible  through  the  free 
development  of  science.     If  science   has   inflicted  w^ounds 

*  Since  these  notes,  gathered  for  tlie  most  part  during  a  visit  to  Holland 
in  the  winter  of  1862,  were  published  by  the  author  in  Fncscr's  Magazine  for 
March  1863,  an  extremely  interesting  paper  upon  the  same  subject,  from  the 
pen  of  M.  Eeville,  appeared  in  the  Theological  Eeviciu  of  July  1864.  To  it  we 
would  refer,  more  especially  for  a  clear  outline  of  the  system  of  M.  Scholten. 


320  HOLLAND. 

upon  the  church,  those  wounds,  if  curable,  can  only  be  cured 
by  science  itself.  Dogmatisms,  condemnations,  and  suspicions 
are  of  no  use  here.  On  the  contrary,  they  make  the  matter 
worse. 

"  In  former  centuries  it  was  believed — though,  as  has  been 
shown  by  experience,  unjustly — that  the  Eeformed  Church 
had  the  power  of  preserving  a  certain  strictly-defined  and 
fenced-in  doctrine  through  church  authority.  This  belief  can- 
not be  maintained  any  longer.  The  liberty  of  science,  the 
public  discussion  about  all  the  questions  concerning  philosophy 
and  theology,  render  that  authority  powerless  in  the  present. 

"  If,  consequently,  anything  is  to  be  done  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Eeformed  Church  and  its  doctrine,  that  order 
may  rise  out  of  the  confusion,  it  can,  in  our  opinion,  only  be 
done  through  the  above-mentioned  means,  and  particularly 
through  the  last-mentioned — science.  We  do  not  say,  through 
scholarship,  but  through  science,  through  one's  own  independ- 
ent, thorough,  unprejudiced,  and  coherent  insight,  based  upon 
inquiry  and  meditation,  which  insight  is  obtainable  also  by 
those  who  continue  strangers  to  scholarship,  though  they  may 
not  be  able  to  do  without  the  guidance  of  the  scholars." 

Surely  it  is  no  small  thing  for  the  friends  of  well-ordered 
democracy  to  be  able  to  point  to  these  glorious  words  and  to 
say — "  This  was  the  answer  of  the  governing  body  of  a  small 
little-considered  Presbyterian  Church,  delivered  at  a  time  when 
the  bishops  of  the  mighty  Anglican  establishment,  *  rich,'  when 
compared  with  their  brethren  in  Holland,  '  beyond  the  dreams 
of  avarice,'  surrounded  by  all  worldly  pomp,  and  possessed 
of  all  prestige  except  that  which  is  given  by  transcendent 
personal  merit,  could  do  notliing  better  than  ape,  amidst  the 
sneers  of  the  laity,  the  worn-out  methods  of  the  Vatican." 


EDUCATION.  321 

The  state  of  education  in  the  Netherlands  has,  at  various 
times  and  for  various  reasons,  excited  considerable  interest  in 
Great  Britain.  It  was  no  very  uncommon  thing,  during  the 
last  century,  for  English  or  Scotch  families  to  send  one  of 
their  number  to  study  at  Utrecht  or  at  Leyden.  The  revo- 
lutionary war  put  an  end  to  this  practice,  but  when  the  cessa- 
tion of  that  struggle  at  length  left  us  time  to  improve  our  con- 
stitution, and  to  spy  out  the  dark  places  of  our  social  state, 
we  soon  listened  to  those  who  told  us  that  the  Datch  had  been 
making  great  changes  in  primary  education,  and  began  to 
think  that  we  might  possibly  do  well  to  imitate  them.  The 
French  of  the  Empire  were  the  first  to  make  known  to 
Europe  the  success  of  their  then  fellow-citizens.  In  1811  the 
great  naturalist  Cuvier  was  sent,  surely  not  without  a  certain 
malice,  to  investigate  the  educational  methods  of  the  Amphihia, 
and  he  brought  back  a  report  in  which  he  gave  them  the 
highest  possible  praise.  We  were  then  too  busy  to  think 
much  of  education,  but  five-and-twenty  years  later,  M.  Victor 
Cousin  was  despatched  on  a  similar  errand,  and  to  him  we 
gave  heed.  His  book  was,  in  great  part,  translated  by  Mr. 
Leonard  Horner,  and  presently  afterwards  Mr.  William  Cham- 
bers visited  Holland,  and  published  in  a  very  cheap  and 
popular  form  the  results  of  his  personal  investigations.  The 
educational  commissioners  of  1858,  in  their  turn,  sent  an 
envoy  to  examine  and  report,  so  that  we  have  reliable  accounts 
of  the  working  of  the  Dutch  school  law  almost  from  the  period 
of  its  first  coming  into  operation.  The  educational  commis- 
sioners were  fortunate  in  their  choice.  They  selected  Mr. 
Matthew  Arnold,  a  man  who  could  not  only  see  clearly,  but 
could  embody  what  he  saw  in  a  form  so  graceful  as  to  have  a 
permanent  literary  value.     His  report  is  not  so  long  as  that 

Y 


322  HOLLAND. 

of  M.  Cousin,  and  he  does  not  think  it  fitting  to  describe  the 
galleries  of  pictures  which  he  visited,  nor  to  collect,  apropos 
des  hottes,  hitherto  inedited  letters  of  Descartes  ;  but,  pace  the 
salons,  there  is  nothing  so  good  in  M.  Cousin's  book  as  Mr. 
Arnold's  concluding  pages.  The  author  of  Ohermann  and  of 
the  Gh^ande  Chartreuse  contrives  to  give  to  everything,  even  to 
the  paragraphs  of  a  blue-book,  that  elevation  of  tone  which 
he  insists  upon  in  others. 

The  imi)roved  primary  education  of  Holland  dates  from 
the  year  1784 — that  is,  from  the  foundation  of  the  celebrated 
"  Society  for  the  Public  Good."  It  was  not,  however,  till 
1806,  till  the  administration  of  the  Grand  Pensionary 
Schimmelpenninck,  that  the  law  was  passed  which  made  the 
primary  schools  of  Holland  what  Cuvier  found  them.  How 
they  prospered  under  the  direction  of  M.  Van  den  Ende,  the 
author  of  that  law,  may  be  read  at  much  length  in  M.  Cousin's 
report.  The  state  of  things,  which  he  describes,  continued 
until  1857,'',when,  as  we  have  seen,  a  series  of  debates  took 
place,  which  resulted  in  a  modification  of  the  school  law  of 
1806.  The  origin  of  these  debates  was  the  dissatisfaction 
that  was  felt  by  the  High  Tory  party  with  the  strict  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  of  1806,  which  they  had  tolerated  as  long  as 
the  education  given  was  practically  though  not  theoretically 
more  or  less  strongly  tinged  by  their  own  religious  views. 
After  1848,  however,  the  Eoman  Catholics  began  to  complain 
loudly,  and  to  say  that  the  word  *'  Christian"  in  the  school  law 
of  1806  had  been  throughout  interpreted  to  mean  "  Pro- 
testant." With  them  sided  the  advanced  Liberals,  who  held 
that  the  state  had  no  business  to  meddle  with  the  religious 
instruction  of' the  people.  A  long  and  careful  analysis  of 
these  debates  was  published  at  Ghent,  in  1858,  in  French,  by 


THE    LAW    OF    1857.  323 

M.  i^mile  de  Laveleye.  Mr.  Arnold  has  recorded  the  strongly- 
favourable  impression  made  upon  his  mind  by  reading  them, 
and  we  agree  with  every  word  of  the  following  passage, 
which  we  quote  from  M.  de  Laveleye : — 

"  Quand  on  etudie  ces  debats  des  Cliambres  Hollandaises  dont  nous 
avons  essaye  de  donner  une  idee,  on  ne  pent  se  defendre  d'un  sentiment 
d'adniiration  pour  ce  bon  sens  pratique,  pour  cet  instinct  de  hberte  uni 
au  sentiment  du  droit,  qui  ont  fait  la  gloire  de  ce  peuple  dans  le  passe 
et  qui  le  rendent  de  nos  jours,  si  digne  de  Fatten tion  et  de  la  sym- 
patbie  de  I'etranger.  Ce  qui  distingue  la  discussion,  c'est  d'abord  une 
urbanite  extreme,  une  deference  reciproque  des  orateurs  les  uns  pour 
les  autres,  un  ton  de  courtoisie  qui  vient,  non  de  I'affectation  d'une 
etiquette  ofl&cielle,  mais  du  respect  que  cbacun  ressent  pour  la  dignite 
dont  ses  collegues  sont  revetus.  Au  plus  fort  de  la  lutte,  aucune  parole 
acerbe  n'est  prononcee,  nulle  allusion  mechante  n'est  hasardee.  Cbacun, 
en  parlant,  semble  obeir  a  sa  conscience  et  il  admet  volontiers  que  ses 
adversaires  en  exprimant  des  convictions  opposes,  cbercbent  egalement 
le  bien  de  la  patrie.  Quant  au  fond  meme  du  debat,  ce  qui  le  caracter- 
ise  c'est  un  sentiment  rehgieux  tres  sincere,  tres  profond,  mais  tres 
eclaire,  une  certaine  nuance  theologique,  mais  en  general  nulle  bigoterie 
hypocrite  ou  persecutrice. 

Tons  les  orateurs,  sans  exception,  semblent  penetres  de  I'importance 
des  questions  religieuses  et  de  la  necessite  de  donner  pour  mobile  au 
progres  de  civilisation  la  morale  et  la  religion.  Mais  sauf  un  tres  petit 
nombre  de  protestants  et  de  catbohques  exageres,  tons  aussi  manifestent 
une  repugnance  sans  homes  pour  les  envahissements  d'une  dogmatique 
etroite  et  intolerante.  Ce  qu'ils  appellent  I'esprit  de  secte  leur  cause 
un  effroi  qu'ils  ne  cbercbe  pas  a  cacher." 

The  party  which  was  really  triumphant  was  that  of  the 
advanced  Liberals,  but  all  the  many  sections  of  the  Dutch 
Church,  except  that  which  is  identified  with  M.  Groen  van 
Prinsterer,  were  consenting  parties  to  the  new  order  of  things. 

Since  1857  the  Dutch  primary  schools  are,  in  so  far  as 
they  are  supported  by  the  government,  entirely  unsectarian,  but 
the  school  buildings  are  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  pastors  of 
the  different  denominations  for  the  purpose  of  instructing 


324  HOLLAND. 

those  members  of  their  flocks  whose  parents  desire  them  to 
have  this  advantage. 

The  partisans  of  M.  Groen  have  naturally  done  what  they 
could  to  promote  the  establishment  of  primary  schools,  more 
in  accordance  with  their  own  ideas  of  what  is  right.  They 
have  not  succeeded  generally,  and  they  will  not  succeed, 
for  their  views  are  not  those  of  the  enlightened  classes  in 
Holland.  That  country  has  distinctly  cast  in  its  lot  with  the 
ideas  of  the  new  time.  Others  may  go  to  it,  but  it  will  not 
return  to  them. 

■  "  La  Hollande  qui  a  devance  les  aiitres  peuples  de  rEurope  sous 
tant  d'autres  rapports,  est  aussi  la  premiere  nation  de  I'ancien  monde, 
qui  applique  jusque  sur  le  terrain  de  I'enseignment  primaire,  la  separa- 
tion de  Teghse  et  de  I'etat." 

Tlie  principles  of  the  governmental  schools  were  formu- 
lised  by  the  Home  Minister  of  the  day,  in  the  debates  of 
1857  :— 

1.  The  culture  of  the  Social  and  Christian  virtues. 

2.  No  dogmatic  teaching  given  by  the  master  of  the  school. 

3.  Eespect  for  all  beliefs,  and  a  spirit  of  tolerance  and 
charity. 

The  excitement  of  the  dispute  of  1857  has  not  yet  quite 
died  away,  and  the  Groenist  party  is  apt  to  claim  exclusively 
for  its  own  schools  the  title  of  Christian  ;  but  this  is  obviously 
one  of  the  usual  exaggerations  which  flow  from  the  odmm 
theologmom.  It  would  be  fairer  to  say,  that  while  the  Groenist 
schools  are  founded  on  those  principles  on  which  all  the 
Protestant  confessions  are  agreed,  the  governmental  schools 
are  founded  upon  that  portion  of  Christianity  which  has  in- 
terpenetrated and  leavened  our  modern  civilisation — that 
Christianity  which,  as  M.  Thorbecke  observed  in  the  debates 


THE  LAW  OF   1857.  325 

to  wliich  we  have  alluded,  is  above  tlie  different  cLiirches,  as 
humanity  is  above  the  different  peoples  which  it  comprehends 
«— that  Christianity  which  is  the  sum  itself  of  which  the  dif- 
ferent Christian  confessions  are  only  the  divergent  rays.  It 
would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  absolute  unanimity  pre- 
vails amongst  the  supporters  of  the  governmental  schools  as  to 
the  interpretation  to  be  put  on  the  law  of  1857.  Some  years 
ago  a  rather  serious  difference  of  opinion  manifested  itself, 
which  has  for  its  exponent  no  less  a  personage  than  Professor 
Hofstede  de  Groot,  who  thinks  that  the  exclusion  of  the  reli- 
gious element  has  been  more  absolute  in  practice  than  the  law 
intended.  Into  this  question  our  space  forbids  us  to  enter,  but 
it  is  obvious  that  in  the  working  of  an  education  law  much  de- 
pends on  the  character  of  the  master.  A  man  who  is  at  once 
able  and  religious  will  give  a  religious  tone  to  a  school  where 
no  dogma  is  ever  alluded  to,  while  a  man  of  a  different  turn  of 
mind  will  fail  to  do  so  although  he  is  allowed  the  fullest 
liberty  in  expanding  his  doctrinal  views. 

The  law  of  1857  applied  only  to  primary  education,  and 
was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  development  of  an  existing,  not 
the  construction  of  a  new  system.  It  was  otherwise  with  the 
law  which  regulated  secondary  education.  Cuvier  and 
Cousin  both  reported  unfavourably  of  Dutch  secondary  edu- 
cation ;  but  in  a  country  so  enlightened  as  Holland  now  is, 
it  could  not  escape  notice  that  in  this  latter  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  a  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  the  universe  is 
becoming  every  day  a  more  important  element  of  national 
strength.  The  lowest  class  is  debarred  by  its  poverty  from 
giving  the  time  necessary  to  obtain  any  real  scientific  know- 
ledge, and  the  highest  class  may,  if  it  pleases,  repose  in  bliss- 
ful ignorance,  or,  as  in  England,  learn  cricket  while  pretending 


326  HOLLAND. 

to  learn  the  art  of  writing  Latin  verses.  But  for  the  middle 
class  this  will  not  any  longer  answer.  The  Dutch  govern- 
ment and  the  Dutch  people  came  to  a  clear  understanding  on 
this  head  some  time  ago,  and  so  in  1863  a  law  was  passed 
creating  an  admirable  system  of  secondary  education  through- 
out the  country.  We  doubt  not  that  full  details,  with  regard 
to  it,  will  appear  in  the  forthcoming  report  of  our  own  com- 
missioners for  middle-class  education,  who  have,  we  know, 
applied  for  information  to  a  person  well  capable  of  giving  it. 
The  best,  however,  to  which  we  in  England  can  look  for- 
ward is  some  wretched  compromise  between  mediaeval  and 
modern  views. 

In  the  Netherlands  the  state  could  not,  unhappily,  fall 
back  upon  endowments,  like  those  which  in  England  were  the 
glory  of  the  generation  that  founded  them,  and  are  now  the 
shame  of  an  age  that  seems  unable  to  use  them.  It  did,  how- 
ever, all  that  was  wanted,  and  created  four  classes  of  schools. 

The  first,  a  school  with  a  two  years'  course  for  those  who 
were  to  live  by  some  handicraft  trade,  or  by  agriculture, 
taking  up  their  education  at  the  point  where  the  primary 
school  stops. 

The  second,  a  school  for  boys  who  desire  a  good  but  not 
a  learned  education.     In  this  class  are  two  divisions  : — 

a.  The  school  with  a  three  years'  course. 

h.  The  school  with  a  five  years'  course. 

The  third,  or  polytechnic  school,  which  is  intended  for 
those  who  mean  to  devote  themselves  to  the  higher  walks  of 
manufactures — engineering,  architecture,  and  the  like. 

The  fourth,  or  agricultural  school,  intended  for  those  who 
desire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  that  science,  which,  since  the 
decline  of  Dutch  commerce  in  the  last  centurv,  has  made 


THE    LAW    OF    1863.  327 

immense  progress  in  Holland,  and  is,  now  that  Dutch  com- 
merce is  reviving  under  the  happy  influence  of  free  trade, 
advancing  alongside  of  it  to  new  victories  in  the  wide 
heaths  which  occupy  so  much  of  the  soil  of  the  Netherlands, 
and  contrast  so  painfully  with  the  riches  of  those  districts 
of  the  country  with  which  travellers  are  most  familiar. 

All  these  various  schools  are  strictly  superintended  by  the 
government,  and — enthusiastically  supported  by  an  intelligent 
people — are  working  admirably.  We  need  hardly  add  that 
the  whole  system  found  bitter  opponents  in  the  same  section 
which  is  opposed  to  religious  and  to  political  progress,  nor 
need  we  mention  that  no  attempt  is  made  to  discourage 
private  efforts  for  the  establishment  of  other  secondary 
schools  on  other  principles.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  such 
exist,  though  few  of  them,  we  believe,  have  much  merit.  It 
is  only  just  to  say  that  the  staunchest  and  most  celebrated 
Conservatives  in  the  Netherlands  speak,  as  we  know  from 
personal  experience,  with  good-natured  pity  of  the  antique 
and  barbarous  system  wliich  still  disgraces  our  most  famous 
schools. 

The  universities  are  now  in  a  much  more  flourishing 
state  than  they  were,  either  at  the  period  of  M.  Cuvier's  or 
M.  Cousin's  visits.  Two  old  seats  of  learning — Franeker  and 
Harderwyk — were  abolished  in  consequence  of  M.  Cuvier's 
report,  and  the  higher  education  was  concentrated  in  Leyden, 
Utrecht,  and  Groningen,  aided  by  two  establisliments  called 
Athenseums — and  which  are  really  universities  on  a  small 
scale,  without  the  power  of  conferring  degrees — at  Amsterdam 
and  Deventer.  Ley  den,  Groningen,  and  Utrecht  each  boasts  a 
Protestant  faculty  of  theology,  and  each,  as  we  have  seen,  differs 
entirely  in  its  theological  colour  from  the  two  others.     Peerl- 


328  HOLLAND. 

kamp,  whose  name  is  so  well  known  in  connection  with  Horace, 
has  retired  ;  but  Professor  Cobet  is  still  engaged  in  teaching, 
and  worthily  maintains  the  honour  of  that  kind  of  scholarship 
for  which  England  was  famous  in  the  days  of  Elmsley  and 
Porson.  Professor  Dozy  *  of  Leyden  is  one  of  the  best  living 
Arabic  scholars,  and  one  of  the  persons  best  entitled  to  com- 
plain of  the  niggardliness  wdth  which  the  University  of 
Oxford  refuses  to  allow  her  manuscript  treasures  to  be  con- 
sulted anywhere,  except  within  her  own  precincts.  Utrecht 
has  two  medical  professors  of  considerable  note.  The  most 
learned  historian  in  the  Netherlands,  who  is  lately  dead — M. 
Bakhuyzen  van  den  Brink — was  keeper  of  the  archives  at  the 
Hague,  and  never  occupied  a  position  at  the  universities ; 
but  Professor  Fruin  of  Levden  ranked  next  to  him :  and  the 
chairs  of  law  and  political  economy  are  in  general  respectably 
filled.  Professor  Goudsmid  of  Leyden  is  one  of  the  very 
first  authorities  of  the  day  upon  Eoman  law,  and  excites 
among  his  pupils  enthusiasm  for  that  study.f  The  use  of 
Latin  has  been  of  late  years  in  great  measure  discontinued  ; 
but  the  tourist  may  still  be  struck  with  the  gracefully-turned 
phrases  of  the  programmes  of  study  which  he  will  see  fixed 
iipon  the  gates  of  the  university  buildings,  and  may  smile  when 
he  observes  the  notice  "  Cubicula  Locanda  "  at  intervals  along 

*  His  Israelites  at  Mecca  has  lately  created  a  great  sensation  amongst  Orien- 
talists and  biblical  scholars. 

t  An  English  barrister,  lately  called  to  high  judicial  office  in  India,  who, 
believing  that  the  present  system,  or  rather  no-system,  of  the  Inns  of  Court, 
with  regard  to  legal  education,  is  producing  very  disastrous  effects,  has  given 
great  attention  to  the  courses  of  law  study  enforced  by  foreign  governments, 
lately  visited  Holland ;  and  we  extract  the  following  facts  from  the  notes 
which  he  has  kindly  placed  at  our  disposal  : — 

"  The  course  of  instruction  is  fixed  by  law,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  subjects  of 
the  lectures  and  examinations.  In  other  respects  the  professors  are  entirely 
uncontrolled. 


THE   DUTCH    UNIVERSITIES.  329 

the  streets.  Esquiros  mentions  that  he  somewhere  saw  a 
fencing-master  described  as  "  qui  elegantem  gladii  artem 
docet."  Most  of  the  professors  still  write  Latin  with  great 
facility,  and  there  are  few,  perhaps,  who  have  not  composed 
something  in  that  language.  An  eminent  professor  of  juris- 
prudence, travelling  some  years  ago  in  England,  and  wishing 
to  hear  the  debates  in  the  House  of  Commons,  found  it  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world  to  write  a  Latin  letter  to  the 
Speaker,  who  immediately  sent  him,  with  his  usual  courtesy, 
some  orders  for  his  gallery. 

The  ridiculous  brawls,   dignified  by  the  name  of  duels, 

"  No  person  can  hold  any  judicial  appointment,  or  practise  as  a  barrister, 
unless  lie  has  obtained  the  degree  of  doctor  of  law  at  one  of  the  universities. 

"  Any  person  who  can  pass  the  examinations,  and  perform  the  necessary 
exercises,  can  claim  a  degree  from  a  university. 

"  Before  commencing  the  law  course  the  student  must  pass  an  examination 
in  Latin,  Greek,  Koman  Antiquities,  and  Dutch  and  Universal  History. 

"  The  course  of  law  lectures  occupies /oz^r  years,  but  the  whole  course  with 
the  examinations  generally  covers  five. 

"  These  examinations  are  two  in  number — 1.  Pro  gradu  caindidati;  2.  Pro 
gradu  doctoris.     The  subjects  of  examination  for  the  second  are — 
I.  Jus  Civile  Hodiernum. 
II.  Jus  Criminale, 

III.  Explication  of  a  text  of  the  Pandects. 

IV.  Explication  of  a  text  of  the  Jus  Civile  Hodiernum,  or  the  Jus  Criminale. 
"  Before  obtaining  the  degree  of  doctor,  the  student  must  also  write  and 

Xiublish  either  a  Dissertatio  Juridica  Inauguralis  upon  some  thesis,  or  defend 
(privately)  some  thirty  or  forty  loci  disputahiles. 

"  If  the  student  has  not  passed  three  years  at  a  university  when  he  applies 
for  the  degree  of  doctor,  he  must  both  write  the  dissertation,  and  defend  the 
loci  disputabiles  in  public." 

It  is  strange  that  a  course  like  this  should  be  necessary  on  one  side  of  the 
German  Ocean,  when  we  find  that  on  the  other  a  man  is  enabled  to  discharge 
precisely  the  same  functions,  by  eating  a  certain  number  of  dinners,  and  at- 
tending two  courses  of  lectures,  or  paying  £100  to  a  ban'ister,  in  whose  cham- 
bers he  is  supposed  to  pass  a  year  ;  and  this  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  all  our 
best  jurists,  of  the  report  of  a  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  of  a  Koyal  Commission. 


330  HOLLAND. 

which  are  happily  not  so  common  now  as  they  once  were  in 
the  German  universities,  are  unknown  among  the  Dutch 
students ;  and  the  style  of  living,  at  least  amongst  the 
wealthier  of  them,  recalls  Oxford  rather  than  Heidelberg. 

It  would,  indeed,  be  a  dark  day  for  Holland  if  the  light  of 
these  great  institutions  were  ever  to  be  put  out ;  but  the 
whole  tendency  of  the  times  is  in  an  opposite  direction. 
The  organisation  of  secondary  education  mainly  on  a  scientific 
basis,  so  far  from  being  in  any  way  hostile  to  them,  will  have 
quite  an  opposite  effect ;  for  if  that  reorganisation  is  really  to 
prove  a  success,  the  universities  will  constantly  be  called  upon 
for  a  supply  of  men,  thoroughly  grounded  in  theory,  to  keep 
the  secondary  education  up  to  the  requirements  of  the  day, 
while  the  highest  walks  of  professional  or  public  life  will 
always  require  university  training. 

To  some  Englishmen  the  colonial  empire  of  Holland  is 
much  more  familiar  than  Holland  itself,  but  to  many  others  it 
is  so  little  known  that  perhaps  not  a  few  very  intelligent 
readers  will  need  to  be  reminded  that  Holland  is,  next  to 
England,  absolutely  the  greatest  colonial  power  in  the  world, 
and  that,  relatively  to  the  size  of  the  mother-countiy,  her 
colonies  are  as  extensive  as  our  own.  So  important  are  her 
colonial  relations,  so  much  does  the  East  Indian  group  of 
her  dependencies,  and  more  particularly  Java,  influence  the 
whole  of  the  politics  and  life  of  Holland,  that  at  any  time  but 
the  present  we  should  have  attemped — looking  alternately 
through  the  English  spectacles  of  Crawford  or  Eaffles,  and  the 
Dutch  spectacles  of  Temminck  and  Money — to  say  something 
of  those  wide  dominions  whose  centre  is  Batavia.  This  would 
however,  be  a  peculiarly  unfortunate  moment  for  doing  so, 
because,  under  the  auspices  of  M.  Franssen  van  de  Putte,  the 


COLONIAL    REFORMS.  331 

present  very  able  Colonial  Minister,  the  whole  question  of  the 
management  of  Java  has  been  opened  up,  and  is,  while  we 
write,  under  discussion.  The  proposal  of  the  government  is 
strongly  opposed  by  the  Conservative  party,  who  are  all  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  old  state  of  things,  with  its  forced  labour, 
exclusiveness,  oppression  of  the  natives,  and  large  yearly  surplus. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  more  advanced  Liberals  do  not  think 
that  the  government  measure  goes  far  enough  in  its  conces- 
sions to  modern  views.  AVliatever  may  be  the  fate  of  the  project 
now  before  the  House — which  to  a  great  extent  depends, 
not  upon  its  own  merits,  but  on  the  line  which  may  be  taken 
by  the  Eoman  Catholic  deputies,  who,  as  in  Ireland,  are  dis- 
satisfied with  mixed  education — it  is  quite  certain  that  the 
tendency  of  opinion  in  Holland  is  towards  a  wiser  and  juster 
colonial  policy.  Much  has  been  done,  but  much  remains  to 
do  ;  and  we  trust  and  believe  that  when  all  that  is  desired  by 
the  best  colonial  reformers  has  been  carried  out,  it  will  have 
added  to  the  material  prosperity  as  well  as  to  the  fame  of  a 
country,  upon  whose  scutcheon  a  certain  narrowness  in  dealing 
with  her  possessions  beyond  the  sea,  is  the  one  remaining  blot, 
and  which  in  so  many  other  respects  deserves  to  be  revered 
and  imitated  by  more  powerful  and  fortunate  lands. 


CHAPTEK  VII. 

BELGIUM. 

Events,  in  these  our  times,  crowd  so  rapidly  upon  each  other, 
that  we  are  already  far  away  from  that  week  of  the  early 
winter,  when  nearly  all  the  newspapers  in  England  were  dis- 
cussing, with  many  prophecies  of  coming  ill,  the  life  and 
character  of  the  aged  monarch  who  had  just  breathed  his  last 
at  Laeken.  We  trust,  however,  that  it  is  not  even  yet  too 
late  to  ask  some  few  readers  to  accompany  us,  while  we  retrace 
the  events  of  his  reign,  inquire  in  what  state  he  left  his  adopted 
country,  and  estimate  the  chances  of  that  country  m  the  im- 
mediate future. 

The  diplomatists  of  Vienna  showed,  in  the  arrangements 
which  they  made  for  the  advantage  of  Holland,  the  same  want 
of  foresight  for  which  they  have  been  justly  reproached  in  so 
many  other  instances.  That  they  should  have  failed  to  ap- 
preciate the  importance  of  the  desire  for  national  life  which  was 
beginning  to  be  felt  in  so  many  small  European  communities, 
was  not,  perhaps,  extraordinary ;  but  it  was  extraordinary  that 
in  dealing  with  a  country  which  had,  like  the  Netherlands, 
been  the  scene  of  such  fierce  religious  struggles,  they  should 
have  overlooked  the  strength  of  the  religious  antipathy  of 
Catliolic  and  Protestant.  Overlook  it,  however,  they  did ;  and 
thinking  only  of  the  importance  of  erecting  a  barrier  against 
French  ambition,  they  gave  the  provinces,  which  we  now  know 
as  Belgium,  "  comme  un  accroissement  de  territoire,"  to  that 


DISAFFECTION.  333 

very  Holland  which  had  but  a  few  years  before  been  annexed 
to  France,  on  the  plea  that  it  had  been  formed  by  the  "  allu- 
vium of  French  rivers."     This  ill-assorted  marriage  lasted 
little  more  than  fifteen  years.     Great  benefits  ^vere,  during  its 
continuance,  conferred  upon  the  lower  classes  in  Belgium ; 
for  the  wide  colonial  possessions  of  Holland  offered  to  them  a 
noble  market  for  their  industry.     This  was  the  reason  why 
the  lower  classes  v/ere  the  last  to  join  in  the  revolt ;  and  if 
they  had  not  been  so  much  under  aristocratical  and  priestly 
influence,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  they  would  have 
joined  in  it  at  all.     While,  however,  the  Dutch  merchants  felt 
towards  the  Belgians,  who  had  been  admitted  to  share  the 
advantages  of  their  long-established  commercial  prosperity, 
pretty  much  as  the  English  felt  tow^ards  the  Scotch  in  the 
days  of  Darien,  the  middle  and  higher  ranks  in  Belgium 
were  thoroughly  hostile  to  Dutch  ascendancy.     First,  there 
was  a  religious  grievance  ;  for  the  clergy  distrusted  a  Pro- 
testant king,  and  abhorred  a  constitution  which  treated  all 
religions  alike.     Then  Belgium  returned  only  one  member  to 
the  States-General  for  every  61,000  of  its  inhabitants  ;  while 
Holland  returned  one  member  for  every  37,000.     Not  less 
irritating  was  the  preponderance  which  was  given  to  the 
Dutch  language  in  the  transaction  of  business,  and  the  un- 
lucky arrangements  which  had  been  adopted  for  raising  and 
distributing  the  taxes.     To  these  great  causes  were  added 
many  smaller  ones  ;  such  as  annoyance  at  the  abolition  of 
the  jury,  political  prosecutions,  the  greater  favour  accorded  in 
the  army  to  Dutch  officers,  the  transference  of  the  supreme 
court  to  the  Hague,  and  the  suspicions  which  the  king  brought 
upon  himseK  by  his  habit  of  stock-jobbing. 

These  and  other  grievances,  which  had  been  long  fer- 


334  BELGIUM. 

meriting  in  the  public  mind,  led  in  1828  to  the  formation  of 
a  party  which  took  the  name  of  "  The  Union,"  the  character 
of  which  was  at  first  rather  reforming  than  revolutionary, 
but  which  paved  the  way  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Dutch 
government. 

Eeform  would,  perhaps,  have  been  longer  in  passing  into 
revolution  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  three  days  in  Paris,  and 
the  fall  of  the  elder  Bourbons.  These  events  excited  the 
passions  of  the  people  of  Brussels.  In  August  1830  disturb- 
ances began ;  and  in  Sej)tember  they  had  their  "  four  glorious 
days."  The  Dutch  troops  retreated  after  some  hard  fighting, 
and  an  extempore  Provisional  Government  had  to  decide  on 
the  future  of  the  land. 

Then  ensued  a  period  of  anxious  negotiation,  of  intrigues 
and  counter-intrigues  ;  but  the  upshot  of  all  was,  that  on  the 
7th  of  February  1831,  the  Provisional  Government  retired 
from  office,  and  M.  Surlet  de  Chokier — a  man  of  advanced 
years  and  high  personal  character — assumed  the  conduct  of 
affairs  as  regent.  M.  Hymans  truly  says,  speaking  of  the 
Provisional  Government : — 

"  Lorsque,  le  26  Septembre,  ils  ouvrirent  leiir  premiere  seance  a 
I'hotel  de  ville,  an  bruit  dii  tocsin  et  de  la  fusillade,  ils  avaient  pour 
tout  mobilier  une  table  de  bois  blanc,  prise  dans  un  corps  de  garde,  et 
deux  bouteilles  vides,  surmontees  chacune  d'une  cliandelle.  Leurs 
seules  ressources  consistaient  dans  la  somme  de  fr.  21  "9  6,  que  renfer- 
mait  la  caisse  communale.  Lorsqu'ils  se  retirerent,  le  24  Fevrier,  la 
dissolution  du  royaume  des  Pays-Bas  etait  proclaniee  par  la  Conference 
de  Londres,  et  la  Belgique,  a  la  veille  d'etre  reconnue  par  les  monarques 
de  la  sainte-alliance,  avait  une  armee,  ime  adminstration,  un  tresor,  un 
pouvoir  r^gulier,  une  assemblee  constituante,  et  la  charte  la  plus 
libdrale  de  I'Europe." 

In  doing  this  great  work  they  were  assisted  by  a  congress 
consisting  of  200  members,  which,  in  little  more  than  two 


THE    REVOLUTIONARY   AVAR.  335 

months,  elaborated  a  constitution  containing,  amongst  other 
well-known  and  excellent  provisions,  one  which  had  not 
liitherto  made  its  way  into  legislation — the  complete  separa- 
tion of  the  church  and  state.  A  hundred  and  eleven  mem- 
bers, as  against  fifty-nine,  voted  for  this — a  fact  which  shows, 
if  we  remember  the  intolerant  spirit  which  was  manifested  in 
the  appeal  of  the  Belgian  bishops  to  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
against  a  Protestant  king,  that  the  principles  of  Lamennais 
had  made  no  inconsiderable  progress  among  the  Belgian 
Catholics. 

To  detail  the  events  of  the  next  few  months  would  be  un- 
necessarily to  inflict  upon  our  readers  the  history  of  one  of 
the  most  complicated  negotiations,  and  one  of  the  least  in- 
teresting wars,  which  have  taken  place  in  modern  times.  They 
shall  hear  nothing  of  the  London  Conference  and  its  many 
protocols.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  on  the  21st  of  July  1831, 
Leopold,  sixth  son  of  Francis  of  Saxe-Coburg,  became  first 
king  of  the  Belgians  ;  that  the  king  of  Holland  showed  alike 
in  diplomacy  and  in  war  all  the  characteristic  obstinacy  of  his 
race,  even  threatening  at  one  time  to  follow  the  example  of 
Van  Speyk,  the  young  officer  who  blew  up  his  gunboat 
rather  than  let  it  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ;  that  the 
arms  of  Leopold,  at  first  unsuccessful,  were  strengthened  by 
French,  to  say  nothing  of  English  aid ;  and  that  the  French 
evacuated  the  soil  of  Belgium  in  the  month  of  January  1833, 
after  having  crushed  Chasse  at  Antwerp  just  before  the  end 
of  1832. 

Of  all  the  changes  and  chances  of  the  time  none  was  more 
auspicious  for  Belgium  than  that  which  transferred  the  Seals 
of  the  Foreign  Ofiice  from  Lord  Aberdeen  to  Lord  Palmerston. 

"  Qu'il  me  soit  permis  '*  (says  General  Goblet,  an  active  negotiator 


336  BELGIUM. 

in  those  days,  in  his  Memoirs^  quoted  by  M.  Hymans)  "  de  rendre  hom- 
mage  k  ce  ministre  illustre.  La  Belgique  a  toujours  trouve  en  lui  le 
defenseur  le  plus  devoue  ;  et  si  la  reconnaissance  doit  egaler  les  ser- 
vices rendus,  la  notre  doit  etre  sans  homes  envers  rhomme  qui,  a  juste 
titre,  regarde  le  nouveau  royaume  comme  I'une  de  ses  creations." 

Testimonies  of  this  kind  to  the  real  worth  of  Lord  Pal- 
merston  may  be  consolatory  to  some  of  those  who  followed 
him  through  the  last  two  parliaments,  and  had  often  to  ask 
themselves  whether  one,  known  personally  to  younger  poli- 
ticians, chiefly  as  a  dexterous  manager  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, was  indeed  the  great  man  they  would  fain  have  believed 
him  to  be. 

Long  before  the  conclusion  of  the  war  with  Holland,  the 
political  life  of  the  new  nation  was  developing  itself  in  a 
steady  and  regular  manner.  The  congress  was  dissolved  in 
July  1831,  immediately  after  the  inauguration  of  the  king, 
and  in  September  a  House  of  Eepresentatives  consisting  of 
102,  and  a  Senate  consisting  of  51  members,  were  already 
assembled. 

Questions  relating  to  the  army  and  to  foreign  affairs  were 
those  which  excited  most  attention  in  the  first  two  sessions, 
but  as  early  as  1831  the  adverse  parties  of  Liberals  and 
Clericals  were  in  presence  of  each  other,  and  the  breach  be- 
tween them  was  widened  by  the  Encyclical  Letter  of  Gregory 
XVI.  in  August  1832,  which  was  directed  against  the  consti- 
tutional liberties  of  Belgium. 

Useful  measures  were  not,  however,  neglected  amidst  the 
strife  of  parties,  and  before  the  settlement  with  Holland  in 
1839  had  definitively  fixed  the  boundaries  of  the  new  king- 
dom, the  army  had  been  remodelled,  the  tribunals  had  been 
regulated,  the  great  railway  from  Antwerp  to  the  Prussian 
frontier  had  been  decreed  and  partially  completed,  the  pro- 


SETTLEMENT  WITH  HOLLAND.  337 

vincial  and  communal  institutions  of  the  country  had  been 
settled.  A  Catholic  university  had  been  founded  at  Malines 
and  transferred  to  Louvain.  A  Liberal  university  had  been 
founded  at  Brussels,  while  the  two  state  universities  of  Liege 
and  Ghent,  together  with  the  system  of  examination  for  de- 
grees, had  been  reorganised.  Most  of  these  matters  gave 
occasion  to  sharp  debates,  more  especially  the  law  of  the 
communes,  which  occupied  more  than  100  sittings  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives. 

The  final  arrangements  with  Holland,  which  put  an  end 
to  all  danger  from  without,  at  the  expense  of  the  sacrifice  of 
a  population  of  380,000  in  Luxemburg-Limburg,  who  passed 
once  more  under  Dutch  rule,  had  naturally  the  effect  of 
turning  the  attention  of  Belgian  politicians  to  those  internal 
questions,  upon  which  they  were  divided  in  opinion.  The 
society  called  the  "  Union,"  which  paved,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  way  for  the  revolution,  was  composed  indifferently  of 
Catholics  and  Liberals,  who  were  welded  as  closely  together 
by  hatred  of  the  House  of  Nassau,  as  our  churchmen  and 
dissenters  were  in  1688.  The  elections  to  the  Congress  were 
likewise  made  without  any  reference  to  the  religious  opinions 
of  the  deputies.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  first  cabinets 
of  the  king ;  but  the  cabinet  of  1834,  at  the  head  of  which 
was  M.  de  Theux,  was  distinctly  intended  to  be  a  mixed 
cabinet,  representing,  as  equally  as  might  be,  both  the  parties 
which  divided  the  state.  When,  however,  all  fear  of  aggres- 
sion from  abroad  was  for  the  present  at  an  end,  a  very  general 
impression  grew  up  that  it  was  time  to  allow  free  play  to 
party  views,  and  that  Belgium  would,  like  other  constitutional 
states,  find  it  most  to  her  advantage  to  be  ruled  by  each  of 
her  parties  in  turn,  as  each  from  time  to  time  secured  a 

z 


338  BELGIUM. 

majority  in  the  electoral  body.  Effective  expression  was 
given  to  these  views  in  an  article  by  M.  Devaux,  which 
appeared  about  this  time  in  the  Bemie  Nationale,  and  is 
generally  spoken  of  as  marking  a  turning-point  in  Belgian 
politics.  Strangely  enough,  it  was  this  same  M.  Devaux  who 
first  submitted  the  name  of  Leopold  to  the  Congress.  The 
Liberals  made  the  first  move,  and  overthrew  the  government 
of  M»  de  Theux  in  1840,  substituting  for  it  a  cabinet  whose 
leader  was  M.  Eogier.  Their  adversaries  soon  returned  the 
blow  by  prevailing  upon  the  Senate  to  adopt,  in  1841,  an 
address  to  the  Crown  of  more  than  doubtful  legality,  depre- 
cating the  system  of  government  by  party,  and  asking  for  a 
mixed  cabinet.  The  king  hesitated  for  three  weeks,  then 
yielded,  and  dismissed  M.  Eogier  and  his  colleagues. 

The  head  of  the  new  government  was  M.  Nothomb,  a  man 
of  liberal  inclinations,  but  so  much  afraid  of  being  considered 
to  lean  too  much  to  either  side,  as  to  be  quite  unable  to  give 
to  his  policy  any  decided  character.  The  one  important 
measure  which  marked  his  four  years'  tenure  of  power  was  the 
law  regulating  primary  education,  a  subject  upon  which  com- 
promise was  natural.  Few  ministers  have  been  more  fiercely 
attacked  from  both  sides  of  a  legislative  assembly,  and  on  one 
occasion  he  was  supported  by  no  follower  out  of  his  own 
cabinet.  His  government,  which  had  been  completely  re- 
modelled since  it  came  into  power  in  1841,  fell  immediately 
after  the  general  elections  of  1845,  which  had  shown  that  if  the 
Liberals  were  not  in  a  majority  amongst  the  electors,  they  at 
least  had  on  their  side  the  vast  preponderance  of  ability  and 
energy,  and  a  powerful  following  amongst  the  masses  of  the 
towns.  Two  acts  which  passed  under  the  regime  of  M.  No- 
thomb  were  much  criticised  at  the  time,  and  being  nicknamed 


M.  NOTHOMB — M.  VAN  DE  WEYER.         339 

the  "  reactionary  laws,"  attached  to  it  disagreeable  recollec- 
tions in  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  one  limited  to  some 
extent  the  rights  of  the  com7nune,  to  the  advantage  of  the  cen- 
tral authority  ;  the  other  broke  up  the  larger  communes  into 
electoral  sections,  with  a  view — which  turned  out  to  be  any- 
thing but  prophetic — of  causing  the  elections  to  turn,  not 
upon  great  party  questions,  but  upon  trifling  local  ones. 

The  resignation  of  the  Nothomb  ministry  in  1845  put  the 
Idng  in  a  difficult  position.  He  sent  for  M.  Eogier,  but  M. 
Rogier  could  not  undertake  the  government  without  having 
the  right  of  dissolving,  because  his  cabinet  would  otherwise 
have  merely  existed  on  sufferance.  The  king,  always  in- 
clined to  moderate  counsels,  shrank  from  dissolving  the 
Chamber  which  had  only  just  been  called  into  life,  and  sum- 
moned to  his  aid  M.  Van  de  Weyer,  whose  long  absence  from 
Belgium,  as  minister  in  England,  had  given  to  him  a  position 
outside  and  above  her  parties.  Of  the  liberalism  of  a  man  so 
wise  and  so  cultivated  as  M.  Van  de  Weyer  there  could,  of 
course,  be  not  a  shadow^  of  doubt,  but  it  was  not  precisely  of  a 
colour  to  suit  that  of  his  co-religionists  at  home.  Their 
liberalism  was  militant  and  aggressive,  his  philosophical  and 
conciliatory. 

The  ministry  of  M.  Van  de  Weyer  lasted  only  eight 
months,  and  the  king  once  more  appealed  to  M.  Rogier,  who 
explained  in  a  long  letter  the  conditions  upon  which  he  was 
willinorto  take  the  helm  of  affairs.  Two  of  these  conditions — 
that,  viz.,  M.  Rogier  should  be  at  liberty  to  dismiss  public 
functionaries  who  embarrassed  his  government,  and  should 
have  the  power  of  dissolving  the  Chambers  if  he  could  not 
govern  with  them — were  objected  to  by  the  king,  and  M.  de 
Theux  w^as  again  sent  for.    He  came  in  with  a  purely  clerical 


340  BELGIUM. 

cabinet,  and  maintained  himself  in  place  for  sixteen  months, 
passing,  in  the  meantime,  some  useful  measures.  The  Liberal 
minority  in  the  Chambers  was,  however,  enthusiastically  sup- 
ported out  of  doors,  and  the  country  grew  ever  more  and 
more  indisposed  to  the  rule  of  the  Clericals.  At  last,  the  par- 
tial elections  of  1847  having  turned  out  decidedly  unfavour- 
able, the  ministry  resigned,  and  power  passed  into  the  hands 
of  their  opponents. 

In  waging  war  against  the  ministry  of  M.  de  Theux,  the 
Liberals  had  availed  themselves  of  their  undoubted  constitu- 
tional rights,  to  hold  a  great  political  gathering  in  the  Hotel 
de  Ville  at  Brussels.  After  the  fall  of  the  July  monarchy, 
a  letter  from  Louis  Philippe  was  found  and  published  in  the 
Bevue  Betrospective,  in  which  he  expatiated  to  his  son-in-law 
on  the  danger  of  permitting  so  revolutionary  a  proceeding,  and 
assured  him  that  France  would  be  ready  to  support  him 
against  popular  agitation. 

Invida  fatorum  series,  summisque  negatum 
Stare  diu  ! 

M.  Eogier  came  into  power  on  the  12th  of  August  1847, 
and  amongst  his  colleagues  was  a  "  novus  homoJ'  M.  Frere- 
Orban,  the  new  Minister  of  Public  Works,  then  five-and- 
thirty,  had  only  just  been  elected,  for  the  first  time,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  people,  but  he  had  been  known  as  a  distin- 
guished advocate  in  his  native  town  of  Liege,  and  as  a 
member  of  the  Association  Liberale.  Born  in  very  humble 
circumstances,  he  had  married  the  daughter  of  a  rich  man, 
M.  Orban,  and  had  taken  her  name,  which  he  has  now  made 
distinguished.  Since  1847  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous figures  in  Belgian  politics.  He  is  the  ablest  of  her 
financiers,  and  the  soul  of  the  present  cabinet.    Clear,  ardent. 


M.   FRi:RE-ORBAN.  341 

and  incisive,  his  speaking  is  of  a  very  high  order,  and  the 
Clerical  party  fears  no  one  so  much,  although  some  of  the  best 
of  the  younger  Liberals  sometimes  find  fault  with  him  for  not 
moving  fast  enough.  The  publication  of  his  principal  work, 
"  La  Main-morte!'  formed  an  important  episode  in  the  struggle 
which  culminated  in  the  year  1857,  and  of  which  we  shall 
hereafter  have  to  speak. 

The  new  ministers  immediately  put  forth  a  programme  of 
policy.     Their  whole  system  rested  upon  two  principles  : — 

1.  The  state  is  a  lay  institution,  absolutely  independent 
of  clerical  influence. 

2.  All  religions  should  be  respected,  and  their  ministers 
protected,  as  long  as  they  keep  within  the  circle  of  their 
duties. 

They  announced  further  that  they  were  all  agreed  on  the 
expediency  of — 

1.  Reforming  the  body  by  which  university  degrees  were 
conferred. 

2.  Abolishing  the  law  by  which  the  coinmunes  were  broken 
up  for  electoral  purposes. 

3.  Eestricting  the  appointment  of  burgomasters  by  the 
central  authority,  to  those  cases  in  which  such  a  method  of 
appointment  was  recommended  by  the  permanent  committee 
of  the  provincial  councils. 

4.  Adding  "  ca'padUs"  to  the  electoral  lists  (a  sort  of 
fancy  franchise). 

The  session  was  in  full  course.  The  new  cabinet  was 
busily  engaged  in  working  out  its  programme,  when  suddenly, 
while  all  the  society  of  Brussels  was  gathered,  as  thirty-three 
years  before,  at  a  ball,  news  arrived  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
February  revolution  in  Paris. 


342  BELGIUM. 

The  first  emotion  was  one  of  fear,  but  it  was  a  wise  and 
salutary  fear,  wliicli  M.  Eogier  and  his  colleagues  translated 
in  a  few  weeks  into  a  number  of  wise  and  popular  measures, 
some  of  which  they  had  not  ventured  to  put  into  their  pro- 
gramme, and  some  of  which  they  had  not  even  wished  to  put 
into  it.  In  the  first  days  of  March  the  two  "reactionary 
laws"  of  1843  were  swept  away.  On  the  12th  the  franchise 
was  lowered  as  far  as  the  constitution  permitted,  and  much 
further  than  the  Liberal  gathering  in  Brussels,  which  so  much 
alarmed  Louis  Philippe,  had  proposed.  On  the  8th  of  May 
a  national  guard  was  created ;  on  the  25th  the  newspaper 
stamp  was  abolished,  and  on  the  26th  officials,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  ministers,  were  forbidden  to  sit  in  the  Chambers. 

On  the  27th  of  May  Parliament  was  dissolved,  and  the 
Liberals  had  in  the  elections  for  the  House  of  Eepresentatives 
a  majority  of  62,  the  numbers  being  85  to  23.  The  new 
Parliament  met  on  the  26th  of  June,  the  very  day  on  which 
the  archbishop  of  Paris  was  killed.  The  good  sense  of  the 
king,  the  wise  foresight  of  the  Liberal  ministers,  and  the 
prudent  reserve  of  the  Clerical  party,  had  enabled  Belgium 
to  pass  unscathed  through  a  most  dangerous  crisis. 

One  deputy  alone  had  raised  his  voice  in  favour  of  a 
republic  : — "  The  principles  of  the  French  Eevolution,"  said 
M.  Castiau,  "  are  destined  to  make  the  tour  of  the  world." 

M.  Delfosse  spoke  the  sentiments  of  the  immense  majority 
of  his  countrymen  when  he  said  in  reply : — "  In  order  to 
make  the  tour  of  the  world  the  ideas  of  the  French  Eevolu- 
tion need  not  take  us  on  their  way.  We  have  already  in 
Belgium  the  great  principles  of  liberty  and  equality.  They 
are  inscribed  in  our  constitution,  as  they  are  engraved  upon 
our  hearts." 


18^8  IN  BELGIUM.  343 

This  was  iu  the  spring,  but  the  festival  of  September,  on 
occasion  of  the  eighteenth  anniversary  of  the  Four  Days  of 
1830,  with  its  shouts  of  "  Vive  le  Boi"  showed  that  after  all  that 
anxious  summer,  the  masses  were  still  monarchical,  as  indeed 
they  had  good  reason  to  be.  King  and  people  had  shown 
themselves  worthy  of  each  other,  and  we  recommend  the  study 
of  these  six  months  of  Belgian  history  to  those  journalists  who 
are  so  very  much  afraid  that  Belgian  parties  will  fight  with 
such  Corcyrean  animosity  as  to  require  the  intervention  of 
France. 

All  through  the  session  of  1848-49,  the  liberal  reforms 
went  on.  The  duty  on  foreign  corn  was  reduced ;  the  govern- 
ment was  empowered  to  allow  cattle  to  be  introduced  without 
any  duty  ;  postage  was  diminished,  and  other  measures  taken 
in  the  interest  of  the  poorer  classes.  But  the  truce,  which  the 
alarms  of  1848  had  established  between  the  two  great  parties, 
was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  not  of  long  duration. 
Their  dissensions  broke  out  again  during  the  consideration  of 
the  bill  which  modified  the  regulations  which  had  existed  since 
1835,  with  regard  to  the  bodies  to  w^hich  were  entrusted  the 
examinations  for  degrees,  *  les  Jurys  Universitaires,'  in  the  com- 
position of  which  there  was  always  great  difficulty  in  adjusting 
the  rival  claims  of  the  state  and  of  the  clergy — substantially, 
we  may  observe,  in  passing,  the  question  which  is  giving  so 
much  trouble  to  our  government  with  regard  to  the  Queen's 
University  in  Ireland.  It  was,  however,  upon  the  long-vexed 
subject  of  secondary  education  that  the  old  passions  were 
fully  revived.  The  bishops  protested  against  the  ministerial 
measure,  and  the  pope  pronounced  an  allocution  against  it. 
Yet  the  proposals  of  the  cabinet  were  perfectly  moderate : 
ministers  only  asked  the  right  to  establish  ten  Eoyal  Athen- 


344  BELGIUM. 

seums,  certain  ^coles  moyennes  (institutions  like  the  German 
"  Keal  Schulen  "),  the  right  of  refusing  subsidies  to  the  com- 
munal schools  unless  they  would  accept  their  programme  of 
studies,  and  the  right  of  forbidding  the  communes  to  sup- 
port adventure-schools  unless  they  permitted  the  visits  of  the 
government  inspector.  What  more  especially  offended  the 
Clericals  was  that  the  government  only  invited  the  clergy  to 
give  or  superintend  the  religious  instruction,  without  making 
its  assistance  absolutely  necessary.  In  spite,  however,  of  all 
opposition,  the  bill  became  law. 

In  the  partial  elections  of  1850  the  Clericals  had  some 
successes,  and  the  Liberals  were  further  weakened  by  dissen- 
sions amongst  themselves,  chiefly  about  financial  questions. 
Defeated  upon  one  of  these,  the  ministry  resigned,  but  as  none 
of  the  persons  to  whom  the  long  applied  would  undertake  to 
make  a  government,  they  presently  resumed  their  portfolios. 
M.  Frere-Orban,  the  finance  minister,  then  slightly  modified 
his  propositions,  succeeded  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives, 
but  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  his  proposal  for  a  new 
form  of  succession-duty  rejected  by  the  large  proprietors  of 
the  Senate,  led  by  the  Prince  de  Ligne  and  other  members  of 
the  Liberal  party.  The  Senate  was  immediately  dissolved, 
and  a  modified  form  of  succession-duty  was  agreed  to  by  the 
new  House.  This  episode,  however,  sadly  disorganised  the 
Liberal  party,  and  the  spirits  of  their  opponents  were  further 
raised  by  the  coup  d^etat  in  Paris,  and  by  the  tone  of  the 
French  press,  which  seemed  to  make  the  safety  of  Belgium 
depend  upon  the  overthrow  of  the  Eogier  ministry.  Weakened 
in  the  election  of  June  1852,  and  further  weakened  by  the 
letinement  of  M.  Frere-Orban,  the  cabinet  received  a  severe 
check  on  the  question  of  the  election  of  the  president  of  the 


M.  DE  BROUCKERE.  345 

House  of  Eepresentatives,  and  on  the  31st  of  October  1852 
M.  Henri  de  Brouckere  took  the  reins  of  power. 

This  was  just  the  moment  for  a  ministry  of  conciliation, 
and  he  was  just  the  man  to  be  at  the  head  of  one.  The  period 
of  his  power  may  be  considered  as  a  sort  of  armistice,  although 
his  own  opinions  were  distinctly  Liberal.  Before  he  retired 
he  had  succeeded  in  settling  the  long  controversy  with  France 
about  the  piratical  reprinting  of  French  books  in  Brussels  ;  in 
passing  an  act  more  expedient  than  altogether  defensible 
against  attacks  by  Belgian  subjects  upon  foreign  sovereigns, 
which  is  known  by  the  name  of  his  colleague,  M.  Faider ;  in 
getting  Belgium  officially  recognised  by  Kussia,  and  in  making 
a  sort  of  treaty  with  the  archbishop  of  Malines,  with  regard 
to  the  interference  of  the  clergy  in  secondary  education,  which 
is  called  by  Belgian  writers  the  "  Convention  of  Antwerp." 

Nevertheless,  things  did  not  go  altogether  well  with  him. 
Slight  checks  in  the  Chamber  were  frequent,  the  expulsion  of 
Colonel  Charras  was  unpopular  ;  the  Kussian  war  then  raging 
made  many  fear,  without  perhaps  much  reason,  that  Belgium 
would  be  obliged  to  renounce  the  neutrality  which  is  the 
foundation  of  her  political  existence.  Above  all,  the  great 
question  of  benevolent  foundations,  which  in  1857  almost  over- 
turned public  order,  began  to  excite  the  minds  of  men.  Har- 
assed by  many  difficulties,  and  not  least  by  those  we  have 
mentioned,  M.  de  Brouckere  and  his  moderate  Liberals  sur- 
rendered the  government  in  1855  into  the  hands  of  a  moderate 
clerical  government,  presided  over  by  M.  Vilain  xiiii.  and  M. 
de  Decker.  As  the  names  of  those  politicians,  eminent  in 
their  own  country,  are  but  little  known  in  England,  we  may 
say  a  word  or  two  about  them. 

Charles  Vicomte  Vilain  xiiii. — by  no  means  xiv.  as  it  is 


346  BELGIUM. 

often  written — is  descended  from  a  family  of  substantial 
burghers,  one  of  whom  was  ennobled  in  1758  by  Maria  Theresa. 
The  xiiii.  which  so  much  puzzles  people,  is  a  medieeval  rebus 
which  expresses  the  family  motto  '  veertien  in  hop ' — '  earn  in 
hope,^  expressed  by  the  device  of  xiiii.  surrounded  by  a  wreath 
of  the  hop-plant.  He  was  born  in  1803,  and  was  brought  up 
by  the  Jesuits,  who,  however,  although  they  did  not  succeed, 
as  they  have  so  often  done,  in  making  their  pupil  the  bitter 
enemy  of  Catholicism,  failed  also  to  injure  his  noble  and 
generous  nature.  He  studied  at  the  university  of  Liege, 
married  a  woman  of  large  property,  took  some  part  as  a  jour- 
nalist in  preparing  the  way  for  the  revolution,  and  became  an 
active  and  distinguished  member  of  the  Congress.  A  decided 
but  by  no  means  bigoted  Catholic,  he  has  always  been  the  foe 
of  centralisation  and  the  friend  of  an  almost  boundless  liberty 
for  his  opponents  as  well  as  for  his  friends  ;  nor  would  it  be 
difficult  to  gather  from  his  speeches  many  passages  which  are 
worthy  to  stand  by  the  side  of  the  noblest  sentiments  which 
were  expressed  by  M.  de  Montalembert  at  the  Congress  of 
Malines  in  the  autumn  of  1863. 

His  colleague,  M.  Pierre  de  Decker,  was  born  in  East 
Flanders  in  1812,  and  was,  before  he  entered  into  j)olitical 
life,  a  well-known  journalist  and  man  of  letters.  His  shade 
of  political  opinion  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  Vilain  xiiii., 
whom  he  resembles  in  high  honour  and  unblemished  integrity. 
He,  however,  arrived  at  his  political  opinions  by  a  different 
road.  Vilain  xiiii.  was  a  conciliatory  minister,  because  he 
recognised  the  right  of  his  opponents  to  absolute  freedom, 
believing,  as  he  did  fully,  that  what  he  conceived  to  be  truth 
must  conquer  in  the  end.  M.  de  Decker  was,  if  we  under- 
stand him  right,  a  conciliatory  minister,  partly  because  his 


I 


M.  DE  DECKEK.  347 


temper  was  conciliatory,  and  partly  because  he  was  pro- 
p  foundly  impressed  with  the  idea  that  behind  and  beneath 
the  parties  which  divide  Belgium,  there  was  another  i)arty 
which  was  likely  to  be  dangerous  to  both, — the  party  which 
was  crushed  for  a  time  at  Paris  in  the  days  of  June  1848. 
It  was  this  last  prepossession  that  made  him  so  ardent  an 
advocate  of  the  law  of  charity  by  which  his  government  was 
wrecked  in  1857  ;  and  it  was  his  conciliatory,  or,  as  it  has 
been  called,  synthetic  turn  of  mind,  which  won  for  him  the 
bitter  hatred  of  the  real  leaders  of  the  Clerical  party,  who 
stood  in  somewhat  the  same  relation  to  him  as  Dr.  Cullen  and 
his  immediate  allies  do  to  such  politicians  as  Mr.  Monsell. 
We  need  not  then  be  surprised  to  learn  that  in  a  country 
where  the  lines  of  political  demarcation  are  drawn  so  distinctly 
as  in  Belgium,  his  high  personal  character  has  not  succeeded 
in  securing  liim  any  great  amount  of  public  confidence.  He 
is,  it  has  been  said,  "a  gun  with  two  barrels,  which  goes  off  of 
itself ;  the  contents  of  the  one  barrel  strike  down  his  friends, 
and  those  of  the  other  his  enemies."  It  was  during  this  admini- 
stration that  Coimt  Walewski  brought  the  transgressions  of 
the  Belgian  press  before  the  Congress  of  Paris,  on  which 
occasion  the  plenipotentiaries,  those  of  them  even  who  re- 
served the  principle  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  passed  a 
severe  censure  upon  some  newsj)a]Ders  which  appeared  in 
Belgium.  The  censure  was  by  no  means  undeserved,  but  the 
incident  was  calculated  to  offend  national  susceptibilities,  and 
M.  Orts  put  a  question  about  it  in  the  Chamber.  We  give  the 
account  of  what  followed  in  the  words  of  M.  Hymans  : — 

L'honorable  M.  Orts  (repondit  M.  Vilain  xiiii.)  desire  savoir  si  I'lm 
des  gouvemements  representes  an  Congres  a  demande  an  gouveriiement 
beige  quek_[ue  modificatioii  a  la  constitution. — Aucune  ! — L'honorable 
M.   Orts  me    demande  si  le  cabinet,  dans  le  cas  oil  iiue  pareille  de- 


348  BELGIUM. 

mande  lui  serait  faite,  serait  dispose  k  proposer  a  la  chambre  quelque 
changement  a  la  constitution. — Jamais  ! 

The  spirited  reply  of  tlie  Foreign  Minister  gained  for  the 
government  no  little  credit,  although  it  was  afterwards  ex- 
plained by  the  official  journal  that  ministers  by  no  means 
pledged  themselves,  while  upholding  the  constitution,  not  to 
introduce  some  changes  in  the  Imus  relating  to  the  press.  A 
series  of  unfortunate  incidents,  soon,  however,  destroyed  this 
popularity.  One  of  these  was  the  bringing  in  of  a  sort  of 
conspiracy  bill,  to  take  away  all  political  character  from  pro- 
jects of  assassinating  a  foreign  sovereign,  thereby  reducing 
them  to  the  level  of  ordinary  crime,  for  which  the  constitution 
permitted  extradition.  The  session  of  1856  was  not  an  event- 
ful one,  and  the  same  might  perhaps  have  been  the  case  with 
its  successor,  if  the  ultramontane  press  and  the  Belgian  epis- 
copate had  not  been  foolish  enough  to  think  that  the  time  had 
arrived  for  commencing  a  new  campaign  against  free  inquiry. 

The  bishop  of  Ghent  began  the  fray  by  publishing  a 
violent  invective  against  state  education.  His  lead  was  fol- 
lowed presently  by  the  bishop  of  Bruges,  and  the  deliverances 
of  those  ecclesiastics  gave  the  tone  to  the  language  of  the 
whole  of  their  party.  The  free  university  of  Brussels  and 
the  state  university  of  Ghent  were  the  chief  objects  of  attack, 
and  the  name  which  drew  upon  itself  most  abuse  was  that  of 
Professor  Laurent,  the  author  of  Etudes  sur  VHistoire  de 
riimnanite,  and  numerous  other  works.  M.  de  Decker  bore 
himself  in  the  mel4e  with  great  dignity.  He  altogether  dis- 
avowed the  violent  teachings  of  his  party,  spoke  with  con- 
tempt of  the  Index,  declared  with  regard  to  a  publication  in 
the  nature  of  the  Index,  which  had  appeared  at  Brussels,  that 
those  who  followed  such  guidance  would  prepare  for  Belgium 


CRISIS  OF  1857.  349 

a  generation  of  cretins,  and  lamented  in  striking  words  the 
gust  of  intolerance  which  was  passing  over  the  land.  When 
the  Chambers  met  in  the  autumn  there  was  a  serious  discus- 
sion with  regard  to  the  liberty  to  be  allowed  to  professors  in 
explaining  their  opinions  upon  questions  which  might  affect 
religion.  The  amendment  of  the  Liberals  upon  the  clause  of 
the  address,  which  related  to  this  matter,  was  defeated  ;  and 
when  men's  minds  were  in  the  irritable  state  which  such  dis- 
cussions tend  to  produce,  the  Minister  of  Justice,  M.  A. 
Nothomb,  had  the  unfortunate  idea  of  introducing  a  bill  with 
regard  to  charitable  foundations,  which  was  highly  favourable 
to  clerical  pretensions.  If  this  bill  had  passed  into  law,  a 
royal  ordinance  would  have  been  enough  to  authorise  the 
establishment  of  private  foundations,  exempt  from  the  control 
of  the  state — its  inspectors  and  superintendents.  Founders 
would  have  been  able  to  reserve  for  themselves  and  for  third 
persons  the  administration  of  their  foundations,  and  they 
might  even  have  created  family  trustees  or  have  attached 
the  control  of  their  foundations  to  the  successive  occupants 
of  civil  or  ecclesiastical  offices.  This  would  have  been  to 
restore  mortmain  in  a  form  suitable  to  modern  exigencies, 
and  would  enormously  have  increased  the  power  of  the  800 
religious  associations  which  exist  in  Belgium,  and  which 
count  already  about  12,000  members.  Hence  the  bill  got  the 
name  of  the  "  Loi  des  Convents,"  and  very  soon  the  cry  was 
raised  for  the  "  Abolition  des  Convents.'*  The  Liberal  party 
asked  for  an  inquiry  into  pauperism,  which  was  refused,  and 
the  debates  went  on  getting  fiercer  and  fiercer  for  twenty-seven 
days.  As  the  spring  advanced  the  whole  country  became 
extremely  agitated,  and  on  the  27th  of  May  1857  the  multi- 
tude assembled  in  front  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  ap- 


350  BELGIUM. 

plauded  the  Liberals  and  hissed  the  Clericals  as  they  came 
out,  proceeding  the  next  day  to  break  windows,  and  to  com- 
mit other  insubordinate  acts.  Similar  scenes  were  enacted  in 
most  of  the  large  towns,  but  the  only  really  dangerous  out- 
break took  place  in  the  commune  of  Jemappes,  where  an 
establishment  belonging  to  the  Freres  de  la  Doctrine  Chre- 
tienne  was  sacked  by  the  mob.  It  had  now,  however,  become 
quite  clear  that  it  would  be  madness  to  go  on,  and  the  bill 
was  withdrawn.  The  Chambers  were  then  adjourned,  and  on 
the  14th  of  June  the  official  journal  published  a  decree 
closing  the  session,  a  letter  from  the  ministers  to  the  king, 
and  the  answer  addressed  by  him  to  M.  de  Decker. 

A  portion  of  the  letter  may  be  cited  as  illustrative  of  the 
moderating  influence  which  the  king  exercised  over  Belgian 
party  contentions  : — 

"  Vous  avez  agi  avec  la  plus  grande  loyaute  et  la  plus  entiere  bonne 
foi.  Vous  etes  fermement  persuade  que  le  projet  de  loi,  mis  a  execu- 
tion, ne  produirait  pas  les  consequences  faclieuses  que  Ton  y  a  attri- 
buees.  Je  ne  porterai  point  de  jugenient  sur  le  projet ;  je  n'aurais 
jamais  consenti  a  donner  place  dans  notre  legislation  k  nne  loi  qui 
aurait  pu  avoir  les  funestes  effets  qu'on  redoute,  mais,  sans  me  livrer  a 
I'examen  de  la  loi  en  elle-meme,  je  tiens  compte,  comme  vous,  d'une 
impression  qui  s'est  produite,  a  cette  occasion,  cliez  une  partie  con- 
siderable de  la  population.  II  y  a,  dans  les  pays  qui  s'occupent  eux- 
memes  de  leurs  affaires,  de  ces  emotions  rapides,  contagieuses,  se 
propageantavec  une  intensite  qui  se  constate  plus  facilement  qu'elle  ne 
s'explique  et  avec  lesquelles  il  est  plus  sage  de  transiger  que  de 
raisonner. 

"  Les  libres  institutions  de  la  Belgique  ont  ete  pratiquees,  pend- 
ant vingt-six  ans,  avec  une  admirable  regularite.  Que  faut-il  pour 
qu'elles  continuent  a  fonctionner  dans  I'avenir  avec  le  meme  ordre, 
le  meme  succes  ?  Je  n'hesite  pas  a  le  dire,  il  faut  chez  les  partis 
de  la  moderation  et  de  la  reserve  ;  je  crois  que  nous  devons  nous 
abstenir  d'agiter  toute  question  qui  pent  allumer  la  guerre  dans  les 
esprits.  Je  suis  convaincu  que  la  Belgique  pent  vivre  heureuse  et 
respectee,  en  suivant  les  voies  de  la  moderation  ;  mais  je   suis  egale- 


THE  king's  letter.  351 

ment  convaincu,  et  je  le  dis  a  tout  le  monde,  que  toute  mesure  qui  pent 
etre  interxiretee  comme  tendant  a  fixer  la  siiprematie  d'une  opinion  sur 
I'autre,  qivune  telle  mesure  est  un  danger.  La  liberte  ne  nous  manque 
pas,  et  notre  constitution,  sagement  et  moderement  pratiquee,  presente 
un  heureux  equilibre." 

Thus  ended  a  crisis  whicli  might  have  been  a  very  serious 
one,  in  a  country  less  influenced  by  the  maxims  of  common 
sense.  In  the  whole  transaction  the  persons  most  to  blame 
were  the  Belgian  bishops,  who,  without  rest,  though  not 
without  haste,  have  ever  since  1830  used  their  liberty  as  an 
instrument  to  obtain  power.  We  fully  acquit  M.  de  Decker 
of  any  desire  to  play  into  their  hands,  but  the  measure  intro- 
duced by  his  colleague  would  undoubtedly  have  been  turned 
to  evil  uses  ;  and  although  we  cannot  approve  of  the  violence 
which  was  exhibited  by  some  of  the  Liberal  party,  tinged  as 
it  was  by  much  of  that  narrowness  and  intolerance  which 
they  reproached  in  their  adversaries,  they  were  in  the  main 
right. 

The  agitations  were  foUowed  by  loud  demands  for  the 
resignation  of  ministers,  and  a  serious  difference  of  opinion 
arose  in  the  cabinet  as  to  whether  or  not  these  demands 
should  be  complied  with.  M.  de  Decker  and  M.  Vilain  xiiii., 
who  represented,  as  we  have  seen,  the  moderate  section  of 
Catholic  opinion,  were  in  favour  of  retiring,  but  M.  A.  jN'othomb 
and  others  were  opposed  to  it.  The  views  of  the  violent  sec- 
tion at  first  triumphed,  but  ere  long  the  pressure  from  without 
became  too  strong  ;  the  ministry  resigned,  and  the  king  sent 
once  more  for  M.  Henri  de  Brouckere.  A  Brouckere  cabinet, 
however,  was  no  longer  possible.  The  period  of  coalitions 
was,  at  least  for  a  time,  over,  and  the  Belgian  Liberals  insisted 
upon  having  a  government  which  should  be  distinctly  of  their 
own  colour,  whereas  M.  de  Brouckere  stood  in  the  same  re- 


352  BELGIUM. 

lations  to  them  as  M.  de  Decker  did  to  the  Clerical  party. 
M.  Eogier  accordingly  took  the  reins  of  power,  and  the 
ministry  which  then  (9th  October  1857)  came  in  is  substanti- 
ally the  same  as  that  which  governs  Belgium  at  the  present 
hour.  The  new  government  dissolved  the  House  of  Eepre- 
sentatives,  and  both  parties  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost 
at  the  elections,  which  took  place  early  in  December.  The 
result  was  a  complete  triumph  for  the  Liberals,  the  numbers 
being  70  to  38.  Tlie  ministers,  however,  did  not,  in  the  ses- 
sion of  1858,  give  as  much  satisfaction  to  their  more  zealous 
supporters  as  might  have  been  expected.  They  were,  perhaps 
wisely,  extremely  cautious,  and  thought  more  of  securing  the 
victory,  which  they  had  gained,  than  of  pushing  it  further. 
There  is  a  strong  resemblance  between  Lord  Palmerston's  last 
government  and  that  of  M.  Eogier.  Perhaps  the  only  just 
reproach  that  can  be  addressed  to  either  is,  that  they  were 
both  led  by  chiefs  who  had  done  so  much  public  service  that 
it  was  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  they  could  retain  the 
force  and  verve  which  would  be  expected  in  men  who  were 
not  worn  out.  In  Belgium,  accordingly,  just  as  in  England, 
a  party  of  "  Young  Liberals  "  has  grown  up,  which  will,  no 
doubt,  when  it  in  its  turn  attains  to  power,  attempt  to  realise 
in  practice,  somewhat  more  quickly  than  its  predecessors,  the 
conclusions  of  our  best  theoretical  guides. 

The  Clerical  party,  during  the  session  of  1858,  being  well 
aware  of  the  tendency  to  disunion  amongst  their  opponents, 
tried  to  aggravate  it,  by  a  systematic  silence  during  the  de- 
bates. Their  tactics  were  well  defined  by  one  of  their  num- 
ber, who  said,  "Nous  leur  donnerons  si  peu  de  cl(5rical  a 
manger  qu'ils  finiront  par  s'entre-devorer."  They  did  not, 
however,  obtain  by  this  any  real  party  advantage,  and  the 


PARTY  STRUGGLES.  353 

Liberals  held  their  own  at  the  beginning  as  at  the  end  of  the 
session.  Its  two  principal  events  were — first,  an  alteration  in 
the  law  of  1852  with  respect  to  attacks  made  by  the  Belgian 
press  upon  foreign  sovereigns,  which  grew  out  of  the  same 
circumstances  that  led  to  our  ''  conspiracy  bill,"  and  was  op- 
posed for  similar  reasons  by  a  small  number  of  deputies  ;  and 
secondly,  the  failure  of  the  ministerial  proposal  with  respect 
to  the  fortification  of  Antwerp. 

In  the  session  of  1858  and  1859,  the  Clerical  party  refused 
to  take  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  address,  in  consequence 
of  some  words  which  the  majority  had  inserted  in  it,  and 
throughout  its  course  they  adhered  for  the  most  part  to 
their  policy  of  silence.  They  opposed,  however,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  the  somewhat  severe  provisions  which  the 
Liberals,  in  revising  the  criminal  code,  wished  to  re-enact,  or 
rather  to  maintain  in  a  modified  foym,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
straining those  priests  who  turned  their  pulpits  into  tribunes 
from  which  to  fulminate  against  the  government. 

The  Journal  des  Bebats  did  at  this  time  good  service  to  the 
Belgian  Liberals,  by  calling  their  attention  to  a  proposal  which 
the  government,  acting  doubtless  under  Imperialist  influence, 
had  made  for  increasing  its  control  over  the  press.  Thanks 
to  a  vigorous  resistance,  the  attempt  altogether  failed. 

New  questions  began  now  to  be  agitated  by  the  "  Young 
Liberals  ;"  amongst  them  compulsory  education,  the  rights  of 
the  Flemish  population  to  more  consideration  for  their  lan- 
guage, and  the  liberty  of  combination  amongst  workmen. 

A  proposal  for  altering  the  method  in  which  the  votes  were 
taken  at  elections,  which  would  have  had  the  effect  of  mixing 
the  voters  from  town  and  country  together,  and  so  withdraw- 
ing the  latter  at  the  decisive  moment  from  the  influence  of  the 

2  A 


354  BELGIUM. 

cure,  was  fiercely  opposed  by  the  Clericals,  but  accepted  in 
principle  by  the  majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives ; 
while  an  enactment,  further  restraining  the  rights  of  private 
foundations,  became  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  partial  elections  of  June  1859  were  favourable  to  the 
government.  In  1860  it  was  able  to  commence  a  series  of 
financial  reforms  by  abolishing  the  Octroi,*  and  substituting 
for  it  taxes  less  oppressive  to  industry.  The  removal  of  the 
hateful  harrieres,  which  all  travellers  remember  but  too  well, 
took  place  on  the  21st  of  July,  on  the  29th  anniversary  of  the 
king's  accession. 

The  affair  of  Savoy  and  Nice  naturally  revived  amongst 
large  classes  of  Frenchmen  a  desire  to  annex  Belgium,  and 
that  desire  was  more  emphatically  than  courteously  expressed 
in  many  French  newspapers.  The  result  was  a  great  outburst 
of  anti-Gallican  feeling,  and  a  reaction  in  favour  of  the  Dutch, 
which,  after  increasing  for  many  months,  culminated  on  the 
occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  king  of  the  Netherlands  to  Liege. 
In  the  great  hall  of  the  noble  and  ancient  pile  which  once  was 
the  episcopal  palace,  William  III.  and  Leopold  showed  them- 
selves at  the  window  to  the  assembled  multitudes,  who,  poli- 

*  Mr.  Barron,  in  his  report,  dated  March  26,  1864,  speaks  as  follows  : — 
"  Of  all  these  taxes  the  most  profitable,  but  also  the  most  objectionable,  were 
the  octroi  duties.  Seventy-eight  communes,  containing  a  population  of 
1,223,000,  were  privileged  to  levy  duties  on  the  import  of  certain  articles, 
mostly  liquors,  food,  forage,  and  fuel.  The  tariffs  included  seventy-six  taxable 
articles,  but  the  list  of  rates  varied  in  every  town.  These  towns  were  fenced 
round  with  walls,  palisades,  ditches,  etc. ,  were  entered  by  a  limited  number 
of  gates,  and  were  defended  by  seventy-eight  armies.  The  brewers  and  dis- 
tillers were  watched  by  two  sets  of  officials, — those  of  the  state  and  those  of  the 
town.  Then  there  was  often  a  system  of  drawbacks  on  the  export  of  goods 
made  of  taxed  materials.  All  these  tariffs  were  framed  on  good  old  protec- 
tionist principles,  so  as  to  favour  local  and  personal  interests.  The  towns 
even  indulged  in  little  tariff  wars  with  each  other.  Such  is  still  the  condition 
of  almost  all  the  rest  of  the  Continent. " 


COMMERCIAL  TREATY  WITH  FRANCE.         355 

tically  disjoined  from  Holland,  have  now  no  feelings  of  ani- 
mosity to  that  country,  which  regards  them  with  equal  good- 
will. 

The  chief  events  of  the  year  1861  were  the  conclusion  of 
a  commercial  treaty  with  France,  the  natural  result  of  our 
treaty  of  the  previous  year  with  that  country,  and  the  recog- 
nition of  Italy.  By  the  latter  measure,  tone,  so  to  speak,  was 
restored  to  the  Liberal  party,  in  the  ranks  of  which  dissatis- 
faction had  been  steadily  increasing.  During  a  portion  of 
the  summer  and  autumn  the  ministry  lacked  the  powerful 
aid  of  M.  Frere,  who  retired  as  soon  as  the  commercial 
treaty  with  France  was  concluded,  early  in  the  month  of 
June,  in  consequence  of  a  motion  adverse  to  his  financial 
policy,  which  had  been  carried  against  him  in  April  by  M. 
Dumortier,  a  member  of  the  Clerical  opposition,  and  a  con- 
sistent advocate  of  traditional  errors, — political,  economical, 
and  religious.  Before  the  autumn  was  over,  however,  he 
returned  to  power. 

The  debate  on  the  recognition  of  Italy  was  a  very  lively 
one,  and  the  views  of  the  majority  were  well  summed  up  in 
the  remark  of  M.  Orts  :  "  Belgiu.m,  which  only  exists  by  the 
will  of  the  nation,  should  respect  national  will  wherever  it  is 
displayed." 

The  union,  which  was  to  some  extent  re-established  in  the 
Liberal  party  by  this  wise  step,  was  soon  rudely  broken  by 
the  question  of  the  fortifications  of  Antwerp,  which  came  to 
a  head  in  1862.  For  many  years-  it  had  been  evident  that 
this  great  fortress  required  to  be  very  much  altered  and  im- 
proved, if  it  was  to  serve  as  the  last  refuge  of  Belgian  inde- 
pendence in  case  of  a  French  invasion.  After  long  consider- 
ation, a  plan  was   elaborated,  of  wliich  the  inhabitants  of 


356  BELGIUM. 

Antwerp  cordially  approved.  The  area  included  in  the 
fortifications  was  to  be  enlarged  about  sixfold  ;  the  wharf  and 
dock  accommodation  was  to  be  greatly  increased  and  better 
protected,  while  every  effort  was  to  be  made  to  conciliate,  as 
far  as  was  possible,  the  interests  of  commerce  and  defence. 
The  Antwerpians  had  looked  at  first  only  on  the  bright  side 
of  the  picture  ;  but  by  degrees  the  notion  of  being  bombarded 
at  all,  even  at  the  most  respectful  distance,  grew  extremely 
horrible  to  them,  and  they  began  to  object  to  every  detail  of 
the  government  plan,  as  well  as  to  make  demands  for  com- 
pensation, which  could  not  be  listened  to.  A  deputation 
which  they  sent  to  the  king  was  very  coldly  received ;  and 
his  majesty  read  a  paper  which  set  forth  extremely  clearly 
the  grounds  upon  which  the  government  proceeded.  Antwerp 
soon  avenged  itself  by  sending  to  the  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives  the  bitterest  possible  opponents  of  the  ministry.  One  of 
these  was  ^I.  Hayez,  who  had  had  a  personal  quarrel  with  the 
Minister  of  War ;  and  another  was  M.  Delaet,  whose  duel 
with  that  functionary  was  the  tragi-comedy  of  the  session  of 
1865.  Any  one  who  happened  to  be  at  Antwerp  towards  the 
end  of  1862,  will  remember  how  much  of  the  conversation  in 
public  places  was  engrossed  by  the  servitudes  militaires  and 
other  features  of  the  great  fortification  question.  We  need 
hardly  say  that  the  Clerical  party  used  the  Antwerp  agitation 
as  a  weapon,  because  in  Belgium,  as  elsewhere,  it  neglects  no 
weapon  which  can  in  any  way  injure  its  opponents. 

A  commercial  treaty  with  England  was  concluded  in 
1862,  not,  however,  without  some  murmurs,  on  the  part  of 
our  government,  at  what  Lord  Eussell  considered  to  be 
an  unnecessary  and  unfriendly  delay.  Some  concessions 
were   made   in   the   treaty   to   the    earnest    representations 


FISCAL  IMPllOVEMENTS.  357 

of  Ghent,  the  last  citadel  of  Belgian  protectionism  *  1863 
saw  the  abolition  of  the  Scheldt  dues,  a  great  benefit  to 
Belgian  commerce,  aod  an  advantage  to  that  of  the  whole 
world. 

The  partial  elections  of  June  1863,  which  soon  followed, 
and  some  by-elections  wliich  took  place  later,  were  not 
favourable  to  the  Liberals  ;  and  in  the  beginning  of  1864  the 
ministers  found  their  majority  so  reduced,  as  to  make  it  seem 
desirable  to  resign.  This  they  did,  but  their  clerical  adver- 
saries wholly  failed  in  making  a  government,  and  after  one 
of  the  longest  cabinet  crises  upon  record,  during  which  every 
imaginable  combination  had  been  essayed  by  the  king — a 
Brouckere   cabinet,   a   Dechamps  and  De  Theux  cabinet,  a 

*  Mr.  Barron  tells  us,  in  his  report  of  February  26,  1865  : — "  Tlie  Suim-ior 
Council  of  Industry  and  Commerce  was  created  by  royal  Arrete  of  the  27th  of 
March  1859.  It  is  composed  of  two  delegates  from  each  of  the  Chambers  of 
Commerce  of  Antwerp,  Brussels,  Charleroi,  Ghent,  Liege,  and  Mons  ;  of  one 
from  each  of  the  other  eighteen  Chambers  ;  and  of  eight  nominees  of  the 
Crown — in  all  thirty-eight  members.  Its  attributions  are  to  give  advice  on 
proposals  emanating  from  the  government,  from  Chambers  of  Commerce,  or 
from  individual  members.  Its  opinions,  therefore,  may  be  quoted  as  the 
highest  authority  on  all  commercial  questions. 

*'  With  reference  to  the  tariff,  their  resolutions  of  1864  are  that  it  should 
cease  forthwith  to  be  anything  but  a  means  of  collecting  revenue  ;  that 
machines  and  raw  materials  must  first  be  expunged  from  it,  and  then  gradually 
all  other  articles  which  produce  trifling  sums  ;  that  taxation  should  be  con- 
centrated on  a  small  number  of  articles,  the  customs  and  excise  duties  being 
always  kept  in  harmony  ;  that,  as  the  absolute  suppression  of  the  custom- 
house would  act  more  energetically  on  the  development  of  public  wealth  than 
any  mere  reduction,  it  is  expedient  that  the  government  should  constantly 
tend  to  attain  that  end,  and  seek  for  a  practical  solution  of  the  financial  difii- 
culties  of  the  question ;  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  augment  the  taxes  on  real 
property  for  the  sole  purpose  of  suppressing  customs  and  excise  duties  ;  that 
the  conventional  '  regime  '  should  be  at  once  extended  to  the  world  at  large  ; 
that  the  government  should  negotiate  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the 
vexatious  certificate  of  origin  ;  that  the  customs'  officers  shall  abstain  as  often 
as  they  safely  can  from  searching  passengers'  luggage." 


358  '  BELGIUM. 

Faider  cabinet,  a  Nothomb  cabinet,  a  cabinet  with  the  Prince 
de  Ligne  for  its  head — every  combination  was  found  impos- 
sible, and  the  old  ministers  once  more  accepted  the  power 
and  the  responsibilities  which  circumstances  had  absolutely 
forced  upon  them.  On  the  31st  of  May  M.  Eogier  explained 
the  circumstances  of  the  ministerial  interregnum,  and  the 
policy  which  he  meant  to  pursue.  Much  of  the  discussion 
which  followed,  and  was  continued  for  fifteen  days,  turned 
upon  the  merits  of  a  programme  which  had  been  laid  before 
the  king  by  M.  Dechamps. 

M.  Dechamps,  who  is  the  recognised  leader  of  that  section 
of  Belgian  Catholics  which  adopts  the  views  of  M.  de  Monta- 
lembert — a  party  which,  be  it  remembered,  is  only  strong 
enough  to  exist  by  the  sufferance  of  the  more  violent  Clericals, 
— was  born  in  1807,  studied  at  Brussels,  and  adopted,  like  so 
many  of  his  contemporaries,  the  views  of  Lamennais.  When, 
however,  it  came  to  a  parting  between  that  remarkable  man 
and  his  friends,  his  Belgian  disciple  followed  Lacordaire  and 
submitted  to  Eome.  A  distinguished  journalist,  M.  Dechamps 
was  elected  in  1834,  and  made  himself  conspicuous,  as  well 
by  his  speeches  upon  education  and  communal  organisation, 
as  by  taking  an  active  part  in  promoting  railways  and  other 
material  improvements.  He  had  a  seat  in  the  De  Theux, 
Van  de  Weyer,  and  Nothomb  cabinets,  of  which  last  he  was 
an  unruly  member.  After  1847  he  naturally  fell  somewhat 
into  the  background,  but  rose  again  into  great  importance  in 
the  period  preceding  the  ministerial  crisis  of  1864,  during  the 
course  of  which  he  submitted  to  the  king  the  programme  of 
policy  to  which  we  have  alluded.  It  is  too  long  to  quote, 
and  would  require  a  commentary,  but  the  ideas  which  pre- 
sided over  its  composition  were  : — 


THE   "DECHAMPS"   PKOGRAMME.  359 

1.  To  turn  away  the  attention  of  the  people  from  the 
distinction  between  Liberals  and  Clericals. 

2.  To  lower  the  provincial  and  communal  franchise,  vnth  a 
vieiv  to  increase  the  power  of  the  clergy  and  the  aristocracy. 

3.  To  decent! aiise,  iKtrtlyj  lue  2^resume,  with  the  sccrae  view, 
but  chiefly  hecause  the  country  tvishes  it. 

4.  To  propose  some  minor  changes,  which  might  either 
conciliate  particular  interests  or  give  popularity  to  the  party. 

M.  Nothomb,  the  last  Clerical  orator  who  spoke,  proposed 
a  vote  of  want  of  confidence.  A  division  was  taken,  and  the 
numbers  were — for  the  government  57,  against  it  56.  Three 
members — two  Liberals  and  one  Clerical — were  absent.  On 
the  30th  of  the  same  month,  M.  Orts,  one  of  the  represen- 
tatives of  Brussels,  proposed,  with  a  view  to  strengthen  his 
party,  that  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  population  since 
1859,  when  the  number  of  representatives  had  been  last 
increased,  the  numbers  of  the  Lower  House  should  be  raised 
from  116  to  122,  and  those  of  the  Upper  from  58  to  61. 
Hereupon  the  Clerical  party  declared  that  if  the  government 
supported  this  proposition,  they  would  retire  from  the  Cham- 
ber, and  thus  make  it  impossible  to  vote  the  estimates  for 
public  works,  which  were  then  being  discussed.  In  this 
unconstitutional  proceeding  they  persisted,  until  the  king, 
seeing  no  other  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  dissolved  the  House 
of  Eepresentatives  on  the  16th  of  July.  The  elections 
returned,  as  might  have  been  expected,  a  Liberal  majority, 
and  M.  Dechamps,  the  head  of  the  party  which  had  disgraced 
itself  by  a  manoeuvre  so  damaging  to  Liberal  institutions,  was 
himself  defeated  for  Charleroi,  and  obliged  to  employ  his 
mischievous  activity  in  the  production  of  a  long  article  and  a 
long  pamphlet,  the  latter  of  which  has  seriously  injured  his 


360  BELGIUM. 

country  by  misleading  the  English  press  as  to  its  real  position 
and  tendencies.  In  the  autumn  session  of  1864,  the  dangers 
which  Belgium  might  possibly  incur  from  her  connection  with 
Mexico  were  discussed  in  an  unnecessarily  alarmist  tone,  but 
no  very  important  event  occurred  before  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  pope's  Encyclical  of  the  8th  December,  with  its  exag- 
gerated pretensions  and  old-world  dreams,  was  a  sad  blow  to 
the  moderate  Catholics,  and  the  controversies  which  it  raised 
were  an  important  element  in  the  political  activity  of  1865. 

These  discussions  were  more  interesting  and  more  im- 
portant than  the  encounters  of  parties  on  corrupt  practices  or 
ministerial  responsibility  during  a  somewhat  sterile  session, 
but  all  other  events  of  the  year  1865  in  Belgium  were  cast 
into  the  shade  by  the  death  of  the  good  and  wise  king  who 
had  for  so  many  years  presided  over  her  councils. 

The  secret  of  Leopold's  success  was,  that  he  had  early  the 
sagacity  to  perceive  that  the  age  of  kings,  in  the  old  sense  of 
the  term,  was  passing  away  for  ever,  and  that  such  a  country 
as  Belgium  could  only  be  happy  if  it  were  treated  as  a 
republic  under  monarchical  forms.  When  the  secret  history 
of  the  last  generation  is  ^^aitten,  we  shall  know  how  much 
the  king  of  the  Belgians,  not  less  than  our  own  queen,  owed 
to  one  whose  name,  when  he  passed  away  from  the  scene,  was 
hardly  mentioned  by  a  single  English  paper — we  mean  the 
late  Baron  Stockmar,  of  whom  Lord  Palmerston  said  to  the 
late  Baron  Bunsen  :  — ''  He  is  simply  the  greatest  statesman 
I  have  ev^r  known." 

That  Leopold  I.  was  an  intelligent  man  and  a  sensible  man 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  he  was,  both  before  and  after  his 
marriage  with  the  heiress  of  England,  put  in  a  position  which 
in  the  mind  of  any  one  who  had  no  illusions  as  to  the  direc- 


LEOPOLD  L — HIS  CHARACTER.  361 

tion  in  whicli  the  world  was  slowly  moving,  could  not  fail  to 
develop  good  sense  and  intelligence  into  the  highest  of  all 
political  qualities — wisdom.     That  he  was   gifted  with  any- 
brilliant  or  remarkable  abilities  we  do  not  in  the  least  believe, 
and  in  spite  of  the  shrieks  of  alarm  which  we  heard  on  all 
sides  when  it  was  clear  that  the  sceptre  was  passing  from 
his  hands,  we  have  never  met  with  the  slightest  evidence 
that  the  present  king  is  at  all  less  likely  than  his  father  to 
play  well  the  part  which  destiny  has  assigned  to  him.     It  has 
been  constantly  repeated  in  the  English  pa]3ers  that  he  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  ultramontane  party.     That  notion  is  founded 
on  the  simple   fact  that   he  was  brought  up  as  a  Eoman 
Catholic,  which  of  course  it  was  inevitable  that  he  should  be. 
If  the  first  ideas  of  his  youth  were  not  coloured  to  some  extent 
by  the  religious  views  of  his  instructors,  tJiey  must  have  been 
preternaturally  inefiicient,  or  lie  must  have  been  singularly 
wanting  in  some  of  those  qualities  out  of  which  grows  the 
sort  of  character  which  is  least  susceptible  of  ultramontane 
influences.      Since   his   early  youth   he   has   travelled  very 
widely,  and  unless  we  are  much  misinformed,  has  travelled 
with  an  open  mind.     Nor  in  his  alliance  with  an  Austrian 
archduchess  do  we  see  anything  to  fear.     Whatever  may  have 
been  the  case  while  the  Archduchess  Sophia  was  still  a  person 
of  primary  importance,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Austrian 
imperial  family  of  to-day  carries  its  private  religious  opinions 
into  politics  ;  and  on  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  present 
queen  of  the  Belgians  has  played  any  conspicuous  part — 
namely,    at   the   deathbed   of   her   father-in-law — while   we 
thoroughly  appreciate  the  dignified  and  stoical  behaviour  of 
the  old  king,  we  think  that  her  conduct,  as  related  by  those 
who  had  the  best  means  of  knowing  exactly  what  passed,  was 


362  BELGIUM. 

as  worthy  of  her  position  as  Leopold's  was  of  his.  Founded 
it  was,  no  doubt,  upon  a  different  theory  of  life,  but  one 
which  is  held  by  millions  whom  it  would  be  absurd  to  accuse 
of  being  under  priestly  influence,  and  who  have  not  even  the 
faintest  sympathy  with  that  form  of  Christianity  which  is 
generally  professed  in  Belgium.* 

We  have  traced  in  rapid  outline  the  leading  events  of  the 
reign  of  Leopold  I.  We  have  now  to  ask — In  what  condition 
did  he  leave  his  adopted  country  ?  On  the  whole,  we  answer, 
in  a  very  satisfactory  one.  True  it  is  that  her  parties  are 
closely  balanced,  and  that  the  Liberals  only  hold  their  own 
by  a  moderate  majority.  But  before  he  began  to  reign,  it  was 
quite  doubtful  whether  the  Liberals  would  be  able  to  make 
head  at  all  against  their  opponents.  There  were,  we  have 
seen,  many  causes  at  work  in  producing  the  breach  with 
Holland,  yet  of  all  these  causes  the  most  potent  was  the 
hatred  of  the  priests  against  the  free-thinking  Protestant 
house  of  Nassau.  For  some  years  after  Belgium  became  inde- 
pendent, the  Liberals,  as  we  have  seen,  were  satisfied  to 
maintain  the  status  quo,  and  made  no  important  attempt  to 
improve  the  institutions  of  the  country.  Since  1847  they 
have  generally  been  in  power,  and  their  tone  with  each  suc- 
cessive year  becomes  more  confident.     \ 

If  we  turn  from  the  moral  to  the  material  condition  of  the 
country,  as  it  was  when  the  old  king  died,  and  as  it  still  con- 
tinues, we  see  agriculture  flourishing ;  manufactures  recovering 
from  the  depression  of  the  American  war ;  education  in  an 
improved  if  not  yet  quite  satisfactory  state  ;  the  tariff,  which 

*  The  Belgian  Protestants  are  unhappily  not  numerous.  One  of  thera,  M. 
Bost,  pastor  at  Vervicrs,  but  belonging,  we  believe,  to  a  Swiss  family,  has 
lately  obtained  distinction  by  a  work  entitled  Le  Protestantisme  Liberal 


RECENT   WORKS   ON   BELGIUM.  363 

was  till  recently  extremely  illiberal,  now  one  of  the  best  in 
Europe  ;  large  foreign  transactions,  carried  on  indeed  almost 
without  a  national  marine ;  Antwerp  becoming  a  second 
Gibraltar  ;  an  army,  burdensome  no  doubt  to  the  resources  of 
the  land,  and  likely,  we  hope,  to  be  one  day  somewhat  reduced, 
but  maintained  more  inexpensively  than  almost  any  other  ; 
cheap  and  easy  communication  everywhere  established  by 
rail  and  telegraph;  deep  peace  with  Holland,  undisturbed 
relations  with  France,  diminished  jealousy  of  England,  and 
general,  if  languid,  goodwill  from  all  the  world. 

AVe  must  supplement  these  general  observations  by  a  few 
particulars  before  we  say  a  little  about  the  last  point  on 
wliich  we  proposed  to  touch — the  near  future  of  Belgium. 
Not  that  we  need  go  into  any  details  as  to  the  Belgian  con- 
stitution, or  the  general  statistics  of  the  country.  They  may 
be  found  in  well-known  works  of  reference.  The  article  on 
Belgium  in  Block's  Dictionnaire  General  de  la  Politique,  wliich 
ought  to  be  oftener  found  than  it  is  in  English  libraries,  is  by 
M.  Heuschling,  an  eminent  statistical  authority  at  Brussels, 
where  statistics  are  attended  to  more  carefully  than  in  any 
other  capital.  Much  information  about  the  country  is  also 
agreeably  summarised  in  a  paper  wliich  appeared  in  the 
Quarterly  in  1862  ;  and  Mr.  Barron's  reports,  especially  that 
of  1864,  are  most  valuable.  To  these  authorities  we  refer 
our  readers,  adding  only  a  few  facts  taken  from  sources  less 
easily  accessible.  The  writer  in  the  Quarterly,  who  devotes 
much  space  to  agriculture,  does  not  seem  to  have  had  under  his 
eye  the  Essai  sur  Viconomie  rurale,  by  M.  £mile  de  Laveleye, 
which  was  perhaps  not  then  published,  but  which  is  written 
with  all  the  clearness  and  vivacity  for  which  the  readers  of 
the  Bevue  des  Deux  Mondes  so  often  feel  obliged  to  that  clear 


364  BELGIUM. 

and  well-inforined  writer,  who  at  present  occupies  the  position 
of  a  professor  in  the  university  of  Liege. 

In  a  linguistic  point  of  view,  Belgium  consists  of  two 
populations,  one  speaking  French  or  Walloon,  and  the  other 
speaking  Flemish.  French  is,  of  course,  understood  and 
habitually  used  by  all  educated  persons  in  the  country,  but  of 
late  years  there  has  been  a  very  serious  Flemish  literary  re- 
vival, an  interesting  account  of  which  will  be  found  in  the 
Aiimiaire  des  Deux  Mondes  for  1851-52.  Quite  recently 
attem]Dts  have  been  made  to  give  to  this  movement  a  political 
character,  in  the  interest  sometimes  of  Germany  and  some- 
times of  Holland.  The  impulse  in  the  former  direction  is 
purely  artificial  and  without  any  real  importance,  but  the  im- 
pulse in  the  latter  direction  comes  from  within,  and  is  the 
natural  reaction  against  the  essentially  Walloon  revolution 
of  1830.  No  political  importance  could  attach  to  it, 
unless  French  schemes  of  annexation  were  revived,  and 
Holland  would  receive  most  unwillingly  any  accession  to  the 
already  troublesome  masses  of  her  Catholic  subjects.  The 
only  Flemish  litterateur  whose  name  has  become  known  to 
Europe  is  the  novelist  Henri  Conscience,  but  their  number 
would  appear  to  be  considerable.  The  resuscitation  of  the 
Walloon,  as  a  literary  language,  is  due  to  a  society  whose 
head-quarters  are  at  Liege,  and  some  poems  of  considerable 
merit  have  recently  been  published  in  it  ;  but,  overshadowed 
by  its  stronger  sister,  the  "  French  of  Paris,"  it  has  no  chance 
of  rising  out  of  a  subordinate  position.  So  far  as  French 
literature  is  concerned,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Belgian 
literary  efforts  have  never  shaken  off  a  certain  provincial 
character,  and  they  are  most  successful  in  local  and  provincial 
history — the  very  department  in  which  alone  there  is  some 


CONTEMPORARY  LITERATURE.  365 

literary  activity  in  French  provincial  towns.  In  this  depart- 
ment the  name  of  J.  B.  Nothomb,  the  first  of  the  two  minis- 
ters of  that  name  whom  we  have  mentioned,  occupies  a  dis- 
tinguished place  as  the  author  of  a  valuable  essay  on  the 
Belgian  revolution ;  M.  Kerv^-n  de  Lettenhove,  a  respected 
member  of  the  Clerical  party  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives, 
has  written  an  elaborate  history  of  Flanders ;  and  M.  Juste  has 
laboured  upon  kindred  subjects.  M.  Gachard,  whose  name 
stands  so  high  for  his  original  researches  in  the  history  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  born  in  France,  but  has  become  a 
naturalised  Belgian,  and  is  archivist  of  the  realm.  A  writer 
of  a  .very  different  stamp  and  of  a  quite  opposite  order  of 
merit  is  M.  Laurent,  the  professor  at  Ghent,  to  whom  we  have 
already  alluded,  and  who  is  so  cordially  detested  by  the 
clergy  ;  a  detestation  which  it  must  be  admitted  he  cordially 
reciprocates.  His  Etudes  sur  VHistoire  de  VHumanite  have 
been  compared  to  the  work  of  Mr.  Buckle,  but  the  Belgian 
far  exceeds  in  learning  his  English  rival,  although  he  is  per- 
haps inferior  to  him  in  affluence  of  ideas.  The  life,  by  M. 
Brialmont,  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  has  made  his  name 
better  known  in  England  than  those  of  M.  Thonissen  and  Van 
den  Peereboom,  who  have  Avritten  important  works  on  the 
parliamentary  history  of  their  country  from  a  Clerical  and 
Liberal  point  of  view  respectively  ;  but  the  charming  Oimsoules 
of  M.  Van  de  "Weyer,  and  the  useful  Literary  Histoiy  of  M. 
Delepierre,  have  had  many  readers  in  this  country. 

Amongst  Belsjian  economists,  the  name  of  M.  de  Molinari 
deserves  mention,  as  well  for  his  importance  in  his  own 
land  as  for  his  connection  with  Mr.  Cobden,  and  for  his 
attempts  to  extend  a  knowledge  of  free-trade  principles  in 
Kussia.     M.  Quetelet,  who  was  at  one.  time  the  instructor  of 


366  BELGIUM. 

the  late  Prince  Consort,  and  has  long  been  at  the  head  of 
the  Observatory  in  Brussels,  holds  a  distinguished  place,  alike 
as  an  astronomer  and  a  statistician.  Amongst  painters,  the 
names  of  Leys,  Gallait,  and  Verboeckhoven  are  known  to  all ; 
and  amongst  musicians,  De  Beriot  and  Vieuxtemps  have  also 
a  respectable  place. 

These  names,  which  we  might  supplement  by  those  of 
geologists,  botanists,  and  persons  fairly  distinguished  in  many 
other  departments  of  intellectual  labour,  will  show  that  the 
kingdom  of  1830  has  not  been  idle.  Thirty-five  years  are  a 
very  short  space  in  the  history  of  a  nation,  and  we  have  no 
doubt  that  the  Belgians  will  yet  do  far  more  than  they,  have 
done.  The  generation  which  made  the  revolution  is  only 
just  passing  away,  and  that  .which  first  inherited  the  full 
benefit  of  its  labours  is  only  coming  upon  the  scene.  Political 
life  and  the  good  ordering  of  social  arrangements  have  occu- 
pied hitherto  the  chief  energies  of  the  people.  Intelligence 
and  information,  rather  than  genius  or  learning,  have  hitherto 
been  characteristic  of  Belgium.  It  is  the  chosen  land  of  lec- 
tures and  scientific  congresses — of  associations  for  the  further- 
ance of  all  good  things. 

The  paper  of  the  extreme  right  is  the  Bien  Puhlic  of 
Ghent,  which  upholds  the  views  of  the  Monde  and  the  Givita 
Gattolica,  and  is  written  with  considerable  vigour  and  ability. 
The  less  acharn4  section  af  the  party  is  represented  by  the 
Journal  de  Bruxelles  and  its  satellite  the  Emanci'pation ;  to 
some  extent  also  by  La  PaiXy  which  is,  however,  the  organ  of 
M.  Coomans,  who  is  apt  to  fight  for  his  own  hand,  and  is 
more  especially  devoted  to  the  interest  of  the  Peace  party. 
The  governmental  section  of  the  Liberal  party  has  for  its 
principal  exponent  in  the  press  the  Eclio  du  Farlement,  which 


POPULATION  AND  PAUPERISM.  367 

is  understood  to  be  inspired  by  M.  Fr^re-Orban  himself,  and 
the  Journal  de  Liege,  one  of  the  oldest  papers  in  Belgium, 
which  has  been,  ever  since  its  foundation  a  himdred  and  one 
years  ago,  in  the  family  of  its  present  proprietor,  M.  Desoer. 
The  influence  of  LI.  Frere-Orban,  who  is  connected  with 
Liege  and  with  the  Desoer  family,  is  very  perceptible  in  its 
pages  also.  Further  to  the  left  is  the  Independance,  with 
which  every  one  is  familiar,  and  which  is  at  present  edited  by 
a  man  of  remarkable  intelligence,  M.  Berardi.  The  Indei^end- 
ance  is,  however,  more  European  than  strictly  Belgian.  The 
most  consequent  section  of  the  Liberals  has  an  able  organ 
in  the  Bevue  Trimestrielle  ;  the  Clericals  a  respectable  one  in 
the  Revue  Generale,  to  which  Ducpetiaux  and  other  well- 
known  names  contribute. 

The  name  of  that  great  statistician  reminds  us  that  we 
have  omitted  one  subject  on  which  a  few  words  may  be  ex- 
pected. We  shall  not  be  very  far  T\Tong  in  stating  the 
present  population,  in  round  numbers,  at  about  5,000,000. 

This  is  a  very  dense  population  for  an  area  which  is  only 
equal  in  size  to  about  one-third  of  Ireland.  From  1840  to 
1850  the  alarm  caused  by  the  amount  of  pauperism  was  very 
great,  and  during  the  last  three  years  of  that  period  two  out 
of  five  amongst  the  operative  classes  are  said  to  have  received 
relief,  while  the  w^hole  number  of  assisted  paupers  rose  during 
the  ten  years  from  401,000  to  901,000.  It  is  not,  then,  to  be 
wondered  at  that  in  1848  the  government  voted  a  sum  of 
about  £20,000  for  transporting  a  body  of  emigrants  to  the 
United  States.  In  1856,  13,861  emigrated,  but  in  1860  — 
thanks,  we  may  hope,  to  the  improvement  of  the  times — the 
number  had  fallen  to  9339.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  years  from  1847  to  1857  saw  the  death-struggles  of  agri- 


368  BELGIUM. 

cultural  protection,  and  that  in  Belgium,  as  amongst  ourselves, 
tlie  failure  of  the  potato  caused  at  first  an  extraordinary  amount 
of  distress.  More  recently  the  American  war  inflicted  much 
misery  upon  the  working  class  in  Ghent  and  other  manufac- 
turing towns  ;  but  some  of  the  accounts  which  then  reached 
England  were  greatly  exaggerated.  Pauperism,  however,  con- 
tinues, and  is  likely,  we  fear,  long  to  continue,  a  subject  of 
serious  anxiety  as  well  to  the  Belgian  as  to  the  Dutch  and  the 
English  legislature.  Unlike  this  country  and  Holland,  Belgium 
is,  however,  very  lightly  taxed  ;  the  average  amount  payable 
by  the  Belgian  citizen  to  the  state  being  only  twenty-six 
francs,  to  which  three  may  be  added  for  provincial  and  com- 
munal assessments.  The  corresponding  amount  payable  by 
the  English  citizen  is  said  to  be  about  seventy  francs,  and  that 
of  the  French  citizen  over  sixty  francs.  In  Belgium  <there  is 
no  floating  debt  at  all,  and  the  whole  of  the  funded  debt 
might  be  easily  wiped  off  by  the  sale  of  the  state  railways 
and  canals.  These  are  facts  upon  which  M.  Erere-Orban  has 
good  reason  to  congratulate  himself,  and  they  are  facts  wliich 
ought  not  to  be  lightly  disregarded  by  those  who  speculate 
upon  Belgium  being  merged  with  her  own  goodwill  in  the 
French  empire. 

We  have,  it  will  be  observed,  spoken  throughout  of  the 
parties  which  divide  Belgium  as  Clericals  and  Liberals.  This 
is  the  true  distinction,  and  it  is  one  which  extends  far  back 
into  history,  and  which  made  itself  manifest  to  all  Europe 
when,  during  the  "  Brabantian  revolution "  against  Joseph 
II.,  the  Clerical  revolutionists  under  Van  der  Noot,  and  the 
Liberal  revolutionists,  or  Vonckists,  began  to  fight  to  the  death 
long  before  they  had  secured  their  victory  over  Austria.  M. 
Bechamps,  in  his  careful  and  very  interesting  article,  which 


iM.    DECHAMPS.        *  369 

appeared  in  January  1865  in  tlie  Bevtte  G^nerale,  expresses  the 
utmost  horror  at  the  increasing  tendency  of  Belgian  politicians 
to  divide  themselves  into  two  camps,  according  to  their  religious 
or  philosophical  opinions  ;  but  M.  Dechamps  shows  in  this, 
as  indeed  he  does  in  all  his  political  conduct,  that  he  does  not 
comprehend  the  world  in  which  he  is  living.  In  grouping 
themselves  ever  more  and  more  into  two  great  parties,  accord- 
ing to  their  views  as  to  the  highest  questions  which  can  occupy 
mankind,  Belgian  politicians  are  only  yielding  to  the  resistless 
stream  of  tendency.  M.  Dechamps  points  to  England  and 
Holland,  but  in  both  these  countries,  if  he  will  only  look 
closely  at  them,  he  would  see  the  stream  of  tendency  flow- 
ing in  the  same  direction.  We  should  like  to  take  the  dis- 
tinguished Belgian  politician  under  the  gallery  of  the  House  of 
Commons  on  a  "  Church  Wednesday ;"  and  as  for  Holland, 
we  think  that  M.  Groen  van  Prinsterer  would  enlighten,  not 
to  say  alarm,  him  a  good  deal  if  he  were  to  ask  that  stout 
defender  of  the  faith,  how  far  Holland  is  free  from  symptoms 
like  those  which  he  deplores  in  Belgium. 

Those  who  read  M.  Dechamps'  article — and  every  one  who 
wants  to  understand  Belgium  ought  to  make  a  point  of  read- 
ing it — should  study  as  a  corrective  the  admirable  paper  on 
the  same  subject  by  M.  £mile  de  Laveleye,  in  the  Bevioc  des 
Deux  Moncles  for  1864  In  it  we  see  the  hand  of  a  man  who 
does  know  the  world  in  which  he  is  living,  and  who,  without 
making  to  himself  any  illusions  as  to  the  formidable  character 
of  Belgian  party-strife,  has  faith  in  liberty,  and  believes  that 
the  wisdom  of  the  Congress  will  be  justified  of  her  children. 
Many  of  our  readers  will  remember  the  four  emblematical 
figures  around  the  column  which  commemorates  the  Congress 
at  Brussels,  representing  respectively  : — 

2b 


370  •  BELGIUM. 

Liberty  of  Worsliip, 

Liberty  of  the  Press, 

Liberty  of  Instruction, 

Liberty  of  Association. 

Belgium  enjoys  these  liberties  in  more  unstinted  measure 

than  any  European  country,  our  own  not  excepted  ;  and  that 

she  should  succeed  is  of  the  utmost  possible  importance  to 

mankind,  and  above  all  to  that  portion  of  it  which  does  not 

speak  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue. 

Si  vous  reussissez  (cried  the  Prince  de  Broglie  to  the  Belgians), 
I'epreuve  est  faite,  et  tout  le  monde  pent  reussir  apres  vous,  et  la  societe 
moderne  est  sauvee.  Mais  si  vous  ne  reussissez  pas  ?  Ah  !  je  ne  veux 
pas  prevoir  cette  hypothese  !  Quand  on  marche  et  quand  on  lutte,  il 
ne  faut  pas  regarder  du  cote  de  I'abime,  pour  n'etre  pas  pris  par  le 
vertige.  Tout  ce  que  je  sais,  e'est  que  si  vous  ne  reussissez  pas  par  le 
noble  moyen  que  vous  employez,  personne  ne  reussira  par  aucun  autre. 

We  have  no  difficulty  in  admitting  that  M.  Dechamps  is 

in  the  main  correct,  and  that  the  active  principle,  so  to  speak, 

in  Belgian  Liberalism  is  the  same  which  caused  the  great  revolt 

of  the  human  mind  against  the  Latin  Church,  and  which 

brought  about  the  revolution  of  1789.     Call  it  the  right  of 

private  judgment,  the  libre-pens^e,  or  what  you  will,  we  will 

not  quarrel  about  words.     M.  Dechamps  is,  however,  very 

unfair  in  attributing   to   the  present   Liberal   politicians  of 

Belgium,  as  represented  in  actual  affairs,  the  exaggerations  or 

errors  of  M.  Laurent  and  others  whom  he  names.     It  w^ould 

be  just  as  unfair  to  attribute  to  M.  Dechamps  himself,  the 

worst  superstitions  and  the  most  dishonest  aims  of  those  who 

pull  the  strings  of  the  Clerical  party.     We  give  M.  Dechamps 

the  fullest  credit  for  sincerity  when  he  tells  us  that,  in  his 

capacity  of  Belgian  citizen,  he  accepts  the  constitution  with 

the  same  submission  with  which,  in  his  capacity  of  Catholic, 

he  accepts  the  Encyclical  of  December  1864    It  is  an  astound- 


CLERICALS  AND  LIBERALS.  371 

ing  feat  of  intellectual  legerdemaiu.  We  cannot  even  conceive 
how  it  is  done,  but  that  it  is  done,  in  perfect  good  faith,  we 
have  not  the  smallest  doubt.  Nevertheless,  we  think  that  the 
ideas  of  M.  Dechamps,  and  of  the  better  class  of  Belgian  Cleri- 
cal politicians,  are  no  more  tlie  active  principle  of  Belgian 
clericalism  than  are  those  of  M.  de  Montalembert  the  active 
principle  of  French  clericalism.  The  active  principle  is  to  be 
found  in  the  ideas  of  the  Encyclical,  in  the  ideas  of  the 
Mojide.  The  Clerical  party  of  Belgium  is  really  not  a  conser- 
vative but  a  reactionary  party,  and  only  one  of  two  things 
is  possible — either  that  it  should  fairly  succumb  to  the  oppo- 
site opinion,  and  become  a  permanent  minority,  or  that  it 
should  be  strong  enough  fairly  to  put  down  its  opponents,  and 
once  more  to  reintroduce  the  regime  of  the  dark  ages.  M. 
Dechamps  contemplates  a  third  possibility.  He  points  out  to 
the  ministry  that  it  is  only  in  the  Walloon  districts  that  they 
are  becoming  stronger,  and  that  they  cannot  hope  to  overpower 
the  Catholics  in  the  Flemish  districts.  Such  a  division  of 
parties  points  directly  towards  a  division  of  the  country,  with, 
say,  the  Scheldt  for  a  boundary.  Cut  off  between  Protestant 
Holland  and  an  anti-Catholic  Walloon  country,  one  would 
think  the  faithful  would  have  a  bad  time  of  it ;  and  for  other 
reasons  which  we  shall  adduce  in  the  sequel,  we  have  no  faith 
in  this  solution  of  the  difficulty. 

No,  the  two  old  enemies — priestcraft  and  free-thought — 
must  remain  in  the  "  Cock-pit  of  Europe,"  and  fight  it  fairly 
out.  We  trust  that  we  may  by  this  article  call  the  attention 
of  some  who  have  hitherto  only  thought  of  Belgium  as  an 
uninteresting  little  secondary  state,  to  the  fact  that  this  great 
battle  is  being  there  fought  out  with  ever-deepening  earnestness. 

Any  one  who  has  followed  our  resume  of  the  reign  of 


372  BELGIUM. 

Leoj)old  will  have  perceived  that  the  Liberals  have  since  1830 
not  only  held  their  own,  but  considerably  improved  their 
position.  If  this  were  not  so,  M.  Dechanips  would  not  shriek 
and  protest  so  loudly.  He  feels  in  his  heart  of  hearts  that  the 
sceptre  is  passing  away  from  the  power  which  he  reveres,  and 
that  his  friends,  in  spite  of  all  declamations,  will  become  a 
permanent  minority.  The  hour,  however,  of  final  triumph  for 
the  Liberals  will  not  strike  for  some  time  yet ;  the  adver- 
sary is  still  very  strong,  or  M.  Laurent  would  not  call 
for  his  destruction  j:>er  fas  ct  nefas.  The  adversary  is  strong 
from  the  ignorance  of  the  masses  in  the  country  districts, 
from  the  hold  which  the  priests  have  still  over  the  women  in 
all  ranks,  from  the  prejudice  which  connects  in  the  minds  of 
large  classes  of  the  population  the  old  usages  of  Catholicism 
with  the  first  principles  of  morality.  He  is  supported  by  a 
large  and  powerful  section  of  the  aristocracy,  by  great  wealth, 
by  the  ever-increasing  religious  associations,  by  the  family 
diplomacy  in  arranging  marriages  and  the  like,  which  has  been 
reduced  to  a  science  by  the  Eomish  clergy  in  all  lands,  by  an 
unrivalled  organisation,  and  last,  not  least,  by  the  many  virtues 
which  are  bound  up  with  the  farrago  of  superstitions  which 
forms  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  party.  The  Liberals,  inferior 
in  many  points  to  their  opponents,  have  on  their  side  that  one 
great  force  which  is  stronger  than  all  the  others  put  together — 
the  modern  spirit,  the  example  of  all  progressive  countries,  the 
nature  of  things.  One  weapon  which  the  Clericals  are  largely 
using  will  have  to  be  wrested  from  them  by  the  strong  hand 
of  a  parliamentary  majority — tliat  is,  the  power  of  creating,  by 
evasions  of  the  law,  religious  institutions  which  become  pos- 
sessed of  vast  amounts  of  propert}^,  and  are  corporations  in  all 
but  name.  •  At  the  foundation  of  such  institutions,  a  strong 


CLERICALS  xVND  LIBERALS.  373 

state  may  wink,  but  they  are  altogether  contrary  to  public 
policy ;  and  sooner  or  later,  as  they  become  troublesome, 
experience  has  shown  us  that,  even  in  the  most  Catholic 
countries,  the  rough  hand  of  power  falls  upon  them  and  pro- 
claims that  when  religion,  stepping  out  of  its  own  sphere, 
becomes  a  rival  of  the  powers  of  the  earth,  she  must  expect  to 
meet  from  them  the  same  treatment  which  they  give  to  each 
other.  The  pamphlet  published  by  M.  Dechamps,  entitled 
La  France  et  V  Allemagiie,  which  appeared  some  months  after 
the  article  to  which  we  have  called  attention,  is  a  production  of 
very  inferior  merit,  although  it  excited  much  more  attention 
beyond  the  limits  of  Belgium.  The  leading  idea  is  the  same — 
that,  namely,  the  dissensions  of  Belgian  parties  are  dangerous 
to  the  independence  of  the  state  ;  but  the  sketch  of  the  general 
politics  of  Europe,  upon  which  it  is  founded,  betrays  a  very 
imperfect  knowledge  and  radically  false  ideas  upon  many 
important  points. 

A  very  different  and  infinitely  more  valuable  hrochure  is 
that  which  was  published  by  M.  Van  de  Weyer,  under  the 
title  of  Richard  Cohden,  Boi  des  Beiges.  We  may  regret  the 
altogether  too  depreciatory  tone  in  which  the  eminent  diplo- 
matist speaks  of  a  man  who,  if  he  held,  as  we '  think  he  did, 
erroneous  views,  not  only  with  regard  to  Belgium,  but  with 
regard  to  several  other  matters  of  foreign  politics,  was  very  far 
indeed  from  being  an  authority  merely  upon  free  trade. 
When  Mr.  Cobden's  ^vritings  are  collected,  as  we  trust  they 
may  ere  very  long  be,  by  some  competent  hand,  his  general 
political  reputation  will,  we  suspect,  rise  considerably,  and 
his  body,  so  to  speak,  of  doctrine,  if  not  exempt  from  heresy, 
will  be  found  far  more  wide-reaching  and  complete  than  it  is 
usually  thought  to  be.     Putting  aside,  however,  all  his  reflec- 


374  BELGIUM. 

tions  upon  Mr.  Cobdeii,  and  making  some  allowance  for  the 
irritated  national  feelincj  of  one  who  saw  what  was  to  some 
extent  his  own  work  threatened,  we  think  that  M.  Van  de 
Weyer's  answer  is  complete.  The  neutrality  of  Belgium,  to  be 
good  for  anything,  must  be  an  armed  and  powerful  neutrality, 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  guaranteeing  powers  being  tempted  to 
accept  the  subjugation  of  Belgium  as  an  accomplished  fact. 
The  personal  individual  interest  of  England  in  the  independ- 
ence of  Belgium  may  easily  be  over-rated.  We  doubt  whether 
the  interest  of  whatever  is  good  in  France  in  the  independence 
of  Belgium  can  possibly  be  over-rated.  Of  course  a  time  may 
come  when  France  is  perfectly  different  from  what  it  is  now  ; 
when  Chauvinism  is  as  dead  as  Druidism  ;  when  the  revolu- 
tionary period  has  fairly  come  to  an  end,  and  Belgium  and 
France  are  separated  not  by  a  huge  political  chasm,  but  by  a 
mere  imaginary  line.  The  politician  has,  however,  little  to  do 
with  such  far-off  speculations.  For  the  present,  and  for  any 
time  to  which  we  can  look  forward,  it  is  of  essential  importance 
to  the  weal  of  France  herself,  that  Belgium  should  go  on  work- 
ing out  her  own  problem  in  her  own  way. 

M.  Dechamps'  pamphlet  and  the  newspaper  discussions  to 
which  it  gave  rise,  did  no  good.  They  roused  the  slumbering 
spirit  of  the  annexationist  party  in  France;  they  excited  un- 
easiness in  the  minds  of  many  Belgians  who,  only  desiring  to 
be  let  alone,  would  have  nevertheless,  if  they  saw  annexation 
coming,  desired  to  set  their  house  in  order  and  make  the  best 
of  it ;  and  they  gave  occasion  to  persons  on  both  sides  of  the 
channel  to  misrepresent  the  policy  of  England  by  declaring 
that  we  should  "  abandon "  Belgium  as  we  "  abandoned " 
Denmark.  Let  our  English  critics  and  foreign  detractors  take 
comfort.     The  very  men  in  the  House  of  Commons  who  would 


FRANCE  AND   BELGIUM.  375 

have  strained  every  nerve  to  throw  out  the  government  which 
they  had  supported  for  years,  if  it  had  dared  to  take  one  more 
step  in  favour  of  Denmark,  and  whose  intended  defection,  in- 
timated to  Lord  Palmerston  at  a  critical  moment,  did  much  to 
prevent  that  crowning  folly,  would  be  the  first  to  urge  armed 
intervention  in  favour  of  Belgium,  if  she  were  at  present 
threatened.  The  case  of  Denmark,  in  her  relations  to  Schles- 
wig-Holstein  in  1864,  is  closely  analogous  to  that  of  Holland 
in  its  relations  to  Belgium  in  1830.  In  reading  the  history  of 
that  time,  we  sympathise  nearly  as  much  with  Holland  as  with 
Belgium  ;  in  living  through  the  events  of  1864,  we  sympa- 
thised nearly  as  much  with  Denmark  as  with  Germany ;  but 
sympathy  and  antipathy  have  no  right  to  govern  political 
action.  Taking  a  broad  view  of  the  question  of  1830,  it  was  right 
to  throw  the  influence  of  England  into  the  scale  of  Belgium  ; 
taking  a  broad  view  of  the  question  of  1864,  it  would  have 
been  right  to  throw  the  influence  of  England  into  the  scale  of 
the  Diet,  thus  obtaining  far  better  terms  for  Denmark,  and 
taking  away  from  the  Prussian  government  the  temptation 
to  play  before  high  Heaven  those  pranks  in  which  it  has  lately 
been  indulging  itself. 

Conscious  of  no  jealousy  towards  France,  but  desirous  on 
the  other  hand  of  seeing  her  increasingly  prosperous,  free,  and 
powerful — nay  even  content  to  see  her,  if  she  once  more  returns 
to  a  parliamentary  system  of  government,  taking  the  pas  of  us 
in  Europe,  while  we  fall  back  upon  our  unquestioned  cosmo- 
politan hegemony — we  should  nevertheless  rather  incur  the 
great  calamity  of  a  war  with  her,  than  allow  her  to  annex 
Belgium  by  force  or  fraud.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  could  be 
proved  that  Belgium  ardently  desired  to  be  united  to  France, 
we  should  not  think  ourselves  justified  in  attempting  to  forbid 


376  BELGIUM. 

the  banns.  As  we  have  already  hinted,  we  think  it  not  in  the 
least  improbable  that  our  children's  children  may  live  to  see 
that  day  arrive. 

It  is  true,  no  doubt,  that  as  long  as  France  is  under  an 
absolute  government,  not  Belgium  only,  but  every  state  in  this 
part  of  Europe  is  continually  in  danger,  for  a  fit  of  ill-temper 
on  the  part  of  the  occupant  of  the  Tuilleries  may  at  any  moment 
put  an  end  to  the  general  peace.  This  state  of  things  is,  how- 
ever, we  all  trust  and  believe,  only  temporary,  and  it  is  only 
simple  justice  to  the  emperor  of  the  French  to  say  that  we  do 
not  believe  that  he  has  the  remotest  intention  or  desire  to  in- 
terfere with  his  northern  neighbour.  He  might  be  driven  to 
attempt  to  annex  Belgium,  as  he  might  be  driven  to  attack 
England  or  Germany,  but  it  would  only  be,  as  long  as  he  con- 
tinued in  his  sane  mind,  if  he  saw  that  the  popular  desire  in 
France  for  such  an  enterprise  was  so  great  as  to  make  him 
tremble  for  his  own  position  if  he  did  not  yield  to  it.  Every 
year  that  has  passed  over  us  since  1858  has  made  his  personal 
position  stronger  and  has  diminished  the  influence  of  the  "  old 
parties,"  although  it  has  fortunately  not  diminished  the  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  best  minds  in  the  nation  for  free  institu- 
tions. That  there  is  a  large  class  in  France  which  would  hail 
with  delight  an  attack  upon  Belgium  we  do  not  doubt.  We 
know  but  too  well  by  how  many  the  most  hazardous  and  un- 
provoked attack  upon  England  would  be  hailed  with  satisfac- 
tion ;  but  for  the  opinions  of  the  most  intelligent  French 
politicians,  on  this  subject,  we  would  refer  the  reader  to  the 
admirable  remarks  of  M.  Forcade,inthe  Bevue  des  Dfiux  Mondes 
of  the  15th  of  December  1865.  If  a  free  government  is  once 
more  re-established  in  France,  these  are  the  views  which  we 
should  expect  to  prevail  in  a  majority  of  the  legislative  body  ; 


THE  FUTURE.  377 

and  as  long  as  the  existing  system  lasts,  we  trust  to  tlie  good 
sense  of  the  Emperor,  to  his  wide  knowledge  of  European 
politics,  as  well  as  to  his  love  of  ease  and  his  desire  to  keep 
his  dynasty  on  the  throne  of  France.  If  the  malignant  mis- 
chief-making of  Count  Bismark,  the  unwisdom  of  the  Austrian 
gOA^ernment,  or  the  madness  of  the  Italian  people,  should 
plunge  Europe  into  war,  it  is  far  from  improbable  that  his 
''  complete  liberty  of  action  "  will  be  used  ere  that  war  ends  for 
the  aggrandisement  of  France,  but  nothing  seems  less  probable 
than  that  he  should  meddle  with  Belgium. 


INDEX. 


Aberdeen,  Lord,  335 
Administration  of  Spain,  30  et  seq. 
Adrianople,  treaty  of,  145 
Africa,  places  on  northern  and  western 

coasts  of,  belonging  to  Spain,  28 
Agricultural  serfs  of  Russia,  division  of, 

into  two  great  classes,  80 
Aksakoff,  M.,  a  Russian  journalist,  110, 

117 
Albaida,  Marquis  of.     See  Orense 
Alcala,  the  famous  university  of,  51 
Alcaldes  (mayors),  Spanish,  30,  32,  33 
Alexander  I.  of  Russia,  66,  79  ;  unfortu- 
nate policy  into  which  he  was  led,  67  ; 
the  Holy  Alliance,  67-69  ;  the  Poles, 
88 
Alexander  II.,  his  accession  to  the  throne, 
71  ;  results  since  achieved,  131,  132. 
See  Russia 
Alicante,  35 

Altenstein,  a  Prussian  statesman,  203. 
Amador  de  los  Rios,  a  Spanish  author, 

49 
Amat,  Rico  y,  his  work  on  Spain,  3 
American   war,    effect   of,    in   Belgium, 

362,  368 
Amsterdam,  Athenaeum  at,  327 
Andalusia,  attempts  at  colonisation  in, 

38 
Anglican  and   Eastern  Churches,  union 

of,  101 
Angouleme,  Due  d',  5 
Anhalt-Bemburg,  266 
Anhalt-Cothen,  266 
Anhalt-Dessau,  dukedom  of,  267,  274. 
Annabon,  an  island  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea, 

siibject  to  Spain,  28 
Annexationist  party  in  France,  354,  374 
Anmucire  cles  Deux   Mondes,  valualjle 

articles  on  Spain  in  the,  4 
Antwerp,  353  ;   citadel  of,  surrendered 
by  Chasse  to  the  French,  335  ;  "  con- 
vention" of,  345 
AraktcheiefF,  a  favourite  of  Alexander  I., 

67 
Aranjuez,  19 


Ai'guelles,  a  Spanish  statesman,  8 

Aristocracy  in  Prussia,  244 

Armero,  General,  21 

Arminius,  298 

Army  of  Spain,  43  ;  of  Prussia,  227, 
243  ;  of  the  Germanic  Confederation, 
270 

Arndt,  Ernst  Moritz,  a  German  pro- 
fessor, 262 

Arnold,  Matthew,  321 

Arragon,  9  ;  Carlist  rising  in,  1 9 

Art  and  music  of  the  Russian  Church, 
97 

Asia,  Russian  aggrandisement  in,  102, 
103 

Assis,  Don  Francisco  de,  husband  of  Isa- 
bella II.  of  Spain,  16 

Athemeums,  Dutch,  327 

Attache  at  Madrid,  a  work  on  Spain, 
professedly  from  the  diary  of  a  Ger- 
man diplomatist,  3,  33 

Attorney,  the  Spanish,  31,  et  seq. 

Auersperg,  Count  (Anastasius  Griin), 
159 

Auerswald,  a  Prussian  statesman,  208  ; 
becomes  a  member  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lern  cabinet,  224 

Austria,  modern  history  of,  135  ;  recent 
writers  upon,  136  ;  Joseph  II.,  his 
plans  of  reform,  and  the  forces  opposed 
to  them,  136-138  ;  regard  for  tra- 
ditional rights  in  Hungary,  138  ;  Leo- 
pold II.  and  his  policy,  139  ;  the 
inaciionary  system,  140  ;  the  two 
dominatmg  men  during  this  state  of 
things  :  the  Emjieror  Francis  and 
Prince  Metteniich,  140-144 ;  the 
Greek  insurrection  of  1821  and  the 
policy  of  Mettemich — its  influence  on 
Hungarv,  144-149  ;  the  Polish  struggle 
of  1831,  148,  149  ;  the  triumvirate 
imder  Ferdinand,  150-152  ;  course  of 
events  in  Hungary  from  1836  to  1848, 
153-158  ;  Croatia,  155  ;  the  nobles 
and  the  system,  159  ;  seizure  of  Cra- 
cow, and  the  Galician  massacres,  160, 


380 


INDEX. 


161  ;  effects  of  the  February  revolu- 
tion in  Paris,  162  ;  flight  of  Metter- 
nich,  163;  Kossuth,  158,  163;  the 
revolutionary  pei'iod  of  1848-49,  164- 
166  ;  the  reaction, — Schwartzenberg, 
166  ;  Bach  and  his  system,  167-170  ; 
xuipopularity  of  Austria  at  this  time 
in  France  and  England,  170  ;  influ- 
ence of  the  Russian  war  on  her  internal 
politics  ;  fall  of  M.  Bach,  172,  173  ; 
system  inaugurated  by  the  October 
Dijiloma  (of  1860),  174,  175  ;  session 
of  the  "  strengthened  Council  of  the 
Empire,"  175,  176  ;  Bach's  successor, 
M.  Schmerling,  177  ;  his  policy  and 
administration,  178-182,  185  ;  the 
manifesto  of  September  1865  announc- 
ing the  overthrow  of  the  Schmerling 
policy,  and  its  results,  186-189  ;  diffi- 
culties with  which  Austria  has  to 
contend,  189-193  ;  the  commercial 
treaty  with  England,  191-193;  the 
question  of  Venetia,  194  ;  relations  to 
Germany,  195,  196  ;  to  Turkey,  197  ; 
the  Polish  question,  197,  198  ;  Aus- 
tria's future,  199,  200 

Ayacuchos,  an  epithet  given  to  Espar- 
tero's  party,  12 

Ayuntamientos,  Spanish,  32 

Bach,  Alexander,  an  Austrian  states- 
man, 167  ;  the  Bach  system,  168- 
170;  fall  of,  172,  173 

Baden,  Grand-duchy  of,  267,  273 

Bader,  a  German  philosopher,  67 

Balearic  Isles,  22,  28 

Balmez,  52 

Baltic  provinces  of  Russia,  serfs  of  the, 
81,  83 

Banking,  Spanish,  37 

Barca,  Calderon  de  la,  17 

Barcelona  rises  in  rebellion,  10  ;  demo- 
cratic agitations  at,  12  ;  university  of, 
52 

Barzanallana,  M.,  a  Spanish  statesman, 
27,  40 

Batavian  Republic,  proclamation  of, 
292 

Batthyani,  Count  Louis,  president  of  the 
Hungarian  ministry  in  1848,  184 

Bavaria,  253,  271 ;  Louis  of,  246,  271 

Baur,  Ferdinand  Christian,  founder  of 
the  new  Tubingen  school  of  theology, 
271,  283 

Beasain,  1. 

Bekker,  Balthasar,  299 

Bclcredi,  Coimt,  Austrian  Minister  of 
Interior,  185 

Belgian  press,  transgressions  of,  brought 


before  the  Congress  of  Paris  by  Count 
V/alewski,  347 
Belgium :  united  \nth  Holland  by  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  (1815),  332; 
grievances  of  the  Belgians  arising  from 
this  union,  333  ;  the  "  four  glorious 
days"  of  Septeinber  1830,  and  forma- 
tion of  a  provisional  government,  334  ; 
the  revolutionary  Avar,  335  ;  inaugura- 
tion of  the  king,  Leopold  I.,  336  ; 
settlement  with  Holland,  337  ;  atten- 
tion turned  to  internal  questions,  337  ; 
ministry  of  De  Theux  overthrown, 
338  ;  ministry  of  Rogier,  Nothomb, 
and  Van  de  Weyer,  339  ;  De  Theux 
again  in  power,  and  again  succeeded 
by  Rogier,  340  ;  M.  Frere-Orban,  340, 
341  ;  ministerial  programme,  341  ; 
eff"ect  of  the  news  of  the  February  re- 
volution (1848)  of  Paris,  342  ;  liberal 
reforms,  343  ;  dissensions  on  educa- 
tional questions,  343,  344  ;  dissolution 
of  the  Senate  ;  Rogier  succeeded  by 
De  Brouckere,  345,  and  he  by  a  moder- 
ate clerical  government — Charles  Vi- 
comte  Vilain  xiiii.,  345,  346,  and  Pierre 
de  Decker,  346,  347 ;  the  Belgian 
press  censured  by  the  plenipotentiaries 
in  the  Congress  of  Paris,  347,  348  ; 
the  crisis  of  1857,  348-350  ;  letter  of 
the  king,  350,  351  ;  the  ministry  re- 
sign, 351,  and  Rogier  is  recalled,  352  ; 
party  struggles,  353  ;  effect  on  the 
Belgians  of  the  cession  of  Savoy  and 
Nice  to  France,  354 ;  commercial 
treaty  with  France ;  debate  on  the 
recognition  of  Italy  ;  question  of  the 
fortiflcations  of  Antwerp,  355,  356  ; 
commercial  treaty  with  England,  356  ; 
fiscal  improvements,  357  ;  ministerial 
interregnum,  357,  358  ;  M.  Dechamps, 
358,  and  his  programme,  359  ;  disso- 
lution of  tlie  House  of  Representatives, 
and  the  return  of  a  Liberal  majority, 

359  ;  the  Encyclical  of  December 
1864,  and  the  controversies  it  raised, 

360  ;  death  of  Leopold,  360  ;  his  char- 
acter, 361  ;  condition  in  which  he  left 
his  adopted  country,  362  ;  recent 
works  on  Belgium,  363  ;  the  French 
(Walloon)  and  Flemish  dialects,  364  ; 
contemporary  literature,  365  ;  names 
distinguished  in  other  departments  of 
intellectual  labour,  365,  366  ;  journal- 
ism, 366,  367  ;  population  and  pauper- 
ism, 367  ;  parties  in  Belgiiim,  Cleri- 
cals and  Liberals,  368-374  ;  France 
and  Belgium,  374-376  ;  the  future, 
377 


INDEX. 


381 


Belgium  and  Holland,  attempts  to  weld 
into  one  state,  293 

Benedek,  Lndwig  von,  an  Austrian 
general,  160 

Benevolent  fomidations  of  Belgium,  345, 
349 

Bergasse,  ^7 

Berlin,  on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the 
February  revolution  in  Paris,  206  ; 
state  of  siege  iDroelaimed,  210  ;  muni- 
cipality of,  remonstrates  against  Bis- 
luark's  proceedings  Avith  regard  to  the 
press,  237 

Bernmdez,  Zea,  6 

Bernard,  Dr.,  4 

Bernstorff,  M.,  a  Prussian  statesman, 
231,  233  ;  his  proposals  for  the  reform 
of  the  Germanic  Confederation,  279 

Bethmann-Holhveg,  M.,  a  Prussian  pro- 
fessor, and  member  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lern  cabinet,  223 

Beust,  M,  von,  Saxon  minister  m  the 
Germanic  Diet,  272,  279 

BibikolF,  General,  of  Kussia,  81 

Bidassoa,  the,  1,  5 

Bilbao  pronoimces  for  Don  Carlos  as  pre- 
tender in  SiDain,  5 

Bilderdyk,  a  Dutch  poet,  301 

Bismark,  Coimt,  167,  233-235,  377  ;  his 
proceedings  "with  regard  to  the  press, 

237  ;  treatment  of  Liberal  demands, 

238  ;  the  Sclileswig-Holstem  question, 
\  238,  239  ;  his  ofiensive  attitude  to- 
wards Parliament,  239  ;  the  Danish 
war,  240  ;  the  reaction  brought  about 
by  him,  249  ;  his  proposals  for  the 
reform  of  the  Germanic  Confederation, 
281 

Blaser,  Spanish  General,  17 

Bludoff,  Count,  81 

Bockum-Dolffs'    party  in   Prussia,   232, 

238 
Bohemia,  influence  of  the  Polish  struggle 

of  1831   on  the  public   mind  there, 

148,  158 
Bondholders,  Spanish,  41 
Boner's  "  Transylvania"  referred  to,  133, 

135,  ISO,  190 
Boniu,  General  von,  224 
Books  on  Spain,  2  ;  on  Poland,  92,  93  ; 

on  Russia,  115-117  ;  on  Holland,  291 ; 

on  Belgium,  373 
Borrow,  Mr.,  author  of  Bible  in  Spcdn, 

7,   33,  50  ;  his   expedition  a  perfect 

failure,  57 
Bost,  M.,  a  Belgian  preacher,  362 
Brandenburg,  Count,  209,  212 
Bravo,   Gonsalez,  a  Spanish  statesman, 

14,  25,  29 


Brenier,  Baron,  266 

British  interest  in  the  regeneration  of 
Spain,  64 

Brouckere,  Henri  de,  government  of,  in 
Belgiimi,  345,  351 

Bruck,  an  Austrian  cabinet  minister, 
171,  173,  217 

Brunswick,  267,  272 

Brussels,  Belgian  revolution  of  1830 
commenced  at,  334  ;  Liberal  uni- 
versity of,  337,  348  ;  Liberal  gather- 
ing  in,  340,  342 

Bryce,  James,  B.A,  of  Oxford,  on  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  253 

Buckle,  Mr.  Henry  T.,  his  opinion  of 
Spain  and  the  Spaniards,  1,  2,  28,  59 

Buda  and  Pesth,  j^roposal  to  unite  by  a 
chain-bridge,  153 

Bull-fight,  the,  in  Spain,  62 

Caballero,  Fernan,  50 

Cadiz,  Constitution  of,  4,  5 

Calderon,  59 

Cahinism  in  Holland,  298 

Camphausen,  "transition"  ministry  of, 
209 

Canary  Islands,  28 

Carcel  del  Corte,  the,  in  Madrid,  33 

Carlists  of  Spain,  46,  47 

Carlos  (Don),  his  pretensions  to  the 
Spanish  throne,  5  ;  the  interests  he 
represented,  -6 

Carlowitz,  M.,  a  Prussian  Liberal,  235 

Carlsbad,  Congress  of,  259 

Cartesian  philosophy,  influence  of,  on 
Dutch  theology,  299 

Castelar,  Emilio,  of  the  imiversity  of 
Madrid,  26,  47 

Catherine  II.  and  Russian  serfdom,  SO  ; 
commission  called  bv  her.  111 

Chambers,  William,  321 

ChamiakofF,  a  Russian  poet,  101,  106 

Charles  III.  of  Spain,  43,  49 

Charles  IV.,  48 

Charles,  Archduke  of  Austria,  and  bro- 
ther of  Francis  I.,  140 

Charras,  Colonel,  his  expulsion  from 
Belgium,  345 

Chasse,  General,  siirrendered  the  citadel 
of  Antwerp  to  the  French,  335 

Cheremetieflf,  the  Russian  family  of,  81 

Chokier,  M.  Surlet  de,  regent  in  Bel- 
gium in  1831,  334 

Christina  of  Spain  :  her  proceedings  as 
regent  during  the  minority  of  her 
daughter  Isabella  II.,  6  ;  yields  to 
the  mutineers  of  La  Granja,  8  ;  at 
Barcelona,  10  ;  resigns  the  regency, 
11  ;  military  revolt  in   1841   in   her 


382 


INDEX. 


interest,  12  ;  her  quarrel  with  Nar- 
vaez,  17 

Church,  the  Russian,  95-102  ;  its  clergy 
of  high  rank  and  its  ordinary  priests  to 
be  distinguished,  98  ;  the  Dissidents, 
99,  100  ;  idea  of  union  between  the 
Eastern  Church  and  the  Anglican 
communion  talked  of  by  Russian 
priests,  101 

Circassia,  109. 

Civil  wars  of  Spain,  42 

Clarke's  (Dr.)  travels  in  Russia,  65,  73 

Clergy  of  the  Russian  Church,  97,  98 

Clerical  and  Liberal  parties  in  Belgium, 
and  their  contests,  3-36  et  seq.,  368- 
374 

Clerical  interference  with  education  in 
Belgium,  343,  345,  348 

Club,  Milani,  the,  217 

Cobden,  Richard,  365,  373,  374 

Coburg  and  Gotha,  twin  duchies  of,  277 

Cocceius,  Johannes,  theological  professor 
at  Leyden,  299 

Collin,  General,  160 

Colonies  of  Spain,  28,  44-46,  62,  63 

Cologne  banquet,  stopping  of  the,  241 

Colonial  empire  of  Holland,  330,  331 

Comines,  Philip  de,  101 

Commerce,  Spanish,  38 

Commercial  treaty  between  England 
and  Austria,  191-193  ;  between  Bel- 
gium and  France  (1861),  355  ;  be- 
tween Belgium  and  England  (1862), 
356 

Communes  in  Belgium,  law  of  the,  337, 
339,  350 

Commune  in  Russia,  or  "the  Mir,"  77 
et  seq. 

Concordat  with  Spain  of  1852,  17  ;  of 
1860,  24  ;  with  Austria  in  1855,  168 

Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  253-255 

Congresses,  European,  68,  171,  258, 
259 

Conscience,  Henri,  a  Flemish  novelist, 
364 

Constantine,  Grand-duke,  of  Russia,  81, 
109 

Constantinople,  have  we  reason  to  fear 
Russian  designs  upon  ?  104 

Constituent  Cortes  of  1837  in  Spain,  8  ; 
of  1840,  10  ;  of  1854,  18, 19  ;  of  1855 
— debate  on  religious  toleration,  56 

Constitutionalists,  Spanish,  46,  47 

Constitutional  question,  the,  in  Prussia, 
235-242 

Constitution  (Spanish)  of  Cadiz,  4  ;  the 
EsUituto  Real,  6  ;  that  of  1837,  8  ; 
of  1845,  15  ;  the  constitution  now  in 
force,  29 


"Convention"  of  Vergara,  9;  of  Gas- 
teiii,  214  ;  of  Antwei'p,  345 

Convention  (secret)  of  Prussia  with 
Russia,  236 

Cortes  of  Cadiz,  its  constitution  of  1812, 
4  ;  overthro\\'n  by  Ferdinand  VII.  in 
1814,  5 

Cortes,  Donoso, — De  Mazade's  article  on, 
in  the  Remie  des  Deux  Mondes,  4 

Cossacks,  the,  of  Russia,  72,  73,  83 

Coup  d'etat  of  2d  December  1851  in 
Paris,  213 

Courses  in  Dutch  universities,  329 

Cousin,  Victor,  321,  327 

Cracow,  seizure  of,  by  Austria,  in  1846, 
161 

Crimean  war,  70,  71  ;  results  of,  in 
Russia,  107,  131  ;  attitude  of  Austria 
during,  171-173  ;  Prussia,  during  pre- 
ceding negotiations,  214,  217 

Criminal  law  in  Spain,  Z\  et  seq. 

Croatia,  155 

Cuba,  27  ;  filibustering  expeditions  to, 
44  ;   slavery  in,  45 

Cumberland,  Duke  of.  King  of  Hanover, 
263,  272 

Cuvier,  321,  327 

Czartoryski,  Prince  Adam,  88 

Czechs,  the,  of  Prague,  155  ;  recent  agi- 
tation amongst  them,  200 

Da  Costa,  M,,  a  Dutch  theologian,  302 

Dalberg,  duke  of,  254 

Danish  war,  the,  238-240,  250,  286- 
288,  374,  375 

Deak,  Francis,  an  eminent  Hungarian 
patriot,  181,  184 

Death,  punishment  of,  in  Spain,  31 

Dechamjis,  M.,  leader  of  a  section  of  Bel- 
gian Catholics,  358;  "programme" 
of  his  policy,  359  ;  his  political  pamph- 
lets after  being  defeated  when  candi- 
date for  Charleroi,  368  et  seq. 

De  Decker,  an  eminent  Belgian  politician, 
345-348,  351 

Delfosse,  M,,  a  Belgian  politician,  342 

Democratic  party  in  Spain,  47  ;  demo- 
cratic organisation  in  Russia,  113 

Denmark,  238,  250 

De  Theux,  ministry  of,  in  Belgium,  337 
et  seq. 

Devaux,  M.,  important  article  by,  in  the 
Rexme  Nationale,  338 

Deventer  Athenteum,  327 

De  Wette,  318 

Diet  {Bundes-Versammlung)  of  Ger- 
many, why  so  called,  267  ;  legisla- 
tive and  executive  powers  of  the  Con- 
federation  vested  in,  267  ,*   constitu- 


INDEX. 


383 


tioii  of,  268  ;  summary  of  what  is 
within  the  competence  of,  268,  269 

Diet  of  Frankfort,  258  ;  its  hostile 
sections,  261  ;  resigns  its  powers  to 
Archduke  John  of  Austria  as  Vicar 
of  the  Empire,  261  ;  transfers  its 
sittings  to  Stuttgardt,  262 

Disaffection  in  Belgium  during  the 
imion  with  Holland,  333 

Dissidents,  the,  in  Eussia,  99  ;  their 
divisions  and  subdivisions,  100 

Doblado's  Letters  on  the  religious  state 
of  Spain,  54 

Dolgoroukoff,  Prince,  81,  110. 

Don,  Cossacks  of  the,  73 

Dort,  Synod  of,  298 

Douro,  river,  39 

Dresden  Conferences,  266 

Drought,  next  to  misgovernment,  the 
great  curse  of  Spain,  38 

Dulce,  Spanish  general,  17 

Dunes   of  Holland,  289 

Diippel,  240 

Dutch  and  English  Society,  few  links  of 
connection  between,  291 

Dutch  Reformed  Church,  306  et  seq.  ; 
reply  of  its  General  Synod  to  the  re- 
quest of  some  zealots,  319,  320 

East  Prussia,  states  of,  203 

Ebro,  river,  39. 

Ecclesiastical  system  in  Holland,  298 

Echo  de  la  Presse  Russe,  124,  125  ; 
passage  quoted  from,  on  the  foreign 
politics  of  Russia,  108 

Education  in  Spain,  48-54  ;  in  Russia, 
118,  119  ;  in  Prussia,  221  ;  in  the 
Netherlands,  297,  321  :— schools,  322- 
327  ;  universities,  327-330 

Edwards,  Mr.  Sutherland,  on  the  Polish 
insurrection,  92  ;  miisic  in  the 
Russian  Church,  97  ;  his  "  Russians 
at  home,"  116,  117 

Eichhorn,  unpopularity  of  his  appoint- 
ment as  Minister  of  Public  Instruction 
in  Prussia,  203,  204 

Emancipation  of  serfs  in  Russia,  81  ; 
state  of  feeling  prevalent  between  the 
amiouncement  of  the  intention  of 
Government  and  the  production  of  its 
plan,  82  ;  the  extent  of  emancipation, 
and  proclamation  of  enfrancliisement, 
83 ;  actual  and  probable  results, 
86,  87 

Ende,  M.  Van  den,  author  of  the  law  as 
to  the  primary  schools  of  Holland,  322 

English  ideas  about  Russia,  65,  66  ; 
are  our  interests  in  Asia  likely  to 
clash?    102,    103  ;    misapprehension 


by  English  journalists  of  the  situation 
in  Prussia,  242,  286-288  ;  the  English 
press  misled  as  to  the  real  position 
and  tendencies  of  Belgium  in  1864  by 
the  writings  of  M.  Dechamps,  360 

Enzinas  family  in  Spain,  58 

Ecitvos,  Baron  Joseph,  leader  of  a  Hun- 
garian party,  157 ;  his  "  Village 
Notary,"  180  ;  his  pamphlet  hie 
Natioimlitdten-Frage,  1 93 

Erasmus,  298 

Erfurt  Parliament,  232,  235,  264 

Ernest  Augustus,  Duke  of  Cumberland 
and  King  of  Hanover,  263,  272 

Ernest  II.,  Duke  of  Coburg  and  Gotha, 
brother  of  Albert,  Prince  Consort  of 
the  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  277-279 

Escosura,  a  Spanish  politician,  20 

Escribano  (notary),  the  Spanish,  31, 
32 

Espartero,  Spanish  commander-in-chief, 
9  ;  becomes  regent,  11  ;  his  govern- 
ment attacked,  12  j  its  fall,  13  ; 
sailed  for  England,  13 ;  again  in 
power,  18-20 ;  his  property  near 
Logroflo,  38 

Esquiros,  Alphonse,  his  work  on  Hol- 
land, 291,  329 

Estatuto  Real,  the,  a  constitution  jiro- 
mulgated  by  Christina  of  Spain,  6 

Esterhazy,  Count  Maurice,  an  Austrian 
statesman,  185 

Exports,  Spanish,  38 

February  1848,  events  of,  16, 162,  206, 

260,  293,  297,  341 
Fedei-al  Act,  the,  by  which  the  Germanic 

Confederation     is     created,  —  stages 

through  which  it  passed,  257,  258 
Ferdinand  VII.  of  Spain,  5,  63. 
Feudal  party,  and  its  leaders,  in  Prussia, 

214  et  seq.,  243-245 
"  Filioque,"  feud  of  the,  95 
Final  Act  of  the  Germanic  Confederation, 

259 
Finance,   Spanish,    miuistiy  of,   39-42  ; 

financial  disorder  in  Russia,  109 
Finland,  108 

Fire  insurance  in  Spain,  37 
Fires  in  Russia,  in  1864,  and  the  causes 

to  which  they  are  attributable,  122, 

123 
Fiume,  an  Adriatic  port,  155 
Flaquer,  Mane  y,  a  Spanish  journalist,  47 
Flottwell,  a  Prussian  statesman,  224. 
Fomento  (Public   Welfare),  department 

of,  in  Spain,  34-39 
Forcade,   M.,  a   French   writer,    on  the 

Prussian  situation,  245,  376 


384 


INDEX. 


Ford's  Handbook  for  S2xcin,  5,  29,  33, 
38,  62 

Foreign  Affairs,  Spanish  Minister  of — 
the  policy  he  should  follow,  46 

Foreign  politics  of  Russia,  107,  108 

Fortresses,  great,  of  Germany,  270 

Fortschritts  Partei  of  Prussia,  its  princi- 
pal aims,  228,  229,  231  ;  address 
embodying  the  demands  of  the  Liberal 
party,  237,  238 

France  and  Belgium,  374-376 

Francis  I,  of  Austria,  as  a  man  and  a 
ruler,  141,  142 

Francis  Josejih,  emperor  of  Austria,  and 
his  advisers,  166,  246 

Frankfort  Parliament  of  1848,  212  ;  the 
Diet,  258,  268  et  seq. 

Fraser,  article  in,  on  Spain,  quoted,  28, 
48  ;  article  on  Circassia,  109 

Free-trade  party  in  Eussia,  1 09 

Frederick  William  III.  of  Prussia,  202 

Frederick  William  IV.  of  Prussia,  201  ; 
popular  acts  at  the  opening  of  his 
reign,  202,  203  ;  desirous  of  a  change 
in  the  constitution  of  the  Germanic 
Confederation,  260  ;  offered  the  crown 
of  the  resuscitated  German  Empire, 
but  declines,  262  ;  humiliation,  207  ; 
goes  to  Warsaw  to  meet  Nicholas, 
213  ;  his  illness,  221  ;  regency  of 
his  brother,  the  Prince  of  Prussia,  and 
changes  in  policy,  221-225 

Frederick  William,  Crown-Prince  of 
Prussia,  247 

Frederick  VII.  of  Denmark,  his  death 
gives  a  formidable  turn  to  the  Schles- 
wig-HoLstein  question,  238 

Frederick  the  Great,  248 

French  books  reprinted  in  Bnissels,  con- 
troversy between  France  and  Belgium 
regarding,  345 

French  government,  assistance  of,  to 
Christina  of  Spain,  12 

Frere-Orban,  an  eminent  Belgian  states- 
man, 340,  341,  344,  368 

Fi-eytag,  M.,  on  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
248 

Future  of  Russia,  119-122  ;  of  Austria, 
199,  200  ;  of  Prussia,  247-251  ;  of 
Belgium,  377 

Gagern,  Heinrich  von,  a  German  states- 
man, 261,  276  ;  his  father,  255 
Gai,  Louis,  a  journalist  in  Croatia,  155 
Galiano,  a  Spanish  statesman,  7 
Galicia,  massacres  in,  160,  161 
Gansfoort,  Wessel,  of  Groningen,  298 
Garcia,  Sergeant,  8 
Garibaldi  at  Maisala,  173 


Garrido,  Fernando,  his  work  on  Spain, 

3,  4,  31,  38,  44,  45 
Gastem,  convention  of,  241 
George  Victor,  Prince  of  Waldeck,  274 
Gerlach,  the  President  von,  a  leader  of 

the  Feudalists  in  Prussia,  215  et  seq. 
"  German  party  of  Progress,"  the,  228 
German  question,  the,  in  Austria,  170, 

195,  197  ;  in  Prussia,  212,  249 
German  unity,  problem  of,  282-286 
Germanic  Diet,  the  ;  desirability  of  its 
disruption,  248,  249  ;  political  organ- 
isation of,  252  ■;  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine,  253 ;  disintegration  of  Ger- 
many consequent  on  the  breaking-up 
of  the  Confederation,  254  ;  negotia- 
tions of  1814,  255,  256  ;  the  Federal 
Act  :  various  stages  through  which  it 
passed,  257 ;  its  chief  stipulations, 
258  ;  the  Final  Act,  259  ;  ministerial 
conferences  at  Vienna  in  1834  conse- 
quent on  the  revolutionary  agitation 
which  had  been  called  forth  by  the  fall 
of  the  elder  branch  of  the  Bourbons, 
260 ;  the  Frankfort  parliament  of 
1848,  and  its  hostile  sections,  261  ; 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia  is  offered 
the  crown  of  the  resuscitated  German 
Empire,  but  declines  it,  262  ;  the 
"Union,"  263  ;  the  reaction,  263,  264 ; 
the  crisis  of  1850,  265  ;  states  in- 
cluded in  the  Confederation,  267  ;  the 
Diet  and  its  assemblies,  268  ;  summary 
of  what  is  within  the  competence  of 
the  Diet,  268,  269  ;  its  departmental 
committees,  funds,  army,  etc.,  270  ; 
extent  and  population  of  the  various 
states,  270,  271  ;  remarks  on  the  poli- 
tical life  of  some  of  these,  in  their  in- 
dividual capacity  : — Bavaria,  Wiirtem- 
berg,  Saxony,  271  ;  Hanover,  Brims- 
wick,  Weimar,  272  ;  Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Hesse-Cassel,  Baden,  the  two  Mecklen- 
burgs,  Oldenburg,  273  ;  Anhalt-Des- 
sau,  Schwarzburg-Sondershausen  and 
Schwarzburg  -  Rudolstadt,  Lichten- 
stein  and  Waldeck,  274 ;  Reuss-Greitz 
and  Reuss-Schleitz,  Lippe  -  Detmold, 
Schaumburg  -  Lippe,  Schleswig  -  Hol- 
stein,  Luxemburg  and  Limburg,  275 ; 
Robert  von  Mold,  273-276  ;  plans  sug- 
gested for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Con- 
federation, 276-281  ;  Count  Bismai-k's 
proi)osals,  281;  objections  to  theGross- 
deutsche  idea,  282 ;  difference  in 
various  respects  between  Northern 
and  Southern  Germany,  282  ;  problem 
of  Gei-man  unity,  283-286  ;  the  Schles- 
wig-Holstein  imbroglio,  286-288 


INDEX. 


385 


Germany,  diflerence  betweeu   Novtheru 

and  Southern,  2S2,  283 
Ghent,  state  university  of,  348 
Gibraltar,  British  possession  of,  63 
Gneist,  Dr.,  241 

Goherimcion  (Minister  of).     See  Interior 
Goblet,  General,  cited,  335,  336 
Godunoff,  Boris,  a  Russian  usurper,  80 
Goluchowski,   Count,    of   Austria,    172, 

175 
Goniarus,  a  Dutch  theologian,  298 
Gomez,  the  famous  Carlist  leader,  9,  25 
Gotha  despatch  of  Lord  Russell,  234 
Gotha,    party    of,    supporters    of    the 

"  Union,"  263 
Grabow,  M.,  a  Prussian  Liberal,   230, 

235,  238  ;  his  speech  at  the  opening 

of  the  session  of  1865,  246 
Granja  (La),  mutiny  of,  7,  9 
Greek  Church,  the,  96 
Greek  insurrection  in  1821,  and  Metter- 

nich's  policy,  144,  145 
Gregory  XVL,  Pope,  encyclical  letter  of, 

and  its  eifects  on  parties  in  Belgium, 

in  1832,  336 
Groen  (van  Prinsterer),  M.,  an  eminent 

statesman  and  historian  in  Holland, 

303  et  seq.,  323  et  seq.,  369 
Groningen  school  of  theology,  307-309 
Groningen,  imiversity  of,  327 
Groot,    Hofstede  de,  a  Dutch  professor, 

307,  308,  325 
Grotius,  299 
Griin,    Anastasius    (Count    Auersperg), 

159 
Gucifdia  Civil,  the,  33 

Hague,  the,  333 

Hallischen  Jahrhlicher,  the,  4 

Hanover,  267,  272  ;  king  of,  263 

Hansemann  cabinet  in  Prussia,  209 

Harbours,  Spanish,  41 

Hardenberg,   Karl   August,    a  Prussian 

statesman,  256  et  seq. 
Harkort,   M.,   and    the   section   of  the 

party     of    progress     known    as    the 

Fraction  Harkort,  230 
Havel,  marshes  of  the,  201 
Haxthausen,  a  Avi'iter  on  Russia,  referred 

to,  65,  72,  78,  106 
Haynau,  General,  176 
Hayward,  Mr.,  212 
Heidelberg,  the  Vorparlaament  of,  260, 

261 
Hengstenberg,  E.  W.,  a  German  theolo- 
gian, 204,  224 
"  Herrenhaus,"  218,  244 
Herzen,  M.,  a  -writer  on  Russia,  quoted 

and  referred  to,  78,  79,  102 

9 


Hesse-Cassel,  or  Electoral  Hesse,  mis- 
government  of,  265,  267,  273 

Hesse-Darmstadt,  2  67,  273 

Hesse-Homburg,  267 

Heydt,  Von  der,  a  Prussian  statesman, 
224,  231,  233,  238 

Hinckeldey,  director-general  of  police  iu 
Prussia,  219 

"Historical"  school  of  publicists  and 
of  jurists  iu  Prussia,  204 

Hohenlohe,  Prince,  231 

Hohenzollerns,  the  two,  Hechingen  and 
Sigmaringen,  267 

Hohenzollern,  Prince  of,  and  his  cabinet, 
222-225 

Holland  as  described  by  Pliny,  289  ; 
changes  since  his  time,  290  ;  books  on, 
291  ;  earlier  and  more  recent  history, 
292,  293  ;  rapid  political  advance 
since  1848,  293-297  ;  ecclesiastical 
system,  298-320  ;  schools  of  theology, 
306-315  ;  education :  schools,  321- 
327  ;  universities,  327-330  ;  her  colo- 
nial empire,  330,  331 

HoUweg,  M.,  223.  See  Bethmami-Holl- 
weg 

Holstein,  people  of,  287.  See  Schleswig- 
Holstein 

Holy  Alliance,  the,  67  et  seq.,  145, 
259 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  252,  254 

Horner,  Leonard,  321 

House  of  Commons,  British,  debates  on 
Poland,  95 

Hiibner,  M.  de,  Austrian  Minister  of 
Police,  172 

Huet,  M.  Busken,  a  Dutch  theologian, 
313,  314 

Humboldt,  Alexander  von,  202,  247 

Humboldt,  William  von,  255 

Hungary,  books  on,  134-136  ;  changes 
introduced  by  Joseph  II.  137,  138  ; 
influence  of  the  Greek  revolution  of 
1820, 146-148  ;  and  of  Polish  insurrec- 
tion of  1831,  148,  149  ;  debates  in  the 
Diet  1832-1836,  152,  158  ;  com-se  of 
events  down  to  1848,  153-158  ;  Hun- 
garian parties,  157,  158  ;  Kossuth, 
158,  163,  172  ;  the  laws  of  1848, 
163,  164  ;  Bach  aud  the  Hungarian 
magnates,  172  ;  Vay,  the  leader  of  the 
Hungarian  Protestants,  summoned  to 
Vienna,  176  ;  policy  of  Schmerling, 
177  et  seq.;  Diet  of  1861,  178;  re- 
sistance to  Austrian  policy  from  the 
dissolution  of  the  Diet  till  the  Patent 
of  September  1865,  180  ;  the  "  Old 
Conservatives,"  181  ;  programme  of 
the  Liberals,  182  ;   the  letters    from 


2  C 


386 


INDEX. 


Pesth,  and  the  chief  pomts  laid  down 
in  them,  182-184 
Hymans,   M.,   cited   on  provisional  go- 
vermnent  in  Belgivun  in  1831,   334, 
836 

Industries  of  Spain,  38 

Interior  (ministry  of),  in  Spain,  S2  et 
seq. 

Isabella  II.  of  Spain,  her  accession  to  the 
throne,  5  ;  pretensions  of  Don  Carlos, 
5-9  ;  her  marriage,  16  ;  discussion  of 
the  question  in  the  Cortes  as  to  whether 
she  was  to  be  kept  on  the  throne,  19  ; 
makes  over  to  the  nation  the  patrimony 
of  the  CroAvn,  26  ;  extent  of  her  do- 
minion, 28 

Isturiz,  a  Spanish  statesman,  7,  21 

Italian  war  of  1859,  the  impulse  given 
to  national  feeling  in  Prussia  by,  228 

Italy,  kingdom  of,  recognised  by  Spain, 
27  ;  by  Prussia,  232  ;  debate  on,  hi 
the  Belgian  Chambers,  355,  356 

Jacoby,  Dr.,  of  Konigsberg,  prosecuted 
on  account  of  a  pamphlet,  204,  208 

Jagow,  M.  von,  a  Prussian  statesman, 
231 

Jemappes,  outbreak  in  the  commune  of, 
350 

Jews  in  Germany,  258 

John,  Archduke,  of  Austria,  elected 
Vicar  of  the  empire,  261 

Jonas,  M.,  a  Prussian  Protestant 
preacher,  209 

Joseph  II.  of  Austria  ;  his  plans  of  re- 
form and  the  forces  opposed  to  them, 
136,  137  ;  his  policy  in  Hungary,  138 

Journalism  in  Spain,  47,  48  ;  in  Russia, 
115-117,  124,  125  ;  in  Priissia,  237  ; 
in  Belgium,  366,  367 

Junkers,  or  Feudal  party,  in  Prussia,  226, 
243  e^  seq. 

Kaltenbobn,  an  authority  on  the  con- 
stitution and  history  of  the  Confeder- 
ation of  the  Rhine,  253 

Kant,  Immanuel,  224 

Karamsine,  N.  M.,  the  Russian  his- 
torian, 110 

KatkofF,  a  Russian  journalist,  116,  123, 
125 

Kisseleff,  Count,  81 

Klaczko,  M.,  his  article  on  Poland,  198 

Klebelsberg,  an  Austrian  statesman,  1 49 

Kleist-Retzow,  a  Prussian  Feudalist,  226 

Koloomzine,  M.,  on  Russian  universities, 
^17,  118 

Kolowrat,  Count,  a  member  of  the  tri- 


umvirate in  Austria  under  Ferdinand, 

150,  151 
Kossuth,  153  ;  his  memorable  words  in 

March  1848,  and  their  results,   158, 

163  ;  in  the  Italian  campaign  of  1859, 

172 
Kremlin,  the,  at  Moscow,  96 
Kremsier,  Austrian   National  Assembly 

removed  to,  during  the  revolutionary 

period  of  1848-49,  165 
Ki-euz-Zeitung  party  in  Prussia,  214  et 

seq.,  221,  238;  its  principles  dominant 

in  Mecklenburg,  244,  245 
Krtidener,  Madame  de,  66  et  seq. 
Kutusoff,  Russian  field-marshal,  254 

Lathente's  history  of  Spain,  49 

Lamennais,  358 

Lampe,  Professor  at  Utrecht,  299,  300 

Land-question  in  Poland,  126-130 

Lands  belonging  to  Spanish  clergy,  sale 
of — its  effect  on  the  material  revival 
of  Spain,  35  ;  waste  lands,  38 

Larisch,  Count,  an  Austrian  statesmen, 
185 

Larra,  inscription  suggested  by,  to  be 
over  the  gate  of  the  Madrid  Exchange, 
39 

Larra,  De  Mazade's  article  on,  in  the 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  4 

Laurent,  Professor,  a  Belgian  writer, 
348,  370  ■ 

Laveleye,  M.  de,  cited,  323 

Law,  Russian,  115 

"  League  of  the  Three  Kings,"  262-264 

Leiningen,  Count,  his  mission  to  Con- 
stantinople, 170 

Leitha,  the,  158,  175 

Leon,  General,  12 

Leopold  L,  chosen  king  of  the  Belgians, 
335  ;  letter  of,  illustrative  of  his 
moderating  influence  over  party  dis- 
putes, 350  ;  his  death,  360  ;  his  char- 
acter, and  secret  of  his  success,  360, 
361 

Leopold  II.  of  Belgium,  361 

Leopold  II.  of  Austria,  139 

Lerida,  31 

Lewis,  Sir  George,  295 

Leyden  school  of  theology,  310,  311 

Leyden,  university  of,  327 

Leyen,  Prince  von  der,  253 

Liberalism  in  Russia,  109-112;  in  Prussia, 
228-230,  249 

Lichtenstein,  principality  of,  267,  274 

Liege,  state  university  at,  337 

Lighthouses,  Spanish,  41 

Ligne,  Prince  de,  344 

Lippe-Detmold,  principality  of,  267,  275 


INDEX. 


387 


Literature  of  Spain,  47-52 ;  of  Russia, 
115-117  ;  of  Belgium,  364  etseq^. 

Llorente,  M.,  a  Spanish  statesman,  26 

"  Loi  des  Convents,"  a  bill  in  the  Belgian 
Chambers  so  called,  349 

Loja,  socialist  rising  at,  23 

Lopez,  ministry  of,  13 

Louis,  Archduke,  of  Austria,  150,  151 

Louis  Bonaparte,  king  of  Holland,  301 

Louis  Napoleon,  170 

Louis  of  Bavaria,  246,  271 

Louis  Philippe,  32  ;  his  fall  and  flight, 
206  ;  letter  to  Leopold  on  the  political 
gathering  at  Brussels,  340,  342 

Louvain,  Catholic  university  at,  337 

Ltibeck,  267 

Lucena,  Count  of.     8ee  O'Donnell 

Luchana,  Count  of.     See  Espartero 

Lunatic  asylums  of  Spain,  33 

Lutherans  in  Holland,  316,  317 

Luxemburg  and  Limburg,  267,  275, 
276 ;  transferred  from  Belgium  to 
Holland,  337 

Maager,  M.,  174 

Madoz,  Don  Pascual,  a  Spanish  states- 
man and  statistician,  23,  49 

Madrid,  university  of,  51-53 

Magdeburg,  201 

Magyars,  the,  15i  et  seq.     See  Hungary 

Majlath,  George  von,  chancellor  of  Hun- 
gary, 185. 

Malaga,  23 

Malines,  Catholic  university  at,  trans- 
ferred to  Louvain,  337 

Mancha  (La),  9 

Mann,  Horace,  on  education  in  Prussia, 
220 

Manteuffel,  Freiherr  Otto  von,  ministry 
of,  210  et  seq.,  221,  222. 

Manufactures,  Spanish,  38 

Margall,  Pi  y,  a  Spanish  journalist,  47 

Maria  Theresa,  165 

Maroto,  a  lieutenant  of  Don  Carlos,  9 

Marsh's  Man  and  Nature  quoted,  93 

Matamoros,  and  the  religious  movement 
in  Spain  to  which  his  name  is  attached, 
57 

Material  revival  in  Spain,  progress  of, 
and  field  for,  34-39. 

Matthi^,  223 

Maurice  of  Nassau,  298 

Maximilian,  king  of  Bavaria,  232 

Mazade,  M.  C.  de,  papers  on  Spain  and 
Russia  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes, 
4,  27,  125 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  the  worst  go- 
verned district  in  Germany,  244,  245, 
273 


Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  267,  273 
Meudizabal,  ministry  of,  in  Spain,  7 
Mennonites  in  Holland,  316,  317 
Metternich,  Prince,  67  et  seq.,  140 ;  his 
baneful  influence  on  the  foreign  policy 
of  Austria,  143,  144  ;  takes  part  in 
the  negotiations  of  1814  as  to  the  Ger- 
manic Confederation,  257  ;  misappre- 
hended by  the  mob  of  Viemia  in  1343, 

150  ;    his   opposition   to   all   reform, 

151  ;  flight  of,  163 

Military  question,  the,  in  Prussia,  226, 

231 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  295,  315 
Milutine,    M.,    his    pamphlet    on    the 

emancipation   of    the   Russian   serfs, 

83-85,  94,  127 
Minister io  del  relavipago,  the,  16 
Ministry,  the  Spanish,  departments  of,  30 
Mines,  Spanish,  34 
Minutoli's  work  on  Spain  referred  to,  2, 

33,  42,  51 
Miraflores,  Marquis  of,  succeeds  O'Don- 
nell as  President  m.  1863,  24,  and  is 

succeeded  by  Narvaez,  25 
Moderado  party  in  Spain,  6,  10-12,  seq. 
"  Modern  theology,"  school  of,  in  Hol- 
land, 311-315 
Mohl,  M.  Jules,  professor  of  Persian  at 

the  College  de  France,  273 
Mohl,    Robert    von,    representative    of 

Baden  in  the  Germanic  Diet,  273-276 
Molinari,  M.  de,   a  Belgian  economist, 

.365 
Molins,  Marquis  of.     See  Togores 
Mommers,  a  Dutch  clergyman,  300 
Mon  cabinet  (Spain),  24 
Montalembert,  M.  de,  90,  346,  358,  371 
Montalvan,  M.,  rector  of  the  university 

01  Madrid,  26 
Montemolin,  Conde  de,  22 
Montenegro,  170 
Montesinos,    Colonel,    governor    of   the 

prison  at  Valencia,  33 
Montesinos,  a  Spanish  politician,  56 
Morocco,  Avar  between  Spain  and,  22 
Moscow,  117 
Motley,  J.  L.,  author  of  the  Rise  of  the 

Dutch  RepiMic,  292 
Mouravieff",  a  Russian  general,  94, 132 
Miihler,  M.  a  Prussian  minister,  231 
Munich,  232 
Miinster,  Count,  255 
Murillo,  Bravo,  17 

Napoleon,  67,  68, 248  ;  hereditary  pro- 
tector of  the  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine,  254  ;  return  from  Elba,  256 

Narvaez  (Duke  of  Valencia),  13,  15,  16, 


388 


INDEX. 


25  ;  implicated  in  tlie  conspiracy  of 
June  1854,  18  ;  succeeds  to  power  for 
a  short  time,  21  ;  is  recalled  in  1864, 
25  ;  superseded  in  June  1865  by 
O'Domiell,  27 

National  Assembly  of  Prussia  in  1848, 
207  et  seq. 

National  Verein,  the,  277 

Navarino,  battle  of,  145 

NavaiTe,  war  of,  9 

Navy,  Spanish,  43,  44 

Negotiations  of  1814  as  to  a  Germanic 
Confederation,  255 

Neo-Catholicism,  Spanish,  46,  47 

Netherlands.     See  Belgium,  Holland 

Neutrality  in  Belgium  the  foundation  of 
her  political  existence,  345 

Newspaper  stamp  abolished  in  Belgium, 
342 

Nicholas  of  Russia,  150,  265  ;  charac- 
teristics of  his  reign,  69  ;  his  foreign 
policy,  70  ;  change  on  Russian  society 
consequent  on  his  death,  71  ;  intrusted 
to  Speranski  the  codification  of  Rus- 
sian law,  115  ;  a  return  to  his  system 
would  be  political  niin,  119,  131 

Nicholas  (Czarewitch),  hereditary  Grand- 
duke  of  Russia,  his  death,  123 

Niebuhr,  287 

Nitzsch,  C.  L.,  similarity  of  his  views 
with  those  of  the  Groningen  school, 
308  ;  he  is  the  father  of 

Nitzsch,  Karl  I. ,  a  distinguished  German 
theologian,  224 

Nobility,  Russian,  113,  114 

Nocedal,  a  Spanish  jDolitician,  21 

Norway  and  Sweden,  a  confederation  wdth 
a  common  hereditary  sovereign,  252 

Nothomb,  M.,  government  of,  in  Bel- 
gium, 338,  339,  349,  351,  359 

Novara,  battle  of,  170 

Obermayer,  33 

Oca,  Montes  de,  12 

Ochoa's  collection  of  extracts  from 
Spanish  writers,  49 

Octroi,  Spanish,  40 

O'Donnell  (Duke  of  Tetuan),  his  in- 
trigues against  Espartei'o,  12  ;  heads 
a  military  revolt  in  1854,  18,  20  ; 
division  in  the  cabinet  between  him 
and  Espartero  in  1856,  20  ;  again  in 
power  for  three  moutlis,  being  suc- 
ceeded by  Narvaez,  and  was  once  more 
called  by  the  queen,  21  ;  hostilities 
with  Morocco,  22  ;  succeeded  in  the 
ministry  by  tlie  Marquis  of  Miraflores, 
24  ;  supersedes  the  Narvaez  govern- 
ment, 27 


(Eder,  and  the  CEder  class,  211,  223 

Ofalia,  a  Spanish  statesman,  9 

Officers  of  Pnissian  army  belong  chiefly 

to  the  Junker  or  Feudal  party,  227, 

243 
Ogareflf,  his  Lettres  a  icn  Anglais  worthy 

of  study,  80 
Olazagutia,  1 
"  Old  Church,"  the,  or  Jansenist  ChiU'ch, 

in  Holland,  316 
Olden-Barneveld,    judicial    murder    of, 

299 
Oldenburg,  Grand-duchy  of,  267,  273 
Olmiitz,  212,  213,  232,  266 
Olozaga,  a  Spanish  statesman,  4,  14,  15, 

23  ;  his  flight  to  Lisbon,  15 
Oosterzee,  M.,  a  Dutch  professor,  306 
Opzoomer,  M.,  a  Dutch  theologian,  314, 

315 
Orange,  Princes  of,  292,  293 
Orense,   Marquis  of  Albaida,   his  work 

on  Spain,  3,  37 
Organ  in  worship,  dislike  of  the  Russian 

peasantry  to,  97 
Ortega,  captain-general  of  the  Balearic 

Isles,  22 
Orts,  M.,  a  Belgian  politician,  355,  359 
O'Shea's  Guide  to  Spain,  28,  29 
Oviedo,  24 

Paget,   Mr.,  author  of   Hungary  and 

Transyhxmia,  134 
Palm,  Van  der,  his  translations  of  the 

Bible  into  Dutch,  301,  309 
Palmer,  Mr.  WUliam,  101 
Palmerston,   Lord,    and  Belgium,  335, 

336 ;   his  last  government,  352  ;   his 

opinion  of  Baron  Stockmar,  360 
Pamplona,  military  revolt  at,  12 
Pansclavism,  105-107 
Papal  aggression  in  the  Netherlands  in 

1853,  296,  297 
Paris,  congress  of,  171  ;  fall  of,  254 
Paris  to  Madrid  by  railway,  1 
Parties  in  Spain  at  present,  46 
"  Patent,"  Prussian,  of  February  1847, 

205 
Raton's  works  referred  to,  135,  190 
Patow,  M,,  a  Prussian  statesman,  219, 

223 
Patrocinio  (Nun),  23 
Peasantry,   Russian,  not  all  serfs,  72  ; 

natural  characteristics  of,  96  ;  recent 

introduction  of  a  ten-itorial  an-ange- 

ment  highly  favourable  to  them,  94 
Pedro  v.,  Dom,  late  king  of  Portugal, 

222 
Peninsula,  tlie,  travellers  to,  1  ;  war  in, 

42 


INDEX. 


389 


Personal  serfs  of  Russia,  81 

Peru,  conflict  with  Spain,  24 

Pesth,  153 

Peter  the  Great,  78,  80,  111 

Pfuel,  General  von,  209 

Philip  II.  of  Spain,  30 

Philip  III.  38 

Pichegru,  Charles,  a  French  general,  292 

Pidal,  Marquis  of,  50 

Pius  IX.,  Pope,  his  encyclical  letter  of 
December  1864,  and  its  results  in 
Belgium,  360,  370 

Pliny's  description  of  Holland,  289 

Poland,  insurrection  of,  in  1831,  and  its 
influence  on  Austria,  148,  149  ;  dis- 
turbances in  1846,  and  the  Galician 
massacres,  160,  161 ;  Austria  more 
favoui'ably  disposed  to  Poland  than 
either  of  the  two  other  partitioning 
powers,  198  ;  insuiTection  of  1861, 
87  ;  the  Poles  in  the  reigns  of  Alex- 
ander^I.  and  Nicholas,  88,  89  ;  tenden- 
cies manifested  in  the  early  years  of 
Alexander  II. 's  reign,  89  ;  policy  of  the 
Zamoyski  and  the  Wielopolski  parties, 
89-92  ;  books  on  Poland,  92,  93  ;  the 
future  of,  93,  94  ;  laud-question  in, 
126-130 

Police,  Spanish,  33 

Population  and  pauperism  in  Belgium, 
367 

Porte,  the  ;  hostilities  mth  Russia,  145 

Portugal  and  Spain,  63 

Posen,  160 

Post-ofiice  management  in  Spain,  33,  34 

Poverty,  evidences  of,  in  Spain,  34 

Prague,  recent  Czechish  agitation  at,  208 

Presburg,  the  Diet  of,  155,  156  ;  events 
of  March  1848,  163 

Press  (Spanish),  regulation  of,  in  the 
hands  of  Minister  of  Interior,  34 ; 
prosecutions  in  Prussia,  203,  204 ; 
Bismark's  high-handed  proceedings 
with  regard  to,  237  ;  resolutions 
against  freedom  of,  at  the  Congress  of 
Carlsbad,  259 

Priestcraft  and  free  thought,  371 

Priests  of  the  Russian  Church,  97,  98 

Prim,  exiled  by  the  Mon  cabinet,  24 

Prisons  and  prisoners  in  Spain,  31-33 

Professors,  Belgian,  discussions  in  the 
Chambers  as  to  the  liberty  to  be  al- 
lowed them  in  explaining  their  opinions 
on  questions  affecting  religion,  349 

Progressista  party  in  Spain,  10,  47  ;  in 
favour  of  a  regency  of  three,  11 

Prussia  :  four  well-marked  periods  of 
its  recent  history,  201  ;  Frederick 
William  III.,  202';  Frederick  William 


IV.,  203  ;  early  events  of  his  reign  ; 
unpopularity  of  the  appointment  of 
Eichhom  as  Minister  of  Public  In- 
struction, 203,  204;  the  "patent" 
of  February  1847:  the  "historical" 
school  of  publicists  and  jurists,  205  ; 
opening  of  the  "  Vereinigte  Landtag," 
205,  206  ;  the  revolution  of  1848,  206, 
207  ;  the  National  Assembly  and  its 
cliques,  207-209  ;  dissolution  of  the 
Assembly,  and  announcement  of  new 
constitution,  210  ;  the  first  parliament, 
211;  the  Manteuff"el  cabinet,  213; 
the  Kreuz-Zeitung  party,  and  its 
leaders,  214-216;  the  Freiherr  von 
Vincke,  217  ;  breach  between  the 
Prmce  of  Prussia  and  the  government 
in  consequence  of  differences  of  opinion 
about  the  Russian  war,  217-220 ; 
education,  220,  221  ;  the  Prince  be- 
comes regent :  conseqiient  changes, 
221-225  ;  political  parties,  225  ;  coro- 
nation of  WiUiam  I.,  226  ;  the  military 
question,  227 ;  programme  of  the 
Fortschritts  Partei,  or  party  of  Pro- 
gress, 228,  230  ;  the  new  ministry 
(May  1862),  231  ;  M.  von  Bismarck- 
Schonhausen  becomes  President  of  the 
Council,  233-225  ;  the  constitutional 
question,  235-241  ;  the  Danish  war, 
240  ;  the  British  press  on  Pnissian 
policy,  242  ;  the  Feudal  party,  243- 
246  ;  present  difficulties,  246  ;  the 
future  of  Prussia,  247-251  ;  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  Confederation  desirable, 
248,  249. 

Public  Welfare,  ministry  of,  in  Spain, 
34-39 

Putiatine,  Admiral,  118 

QuETELET,  M.,  a  distinguished  astronomer 
and  statistician  in  Belgium,  365,  366 

Radowitz,  Joseph  von,  Prussian  genera 
and  statesman,  210,  212,  217,  266 

Railways,  development  of,  in  Spain,  35, 
36  ;  in  HoUand,  297 

Ranke,  232 

Rationalism,  German, — Dutch  variety 
of,  300,  301 

Rechberg,  Count,  Austrian  Foreign  Min- 
ister in  1859,  172 

Reconstruction  of  the  Gennanic  Confe- 
deration, plans  suggested  for,  276- 
281 

Reformed  tenets,  opposition  to,  in  Spain, 
a  chief  cause  of  its  decline,  56 

Reforms  necessary  in  the  Prussian 
Church,  97 


390 


INDEX. 


Reichensperger,  A.,  an  eminent  Catholic 

lawyer  in  Prussia,  209 
Reichsrath,  Austrian,  173  ei  seq.,  180 
Reimanis,  H.  S.,  author  of  the  '*  Wolfen- 

biittel  Fragments,"  214 
Religious  struggles  in  the  Netherlands, 

332 
Religious  toleration  in  Spain,  8,  19,  38  ; 

state  of  religion,  54-59 
Remonstrants,  a  religious  section  in  Hol- 
land, 316 
Renan,  Ernest,  on  the  authorship  of  the 

"Imitation  of  Christ,"  294,  315 
Representative   government   in    Russia, 

110,  111 
Reprinting  of  French  books  in  Brussels, 

controversy  as  to,  345 
Reuss-Greiz   and   Reuss-Schleiz,    princi- 

pahties  of,  267,  275 
Revenue  of  Spain,  40 
R^ville,  M.  Albert,  a  Dutch  theologian, 

312,  313 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  Spanish  papers 

in,  4,  44  ;    article  on  Portugal,   63  ; 

articles  on  Russia,  80,  125  ;  papers  on 

Poland,    92,   198  ;   on   Prussia,    245, 

246  ;   on  Belgium,  by  llmile  de  La- 

veleye,  369 
Rhine,  Confederation  of  the,  253-255 
Rhineland,  Kreuz-Zeitung  rule  in,   226, 

245,  250.     See  Mecklenburg 
Riego,  revolt  of,  5 
Ritter,  Karl,  Professor  Extraordinarius 

of  Geography  at   Berlin  University, 

223,  236 
Rivers,  Spanish,  39 
Roads  in  Spain,  33,  36 
Rochow,  M.  von,  a  member  of  the  Prus- 
sian Feudal  party,  219 
Rodbertus,  208 

Roggenbach,   M.   de,   a  German   states- 
man, 213 
Rogier,  M.,  a  Belgian  statesman,  338. 

See  Belgium 
Roman    Catholic  religion,  and  Spanish 

constitutions,  8 
Romanism,  form  of,  prevalent  in  Spain,  58 
Roon,    Von,   a    Prussian     general    and 

statesman,  231-236 
Rosa,    Martinez    de    la,    called   to   the 

councils  of  Christina  of  Spain,  6 ' 
Rosas,  Rios  y,  a  Spanish  statesman,  20, 

23 
Ross,  Mr.  Owen  :  his  pamphlet  on  Spain 

and  Morocco,  41 
Royalists  of  Isabella  II.,  46,  47.j 
Ruge,  Arnold,  4 
Russell,  Earl,   356  ;    his  famous  Gotha 

dispatch,  234 


Russia :  English  ideas  about,  65,  ^^  ; 
Alexander  I.,  66  ;  the  Holy  Alliance, 
^1,  68  ;  reign  of  Nicholas,  69,  70  ; 
the  Crimean  war,  70,  71  ;  accession  of 
Alexander  II.,  71  ;  classes  of  pea- 
santry not  serfs,  72-75  ;  the  com- 
mune, and  communal  institutions, 
77-80  ;  serfdom,  80  ;  working  out  of 
the  idea  of  emancipation,  81,  82  ;  the 
proclamation  of  enfranchisement,  83  ; 
its  probable  results,  84  ;  the  Polish 
insurrection  of  1861,  87-95  ;  the  Rus- 
sian Cliurch,  95-102  ;  question  of  the 
Dissidents,  99, 100  ;  Russian  aggrand- 
isement in  Asia,  102,  103  ;  Pansclav- 
ism,  105,  106  ;  foreign  politics  of, 
107,  108  ;  financial  disorder,  109 ; 
liberalism  and  its  different  sections, 
109-112;  the  nobility,  113,  114; 
Russian  law,  115,  116;  journalism, 
116,  117;  education:  universities, 
117-119  ;  future  of  Russia,  120-122  ; 
death  of  the  heir  to  the  crown,  123  ; 
results  of  the  present  reign,  131, 132 

Russian  war.     See  Crimean  war 

Russophobia,  102 

Ruthenian  peasantry  of  Galicia,  160-162 

Salamanca,  university  of,  52 
Sand-deserts  in  Poland,  93 
San-Domingo,  conflict  with  Spain,  24,  25 
Santones,  an  epithet  applied  to  Espar- 

tero's  party,  12 
Saragossa,  university  of,  52 
Sartorius,  Count  of  San  Luis,  3,  16,  17 
Saussaye,  M.  Chantepie  de  la,  a  popular 

preacher  in  Rotterdam,  306,  307 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  Duke  of,  277-279 
Saxe-Meiningen,  duke  of,  279 
Saxony,  267,  271  ;  king  of,  263 
Schaumburg-Lippe,  principality  of,  267, 

275 
Schedo-Ferroti  {nom  de  plume  of  a  well- 
informed  writer  on  Russia),  96,  97  ; 

quoted,  99  ;  his  journal,  L'JScho  de  la 

Presse  Russe,  124,  125 
Scheldt  dues,  the,  357 
Schimmelpenninck,  322 
Schlegel,  301 
Schleiermacher,  209 
Schleinitz,  the  Freiherr  Alexander  von, 

member  of  the  HohenzoUern  cabinet, 

222 
Schleswig-Holstein  question,   234,    249, 

267,  275,  286-288  ;  new  phasis  on  the 

death  of  Frederick  VII.  of  Denmark, 

238 
Schlosser,  223 
Schmerling,  M.,  an  Austrian  statesman, 


INDEX. 


391 


176  ;  succeeds  Bach  in  the  ministry, 

177  ;  his  policy  and  administration, 
173-182 ;  his  retirement  and  its  re- 
sults, 185-189,  261 

Schnitzler's  works  on  Russia,  115 

Scholten,  Professor,  of  Leyden,  310,  319 

Schools  in  Spain,  50  ;  in  Russia,  118  ; 
in  Prussia,  221  ;  in  Holland,  321  et 
seq.  ;  in  Belgium,  343 

Schou  recalled  to  office  by  Frederick 
William  IV.,  202,  225 

Schultens,  Albert,  300 

Schultze-Delitzsch,  208,  230 

Schwab's  (Dr.  Erasmus),  work  on  Hun- 
gary referred  to,  135 

Schwartz,  Dr.  Carl, ;  Court  preacher  at 
Gotha,  283 

Schwartzenberg,  Prince  of  Austria,  166, 
167,  177,  1S4,  266 

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,  principality  of, 
267,  274 

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen,  principality 
of,  267,  271 

Schwerin,  Count,  21 7,  225 

Sclaves,  or  Sclavacks  of  north-western 
Hungary,  155 

Sects,  the,  of  Holland,  Z1&  et  seq. 

Semler,  299 

Serfs  in  Russia  ;  exceptional  classes  of 
the  peasantry  not  coming  under  that 
denomination,  72,  seq.  ;  writers  giWug 
a  faithful  picture  of  the  working  of 
serfdom,  76  ;  origin  of  serfdom,  80  ; 
the  communal  institutions,  77-80  ; 
emancipation,  81-83 

Siberia,  serfs  of,  83 

Sieyes,  Abbe,  208 

Simson,  M.,  a  Prussian  statesman,  230 

Slave-trade,  the,  and  the  Spanish  go- 
vernment, 45 

Slavery  in  the  West  Indies,  measure  of 
emancipation  adopted  in  Holland,  297 

Small  proprietors,  or  odnodvortzi,  a  class 
of  Russian  peasantry,  72 

Sobieski,  John,  a  Sclavonic  hero,  147 

Soldier,  the  Spanish,  42 

Spain  :  prevalent  en'oneous  notions 
about,  2  ;  books  on,  2  ;  worthlessness 
of  most  of  the  modem  English  books 
of  Spanish  travel,  4  :  ignorance  of 
Englishmen  of  her  recent  history,  4  ; 
events  in,  during  the  minority  of 
Isabella  II.,  5-16  ;  crisis  of  June  1854, 
18-20  ;  reaction  of  1857,  21  ;  patri- 
mony of  the  Crown  made  over  to  the 
nation  by  the  queen,  26  ;  the  nine 
ministers  of  the  government,  30  ;  ad- 
ministration of  justice  in,  31  et  seq.  ; 
material   revival,   34-38  ;  finance  de- 


partment, 39-42  ;  war  department,  42- 
44  ;  colonial  department,  44-46  ;  mi- 
nistry of  foreign  affairs,  46  ;  parties 
in  Spain  at  present,  46-48  ;  literature 
and  education  in,  49-54  ;  religious 
state  of,  54-59  ;  question  of  the  dyn- 
asty, and  difficulties  to  be  contended 
with,  59-62  ;  true  policy  of,  62-64 

Speranski  an  eminent  Russian  jurist,  115 

Speyk,  Van,  a  young  Dutch  officer,  335 

Spinoza,  316 

Springer,  Professor,  of  Bonn,  his  work 
on  Austria,  134,  163 

St.  Petersburg,  disturbances  at  the  uni- 
versity of,  118 

Stahl,  a  leader  of  the  Feudal  faction  in 
Prussia,  214,  215 

Stanley,  Dean,  his  lectures  on  Russia,  95, 
98 

States  of  the  Germanic  Confederation, 
266-276 

Stein,  a  Prussian  statesman,  202,  255 

Stockmar,  Baron,  360 

Stolberg,  301 

Strauss,  Dr.,  his  observations  on  the 
late  king  of  Prussia,  214,  215 

Stuttgardt,  the  Frankfort  Parliament 
transfers  its  sittings  to,  262 

SuvaroflF,  a  Russian  statesman,  117 

S\vitzerland,  a  Federative  State  (Bvmdes- 
Staat)  252 

Sybel,  Professor  von,  232,  250 

Sydow,  M.,  a  Priassian  Protestant 
preacher,  209 

"  System,  the,"  in  Austria,  140,  158, 
159  ;  received  its  last  blow  in  conse- 
quence of  the  Galician  massacres  of 
1846,  160 

Szechenji,  Count  Stephen,  153, 157  ;  his 
proposal  to  unite  the  two  halves  of  the 
Hungarian  capital  by  a  chain-bridge, 
153 

Tagus,  the,  39 

Tchinovniks,  Russian,  their  venality  and 
incapacity,  114 

Tariff,  Spanish,  40 

Tetuan,  Duke  of.     See  O'Donnell 

Theology,  schools  of,  in  Holland,  298,  299 

Thirty  Years'  War,  the,  Prussia  just 
recovering  from,  248 

Thomas-a-Kempis,  294 

Thorbecke,  M.,  an  eminent  Dutch  states- 
man, 294-296,  324 

Thun,  Count  Leo,  as  Austrian  statesman, 
168,  169 

Ticknor,  48,  49 

Togores,  Roca  di.  Marquis  of  Molins, 
Spanish  minister  in  London,  17,  44 


392 


INDEX. 


Toledo,  cathedral  of,  59 

Toreno,  a  Spanish  statesman,  6 

Tonrgueneff,  M,  Ivan,  a  Russian  novelist, 
76 

Tonrgneneff,  M.  N,,  a  AATiter  on  Russia, 
72,  75 ;  quotations  from  an  unpub- 
lished work  by,  on  the  land-question 
in  Poland,  127-130 

Trafalgar,  43 

Transylvania,  Magyar  popidation  of, 
154 

Treaty  of  Vienna  (1809),  140  ;  of  Paris 
(1814)  as  to  the  German  States,  255; 
treaty  between  Austria  and  Prussia  as 
to  an  interim  management  of  the 
aflFau's  of  the  Confederation,  263 

Trieste,  22 

Triumvirate  in  Austria  under  Ferdinand, 
150,  151 

Troitza,  the,  96,  98 

Trueba,  Don  Antonio  de,  a  Spanish  poet, 
50 

Tubingen  University,  271 

Turkey,  jjolicy  of  Austria  A\'ith  regard  to, 
197 

Tyrol,  clergy  of  the,  151 

"Ungeist"  in  uniform,  the,  247,  251 

"  Union,  The,"  a  society  in  Belgium, 
which  paved  the  way  for  the  revolu- 
tion of  1830,  334  ;  its  composition, 
337 

"  Union,  The,"  262  ;  withdrawal  of 
Hanover,  264 

Union-Liberals  of  Spain,  47 

Unruh,  Von,  208,  238 

Universities  of  Spain,  51-53  ;  of  Russia, 
117,  118  ;  of  Holland,  327-330 

Usedom,  Baron  von,  234 

Utrecht  imiversity,  314,  315,  327 

Valdez,  General,  and  slavery  in  Cuba, 
45 

Valencia,  9,  33,  37  ;  Duke  of,  see  Nar- 
vaez 

Valladolid,  university  of,  52 

Vambery,  M.,  102 

Vay,  Baron  Nicholas,  leader  of  the  Hun- 
garian Protestants,  176 

Venema,  300 

Venetia,  the  question  of,  a  difficult  one 
for  Austria,  194,  195 

Vergara,  Convention  of,  9 

Vereinigte  Landtag,  the,  of  Prussia,  205 
et  seq. 

Ve'^sels,  Spanish,  coasting  and  for  foreign 
trade,  37 

Vicalvaro,  18 


Vicalvarist,  a  name  given  to  the  followers 
of  O'DonneU,  18,  48 

Victory,  Duke  of,  12,  13 

Vienna,  disturbances  in,  consequent  on 
the  news  of  the  February  revolution 
in  Paris,  163  ;  taking  of,  by  Prince 
Windischgratz,  165  ;  congress  of,  258 

Vilagos,  surrender  of  the  Hungarian 
army  at,  in  1849,  263 

Vilain  xiiii.,  Charles  Vicomte,  an  emi- 
nent Belgian  politician,  345,  346,  351. 
See  Belgi\im 

Vincke,  the  Freiherr  von,  a  leader  of  the 
Prussian  Liberals,  206,  217,  232 

Virchow,  Dr.,  medical  professor  at  Ber- 
lin, 230,  235 

Vinke  of  Utrecht,  315 

Vitringa,  300 

Vittoria,  12 

Voet,  of  Utrecht,  299 

Voltaire,  253  ;  religious  ideas  of,  in  the 
Netherlands,  300 

Vorparlaament,  the,  of  Heidelberg,  260, 
261 

Waldeck,  principality  of,  267,  274 
Waldeck,  an   eminent   member  of  the 

Prussian  National  Assembly,  208,  229 
Walewski,  Count,  and  the  Belgian  press, 

347 
Wallis's  work  on  Spain,  3,  30,  31,  44 
Walloon  churches,  the,  of  Holland,  306, 

311,  312 
Walloon  immigrations  into  Holland,  298 
Walouieft",    a    Russian    statesman,  117, 

122 
War  Department,  Spanish,  42-44 
Warsaw,  90,  160 
Water-supply  of  Spain,  38 
Weimar,  267,  272 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  254 
Wesselemgi,    leader    of    the    patriotic 

movement  in  Transylvania,  in  1834, 

154 
Wessenberg,  an  Austrian  statesman,  257 
Westminster  Revieio,  article  in,  on  the 

"  situation  in  Austria,"  quoted,  187, 

188 
Westphalen,  M.  von,  213,  222,  225 
Westphalia,  peasantry  of,  229 
Weyer,  M.  Van  de,  a  Belgian  statesman, 

339 
Widdrington,    Captain,    his    works   on 

Spain,  4,  57 
Wielopolski,    Marquis,  his  views  as  to 

Poland,  89  et  seq. 
Wild,  Dr  Albert,  his  Avork  on  Holland, 

291 
William,  Prince  of  Prussia  ;  breach  be- 


INDEX. 


393 


tween   him   and   the  government  on 
the  question  of  the  Russian  war,  217- 
220  ;    becomes    regent  :     consequent 
changes,  221-225  ;  coronation  as  Wil- 
liam I.  at  Kiinigsberg,  226  ;   his  ab- 
dication would  be  the  most  satisfactory 
but  least  probable  solution  of  j^resent 
difficulties,  246,  247 
William  I.,   king  of   the   Netherlands, 
his  system  of  stock-jobbing  a  source  of 
annoyance  to  the  Belgians,  333 
William  I.,  king  of  Wiirtemberg,  264 
William  III.,  kmg  of  the  Netherlands, 

293 
William  V.,  Prince  of  Orange,  292 
Windischgriitz,  Prince,  of  Austria,  165, 
184 


Wine,  the  most  important  of   Spanish 

exports,  38 
Witsius,  300 

Wittenagemote  at  Kieif,  a.d.  997,  110 
"  Wolfenbiittel  Fragments,"  the,  215 
Wolowski,  M.,  a  wi-iter  on  the  financial 

disorder  of  Russia,  109 
Wouvermans,  201 
Wiirtemberg,  267,  271 ;  king  of,  264 

XiMENES,  Cardinal,  51 

Ypsilanti,  148 

Zamoyski,  Count  Andre,  his  views  as  to 

Poland,  89,  90 
Zillerthal,  Protestants  of  the,  152 


THE  END. 


Printed  by  R.  Clark,  Edinhiirg, 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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