Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/529

Rh - Tanish '31‘. )ispute -etween urstria nd ’russia. z‘rastein enven- ion . ‘WAR OF AUSTRIA AND PRUSSI.-L] throne (1863), federal troops were despatched to the (luchies, nominally to secure that the new king should fulﬁl his predecessor’s engagements. In reality, however, their presence gave rise to demonstrations among the Ger- man population in favour of Prince Frederick of August- enburg, who, although his father had renounced his rights, claimed to be the true duke of Holstein. Prussia and Austria, having signed the London protocol, professed to disapprove his pretensions, and towards the end of 1863 proposed in the diet that they should be empowered to occupy Schleswig, so that justice might be done both to the Danish king and to the duchies. The proposal was rejected, and had Austria been acting alone, there is no reason to believe that she would have pushed her demands farther, if indeed she would ever have advanced so far. But Prussian policy was determined by a statesman who had vast ulterior ends to serve; and by his inﬂuence Austria was induced to join Prussia in declaring that, since the bund would not follow their cormsel, they were forced to act independently. In the war which followed the Danes distinguished themselves by their courage and military skill ; but they could not very long eontend single- handed with two such enemies, and on the 1st August 1864 a treaty was signed in Vienna, by which Denmark ceded to the conquerors Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. All Europe disapproved these harsh conditions; but the Prussian minister did not trouble himself about disapproval which found utterance only in words. Before the outbreak of war, Prussia had been engaged in a serious dispute with Austria. In 1862, ill the name of the customs union, the former power had concluded with France a treaty of commerce, based mainly on the principles of free trade. Most of the small states, strongly objecting to the treaty, refused to sign it ; and they were supported by Austria, which had never given up the hope of taking precedence of Prussia in the commercial as well as the political relations of Germany. Shcfprotested against the treaty, a11d demanded admission into the customs union. Prussia maintained her original position, insisting that if the treaty with France were rejected she would regard the union as no longer existing. After the war Bismarck not only succeeded in obtaining the signatures of the small states, but induced Austria to conclude a commercial treaty, essentially the same as that of 1853 ; and about the saline time treaties were signed, owing to his exertions, between the union and England and Belgium. These triumphs unmistakably indicated the rising inﬂuence of Prussia. It was not long before grave dilliculties sprang from the results of the Schleswig-Holstein war. Prussia was of opinion that there was no longer any need for the troops of the bund in Holstein; and although this view was hotly contested, the diet was compelled in the end to act upon it. Still more important was the question, what should now be done with the duchies. Austria favoured the claims of the prince of Augustenburg; and the bnnd by a small majority decided to request the two powers to invest him with the sovereignty of Holstein. Prussia protested that the matter was beyond the competence of the diet. What she herself intended was plainly shown by the fact that the Prussian war minister explained in the Prussian parliament, in connexion with a special demand for money, that it was to be devoted to the erection of a harbour at Kiel. Austria, which had the same right as Prussia to Kiel, refused her assent to this proposal ; and an inter- change of angry despatches took place, which made it highly probable that the spoilers of Denmark would soon be at each other’s throats. ‘Var was for a time prevented by the Gastein convention, by which Austria handed over Lauenburg to Prussia, and it was agreed that the former GERMANY 511 state should in the meantime administer Holstein, the latter 1863-66. Schleswig. Count Bismarck did not intend that the Gastein conven- tion should seriously interrupt the development of his policy. He had made up his mind to force a quarrel on Austria, and to settle once for all the question, first raised by Frederick the Great, whether she or Prussia should prevail in Germany. The opportunity was so _favourable that the like might never again otfer itself. Although the Govern- ment and the parliament of Prussia were still engaged in a struggle which called forth much indignation on both sides, the mass of the population was thoroughly loyal; and, as events proved, the army had been reorganized with splendid skill. Never, perhaps, in the history of the world, were there better fighters thanthe Prussian soldiers of that day; and they were led by officers full of patriotic ardour, with almost un- limited inﬂuence over their men, and trained in the best schools of military science. In the Austrian empire, notwith- standing the reforms recently instituted, discontent was still almost universal. The Hungarians sullenly demanded independence, and among the Slavonic populations there were also dangerous agitatious for local self-government. Although the army was composed of magnificent material, it was far behind that of Prussia in the mode of its adminis- tration, and grave doubts were entertained whether con- fidence could be placed in its loyalty. In these circum- stances, no one familiar with the facts could hesitate as to the side on which victory would declare itself in the event of war, and to Count Bismarck the facts were intimately known. Wiith well—considered boldness he advanced rapidly to his aim. The Austrian governor of Holstein encouraged, as he had a perfect right to do, the pretensions of the prince of A11g11stc11br1rg. In January 1866 Count Bismarck made this the subject of a bitter despatch to the Vienna Govern- ment ; and Count Mensdorf, the Austrian foreign minister, replied in the same tone. Both powers now began to make active preparations for the worst. The majority of the small states sided with Austria ; but Prussia found means of more than counterbalancing this advantage. N ow that Italy was partially united, the Italians felt humiliated at Alliance Venetia remaining in the hands of Austria. Count Bismarck offered, if she would conclude an alliance with Prussia against their common enemy, to obtain for her this magniﬁ- cent prize. The Italian Government saw that it could never have a better chance, and signed the proposed treaty. The occasion for which Count Bismarck waited presented Seven itself when the Austrian governor of Holstein summoned “Wk-“ the assembly of the states. Holstein was at once occupiec by Prussian troops, and those of Austria were driven from the duchy. The Austrian Government indignantly protested against this outrage ; and on the 14th June 1866 its pro- posal that the forces of the bnnd should be mobilized against Prussia was adopted by a majority of the diet. The Prussian plenipotentiary withdrew after submitting a scheme for the reconstitution of Germany; and the war immedi- ately began. Its events followed each other with startling rapidity. Within a fortnight Prussia had in her grasp Hanover, Hesse—Cassel, and Saxony; and on the 3d July was fought the great battle of Koniggratz, which laid her chief enemy at her feet. The power of Austria was shattered by the swift and mighty blows directed against it ; and (311 the 26th July she was glad to accept the pre- liminaries of N icolsburg, which were soon afterwards followed by the peace of Prague. The result of this war was the ﬁnal exclusion of Austria Peace of from Germany. Prussia annexed Hanover, Hesse—Cassel, Nassau, Frankfort, and Schleswig—Holstein. By the ﬁfth clause of the treaty of Prague, indeed, the inhabitants of the northern districts of Schleswig were to be reunited to Denmark, if, when freely consulted, they expressed a wish