GERMANY. 



401 



3d, endeavored to quiet the minor States on 

 this subject, by declaring that the withdrawal 

 of the Federal troops was not intended to be 

 prejudicial to the validity of a competent de- 

 cision of the Diet in the question of succession. 

 On December 5th the Diet adopted the motion 

 made by Austria and Prussia on December 1st, 

 by nine against six votes, the latter being cast 

 by Bavaria, Saxony, "Wurtemberg, Hesse-Darm- 

 stadt, the Saxon duchies, Nassau, and Bruns- 

 wick. On December 7th, the Federal Civil Com- 

 missioners, Von Koenneritz and Von Nieper, 

 resigned, and the Federal troops began to evacu- 

 ate the duchies. On December 17th, Saxony 

 and Hanover announced to the Diet that the 

 evacuation of Holstein was complete. 



On December 12th the Bavarian Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs, Von der Pfordten, issued a cir- 

 cular to the minor German States, explaining 

 the policy pursued by the Bavarian Govern- 

 ment on the German question, and on that of 

 the duchies. The Prussian prime minister, on 

 the other hand, on December 13th, sent a 

 threatening note to the States which, on De- 

 cember 5th, had voted against the proposition 

 of Prussia and Austria, declaring that if they 

 (Bavaria and the other opponents of Prussia) 

 had obtained a majority, Prussia would have 

 deemed it necessary to consider the decision 

 which would have resulted from such a vote, as a 

 violation of the Federal pact, and that, in the 

 opinion of Prussia, the design to enlarge the 

 limits of the competence of the Federal Diet, 

 would endanger the existence of the Confeder- 

 ation. To this despatch Bavaria replied on 

 December 18th, vindicating for every German 

 State the liberty of voting. Saxony also re- 

 plied to the Prussian despatch on December 

 25th, denying to Prussia the right of asking 

 any German State for the reason of the vote 

 it cast, or of deciding the competence of the 

 Diet, which right belonged exclusively to the 

 Federal Assembly as the supreme authority of 

 the Confedederation. 



On March 27, 1865, a resolution was proposed 

 by Saxony and Bavaria, that Austria and Prussia 

 should be requested to cede Holstein to the 

 Duke of Augustenburg, and to communicate to 

 the Diet their mutual arrangements in refer- 

 ence to Lauenburg. The resolution was adopt- 

 ed on'April 6th, nine votes being given in favor 

 of it, and six against it. The representatives of 

 Austria and Prussia thereupon presented separate 

 declarations. The principal points of the decla- 

 ration of Austria were, that she was prepared to 

 surrender to the Prince of Augustenburg her 

 title to the possession of Holstein should Prus- 

 sia agree to adopt a similar course ; otherwise 

 Austria would maintain her title to the duchies 

 until a solution was arrived at in consonance 

 with the interests of Germany. Prussia an- 

 nounced her willingness to come to an under- 

 standing on the subject, but such an under- 

 standing must indispensably depend upon a 

 previous investigation of all claims to the 

 duchies, and especially of her own. She would 

 VOL. T. 26 A 



maintain her right of possession until a solu- 

 tion had been arrived at in accordance with her 

 own convictions, and satisfactory to the other 

 parties interested in the duchies. In conclu- 

 sion, the Prussian representative stated that 

 Prussia could at once declare herself unable to 

 hold out any prospect of realizing the expecta- 

 tions expressed in the resolution which had just 

 been adopted by the Diet. 



On November 4th the representatives of Ba- 

 varia, Saxony, and Hesse Darmstadt, proposed 

 that Austria and Prussia should be requested, 

 first, to convoke in Holstein, as soon as possi- 

 ble, a general assembly of representatives elect- 

 ed by the free votes of the inhabitants, in 

 order that such an assembly may cooperate in 

 a definite solution of the still-pending Schles- 

 wig-Holstein question; second, to take steps 

 calculated to bring about the incorporation of 

 Schleswig into the German Confederation. On 

 November 18th the above proposal of Bavaria, 

 Saxony, and Hesse Darmstadt, was, in conform- 

 ity with the demand of Austria and Prussia, 

 referred, by eight to seven votes, to the com- 

 mittee on Holstein affairs. The representatives 

 of the two great German Powers declared that 

 it was still their intention to summon the estates 

 of the duchies, but that they reserved the proper 

 moment for so doing. They further decline to 

 give any positive answer to the question whether 

 Schleswig should be incorporated with the Ger- 

 man Confederation. Bavaria, Saxony, and Hes- 

 se Darmstadt thereupon declared that, with 

 reservation of the competency of the Federal 

 Diet, they renounced any intention of bringing 

 the matter again before the Diet. 



In consequence of the Convention of Gastein 

 between Austria and Prussia (see GASTEIN), the 

 committee of thirty, appointed by the assembly 

 of delegates from the German Legislature, issued 

 the following circular : 



To all the members of popular representations 

 throughout the country: "By the Gastein Conven- 

 tion the Governments of Austria and Prussia have 

 violated in the most flagrant manner the clearest 

 principles of right, and especially that of the duchies 

 to settle their own future, only limited by the interest 

 of the German nation. The measures which it was 

 to be foreseen would follow this convention threaten, 

 in addition to shaking the sentiment of right of the 

 German people, to annihilate for years the material 

 and moral prosperity of the duchies, freed from the 

 Danish yoke by German blood. The undersigned 

 committee considers itself, therefore, in duty bound 

 to request the reassembly of the members of the 

 German Diets, already unanimously determined by 

 {he special committee of the Schleswig-Holstein 

 clubs, in order to discuss and resolve upon the best 

 means of saving the condition of public right in those 

 lands. The committee expect that the German dele- 

 gates, who solemnly promised at the meeting of De- 

 cember 21, 1863, and by the protest handed m at the 

 London Conference of April, 1864, to advocate the 

 free right of self-disposal of the duchies and to sup- 

 port their rights generally, will now redeem this prom- 

 ise by their appearance at the new assembly. The 

 undersigned accordingly invite all present members 

 of German Diets to a meeting at Frankfort-on-the- 

 Main, on Sunday, October 1st, at ten in the fore- 

 noon. A confidential preliminary meeting is to b 

 held on Saturday, September 30th, in the evening." 



