356 



GERMAN-ITALIAN WAR. 



charges Austria with a design of provoking war 

 for the purpose of improving the desperate 

 condition of the Austrian finances by Prussian 

 war contributions or by an " honorable " bank- 

 ruptcy. At the same time, the Prussian Gov- 

 ernor of Schleswig, General von Manteuffel, 

 was directed to march Prussian troops into 

 Holstein as soon as the Austrian Governor of 

 that Duchy should convoke the Estates. When, 

 therefore, on June 5th, the order of convoca- 

 tion was issued, the Prussian troops in Schles- 

 wig entered Holstein (on June 7th), General 

 von Manteuffel, at the same time, inviting Gen- 

 eral von Gablentz to reestablish with him a 

 joint administration of the Duchies, as it ex- 

 isted before the Convention of Gastein. The 

 Austrians deny that such an invitation was re- 

 ceived, but the Prussians assert that it certainly 

 was sent. As the isolated brigade of Austrian 

 troops in Holstein was not strong enough to 

 arrest the advance of the Prussians, it was or- 

 dered to withdraw first into the southwestern 

 corner of Holstein, and subsequently over Ham- 

 burg and Harburg to Hanover. The convoca- 

 tion of the Holstein Estates was prevented ; 

 the Prince of Augustenburg" left Holstein in 

 haste, and Prussia appointed a Schleswig-Hol- 

 etein nobleman, Herr von Scheel-Plessen, as 

 Olerprdsident (the name of the chief officer of 

 civil administration in the Prussian provinces) 

 of the two Duchies. 



On June llth, the representative of Austria 

 in the Federal Diet, charged Prussia with hav- 

 ing disturbed the federal peace, and moved the 

 mobilization, within a fortnight, of the entire 

 federal army, with the exception of the three 

 army corps comprising the Prussian contingent. 

 The army should be ready to march within 

 twenty-four hours ; reserve contingents and 

 the chief command of the army should be pro- 

 vided for ; and, for the execution of details, the 

 military committee of the Diet should enter 

 into communication with the federal military 

 committee, A vote on the A ustrian proposition 

 was taken on June 14th, although it was ob- 

 jected by Mecklenburg that heretofore the 

 Federal Diet had devoted to the most trifling 

 subject at least three sittings one to the pro- 

 position, one to the discussion, and one to the 

 vote. The result of the vote was declared to 

 be, by the president of the Diet, the adoption 

 of the motion by 9 against 6 votes. 



It is a remarkable circumstance that the most 

 important resolution which has ever been passed 

 by the Federal Diet, and which was to lead to 

 the destruction of the Confederation, was not 

 even carried by an undoubted majority. Of the 

 seventeen votes (" curiae ") which ordinarily 

 constituted the Diet, one, that of Holstein- 

 Lauenburg (the 10th curia), was ilormant. 

 The 13th curia (Brunswick and Nassau) was 

 equally divided. In the 16th curia, which con- 

 sisted of seven small States with equal shares 

 in the aggregate vote Liechtenstein, Waldeck, 

 Eeuss-Greiz, Keuss-Schleiz, Lippe, Lippe- 

 Schaumburg, Hesse-Homburg four States de- 



clared themselves for the Austrian proposition, 

 and three against it. But as soon as the vote 

 was published, the Government of Schaumburg- 

 Lippe informed the Prussian Cabinet that it was 

 against the motion, and disavowed its repre- 

 sentative at Frankfort, who had voted for it. 

 This change of vote would have put the 16th 

 curia on the negative instead of the affirmative 

 side. Deducting the votes of the 13th and 16th 

 curiae, both of which were counted in to make 

 up the majority of nine, there would only re- 

 main for the motion seven curiae, namely : the 

 1st (Austria), 3d (Bavaria), 4th (Saxony), 5th 

 (Hanover), 6th (Wurtemberg), 8th (Hesse-Cas- 

 sel), 9th (Hesse-Darmstadt). Against the mo- 

 tion were cast the votes of the 7th curia (Ba- 

 den), llth (Luxemburg and Limburg), 12th 

 (Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Alten- 

 burg, Saxe-Meiningen), 14th (the two Mecklen- 

 burgs), 15th (Oldenburg, Anhalt, the two 

 Schwarzburgs), 17th, (the Free Cities).* If 

 Prussia herself had voted, and if Lippe-Schaum 

 burg had been allowed to change her vote, 

 involving the change of the vote of the entire 

 curia, the Austrian motion would have been 

 rejected by 8 against 7 votes. 



When the President of the Diet had pro- 

 claimed the adoption of the Austrian motion, 

 the representative of Prussia rose to announce 

 the action Prussia had resolved upon. Prussia, 

 he said, regarded the adoption of the motion as 

 a violation of the pact of confederation. The 

 condition under which the federal law admits 

 of " execution " against members of the Con- 

 federation had been altogether disregarded by 

 Austria. Her conduct in Holstein had been 

 equally contrary to federal treaties. The Diet 

 ought not to have considered the motion at all. 

 Its adoption proved to Prussia that the main 

 object of the Confederation the protection of 

 the several members was henceforth out of 

 the question, and on that account Prussia must 

 regard the Confederation as dissolved. But 

 Prussia did not regard the national basis, on 

 which the old Confederation had been reared, 

 as destroyed, but it held fast to the unity of the 

 German nation, and declared its readiness to 

 enter, upon the basis of the Prussian draft of 

 reform of June 10th, into a new Confederation 

 with those governments who might wish it. 



The Prussian manifesto was virtually a dec- 

 laration of war. The available forces of the 

 several belligerent parties, at this time, were 

 about as follows : 1. Prussia. The infantry of 

 the guard had 4 regiments of guard infantry, 8 

 regiments of grenadiers, 1 regiment of fusileers, 

 1 battalion of chasseurs, 1 battalion of riflemen. 

 The infantry of the line had 12 regiments of 

 grenadiers (numbered 1 to 12), 8 regiments of 

 fusileers (numbered 33 to 40), 52 regiments of 

 infantry (numbered 13 to 32 and 41 to 72), and 

 8 battalions of chasseurs. On the peace foot- 

 ing, a regiment has 3 battalions ; a battalion 4 



* Of the States constituting the 12th and 17th curiaa, 

 Saxe-Meiningen and the City of Frankfort voted for th 

 motion. 



