248 POLITICAL ACTIVITY. 



to a war with Austria, and against this there stood 

 as insuperable obstacle the testamentary admonition 

 of Frederick William III. to his son: "Hold fast by 

 Austria!" 



This inward conflict led me, in an anonymous 

 pamphlet, published by Julius Springer with the title 

 "On the Military Question", to discuss the question, 

 whether the doubling of the army in the event of war 

 might not be obtained in another way than that pro- 

 posed by the government, without the country being 

 burdened with the serious expenditure, which the 

 government plan rendered necessary. 



Meanwhile the reorganization itself was carried 

 through by the minister of war von Roon without any 

 regard to parliamentary contests, and fortunately already 

 completed when in the spring of 1866 the differences 

 in regard to Schleswig-Holstein led to a breach with 

 Austria. That this breach would actually occur and 

 entail war few believed, despite the warlike prepara- 

 tions and threats. All the greater was the universal 

 astonishment when early in the morning of the 14th of 

 June the news spread, that war had been declared 

 against Austria and the German Confederation, and 

 that the declaration of war was already posted up on 

 the advertising-pillars. In fact after a hasty walk from 

 Charlottenburg to Berlin I found the nearest of these 

 pillars surrounded by a dense crowd. I was struck 

 by the calm earnest demeanour with which the often 

 changing crowd received the mighty event. No 

 criticizing remark of anv sort was heard when the 



