I08 EMPLOYMENT OF THE PLEBISCITE ^406 



six years. In the Convention of Gastein of August 14, 1865, 

 Lauenburg was definitely given to Prussia. While the joint 

 ownership rights over Schleswig-Holstein remained in force, 

 the government of Holstein was assigned to Austria, and 

 that of Schleswig to Prussia. °^ 



The question of a plebiscite in Northern Schleswig was 

 revived in the settlement of 1866 at the end of the Austro- 

 Prussian war. After military victory of the Prussian army 

 was established, Napoleon was asked by Austria to mediate. 

 He suggested that " the duchies of the Elbe be united with 

 Prussia, except the districts of the north of Schleswig 

 where the populations freely consulted, might wish [de- 

 sircraient] to be retroceded to Denmark."^- This sugges- 

 tion was agreed to by Bismarck and was in principle incor- 

 porated as Article III in the Prehminary Peace of Nikols- 

 burg, and on August 23 as Article V in the Peace Treaty 

 of Prague.^^ 



Denmark, hoping to regain part of her lost territory, was 

 now in favor of the plebiscite in those sections. Prussia, 

 however, did not wish to retrocede any part of Schleswig. 

 The Peace Treaty of Prague was referred for ratification 

 to the Prussian Landtag, and a commission of thirteeen was 

 appointed to consider whether and how far the question of 

 the plebiscite in northern Schleswig was compatible with 

 Prussia's interests. The Commission received fifty petitions 

 with 5,139 signatures from forty-seven communities of 

 Schleswig-Holstein opposing annexation without the con- 

 sent of a representative Assembly. A petition from the 

 Citizens Union of Apenrade with twelve signatures and a 

 petition of twelve citizens of northern Schleswig domiciled 

 in Hamburg demanded annexation of all of Schleswig- 

 Holstein.'^* Several members of the Commission favored, 

 with the petitioners of the forty-seven communities, a plebi- 



"1 Stoerk, pp. 140-142. 



"2 Freudcnthal, p. 22. 



53 Ibid., pp. 22-23; Hertslet, vol. iii, pp. 1698-1701, 1720-1728. 



"* Freudcnthal, pp. 25-26. 



