MACHIAVELL[ AND BISMARCK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 12, 10 July 1885, Page 23

MACHIAVELLI AND BISMARCK.

(From tha Edinburgh Review.)

Those who place any confidence in the Chancellor's protests of indifference as to the Oriental question, will do well to mark the different phases of expression through which he passed until he secured Schleswig-Hol-tein for Prussia. At first he condemned the Schleswig-Holstein movement in indignant terms as revolutionary, and, as long as he wanted to keep England in good humour at the time of the Polish insurrection, affected to speak of it as a maratte of Austria's and the little German States. He even offered to prevent the Federal execution in the Duchies if Denmark would accept the mediation of England, and so get England to separate from France and decline the congress proposed by Napoleon 111. He thus killed two birds with one stone, created a coldness between France and England, and got England to keep quiet on the Polish question. After this, Bismarck had no objection to the Federal execution, and then occurred another of his astonishing strokes of good luck- the sudden death of Frederick VII. of Denmark, on November 15, 1860. which gave afresh impetus to the German longings for the Duchier, This event rou-ed the Prussian Chancellor to incredible activity ; he became all things to all men ; hs cajoled England and France ; made use of the Bund as a cat's-paw, and then set it coolly aside ; overawed the smaller States, and suppressed the candidate of thtir choice; got Austria to join him in a work of spoliation, and then framed a pretext for quarreling about the division ©f the spoil and despoiling the spoiler. This was his first step toward enlarging the frontiers of Prussia. Dr. Busch himself, lets us know what Bismarck thinks of this diplomatic campaign of his, and he has reason to be proud ; for if Machiavelli and Frederick 11. were both to return to life they would declare that no statesman ever profited so much by their teaching and example. "He said to us at Varzin in 1877: 'jThat is the diplomatic campaign of which I am proudest.' Baron von Hoktein asked: ' You wanted the Duchies from the very beginning?' 'Yes,' replied the Prince, 'certainly I did, immediately after the King of Denmark's death. But it was a difficult job. Everybody was against me — several coteries at Court, Austria, the petty German States, aud the English who grudged us the harbour of Kiel. Crowds of the Liberals were opposed to it who all of a sudden discovered that the rights of Princes were matters of importance—in reality, it was only their hatred and envy of me— and even the Scbleswig-Holsteiners themselves did not want it. I had to contend with all these, and I know not whom besides.' "

We have had one of the infernal torpedo boats here on its way to Toulon. A white whale — if there are white whales, as there are white elephants— half immersed in the water would give some idea of this little mischievous craft, which close on 20,000 people came to see, but from which they had to keep at a civil distance. What is important above all is that they can be sent through France to the Mediterranean on the rivers and canals, weakening, of course, the naval power of States surrounding France. It is even said that they can soon go by rail empty, and get their war material partly in the South. Those who live to see another war will have terrible things to witness on land and water. It is, perhaps, the conviction of tbe fearful destruction of human life certain to result from those new inventiont that makes war almost impossible. — Paris correspondent of the Nation.