F R A N CE A N D G E R M A N Y
A
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S S
TH E
BY
QH A M B R U N
M A R Q UI S D E
D E LI V E R E D
S PR IN G F IE LD
ILLIN O I S
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A D D R E SS
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meetin g wa s h el d o n th e 1 l th of F eb ru ar y 1 871 a t th e Hall of R ep r es e n t a
mi t tee of r el i e f o n b eh al f of t he
t i v es of Spr i n gfiel d ( I ll i n o i s )t o o r gan i e a c o m
s uffe r i n g F r e n h
b r u n wa in t r o du c e d t o th e au d i e n c e b y M
H ai n e s of
Th e M ar qu i s d e C h am
Lake c o u n ty a nd h e s p oke as foll o ws
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LA D I E S
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G E N T LE M E N : I n addressing your meeting t o
ni gh t I am unwilling to reco g nize amon g you different
classes of American citize ns
I kno w that a great many have come h ere from Ireland
and others fr om Germany nevertheless I c a nnot consider
them but as ci tize ns of the United States Indeed I am
a ware that i n order to be vested with the fu ll rights of
American citizenship they have been obliged in acco r dance
with th e law of the land to renounce forever All a lle gi
ance and fidelity to a ny foreign prince potentate state or
sovereignty whatever and particularly to the prince poten
tat e st ate or sovereign ty whereof they were at the ti m
e
”
c itizens or subj ects
Thus every one of you without distinction of origin is
bound to s tand by the American R epubl i c—to ascer t ain to
th e best of his abilities what is the interest of the United
States an d to uphold that interest I am fur ther satisfied
that within my own knowledge your fellow ci t izens of Ger
man birth have not failed to understand the ex t ent of t h eir
duties O n the oth er h an d to show what unbounded c onfi
dence you have place d in th em I have only to refer you to
the example of one of your most prominent adopted ci t izens
the Hon Carl Sh u r z m
ember of the Sen a te Commit t ee on
Foreign R elations In that capacity h e has a hand in every
impo r tant diplomatic tr a nsacti on of this country
Wha t
would be the sit u ation of yo ur foreign affairs if that distin
g ui s h e d gentleman could be controlled by the reco llection of
AND
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4
his former country ? I n intrusting h i mwith that important
position the Senate of t he United States have well under
stood that the sworn duty of a German naturalized in your
country would be most faithfully performed
As for myself although a Frenchman and intending to
remain so the hosp itali t y of t h e American p eople which I
have enj oyed for years the fee ling of profound f riendsh i p I
have for them warrant me in saying that I am sure t hat I will
not utter a word th at would be detrimental to American i n
terc ets ; therefore I believe that although I may di ffer wi th
some of your adopted an d worthy citizens we can discuss
freely together to night some of t h e numerous questions
arising out of the t errible war which is st ill ragi ng i n Eu
rope
In the first place what have been up to the present day
t h e relations of the United States with France ? In t h e mid
dle of the last century the leading thinkers of France arrived
a t the following conclusions : they said tha t the old feudal
edifice of Eu r op e should be O verthrown ; that i n its s t ead the
principles of human equality and human freedom should be
engraft ed upon the nations of the Old World In one word
they thought that a free democracy should take the place of
a foredoomed p a st At the same time on this side of the
Atlan tic you t h e sons of those Englishmen who wrenched
the Magna Charta from a n E nglish king were preparing t h e
r eat mo d ern movement which lead to your independence
g
And so it may b e said that both France and the thir t een
B r i tish colonies under the leadership of a mys terious Prov
id e nce were prepari ng th e advent of modern democracy
The fi r st practical s t eps on behalf of t h e incoming order
of t hings were made on this continent and France bred i n
similar ideas cam e to your succor About th e details of
B u t le t me remind you
t h e struggle I have nothing to say
t h a t t h e same French men wh o foug ht by you r side and
who followed with such close at t ention the deliberations of
t h e conventi on which fr amed the fundamental law of your
land left your country t o become at home the leaders of the
great par ty which i n 1 789 proclaimed the French bill of
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”
rights an d secured th e s u cce s s of that revolution which
inaugurated the modern era of continental Europe
L et us pass over the following years and come to the treaty
by whi ch Napoleon t h e First ceded Louisiana to the United
States Unquestionably this was intended to secure th e p o
Napoleon realized at
li t i c a l gre a tness of the United States
once that t h e era of colonial possession was gon e by ; th at
the increase of po wer which the territory of Louisiana would
confer on the United States was the best guaranty of peace
I t was thus that
a nd friendship b etween France and her
you were e nabled to extend your peaceful conques t of the
wilderness this conquest which has been progressing ever
since in the most steady and legitimate way and which has
finally e nabled you to plant on the Pacific coast the " a g of
the Union Thus we c a n see your empire extending from
one ocean to the other and thus we can see m i llions of men
wrenchi ng every day from the wilderness large territories
which they transform into civilized comm unities — glorious
conqu e sts wh i ch c o st no blood and secure the happiness of
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From the date of the cess 1 on of Louisiana to the time
when y our civil war begun it may b e said that no serious
trouble dis t urbed the alliance and friendsh ip of our respect
ive countries For the greater por t ion of that long p erio d
France controlled by li b eral and progressive leaders tried
to c a r ry i n effect the principles of her revolution of 1 789
And let me remind you that it is in that period of p eace and
liberty that a Frenchman then unknown came to your shore s
to stu dy American democracy and describe i t s workings
Who among you has not heard of t h e work on American
”
D emocracy which the illustrious and most lamented Alexis
de Tocqueville brought back to France ? Through him your
institutions became known i n France and through hi mthe
new liberal school of Europe has been made acquainted with
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And when I come to the period of your civil war if I meet
with the recollections of the French expedition in Mexico I
must remind y o u that whatever might b e said about that
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not b e doubted that the Liberal p arty
scheme a t least it ca n
of France the party who h av e always sympathi zed with you
were the first to opp ose it The very men wh o control now
a gain the destinies of their country were foremost in their r e
s i s t a nc e to the Imperial po licy in relation to Mexico ; and if
you wish to find the bitter e st O pposition agai nst it d on t
read the dispatches o f Wm H S eward or t h e di s cussions of
the United States Co ngre ss but the s p eeches of M Thiers
and M Jules Favre in the Corp s L egislatif
Thus we reach the time when the war broke out bet w ee n
F rance and G ermany ; and he re I am sorry to say serious
charges ha ve b een made a gainst France I t has b ee n said
a nd repeated o ver a nd over agai n first that France w an
touly attacked Ge rmany seco nd that she has recklessly
prolonged the war when all h u ma n p ha nc e s of success w ere
against her These two charges are of such mo ment that I
am b O u nd to answer th em
L et us refer brie" y to t h e state of Germany fr om 1 86 3 to
At the end of 1 86 3 Prussia and Austria allied
1 86 6
together went to war against D enmark What was the true
poli cy of France ? Most emphati c ally i n my own j udgment
she ought to have protected D enmark D i d t h e Em p eror
Nap oleon follo w that policy ? On t he contrary wh e n E ng
land urged him to act with her and to send j ointly men of
Wa r t o the Northern sea Napoleon made a neg a tive ans w er
Th us the neut ra lity of France led to the b l oo d y conqu est of
A gain in 1 86 6 when Prussia
the two D anish D uchies
maki ng a bo ld move threw the gauntlet do wn t o Austria and
h e r German Confederates F rance remained s o p erfectly
neutral that Count Bisma r ck s aid one day to the French a m
b a s s a d or at B e r lin , M B enedetti
O ur co nfidence in your
govern m
ent is so grea t that we do not le ave a sol d ier on t h e
”
left bank of the R hine
That policy which I w o uld rather not to c riticize be for e
you was so favorable to Prussian i nterest that my illustriou s
friend M D r ouyn de I Jh uys then Minister of For eign
Affairs for F ra nce was comp elled to resign his p o rtfolio I
hav e read myself am o ng the pap ers found in the Tui l
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after the fall o f the Empire a State pap er written b y
M D r ouyn de Lhuys in whic h the foresight of the Fren c h
Minister revealing itself with perfect clearness showed him
that the weak and v a c i lli t a ti ng policy of the E mp or or in r e
lation t o Prussia had most u nmi s t a k e nly prepare d that
Power for furth er and still more ambitious designs
Now let u s consider the relative positions i n which F r a nce
and Germany were placed on the e v e of the declaration of
war
In the first place and I a s k you to mark this fact —the
immense military establishment of the North German Con
federacy which aft er Sadowa victorious Prussia was hardly
strong enough to force upon her d i ffid e nt confeder ates was
fast drawing to its cl ose It had in d eed been adopted f or a
period of five years and tha t period ended on the 1s t J an u
2
I do say there were ser i ous reasons for Prussia to
a r y 1 87
fear unless u nexpected events happen e d that she would b e
unable to secure the c onsent of th e G erman States for her
keeping up after the end of this period of five years such a
costly military es t a b lishment Indeed it is well kno wn that
in 1 86 9 and the beginning of 1 870 evidences of re action
against Prussian control w ere shown everywhere thro u ghout
Germany I have on ly to refer you to th e el ection returns
of those eighteen months to prove th e cor r ectness of my state
ment
On the other hand what was at the time the military situ
atio n of F r a nc e ? The military bill v oted in
provided
for a certain reorgan i zatio n of forces but its provisio ns wer e
fa r from being fully c arried into e ff ect
However o fficial
statements relating t o t h e condition of the military esta b lish
ment of F r a nce will be foun d in t h e debates w h ich to o k pla c e
in its C orps L egislatif on 3 0th Ju ne , 1 870 O n that day M
Thiers rose in th a t a ss embly a nd stated that F rance had
hardly three hundred thou s and me n r ea dy t o t ake the field ;
that the reserves provided for by the military bil l passed two
years previously we re not dril led a nd th at the mobi le guards
could not be orga nized before 1 873 In answ er to th ese s t ate
ments the Secretary of War made no denial but on t h e c on
le r i e s
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m
admitted their entire truthfulness So at that date it
cannot be questioned that Ger any had her full military e s
t a b li s h me nt ready an d France had not
I pass in a few words over the former part of the incident
relati ng to the candidacy of a Hohenzollern to t h e throne of
Spain I do not remember that the mos t pro German pap ers
of the United States have ever said that that business was con
ducted in a way that was not offensive to th e F rench people
a f a ci e evidence the secrecy kept the way in
In fact the p r im
which the in t elligence itself was communicated were c ons i d
ered so o ffensive not only by the unanimous O pinion of
Fra nce but also by the neutral opinion of Euro p e that the
" ing of Prussia himself was obliged to make co ncessions
and thus u n der the pressure of a h os tile O pinion th e Prince
of Hohenzollern ceased to b e a candidate for the t hrone of
Spain
S uch was the state of affairs on the 1 2th of July For
some hours neutral Europ e dr ea mt that p eace was again
secured
O n t h e following day ( 1 3 th of July)Lord Loftus the Brit
ish ambassador to the Co u rt of B erlin , acting under the i m
pression that the compromise betwee n France and Germany
h a d been finally e ffected called on Count Bismarck
I beg
you to listen to parts of th e dispatch in which Lord L oftus
describes to his Government th e conversation he had on that
day with the Chancello r of the North German Confederacy :
The feeling of the G erman nation said his Excellency
meaning
Co
u nt Bismarck) was that they were fully equal
(
to cop e with F rance and they were as confident as the
French might be of military success The feeling the
fore in Prussia and Germany was that they would acce pt n o
humiliation or ins u lt from F rance
The Count added : If the preparations of France still
continue we shal l be obliged to ask the French Government
for exp la nations as to their obj ect and meaning
After what has occurred we shall requ i re some assurance
some guaranty that we may not be subj ected to sudden
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Here let me obs erve in passing that it is rath er di fficult
to see how Germany with h e r eleven hundred thousand men
u nder arms could be afraid of a sudden attack on the part of
F rance which could barely muster three hundred tho u sand
It was impossible ( added his Excellency) that Prussia
could tamely and quietly submit
I could not ( said fu rther his Excelle ncy)hold communi
cation with the French ambassador after the language held
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to Prussia
And Lord Loftus closes his report to his Government in
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the following way : It is evident t o me says the ambassa
dor that Count Bismark an d t h e Prussian ministry regret
t h e attitude and disposition of t h e " ing towards Count B en
and th a t in the view of the public opinion of Ger
e d ett i
many T H E Y F EE L TH E N E C E SSI TY or S O M E D E C I D E D M E A S U R E S
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T o SA F
E
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E
G UA R D
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x tr a c ts
TH E H O N O R
O F TH E N A
f r omthe dip loma tic
ment on the 28th J uly
TI O N
p ap er s
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.
mmunica ted to P
a r lia
co
Here I am willing to let my case rest I n fact it is true
that France attacked Germany but was not Germany more
eager for war than Fra nce ? Supreme question the solution
of which I am perfect ly willing to leav e to an impartial pos
Indeed I feel confident that whe n all the papers
t e r i ty
relating to this terrible affair are given to the public it will be
shown that the true cause of war was the very p olicy followed
by Napoleon III from 1 86 3 to 1 866 From that date war
between France an d Germany became certain The two
countries have bee n j ustly compared by a French author Mr
Pr evost Paradol with two railroad trains wh ich start from
opposi t e positions on the same track and which run in differ
ent direc t ions ; their meeting is certain an d an appalling dis
aster is unavoidable
Further I am ready to say that I freely admit that in the
d iplomatic t ransactions which immediately preceded the war
Napoleon I II could not cope with the Chancellor of the
German Confederacy I am also ready to say that t h e skill
of Count Bismarck enabled him to place h i s vain glorio u s
but incompetent opponent in the wrong si t uation I am j ust
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as willing to admit that in the c onduct of the war Marshal
W here is t h e
B az a ine was not the equal of Count Moltke
cause of th e in feriority of the Fr enc h side ? I hold th at
F rance to day at this time of appalling distress perceives i t
clea rly S h e understands I hope that no nation that has
been once free can give u p her freedom without b eing guilty
of the crime of killing herself a nd that a democratic peo
ple who have placed themsel v es under the control of a master
go slowly but surely to certain death This is the terribl e
lesson which France has j ust given to herself and to the
world May she as well as others p rofit by it "
Le t us now examine the second charge made again s t
France viz : That she has recklessly prolonged the wa r
when all human chances of success were against her
O n the 8d of A u
W a r was declared on t h e 1 9th of July
gust actual operations began On the 1 s t of September the
Emperor b eing s urrounded at Sedan surrendered O n t h e
4t h of the same month a R epublic was proclaimed in Paris
A few d ays later the most honorable most eloq uent V ice
President of the Committee on National D efense Jules F a
He met hi m
vr e started himself to meet Co unt Bismarck
near Paris at a castle which by the way belongs to Baro n
There Jules Favre o ffe red peace to the Prussian
R othschild
Minister He told him : We men now in power have a l
ways been men o f pe ace men of liberty ; we voted aga i ns t
this abominable war and we want to r e es ta blish peace ; we
a cknowledge t hat France ha s been defeated and we a r e willing
”—
i n fact as Count
to pay any amount of money you want
Bismarck state s i n his report of the conversation all t he
money we have Now fu rthermore ifthere is any moral g u ar
”
auty we can give yo u we are willing to give it
And Coun t
Bismarck answered him : It is not wh at we want ; what we
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I remarked to Count Bismarck
want is French territory
says Jule s F avre that the co nse nt of the people who m h e
thus disposed of was more th n doubtful ; that the rights of
”
Europe would not permit him to disregard it
0 yes i n
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he r e p li e d t o me
d eed
I am perfectly awa re that th ey do
not desire us W e sh all have s o me h ard work cut out for
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by them b ut w e cannot do otherwise than take them I
a mce r tai n that at a future time we shall hav e a fresh war
w ith you and we wish to undertake it a t every advantage
So you see it is a question which comes to this : The German
Chancellor wants French territory a nd he does not care abo ut
t h e wishes of the population
In other words I find here
ag ain t h e old right of conquest as it has been practiced to o
long on the su r face of t h e earth I t was the case of Poland
still b le e di ng e v e r y day after more than seventy years of par
tition and oppression I t was the case of D enmark defeated
in 1 86 4 by this ve r y Prussian Government It was the cas e
of Saxony in 1 866 It was t h e old policy of Europe which
has been pro t ested against by all liberal and thinking men
On this side of the Atlantic this very qu e stion has b e en dis
cussed The most learned chairman of the Senate Commit
tee ou Foreign R elations Mr Sumner said in 1 86 9 speak
ing of this question o f a vote of the p eople and applying it
to Canada : Sometimes there are whispers of territori a l
compens ation and Canada is na med as th e consideration ;
but he knows England lit tle and little also of that great Eng
lish liberty fr o m M agna Charta to th e Somersett C ase wh o
sup pos e s that this nation could undertake any such t ra nsfer ;
and he knO W s ou r country little and li tt le a ls o of th a t g r eat
l iberty which is ours w ho supposes tha t we could rec eive
such a t r a ns fe r On ea ch side t here is impossibility and ter
”
a
be
c
onveyed
but
not
a
eople
r it or y m
p
y
This is the case as it app eare d before France I believe
that the lead ers of the Provisional Government und e r stood
that this s t rug gle might b e hopeless but neverth eless that
it was necess a ry Y ou know there a r e two sorts of p rotests :
the protest enter e d upo n by force a nd the prote s t entered
u po n b y right
When a man is weak who is in t h e ri ght he
must pro t e s t ; a nd if he ca nnot succeed i n the protest h e
must die for his principles I f in such case it is the supr eme
right of a ma n it is also the supr eme right of any nation ;
“
a nd woe unto t he nation whi ch in such a c ase should not
die and should not know how to die S o the war went on ;
d isaster follo w ed disaster ; finally Paris—which I lik ed bet
us
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12
ter to see surrounded by th is belt of fire than to see it in al l
its splendor—Paris itself yielded ; t h e time of desolation had
come An d now Germany is triu mphant ; these pop ulations
for which we we r e i n duty bound to fight are helpless at t h e
feet of the con queri ng armies an d the great power has bee n
created of this empire of Germany
Is its formation an advantag e to the United States ? I f we
j u dge from the examples of the past it is evident that t h e
ans wer would b e no
In the first place the foreig n policy of the United State s
h a s b een benefited to a great extent by the system of e quili b
r i u m an d balance which has been existi ng in Europe for
centuries ; whenever t h e United States have had trouble with
a European nation that nat ion was so h eld in ch eck by the
others of Europe that the United States have b een enabled
to grow u p and stre ngthe n t hemselves So for instance t h e
Monroe doc t rine has been established by this very reason
In 1 823 England was dissatisfied with the other Europ ean
mu
nations ; the British Government pl a ced itself in c om
ni c a t i on wi t h the United States an d advise d them to main
tain their ri ght to preserve the American continent from
European interference ; other instances might be quoted
O n the other hand I believe that t h e day an im mense Power
is created in Europ e that very state of things so favorable
to the United S tates ceased to be ; and the United States are
to a great extent exposed to t h e ideas of conquest of that
growing Power in Europe Y our history illustrates plainly
this truth S o for instance the Bri tish s u premacy on the
high s eas which that Power secured for itself toward the
en d of the last century resulted for you in the war of 1 81 2
Then you were compelled to fi ght for the principle of neu
t r a li t y
Is it not evident that that principle so dear to yo u
would not have been placed in j eo par d y had not England
wielded an absolute po wer on the seas ?
Thus it ma y b e said that neutrality itself an d abov e all
neutrality on the hig h seas which forms p erhaps the main
feature of your foreign policy is connected to a great extent
with a maintenance of the equilibrium of power in Europe ;
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therefore I am at a loss to see why certain pro German p a
pers of this country have an nounced with delight the de
str u ction of that v ery order of thi ngs which has been thus
far so favorable to the interests of their own country while
poli tical wisdom and foresight required to d ay at least that
the United States should b ehold these changes with feelin g s
of anxiety for their own future
Besides there is a doctrine which you are all ready to stand
by Y ou think that as a Christian nation you are bound to
uph o ld a policy of peace among nations ; on this point all your
leading statesmen agree The most prog r essive amo ng t hem
have even gone so fa r as to devise political means for the
establish ment of an int ern a tional tribunal powerful enough
to maintain a lasting system of pea c e These schemes to
further human progress I do not here discuss in detail I
l ike better to quote the followi ng sentences relati ng to the
practical question of disarmament which I find in the lecture
of S enator Sumner on the duel b etween France and Ger
”
—
many :
All history says he is a vain word and a ll ex
r i e nc e is at fault if large war preparatio ns of which a large
e
p
standing army is the type are not the provocatives of wa r
Pr e t e nd end protectors against war they have been the real
ins tigators to war ; they have exci t ed the evil against which
they were to guar d The habit of wearing arm s i n private
life exercised a kindred in" uence So lo ng as this habit
con t inued society was d arkened by personal com b ats s treet
fights du els and a s s a s i na t i ons The standing army is to
”
the nation what the sword is to the modern gentleman
In order to show how this lesson given i n the name of
humanity b y an Americ a n stat esman has been heeded in
Europe since the overwhelming succes s es of the German
armies I b eg to read the following extract fr O mt h e speech
of Queen V icto r ia at the ope ning of Parliament on the 9th
instan t : The lesson of mili tary experience afforded by the
”
present war says t h e Queen have been numerous and i m
portant The time app ears appropriate for turning such
lessons to account by e fforts more decisive than heretofore
at practical improvement
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14
if th e changes from a l ess t o a m o re effective a nd a
l asti ng s y s t e m of defensive military prepara tio n shal l b e
foun d to inv o lve at l east for a time an in c reas e of v a r i ou s
c harges yo u r prudence and patriotism wi ll not grudge t he
cost so long as you are satisfied that t h e en d is i mpo r ta n
t
”
a nd the means j udicious
In this declaration of th e B r itish G over nment you c an s ee
”
comi ng times
While the E mpi r e of
th e s i g ns of the
Ge r m a ny is alrea dy engaged i n r eorganizing her forces
while F rance will find means to r e establish her broke n
l e gions free and peaceful England herself feels that h er
p o wer is thre a tened an d that her s afety requires great sacri
fi c es an d immense armaments
Is it for such a result that the pro German pap ers of this
c o u ntry have been contendin g for the last s i x months ?
And now about p rinciples Y ou b e l ieve in the first plac e
—
th at men a r e free and created equal ; you be l ieve also th at
no govern m
ent is poss ible without the consent of the gov
ern ed ; and you believ e further th at any governme nt t o
s tand must b e a de l egated government c o ming from th e
p eople dep ending on t h e people and respo nsib le befo r e t he
people These are the principles so far as I u nd erstan d th e m
And now you
on which rests the American Gove rnment
want to propagate them abroad—to e xte nd th e m outsi de
Listen to wh at is said by a
t h e limits of your continent
conservative and Tory organ of England celebrating th e fal l
o f France and the elevation of Germany
I quote fro m t h e
What a heavy b l ow and great discourage
Sa tur d a y R eview:
”
ment says that paper their success in the present war has
in " icted on the D emocratic party in Europ e i s as yet hardly
recognized B ut it is instinctively fe lt by the D emocrats
themselves F or the fir s t time s ince the es ta blis hment of the
oc r a cy ha s been tur ned
Uni ted S ta tes the a dva nc ing tide of D em
A nd
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a nd
the ebb ha s beg a n
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is tr u e that here I meet with an o fficial s tatement o n th e
part of the President of the United States wh ich is mo st
l ikely founded on the diplomatic correspo nden c e of you r
It
,
15
epresent at i ve at B erlin Mr Banc roft ; General Grant h a s
ju st sent a mess age to the House of R epresenta tives in which
h e calls attention to the establishment in Germany of politi
ca l institutions analogous in their character to those of the
”
Unit ed States
I cannot but remind you t hat of late years
t here have b een very wonderful similarities discovered b e
tween oth er countries and t h e United States I n 1 86 7 for
instance Turkey accredited a represen t ative to the United
States The d istinguished minister t hus selected repaired at
o nce t o Wash i ng ton and called on the President t o d eliver
In the address which B la qu e Bey delivered
hi s credentials
on that occasion he stated to the President that h e was struck
with the wonderful likeness that he noticed between the i n
s t i t u t i ons of Turke y and those of the United S t ates
F rom that date til l to d ay this first discovery has given
Close on
r is e to a great many others of similar character
the footsteps of the Turkish minister Mr Bancroft came
He studied the constitution of the North German B a nd
up
a nd concluded that after all it l o oked like the supreme law
Here I must confess that at that time I
of his own l and
took a goo d deal of trouble to asc ertain for myself to what
exten t th at rather s u r p r i s mg discovery was true ; but I hav e
always been u nable to follow up the line of reasonin g of his
Excellency Mr B ancroft
In the m eanwhile Mr B urlingame who headed the Chines e
embassy came to Washin gton I had the pleasure of meeting
him several times and he often said to me D ont you know
that after all the United States and China look very much
alike What a pity I have not time to write a book on that
subj ect "
Now we come back ag ain to Germa ny n o more the
Northern C onfederacy of 1 86 7 but organized as an Empire
under the legitimate successor ofFrederick Barbarossa And
a representa t ive of a fr ee and democratic nation Mr Ban
c roft dares to state to his Gove r nment that the astonishing
resurrection of the Middle Ages which he beholds looks
like the institutions of his own c o untry
Here I must answe r him not in my o wn words but b y
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16
referri ng him t o one of the best authorities among the Ger
ma n writers of ou r time Here is the opinion of Heinrich V on
Syb e l on the s o called liberal cons t itution of the new Ger
”
man Empire : But I already hea r the main obj ection u rged
says Mr V on Syb el in an article on the German Empire
printed in t h e English F or tnightly R eview of January 1 871
this is a ll very fine and good ; but how about the all i m
portant point— the p olitical freedom of the nation or in
Frenc h phraseology t h e government of the co u ntry by
the country Is not the rule of the " i ng or the Emp ero r ,
though j udicious mild and successful a p e r sonal govern
1
s
z
x
ment ?
”
It is certain answers Mr V on Syb el that the ne w
Empire will possess no respo nsible inisters and the Imp e
rial Parliam e nt no p ower of i mp each ing them and no ri ght
of passing an annual mutiny bill The Prussian Chamber s
“
moreover are s t ill wi t h out the right of voting the yearly
supplies ; are still deni e d all direct in " uence i n the govern
ment of the country All di r ect means therefore of exp el
ling an unpopular ministry from o ffice are wanting I f a min
ister fails to obtain a maj ority for a bill of course that bill is
lost ; but no Prussian minister wo u ld on that a c c ou nt d r e a m
o f resigning o ffi ce or of modifying the course of his polic
y
We have a constitutional monarchy indeed but not a par
”
li a me nt a r y govern m
ent
And a lit t le fu rther on M r V on Syb e l says again :
Parliamentary government means the governme nt of th e
maj ority for the time being of the representat ives of t h e
p eop le I t is essen tial therefore to its existence that there
should be a homogeneous maj ority in Parliament and that it
Should b e able to form a ministry from its own members
N ow b oth these requisites hitherto have been wanting i n
Germany and I s e e no pro s pect at present of the want being
speedily supplied The German D iet and the Prussian P ar
li a me nt are divided into six to eight fractions of which only
two or three have ever been able to form a coalition and
even these c oa li t i ons h a v e not always formed a maj ori ty a nd
still less a compact or lasting maj ority As l ong as this stat e
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18
tur n e d in ov e r wh e lmi ng num b e r s T hus t h e sup r e m e pow e r
i n F r a nc e is a g a in b e ing p la c e d in t h e h a nds of t hos e v e r y
me n who h a v e ke p t a liv e t h e li b e r a l t r a dit ions of F r a n c e fr om
1 789 up t o ou r tim e T h r own ou t of pow e r b y t h e c oup d é ta t
of 1 851 a fte r t w e n t y y e a r s of r e t i r e m e nt o r of unc ea sing p r o
t e st a tions onc e mo r e th e y a r e c a ll e d upon b y F r a nc e ; s o i t
may b e s a id t h a tt h e li b e r a l t r a dit ion h a s b e e n a ga in r evive d
I a mnot p r ep a r e d t o t e ll you
i n t h e h e a r t s of t h e F re nch
wh e th e r t h e ne w F r e nch G ov er n me n t will a ssum e t h e sh a p e
of a r e pu b lic le d a nd con t r oll e d by cons e r v a t iv e s or of a con
s t i t u t i ona l mon a r chy su r r ound e d b y r e pu b lic a n ins t i t ut ions ;
In
for in e ith e r c a s e t h e fr e e dom of t h e p e op l e is s e cu r e d
my "u dgm e nt a s w e ll a s in you r s t h e e sta b lishm e n t a nd m a in
t e na nc e of a fr e e g ov e r nm e nt in F r a nc e is a l t og e t h e r a so r t
of ind e mnity for th e p a s t a nd t h e s t r ong e st gu a r a n t e e for th e
futu r e
As t o t h e qu e stion of p e a c e b e tw e e n G e r m a ny a nd ou r
s e lv e s I h a v e b ut v e r y fe w doub ts t h a t i t will b e m a d e
a lthough
a nd th a t F r a n c e will h a v e t h e m a nly cou r a g e
p r ot e s ti ng a g a ins t t h e e x a ctions of G e r m a ny t o yi e ld t hos e
po r tions of t e r r i t o r y which a r e b e ing w r e nch e d fr om h e r b y
m er e a ct ion of b r u t e fo r c e And h e r e I hop e fur th e r t h a t t h e
ne w l i b e r a l gov e r nm e n t of F r a nc e will c a r e fully a void a for
e i n policy of u nc e a s i ng a gi t ation a nd of diplom a t ic in t r igu e s
g
It must st a nd in a n a tt i t ud e of r e s e r v e d digni ty of sil e n t p r o
T h a t d ay will com e
t e st a nd wa i t for t h e d a y of r e p a r a t ion
it is c e r ta in to com e p r ovid e d F r a nc e knows how t o wa i t
Th e e nd of t h e l a st c e n t u r y s a w V e nic e b ound to Aus
t r i a b y t h e r e ckl e ss com b in a t ions of N a pol e on O u r t im e
h a s wi t n e s se d t h e u nc e a s i ng p r o t e sts of t h a t unfo r tun a t e p r ov
inc e up to th e t im e wh e n Aus t r i a h e r s e lf und e r stood t h a t t h e
p e r iod of con qu e st h a d gon e b y th a t V e nic e wa s a n e l e m e nt
of w e a kn e ss to t h e e mpi r e z— t h a t s h e ough t t o a llo w h e r
to d ep a r t S o mos t lik e ly will this b e t h e c a s e som e d ay i n
I should s a y t h a t t his r e
r e l a t ion t o Als a c e a nd Lo r r a in e
su l t is c e r ta in p r ovid e d F r a nc e is wis e a nd kno w s how to b e
p a t i e nt
And now if my vo me migh t b e h e a r d on t h e o t h e r sid e of
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19
At l a ntic I would s a y to my count r ym e n Look a t th e U ni
t e d S t a t e s ; look a t t h a t n a tion b o r n in fr e e dom e duc a t e d in
fr e e dom a nd which h a s g r own u p in fr e e dom ; s h e h a s s e e n h e r
d a ys of tr i a l a nd s h e h a s ov e r com e t h e o b s t a cl e s —t h e t e r r i b l e
o b st a cl e s—whi c h w e r e b e fo r e h e r only b y fr e e dom T h e r e t h e
p e opl e a r e sov e r e ign ; t h ey d e l e ga t e t h e i r pow e r N o ma n is
a b ov e a no t h e r b u t e v e r y one b e li e v e s in th a t n a t ion th a t wi th
ou t li b e r t y a gov e r nm e n t is impossi b l e t h a t wi t hout t h e p o
li t i c a l e x e r cis e of th a t so v e r e ign ty t his sov e r e ign t y its e lf
would b e a s na r e S o t h a t n a tion h a s b e e n going on thr ough
t h e p e r ils of civil w a r th r ough t h e t r i a ls of a long histo r y
a nd now s h e st a nds a mong t h e fo r e mos t li b e r a l n a tions
of t h e e a r t h ; look a t it a nd d on t b e a fr a id T r us t thos e
v e r y p r inc ipl e s of li b e r ty which a r e t h e b a sis of its gr e a t
n e ss a nd b e li e v e t h a t t hos e p r incipl e s a r e g r e a t e nough
D on t b e r e stl e ss a b out
t o h e a l t h e wounds of th e w a r
Y ou h a v e los t a g r e a t d e a l ; your t e r r ito r y
t h e fut u r e
h a s b e e n diminish e d or will b e so ; b ut b e li e v e i n t h e
coming vindica t ion Pr o v id e d yo u s t a nd by fr e e dom your
e x a mpl e will b e follow e d b y a nd b y a nd you don t know b ut
t h a t v e r y fr e e dom will one d a y go t o G e r m a ny a nd ov e r com e
a ll r e sis t a n c e a nd c r ush t his pow er which h a s c r us h e d you
T h e r e is t h e s e c u r i t y of t h e futu r e M a y my voic e or ma y
t his a dvic e not gi v e n b y me b u t b y you b e h e a r d on t h e
”
o t h e r sid e of t h e oc e a n
If I
N ow I com e t o t h e a ctu a l o b"e c t of you r m e e t ing
h a v e succ e e d e d in showing you t h a t F r a nc e d e s e r v e s you r
symp a t hi e s a nd your mo r a l suppo r t I h a v e v e r y li ttl e t o a d d
Ind e e d you kno w t h a t
i n r e l a tion t o t his ma t t e r of r e li e f
t wo con t e ndi ng a r mi e s t h e num b e r s of which a moun t e d
t o mo r e t h a n one mil lion of me n h a v e b e e n moving a nd
fi gh t ing for s i x mon t hs upo n a n a r ea of l a nd which p e r
h a ps is not s o l a r g e a s you r S t a t e of Illinois Y ou c a n a t
onc e fa ncy wh a t t h e r e sul t h a s b e e n ; d e s t r uction l oss of
p r op e r t y a nd t o t a l r uin of th e p e a c e ful inh a b it a nts
D r ouyn d e Lhuys which I
T h e following l e tt e r of M
hop e yo u will list e n to con t a ins a lt og e t h e r wh a t you must
kno w a b out t h e st a t e of a ffa i r s t h e r e a nd a ll t h e sugg e stion s
th e
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20
to m a ke you un de r st a nd wh a t s o r t of o r ga n i z a tio n
e t up to co nt r i b ut e t o t h e r e li e f of t h e s uffe r i ng
c
a
n
s
o
u
y
n
e r of F r anc e
i
ist
e op l e ; it wa s w r itt en to M r T r e ilh a r d m
p
t o t h e Unit e d S ta t e s :
“
ne e d e d
,
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“
D
0
22 , 1 87
E C E M BE R
lds not only ex ha usts
ou r a c t u a l r esour ce s b u t s t ill mor e i t t hr ea t en s t o d es t r oy t h e sou ce s of fut u r e
pr oduc t ion Th e n a r r a t ion of t h e s di s a s t e s h a s b een g iv e n in a s e i es of a r t i
c l es —t ou c h ing a r t i cl e s — pub lis h e d in a "ou n a l of London c a ll e d t h e D a i ly N ews ;
one c a n mo r e o v er find i t a t e v er y s t e p wr i t t e n i n b lood a nd fir e upon t h e so il
Th is fa c t h a s inspi r e d m a ny of t h e a g i c ul t u r is t s of
of our i n v a d e d p r o vin c e s
er s
G r e a t Br it a i n wi t h th e g en er ou s t h ough t of c oming t o t h e a id of t h e fa m
in p r o cur ing fo t h em g a tui t ous
a nd p e a s a n ts of F r a n c e r uin e d b y t hi s wa
c on t r i b ut ions in mon e y g a in r oo t s s ee ds a nd o t h er m e a ns n e c e ss a r y t o s ow
t h e i fie l ds
Th e s e a g i c ul t u r i s ts de s i r e v e y muc h t o pl a c e t h e ms el v e s en ap
in o d e t o r e ali ze t h ei r pu pos e I a sS ure you t h a t o n i ts
e
p or t W it h m
p a r t th e G o v e nm en t of F r a n ce W ill a dop t e v er y m e a sur e p o pos ed t o fa v o r of
s e c ond i ts e xe c ut i on Th e a ffa i p o c ee ds a c c or d i ng t o ou r b e s t W i s h e s a s a ny
Th e p r in c i p a l s uc i e t e s of
one "c a n c on v in c e h ims e lf i n ea d i ng t h e n ewsp a p e r s
M a ny m ee t ings h a ve
a g r i c ul t ur e h a v e t a k e n t h e di ec t ion of t h is mo v e m e n t
b e en h eld sub s cri p t ions e c oming in in a b und a n c e a nd t h e un a n imous s uppo r t
of t h e p r e ss e x t e nds t h is id ea e v e ywh e e th o u g h ou t t h e Un i t e d " ingd om I t
s e ems t o m
e my d ea r V i s c oun t t h a t a S i mil a r id e a ough t t o a i s e spon t a ne ously
on th e o t h er Sl d e of t h e A t l a n ti c The d es c end n ts of W a s h ing ton a nd of F a nk
linh a v e not fo r go t t e n I a msu r e t h a t th e b lood whi c h m e i s t e ns in g e a t d r ops
ou r fu r r o ws i s t h e s a m e b lood W hi c h c e m e n t e d t h e fo und a t i ons of t h e g e a t
A m eri ca n r e p ub li c
I f t h e n y ou t hi n k t h a t th e pu b li c a t ion of t his l e t t er in
t h e "ou r n a ls of t h e Uni te d St a t e s W i ll h elp t o c on t ib u t e in d e v e lop i ng a S m
ila r mo v em e n t i n fa v o r of ou r a g r i c ul t ur i s t s t o t h a t whi c h is o r g a ni e d t h r oug h
ou t G e a t B r i t a i n I willingly a u th o r i e i t s pub l i c a t i on
B e a ssu r e d my d ea r
si r of my sin c er e at t a c hm e n t
D R O U Y N D E LH U Y S
M
Y
D E A R Vi SC O U N T : The s c our g e W h i c h d e sol a t e s
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To this sta t e m e n t I h a v e no t hing t o a d d in u r ging you t o
t a ke a ction I d e e m i t p r o pe r t o l e a v e t h e whol e qu e stio n
A s you will r e a dily p e r c e ive , i t is a n a pp e a l
W i th you r s e lv e s
to you r symp a thy which is m a de by F r a nc e , a nd I b e li e v e
.
.
th a t s h e c a n wa it in p e r fe ct con fi d e nc e for t h e r e sul t of h e r
Le t me r e m a r k only th a t t h e mo r e you will do for
a pp e a l
t h a t n a t ion t h e mo r e s h e will l e a r n to b e li e v e in fr e e dom a nd
i n t h e e ffi c a cy of thos e institut ions a nd p r incipl e s of whic h
you a r e a mong t h e fo r e mo s t r epr e s e n t a t iv e s on e a r th
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