Mr. Judd to Mr. Seward.
Sir:To-day the telegraph brings reports that the London conference has arranged for a cessation of the hostilities between Denmark and Germany, for the term of four weeks, commencing on the 1st instant, on the basis of the “Uti possedetis,” so far as the present position of the hostile armies is concerned, and Denmark, in addition, to raise the blockade of such ports as are now blockaded.
The telegraph also brings the news of a naval battle between some Danish ships and a portion of the combined Austrian and Prussian squadron, near the island of Heligoland. As yet we have not enough of detail to determine who has a right to claim the victory. The reports tell of about one hundred and seventy killed and wounded on the side of the allies, and severe injuries to some of the ships. Most, if not all, of this has been suffered by the Austrian portion of the squadron. There is no report from the Danish, beyond the allegation that they have achieved a victory, have received some injury, and sailed northward.
My conviction is that the conference cannot restore the duchies to Denmark as an integral part of that kingdom. It may give the King of Denmark personal rule, and through that create a “personal union;” but matters have gone so far, that even that is not probable. The maintenance of peace under such a union is impossible. The conviction is so strong among the people of the duchies that the present is the time to free themselves from Danish rule forever, that force only can keep them from rebellion against such an arrangement as will prevent the accomplishment of their purposes, and such a force must come from the great powers of Europe. The Danish military power is broken—its war material largely captured, (among it four hundred pieces of cannon,) its fortifications, some of which have stood for centuries, levelled to the ground, and its loss in killed and wounded very large. The Danes are a free, martial people, who have resisted bravely, and step by step, the advance of overwhelming numbers, and although, unaided by other nations, the position was desperate from the beginning, they have struggled with a bravery and obstinacy that must be admired. Denmark proper has a population of a little more than a million and half, and it cannot alone govern the duchies against their will, as the power of the duchies is not to be measured alone by their population. A contest will call to their aid volunteers from all Germany, and no one, not among the Germans, can appreciate the depth of feeling upon the question throughout Germany. It is useless to speculate about who will rule the duchies hereafter. It is not believed here that the London conference will settle that question. The prime minister of Prussia is said to have ambitious views territorially, but such views are believed not to correspond with the feelings of the king. If the question should be left to the people of the duchies, the Duke of Augustenburg would be their choice. A dissolution of the London conference without a definite [Page 216] settlement of the question, and the continuance of the war, or even the continued occupation and administration of the duchies by the allies, might pave the way for the prime minister’s ambition. I think he hopes to have circumstances and events do for him what could not be accomplished by an open announcement. Such an announcement would call upon all the great powers to take an active part in the question.
For the moment, one of the objects expected from this war on Denmark has been accomplished. The attention of the great mass of the people of Prussia has been drawn away from the internal politics and affairs of the kingdom, and military glory and success have made them forget, in the enthusiasm of the moment, that they practically ceased to be a constitutionally-ruled kingdom. Military influence and control will now have undoubted sway in this kingdom.
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I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. Willam H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.