No. 175.
[Translation.]
Baron Gerolt to Mr. Fish.
Legation of the North German
Union, Washington,
August 11, 1870. (Received August
12.)
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the
North German Union, has the honor, by order of his government, to
present to the Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United
States, the documents hereunto annexed, which are calculated to throw a
clearer light upon the causes and motives of the war that has broken out
between Germany and France.
The first, No. 1, is a literally correct statement of the proceedings at
Ems, made by order of the King, and with his immediate approbation.
The second, No. 2, contains the official report of his Majesty’s
aide-de-camp, on the execution of his order.
The inclosure No. 3 is the duplicate of the dispatch of Count Bismarck to
the subscriber, dated July 19 of this year, containing the declaration
of the same relative to the declaration of war by France against
Prussia, presented to him by the French chargé d’affaires.
No. 4. Declaration of war by France.
The undersigned has the honor to avail himself of this opportunity to
renew to the honorable Secretary of State the assurances of his
distinguished consideration.
Hon. Hamilton Fish, &c.,
&c.,
&c.
No. 1.
statement of the proceedings at
ems.
Count Benedetti at Ems, on the 19th instant, asked an audience from
the King, which was granted to him at once. At this interview he
demanded that the King should give orders to the Prince of
Hohenzollern to withdraw his acceptance of the Spanish crown. The
King replied that as he had been addressed on this whole affair only
as head of the family, and never as King of Prussia, and hence had
given no order for the acceptance of the crown candidacy, he just as
little could command the withdrawal of the same. On the 11th the
French ambassador requested and was granted a second audience, in
which he endeavored to exert a pressure upon the King, to the end
that he urge the prince to renounce the crown. The King replied that
the prince was perfectly at liberty as regarded his determination;
moreover, he himself did not know where the prince, who intended to
make a tour to the Alps, was at the present time. On the promenade
at the springs, in the morning of the 13th, the King handed to the
ambassador an extra sheet of the Cologne Gazette, which had just
reached him, with a private telegram from Sigmaringen, relative to
the renunciation of the prince, remarking at the same time, that he
himself had not received as yet a letter from Sigmaringen, but might
expect one this day. Count Benedetti observed that he had received
the news of the renunciation already yesterday evening from Paris;
and as the King by this considered the matter as settled, the
ambassador now demanded, quite unexpectedly, from the King, that he
should give definite assurance that he would never again give his
assent, in case the said crown candidacy should be revived. The King
definitely declined such a demand and adhered to this avowal, when
Count Benedetti returned repeatedly and more urgently to his
proposition. Nevertheless, Count Benedetti, after a few hours,
demanded a third audience. Upon inquiry what subject was to be
discussed, he replied that he wanted to renew the subject of that
morning. The King for this reason declined a new audience, as he had
no answer than the previous one to make, and besides, from this time
all transactions were to be made through the departments. The King
complied with the wish of Count Benedetti to take leave of him, and
on the morning of the 14th granted him at the depot on his way to
Coblenz. It is shown, then, that the ambassador had three interviews
with the King, which bore the character of private conversations, as
Count Benedetti never acted as negotiator or commissioner.
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No. 2.
report of the king’s
aide-de-camp.
His Majesty the King, in consequence of a conversation had with Count
Benedetti on the morning of the 13th of July, on the promenade of
the springs, graciously sent me about 2 o’clock in the afternoon to
the count with the following commission:
That his Majesty an hour ago had received in writing from the Prince
of Hohenzollern, at Sigmaringen, the full confirmation of what the
count had this morning communicated to him, as heard directly from
Paris, relative to the renunciation of Prince Leopold to the Spanish
crown candidacy. That hence his Majesty considered this affair
settled.
Having delivered myself of my commission to Count Benedetti, he said
that since his conversation with the King he had received a new
dispatch of Monsieur de Gramont, in which he was charged to request
an audience from his Majesty and again to lay before his Majesty the
request of the French government, viz.:
1. To approve the renunciation of the Prince of Hohenzollern.
2. To give assurance that this candidacy should not be resumed in the
future.
Whereupon his Majesty replied to the count, through me, that he
approved of the renunciation of Prince Leopold in the same sense and
to the same extent in which his Majesty had done this before, in
regard to the acceptance of this candidacy. That his Majesty had
received the written renunciation from Prince Anton of Hohenzollern,
who had been authorized thereto by Prince Leopold. In regard to the
second point, the assurance for the future, his Majesty could but
refer to his own reply given to the count this morning; Count
Benedetti received this reply of his Majesty thankfully, and said he
would report the same to his government.
As regarded the second point, however, he should maintain his request
for another interview with his Majesty, because he was expressly
ordered to do so by the last dispatch of Monsieur de Gramont, and if
it was only in order to hear the same words again from his Majesty,
the more so as this last dispatch contained new arguments which he
had to lay before his Majesty. Whereupon his Majesty replied,
through me, to Count Benedetti for the third time, at about half
past five o’clock, after dinner, that his Majesty must decline
definitively relative to this last point (obligatory assurance for
the future) to enter into further discussions. What he had said this
morning was his last word in this matter, and he could do nothing
but refer to it.
When assured that Count Bismarck’s arrival at Ems could not be relied
on, even for the next day, with certainty, Count Benedetti declared
himself satisfied on his part with this declaration of his Majesty
the King.
No. 3.
Count Bismarck to Baron Cerolt.
[Of July 19, 1870.]
The French imperial government has caused its chargé d’affaires to
present the annexed document containing its declaration of war. This
is the first and only official communication which we have received
from the French imperial government in this whole affair which has
occupied the attention of the world for the last fourteen days.
As motives of the war in which the imperial government involves us,
it adduces the following:
The refusal of his Majesty the King to give assurance that the
elevation of a Prussian prince upon the Spanish throne should not be
realized with his assent, and the alleged notification to the
cabinets of the refusal to receive the French ambassador, and to
transact further business with him.
We have briefly to reply as follows:
His Majesty the King, fully respecting the independence of the
Spanish nation, and the freedom of the princes of the house of
Hohenzollern to form their own resolutions, has never entertained
the idea to elevate the hereditary prince upon the Spanish throne.
The demands imposed upon his Majesty to give assurances for the
future were uncalled for and arrogant. It is an arbitrary invention
to ascribe to him a mental reservation or a hostile intention
against France.
The alleged notification to the cabinets has never taken place,
neither has a refusal to transact business with the ambassador of
the Emperor of the French. On the contrary, the ambassador has never
endeavored to transact official business with the royal government,
but has discussed the questions only personally and privately at Ems
with his Majesty the King.
It is apparent to the German nation, inside and outside of the North
German Union, that the demands of the French government were
intended as a humiliation which the nation will not bear, and that
the war, never intended by Prussia, is forced upon us by France.
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The whole civilized world will perceive that the causes which France
adduces do not exist, but are pretexts invented.
The North German Union, and its confederate governments of South
Germany, protest against the unprovoked surprise of the German
Union, and shall ward off the same with all the means which God has
granted them.
Your excellency is requested to present a copy of this dispatch, and
its inclosures, to the government to which you are accredited.
His Excellency Baron Gerolt,
Washington, D.
C.
Count Bismarck to Baron Gerolt.
After the news of the renunciation of the hereditary Prince of
Hohenzollern had been officially communicated to the French imperial
government by the royal Spanish government, the French ambassador at
Ems demanded from his Majesty the King authorization to telegraph to
Paris that his Majesty the King would bind himself for all future
time not to give his assent in case the Hohenzollern should return
to their candidacy. His Majesty the King thereupon declined again to
receive the French ambassador, and replied to him, through his
aide-de-camp, that he had no further communication to make to
him.
No. 4.
M. Le Sourd to Count Bismarck.
declaration of war by
france.
The undersigned, charge d’affaires of France, in carrying out the
orders which he has received from his government, has the honor to
bring to the notice of his excellency the minister of foreign
affairs of his Majesty the King of Prussia the following
communication:
The government of his Majesty the Emperor of France cannot regard the
project to elevate a Prussian prince upon the Spanish throne
otherwise than as an enterprise directed against the territorial
security of France, and found itself under the necessity to ask from
his Majesty the King of Prussia the assurance that such an event
would not transpire with his assent. His Majesty the King of Prussia
having refused to give this assurance, but, on the contrary, having
informed the ambassador of his Majesty the French Emperor that he
intended to reserve on this occasion, as on all others, freedom to
consult the circumstances, the imperial government cannot but see in
this declaration of the King a mental reservation, threatening to
France as well as to the general balance of power in Europe. This
declaration was aggravated still more by the notification made to
the cabinets, of the refusal to receive the ambassador of the
Emperor and to enter upon any new explanation with him.
Consequently the government of his Imperial Majesty feels itself
under the necessity immediately to see to the defense of its, honor
and of its interests, and, having resolved for this purpose to take
all measures necessary under the situation forced upon it, considers
itself from this moment in a state of war with Prussia.
The undersigned has the honor to offer to his excellency, &c.,
&c., &c., the assurance of his high consideration.
LE SOURD.
Berlin,
July 19, 1870.
