[ The Democratic Review, March 1850] 

Cologne, Feb. 18th, 1850 

At last His Majesty, the King of Prussia, has taken the oath to the 
so-called “Constitution”.2° Had it not been for the occasion of 
making a speech, there is no doubt but that royal farce would never 
have taken place. But his speech-loving majesty, for the sake of the 
speech, resolved to swallow the oath, quite as humbly as he has been 
seen to swallow so many unpalatable things before, such as the 
celebrated “Hat off!”?! shouted to him by the people of Berlin on 
the 19th of March, 1848. The oath is of no consequence. What is the 
oath of a king, and particularly of a Frederick William IV! The 
speech is the principal feature, and a precious speech it is. Think of 
the Prussian Majesty declaring most seriously, and neither him nor 
any one else in the assembly bursting forth in laughter, that he is a 
man of honour, and that he is about to give what is dearest to him— his 
royal word! But, he continues—after a series of most whimsical 
oratorical efforts—he gives his word on one condition only: that it be 
made possible for him to govern with this constitution, and to fulfil 
the promise he made three years ago, viz., “I and my house will serve 
the Lord!” ”? 

What this new-fashioned ‘man of honour” means by governing 
with the constitution and serving the Lord, is already becoming 
pretty clear. His Majesty’s ministers have come out since that 
swearing farce; firstly, with two laws, doing almost entirely away with 
the liberty of the press and the right of association and of public 
meeting; secondly, with a demand for eighteen millions of dollars 
(two millions and a half sterling) for increasing the army. The meaning 
of this is evident. First destroy in detail the few sham liberties left to 
the people by the precious mock-constitution, and then raise the 
army to the war footing, and march with Russia and Austria against 

Letters from Germany 15 

France. There is no doubt of the bourgeois chambers agreeing to all 
this, and thus making it possible to the king to govern with the 
constitution, and serve the Lord with his house. 

This Prussian credit for the army “to meet eventualities which 
might present themselves during spring”, must be taken, together 
with the other measures of the Holy Alliance,”? in order to make us 
see clearly through their plots. Prussia, besides these eighteen 
millions, is already treating for a loan of sixteen millions— ostensibly 
for the purpose of constructing the great Eastern Railway. You 
know, too well, since the Russian loan affair, what a splendid pretext 
for raising money railways are made by the governments of the Holy 
Alliance. Prussia, thus, will soon raise five millions sterling.the whole 
of which will be at the disposal of the war-office. Russia, besides the 
five millions sterling already raised, is about to contract for another 
loan of thirty-six millions of roubles silver, or five millions sterling. 
Austria alone, after the shabby result of her late effort to raise 
money, must be satisfied with what she can get at home. Her deficit, 
as I stated in my last, really amounts to two hundred million florins 
(twenty millions sterling) in one year! Thus, while Russia and Prussia 
raise money to make war, Austria must make war in order to raise 
money! 

There is no doubt that if there are no untoward events in France, 
the “holy” campaign will be opened next month against Switzer- 
land,* and perhaps Turkey. Russia keeps in Poland, and its vicinity, 
an army of 350,000 men, ready to march at a moment’s notice. She 
has already contracted for large supplies of victuals, to be delivered 
next month, not in Poland, but in Prussia, at Dantzic. The Prussian 
army—about 150,000 now—can in a month be raised to 350,000, by 
calling in the reserve and the first class of the Landwehr. The 
Austrian army—about 650,000—has never been diminished, but, 
on the contrary, increased by the Hungarian prisoners. The whole of 
the forces, which may be disposable for a foreign war, may be 
something like a million; but two-thirds of the Prussians and 
Austrians are infected with the democratic disease, and would most 
likely pass to the other side, as soon as an opportunity presented 
itself. 

The first pretext for attacking Switzerland is the German refugees 
living in that country. This pretext will soon cease to exist,as the 
cowardly persecutions of the federal government directly or 
indirectly force all refugees to leave Switzerland. There are now 
perhaps 600 German refugees in that country, and even they will 

a See this volume, p. 28.— Ed. 

soon have to Jeave it. But then there is another pretext—the demand 
of Prussia to restore the Prussian king’s authority in the ex- 
principality of Neufchatel, which made itself a republic in 1848.4 
And if even this be complied with, there will be the question of the 
Sonderbund raised again, in connection with the new federal 
constitution, which, in 1848, replaced the old reactionary treaty of 
1814, guaranteed by the Holy Alliance.” Thus, there will be no 
chance for Switzerland escaping war and foreign occupation. 

But the final aim of the Holy Alliance 1s the conquest and partition 
of France. The plan designed to finish at once this great rev- 
olutionary centre is as follows: France, once conquered, will be 
divided into three kingdoms—the South-west, or Aquitania (capital, 
Bordeaux), will be given to Henry, Duke of Bordeaux’; the East, 
or Burgundy (capital, Lyons), will be given to Prince Joinville; and 
the North, or France proper (capital, Paris), will be awarded to Louis 
Napoleon, for the signal services he has rendered to the Holy 
Alliance. Thus France, reduced to the old state of division it was in 
some centuries ago, would be utterly powerless. What do you say to 
this pretty scheme, which no doubt originated in the “historical” 
head of the king of Prussia? 

But, be assured, the People—without whom the Holy Alliance 
have reckoned—will very soon put a stop to all these plots and 
schemes, and that as soon, too, as the Holy Alliance commence to put 
their plans into execution. For the people are wide awake, both in 
France and Germany, and, fortunately, they are strong enough to 
put down al] their opponents, as soon as matters are brought to a 
general, decisive, and open contest. And then the enemies of 
democracy will, to their terror, see that the movements of 1848 and 
49 were nothing, in comparison to the universal conflagration which 
will burn up the old institutions of Europe, and light the victorious 
nations to a future—free, happy, and glorious.