§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHMy Lords, I rise to put to the noble Earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs the Question I communicated to him yesterday, as to the understanding the Conference may have come to with respect to the collection of the War Contributions imposed by Prussia on Jutland. The excessive amount of these contributions and the extreme severity with which they have been collected—or attempted to be collected— have produced a universally painful impression, and have added greatly to the indignation that must always accompany the recollection of the bombardment of Sönderborg. I should do injustice to the noble Earl if I did not believe that he entirely participates in the general feeling on that subject. My Lords, we should very ill judge of the pressure of those contributions on Jutland if we did not take into consideration the condition and circumstances of that country. It is not a wealthy country; it is, on the contrary, a comparatively sterile country—it has no large towns—it has no manufactures—it has very 438 little of cereal produce. It is one great grazing ground, interrupted by sands and by water. The few articles sold in the towns are solely produced for the use of the agricultural population. The large proprietors commonly live on their own estates in the midst of their people; their houses are surrounded by buildings of immense extent, which are necessary to cover the stock during the severe winter, and the destruction of a farm in that country is like the destruction of a town in this. The ruin of one of the proprietors is the utter ruin of all those who depend upon him, for they have no others to go to for employment. It is a population that one would have supposed could not have excited a spirit of revenge and animosity on the part of any enemy. They are singularly simple and innocent. They can have very little knowledge of the long diplomatic discussions that have taken place between Germany and their own Government. They are not persons to attend to political discussions. This only they know—that the Germans have come at last, after long threatening, to attempt to take from their country two valuable provinces that have belonged to Denmark for 400 years; and with the spirit of a brave, loyal people they spring forward for its defence, and send their sons, little instructed in military arts, to suffer and die in the defence of their country. There they have obtained for themselves immortal honour by their perseverance and their submission to every hardship and privation of war. But, unfortunately for themselves, the people of Jutland are a free people. They possess the most popular form of electoral franchise. It is to their great credit that they have not abused it; but in the eyes of the despotic Powers of Germany that is a crime not to be forgiven. It is impossible to conceal from ourselves the fact— indeed, it is admitted by Herr von Bismark —- that this is a war against freedom carried on by Prussia and the other despotic Powers of Germany. Forgetting that they dominate in Venetia, and are masters of a large Polish population, they make this war in the name of nationality— they bring their might to bear against right, their strength against weakness; and, above all, they endeavour to overwhelm by their military strength all the resistance that can be brought against them by a thoroughly free people. My Lords, I say it is might against right. The war is alto- 439 gether on unjust war. The noble Earl himself admits that it is unjust, because the demands which were made by the allied Powers were conceded. But I go beyond that. I cannot understand how any right can grow out of a wrong, and the whole of these diplomatic transactions out of which this supposed right arises originated in this — that the German Powers being admitted into Holstein on the requisition of Denmark to restore order in that province which belongs to the German Confederation, and finding themselves in military possession of the country, took advantage of their presence to force Denmark to agree to conditions with regard to Schleswig, which is not German. My Lords, I cannot understand how any country can acquire a vested interest in the bad government of another; and yet it is this which the Germans pretend to have acquired by the diplomatic transactions of' 52, claiming a right to interfere in the administration of Schleswig, and to prevent the adoption of measures of reform in that province. It is therefore a war of thorough injustice. But, my Lords, Prussia has had other views in this war. She has desired to give a certain appearance of reputation to her army, and on that account men are to be shot at instead of targets. She has accordingly practised on the weak with the whole power of her artillery and musketry, and thousands of loyal subjects of the King of Denmark are
Butchered to make a German holiday.My Lords, I look with loathing on this war. Prussia should recollect that it was the sense of the contumely and wrong which she suffered at the hands of France which roused her spirit in 1813, and enabled her to redeem the character which had been acquired by her people fifty years before. The same sense of contumely and wrong will remain for ever in the minds of the Danish people. Prussia has created a force of 1,800,000 persons on her extreme flank, which will for ever hang upon her communications, and at all times will endanger her position when she is engaged in war. My Lords, the day will come—and it may not be distant—when Prussia may call on other Powers for help; but they will sympathize with those whom she is now oppressing, and she will be left in her difficulty unaided, unpitied, and despised. My Lords, I am unfortunately old enough to remember the great atrocity committed by Prussia in 1806, when she received at the hands of Napoleon Hanover, which he had not by 440 any international law any right to give her. I recollect the indignant language of Mr. Fox at that time, reprobating her conduct, which he described as combining all that was contemptible in servility with all that was odious in rapacity. Servile in the presence of Russia, rapacious in the attack upon Denmark, Prussia still maintains her bad pre-eminence. But, my Lords, it is not only through ambition—it is not only to teach her army to fight—it is for lucre that this war is waged; but I do trust that the Conference, acting in the spirit of justice, has looked into these transactions, and that In its determination with respect to these contributions imposed by Prussia it has recollected that, while war has its rights, humanity has its rights also. My Lords, I will now put to the noble Earl these Questions—namely, 1st, Whether it is understood by the Conference that war contributions imposed before the armistice was known and announced in Jutland can be collected during the suspension of arms; 2nd, Whether any war contribution imposed after the armistice was known, but before the suspension of arms commenced, namely, on the 12th, can be collected; and 3rd, Whether any new contributions can be imposed during the suspension of arms?
§ EARL RUSSELLMy Lords, I feel it to be my duty not to make any remarks upon the eloquent speech which the noble Earl has just made. It is, I think, incumbent on me rather to endeavour to come to some understanding which may lead ultimately to peace. And in answering the Question of the noble Earl with respect to the present suspension of arms, I beg to say that I do not at all depart from the rule which I thought it my duty to lay down for myself on a previous occasion— namely, that, pending the Conference, I should not make explanations as to what takes place at its sittings. However, with regard to the suspension of arms, I thing there is fairly an exception. The Conference has agreed—and this should be an answer to the noble Earl's last question— the Conference has agreed that during the suspension of arms there shall not be levied by the allied troops in Jutland, or wherever else they occupy positions, any contributions of war, and that, on the contrary, those troops will pay for the articles they may require. The Conference did not lay down any rule with regard to contributions that were previously imposed; but in my view the spirit of the article would be that the allied troops would cease to levy any 441 contributions of war. That appears to be the fair spirit and meaning of the Conference. The Conference, anxious to stop the effusion of blood, and anxious to protect the people from these contributions of war, having decided on the main point, left the commanders of the naval and military forces engaged on each side to settle the details with one another. It seems to me that I am not authorized in saying more, But with respect to the first two questions, they have been decided by the Conference, I may, however, further mention, that having made representations to the Allied Governments with respect to the exaction of war contributions, on answer was given on the part of the Austrian commander, to the effect that it was the custom of all troops during war—including the English army—to levy military contributions, not only in kind, but in money, to defray the expenses to which they are put. Now, whatever may be the case with Continental armies, that, I believe, has not been the practice of the English army. During the Duke of Wellington's campaigns in the Peninsula the utmost care was taken to allow it, but all that the troops required was paid for; and the Austrian General is quite mistaken in supposing that the practice adopted in Jutland has any authority or precedent in the conduct of the British army.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHI am exceedingly sorry to hear from the noble Earl that the Conference has not used the most extreme precision of language in prescribing the directions to be given respecting the collection of war contributions. It appears to me that there is nothing precise in their language, but that there is merely an understanding on the part of the noble Earl, that no new contributions are to be levied during the armistice.
§ EARL RUSSELLThe agreement is not to levy contributions of war: it is not merely that no "new contributions" are to be levied.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHIt so happens that the contribution of 650,000 thalers was imposed on the very day on which the Conference last sat—namely, the 9th; and it seems to me to have been imposed in fraud of the Conference, and with the knowledge that the Conference was to sit on that day, in order that it might be included under the category of contributions imposed before instead of after, the decisions of the Conference.