v/ Ÿrcnw^, cfyY c? ILLINOIS STATE LIBRARY. » — , . ,i- ^ lYrîv be taken from the State Library by B the mSert of the. General «ÎSK^aïd îhe ke S ices Courte. h Noierson BhXbë’aiTow^a to take any book or Si this two volumes of miscellaneous works at C îïf S anl lerson S in]ures, or fails to return any book taken from the Library,^ ^thin the time abo\ e mon lllistsasss ce P^* r>p r son taking books from the State Library Sæ^SSàwEsSa th NnSntrv of charge or return of books, will be per- mitted to be made, except by the Librarian or assist ant. Persons using books of the. Library, will return the same to the Librarian or assistant. HENRY D. DEMENT, Secretary of Slate , and ex-<‘fficio State Librarian. PRINCE STATEMENT 1 , V ' \ v V y OF FREDERICK OF SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN NOER, RELATIVE TO HIS PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH THE POLITICAL EVENTS IN THE DUCHIES IN THE YEAR 1848. 4 [PRINTED FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION.] https://archive.org/details/statementofprincOOurqu Ï have been uniformly reluctant to notice attacks from whatever quarter levelled against me through the press, and, in consequence, have abstained from publishing anything in defence or explanation against the various accusations so freely preferred from both extremes of party, whether Radical-German, or ultra-Danish, trusting all along that a perfect tranquillity of conscience would support me, until a fitting occasion presented itself to refute attacks originating either in prejudice or ignorance. An oppor- tunity has been, however, at length afforded ; and, I may say, pressed upon me by the nature of the personal allu- sions of which I was made the subject in the discussion which took place in the House of Lords, on Friday the 3rd inst., in reference to the affairs of Denmark ; for, notwithstanding the explanation rendered in the recently published letter of the Earl of Malmesbury, I feel it is still requisite that the public should understand the motives under which I was prevailed upon to assume a position, which placed it in the power of Lord Malmesbury to describe me as one who had taken arms against my Sovereign. I shall therefore confine myself to a simple statement of facts, leaving others to form their own judgment as to the part I acted under the pressure of events, and the necessity of the time. Frederick, Prince of Schleswig Holstein No?r. London, 25th June, 1853.* B 2 Having joined the Danish army in the year 1824, I had the good fortune to earn and enjoy the favorable opinion of the Sovereign and his Government, by whom 1 was frequently employed in situations of authority and confi- dence. In the year 1834, I was unanimously elected a a member of the Schleswic Diet, andin 1842 named by the then king, Christian VIII., his Statholder in the Duchies. In which latter position I acquitted myself in such a manner as to elicit from his Majesty the most cordial acknowledgment of my services ; whilst, at the same time, I think I may state, without fear of contradiction, that I was no less popular with those over whom I was appointed to govern. When, in 1846, the King issued his letters patent, in which he expressed the conclusion at which he had arrived with reference to the question of succession in the Duchies, and which was then placed upon a new footing, and one entirely different from the settlement hitherto so prevalent and popular in the mind of the country, I thought it my duty to tender my resignation to his Majesty of the offices I held, as Statholder and General-in-command of the Troops, under a painful sense that I could not conscientiously adopt or give effect to his Majesty’s ex- pressed views. The King accordingly notified his accep- tance of my resignation, accompanying the same with the warmest testimony of my conduct, as will be found in the letter, marked A in Appendix. The private letter in question will show, more than any offical expression, in wdiat light the King regarded me ; and it was his constant object, up to the period of his death, as his correspondence would prove, to maintain the ties of friendship between us unbroken, as he reiterated to the last, from time to time, his desire to be acquainted with my views on public affairs, as well as the state of public opinion in the Duchies. My resignation was followed by warm discussions in the Diet, strongly censuring the Government; but in these, con- sidering the position I had held, I declined taking any 3 part, and retired at once into private life, and so remained until the King’s death. In the mean time, the animosity between Denmark and the Duchies grew every day more and more apparent; and the conviction had impressed itself upon the minds of the people in the latter, that the Government had taken a position hostile to their consti- tutional rights. Alarmed at the excitement which I saw prevailing, and which portended serious consequences, I felt it my duty to impress these circumstances upon the King, and to warn him against the coming danger, in the letter which is given herewith, marked B. Shortly after, however, his Majesty died ; and the letters patent of the 28th January, 1848, promulgated by the present King, kindled more fiercely the passion of mutual distrust between the different portions of the Danish monarchy. The decease of the late King and the events which immediately succeeded, only operated in inducing me to maintain a still more strict seclusion ; and I con- tented myself with exercising the personal influence I possessed, to urge upon my friends the necessity, whilst contending for their ancient privileges, carefully to avoid giving the world an opportunity of reproaching them with disloyalty, or seeking to attain their ends by unlawful means. The results of the King’s letter were however soon exhibited in all quarters, by provoking the most exciting language at Copenhagen, in almost daily meetings, as well as at Kiel and Rendsburg, whilst the individual who temporarily filled the office of Statholder was disregarded, and unfortunately failed in manifesting that moral courage then so much required. Under such circumstances I thought it my duty to address a letter to the King Frederick VII. (Appendix C.) humbly cautioning his Majesty against the evils which I saw approaching, and offering him my best assistance, upon such conditions as would enable me to provide for the preservation of order. And here, it must be borne in 4 mind; that whilst these occurrences were taking place, a Republic had been established in France, the whole of Italy was one volcano, that almost every German Court had surrendered its prerogative to the mob, and that a Republican epidemic had spread over Europe. Things w'ere in this state when on the 23rd March, 1848, I w^as sitting quietly at dinner with my family at my country residence, w r hen a note was brought to me by a special messenger from a friend at Kiel, mentioning the non-arrival of the steamer due that morning from Copen- hagen, the growing agitation in the public mind, and the rumours of a Danish fleet with troops on board having been seen steering towards the coast, &c. I had scarcely time to make some remarks on the power of imagination exhibited by the inhabitants of Kiel, when another letter sent us by express from Eckernforde gave us notice of the movements at Copenhagen, and the change of Ministry which followed. • ns Having ascertained by the intelligence thus communi- cated, that those individuals who had for the last four w r eeks agitated the public mind at Copenhagen, against the Duchies, were in possession of the Governmental power, I saw at once the effect, which this event would produce upon the public, and accordingly did not hesitate to hasten to Kiel, from whence in the course of a few moments three messengers from different, quarters sent by the Conservative party, arrived, requesting my assistance in preventing a democratic outbreak. To prevent any demonstration which my arrival might occasion, I took the precaution of entering the town on foot after sunset. I soon, however, became convinced of the impossibility of averting a violent demonstration. The battalion in garrison had been abandoned by its Danish Com- mander in despair of its obedience to his orders, and the soldiers unanimously declared their adherence to the common cause. At the Town Hall a number of h the most violent democrats were assembled concerting the measures they should take, and which of them should fill posts in a Provisional Government. It therefore required no great astuteness to perceive that every thing was at stake at this moment. — The democratic party if left to itself were likely to follow the example of Paris by over- throwing every authority and declaring a republic, a movement which at that period of revolution and weakness in most of the States of Europe, might have spread with lightning speed, and destroyed every stable institution, or if confined within the bounds of the Duchies, would have given a pretext to the ultra-Danish party to assume a conquest, and to treat the Duchies as subdued provinces which had forfeited all rights and privileges — such objects I saw could only be defeated by taking the responsibility of action upon myself, and by joining with those indi- viduals whom I had named in my letter (C.) to the King as men of popular standing and moderate views. In establishing a Provisional Government to execute authority on behalf the King ; I felt that I also retained full power in the event of His Majesty adopting the proposals named in that letter, of carrying them out with full effect. My reply therefore to a deputation from the Town Hall inviting me to take pail in their proceedings, was, that I should quit the town immediately if those individuals persisted in their pretensions and absurdities. Having come to this resolute understanding, and finding ourselves supported by the whole Conservative community, we were enabled to preserve order and at length prevailed upon the extreme party to abandon their objects by asso- ciating one of the most moderate of their number with my colleagues and myself in the provisional body. This the most important step having been taken, it became necessary with a view to allay popular excitement that our measures should be carrricd out without delay. I accordingly set out by the first train for Rendsburg, in 6 which garrison nearly the whole of the troops of the Duchies were stationed, and where the General-in*command had his head-quarters. On entering the place I notified my purpose to this officer, and willingly acceded to his pro- posal that we should call the troops out, and ascertain their feelings as to the change that had taken place. The result was that with the exception of about twenty officers (natives of Denmark) the whole of the troops declared in favor of the Provisional Government. By this act which conferred strength upon that Govern- ment, public tranquillity was at once restored, and mani- festations in its support were exhibited in all quarters. This consummation having been achieved, we felt from a sense of our obligation towards the King, that it became our duty humbly to acquaint His Majesty with the proceedings which had taken place, explaining to him the motives by which we were actuated and praying him to recognize those rights, guaranteed to us by ancient prescription, in which event we expressed our readiness to surrender the authority we had assumed into his Majesty’s hands. Holstein being a part of the Germanic confederation, we lost no time in communicating the nature of our proceedings to “ Bundestag,” at Frank- fort, by whom the Provisional Government was approved and acknowledged, and upon the requisition of the former, the King of Prussia sent his troops in our support. From that moment I became in a less independent position as regarded the direction of civil and military affairs, and the only real power 1 possessed was that of personal influence, which I exercised to the utmost in the maintenance of Conservative principles. Thus it was that when the Prussian Commander in-chief, deciding upon active mili- tary measures, contrary to my reiterated remonstrances, entered the Danish territory, I could do no more than discountenance a proceeding which gave a new feature to our movement, and was totally at variance with the 7 purely defensive principle upon which it had been com» menced. When the proceedings to which I refer were terminated by the armistice a few months later I felt too happy in surrendering the exercise of my functions, and retired once more into seclusion on my own estate, a course which w r as the more consonant to my feelings, as the authority appointed over the Duchies became invested in individuals nominated alike by the Sovereign himself in conjunction with the German powers. I trust that this short and plain narration of events will sufficiently exhibit the motives by which I was actuated under circumstances of extreme difficulty and public danger, and also shew, however appearances for the time may have placed my conduct in an equivocal light, that my whole aim and earnest efforts were directed with a view to main- tain strictly monarchical principles and authority, an object with which I felt the constitutional rights of my country and public tranquillity at a period of general dis- turbance were inseparably connected. With the recital of the above particulars, I might pro- bably conclude, but more recent transactions of a nature no less personally important, demand some notice, more especially as it is my object that every act in which I have been concerned, either in this country or elsewhere, should be made plainly apparent, not only to my friends, but to all who have taken an interest in my proceedings. From the month of September, 1848, until the spring of 1852, no circumstance occurred to interrupt that position of retirement which I felt a desire as long as it was pos- sible to maintain, but w r hen rumours and articles apparently from authority in the newspapers communicated that négociations affecting the succession to the Crown of Denmark were approaching a termination, whilst I had neither been personally consulted, nor in any manner made officially acquainted with their precise nature, I felt 8 called upon to appeal to the proper quarters, in order, if possible, to prevent a compromise of my rights ; I accord- ingly applied in the first instance, through a mutual friend, to the Earl of Derby, then Prime Minister, but his Lordship declined to afford me an interview. I next sought a specific explanation of my brother, the Duke of Augustenburg, but was unsuccessful ; at the same time, feeling that as head of our House, the protection of its interests lay with him, I took no further step, and remained entirely passive, until startled by a formal official announce- ment that the Duke of Augustenburg had concluded an arrangement with the King of Denmark, by which not only the succession to the throne, but our family property were alike diverted. No course, therefore, remained open to me, except that of which I feel assured every right- minded Englishman will approve, namely, solemnly to disclaim any participation in such transactions ; I accord- ingly addressed a protest to Her Majesty’s Government as a non- consenting party to a treaty which I considered arbitrarily disposed of my rights, and likewise in a letter to the President of the Danish Diet, communicated my dissent from the arrangements between my brother and the King of Denmark, respecting which I had been kept in utter ignorance. ( Vide Letter D.) In adopting this proceeding, I hope it will be admitted that I did no more than a sense of honor dictated, as well as fulfilled a duty imposed upon me by my position as a Member of the House of Schleswig Holstein, whose rights, I felt ought not in justice to be sacrificed to suit the purposes of political expediency. My acts and my motives bave, however, been alike misrepresented, and it has suited the ends of certain parties to endeavour to construe plain dealing into intrigue, and the legitimate assertion of personal and public rights into a desire to overthrow peaceful institutions. How far my proceedings will bear such a character I leave every candid and unprejudiced man to judge. APPENDIX. (Letters and Extracts translated from the Danish originals.) A. Letter from King Christian VIII. Dear Brother-in-Law, I have received your letter of 13th inst., express- ing the wish to resign your position as Statholder and General-in-command in the Duchies. No one more than myself can lament that you think such a step unavoidable. It was my intention to address a letter to you, according to our last conversation, to ascertain your opinion on this behalf, and you would have taken it as a renewed token of the confidence I put in your honourable behaviour towards myself. Now however you have expressed your views on the matter, which I cannot but approve under the circum- stances. I will officially communicate to you who is to be charged with the official occupation, etc. We part as friends, and it gives me pleasure to thank you for those services you, by honest endeavours, have rendered me. * * Wick, 15th Aug;. 1846. H. S. H. Prince Fred, of Schleswig Holstein Noir. Ch. R. B. Letter to His Majesty King Christian VIII. Dear Brother-in-Law, At the beginning of the new year I can’t neglect to express to yourself my sincerest wishes for your welfare 10 and happiness. Both of us are grown one year older, and 1 dare say not without having gained in experience. I will therefore follow my former habit, at the close of each year to lay before you the result of my observations, and herein comply with the wish you, at different times expressed to me, that I should do so. * * As to policy, the cloud darkens more and more which threatens with an unavoidable storm the whole Continent, and even our own country has a gloomy aspect. Ko public event has occurred since 1846 in the Duchies, but the feeling has been that the people ought to know their rights, as they consider they are not protected by the Government, but on the contrary aggressed upon, — this is indeed a sad conviction. Should you be otherwise in- formed, which I have my reasons to suspect, truth has been withheld, and I feel so much more justified in telling you that which long since would have reached you^ had the press not been gagged and public meetings prohi- bited by the police. But the Diet as soon as it meets will confirm the validity of my apprehension. * * On the other hand are you certain that you are sup- ported by the Foreign Powers in your intended scheme? I know that this is not the case in Germany, and further that the whole forty millions of German population will not approve if their Governments should do so. And at the present moment the voice of the people is very predo- minant. Your expressed plan is regarded as a mere dynastic measure without any advantage for the country, which would be much easier obtained by putting the Agnatic lines in possession of their former rights. Such a step would involve no discord, no uncertainty, but it would meet with approbation at the Foreign Courts, and in place of putting us in danger of political disturbances and throwing a gloomy shade over all persons connected with it, will re-open the hearts of your subjects in loyal affection and future happiness. ■dlL ciV / //■ " 11 To prevail upon you to consider these observations is my principal object in addressing you thus at the beginning of the new year, and I feel no doubt that you will accept it as proceeding from regard for yourself, and from my indi- vidual conviction, distinct from every party interest or influence, to mix which with this plain expression of my sentiments, would deprive them of all value, etc. Frederick, Prince of Schleswig Holstein Noir. Noir, 6th Jan. 1848. c. Letter to King Frederick VII. of Denmark. Sire, The great and hardly conceivable events which in the last three weeks have shaken Europe to its founda- tion, have, of course, not been without impression upon our country. I may well presume that the minutest reports on this account must have been laid before your Majesty, to put you in possession of everything relating thereto. We are standing on the threshold of a frightful outbreak which threatens to become the more violent as the charac- ter of our nation is quiet and prudent. From different parts I have been requested to put myself at the head of a movement which would carry to a prosperous end the claims of the country before the anarchical spirit get the better. Repeatedly have I rejected such proposals upon the principle, that I never have, nor ever will follow an unlawful path. But the danger has actually grown to such an extent I feel myself not only sanctioned but bound to 12 suggest to your Majesty the means to prevent it. Things had been chiefly brought to this pitch by reason that the individual at the head of the administration in the Duchies neither commands confidence nor respect. There is conse- quently no rallying point for prudent and loyal men so as to oppose the approaching storm, unless a change of per- sons be made. A man is required who possesses the confidence of the people, and who knows how to make use of the strength such confidence will afford him. Far be it from me to intrude myself on your Majesty, but I have under every circumstance followed my rightful sovereign, and believe, therefore, that in this instance I not only ought, but must in duty bound to your Majesty and my country propose the following suggestions for keeping order and tranquillity as heretofore. The first measure required will be that your Majesty temporarily instal an administrative authority under my direction, and with power to act on our own responsi- bility in cases not admitting of delay. (A general instruc- tion for its mode of acting I take the liberty to inclose, which will fully explain to your Majesty the bearing of my proposal.) That your Majesty would be pleased to name as members of this Board, myself as Statholder and President, Count Raventlou^ of Preetz ; M. Bargumeat, Kiel; and M. Beseler at Schleswic. The confidence which the whole population of the Duchies places in those individuals named will instantaneously restore tranquillity in the public mind, and with full confidence I may assert that every attempt to disturb order will disappear. But neither I, nor I may presume to say those other three gentlemen, can accept such official position except your Majesty will feel disposed to make the following concessions as inevitable under the exigency of the times. 1st. The carrying out to its full extent, even including 1.3 the finances, the already existing separate administration of the Duchies from the Kingdom. 2ndly. The united consultation of the two Provincial Diets in one Chamber upon those necessary alterations in the constitution, subject to your Majesty’s final appro- bation. 3rdly. Liberty of the press, and of public meetings. 4thly. Removal of the present chief of the administra- tion, Mr. D. Scheel, and his counsellor, Mr. Hoepfener ; as likewise the native Danes, who serve as officers of the troops in the Duchies, on behalf of whose safety I am alarmed in consequence of their provoking behaviour to the public feeling. Everywhere the adoption of half measures has created still higher demands from the people. It is, therefore, my inflexible determination neither to enter upon any official duty, nor take any responsibility upon myself, should these proposals not meet with the approbation and sanction of your Majesty, and even then I dare not pledge myself any longer than Friday, the 24th instant, that these con- cessions would satisfy so far as to enable me to maintain that order which the pressure of daily events is loosening more and more every moment. As to the command of the troops in the Duchies, it, of course, can only be put into my hands alone under the responsibility to your Majesty. Sire, in making these proposals to your Majesty, I have presumed respectfully that you put an undoubted trust in me, and which I feel I am not unworthy to have re- posed in me, and hope to prove that it is not misplaced by preserving the Duchies to your Majesty, and through that means affording you the required strength to maintain uninfringed the prerogatives of the Danish throne. Whatever resolutions your Majesty may feel disposed to adopt, I fully trust that you will regard this step taken by me as originating from a patriotic and loyal heart, and 14 not ascribe it to either vanity, forwardness, or any other unworthy motive. I have the honour to be, Sire, &c. &c. Frederick, Prince of Schleswig Holstein Noir. Noir, 20th March, 1848. D. To the President of the Danish Diet. Sir, I beg your permission to transmit through your hands the following communication to the Diet. Through the “Altona Mercury” of the 10th inst., a document for the first time has come to my knowledge, dated Dec. 30th, 1852, and purporting to refer to a trans- action concluded between His Majesty the King of Den- mark on the one side, and my brother the Duke Christian August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sondenburg-Augustenburg on the other, by which the latter, in consideration of a specified sum of money, promises for himself and his