Correspondence Between the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Prussian Minister in London, Concerning the Prussian Proposal of a Division of Schleswig According to Nationality, May and June, 1848 1

THE BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE PRUSSIAN MINISTER IN LONDON

M. LE CHEVALIER,

Foreign Office, May 19, 1848.

I will send a copy of your proposed note this evening to Sir H. Wynn, together with its 2 annexes, but I beg to make some remarks on those annexes.2

With regard to the second annex, Sir H. Wynn shall be instructed to recommend for the consideration of the Danish Government an arrangement founded on the principle proposed in that annex, viz., that the Duchy of Schleswig shall be divided into two parts with reference to the national character of its inhabitants, and that the southern or German part shall, like Holstein, become a member of the German Confederation, and that the northern or Danish part shall then be constitutionally incorporated with the Kingdom of Denmark.

It being, of course, to be understood that any German inhabitants of the Danish portion should enjoy perfect liberty to educate their children in the German language if they chose it, just as any Danish inhabitants of the German part should be free to educate their children in the Danish language if such should be their desire.

It is indeed understood that in Schleswig, as in most other countries in which two different races are settled and two different languages are spoken, the two races are not locally separated by any one line which divides everything that is of one race from everything that is of the other; and that although in one part of the country one race predominates, and in the other part the other race is the most numerous, yet there are many portions of the territory where one race is partially mixed with the other. Therefore the line of demarcation, wherever it may be drawn, can only separate majority from majority, but can not be expected to leave all the Germans on one side and all the Danes upon the other.

With regard to the mode of drawing such a line, if the principle of doing so should be agreed upon, I would suggest for the consideration of the parties, whether it might not be possible for the Danish Government and the Diet to come to an understanding upon this matter with reference to known or ascer

1 Brit. St. Pap., vol. 40, pp 1305-1319.

2 The text of the note and annexes referred to cannot be found in the sources at disposal.

tainable statistical facts, without going through the difficult process of a detailed appeal to all the inhabitants of each district. Such an appeal must be conducted by some executive authority, and it might not be easy for all the parties concerned to agree as to the constitution of such an authority.

Le Chevalier Bunsen.

I am, &c.

PALMERSTON.

THE PRUSSIAN MINISTER IN LONDON TO THE BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

(Translation)

Prussian Legation, June 12, 1848.

MY LORD,

I have the honour to inclose to your Lordship observations on the proposals for an armistice which were presented to you from Count Reventlow, as the Danish view of the question, on the 18th, of last month, and which you communicated to me verbally on the same day, and in writing on the following.

Viscount Palmerston, G. C. B.

I have, &c.

BUNSEN.

(Inclosure 1.) Observations upon the Danish Proposals for an Armistice of May 18

(Translation) Prussian Legation, June 12, 1848. The Danish proposal is inadmissible in point of form and in point of matter.

If the object of Articles IV and V 1 should simply be to protect, during the armistice, the Danish majority in the country districts of North Schleswig,

1 Articles 4 and 5 of the Danish Project of Armistice:

4o. Le Duché de Slesvig, y compris les îles, sera évacué dans toute son étendue par les troupes de la Confédération et par celles du Danemarc.

5o. Le Gouvernement Provisoire continuera de diriger les affaires du pays au nom de Sa Majesté le Roi de Danemarc jusqu'à ce que la question litigieuse soit réglée définitivement. Le pays sera mis à l'abri de toute agression de la part du Danemarc par la garantie de l'Angleterre.

(Translation)

4. The Duchy of Schleswig, including the islands, shall be completely evacuated by the troops of the Confederation and by those of Denmark.

5. The Provisional Government shall continue to direct the affairs of the country in the name of His Majesty the King of Denmark until the question in dispute shall be finally adjusted. The country shall be protected from any aggression on the part of Denmark, by the guarantee of England.

and to secure to them a perfectly free and unbiased expression of their political opinions as to an incorporation with Denmark, it would be easy to meet such a demand in the following manner :

The 2 belligerent parties, Germany and Denmark, might send to Schleswig each a political Commissioner, and England, as mediating Power, might send a third. The common object of these Commissioners would be to see that everything respecting the 2 nationalities was carried on by the Provisional Government with perfect impartiality. The representative of the mediating Power would, besides, in case of difference of opinion, act as umpire.

THE BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE DANISH AND PRUSSIAN MINISTERS IN LONDON

SIR,

Foreign Office, June 23, 1848.

Her Majesty's Government have highly appreciated the confidence which has been manifested towards the British Crown by the consent of Denmark on the one hand and of Prussia and the Germanic Diet on the other, to accept the good offices of Great Britain as mediator in a negotiation for the settlement of the differences which have arisen upon the subject of the Duchy of Schleswig.

I beg accordingly to submit for your consideration and for that of the Prussian Government, the following Articles which Her Majesty's Government would propose to the 2 parties for an armistice, accompanied by an agreement as to the general principle upon which the Schleswig question should be settled.

Proposed Articles

1. Hostilities between the Danish and German forces shall cease by sea and by land, as soon after the signature of these Articles as the necessary orders can be given. All blockades will at the same time be raised.

IV.1 Immediately on the conclusion of this armistice the troops of both parties shall evacuate the whole of the Duchy of Schleswig, the Island of Alsen being deemed and considered as part of that duchy; the Danish troops retiring to the north, and the German troops to the south. Any free corps which may have been raised in Schleswig shall be disbanded, the men and 1 The articles omitted concern the question of prisoners and indemnities.

officers being sent to their homes; and any regular Schleswig troops which may have been serving either with the Danish or with the German troops, shall either retire out of the Duchy with the troops with which they have been serving, or be sent to their homes on furlough.

V. It being necessary to provide for the temporary administration of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, during the interval which may elapse before the final settlement of all matters in dispute shall be so completely adjusted as to allow of the entire reestablishment of the regular order of administration in both Duchies; it is agreed that a temporary Administrative Commission shall be appointed to conduct the affairs of the 2 Duchies, in the name and on behalf of the King-Duke. This Commission shall consist of 7 members, 3 whereof to be named by the King-Duke, 3 by the Diet, and the seventh (who is to act as President) in a manner to be hereafter agreed upon. This Council is simply to carry on the usual administration of the Duchies, and is not to be invested with any legislative power.

As the appointment of this Commission is intended to be a step towards conciliation and peace, and is meant for the purpose of allaying those party animosities to which recent events have necessarily given birth, the persons who are to be named as members of this Commission are to be persons who have not taken any active part, one way or the other, in the late political transactions in the 2 Duchies.

VI. The further condition of the Duchy of Schleswig shall be settled upon one or other of the 2 following plans, according to the choice of the KingDuke:

First, the Duchy of Schleswig might be divided into 2 parts with reference to the German or Danish nationality of its inhabitants, the southern and German part being to be called the Southern Duchy, the northern or Danish part being to be called the Northern Duchy. The King would then become a member of the German Confederation in his capacity of Duke of Southern Schleswig, as well as in his capacity of Duke of Holstein, and Southern Schleswig would, like Holstein, form part of the territory of the German Confederation, and the sovereignty of Southern Schleswig would follow the same line of succession as the sovereignty of Holstein. On the other hand, Northern Schleswig would be attached by its law of succession to the Crown of Denmark, and the sovereignty of that Duchy would be inseparably united with the Danish Crown. Secondly, if this arrangement should not be thought expedient, the Duchy of Schleswig might remain entire and undivided such as it is now; it might continue to be administered as it has been, by an administration established for Schleswig and Holstein jointly; and there should also be provincial states in which the representatives of the 2 Duchies would be assembled together in their proper respective proportions.