AUSTRIA RESURGENS.
AUSTRIA is reestablishing an empire, and extending it until it shall reach from the Baltic to the Adriatic, from the Euxine to the Atlantic; and Lord Palmerston is in activity : a junction of events not a little alarming for the cause of peace and progress.
The most obvious result of the Dresden Conference is, to set up the Germanic Confederation and the old Diet, with a wider and stronger grasp ; Austria being still paramount. The Confederation is to take in not only German states, but also the states not Ger- man pertaining to the confederated powers—that is, Hungary with the Selavonian and Adriatic provinces, and the Lom- bardo--Venetian kingdom. This is to reconsolidate the Aus- trian Empire under the guarantee of the entire German Con- federation. Each section of German royalty brings its whole resources to the common stock, but the proportion of gain to each is very different. The smaller states are proportion- ately smaller than they have ever been, and the next step will be to absorb some of those private sovereign estates into one or other of the larger powers. The Prussian King regains his place in the Diet, with nominally augmented influence ; but he has exchanged the confidence, the affection, and support of his people, which might have raised him to be the leading man in Continental Europe, for a fallacious promotion amongst its " Le- gitimate" Princes : we can only estimate his loss by seeing the overwhelming gain of Austria. The two secondary powers of Ba- varia and Saxony will acquire a support against Prussia, of whom they were jealous ; the Kings acquire an enormous guarantee against their own subjects ; and if they behave themselves as faithful lieutenants of Austria, they may hereafter be paid by being allowed to absorb the smaller states. Henceforward, their hopes will de- pend on their being faithful lieutenants to the power paramount.
With respect to Austria, the territorial consolidation is the smallest part of her gain. She acquires not only the aforesaid lieutenants, but also the absolute right to the power of using the troops of the Confederation against any part of her vast dominions ; in other words, while she can lend Italian and Hungarian troops to Saxony or Bavaria, even as she lent troops to the petty -Elector of Hesse-Cassel, she oan turn the troops of " Germany " upon Hungary or Italy ; that is, the Emperor and his Cabinet, sitting in Vienna, have acquired the formal right to turn Austria upon Germany, and Germany upon Austria, at pleasure. History has never yet, perhaps, exhibited the combination of a power so vast with one so manageable to the hand.
What are the other states of Europe doing?—Of that we know nothing. We do not know even what England is doing. It seems, however, that Lord Palmerston is taking some part in these " transactions "—that is the official, neutral, colourless phrase ; and that he is entering protests and caveats. Now we have before wit- nessed this sort of activity on Lord Palmerston's part, and the past has made us regard it as a portent ominous for the peace and liberty of Europe. We have seen him lecture Austria about her treatment of the Italian provinces, with a great parade of " spirit" : it was well understood that Austria at that time would gladly have accepted the good offices of England; and if our Foreign Secretary had been less theatrically " Liberal " and more justly practical, the good offices of England might really have secured a decided step for Constitu- tionalism in Italy : but Lord Palmerston blustered, Austria took offence, Italy exceeded her powers, and the upshot is, that the giant grasp of " the Stranger" is locked on Italy with redoubled force. We have uniformly seen similar effects—uniformly seen one of the cleverest diplomatists in Europe so contrive, that the result has been the very opposite of that for which he professed to work. He " protested ' on behalf of Hungary, and Hungary was reconquered ; he " sympathized" with Sicily, whereby Sicily was drawn out to rebel, and was easily subdued ; he sent Lord Minto to encourage Italy, and Italy is where we see her, parted between Austria and Naples and the tools of either : Lord Minto, by the by, was also to effect an understanding with the Pope on behalf of England, and we have the present -wretched fracas. Lord Palmerston made an appearance of standing up for Schles- wig-Holstein, and ultimately he backs Denmark. In Greece he took measures, high-handed but we cannot say high- minded, to strengthen "British influence," and British in- fluence is effectually driven forth. It is always the same. He protests and lectures in the most Liberal sense, and the result is ever Absolutist. We learn from the Hanover Gazette that he is now interfering : he has sent a note to the Cabinets of Vienna and Berlin, reminding them that the settlement of Europe in 1815 was not effected by the sole spontaneous concurrence of the German Princes alone, and that it was one principle of that settlement to include in the German Confederation only German States; and he asks for explanations. Are we wrong in regarding this proceed- ing as a portent that the Austrian scheme will be carried out ?
There are other circumstances of great suspicion. The journals who adhere to Downing Street are taking the lead in denouncing the scheme, and in presuming that it will fail. The only Whig paper treats this result as a disappointment to those organs of the press here which stood by our "ancient ally " ; and we are to understand that the Austrian policy in England is Anti-Minis- terial. Is it so ? The journal that has attached itself to the Fo- reign Office throws doubt on the accomplishment of the scheme. We are thus to suppose that the Ministerial policy is opposed to Austria, and that the opposition will be successful ; and by creating that impression abroad, the doubts or fears of the English public are to be disarmed. A presumption is also thrown out that France will resist this encroachment of Austria : now who knows any such thing ? The idea is prevalent in this country, that the Prince President, from whom the National Assembly withholds money, finds aid elsewhere, and is not adverse to Russian influence.
Another remarkable sign in the horizon is the contumacy of the Egyptian Pacha against his master the Sultan ; who is now threatened on every side,—by Austrian encroachment, by the in- sidious turbulencies of Pansclavonian Greece, by the old-standing march of Russia, and by the new menace in Egypt. Turkey, alas for her ! is the faithful ally of England ; and of course Lord Pal- merston will " protest " on her behalf. But there is a greater one than Austria in all these movements: Russia has been the sustainer and prompter of Austrian counsels and actions throughout. Her share in these latest " transactions " we do not know ; we see that there is a conspiracy somewhere, and that a new partition of Europe is going forward ; we do not know the relation of the European Governments to each other— we do not know who are antagonists, who accomplices, and shall not know until the scheme is consummated. We see that Lord Pal- merston's protesting note was written nearly three months ago— has he had any explanations since ? So far as appears to the world, the intervening time has only served to develop the Austrian pro- ject. The ablest jockey will sometimes run a race not to win ; the ablest accomplice of the swell mob is chosen to play the part of in- dignant rescuer. We have seen, in large works of carpentry, one man striking with his hammer at a post, while another looked like an opponent, for he struck on the opposite side : the one was driving in the nail, the other clenching it.
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