TIIE KIEL CANAL.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
Sie,—In your comments on the letter from Mr. R. Price on the Kiel Canal you state " that the Danes do not seem to want more than the recovery of North Slesvig." To understand the attitude of the Danes one must bear in mind that the events of 1864 practi- cally left them in a comatose state of mind, broken and heart- broken, bereft of all illusions and faith in the national future of their country. This attitude of " What is the use of it, viz., national defence ? " was of course exactly to the liking of Berlin, who took great care to spread such ideas, as also seeing to it that attempts of national revival took a spasmodic course. Moreover, events after 1905, with the German Fleet supreme in the Baltic, with German warships constantly in Danish waters, with over- whelming land forces too close to their frontier, with Zeppelins and aeroplanes dangerously near the Danish towns, increased this national paralysis. But now the Danes are waking up, the danger- clouds have vanished into thin air, and they have started putting their house in order and cleansing the Augean stables in Copen- hagen of their accumulated pro-Germanism. Thus Denmark gets ready to face the Peace Conference with a National Govern- ment and a National Programme as to Danish claims and desires. First of all she wants the iniquitous Peace of Vienna declared null and void and the former conditions restored before the ques- tion of the future fate of the German-inhabited Duchies cf Holstein and Lauenburg, with the Kiel Canal as well, and of Danish Slesvig, are finally adjusted without Prussia or Hamburg having a say in the matter. In fact, no Prussian militarism, Pan- German schemes, or economic yoke of Hamburg north of the Elbe! Denmark has the moral right to Holstein as part of the Monarchy from 1460 to 1864, and the absolute historical right to the whole of her old borderland Slesvig, with or without a plebiscite in South Slesvig as to whether certain parts of the latter should form a tiny buffer-State between Denmark and Holstein. The national right to North Slesvig, with its population Danish in language and sentiment to the core, is for all practical purposes already ad- mitted by all parties, except, possibly, the Kiel Soviet. And now the prodigal sons of South Slesvig, though Germanized within the last three generations, appear to be seriously thinking of a return homewards, claiming good democratic Government above all! A memorable appeal was made by King Frederik VII. in April, 1848, and greeted with enthusiasm by both Danish and German filesvigers. " Men of Slesvig! Your King calls you, leading you
[We have the deepest sympathy with all Danish aspirations. As we said a few weeks ago, personally we should like to see the whole of the Duchies restored to Denmark. But it is useless to effer people more than they will accept. See an article in the Westminster Gazette of October 31st from "a Danish Correspon- dent." We hope that the Peace Conference will act in the most generous possible spirit towards Denmark. The more Denmark can justly claim, the better we shall be pleased. As for the affairs of 1864, mentioned in other letters which we have not room to publish, we deplore British inaction. But it is unfair to Lord John Russell not to remember that the British rulers and people were not then alive to the real hideousness of German intentions. Court, rulers, and people were pro-German and anti-French.—ED. Spectator.]
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