Late in the debate Mr. Layard read out a despatch
of Herr von Bismark, which was supposed to contain the assurance that the German Governments would maintain the Treaty of 1852. The reading excited " loud laughter," and well it might, for after remarking that invasion involved the acknowledgment of the terms of 1852, the most material sentence was this :—" If, however, in consequence of complications which may be brought about by the persistence of the Danish Government in its refusal to accomplish its promises of 1852, or of the armed intervention of other Powers in the Dano-German conflict, the King's Government were to find itself compelled to renounce combinations which would no longer offer a result proportionate to the sacrifices which events might impose upon the German Powers, no definite arrangements could be made without the concurrence of the Powers who signed the Treaty of London. (Laughter)." In plain English, if the creditor does everything the debtor likes, and Providence does so too, then the debtor will pay the debt. That is not quite equivalent to a promissory note at sight.
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