THE FUTURE OF EUROPE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 126, 1 October 1875, Page 14

THE FUTURE OF EUROPE.

The danger tvhich Europe so narrowly escaped recently continues to preoccupy the minds of all observers of continental affairs. It is thought m France that the peril has not passed away but that it has only been averted for a time, and that what now most concerns the public is to discover thft terms on which Russia and Prussia have agreed, the latter to suspend its attack on France, the former to permit that attack at a future day. In spite of all protestations of peacefxil intentions, m spite of all rumours of disarmament schemes, the universal conviction that "changes in the map of Europe are m contemplation both at St. Petersburg and Berlin, appears to. gather fresh force every day ; and few would hesitate to express the suspicion that the moment the two Northern despotisms have arranged such apportionment of the spoils as may not aitfir the equilibrium between Russia and Germany to .the special advazT tage of either, no neighboring State will be safe for an hour. That there has been a very serious hitch in the policy of Prince Bismarck c * n . *>« cl /: arl y seen, but this hitch, it is thought, arose from the dxsinchnation of Russia to help Germany to the incontestable supremacy which the annihilation of France would necessarily entaiL Russia dare not go quite so far as that in the way of assisting Bismarckism. But how far dare she go, and what consideration does Prince Bismarck offer to induce Russia to go as far as she rm. m a sin^ le senterice n ea the European situation. lhe real question is a question of time. With time everything may be redressed, and even the vast weight of the Russo-German confederacy may find a counterpoise. In five years France will be to all practical ends thoroughly organised, while five years of the embittered « Kulturkampf " cannot but affect Germany to the most serious extent. That multitude of signatures to the address of the German Catholics to the Holy Father gives promise that the threatened increase in the violence of the persecution will be met with, an increasing determination to set conscience above Caesar, "fi,? 8 * % true intere 3ts of Germany above the guilty ambition ' of Berlin. There is, it should not be forgotten, a provision of the German Imperial Constitution which, if of little avail in the present posture of affairs, may become a substantial guarantee of peace when the growing disgust and an°er of all true German patriots shall have had time to consolidate themselves under the forms of constitutional resistance which are still within the reach of Germans. This is the provision by which war, except for repelling an invasion, can only be declared with the consent of the Federal Council of the Empire. At present the < Bundesrath' is, indeed, the creature of the Berlin Foreign Office, but this need not be the case always, and there are strong grounds for hoping that as impatience at the hectoring of Prussia spreads through the non-Prussian provinces and districts a different class of men will gradually rise to the surface of affairs. When German opinion comes to mean something more than the opinion of the Berlin Press less will depend upon the clamours of the " War Party" and the calculations of an unscrupulous dictator. With time, too, England might at length resolve to place herself in a position as regards armies and armaments which "will allow her to speak with that measure of authority which belongs to her m the councils of Europe. . But perhaps every contingency is more likely to happen than this. We have fallen into a selfsatisfaction as complete as that of the French Empire in the spring of 1870 j it is to be hoped that no Sedan will be required to waken us from our luxurious lethargy. It must be a source of shame and apprehension to every right-thinking Englishman to reflect that a German army could be encamped under the walls of Vienna, or even Paris, before Britain could place a hundred thousand men upon the shores of Belgium. Yet with time even this might be remedied. But will there be time ? It affords some ground for hope that the European sitiiation has been hardly less strained on some occasions already since the signature of the ill-omened ' Peace of Frankfort, and that nevertheless the dreaded outbreak of hostilities has always been delayed a little longer. The question of the Bishops' Pastorals in France, the question of French complicity with the Carlists, and several other "questions," could be mentioned which were each designedly raised by Prussia for the purpose of picking a quarrel, and which were each settled or turned aside without producing a warlike explosion. Providence governs alll things, and we may trust that in Its infinite mercy It will protect Christendom through the terrible crisis which is preparing for Europe. The balance is now heavily weighted in favor of the enemies of the Church, but a comparatively slight alteration in the disposition of circumstances would easily change the entire face of the European situation. Even as it is, things are not so bad as they were three years ago. Spain is still torn and distracted by a wretched civil war, but at least the Revolution dare no longer raise its head. France is a Republic, but it is apparent thatthe real power in France is in hands which will never permit a superstitious regard for " chmoiseries " to impede determined action against the enemies of society, whether they make use of the device of universal suffrage or once more have recourse to petroleum and the barricade. Even Italy halts in its path of hostility to the Vicar of Christ, and resents the dictatorial intolerance of Berlin A few years, a couple years even, may see the rise of a new Europe, and the venerable Pius IX. may not close hia eyes to this life before heshall have seen the dawn of that peace of the Church which he has never ceased to expect with the calm fortitude that springs from holy faith. °