350

LOUIS XVIII. GRANTS A CHARTER. [CHAP. LXVII

vention of Mantua, April 23rd,' Eugène agreed to evacuate al the fortresses of the Kingdom of Italy. General Bellegarde entered Milan April 28th, occupied the other Lombard cities, ani proclaimed, May 23rd, that he took possession of the Kingdom of Italy in the name of his Sovereign Francis. Eugène now betook himself to his father-in-law, the King of Bavaria. Th fate of Piedmont was determined at the same time. A procia mation of Prince Schwarzenberg, dated at Paris, April 25th announced to the Piedmontese that Austrian troops would take possession of the country in the name of the King of Sardinia and on the 27th the plenipotentiaries of Prince Camille Borghese governor-general of the departments beyond the Alps, signed a Turin a Convention for an armistice, and for the evacuation c those departments by the French troops.

After a quarter of a century disturbed by revolution and war France and Europe seemed to be returning to peace and order On June 4th, 1814, Louis XVIII. gave a Charter to the French nation, as an emanation of his own absolute authority. To receiv this boon the same Legislature was assembled which Napoleon ha dismissed in December, 1813, in preference to calling upon the people to sanction it by newly-elected representatives. The Char cellor, Dombray, even ventured to remark in his speech that ti King, "in full possession of his hereditary rights, wishes only t exercise the authority which he holds from God and his forefather in fixing himself the limits of his power." The Charter was signe by Louis as given "in the 19th year of his reign," thus ignorin the Republic, the Consulate, and the Empire. Its main featur were that the Legislature should consist of a Chamber of Peers and a Chamber of Deputies; the peers to be nominated by th crown, the deputies to be chosen by the people. The qualifies tions for a deputy were, to have completed forty years of ag and to pay annually 1,000 francs in direct taxes. The qualific tions for an elector were to have completed thirty years of ag and to contribute annually to the direct taxation 300 francs. The King only was to have the right of proposing laws. T Chambers, however, were entitled to suggest them; but if suc suggestions were disregarded, they could not be renewed duri the same session. All forms of Christian worship were to i tolerated, but Roman Catholicism remained the religion of t State.

1 Koch et Schöll, t. x p. 478.

2 Martens, N. Rec. t. i. p. 716. Montgaillard, t. viii. p. 29.

In order to settle the general affairs of Europe, it had been determined to assemble a Congress at Vienna, which was formally opened November 1st. Nothing, not even the Crusades, had ever displayed the unity of Europe in so forcible a light as this Congress. The Peace of Westphalia offers the nearest parallel, but one far inferior in the number and greatness of the Powers concerned, the importance of the interests at stake, and the extent of the settlement effected. Of the great Powers, some were represented by their Sovereigns in person, others by their most eminent statesmen, while no Christian State of any importance was without its representative. The Emperors of Austria and Russia, the Kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and Würtemberg, the Elector of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Baden, the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar, Brunswick, Coburg, and many other German Princes, were personally present. The other European States were represented by their Ambassadors and Ministers, among whom we may mention Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington, for England; Prince Talleyrand and the Duke of Dalberg, for France; Don Labrador, for Spain; Count Palmella and Don Lobo de Silveyra, for Portugal; Cardinal Gonsalvi, for the Pope. But we can give only the main outlines of the transactions. of the Congress.1

The wars of Napoleon had disturbed the whole European system, and the problem before the Congress was to rearrange its scattered members. On what principle? None; except, perhaps, a hatred of that democratic spirit which had been the original cause of the confusion. It would have been a fine opportunity for a committee of philosophical and philanthropic politicians; but the arbiters were the parties interested, their object was to secure, in the name of satisfaction and indemnity, as large a portion of the territories to be distributed as might be possible, and the only check on this desire was the opposition of their coadjutors, who, except in their own cases, were doubtless competent judges of what was equitable and expedient. It is needless to say that in an Assembly so constituted but little regard was had to the claims of nationalities, ancient rights, historical tra

1 The principal works on this subject are, Klüber, Acten des Wiener Congresses, 7 vols. 8vo.; and by the same, in French, Congrès de Vienne, Recueil de Pièces offieilles, &c., being an extract of the principal pieces of the former work. analysis of them is given in Koch et Schöll, Hist. des Traités, t. xi. Also,

An

Bucholz, Gesch. der Europäischen Staaten seit dem Frieden von Wien, B. v.; Flassan, Hist. du Congrès de Vienne; De Pradt, Du Congrès de Vienne; Pertz, Das Leben Steins; Cantù, Storia di cento anni, t. ii. p. 245 sqq. Austria bore the expense of the Congress. The Imperial table is said to have cost 300,000 francs a day.

352

DISTRIBUTIONS OF TERRITORY.

[CHAP. LXVII. ditions, moral fitness, or conformity of religion. Thus, for instance, the Republics of Venice and Genoa, without any alleged delinquencies, were abolished, and handed over to foreign and hostile masters; Venice to Austria, Genoa to Sardinia, in spite of the traditional hatred between the Ligurians and the Piedmontese, and the deprecations of the Genoese. In like manner, Catholic Belgium was annexed to Calvinistic Holland, the Catholic Electorates of the Rhine to Reformed Prussia, and Catholic Poland to Greek Russia. Such arrangements were necessarily sources of weakness, discontent, and sedition, and, where possible, of revolution.

Austria, which had previously held only the isolated Milanese, now seized all Lombardy and the Venetian territories, except the Ionian Isles, which were erected into a Republic under the protection of Great Britain. Thus Austria secured several entrances into Italy, and by occupying Ferrara and Comacchio, got a footing south of the Po. But she was preparing future troubles for herself, by extending her dominion over an unsympathetic people, which, under French rule, had imbibed ideas repugnant to her system. She extended her influence in Central Italy through members of the reigning family. Tuscany and Modena were assigned to collateral branches of the House of Austria, the first to the Archduke Ferdinand, the second to the Archduke François d'Este, also a Prince of the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine. Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla were given to Napoleon's consort, Maris Louisa, who retained the title of "Empress." Lucca, erected into a duchy, was assigned to the ex-Queen of Etruria. With regard to the rest of Italy, the Pope recovered all his possessions except Benevento, Ponte Corvo, and the Venaissin. But he refused to sign the Treaty of Vienna, on account of the Austrian garrisons in Ferrara and Comacchio. The King of Sardinia. Victor Emanuel, retained Piedmont and Savoy, with the addition of Genoa, the English Government having ignored Lord Bentinck's proclamation. Joachim Murat, agreeably to treaties. was left for the present in possession of Naples, though some what curtailed. Germany, which from its geographical pesition and the genius of its people, must ever form one of the most important elements in the European system, became completely changed from its condition in the former century. The Holy Roman Empire had vanished, and with it the Golden Bull, the Electoral Capitulations, and the Electors themselves; though the Sovereign of Hesse retained that empty title. There was no

longer a common tribunal, and the constitution of the Diet was entirely altered. The re-establishment of the German Empire was discussed. Several of the German princes and cities were for its revival; but the scheme was not approved by the Allies, nor by the Emperor of Austria. A Federative Constitution. was established for Germany, with a Diet to be held at Frankfort, of which the Austrian Emperor was to be President. The greater and smaller German States, to the number of thirty-eight, including the four still remaining free towns of Frankfort, Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg, and the Kings of Denmark and the Netherlands, the former by virtue of his Duchy of Holstein, the latter for Luxembourg, were to be members of the Confederation. This new Constitution had all the defects of the Empire without the prestige of its traditions, and especially it had the same want of centralization.

The Kingdom of Westphalia had fallen of itself, and the former Sovereigns who claimed its various parts had recovered their possessions. At this Congress the King of England assumed the title of "King," instead of "Elector" of Hanover. Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Saxe-Weimar, as well as Luxembourg annexed to the Netherlands, were made Grand Duchies. With the view of coercing France on the north, Belgium and the Dutch provinces were erected into the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in favour of the Prince of Orange with the title of William I.; though warning voices already proclaimed the danger of uniting countries so different in language, customs, and religion. Bavaria received for her restorations to Austria her former Palatine possessions, with Würtzburg, Aschaffenburg, and what is called Rhenish Bavaria. The restoration of the Prussian Kingdom occasioned long and violent debates, principally from the circumstance of the erection of the Duchy of Warsaw and the Emperor of Russia's promise to restore the Kingdom of Poland in favour of the Grand Duke Constantine, his brother. The Duchy of Warsaw, about half as big again as Ireland, and containing nearly five million inhabitants, was for Russia one of the greatest acquisitions from the war. Russia thus thrust herself into the middle of Europe. Prussia demanded, in compensation, the whole of Saxony, and was supported by Russia; while she was opposed by Austria, France, and England. A new European war seemed on the point of breaking out, which was averted by concessions on both sides. The Emperor Alexander abandoned his project of a Polish kingdom, gave the Duchy of

354

COMPENSATION OF VARIOUS POWERS. [CHAP. LXVII.

Posen to Prussia, and to Austria the salt works of Wieliczka and the part of Galicia which she had lost in the last war. The city of Cracow, with a territory of 19 square geographical miles, was recognized as an independent republic. Besides the Duchy of Posen, Prussia was further compensated with about a third part of Saxony and the Rhenish provinces. These provinces, as well as the Austrian possessions in Alta Italia, served further to coerce France. These acquisitions made Prussia twice as great as she was under Frederick II., and rendered her, together with Protestantism, predominant in Germany. Austria and Bavaria were now the only Catholic states; for though the reigning house of Saxony was Catholic, its subjects were Protestant. Yet on the whole, the German Catholics were somewhat superior in numbers.

England, which wanted no Continental aggrandizement, was chiefly the gainer by the possession of posts which assured ber maritime ascendency, as Malta, Heligoland, and the Cape. Sweder obtained Norway, and by way of compensation, Denmark received Swedish Pomerania, which she ceded to Prussia in exchange for Lauenburg. Switzerland was declared neutral. With Spain, which had regained its king, and Portugal, nothing was done. The same was the case with Turkey, not being a Christian Power. and having done, or suffered, nothing in the war. On the whole. Russia was the greatest gainer by this new adjustment of European boundaries; as, besides the Duchy of Warsaw, she obtained Finland in the north, and Bessarabia and part of Moldavia in the south. At the same time, by a treaty with Persia, she had gained several eastern provinces; and thus she now beame one of the most formidable Powers in Europe.

Thus, as Cantù remarks, a revolution begun by a democracy left the absolute monarchies strengthened, while republican and elective states were effaced; and an Empire which had sought to overthrow every sovereign only established them more firmly, whilst it fell itself in the attempt.

While the Congress was thus restoring Europe to order, at event occurred which threatened to upset all their labours and to replunge the Continent into confusion. Napoleon, escaping from Elba with 900 of his veterans, landed near Cannes, March 1st, 1815. The news of this event fell like a thunderbolt among the statesmen assembled at Vienna. It had the effect of silencing all minor disputes and uniting the four Powers against the common enemy. On March 13th they published a declaration of outlawry against him; and soon after they renewed the alliance