[Union of Lauenburg to Prussia.] No. 371-PRUSSIAN PATENT taking Possession of the Duchy of Lauenburg. Berlin, 13th September, 1865. (Translation.) WE William, by the Grace of God, King of Prussia, &c., hereby declare and make known: Whereas His Majesty King Christian IX of Denmark, by Treaty of Peace concluded at Vienna on the 30th October, 1864 (No. 367), ceded his rights over the Duchy of Lauenburg to Us and to His Majesty the Emperor of Austria conjointly; and whereas His Majesty the Emperor of Austria has, by the Convention agreed upon between us at Gastein on the 14th August of this year (No. 370), and approved at Salzburg on the 20th of the same month, and made public by our Civil Commissioner on the 5th of this month, made over to us his share in those rights; we take possession, in virtue of the present Patent, and in fulfilment of the desire expressed by the Representatives of Lauenburg, of this Duchy, with all Rights of Sovereignty and Lordship, add to our Titles that of a Duke of Lauenburg, and ordain that the Duchy of Lauenburg shall be Hereditary in our Royal House, according to the laws which exist for the Succession to the Crown of Prussia. We send our paternal greeting to all Inhabitants of the Duchy, and charge them to recognise us forthwith as their rightful Sovereign, to tender to us and our successors the Oath of Allegiance, and to live according to our Laws and Ordinances whereby we assure and promise them Our Sovereign Protection, that we will rule them equitably, protect the country and its inhabitants in its legally acquired rights, and exhibit a paternal solicitude for their welfare. We have named our Minister-President and Minister for Foreign Affairs, von Bismarck-Schönhausen, Our Minister for Lauenburg, and charged him to carry on the Government in accordance with the laws and regulations now existing in the Duchy, and will continue and confirm all officials of the Duchy in their employment, after they have taken the Oath of Allegiance to us. We hereby commission our Minister, Count Arnim-Boytzen [Union of Lauenburg to Prussia.] burg, to take possession of the Duchy in Our name, to administer the oath for us to the Chief Functionaries, and to charge them with the swearing of the other officials, whilst we put off receiving the homage of the country until we can do so in person. Done at Berlin, 13th September, 1865. V. BISMARCK. WILLIAM, Rex. [Union of Danish Duchies to Prussia.] London, 14th No. 372.-BRITISH CIRCULAR relative to the Annexation of the Danish Duchies to Prussia. September, 1865. Sir, THE Chargé d'Affaires of Prussia has communicated to me the substance of a despatch relating to the Convention of Gastein (No. 370), and the newspapers of Berlin have since published the text of that Convention. Upon the first communication to Her Majesty's Government of the Preliminaries of Peace signed at Vienna (No. 367), I stated at Vienna and Berlin the views of Her Majesty's Government upon those Preliminaries. The present Convention has only served to increase the regret Her Majesty's Government then expressed. The Treaties of 1815 gave the King of Denmark a seat in the German Diet as Duke of Holstein (No. 27). The Treaty of 1852 (No. 230) recognised the right of Succession to the whole Danish Monarchy, which the late King had established in the person of the present King. That Treaty has, in spite of the assurances given in the Despatches of 31st January, 1864,* been completely set aside by Austria and Prussia, two of the Powers who had signed it. It might have been expected that when Treaties were thus annulled, the popular feeling of Germany, the wishes of the people of the Duchies themselves, and the opinions of the Diet so explicitly put forth by Austria and Prussia in the sittings of the Conference of London,† would have been recognised in their place. In this manner if an order of Rights had been overthrown, another Title drawn from the assent of the people would have been set up, and that Title might have been received with respect and maintained with a prospect of permanence. But all Rights, old and new, whether founded on the solemn Compact of Sovereigns or on the clear expression of the popular will, have been set at naught by the Convention of Gastein (No. 370), and the dominion of Force is the sole power acknowledged and regarded. [Union of Danish Duchies to Prussia.] Violence and conquest are the bases upon which alone the Partitioning Powers found their agreement. Her Majesty's Government deeply lament the disregard thus shown to the principles of public right, and the legitimate claims of a people to be heard as to the disposal of their own destiny. This instruction does not authorise you to address observations on this subject to the Court to which you are accredited, but is intended only to point out when the opportunity shall present itself what is the language you are expected to hold. RUSSELL. [On the 29th August, 1865, a Circular, to the same effect, was addressed by the French Government to its Diplomatic Agents Abroad.] [Note referred to on preceding page.] (Translation as laid before Parliament.) Vienna, 31st January, 1864. THE Imperial Government, by basing upon the stipulations of 1851-52 the rights which, in concert with Prussia, it is proceeding to enforce upon Denmark, has by this very act recognised the principle of the Integrity of the Danish Monarchy, as established by the transactions of 1851-52 (Nos. 229, 230). The Imperial Government, in proceeding to the occupation of Schleswig, does not intend to depart from this principle. 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 1851-52, or of the Armed Intervention of other Powers in the Dano-German conflict, the Imperial 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 (No. 230). The British Government would then find the Imperial Government ready to come to an agreement with them as to the definitive arrangement of the Dano-German question. Your Excellency is requested to read and give a copy of this despatch to Earl Russell. Receive, &c., RECHBERG. [A similar Note, bearing the same date, was addressed by M. de Bismarck to Count Bernstorff, and a copy of it was communicated to Earl Russell by Count Bernstorff on the 4th February, 1864.] [Boundaries.] No. 373.-BOUNDARY TREATY between France and Spain. Signed at Bayonne, 26th May, 1866. ART. 1 TABLE. Preamble. Reference to Treaties of 2nd December, 1856, and 14th April, 1862. Detailed Demarcation of Frontier from the Department of the Pyrénéesto Orientales to the Val d'Andorre. 16. 17. French and Spanish Officers to be appointed to settle Boundary Marks. 18 & Pasturage Rights. 19. 20. The Canal from the Waters of the Aravo to Puycerda to belong to Puycerda. 21. Rights of Road between Llivia and the Territory of Puycerda. 22. Spain not to erect Military Fortifications in Llivia or its Territory. 23 to 26. } Pasturage Rights and Rights of Road of Llivia. 27. Irrigation Rights. 28. Mutual Rights of Road. 29. Written Conventions between Borderers of either State, to remain in Force until their expiration. Right of Borderers to enter into Contracts between each other. 30. Seizure of Cattle. 31. Annulment of all Contracts, &c., contrary to the present Convention. 32. Execution of Treaty. 33. Ratifications. (Translation.*) Reference to Treaties of 2nd December, 1856, and His Majesty the Emperor of the French, and Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, wishing to fix in a definitive manner the Frontier common to both States, as well as the Rights, Usages, and Privileges belonging to the Populations bordering the two States between the Department of the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Province of Girone from the Val d'Andorref to the Mediterranean, in order to complete from one sea to the other the work so happily begun, and followed out in the Treaties of Bayonne of the 2nd December, 1856 (No. 275), and 14th April, 1862 (No. 336), and at the same time and for ever to strengthen order and good rela*For French version, see "State Papers," vol. Ivi, p. 212. + See Note, page |