News and Miscellany

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 25, 1866

News and Miscellany.

Can ye not discern the Signs of the Times? Matt. xvi, 3.

The State of Europe.

The approaching close of the year finds nearly the whole of Europe apparently at peace, the little island of Candia being at present the only spot where fighting is still going on. Even there the insurrection has been hemmed in on all sides, and unless a general rising in the Christian provinces of Turkey should take place, the last of the Candian patriots will soon have to lay down their arms. But the explosive material in Turkey does not, on that account, become less. The consummation of the independence of Roumania, under the rule of a prince nearly related to most of the European monarchs, does not only signify the loss by Turkey of four millions of people, but of all the many impulses which have of late been given to the aspirations of the Christian provinces, this is the most dangerous, for it practically illustrates the collapse of Turkish power. Servia insists on having the same independence which has been accorded to Roumania, and it will not be long ere the same demands will be made by the other provinces.

The happiest people in Europe at this moment are Italians. The national unity is nearly complete. Venetia has been annexed, and the evacuation of Rome by the French, which was to be completed, according to the Convention, on Monday, removes the last obstacle to the acquisition of the Papal dominions. As the last circular of Ricasoli to the Prefects indicates, the Italian Government will observe the strictest neutrality. Thus the struggle of the Roman people with their Government will show all the more conclusively the irresistible power of the national sentiment. We have no trustworthy information about the intentions of the Pope in case of a successful revolution. The statements of the organs of the Ultramontane party, which ought to be best informed, disagree as widely as the less orthodox papers.

From France we hear but little except comments on foreign questions. French vessels are now plying between the ports of France, Italy and Mexico, to bring back French troops from two expeditions which even the Government does not deny to have been signally disastrous. The Government with iron hand suppresses the free expression of popular sentiment on the suffered disgrace; but it is easy to divine what the secret influence of the failure of the Imperial schemes on the public mind must be. The Emperor's life is drawing to a close, and it appears extremely doubtful whether a government carried on in the name of a child will be able to save the shaken dynasty.

From Spain we are almost daily receiving dispatches about the imminence of a revolution which everybody, including, it seems, even the Queen's mother, and her only sister, the Duchess of Montpensier, look upon as being not only inevitable, but sure to triumph.

Turning from the Latin to the Germanic world, we find Count Bismark, the center of the political movements in the Germanic countries, again at his post in Berlin. The greatest obstacle to the accomplishment of his mission has been removed, and things are going on smoothly. There still are occasional disagreements between the great statesman and the Liberal majority of the Second Chamber, but they are free from animosity, and the leading opponents of the Government in home questions continue to be the most ardent champions of the foreign policy. The North-German Parliament is expected to meet on the 1st of February, and its voice is sure to find a powerful echo wherever the German language is spoken. The two Chambers of Baden, one of three South-German countries which have for the present been excluded from the North-German Confederation, have by an almost unanimous vote resolved to apply for an unconditional admission. All the difficulties with Saxony have been adjusted. In Bavaria and Wurtemberg, the party which favors the re-union with Northern Germany is rapidly growing, and even from Austria we hear of public manifestations, the significance of which cannot be misunderstood.

An address of Austrian students has been published saying that soon German Austria will knock for admission at the door of united Germany, and this address is known to represent the sentiments of the German Universities of Austria. The same views are openly expressed by the leading men in the Diets of the German Provinces which are now in session. Even in Holland the unconstitutional course of the Government is said to have given rise to a party of annexation. Belgium is charged by French papers with Prussian sympathies, undoubtedly an entirely groundless invention, but which again shows that the little kingdom will ere long be crushed to pieces between the two millstones which inclose it. Switzerland fears a similar fate, and the Federal authorities recommend, therefore, an immediate arming. Sweden and Denmark are both courting the favor of Prussia. The whole Germanic race on the Continent is gravitating toward a closer union with Prussia, a tendency which can have no other issue than the final absorption of all the minor and impotent commonwealths by the rising German Empire. Great Britain stands aloof from all European questions. The Reform movement in England and the Fenians in Ireland may well engross the attention of a Government which has lost all claim to influence in Continental affairs.

Russia has changed her conduct toward the new Prince of Roumania, whom she has recognized, and now patronizes as a successful representative of the Christian interests in Turkey. In Central Asia, Russian troops have conquered the last fortress of Bokhara, and are making rapid progress in consolidating and civilizing the newly-annexed territory.—N. Y. Tribune.