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CHAPTER XVII.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER EUROPEAN POWERS.

Germany.

PRUSSIA was the fourth power to conclude a treaty with the United States, yet her relations with this country extend to the very beginning of the war of the Revolution. The king of Prussia, Frederick the Great, was in his old age. When he had at last established his kingdom on a firm basis, he exerted himself to serve, rather than to rule his subjects. Austria and Kaunitz were against him; his Russian alliance seemed transitory and he had not the real friendship of any power in Europe. Old and childless, he must keep up until the end his struggles to make Prussia a permanent political force. On him alone fell the burden of maintaining Protestant freedom and preserving the independence of Prussia. Frederick's ideas of government were very liberal. "The most perfect government," he said, "is a well administered monarchy. But then, kingdoms are subjected to the caprice of a single man whose successors will have no common character. A good-for-nothing prince succeeds an ambitious one; then follows a devotee; then a warrior; then a scholar; then, maybe, a voluptuary; and the genius of a nation, diverted by the variety of objects, assumes no common character. But republics fulfill more promptly the design of their institution, and hold out better-for good kings die, wise laws are immortal." When he held such views as these, it is with little surprise

that one hears him say: "The treatment of the American colonies appears to me to be the first step toward despotism. It is hard to proclaim as rebels free subjects who only defend their privileges against the despotism of a ministry." But although he looked with favor upon the revolt of the colonies in America, the future of Prussia demanded that during the war of the Revolution he should observe the strictest neutrality. If the new government was to be recognized, some other continental government must take the initiative. A copy of the Declaration of Independence was sent to Frederick by the American commissioners at Paris. The king strongly approved of the manifesto and, while he refused to open negotiations with the United States, he gave express commands to his minister at London "to do nothing which could offend or wound the American people."

Arthur Lee, one of the commissioners, went to Berlin in 1777 but no notice was taken of him officially. During Lee's stay all of his papers were stolen by a servant and turned over to the British minister, who returned them the next day apparently unopened. There was evidence, however, to show that they had been examined. When Frederick heard of the outrage he refused to receive the British minister and wrote to his representative at London : "The English should blush for shame in sending such ministers to foreign courts."

Lee desired that, if a treaty of alliance could not be effected, at least the port of Emden on the German Ocean might be opened to American privateers. This Frederick refused for the reason that Prussia was not a maritime nation and could not protect her interests against the British. "But," he wrote, "if the American colonies maintain their independence, a direct commerce will, of course, follow." Although Emden was not opened, Frederick finally allowed Dantzig to be used as an asylum for our cruisers. When he had done

this, he became more open in his admiration for America. He attempted to dissuade the German princes from furnishing mercenaries to the British and refused to allow such troops from Hesse to pass through his domains. Following this refusal, he gave the American commissioners the greatest facilities for purchasing arms and ammunition in Prussia, and thus opened a direct way for a treaty. His minister wrote in January, 1778, to the commissioners: "The king will not hesitate to recognize your independence when France shall have given the example."

Two months later the treaty with France was made public. The commissioners who expected to follow up their French success with a similar victory in Prussia, were disappointed, for Frederick, menaced on every side and threatened by the English navy, hesitated. He continued, however, to express his cordiality toward the new power, and, when peace with England had been declared, he negotiated a treaty similar to those existing between France and Holland and the United States. The American negotiators were Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson. The arrangement was an admirable conclusion to the work of Franklin, who then ended his European

career.

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This treaty, which was called at the time an admirable abstraction," is remarkable for its provisions; all blockades were to be abolished, contrabands were not to be subject to confiscation, and privateering was condemned. This instrument expired by its own limitation in 1796 and a new treaty was concluded in 1799 (thirteen years after Frederick's death), in which the provisions just noticed were omitted.

Other German states following the example set by Prussia made treaties with the United States. In 1828 a treaty was proclaimed by the Hanseatic Republics, headed by Hamburg and Bremen. From that time until the formation of the

North Confederation in 1868, treaties were made with nearly all the petty German states. In 1868 George Bancroft arranged a naturalization treaty with the Confederation. He was also the signer of the convention which relates to the duties of consuls, between the United States and the German Empire in 1871, soon after the establishment of that government.

The conflict in Samoa in 1888 between the revolutionist Tamasese and the reigning king Malietoa, and the connection of Great Britain, Germany, and the United States with the affair caused a sharp correspondence. Germany had for several years evinced a strong desire to annex the Samoan Islands and for that end she was ready to aid the revolutionists. In 1884 she had drawn up a treaty with Samoa which virtually gave Germany possession of the islands. This treaty was disallowed by Great Britain and the United States and was repudiated by Malietoa as having been extorted by threats. The treaty with the United States was explicit in its terms, one of which is as follows: "If unhappily any difference should have arisen or shall hereafter arise, between the Samoan government and any other government in amity with the United States, the government of the latter will employ its good offices for the purpose of adjusting these differences upon a satisfactory and a solid foundation."

When the Germans took sides with Tamasese the American consul, in conformity as he thought with the clause of the treaty quoted above, raised the American flag in protection of the Samoan government, in order that a conference might adjust the difficulty. Before this conference could be held the secretary of state repudiated the action of the consul.

Germany continued her policy and forced Malietoa to abdicate. He was taken as a prisoner on board a German man-of-war and late in 1888 he was carried to Berlin. Soon

after, Germany announced to the United States that she had declared war on Samoa. Mr. Bayard replied that she had no right to do this. Bismarck rejoined that he regretted

that the state of affairs in a far-off island should disturb the friendly relations which had ever existed between the United States and the German Empire. At last a conference composed of representatives from the three powers was appointed to attempt pacific adjustment of the Samoan difficulty. As a result, a general act was agreed to, which guaranteed the neutrality of the Samoan Islands and settled matters of minor importance.

In 1883 the Germans laid an embargo upon American pork. A long diplomatic correspondence on this subject followed until in 1891, largely through the exertions of our minister at Berlin, Mr. William Walter Phelps, the embargo was raised and American meats were admitted into the empire subject to certain inspection which the German government considered necessary.

The same year a reciprocity treaty was negotiated with Germany under which all food products and many manufactured articles of the United States are admitted into German ports at a rate of duty less than is imposed upon the same articles from other countries. In return for this concession the United States admits free into her ports the beet root sugar of Germany.

Austria.

Commercial intercourse between the United States and Austria was insignificant during the early years of this century, and the Napoleonic wars discouraged any attempt to arrange a treaty. By the year 1829, however, trade had increased to such an extent that a treaty of commerce and navigation was arranged. It went into effect in 1831 and has been twice extended.

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