fifth of the revenue; whereas in Prussia they are more than a quarter of the income of the country.

The influence of Prussia in Germany is thus proved to be solely in proportion to the greater cost of her army; that is to say, it lies in the greater number of cavalry and artillery which she is able to bring into the field on an emergency, than can be furnished by the constitutional states, these being the branches demanding the greatest expenditure. But, if the Germans "shame not their sires," they must be able to face greater odds than these in a cause in which their hearts are interested; and thus the physical as well as moral power of Prussia, when she stands alone, as the oppressor of their liberties, vanishes like an unsubstantial phantom. Now, that, in the enviable position which the Prussian monarch has chosen, care ought to be taken that he should stand alone, must be evident to all who desire a continuance of the peace and the progress of civilization in Europe; and we trust that, since by the decision of the Diet of Frankfort, the complaint of the subjects of the king of Hanover has been rejected unheard, and the French and English ministers in that city are released from the duty of watching over the proceedings of that assembly, the representatives of these two powers in Berlin, Vienna and Petersburg, will receive instructions to declare that the violation of the Hanoverian frontier by the troops of ANY POWER WHATEVER, will be looked upon as an attempt at conquest by which the balance of power in Europe is endangered. Once freed from the long-endured dread of northern and eastern interference, under which every exertion of the Germans to assert and enjoy the rights of members of the civilized community of Europe have hitherto been paralysed, we shall see them assume a different attitude in the political world; and thus the loss experienced by the blotting-out of Poland from the list of civilized states, though it will ever be felt, may in some degree be repaired.

The experience of the last few months has shown that, amidst the fluctuations to which our political relations with neighbouring states are exposed, the consolidation of a power in central Europe, which should be actuated by the influence of enlarged and enlightened views, and consequently equally

bulence of an ignorant rabble, would be an immense gain for the repose of Europe. Is not so desirable a member of our social system in Europe presented to us in Germany? Is not the mass of the people in the confederated states enlightened, and has not a great deal been done in them to impose a salutary control on the arbitrary power of their sovereigns? Why, then, should we disregard so acceptable and so useful an ally? Some persons, no doubt, think that a country subdivided into so many states can never display sufficient energy to command respect from its enemies or to be useful to its allies. But all we want is a repressive power. We do not seek to call up a new nation of conquerors; of such our quarter of the globe has already more than its share. We want a nation possessing the elements of civilization and prosperity, with the will to cultivate these advantages. We should rejoice to see such a country, by a pacific policy and unremitting industry in mental as well as material speculations, rise in uninterrupted prosperity, and by its example alone shame into a like course of policy, those governments who seek to uphold their ill-gotten power by strewing the dazzling sand of conquest and unfruitful extension of empire in the eyes of their ignorant subjects. The very essence of German nationality is this subdivision into petty states-an organization as favourable to the liberty of the subject at home as it is conducive to a peaceful foreign policy. At all events, it is now too late to change the nature of the Germanic constitutions, if we wish to derive a speedy aid from their influence. It would cost an exterminating war to reduce them under one sceptre, even if the attempt were at any price successful, which there is great reason to doubt. On the other hand, the guarantee of constitutional freedom to those states which have achieved that enviable boon-or, what amounts to the same thing, the declaration, on the part of Great Britain, of

THE INVIOLABITITY OF THE TERRITORY OF EACH INDIVI

DUAL STATE in cases of disputes between the people and their rulers-would prove a bond of union which would bind, in the strictest alliance, every Germanic state from the Alps to the Baltic. We say that such a declaration should be made by Great Britain, even if unsupported by any other power; for a

sarily be imitated by that of France, as the adherence to the treaty of Milan became imperative on the French government the moment that England stood forward in the cause of civilization and right. At the present day, no sovereign, whose power is in any way subject to the control of popular opinion, can remain behind in the race when his rivals start for the goal of enlightened freedom and the welfare of mankind. The more the number of sovereigns, subject to such control, can be augmented, the better for their peaceably-disposed neighbours. But an instantaneous advantage would result from a line of policy which should establish the freedom of the minor German states from the oppressive leadership of their too-powerful colleagues in the Confederation. This would be the attaching of Switzerland to a body with which it has so many powerful sympathies. The moment the freedom of the Germanic states is proclaimed, and the power of the Frankfort Diet limited to concerting measures of defence against external aggression, in that instant Switzerland has become an honorary member of the league, by the influence of that identity of interests which is so much more powerful in consolidating alliances than the wisdom of statesmen or the calculations of cabinets. This power, so feeble while it stands alone, that it is buffeted about by its mighty neighbours, France and Austria, who have not scrupled to threaten the extermination of its liberties, would at once assume the rank of a powerful member of a powerful confederation, whom it would be bad policy to taunt, because it was secure from injury. Instead of being reduced to defend refugees, at the risk of their independence, the Swiss would then belong to the party whose influence in Europe would thenceforward be such as to make it essential to cultivate their esteem, and therefore wise to treat them with courtesy. But it is not Switzerland alone that would benefit, besides ourselves, by the establishment of a powerful confederation of free states in Germany. Belgium, whose inhabitants are at heart more German than French, would likewise find a support for her newly-acquired and dearly-bought independence. Every country in which a German dialect is spoken would be able to claim the sympathies of the rest; and the

a representation in the Diet through their lord, as duke of Courland*, would form a part and portion of a real and imposing league. The dreams of the conquest of Hanover, with the addition of the Hanse-towns, once dispelled from the brains of Prussian statesmen, the influence of public opinion would regain its importance in Prussia. The Prussians would hail the boon of security against the aggressions of France and Russia as a valuable exchange for distant visions of conquest. The reduction of their army, which is only possible under these circumstances, would throw a fund of industrial resources into the hands of the population, and the true power of that state would begin to show itself, based upon the strong foundation of national prosperity. As a member of the confederation, Prussia would be then the chief support, instead of acting the part of oppressor, of the liberties and civilization of Germany; and all Europe would hail the tardy realization of the hopes which the proposal for the establishment of a confederation of free Germanic states excited at the Congress of Vienna.

* Under this title the emperor of Russia sought last year to be admitted into the German confederation as a member-nearly at the same moment that he by an imperial ukase compelled the German provinces of Russia on the Baltic to adopt the Russian as their language, and, by his regulations as to mixed marriages, laid the foundation for the extirpation of the Protestant religion in those provinces. The Protestants in those countries are either Lutherans or Calvinists, and have consequently little sympathy to expect from the king of Prussia. Are they to expect any from the British nation?

ARTICLE III.

1. Recent Measures for the Promotion of Education in England. Ridgway. Tenth Edition. 1839.

2. Reports of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church. 1838 and 1839.

3. A Letter to T. D. Acland, Esq., M.P., on the System of Education to be established in the Diocesan Schools for the Middle Classes. By the Rev. R. HUSSEY. 1839. 4. Report of the Exeter Diocesan Board of Education. January, 1839. Exeter.

WE approach with unaffected diffidence the discussion of a question, which has been embittered with so much political rancour, and mingled with so much pretension and prejudice, since we last devoted some of our pages to a survey of the progress and condition of the education of the lower classes in England. But, notwithstanding the outbreak of violent animosities, and the clamour of party which dins upon the public ear, these present evils are certain signs of the advancement of a good cause. They are in fact a solemn recognition of the national importance of the subject. They are the concomitants of active exertion. They announce the passage of the question from those abstract discussions and philanthropic aspirations in which it lay so long and closely locked, to the field of open debate. The conflict between new systems which seek to found, and existing institutions which seek to maintain, their authority, will not be resolved by the promises of the former or the claims of the latter, but by the practical forces they will bring to bear on the subject. The daily thoughts of men are commonly so far below the idea which they are unconsciously serving, and means occupy so much more of the world's attention than ends, that the extent and importance of principles themselves are rarely discerned till they have been tested by time, and brought by experiment within the ken of ordinary observers. But if there