AFFIRMATIVE.

By the "Dano-German War," I presume is meant the hostilities which have ensued upon the action taken by the two great German powers in relation to Schleswig. This action has been much condemned in England, and all the blame has been cast upon Austria and Prussia for the state of things that has come to pass. Now, in my opinion, the blame ought, in the first instance, to rest almost entirely with Denmark, or the rulers of that country, who have, by their unwise and unjustifiable conduct provoked and rendered unavoidable the present lamentable contest. Schleswig is not, and never was, an integral part of the Danish monarchy; the people of the duchy are, by far the largest part, of a German, not of a Danish origin; and have never, from time almost immemorial, been anything else than an independent sovereignty under the rule of a duke of their own, who has been, for the last 500 years, also the King of Denmark. It has been stipulated again and again, in treaties without number, that under no circumstances should Schleswig be incorporated into the Danish monarchy; and though attempts have been, from time to time, made by the reigning sovereigns of Denmark to set those positive stipulations aside, they have not, until last year, been successful. The now famous Constitution of November last, that has been the cause of all the blood that has been shed, and which virtually incorporated Schleswig with Denmark, was not only formed contrary to the wishes of the people whose welfare it affected, but was a direct violation of the treaty obligation that Denmark had entered into for the last time in 1852, and for the first time

in 1326, which, in as plain words as possible, provided that such an incorporation should not take place. The German powers, great and small, have constantly protested at the outrageous conduct of Denmark, and the latter has only herself to blame if matters have now come to a crisis, and if the unjust conduct that she has pursued towards Schleswig has, at last, brought down vengeance on her head. Schleswig and Holstein are German states, inhabited by Germans, and how can we wonder at the enthusiastic sympathy felt for them by the great German nation, and at the indignation which has been manifested at the attempt of Denmark to incorporate one of the duchies (probably with the view to amalgamate the others also), and which conduct has been declared to be unjustifiable even by the best friends of Denmark? That Austria and Prussia have been somewhat precipitate in their action may be admitted, but that they had a good cause of complaint is also pretty generally admitted; and though we may censure their indecent haste, we must not, on that account, allow our sympathies to revert from the cause of justice and faith to the oppressors of Schleswig, merely because they are a small nation, while the maintainers of order and treaty rights happen to be numerically the stronger. -J. G. J.

Right is right. States must not be allowed to use their insignificance as a cloak for their violation of treaties. Least of all must bullying threats from friends prevent the great powers from maintaining order in Europe. The Danes sought to incorporate the duchies unlawfully, and war was justified by their faithlessness.-T. B.

NEGATIVE.

The war now raging between the Danes and Germans must appear to all who will give an unbiassed opinion an unwarrantable aggression on the part of the latter. To enter fully into the details of this question would take more space than is allowed in the Topic. But when we take into consideration the many points upon which the Danes have yielded at the instigation chiefly of Great Britain, and the haste which the Germam powers have displayed by not allowing the Danes an opportunity of fairly and constitutionally considering their demands, I think we, as Englishmen, cannot but sympathize with those brave people who have to contend with such overwhelming numbers. It is difficult to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion with respect to the intentions of Prussia, who appears to be the ruling power in this unjustifiable war. Either a desire to have the duchies incorporated with her own dominions, and the advantages that would accrue to her by the addition of such an extent of seacoast, enabling her to better compete with other European naval powers; or to escape internal tumults, which were on the eve of breaking out by reason of the king's unconstitutional government, seem to me the most probable reasons for her conduct. Austria, however much against her inclination and interests, was obliged to keep pace with Prussia, if she wished to retain her position as one of the chief powers of the Germanic Confederation. Surely Europe will not calmly look on, and allow the Germans to proceed further with this most unjust war against the Danes, but will take such steps to have the treaty of 1852 carried out, as will guarantee the independence of the kingdom of Denmark intact.-H.

No. Denmark governed the duchies justly and fairly; she made no attempt to oppress the German nationality, except in as far as revolutionary agitation

caused her to act in self-defence; the great bulk of her subjects were perfectly contented with her rule, and were only led by professional grievance-mongers to imagine that they were oppressed.MELSAM AIRAU.

It is not justifiable. Recent events plainly prove it. The Germans were anxious to place the Duke of Augustenburg on the throne of SchleswigHolstein, which was unjustifiable, because legally he had no right, and by the Treaty of London it was settled that Prince Christian should rule over them at the death of Frederick VII. They accordingly demanded of the Danish Government the withdrawal of the November constitution. The Danish Government requested a delay of about three weeks or a month to assemble the Rigsraad (the representatives for the people) to consult their wishes. Strange to say, this reasonable demand was refused, and, as a further piece of injustice, they sent an army to invade the provinces. Nothing was now left to the Danes but to resist, by force of arms, the progress of these invaders. This they attempted to do, but were soon obliged to retreat. The Austrians and Prussians have committed another injustice; they have stepped into purely Danish territory, but have since withdrawn their forces. This act only too plainly shows their real object in invading these provinces. It is now pretty generally known that the Prussians are anxious to place the Duke of Oldenburg on the throne. The Germans are anxious to annex the provinces to their own country, and the Prussians to place the Duke of Oldenburg on the throne, so that possibly the result will be a war between themselves. The injustice of the act is in the attempt to place the Duke of Augustenburg on the throne, and trying to annex it to Germany, which it is plain they wish to do.-L. R. BOSTON.

QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS. 442. Who are the chief writers on the philosophy of history?—G. Y.

443. Has any reply been written to the remarks of Bishop Colenso on the deluge? and if so, by whom? under what title? by whom published? and at what price?-ALEXANDER.

444. A new subscriber would be very grateful if any of your talented contributors would give some instructions as to the best mode of making a profitable use of Rogets' "Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases," and Crabbe's English Synonyms ;" also the most direct method for acquiring facility and accuracy in original composition.-L. P.

445. When was the present system of preaching from a text introduced? Can any gentleman give some account of the mode of preaching previously followed, and of the causes and process of the change which has, as I assume, taken place?-S. S.

446. The servants of the high priest, before whom Christ was brought, warmed themselves at a fire of coals. Does the word translated coals in our version signify such material as we commonly term coals? and if it does, whence did they obtain their coals?-S. S.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. 424. I do not think so; but there can be no doubt that such a book would be highly interesting. In the meantime, and as a substitute, G. W. C. might find a good deal of the material which would go to make up such a book in Cousins' "History of Philosophy," Guizot's "Civilization," Mosheim's "Church History," Mackintosh's 'History of Moral Philosophy," and Mill's "Political Economy." I do not think conscience has made a good figure in history. The work you sug

gest seems one especially suited to the genius of Prof. Charles Kingsley.A. A. R.

426. Your "notes and queries" are not meant to garner up the odds and ends, and scraps and curiosities of reading or thought, but have a practical aim, and I think the question of "An Intending Candidate" a very suitable one for your columns. "Winter" was brought from Scotland in the author's pocket in 1726, as his only resource for making a beginning in life in the metropolis. It was sold at a low price to Mr. Millar, bookseller, Strand, and almost fell stillborn from the press. It was dedicated to Sir Spencer Compton, who took no notice of the author till Aaron Hill nudged his soul by some verses addressed to Thomson, published in a newspaper, regarding the neglect of literary worth by pecuniary wealth. He then gave him £21. Thomas Whately, the Shaksperian critic, uncle of the late Archbishop of Dublin, by his judicious appreciation of the talent it showed, brought it first into public favour, and induced the heart-fainting author to proceed. To study "Winter" thoroughly, I would recommend the careful perusal of the whole poem first, then a more searching and inquisitive reading of it paragraph by paragraph; in the latter reading, every word the peculiar shade of whose signification does not strike the mind instantly ought to be marked, as ought also all the words which seem to be employed in unusual senses. A third perusal should now be taken, dictionary in hand. Every word marked in the former readings, or otherwise remarkable, should be diligently looked up, and the various meanings should be read into the poem, to see which most effectively fills up the sense and satisfies the mind. All words indicative of natural phenomena should