treaty in which they agreed to continue their alliance against any new attempt on the part of France to disturb the repose of Europe. Furthermore, in Article VI of the treaty they arranged for periodical meetings of representatives from the powers, as follows: system o deal with "revolut To facilitate and secure the execution of the present treaty Metterni and to strengthen the bonds which at the present moment so arranges closely unite the four sovereigns for the happiness of the world, internati the high contracting parties have agreed to renew their meet- congress ings at fixed periods, either under the immediate auspices of the sovereigns themselves or of their respective ministers, for the purpose of consulting upon their common interests and for the consideration of the measures which, at each of these periods, shall be considered most salutary for the repose and prosperity of nations and for the peace of Europe.1 Though it was by no means clear from the language of this clause to what extent the powers should interfere in the domestic affairs of European nations, Metternich held that they were bound to strike at revolution wherever it appeared, and especially in Italy, where Austria had so many interests at stake. Accordingly a congress of the powers 2 was called at Troppau in 1820. There a system of intervention in the internal affairs of those. countries threatening the repose of Europe was agreed upon, and was justified in a circular note which casts much light on the policy of the reactionary monarchs who were under Metternich's influence. 1 For the whole of this interesting document, see Anderson, Constitutions and Documents, pp. 482 sqq. 2 France was admitted to the councils of the powers at a congress held at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818. England, while participating formally or informally in these congresses, never committed herself to the doctrine of general intervention, but was inclined to regard interference as justifiable only when the territorial settlement of 1815 was threatened. 99. Circuar note of "roppau set Having been informed of the false and exaggerated rumors which have been circulated by ill-intentioned and credulous ing forth persons in regard to the results of the conferences at Troppau, letternich's the allied courts deem it necessary to transmit authentic exheory of planations to their representatives at foreign courts, in order to enable them to refute the erroneous ideas to which these rumors have given rise. The brief report here annexed will enable them to do this. tervention TROPPAU, December 8, 1820 BRIEF REVIEW OF THE FIRST RESULTS OF THE CONFERENCES The events which took place in Spain March 8 and at Naples July 2, as well as the catastrophe in Portugal, could not but arouse a feeling of the deepest indignation, apprehension, and sorrow in those who are called upon to guard the tranquillity of the nations; and, at the same time, it emphasized the necessity of uniting in order to determine in common the means of checking the misfortunes which threaten to envelop Europe. It was but natural that these sentiments should leave a deep impression upon those powers which had but lately stifled revolution and which now behold it once more raise its head. Nor was it less natural that these powers, in encountering revolution for the third time, should have recourse to the same methods which they had employed with so much success in the memorable struggle which freed Europe from a yoke she had borne for twenty years. Everything encouraged the hope that that alliance, formed in the most critical circumstances, crowned with the most brilliant success, and strengthened by the conventions of 1814, 1815, and 1818, as it had prepared the way for, established, and assured the peace of the world, and delivered the European continent from the military representatives of revolution, so it would be able to check a new form of oppression, not less tyrannical and fearful, namely, that of revolt and crime. Such were the motives and the aim of the meeting at Troppau. interfere States th The powers are exercising an incontestable right in Right of taking common measures in respect to those States in which powers to the overthrow of the government through a revolt, even if it the intern be considered simply as a dangerous example, may result in a affairs of hostile attitude toward all constitutions and legitimate govern- ened by ments. The exercise of this right becomes an urgent necessity revolution when those who have placed themselves in this situation seek to extend to their neighbors the ills which they have brought upon themselves and to promote revolt and confusion around them. ... the Italia States fro Nothing could menace more directly the tranquillity of the Danger t neighboring States than the revolution at Naples, gaining ground as it did daily. In view of the fact that the allied courts the revolu could not be attacked so promptly and immediately as these at Naples neighboring States, it was deemed expedient to proceed, in regard to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, according to the principles above enunciated. In order to prepare conciliatory measures toward this end, the monarchs convened at Troppau resolved to ask the king of the Two Sicilies to meet them at Laibach, with the single aim of freeing him from all external compulsion and placing him in the position of mediator between his erring people and the States whose tranquillity they threaten. . It is needless to prove that the resolutions taken by the powers are in no way to be attributed to the idea of conquest, or to any intention of interfering with the independence of other governments in their internal administration, or, lastly, to the purpose of preventing wise improvements freely carried out and in harmony with the true interests of the people. Their only desire is to preserve and maintain peace, to deliver Europe from the scourge of revolution, and to obviate or lessen the ills which arise from the violation of the precepts of order and morality. . . . The Italian affairs were settled by the two congresses of Troppau and Laibach, and Austrian troops restored the king of Naples to his throne. Spain next received the attention of the powers at the congress of Verona in 200. Circular 1822) The sad plight of Spain 1822, but the Spanish question was not so easily settled. as the Italian, for England refused to join in intervention, and France, remembering the troubles of Napoleon in the Peninsula, hesitated. The three eastern powers, however, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, sent out a circular which seemed to indicate that they might intervene in Spain, although there was slight probability that they would find it possible to do so. Events have called the attention of the monarchs to the pitiable condition of the Western Peninsula. Spain is now undergoing the fate which awaits all States unfortunate enough to seek what is good, in a way in which it can never be found. It is passing through the fateful circle of its revolution, a revolution which deluded or evil-disposed men represent as a benefit, or indeed a triumph, of the enlightened century. All governments are witnesses of the zeal with which these men seek to persuade their comrades that this revolution is the necessary and wholesome fruit of advanced civilization, and the means by which it acts; and that it is furthermore supported by the noblest flight of enthusiastic love for the fatherland. If civilization can have for its aim the destruction of human society, and if it were possible to admit that the armed force which is only meant for the preservation of peace in the kingdom can seize the government of the kingdom unpunished, certainly the Spanish revolution may claim the admiration of the age, and the military rising of the island of Leon may serve as a pattern for reformers. But truth has soon asserted her rights, and Spain only presents another sad example (at the cost of her happiness and her fame) of the inevitable consequences of such transgressions of the eternal laws of the moral order of the world. Legitimate power fettered and turned into an instrument for the overthrow of all rights and all lawful liberty; all classes of the people drawn into the stream of revolutionary agitation; caprice and oppression exercised under the guise of laws; a whole kingdom given up to disorders and convulsions of every kind; rich colonies preparing to set themselves free by the draw their Can the monarchs look with equanimity on the evils heaped The three on one country which are accompanied with so many dangers powers wi for others? Dependent only on their own judgment and their ambassad own conscience in this grave juncture of affairs, they must ask from revo themselves whether it is longer permissible to remain quiet tionary S spectators of calamities which threaten to become more dangerous and more horrible; or even, by the presence of their representatives, to give the false appearance of a silent consent to the measures of a faction ready to do anything to maintain and support their pernicious power. The decision of the monarchs cannot be doubtful. Their ambassadors have received orders to leave the Peninsula. Whatever may be the result of this step, the monarchs declare before Europe that nothing can move them to waver in a resolution approved by their most heartfelt convictions. The greater the friendship they entertain for the king of Spain, the livelier their interest in the well-being of a nation which has ever been distinguished for its virtues and its grandeur, and the more strongly do they feel the necessity of taking the measures on which they have decided, and which they will know how to carry out. The English foreign secretary, Canning, protested at Verona against interference with the internal government of Spain, and declared that the mutual guarantee of 1815 |