The quarrel between Prussia and Switzerland[1] is one in which we appear to have no immediate interest, except that it is always our interest to prevent any infraction of the general peace, but of course we could not think of not interfering in some way or other in the matter. The King of Prussia has behaved as ill and as foolishly as possible, and our Government entirely disapprove of his conduct and have given the Swiss to understand that all our sympathies are with them, and that we think they have right on their side. If France and England were now on really good terms, and would act together with cordiality and authority, nothing would be so easy as to put a prompt extinguisher on the Swiss affair; but as we cannot agree upon a common course of action, there is danger of the dispute drifting into a war, though it is evidently so much the interest and the desire of the Emperor Napoleon to allow no shots to be fired, that I still expect, even at this almost the eleventh hour, to be in a complete fix. The Swiss will not release the prisoners unless the King will at the same time abandon his claims on Neufchâtel, or unless England and France will guarantee that he will do so. The King will do nothing and agree to nothing unless the Swiss will previously and unconditionally release the prisoners, and moreover he repudiates our intervention, as he thinks us unfairly disposed to himself. The simplest course would be for England and France to declare that a Prussian invasion of Switzerland should be a _casus belli_, and I think we should have no objection to this, but France won't go along with us. Then if the Swiss should deliver over the prisoners to France, and she would accept the _depôt_, all might be settled. As it is, we have backed up Switzerland to resist, and if war ensues we shall leave her to her fate--a very inglorious course to pursue; and although I have a horror of war, and am alive to the policy of keeping well with France, I am inclined to think that having encouraged the Swiss to a certain point it would better become us to take our own independent line and to threaten Prussia with war if she does not leave Switzerland alone, than to sit tamely by and see her, unimpeded, execute her threats. The Government are evidently much embarrassed by this question, which is still further complicated by the matrimonial engagement between the two Royal families. Footnote 1: [The Prussian Crown retained, by the Treaty of Vienna, rights of sovereignty over the Swiss Canton of Neufchâtel, and appointed a Governor there. In other respects the Neufchâtelese enjoyed all the rights and liberties of Swiss citizens. This anomalous state of things naturally gave rise to friction. The King of Prussia derived no sort of advantage from his nominal sovereignty; but as a matter of dignity he declined to renounce it, and even threatened a military occupation of the Canton, which the Swiss Confederation would have resisted.]