The claims of Brandenburg were a new weapon of which Bismarck was glad to avail himself.  No one supposed that they had really any foundation; they were not seriously put forward; but if the motion was carried, the Diet would be involved in the solution of a very complicated and necessarily very lengthy legal discussion.  What the result was would be known from the beginning, but the Diet and its committees always worked slowly, and Bismarck could with much force maintain that, until they had come to a decision, there was no reason for handing over the administration to Augustenburg; it was at least decent not to do this till the claims of the rivals had been duly weighed.  In the months that must elapse many things might happen.  In the meantime the Diet would be helpless.  When it had come to a decision he would then be able to point out, as he had already done, that they had no legal power for determining who was the ruler of any State, and that their decision therefore was quite valueless, and everything would have been again exactly as it was before.  Austria supported the motion of Saxony, which was carried by nine votes to six.  Prussia answered by sending her fleet from Danzig to Kiel, and occupying the harbour; the Government asked for a vote for the erection of fortifications and docks and for the building of a fleet; the Chamber refused the money, but Roon declared publicly in the House that Prussia would retain Kiel,—­they had gone there and did not intend to leave.  The occupation of Kiel was an open defiance to Austria; that it was intended to be so is shewn by the fact that a few days later Bismarck wrote to Usedom, the Prussian Minister at Florence, instructing him to sound the Italian Government as to whether they would be willing to join Prussia in war against Austria.  At the same time he wrote to Goltz to find out in Paris whether there was any alliance between Austria and France.  It would be some time before foreign relations could be sufficiently cleared up for him to determine whether or not war would be safe.  He occupied the intervening period by continuing the negotiations as to the principles on which the joint administration should be conducted.  He came forward with a new proposal and one which was extremely surprising, that the Estates of the Duchies should be summoned, and negotiations entered into with them.  It is one of the most obscure of all his actions; he did it contrary to the advice of those on the spot.  Everyone warned him that if the Estates were summoned their first action would be to proclaim Augustenburg as Duke.  Some suppose that the King insisted on his taking this step; that is, however, very improbable; others that he proposed it in order that it might be rejected by Austria, so that Austria might lose the great influence which by her support of Augustenburg she was gaining in Germany.  Austria, however, accepted the proposal, and then negotiations began as to the form in which the Estates should be called