The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-22 00:00:00

COUNT ESTERHAZY'S INSTRUCTIONS.

Le Nord publishes the text of Count Buol's despatch to
Count Valentine Esterhazy, serving as his instructions when
conveying the Austrian propositions to St. Petersburg. The
following is the note :

" VIENNA, Dec. 18, 1855.—The words which your excel-
lency has had the honour of hearing from the Emperor's own
lips must have again confirmed to you the intentions that have
invariably guided the policy of his Majesty during the different
phases of the contest now weighing so heavily on Europe.
" Convinced, on the one hand, of the sincerity of the decla-
rations so repeatedly made by the Emperor Alexander, that
he was willing to assist in arriving at any peace not repugnant
to his own dignity and the honour of hiscountry, his Imperial
Majesty has felt himself called upon to employ his best efforts
in order to ascertain what degree of reciprocity might await
those inclinations at the Courts of France and Great Britain.
His Majesty deigned, in consequence, to entrust to me the
duty of sounding the Cabinets of Paris and London on the
subject. But while we found them most firmly resolved not
to initiate any pacific overtures, we nevertheless have, to our
great satisfaction, found in those cabinets a disposition such
as to inspire us with the hope that they will not refuse to
examine and accept any conditions of a nature to present all
the guarantees requisite for a serious and lasting peace, and to
adjust satisfactorily the question that gave rise to the war.
"Not merely this : we believe we are authorised in expres-
sing the hope that these powers, while maintaining in its full
force the right of presenting such conditions of peace as may
seem fitting to them, would be no less disposed, at this present
time, not to deviate from the principles they laid down at the
commencement of the contest, which was not to prosecute any
private advantages, and to limit their demands to the sacri-
fices necessary for reassuring Europe against the return of a
state of things so deplorable and involved as the present.
"Encouraged by these signs, the imperial cabinet has not
shrunk from the task of conscientiously taking the present
state of affairs into serious account, and of stating the bases
on which, in its opinion, the structure of a solid peace might
be reared. The four principles already accepted by Russia
have always appeared to us to be the best initial point. Only,
for the sake of warranting the work of peace, and especially
of avoiding the rocks on which the last conferences were
wrecked, we have deemed it indispensable to develope the four
principles in such a manner as to render them consonant with
the general interests of Europe, and facilitate the final agree-
ment by a more precise definition.
" The fruit of this labour is contained in the document
subjoined, which, from the fact of its acceptance by the bel-
ligerent powers, will acquire a value tantamount to the preli-
minaries of peace. The signature to these preliminaries
would be immediately followed by a general armistice and
definite negotiations.
" This labour having been honoured with the approbation
of his Majesty the Emperor, your excellency is charged with
its presentation for acceptance by the court of Russia, adding,
while doing so, the most pressing entreaties that it weigh well
its contents and communicate to us its determination, which
we consider of the greatest importance to know as soon as
possible. If, as we hope, our propositions meet with a favour-
able reception, we shall lose no time in warmly recommending
their acceptance at the courts of Paris and London, expressing,
at the same time, the confidence we feel that they will not use
the right of eventually presenting special conditions at the
negotiations, save in the interest of Europe, and to an extent
such as will not raise serious obstacles against the re-establish-
ment of peace.

" We believe we are now interpreting the wishes and true
requirements of Europe. It remains for us to appeal to the
exalted sentiments of the Emperor Alexander, whose supreme
determination will decide the fate of so many millions of beings.
" His Imperial Majesty will, we are firmly persuaded, choose
the part which appears to us to be the only one consistent
with the real interests of his own people, and with the wants
of humanity,
" Receive, &c.,

"COUNT B170L."

The Spectator remarks :—" The expression in this depatch,
that `a general armistice' will follow the signing of the pre-
liminaries, does not mean that an armistice will follow the
signature of the Austrian proposals by Nesselrode and Ester-
hazy, but that it will follow the signature by the Western
Powers. At present the Western Powers are not represented
in the diplomatic field; as yet the ' conferences ' are only
between Russia and Austria."