The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-07 00:00:00

NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE.

RUMOURS are rife of a probability of renewed nego-
tiations for conditions of peace with Russia ; and.the
belief in their truth was sufficiently strong to cause a
rise in the public funds, on Friday, though it was not
maintained on the following day. The foundation for
this report arises from the departure of General LETANG
from Paris, on Thursday, despatched, it is said, by the
'Emperor LOUIS NAPOLEON, on a special and confi-
dential mission to the Emperor of AUSTRIA, in reply
to a communication from the latter, addressed to the
Emperor of the FRENCH. As the communications are
from one sovereign personally to the other, nothing is
positively known as to their contents ; but it is con-
jectured that they refer to propositions contained in a
letter from the Empress Dowager of Russii to the
Archduchess SOPHIA of AUSTRIA. These, it is be-
lieved, infer a willingneers on the part of Russia to
make some further concession on the limitation in-
volved in the third point of the recent conferences, so
as to lead to the hope that an arrangement may be
be come to with the Western Powers on this all-im-
portant point. It is well known that Austria is
extremely desirous to assume the part of a Mediator in
the quarrel; and, as no means present themselves of
re-opening communications except through this chan-
nel, it is not at all surprising that the medium of a
personal communication should be adopted to suggest
concessions, to which a sense of national dignity would
not stoop through the ordinary diplomatic channels.
Should these conjectures be true, we may shortly hear
of an attempt to re-open the negotiations at Vienna
upon an assumed proposal of Austria, in reality ema-
nating from Russia; and as this, no doubt, will be but
a modification of power in former proposals, apparent
perhaps more in words than in intentions, the subject
will require the greater attention, lest that diplomatic
skill for which Russia has long been pre-eminent
should prove more successful than even the defenders
of Sebastopol.
However desirous we may be that the object for
which the war was undertaken should be effectually
accomplished, we can have no valid objections to treat
for conditions of peace, provided that such concessions
are made as may afford a reasonable hope of the negoti-
ations being brought to a satisfactory conclusion. At
the same time, however, special care should be taken
that the renewal of conferences is not used as a pretext
for slackening the efforts which are being made to
obtain possession of Sebastopol. We have not the
slightest ground for placing any reliance whatever on
Russian professions, unless accompanied with material
guarantees. We may feel sure that Russia will yield
nothing which she has the power to retain, and that,
even should it prove true that she is now willing to
yield more than was the case a few months since, this
change in her policy can only have arisen from the
apprehension that she will not much longer be able to
retain her position in the Crimea. After all, negoti-
ations, under present circumstances, will prove but a
waste of words, to inspire hopes in the advocates for
peace at any price. The gordiaz knot can only be