The Express.
London, England, 1864-06-10 00:00:00

Tas Conference met again yesterday, but the
proceedings, instead of being at all more important
or decisive than usual, were of comparatively little
interest, and calculated rather to diminish than
increase any slender hops that might have been
entertained of its prolonged labours terminating in
some satisfactory result. The chief, and it may
almost be said the only, question seriously dis-
cussed at the sitting related to the extension of the
truce. It was, indeed, the pressing urgency of
this that rendered a second meeting during the
present week following so closely on the heels of
the first absolutely necessary. After considerable
discussion and mutual explanation it was decided
that the period originally agreed upon for the sus-
pension of hostilities should be extended for a
fortnight longer, and the truce, therefore, instead
of terminating at midnight on Sunday next, will
net► run on to Sunday fortnight, the 26th inst.
The chief motive for consenting to this pro-
longation of the temporary peace was that one'
more chance might be given to the respective belli-
gerents of coming to an agreement on the main
business of the Conference. In order to contri-
bute, as far as possible, to this desirable melt, the
Danish Plenipotentiaries placed themselves yester-
day completely in accord with the neutral Powers.
As we have already stated, the Danish Govern-
ment announced at Monday's meeting its willing-
ness to accept a proposal very nearly identical with
that of the neutral Powers. The difference,
though extremely slight, and territorially of no
moment, was, however, of some importance in
relation to the vital question of • defensible fron-
tier line. Instead of following the course of the
Slei in the divi►ion of Sleswig, as the neutral
Powers had suggested, the Danish Government
proposed to draw a line across from Eckernforde,
which would have included the small peninsula of
Svansoe, and given Denmark • much better marine
frontier than the long and, as the recent
campaign sufficiently proved, easily assailed line of
the Slei. In order to remove all difficulty on
their aide the Danish Plenipotentiaries have given
up this modification of the neutral scheme, and
accepted in its integrity the proposal formally
made by the mediating Powers on the 28th of
May. This conciliatory movement on the part of
one belligerent has not, however, been met in a
similar spirit by the other. The German Powers
still insist on their own line, and will not, appa-
rently, bear of any modifimtion. This line in-
cludes • large district, where Danish alone is
spoken—all the chief towns of Sleswig, in many
of which the German element is even less than in
our own manufacturing towns, and, what is per-
haps more important than all, the only defensible
frontier of the Peninsula. This is so unjust and
extravagant a proposal that even the extremest
advocates of pesos at any price have not
• word to say for it. They urge, indeed, with
the plausible assumption of ignorance which they
probably hope may pass with the uninformed for
impartiality, that the principle of dividing Sleswig
being admitted on all hands, • few miles one way
or the other can be of no material consequence,
leering it to be inferred that anydifference on this
head will soon be adjusted. Such • representation
is, however, radically delusive ; begs, in fact, the
main question at issue. While it may be quite
true that • few miles of territory less or more can
be of no moment to Germany, the difference is •
vital one to Denmark if these few miles happen
to include, as they do, the only available frontier
for the Danish State. It was no doubt the know-
ledge of this that dictated the proposal of the,
neutral Powers. Denmark has strained coa-j
cession to the utmost in accepting that pro-
posal in its integrity, and would at once re-
commence the war rather than surrender what,
in common with neutral Powers, she regards se
essential to her existence as an independent State.
On the other hand, the Germans appear to be ob-
stinately bent upon rejecting the proposal of the
neutral Powers.
Under these

there is, it mast be
confessed, little prospect that the additional fort.
night of suspended hostilities will be turned to
any good account. It is not improbable that
the Conferenos may break up even before this new
lease of its useless, if not mischievous, existence
has expired. This is, indeed, precisely the result
which thoughtful and independent political ob-
servers have from the first expected and pre-
dicted. A few days will thus bans justified the
opinion of those who have all along regarded
the Conference as a disastrous mistake so far
as this country is concerned. While it
could, in the nature of things, do little good for
Denmark, it was almost certain to damage B-
land. At the outbreak of the war we might have
retired with some small remnant of dignity and esif-
respect from a contest in which our utmost diplo-
matic efforts had proved vain and useless. We
did protest loudly against the war, as unjust and
unjustifiable, an open violation of treaty engage-
ments, and a flagrant outrage on established inter-
national rights. Having done that, unless we
were prepared for more active measures, we might
at least have retired from the struggle and left the
aggressor to reap the fruits of his violence, with
the full responsibility of his ill deeds on his own
head. To assemble a Conference nominally on
the basis of treaties, but in reality without say