The Express.
London, England, 1863-08-28 00:00:00

THE FRANKFORT CONGRESS.

(irßox on ows

FRANKFORT, Amon 26.

The congress came to a decision yesterday on the
executive ; it will consist of six members ; Austria,
Prussia, and Bavaria to be permanent members,
the three kingdoms to have one additional vote;
the Grand Dukes and the Elector of Hone
another vote ; and the sixth to be given to the
other minor states in rotation. The sittings
are now held daily, and will come to a close by the
end of this week. It is universally believed that
the princes, as a whole, will then negotiate with
Prussia on the terms which she will be inclined to
accede to, and that that government will then, for
the first time, be called on to declare what it wants,
while hitherto it has only stated what it did not
want. As Prussia is quite as much interested as
any other German state in not being compelled to
watch every spring the "ideas" the French Empe-
ror intends to bring forward for the year, and as this
miserable state of things, which cripples industry,
will cease when Germany is united, it is very pro-
bable that Prussia will finally accede, subject to
such alterations as she is justified by her position as
a great power in claiming. Sanguine people pre-
dict the approaching downfall of the Bismark
ministry, as any reform of the Diet, and particu-
larly such as Prussia must claim in her own intertist,
viz., a better organisation of the number of dele-
gates,would be quite incompatible with the existing
_ _

;ystlMEntaides,annitedGeinany would take away
all grounds for the present dispute, as then
the organisation of the Prussian army would be a
question to be settled by the Confederate execu-
tive, to whom all questions of defence, and parti-
cularly all military questions, properly belong. It
is a fallacy to suppose that Austria was not pre-
pared for Prussia's refusal to attend. On the
contrary, the manner iuwhich the invitations to the
congress were sent, and the meeting hurried on,
proved that Austria would not allow Prussia suffi-
cient time to influence the minor states. It is
equally a fallacy to suppose that the diffe-
rences of religion are an impediment to Ger-
man unity. These differences exist everywhere.
The only obstacle hitherto has been the
princes, who were not inclined to give up one iota
of their sovereign power to the central executive.
If they have now made up their minds to do so, the
greatest stumbling-block has been removed. In the
spirit and habits of the people the union has long
been accomplished. Men of all trades and prob3s-
lions meet every year in German towns to discuss
their own interests, and they all feel themselves
members of the same body, and care very little for
the particular state they belong to. If the princes
study their own interests they will join in these
common views of the nations, as their thrones would
then be safer than ever ; for in this country people
hate centralisation, and prefer a native prince to a
prefect or a lieutenant of a royal government. Ger-
many is full of large towns, all either centres of
arts and science or of commerce and manufactures,
and this would never have been the case if one great I
capital, like Paris, had eaten up the resources of
the country.
At the dinner given to the princes the senate
was thrown into a dilemma, by it being impossible
for the Italian ambassador to attend. The problem
was solved in this way—he was invited, but was
taken ill just in time.
The Emperor becomes every day more popular,
by his unceremonious appearance on all public
occasions ; and I am told that he is even pleased
with the little annoyances he is often put to, when
his carriage is stopped, for instance, by a cart. He
has expressly desired that no police regulations
should be adopted to prevent the ordinary traffic.
As a proof of the interest the Queen of Eng-
land takes in the affairs now going on here, I
may menti3n that a copy of the New Frankfort
Gazette has been ordered to be sent to her every day
to Rceensu.

An extraordinary number of petitions on all
possible subjects have been presented to the Emperor
while here ; more than 3,000, I am credibly in-
formed. Most of them, of course, are merely
begging letters.
P.S. I just hear that it has been further agreed
that in case of an equality of votes in the executive,
the states with the largest population will obtain
the majority. The paragraph respecting the dele-
gates 'has been accepted as proposed by Austria,
Baden alone having given a dissenting vote.

The Royal Mail Company's steam-ship Shannon,
Captain Abbott, with the West India and Pacific
Mails, arrived at her anchorage off Motley Hospi-
tal shortly before five o'clock yesterday afternoon.
She brings 113 passengers. The Shannon has on
freight specie, value 464,573/. sterling, of which
amount 9,5021. is on account of the Mexican divi-
dends.

Rumouarm Drarsucnom or Me FIDIMAL
4sur VLADRIBILT. —Upon tle &plias* et the
Royal IQ steam-dip Sham= from SI. Thomas, a meow
bad reoebed that place that the Alabama bad mused sad
wank the Federal war-steamer Vaoderbilt off fiatiaab•
I The mat, however, required coufirmatiow.