The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-21 00:00:00

PRUSSIA AND FRANCE.

The following is a translation, from the Berlin
Notional, of M. Manteuffel'a circular to be Ministers of
Frani& lath, Kemal courts of Germany :

Berns March 8,18.55.
You will find hereto ascend a copy Of the confidential
despatch which I addressed on the 2d, March to the minister
of the King at Paris. As you will perceive, I was led
thereto by the circumstance that the attitude taken by the
many of the Kiog, at the sittings of the ',nekton Diet, had
hemmed. by a foreign government tAustria) the subject of
criticism, which the government of V.. King considen ia-
compatible with the dignity and independence of Germany.
For the nuns reason I did not admit the circumstance
with the French government, and even now I think 1 may
confine myself to a few ohm rirationa, so as to prevent the
position of the government of the King from being nii-inter-
preted, as has already been the case on one or two °cessions.
The grounds of the resolution of the Diet of the Bth
February are clear and evident. If, theref ,re, at a later
period an attempt was made not to ignore them but to give
them another signification, in other worth, if • measure, the
object of which wes to strengthen Germany at home and
abroad, without making any demeestration for the moment,
was interpreted later as a demonstration in one sense only,
it was neeessary, in winciple, to 'contest the right of efforts
mode in that sense. This is what the royal envoy did at
the German Diet. Does that constitute • demonstration in
another sense ? Not the least is the world. Matters would
be far gone, indeed, in Germany if a call for the safety and
independence of the German Confederation at Po threaten-
ing a moment in Europe, phould be interpreted as a pro-
vocation against • foreign state, and reproached as a crime.
For one part, at least, we are of the opinion that such •
call was far too highly conformable to the dignity of Ger-
many to need • corrective, and especially one resulting from
treaties with which the German Confederation had nothing
to do, and the practical bearing of which it does not under-
stand at the present minium
We have reason to believe that many of our German
allies share this view of the subject ; without this probably
the motives of the resolution of the Bth February would
never have been adopted either in the committees or in the
federal assembly by a mejority which borders on unani-
mity. If, later, a foreign interpretation had not been given
to those motine, the royal envoy would not have hound
himself in the necessity of re-esteblishing them in their
primitive g lity, wbich did not contain a demonstration
in any sense whatever; in the situation which was made,
it was necessary to bring out with energy and precision the
consequences of the principle.
It was to be hoped that this ezchauge of view, chiefly
confidential, would not be distorted iu its character by •
precocious and inexact publicity. Such, however, being the
ease—a feet to which Prussia is accustomed by the partial
oommunicstions which are made to foreign journals, but
which will not tarn her aside from her own views, at the
risk of being misunderstood and suspected—it would have

been essy toisiparate the truth from exaggeration. But all
sorts of propositions were spoken or as having in part al-
ready been made by Prussia, in part pr►pared to be made—
tor instance, that the whole of the contingents ought to be
stationed on federal territory, that the federal fortresses
ought to be armed, &e.
"We were surprised at the activity attributed to ue. We
learnt, in fact, from different reports fr .m our diplomatic
agents, that a series of Austrian circulars was occupied with
this affair, and that endeavours were in some manner made
is canvass votes against the propositions w e were to malts to
the D.et. Different German governments is:naively sup-
posed that those circulars were also communicated to us ;
this, however, is not the ease. If the Cabinet of Vienna
bad addressed itself to as on the subject, it would soon have
been convinced th►t we do not entertain the intentims at-
tributed to us. The majority of those circulate would have
had no object, and might have been dispensed with.
I shall not here examine whether the real interests of
Germany, which, in the great European crisis of the mo-
ment, mills fo► union and an increase el independent forces,
with the consciousness of their power and object, and not a
tension of artificial strength, obeying a foreign impulse,
would bare gained or het thereby.
The position of the royal government, as regards the
resolution of the Diet, is as eimpte as it is clear. As a

Ifederal power it maintains the motives which served as •
basis ter that decision as long utile Federal Amenably did
tot attribute to them amore precise tendency by its new
d reclaims. The question of knowing whether the Assembly
ser'U do it, and In which seam it will do it, is the affair of
a t attire, which, in fact, is already on the threshold of the
pm tot.
Pei tags is folly alive to the gravity of the moment, and
bee ai, i will not fail Germany ; but it is precisely because
she is a ware of that gravity, that she will not allow her un-
clouded vision to be obscured by en interpretation which it
is desired to thrust upon ter. But, in tsliair this view of
ow", p, magi* knows that she is exempt, not only fram
every isse.ition of a demonstration. but also from may
"wrier, pen sie end any ill-will Inwards the Western
Powem.
You will ionprese yourself confidently in the sense of
the above oboervations, not only tote government to
which you have the honour of being accredited, but where-
aver else you mey Yaws reason to suppose that su •pprecia-
don .of our posit:on, founded on distorted facts, sway be
likely to prevail. M AATIC FIVZ.