The Express.
London, England, 1849-12-08 00:00:00

ght erpreoo.

OUTGOING MAILS.
TC, mails for lirit,sh North America and the Coifed
Stew will be made up on the evening ef Dae. 14.
Th. Wait India Mails, excluding B.rmuda, Havannah,
Hasszot, Horduras, New Orleans, and Minim:l.'l2d including
these roc Madeira, St. Juan-de-Niewneue, New Granada,
Chili, sad Peru. will be despatched on Dec. 17.
—The next male for Lisbm, Spain, and Gibraltar will be
as& br, cn Dee. 17.
Th. smile Sur Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lonian blends,
ADV. O.ylos, India, and Chien, via Southampton, wal
be w xis op on the morning of Dv. SO.
Tae sails via Marseilles, to the Mccliteenneiu), Aar,
Ceyl,n, fedi% Hnli•Kong, as., will be made up on tbe
. or of Dee. 21.
Tr P sails for Madmis, the Brazils, and Buenas Ayrn,will
be male up on Jas. 4.

HIGH WATNII AT LONDON WU COIL
Tam Ott A. SM. ..... lb. IS Al.
lbarosa .1. —Nadas, ....... Alteraoca, lA b. Sin

LONDON, SATURD.AY, DECEMBER 8.

Trieste is at length a well-founded hope that the
interminable quarrel between Denmark and the
Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein is in a way of
de/Wesley adjustment. It has at length been, wisely
acknowledgrd at Copenhagen that forcible re-
pression will not do. A 1 maritime operations
being precluded by the ice, and Prussia threaten-
ing to withdraw her troops, the Danes
must either consent to treat with the ktadt-
hallerwhqft of the Duchies, or submit to their condi-
tional dominion and resistance through the winter, or
else lay the entire country, its institutiocs and its
peospeots, at the fret of Russia.
'lo this conviction of the neceesity of amicably, and
sot violently, seeking to terminate the quarrel, has
beet seperadded the equally wise conviction that the
ques'ion of tho succession to the throne was at the
root of all, and that until both parties felt awned and
guaranteed with respect to the future dynasty they
were to live under, it was impassible to come to
a c inclusion on satisfactory terms. In addition
then to this important fact, that the Danish
rove nment has cemented to treat directly with
tit& .stadthalterseltaft, wo can announce the equally
Imp tent one, that Loth parties have acknow-
lecll.ei the necessity, and ut.dertaken the task,
of at once effeaiog a settlement of the great question
of hue throne succession,
11 wever informed cur readers may be of the
pit (opal circnmstarcm of the cuss, it may be as well
here to r c iplulate th.m. The reigning branch of
the rr.yal family of Denmark, bjog equally Dukes of
Schleswig and Holstein, threatens extinction in its
mal line. Should this event take place, the crown
of Denmark gots by the Royal Statute to the Prince
of 11 SiesE, SOS ref thie king's sister. But as this Statute
does cot apply to Sch!eswig and Holstein, these are
claim d by the younger branch of the royal family—
by, to fact, the Duke of AUGUSTENBERG, descended,
as well as the present King, from CHRISTIAN 111.,
of Denmark.
'flu Duke of ArGUSTENBERG hes played the part,
but .01 Lateral to the chief of the younger branch of
a enyal finfly—a pert which the history of the'
House of ORLEANS has rendered us familiar with.
The Duke of AUGUSTE:MEI:a bad, however, far
greater incentives and excuses. Belonging to the
Duchies by birth and residence, his wish to relit
Dar secet.dancy and dictation may have been
purl ty patrieVe. But, whatever the motives of his
condos', the modes which he adopted were not of the
moat prudent kind.
Doting the heat and eh isritude of war the King of
DENMARK penttrato d with his troops into the chateau
of t Duke of ACGUuTEV BERG, end made eager search
for vaix re ; and seizing a considerable quantity of
swit ate letters, his klaiesry publish - d such a se-
lection of them as served his interests and gratified
his malice. Thies letters betrayed not only the
Duke's titres to influence the public opioinn of Eu-
roi o -hrtiugh the press, and by the hands of some un-
scrupulous agents, but they also revealed opinions en-
tenanted by the Duke and his family, and, uttered
in th- privacy of confidential corresporidence,bettaying
hatredof the Deno, and something bordering upon
contem; t for reigning sovereigns, especially for the
King of Pansies. Thin oisclosures have ruined the
Doke of AI:GESTLN BERG with the Danish public end
at toe Prussian ccu t. So far the vengeance of the
King of DENMARK has been complete, but all must
admit that the mesas retorted to to wreak such yen-
ranee were as derogatory to the honour of a gentle-
maa els to the character of a King.
The result has ben that the succession of the Duke
of AVOUSTENBELG is as impossible in Denmark, as
the succession of the Prince of HESSE is impossible in
the derbies. The question therefore arises, can they
not both be indeci d by an indemnity to waive their
pretension., and a third candtdate found, poseessed uf
a rightful claim, of powerful support, and at the
same time of a eh .racter end station likely to corn-
mar d the allegiance of both the contending factions of
the Danish empire?
W- shall answer this question, as the parties en-
gaged io the negotiation are, our letters inform us,
about to solve it. In the Rest place, Prince FAROE-
inc. nephew of King CHRISTIAN, cannot reign at once
in Hesse and in Denmark. Toe laws of Hesse for bid
it, sad the Prince must make an option. And wo
belt, ve that with a large rum of money, in lieu of his
claim on Denmark, Prince FREDERIC could be in-
duced to remain in Hesse, and confine his ambition
to the grand-ducal throne of Camel.
On the other bane, the Duke of AUOUSTENBERG,
who has no pretension to Denmark, and who by prose-
cuting his claims to the declare would irretrievably
Dever those from it, and thereby break up an ancient
and n..ble kingdom, must be aware what serious ob-
stacles stand in the way of success in so perilous an
undertaking. Prussia, the only cruet that could sup-
port
the Duke in such an attempt, has been alienated
by him in no slight degree. If the Duke be wise, he
will accept fair terms, b.stowing upon him and
his family the ancient duchy of his house, that indeed
which was considered the appanage of the younger
branch of the fatuity which reigned in Denmark.
This is the duchy of Oldenburg. The family which
occupy this duchy are of the same race with the pos-
sessors of the Danish throne. Both descend from
FREDERIC the FIRST, King of Denmark. And on
the foilure of the Auguatel.b ra line, the next heirs to
the duchies of Schleswig end Holstein are the present
Dukes of Oldenburg. Tae proposal then is,
to declare the present Duke of OLDENBURG
and his son successors to tie crown of Denmark, in-
cluding the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, on
the failure of the present reigning branch ; the Duke
Of AUGUSTENBERG and his family being removed to
Oldenburg, of which they would become 1)u- es ; the
Price FREDERIC of HMS to receive pecuniary or
other indemnity for waiving his right to succession in
Denmark Proper.
Such, we understand, are the proposed terms of
the accord, t-rms which would be supported by
Prussis, on the condition of Holstein entering the
Thri e Kings' Banff ; which could not be unwelcome
to Russia. though they would pot an end
to her pretensions; and which, for this rea-
son, would be acceptable to England, if not
to France. Of course tl e Schleswinters and
licObteiro rs would continue to enjoy that complete
pol.th!.l and commet (tint connexion which they prize
so much under a joint legislative assembly and a
Danish kir g. Thus would Danes and Schleswigers
ere ire from difficulties and dangers, threatening the
extic Linn of their liberties and the partition of their
empire, with the iaterminuble prospect of civil war.

CAN anybody tell us who is Secretary for Ireland ?
We have asked all the wise men of our acquaintance,
but in vain. We have eves sent across the Channel
to mike inquiries, bat have not been able to discover.
Now we are of those who think that when 5,3001. a
year is abstracted from the p cketa of the nation as
pay ttr a g atlemen suppneed to ffil the offioe of
Home Secretary of @tabs for let rather peculiar and
difficult part of the emp're, we are at least entitled to
kaow distinctly who the gentleman is thet receives
this har demise remt.neration f•r his eervims. Aud
we .hall, therefore, he exceedingly obliged for any
information that may lead to the solution of a ques-
tion which has fur some time particularly perplexed us.
In reply to our interrogatories at that curious little
lame yeltpt "the Irish Office,"—a building which
studs like a kind yr fort 442444 in St. James's Park,

qui e away from the regular lines of bureaucracy,—
we wholly faded to obtain easy satisfaction. A
gsriu'ou • janitor awoke titer repeated appeals to the
do hell, and in a confused way recounted the
various chief secretarial who, in his time, had