The Express.
London, England, 1866-05-31 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 31, 1866.

TELF.GRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE.

(azum's macaw's.)
THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE.
FRANKFORT, MAT 30.

The note of the French government inviting the I
Federal Diet to send a representative to the cow
ference at Paris, has been published here. The
object of the conference is herein stated to be
diplomatic settlement of the questions of Schles
wig-Holstein and Venetia, and also of Federal re-
form in as far as it affects the European equili-
brium. The note concludes as follows :—" The
government of the Emperor trusts that the powers
who have made preparations for war will, if they
accept the proposed conference, suspend their
armaments even if they should scruple to restore
their military establishments entirely to a peace,
footing."

FRANKFORT, MAY 30, EvaxlNG.

The Conference Committee of the Federal Diet
resolved to-day that the invitation to the Con-
ference should be accepted, and that the Germanic
Confederation should be represented by a Bavaria'
minister.

Baron von der Pfordten, the Bavarian Minister
for Foreign Affairs, will be elected Federal Pleni
potentiary in the sitting of Friday next.. No
doubt is entertained of -his accepting the mission.

PRUSSIA AND THE CONFERENCE.

BERLIN, MAT 30.

In the preliminary communications which took
place prior to the issue of the official invitations
to the conference, Prussia accepted the principle of
the conference only on the following conditions,
viz., that the course of the deliberations shall
speedily prove that a real prospect exists for the
preservation of peace, and that the conference shall
not discuss questions which relate exclusively to
the internal interests of Germany. Prussia called
the attention of the powers to the fact that her
proposals for federal reform removed all ground
for foreign intervention. The details published by
the Berlin papers of proposals for territorial com-
pensation are not authentic.

BERLIN, MAY 30.
Prussia has accepted the proposed conference at
Paris.

The reply of the Prussian government was de-
spatched on Monday last, the same day upon which
the identical letters of invitation from the Powers
were delivered at Berlin.

AUSTRIA.
VIENNA, MAT 30, EVENING.

Austria, in her reply to the invitation to the
Conference, stated that she had decided to accept
the invitation to the Conference, because she was
unwilling, by refusing, to frustrate this last effort
for :the preservation of peace. A. councillor of
state will shortly proceed to Paris, with instruc-
tions for Prince Metternich relative to
the approaching Conference. The f4llowing
are the principal points of the Austrian
programme for the Conference :—The categori-
cal refusal of all propositions relative to the
cession of Venetia ; the solution of the Schleswig-
Holstein question to be brought about by a con-
vocation of the Estates of those duchies ; the Con-
ference not to be competent to discuss any pro-
posal for a reform of the Federal constitution. The
semi-official Abetadpost of this evening states that
the items published by tho Prussian Staatsanzeiger,
as being the salient points of the Prussian pro-
posals for a reform of the Federal constitution could
not serve as a programme for dieenaoion on that
subject, as they did not in the least show the real
meaning of the Prussian proposals. " It is only just
to expect," adds the Abendpoat, " that Prussia
should now make propositions of a positive and de-
finite character." Tb e preparations for war continue
in all parts of the empire, but the execution of the
late decree for the levy of fresh troops will not be
proceeded with at present, the requirements having
already been fully met by the recent large enrol-
ments of volunteers. The army head-quarters are
about to be transferred to Prague, where Field-
Marshal von Benedek will shortly inspect the
troops. Eighty sappers and 16,000 labourers
are engaged in the works for the fortification of
Vienna. News received here from Warsaw states
that a strong Russian corps of observation is being
concentrated on the frontiers of Prussian Silesia
and Galicia. Prussia has confidentially declared to
the government of Electoral Hesse that a war
between Austria and Prussia would involve the
dissolution of the Germanic Confederation. She
further declared that she would respect the
sovereignty of all those States which did
not assume an anti-Prussian attitude. A
deputation has arrived hero from Bucharest,
and will be received by the Emperor. Queen
Olga, of Wurtemberg, leaves Vienna to-day.
A general meeting of the directors of the Anglo-
Austrian Bank has been held here, at which it was
decided that a dividend should be declared for the
oast year of nearly two florins per share.