The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-14 00:00:00

No. 13.

Lord Clarendon disapproves the proposal No. 2 of Count
Buol, contained in Lord John Russell's despatch of the 18th
of April.

No. 14.
THE EARL OF CLARENDON TO THE EARL OF WESTMORELAND.
(Extract.) Foreign-office, May 8, 1855.
Count .Colloredo read to me a few days ago a despatch,

dated the 23d ult., from Count Buol, stating that, thse Rus:
sian Plenipotentiaries having declined to take the initiative
. - . .

in proposing measures for giiinc, effect to the third point, and
having rejected the proposal madeb for that object by the four
Powers, and having subsequently, at the 12th conference, on
the 21st ult., brought forward a proposal of their own,

which, having for its basis the opening of the Bosphorus and
Dardanelles to the ships of war of all nations, could not seri-

ously be considered, it had become necessary, Count Buol
said, to resort to other means for the solution of the problem.

He had accordingly consulted the Plenipotentiaries of Eng-
land and France, who, after taking into consideration the
position of Austrni, and the difficulties of various kinds that
war would entail upon her, unless her motives for going to
war were powerful and clearly established, had agreed to re-

fer to their Governments two propositions that ;night, as a

last resource, be presented to Russia as ultimatum;, the re-
jection of which would lead (entrainerait) Austria to war.
The first of these propositions was a guarantee by treaty
for tile Ottoman empire against Russia by a system which,
" without imposing any direct or explict limitation upon
Russia, would compel her, nevertheless, to impose a limit

upon herself, as she would be under the weight of a gradu-
ated counterpoise, and a line would be traced which she could
not pass without exposing herself immediately to war with the

allied Powers."

The second proposition rested upon a limitation that was
to be the result of an understanding between the Plenipoten-
tiaries of Russia and Turkey.
Count Thinl ennelisiscl his despatch by saying that, as her
Majesty's Government were informed of the details ,of the
propositions, ho had merely given the substance of them to
Count Colloredo.

I told Count Colloredo that the details alluded to by Count
Buol had. not reached her Majesty's Government in a for-
mal shape, and I could therefore offer no opinion upon the
vague proposals in Count Buol's despatch, or say more at
that time than that her Majesty's Government were desir-
ous to consider any proposal for a safe and just peace that
would give effect to the objects that Austria was pledged, in
conjunction with England and France, to secure ; but, I
added, as the Conferences were then suspended, and as Lord
John Russell was to leave Vienna on the same day that Count
Buol's despatch was dated, her Majesty's Government had
determined to take no further steps until his lordship's ar-
rival, and they had had the advantage of hearing his advice
and opinions ; the same course would, I believe, be pursued
by the French Government, in waiting for the return of M.
Drouyn de Lhuys. It is right I should here inform your lord-
ship that her Majesty's Government are not at this moment.
any more than at the time when Count Buol's despatch was
read to me by Count Colloredo, in possession of any written
document containing in precise terms the proposal that Aus-
tria is willing to make to Russia. Such a document, how-
ever, was read on the 15th ult. by Count Buol to Lord John
Russell and M. Drouyn do Lhnys, but he declined to give
them a copy ; and when Count Buol was reminded of this
by the English and French Plenipotentiaries before Lord
John Russell's departure from Vienna, Count Buol stated
that all the necessary information had been sent to Count Col-

foredo, by whom, however, as I learned yesterday, nothing
further has been received than the despatch to which I have

already alluded.

But Lord John Russell and M. Dronyn de Lhuys rely upon
the accuracy ,of ,the cotes which they respectively took to
assist their own recollection; and these have been the subject
of anxious consideration on the part of her Majesty's Govern-
ment.
In consequence of the determination taken by her Majesty's
Government, and having ascertained that the French Govern-
ment concurred in that course of proceeding, I requested Count
Colloredo to call upon me yesterday, and I read to him the
following terms, which Lord John Russell had reported to her
Majesty's Government that Austria proposed to address to
Russia : -
" 1. Guarantee as against each other of the independence
and integrity of Turkey.
"2. The closing of the Straits, with exceptions in favour
of the allies, not in favour of Russia.
"3. The allies may each have two frigates in the Black Sea.
"4. If the Russians exceed the number of ships now ac-
tually floating in the Black Sea, the allies may have each half
the number of Russian ships of war.
"5. In case of danger the Sultan may call up the whole
naval forces of his allies.

" 6. Austria will propose to Russia an engagement not to
increase her naval forces in the Black Sea beyond the actual
number existing in 1853, and, whether Russia accepts this
engagement or not, will sign a treaty with us making the in-
crease beyond 1853 a cases belli."
I then proceeded to state that her Majesty's Government
could not attach much practical value to the engagement of
Austria to make, at some future period, a cases belli of the
increase of the Russian fleet beyond a given amount, for she
had already declared that it was beneath her dignity to discuss
numbers, and that she could not admit that the question of
peace or war should turn upon 8 or 10 ships of the line, and that
if such were the case now, when circumstances enabled Austria
to go to war with advantage, what prospect would there be of
her doing so some years hence, under circumstances likely to be
far less favourable, for the very same cause, though in a
lesser degree, that she would not now entertain ?
I reminded Count Colloredo that Austria was pledged to
put an end to the preponderance of Russia in the Black Sea ;
and I asked how that pledge would be redeemed by the pro-
posal that the allied armies and fleets should withdraw from

the Crimea and the Black Sea, and that England, France, and
Turkey should agree by treaty that the naval forces of Russia
should be re-established in that sea the same in number and
in power as before the war, which amount we had oonatantly
declared, and Austria had agreed with us in declaring, was a
menace to the Ottoman empire and to the peace and equili-
brium of Europe. I said that on a former occasion I had ex-
pressed in strong terms to Count Colloredo the opinion of her
Majesty's Government upon this proposal, and it was hardly
necessary to inform him that that opinion was unchanged.
I said I was sure that Count Buol would admit that the
Plenipotentiaries of England and France had faithfully ad-
hered to the course of proceeding that he had himself sug-
gested in a despatch communicated to me by Count Collo-
redo in November last, that England and France should not,
in the course of the negotiations, bring forward demands of a
nature calculated to insure their rejection; and the best proof
of their having done so would be found in the fact that the
several proposals made by them to Russia had received the
frank and cordial support of the Austrian Plenipotentiary; but
as those proposals had been rejected by the Russian Plenipo-
tentiaries, who had declared that no limitation of Russian
forces would be listened to, and no interference with tlr., _
so-
vereign rights of Russia within her own territory vrionuala
_7
allowed, and as, moreover, they would not oven joinf
the r"'
Ot-
and bona fide guarantee of the territorial integrity.: had not
toman empire, little doubt could exist that Russ means
abandoned her designs against Turkey; and that ,
wwoerueldtaallseunrfeodlyr cursootanielirnogrhluertea:bgere
for England and
The time was now, therefore, arrivedof her engagements,
France to invite Austria, in fulfilmens•
for giving immediate
executedsaggressive
pow.
to concert with them the measthur2ed.
It was unnecessary,
er, those designs
effect to the treaty of December
I said, to inform Count Colloredo
they would prefer the continua-
the at her Majesty's Govern- •
tranquillity
yntenance of the Ottoman
that would not the
honourable nor
continua-
tion of the war to a peace would meet desired peace, but that
riotsffect the objects we had
likely to last, and whicfhurwthe
of Europe. Count Buol
empire, and the future
did not think the means of • t •
undertaken to secure,
had said that he
...a that ho considered it to
restoring peace
were exhausi,..., and trau
herself to o be the special
duty of Austila te apply
de 1
devising the means of ac-
commodation (4, deoccuper a recherche des moyens de
s .
rapprOehenZene )
If,
therefore, Austria can discover such a scheme, it will
not only be favourably considered by her Majesty's Govern-
ment, to it Trill h® c! thora % cause of the moot 111320111 PAS'
___ _

'ER
ion ; but it must be a scheme that will be,'
se—it must impose conditions on Russi,hakio;
schsaie by which the Allies an to impost c
of
tion themselves, leaving in the Black Sea compktnrindo;. 61. '44
tion of Russia. '
Count &MI, I said, must be well a 4 ;„o‘4 e `.4
scheme is impracticable ; the propo •-•'• •• •••
ported, and the language ho has used i /4'
prove that, in his opinion, Russia might,-
her honour and her dignity as a first-rate Po , kosisent S
satisfactory arrangements if she is sincere in the prifession eif
her wish to maintain the Ottoman empire and to give no just
cause of uneasiness to Europe ; but, on the other hand, if
Russia, while endeavouring to elude the real question at issue
by concessions respecting the Principalities and the naviga-
tion of the Danube, refuses to enter into engagements, and
persists in her right to retain and to augment her means of
aggression, it is clear that her professions are not sincere,
that her' designs are dangerous, and that the active co-opera•
tion of Austria with her allies will be essential to her own in-
terests, and will be justified in the eyes of the world for the
purpose, not of humiliating nor of injuring Russia, but of
arresting the progress of her ambitious policy, and of obtain-
ing securities for the future peace of EuroPe-
Your Lordship is instructed to_read this despatch to Count
Buol.

No. 15.
THE EARL of WESTMORELAND TO TgIR EARL OP CLARENDON—.
(RECEIVED MAY 19.)
(Extract.) Vienna, May 16, 1855.
The proposition of Count Buol, a sketch of which was sent
to your lordship in the telegraphic despatch of this day, Is
annexed to this despatch.
Count Buol has felt that since the publication of the pro-
tocols of the Conferences by her Majesty's Government the
position of Austria in the eyes of the public would be ren.
dared extraordinary if she did not take any measure to fulfil
the words which he had himself used at the last Conferences
—namely, that Austria would still seek the means of bring—
ing about an understanding between the great Powers of
Europe. Riving in view, therefore, the fulfilment of this
engagement on" the part of Austria, which had now bees
made public, and having, as a second object, to give to the
final closing of the Conferences (if, indeed, they were to be.
• -
closed) the dignity of an official form, Count But)]. had ,
drawn up the propositions now submitted to your lord-
ship, which he thought had' the great advantage of not.
betraying that that perfect unity of ideas between Aust4a
and the Western Powers which had been so manifest during
the whole course of the negotiations had in any manner been
disturbed.
Count Buol, therefore, making use of the right to convoke . ,
the-Conference, which appertains to each of its members- so
long as it is not formally dissolved, proposes to state to the .
assembled Plenipotentiaries that, in accordance with the lan-
guage he had held as the 12th and 13th Conferences, he had
invited them to assemble, in order to submit to them the pro-
position which accompanies this despatchlail the stipulations
of whiish had originally been suggested by the British and
French Plenipotentiaries.
Count Buol believes that the proposition wih be sup-
ported by the representatives of England and France, and
that it will be rejected by the Russian representatives, as it
has already in part been rejected by them. Count Buol
would then declare, on the refusal of the Russian Plenipo-
tentiaries to entertain this project, that it appeared to him
that there was no further object for the meeting of the
Conference, which ho would then formally close.
In communicating this plan to Baron Bourqueney and my-
self, Count Buol begged that our GovernMents should be so-
licited to consider its communication as of the most confiden-
ti

Lal character. With regard to the proposition itself, ho pointed
out to us that it was entirely based upon ideas which had ema-
nated from the British and French Plenipotentiaries, to which
he added some modifications of his own. He stated distinctly
that the proposition, such as it was, was one which must be
either accepted or rejected by Russia, and that ho would not
bring it forward as one capable of bearing discussion and mo-
dification.

Count Buol then stated that, as he still considered that
the project which had recently been submitted (as Austria's
ultimatum to Russia) to the British and French Govern-
ments, and rejected by them, fulfilled the engagements which
Austria had taken with regard to the third basis, he would
not consider that the rejection of the present proposition by
the Russian Plenipotentiaries in conference would entail
upon Austria the giving effect to the extreme obligations of
the treaty of the 2d of December.
Count Buol then said that while he recognised the right
of the British and French Governments to abstain from the
Conference which he intended to convoke, he must remark to
us that such abitention would constitute the rupture of the
negotiations by our Governments, and would thus render pa-
tent the dissidence of opinion which prevailed between them
and the Government of Austria.

(Enclosure.)
PROPOSITION TO BE SUBMITTED BY COUNT Boon TO TUB
CONFERENCE.
1. The high contracting parties being desirous that the
Sublime Porte should participate in the advantages of the
good understanding established by the law of nations
among the various States of Europe, severally engage to
respect the independence and territorial integrity of the
Ottoman Empire, guarantee in common the strict observ-
ance of this engagement, and will in consequence consider
every act and every event which would be of a nature to
endanger it as a question of European interest.
If a difference should arise between the Porte and one of
the contrNctiug Powers, those two States, before resorting to
arms, should place the other Powers in a position to obviate
this contingency by pacific means.
2. The rule respecting the closing of the Straits of the
Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, established by the treaty of
July 13, 1811, shall remain in force, with the exceptions
specified in the following articles :-
3. Each of the contracting Powers which has no establish-
ment in the Black Sea will be authorised by a firman from
his Highness to send into any station in that sea two frigates
or vessels of smaller force, in order to protect their commerce
and to exercise the necessary inspection.
4. The Russian Plenipotentiaries and those of the Sublime
Porte will propose in common to the Conference the equal
effective force of the naval armaments which the two sea-
bordering Powers will maintain in the Black Sea, and which
must not exceed the amount of Russian vessels at present
afloat in that sea. The arrangement which they shall have
,'made in this respect shall form an integral part of the general
treaty.

There shall 'also be inserted in the treaty the measures
which the said Plenipotentiaries shall have agreed to, with a
view to enforce the precise and constant observance of the
stipulations of the present article.
' 5. In the event (which God forbid !) of the Sultan being me-
naced with aggression, he reserves to himself the right of open-
ing the Straits to all the naval forces, of his allies.

No. 16.
THE EARL OF CLARENDON TO THE EARL OF WESTMORELAND.
Foreign-office, May 29.
My Lord,—Your despatch of the 16th* has been received
and laid before the Queen.
Your Lordship states in that despatch that Count Buol
has felt that since the publication of the protocols by her
Majesty's Government the position of Austria in the eyes
of the public would be rendered extraordinary if she did not
take any measures to fulfil the words used at the last Con-
ference—viz., that Austria would still seek the means of
bringing about an understanding between the great Powers
of Europe ; and that having in view the fulfilment of this
engagement, together with the object of giving to the final
closing of the Conference the dignity of an official form,
Count Buol desires to convoke the Conference, and to sub-
mit to it the proposition which is inclosed in your Lord-
ship's despatch.
Count Buol expects that this proposition will be supported
by the representatives of England and France, and that it
will be rejected by the representatives of Russia; and Count.
Buol would then declare, on the refusal of the Russian Pleni-
potentiaries to entertain the project, that there was no fur-
ther object for the meeting of the Conference, which he would
then formally close.
Your Lordship will convey to Count Buol the best thanks
of her Majesty's Government for this communication, which
they regard as a fresh proof of the good-will of Austria and of
her earnest desire to promote the, restoration of peace; and
you will state to his Excellency that her Majesty's Govern-
ment consider that they would be wanting to the frankness
and good faith which have hitherto characterised the pro-
ceedings between Austria and the Westeru Powers if they
hesitated to make known the objections they entertain to the
course which Count Buol proposes to adopt, and the groands
on which they think that the engagement taken by his Excel-
lency at the last Conferences will not be effectually carried
out by a project which he says lie expects that Russia will re-
ject, and which cannot be acceptable to Euglaud and France.
Either we are prepared to give up the conditions which,
with the concurrence of Austria we have hitherto demanded
as the means of carrying out that object of •the third point
which consists in making the preponderance of Russia
in the Black Sea cease, or we are not prepared to do so.
If we had brought our minds to despair of sueceel in
war, and were ready therefore to make peace on any terms
which would at once put an end to hostilities, then the pro-
posal which Austria offers to make on our behalf to Russia
would be inexpedient, because it contains the principle of
limitation to which Russia has already objected, and her ob-
jections to which she has now publicly announced in her cir-
cular of May 10th ; and, if such were the hopeless state of
our affairs, it would be necessary to make some proposal that
Russia would be likely to accept, instead of one which, in tho
opinion of Count Buol, Russia is almost certain to reject..
But if, on the other hand, we still think the future pro-
spects of the war sufficiently favourable to entitle us to
persevere in demanding the conditions which we have put
forward as affording a foundation for future security, then
the proposal of Austria is open to serious objectious, be-_
cause, though it contains the principle of a limitation ?f
the naval forces of Russia in the Black Sea, the principle is
not applied in a manner that would be effectual for its pur-
pose ; and it does not contain the principal of consul
tap
Pthoei niti
ran t
which
hand
may supervision,
be
agreed whichupon is
mightthe bestuot security
exceeded,ha
without the knowledge of the Sultan and his Allies.
nesty is altogether omitted in the propo hs
I must also observe that the stipulatiointiotrofacgeounnetrtuari
and no allusion is made to Sardinia, eis now in active co-
operation with England and France,
and interests they are especially bound
entitled to become a
Ivantdo
war, is
contracting party to any treaty of peace.
fororviwdhe,osane dignity
and
by her active co-operation in the war
suede us to empower her to
But what are the inducementschseulcdhooufftebrsyotuosutrriabethoapfeiro-

Russia
pmoi
sgahl
st
of
fe
peaceheld
There are, indeed, two
inancemenetswwodhipe
rho
?
out to us as a temptation to make ren

to Russia.
1., an probability, be accepted by Russia, and that
. their nature won be satisfactory to
made, being in
The one would be, thatsutchhe
asproplaals intended to be
be obtained on te • • terms alike honourable to
us,
both parties, an g security against the renewal of war.
The second inducement would be, that the proposal being
Butch its natureas would be satisfactoryto always us,Aus-
tria would engage thain , the event of its being rejected by
Russia, she would forthwith take part with the Western.
swpoesulede,
Mig.ltaffordin •
lowers in the war, and would assistthem in compelling Rus-
sia to accept the conditions so proposed.
But in the present case no such inducements are held
out ; the conditions are not in would
satisfactory to us. We are told that Russia would, in all
probability, refuse them ; and Count Buol informed your
Lordship that this rejection by Russia would not lead
Austria to give full effect to the obligations of the treaty of
December 2 by uniting her arms to ours. The only con-
sequence, then, of the course of proceeding which Count Buol
propcses that we should adopt would be a formal declaration
by Austria that the Conferences were at an end, and, it is to
be presumed, a subsequent announcement that she had de.
termined to maintain her neutral position, and to take no
Part with England and France in the war.
Undoubtedly, in the present state of things, her Majesty's
Government see no advantage in the continuance of the Con-
ferences, and are prepared to concur in their being closed ;
but au announcement by Austria that she meant to take no
part in the war would bo most injurious to the cause which
Austria has, morally and politically, espoused, and would, on
that account, be deeply regretted by her Majesty's Govern-
ment.
The value which her Majesty's Government attach to the
Austrian alliance is too well known to Count Buol to need

* Ito. 15.