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

No. 10.

Lord John Russell informs Lord Clarendon that Count
Buol hinted that a fourth system might ariso out of the ashes
of the three systems " now floating in the air."
Lord John recommends hat Austria should make the re-
jection of all three a cams belli with Russia.

No. 11.

Lord Clarendon informs Lord Westmoreland that he had ex-
pressed in strong terms to Count Colloredo his surprise and re-
gret at the system of " counterpoise " proposed by Austria.

No. 12.

Lord Clarendon entirely approves the arguments used by
the British Plenipotentiaries against the proposal of Count
Bnol as reported in Lord John Russell's despatch of the 16th
of April.

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,

.ted the 23d ult., from Count Buol, stating that, the Rus:

sian Plenipotentiaries having declined to take the initiative
in proposing measures for giving effect to the third point, and
having rejected the proposal made 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, havinc, for its basis the opening of the Bosphorus and
Dardanelles Co the ships of war of all nations, could not seri-
ously be considered, it had become necessary, Count Bnol
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 Austria, 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 might, as a
last resource, be presented to Russia as ultimatums, the re-
jection of which would lead (entrainerait) Austria to war,
The first of these propositions was a guarantee by treaty
for the Ottoman empire against Russia by a system which,

" without imposing any direct or eiPliet 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 rowers." •

The second proposition rested upon a limitation that was
to be the result of au understanding between the Plenipoten-
tiaries of Russia and Turkey.
Count Buol concluded his despatch by saying that, as her
Majesty's Government were informed of the details of the
propositions, he 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. Dronyn de Lhuys, 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-

loredo, 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. Drouyn de Lhuys rely upon
the accuracy of the notes 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 mako, at some future period, a cams 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 wero 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 iu 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 constantly
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
several proposals made by them to Russia had receivedtei but
frank and cordial support of the Austrian Plenipotenn
as those proposals had been rejected by the Russia() rl n
tentiaries, who had declared that no limitatioentr.f..ll,uhsse so-
forces would be listened to, and no interferen?tor;ln
would be
meansreal
vereign rights of Russia within her own terra
gin
allowed, and as, moreover, they would n9Vtogrity of the Ot-
and bona fide guarantee of the territoriall
te ob ma
abandoned
empire,ned her
designslittle doubtaga
against
couldst
Turkey, exi se t r
ite;fteor: utEs Russias
el hadndesignsd nota ua
wore taken for curtailing her a
would assuredly sooner or lattrrgegrte
therefore,
inrefulfiiment of her
and that unlnesisna
engagements,
France to invite Austria,
The time was now,' e
the measures for giving • i•
immec late
to concert with them
D comber the 2d. It was unnecessary,
effect to the treaty of e eegsx
arrivedie u t
uhrioehtrwaonuglidliunitoyt effectoEltilrioepe. •
Majesty's
honourable
ment
but that they would prefer the
warcontinua-
to a peace
Colloredo
tha that
wtohualtd herrt
tion of the Isaid,dteosirinedforrapeacCeo,unt
likely to
be did not think the means of r
objects ;we had
undertaken to secure,tt'haendfuwt for the
maintenance
of the Ottoman
estCeloituingtplueole
had said that
were exhausted, and that he considered it to be the special
duty of Austria to apply herself to devising the means of ac-
commodation (" des'occuper de 1(1, recherche des moyens de
rapprochement").
If, therefore, Austria can discover such a scheme, it will
not only be favourably considered by her Majesty's Govern-
ment, but it will be tclthelA A CAASO of the most sincere