The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-01 00:00:00

" Among ail the f:reign Governmentsthat of the United
States of America alone has contested the legal right of
Denmark to levy a toll in the Sound, and it is only re-
cently that it has distinctly declared itself in this sense ;
for, though it is just to admit that the United St-ites
Gove7unient has several times during the few past years
announced that it could not follow, with regard to the
tolls of the Sound, the international system generally
establiiled in Europe, yet the provision relative to the
toll, embodied in the friendly Convention of Commerce
and Navigation, concluded between Denmark and Ame-
rica on the 2601 of April, 1826, certainly contains a
f)rinal rzcoguitton.of the right iu question, rather than
anything contesting it, like th•e analogous article in trea-
ties and ct,nveLtions of the same nature between Den-
mark and the other Power?,

`•-fy a communication of the 14th of April last, the
Minister cf the United States at Copenhagen has given
notice of the expiration of the above cited convention,
which is the only written contract between Denmark
and America which expressly mentions the tolls of the
Sound ; and, in giving this notification, the said diplo-
matic agent expresses the hope that Denmark will recog
nise before the expiration of the treaty—that is to say
before the 14th of April, 1856—the justice and propriety
of permitting American vessels to pursue their commer-
ciai operations on the sea without paying tribute to any
one and without being impeded by any Power whatever.

"The end the United States' Government has had in
view in notifying the termination of their convention of
commerce with Denmark, is, therefore, to release Ameri-
can ships from the obligation of paying the toll of the
Sound. It is not necessary here to examine if the at-
tainment of this end is the logical consequence of the
termination of a convention which only names those
dues, to assure to American ships, in respect to levying
the toll, the privileged, instead of the non-priviliged,
treatment which would otherwise be applied to them.
Denmark wishes to avoid a discussion of this kind ; and
it has only been mentioned in describing the course taken
by the United States to define more clearly the position,
in which, as before observed, Denmark is placed.
"This position operates in a twofold manner on the
determination of the D iniAt Government. For net only
after the notice of the termination of the convention of
the 2Gth of April, 1826, or rather after the declaration
of the United States' Government that it will release
American ships from the tolls of the Sound, the Danish
Government, if it would not confine itself to the reply it
has already made to that declaration, could not defer to
another period the measures adapted to the cireumstancee,
but it. has at the same time become problematic whether
the measures contemplated with regard to the Sour d
dues, anterior to the above-named declaration, would now
suffice to prevent a conflict and complications, the con-
sequences of which, by the force of circumstances, may
perhaps exceed the limits of a discussion between Den-
mark and the United States.
"If it depended only on the Government of Denmark,
it would decide on a revision of the tariff of the Sound,
principally because this measure could be adopted with-
out the concurrence of any foreign Power ; and it is con-
vinced that a reduced tariff, regulated according to the
actual value of the merchandise, would be calculated to
satisfy the reasonable wishes of the commercial public.
But the above-named declaration proves that a revision
would not satisfy a great Power with which Denmark
sincerely desires to preserve its general relations of good
intelligence ; and not only this, it has also become more
than probable, in consequence of the above-named decla-
ration—that other Powers, whose views and wishes are
to be equally considered, would not be disposed to think
a revision a suitable measure.
" Under these circumstances the Danish Government
has decided on submitting to the Powers interested in
the question of the Sound a proposal of quite another
character. It hopes the p'an it will propose will be as
acceptable to the several Powers as it is certain it will be
convenient to commerce and navigation generally ; it
hopes especially that the United States of America ssiil
consider this measure on the part of Denmark a pledge
of its desire to reconcile its own interests with those of
America as much as possible, and, above all, to avoid a
difficult discussion, and, perhaps, a conflict with a coun-
try which it justly respects. In fact, as the Danish Go•
vernment believes it ought not to enter into such a dis-
cussion, its principal motive for not confining itself to
the revision of the tariff which had been projected is,
that it does not think this measure calculated to serve as
a reply to the course adopted by the United States.
"In thus setting aside the revision, without, however,
abandoning it, the Danish Government acts on the hypo.'
thesis that the other Governments consider that revision
as not calculated to prevent the conflicts which it is the
object to avoid, and have desired it to submit to them
other propositions which, without prejudicing the rights
of Denmark, may be of a nature more likely to unite
the suffrages of the parties interested. If the plan of a
revision is rejected,
or if it is declared, at least impli-
citly, that the only base on which the negotiation with
Denmark can be entered into should be a definitive ar-
rangement of the question of the Sound ; the problem to
solve would be then to find an expedient that entirely
puts an end to the toll, without thereby derogating from
the rights of the Danish Crown, this double result can
only be secured by a capitalisation of the Sound dues,
with the object
of freeing mercantile navigation, once
for all, from the payment of the dues, on the receipt, by
Denmark, of a just compensation.
This, then, is the plan of arrangement the Danish Go-
vernment submits to the consideration of the Powers in-
terested in the question of the Sound.
"But such an arrangement could not be carried out
without the simultaneous concurrence of all the respec-
tive Powers. The formal and positive engagements
which exist between Denmark and the other Powers
with regard to the Sound dues do not allow of any spe-
cial arrangement on that subject between Denmark and
any one Power. Besides this, there is another and, as
the Danish Government considers it, an essential ele-
veent of consideration, which is, that the point under
discussion must be treated, not as a
commercial or as a
money question, but as a political question. This is suf-
ficiently shown by the history of the Sound dues, and the
part which they have
uld
playedin the politics of Northern
Europe. Moreover, it be impossible otherwise to
give to the negotiation such
a direction and character
shackled
as would prevent its being by questions of
secondary importance, which might be in keeing
as regards an arrangement purely fiscal, but which
would by no meats accord with one designed to serve as
tee complement of treaties off peace and of transactior..s
the whole system political
by which urn has
been reguLt,:d. The Danish Government, therefore,
while recommending the proposition made by it to the
attention of foreign Cabinets, b(gs them to enter as soon
as possible into negotiation on tae subject, and either to
furnish their diplomatic agents at the Court of pet,.
mark with full powers and instructions, or to send
spacial &legatee to Copt' nilagen in order to establish
some
general understanding, as well with regard to
the
compensation to which Danmark would conceive
.herself entitled upon the cessaticn of the tolls as to
the mode of calculating and determining upon the just
quota which each of the respective Powers should contri-
bute.
It would be desirable that this
be opened in themonth November
negotiation should
course of the of.•
in the present year.
the Danish Governmentn giving expression to this wish
quest has in view not only the urgency
of the wetter in ton as regards Denmark, but ale()
the consideration that several Powers, and especially
those which from their
geographical period too near at hand,e°a ra'ltheal position might find
haveso little interest in tl e
Sound dues that they
would Probably deem it unneces
sine to be represented at the-opraii g of the conferenc
or might even prefer t> be represented by some friendly
Power.
"The choice of Copenhagen as the seat of the g
tiation is justified by the fact that that city is the nheead).-
quarters of all the adwinietrative departnienta,and.zon.