The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-27 00:00:00

so vague and cautious is the statement—that which have, in truth, never been suspended. The,
another portion of them may have been recaptured time which has elapsed since the last adjournment
by the Confederates. Both armies have suffered has been occupied in constant negotiation, with the
view olf arrivingl. at some arrangement to which the
several Plenipotentiaries subsequently
such enormous losses that the world may believe
that a couple of days' rest will be absolutely neces-allfhiva;
must be apparent to
sary to each tiCmmander. A. heavy storm of wind the negotiations by which it is hoped that a final
and rain, which corameneen en Thursday, has con- settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question mai
be effected, and peace re-established between Ger-
many the never very hard roads of Viresid'.a into manx and Denmark, could not be condensed within
mud and slush, and as Lee passed first along them the of the brief official interviews which take
to his new position, the tramp of his men and horses place betwee: the members of the Conference in
and the ploughing wheels of his cannon must have
Downing-street. Tee proceedines of assemblies of
left them in a state of morass, through which rapid this kind are at all times temous and protracted,
progress, especially with artillery will be impossible. but the circumstances under which the present.
It is likely, therefore, that there will be a lull in Conference has met tend espeei illy to the creationesf
postpsnement and delays. The Plenipotentiaries
the storm of battle in the immediate front, and that
met armed with the fullest powers, but with in-
both armies will be reorganised and reinforced to stru ctions of a very limited nature. The Danish.
the fullest extent in the power of the Confe- Government were absolutely ignorant of the nature
derate and the Federal Governments. The next of the demands which would be made by ths=
shock promises to be more desperate than ever, if German Powers, and were therefore precluded from
the immediate interest of the struggle be not trans- instruc'ing their envoys in what manner those de
ferred from the north to the south of Richmond by -
mends should be met. Even in the matter of the.
armistice, although it was notorious that the neurrak
an attempt of General Beauregard to crush Generals Powers would propose a suspension of hostilities,
Baldy Smith and Butler before uniting his forces the Austrian and Prussian representatives declared
with those of General Lee. The excitement in this themselves to be without authority to assent to that
city is intense, and hourly increases ; and were it proposal when first made, and nearly a fortnight was
not for the udicious üblication by Secretary
exhausted in what may be termed unofficial negetia-
j p agreed-
Stanton of the official details as soon as they reach tions before the basis on which it was finally agreed.
to, had been sanctioned by the belligerent States,•
him from the army, it would be still wilder than it The past ten days have in like manaer been occupied
is. People wait for his confirmation of events be- in endeavouring to obtain from Denmark and from
fore attaching credence to the reports from Phila. the German Powers a joint assent to a scheme for the
delphia, Baltimore, and Washington, which pour determination of the political relations which abalß
down upon the bewildered heads of the public like henceforth subsist bet ween Denmark and theD uchiese
When the Plenipotentiaries meet to-morrow they wllls
hailstones in a storm, and only retain their form
not simply resume the thread of argument where
and substance for about as long. In this respect it was left off ou Tuesday week;_ they will be called
the Government has rendered good service. It on to sanction or disapprove of those suggestions
does not appear to have withheld any painful for a settlement which emanated from the neutral
truths, or in any degree to have exaggerated the Powers, and which during the interval have been
successes that have been obtained, and has thus set sedulously canvassed by the Cabinets of the in-
terested States. To-morrow the representatives of
an example which was very much needed. the belligerent Powers will announce officially in
Conference the opinions entertained by their rte..
spective Governments on the proposed arrange-
ments, and according to the tenor of those opinions
Zhe scheme of settlement will be accepted, rejected,
or referrad back to its originators, to be modified
before being again canvassed, and probably again
condemned. However the neutral and the German
Powers may have in the first instance affected tse
considered that the Treaty of 1852 furnished a
quasi basis for the deliberations of the Conference,
no actual doubt existed that the Conference, if it
effected anything, would modify the relations be-
tween Denmark and the Duchies to such an extent
as virtually to repeal that convention. It needed
not the formal repudiation of the London Treaty by'
Count Bismarck, to which we directed attention a•
few days since, to assure us that Prussia would,
never assent to the re-establishment of the pre-
viously existing connection between the Danish.
monarchy and the Duchies of Schleswig and Hole-
stein. For this event the neutral Powers were,
prepared, nor could Denmark have anticipated any
other result than the formal and final abandonment
'by the German Powers of a treaty which they have
now for some time ostentatiously trampled under
foot. To the substitution of combinations different:
from those which were assented to twelve yeare;
ago the several Powers were consequently obliged
to address themselves, and it is on the merits of a
scheme which has chiefly emanated from the British
Government that the members of the Conference
will now be called upon to express an opinion. It,
is no secret that Lerd Palmerston, riany years since,.
proposed that the Duchy of Schleswig should be
divided, and the southern, or German portion,
attached to Holstein, and thus brought within the
jurisdiction of the Germanic Confederation. Tear
plan was feasible, and, had it been carried into,
effect, might possibly have prevented the present
war. Denmark, however, resting on her territorial
rights, and wishing to perpetuate as the natural.
boundary of Germany the River Eider, refut•ed to
assent to this proposal. The suggestion has now"
been renewed, and the contending Powers will be
asked to assent to a subdivision of the debateable
Duchy of Schleswig, the northern portion being
amalgamated with the D finish monarchy and tne
southern being united with the Duchy of Holstein-
This constitutes the basis of a proposal which is stilt
dependent upon a variety of conditions. The sub-
division of Schleswig leaves the question of the
union between the newly-formed Duchies and
Denmark still open, and the solution of this pro.
problem it is proposed to leave to the iubabitants
themselves. France, as is well known, is a warm
supporter of universal suffrage, and chiefly in cone
fortuity with her wishes, it is suggested that the
population of the new Duchy of Schleswig-Hol'
stein shall determine for themselves the person
whom they will have for their Sovereign. Inasmuch,
however, as by these arrangements, if assented to,
Germany would derive great maritime advantages
which might be employed to the prejudice of other
States, several important stipulations are made, of
which one is the neutralisation of the harbour a
Kiel.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TeeiES.—A return just obtained from the Ad-
miralty will inform naval men, shipbuilders, and
the public in general of some facts which it much
concerns them all to know, It is an account in a
concise and intelligible form of all the " Iron plated
Ships and Batteries built or building" up to this
time for the Royal Navy, and it specifies not only
their tonnage, armaments, and design, but also their
cost and the history of their construction. By the
aid of this table cupolas and turrets may be com-
pared with broadsides, wholly plated with partially
plated ships, first-rates with third-rates, and private
establishments with the Royal dockyards. Another
brief return completes the information thus com-
municated by a very significant and impressive sup-
plement. It tells us of all the vessels not armour-
plated which are in course of construction for the
Navy at this moment , so that we may measure the
preponderance of the new system not only by its
own progress, but by the decay of its ancient rival.
This part of the story can be told so shortly that we
may as well dismiss it at once. There is next to
nothing in hand of this kind. The Endymion, a
22 gun ship, and four smaller vessels, representing,
we presume, asmanyswift cruisers with light arma-
ments, constitute all the work of this sort now
going on. The energies of the Admiralty and the
resources of the State are concentrated on iron-
plated vessels, almost to the extinction of wooden
shipbuilding. What, then, is the actual condition,
and what tok- prospects of the Fleet which now ab-
sorbs our attention and our expenditure ? Toe first
thing that strikes us is the variety of specimens
comprised, showing more clearly than anything else
could show the state of transition in which we. still
remain. We have not yet accepted as perfect or satis-
factory any pattern, model, or design of hull, dimen-
sions, or armament. This gives a kind of composite
eppearance to cur Fleet, but it has saved us, at any
rate, from the mistake committed by the Americans
in building a whole squadron of Monitors on the
impulse of the moment. At the present time we
nave, exclusive of " floating batteries," sixteen
iron-plated men-of war actually afloat. This at least
is the s'atement of the return, but we can add one
to the number, for on the 23d instant, the very day
fixed for the event, the Prince Albert was launched,
so that our ironsides are already not 16 but 17. To
these will be added before tee close, and indeed be-
fore the middle, of next year, 10 more, making an
-agate of 27. It we choose to include the float-
h-ies constructed or designed during the
ing
artt:
Crimean war, we shall raise the entire strength of
our ironclad fleet :" 34 vessels of all rates. It will
soon be desirable toevise some new system of
rating in the place of that ohich the new system of
nt has rendered in-
naval architecture and arrnarnh.
are the offensive
applicable. We can no longer Teets.:
er guns. A
powers of a ship by the number of les
" first-rate" of the old school, with her t1.1:31e bat-
teries and her 130 guns, might be blown out, of the
water in 10 minutes, according to our present Mee's.)
by such a vessel, for instance, as the Prince Albert,
of four guns, just launched, or the Pallas, of six
guns, to be launched at Christmas. These half-dozen
guns, in tact, might throw a heavier mass of metal
than the broadside of the largest three-decker, so
that the principle will not apply, and the standard
is unavailable. Practically, however, we may con-
sider that the Warrior, though denominated a fri-
gate, and carrying only 40 guns, represents the
first-rate under the new system, and of those vessels
we may say that 10 are now afloat. They differ from
each other in a variety of respects, but they are all
more or less completely cased in iron, and all carry
35 to 41 guns, except where the armament is con-
centrated under shields or in turrets. We have, then,
two ships, the Hector a..id the Valiant, which we
may describe as second-rates, and three more which
can be classed as third-rates. This makes 15, and
the full tale of 17 afloat is completed by Mr. Reed's
small ironclads, the Research and the Enterprise.
Of the 10 to be shortly added to this list, as many as
six are first-rates, two are powerful vessels, and two of
email dimensions. As to the controversy between wood
and iron, we may briefly observe, until Mr. Reed's
designs were introduced into the Navy we always
built of iron where we could, and where we started
from the beginning, but adopted wood in certain
instances for the sake of expedition as well as of
economy. Thus, for our sixteen first-rates built or
building, eight are of iron throughout, and six re-
present timber frames plated with iron. The other
two, the Lord Clyde and the Lord Warden, upon
Mr. Reed's designs, have wooden hulls ; but our
Chief Constructor h-is not confined his experiments
to either material exclusively, for his Bellerophon
is of iron, and while one of his small specimens is
of iron the other is of wocet and iron combined. Cap-
tion Coles, too, as far as In terial goes, has the ad-
v sn.
tage of both chances, for one of his vessels is
built of iron and the other of wood. Upon the
e. -hole, we may say that iron was recognised as de-
_
cidedi;
bast wherever a free choice lay before us
.tv-ed came in, and that he seems to be of
opinion
be made of wood than was
until i‘ir.
that rnoise may
previousty imagined: The interesting question of
relative coat is not quite sds easily answered. What
teith the completeness of work and the imperfection
of aceosints, we cannot always get t good materials
for compar;eon, for it must be uni:erstood that,
though we have described certain vessels as actually
"afloat," that by vo means implies that the; are
fully completed for sea, or that the .xpendiltire upt.:n
them is at an end. However, it we take tie Warrior,
which was built in a private yard, aad compare her
with the Achilles of the 9avne rate constructed at
Chatham, but unfortunately "not complete," we
shall find that the former cost £360,995, and the
latter £321,875 so that in the end, perhaps, there
will be little difference between thew, If, again,
ironclads
by take one of the ships converted into
by the addition of armour plates to wood frames
already standing, such as the Royal Oak, we find
its actual cost to be £259,658, and therefore, if the
Royal Oak is really as effective a tnan-of-war as the
Warrior, we have saved a good £lOO,OOO by our
bargain. Mr. Reed's designs, too, show a clear
economy of cost. His Bellerophon, expected to be
one of the most powerful vessels in the Navy, is
estimated to cost only £284,820, but this, it neust
be remembered, is estimate only. Still, though we
confess that no decisive evidence is obtainable from
the paper before us, we are disposed to infer that
the work of the Royal dockyards will not be found
more expensive than that of private establishments.
A few clays ago we explained that the American
Government, though not possessed of any establish-
ments like ours for maintaining its Navy, was by no
means content with its position in this respect, even
as regarded economy, while it expressed great
anxiety for the efficiency of the Fleet, if the con-
structioe of vessels should be left to private hands.
Since that time Mr. Secretary Welles has been
asked why he allowed the Confederates to acquire
the Naval power in the Sounds of North Carcnina
which at this crisis of their fortunes has cost the
Federals so dear. His reply was that it was the
inevitable consequence of the system in use, and
that such failures and reverses were to be naturally
anticipated so long as the Government was left un-
provided with yards and establishments of its own.
He said that the Admiralty and the Government
were wholly dependent on contractors, who were
either unwilling or unable to perform the work re-
quired, and added that, in the event of a foreign
war, the condition of America, owing to this went
of establishments, would be, " most unfortunate."
This opinion, it is true, is the opinion—perhaps the
natural ore—of an official, but, delivered as it is in
the hear ot. actual ride it, deserves our attention.
POST —Te-morrow the n= m hers of the Conference
will again assurable, and officially renew labours