The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-02 00:00:00

Dielnorandum of Austria and Prussia to the
Federal Diet,

FRANEFORT, Feb. 23.

At yesterday's sitting of the Federal Diet the
representatives of Austria and Prussia moved that
the command of the Federal troops in Holstein
should be transferred to the Commander-in Chief of
the Austro-Prussian forces, and that two civil com-
missioners from the great German Powers should be
appointed to share in the Government of the Duchy.
The motion is to be pat to the vote in a week. Its
presentation to the Diet was accompanied by the
following memorandum :

" Austria and Prussia—Upon the Ist October of
last year the high Federal Diet passed the follow-
ing resolution :—"ro request the Governments of
Saxony and Hanover to furnish to the civil com-
missioners a division of troops of about 6,000 men,
in proportions to bq arranged ; but at the same time
to request the Governments of Austria and Prussia,
in community with those of Saxony and Hanover,
to hold themselves ready to furnish a superior force
for the immediate support of the said division in
case of actual opposition to the carrying out of the
execution.'

" In consequence of this resolution, the four Go-
vernments charged with the execution have con-
certed together the requisite military measures which
have been approved by the high Federal Assembly
in its resolution of the 7th of December last, which
says :—"rhe above-named Governments shall be
made acquainted herewith, through their ambassa-
dors, and charged with making the necessary com-
munication to the Danish Government, as also with
the execution of the measures in accordance with

the military arrangements made by them.
" It had been determined in these arrangements
that Austria and Prussia should each place a first
reserve of 5,000 men upon the Holstein frontier,
and that, to admit of their more rapid concentration
they should be placed under the orders of the Saxon
commander-in-chief of the execution troops. In
case, however, of hostilities upon a great scale being
brought about by the Danish Government assuming
a :hostile attitude, and threatening the Duchy of

Holstein, the two above named Governments shall
each put at least hn army corps in the field, and in
that event the chief command over their united
forces shall be regulated by arrangement between

Austria and Prussia.!
"The immediate execution has been carried out
in Holstein without resistance, so that it has been
possible to withdraw from that Duchy the troops
which then formed the first reserves, and to allow
of their advance into the Duchy of Schleswig with
the other detachments of the Austrian and Prussian
force.
" The subsequent occurrences, which have as-
sumed the full character of war made by Denmark
through the seizure of German ships by Danish
cruisers, threaten the execution troops in Holstein
as well as the allied army in Schleswig; and the
former are now only protected against attacks from
the north by the occupation of the Duchy of
Schleswig by Austrian and Prussian troops. In so
much as this circumstance—as recognised by the
Saxon nation of the 15th of February last—shows
the necessity of a stronger occupation of Holstein,
Prussia and Austria, in accordance with the above-
quoted Federal resolution ,are first called upon for this
purpose to bring the original execution corps under
Lieutenant-General von Hake to its former strength,
that is to say. to furnish 6,000 men to the first
reserves in Holstein.
" Herewith, however, the further contingency
foreseen has occurred, namely, that the ' superior
force' held in readiness by Austria and Prussia, and
actively employed in covering to the northward the
position of the execution corps, is now called upon
to lend the execution troops that assistance which,
according to arrangement, presupposes the common
and united disposal of the command-in-chief upon
which Austria and Prussia are agreed.
"The representatives of Austria and Prussia are
instructed to call especial notice to the pressing
necessity, even from a purely military point of view,
of this unity of the military chief command of the
troops stationed in the Duchies of Holstein and
Schleswig. Protection against hostile attack, the
combination of strategic operations, and the suc-
cess of offensive and defensive war against the
common adversary, can only be secured under a
common head.
"The Governments of Austria and Prussia be-
lieve that this measure is based upon the arrange-
ments approved by the Ligh Diet, the presupposi-
tions of which have already been realised. But they
are the more desirous to obtain further approbation
of these arrangements by the high Federal Diet, as
all errors and misunderstandings, such as have
arisen at Altona, will thus be avoided, and all rela-
tions will be definitively regulated.
"They consider it at the same time as self-evident
—as has been already expressed in the report of
the committee of the 19th September last—that
henceforth the Governments of Austria and Prussia
shall each nominate a civil commissioner to conduct
the administration of the Duchy of Holstein in con-
cert with the Saxon and Hanoverian commissioners,
aid to enter into mutual relations with tho admini-
strative authorities in Schleswig.
"Upon the basis of the proceeding, therefore, and
hoping to obtain the assent of their Federal allies,
the Governments of Austria and Prussia move—
" 1. That the high Federal Diet may declare itself
in reference to the arrangements between tho four
Governments cited and approved in the Federal
resolution of Dec. 7 last, Article 2, agreed that the
chief command of the execution troops in Holstein
should pass to the Commander-in-Chief of the
Austro Prussian forces.
" 2. That the high Federal Diet will bring this
resolution to the knowledge of the Governments of
Saxony and Hanover through their representatives,
and request them to give the necessary orders to
their military commanders.
"3. That the high Federal Diet will approve the
nomination of two new civil commissioners for Hol-
stein by Austria and Prussia, and will receive
notice of the said nomination."
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