The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-02 00:00:00

THE PEOPOSED HOLY ALLIANCE.

We are enabled to publish the following authentic
correspondence cn the subject of the proposed
renewal of the Holy Alliance, which has recently
attracted so much public) attention in this country :
TIM BARON DE WrITHER TO M. DE BISMAECE7,
VIENNA, Tune 13, 1864,

Monsieur le President du Conseil,—l liav3 the
honour to announce to your excellency that I had,
.previous to the departure of their Majesties fee
Kisseugen, an audience of the Emperor, and a long
conversation with the Count de Rechberg. I hasten
to give you an account of it. Acting in conformity
with the instructions which your excellency gave
me in the last despatch which you did me the hon-
our to address to me, I have profited by the oppor-
tunity whinii presents itself in order to sound the
intentions of his Majesty the Emperor regarding
the object of the interview at Kissengen with the
Emperor Alexander.
His Majesty told me he would be happy to see the
most intimate and cordial agreement established
both between himself and the Czar, and between
the three Goverdments, which agreement is, in the
present state of things, so necessary for the three
'Powees. His Majesty spoke to me as follows :
I am quite ready to adhere to every combination
of such a nature as to ensure the peace of Europe,
and to guarantee the reciprocal interests of the
three countries. It is in this sense that I explain
myself to the Emperor of Russia and to my royal
ally, your august sovereign.
M. de Reehherg entered into more ample expla-
nations with me. Ho asked me, in the first place,
whether the Government of the King had
already come to any determination with regard
to the Russian proposal. According to the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the proposal
is of too much importance to be decided upon
immediately. His excellency recognises almost
as much as Russia the necessity, in -the pre-
sent state of things in Europe, of an intimate
mutual understanding between the three Powers ;
but would not snob an understanding at this mo-
ment produce an intimate rapprochement between
France and England, and is it not at this time,
above all things; the interest of the two great Ger-
man Powers, and of Germany, to avoid this evens
tuality ?
What is the present object of Russia? That the
three partitioning Powers of Poland may recipro-
cally guarantee to each other their Polish provinces.
But, his excellency went on to say, is this at the
present moment a matter of urgent importance ?
The insurrection may be now regarded as completely
crushed, and foreign intervention as set aside. It
is true that eventualities may present themselves
which would revive the Polish question) but for the
present it no longer exists.
Moreover, continued M. de Rechberg, although
the interests of Austria are not opposed to an inti-
mate alliance with Russia, we could only adhere to
the Russian proposal on certain conditions, It will
be necessary that Russia should declare in an un-
equivocal manner that she will give her material
assistance to Prussia and Austria in the event of a
war with the Western Powers for the affairs of the
Duchies. And, from the Austrian' point of view,
certain guarantees would be necessary which the
Minister believes it unnecessary to mention.
In a word, the Imperial Government is far from
repelling the Russian propesal, but it desires to
act with,a knowledge of the objects in view, and
after having received the assurances it thinks neces.
sary.

Such, Monsieur le President dn Conseil, is the
summary of my conversation with M. de Rechberg,
who, as your excellency is already informed, is to
accompany their Majesties to,.morrow to Kissengen.
(Signed) WERTHER.
M. DE BISMARCH TO THE COUNT DE GONTZ AT PARIS.
BBRLIN, June 15, 1854.

Monsieur le Comte,—ln the last confidential communi
cation which I had the honour to address to your excellency
I was enabled to inform you of the various important pro-
posals which have been made to us by the Cabinet of St
Petersburg in the question of the Duchies and the other
pending European questions, and I hasten, Monsieur le
Comte, to inform your excellency of the proposals which
have just been made to his Majesty the King, our august
Sovereign, by the Emperor Alexander in person, at the
time of the visit which the Imperial family of Russia has
just made to our august Royal family.
Your excellency is already aware of the attitude which
the Cabinet of St Petersburg has just adopted in the ques-
tion of the Duchies, and which is so favourable to us in
every point of view. The renunciation by the Emperor
Alexander of his ulterior rights to the Duchies in favour of
the Grand Duke of Oldenburg is an evident proof cf the
amicable and favourable disposition of the Court of Russia
towards Germany; and the Emperor Alexander has now
again given to our august Sovereign the most formal as-
surance that his efficacious and loyal concurrence is secured
to us in this question. The views of the Sovereign of Russia
differ from ours only on the question of the succession, His
Majesty agrees entirely in our mode of thinking on the
frontiers of the new States, only he believes that it would
be our common interest to place it under the sovereignty of
the Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Your excellency knows my
personal opinion on this subject, but in consequence of the
lively sympathy of our august Royal family for the family
of Augustenburg, it is not very probable that this combina-
tion can prevail.
The important point is that in all these eventualities the
moral, and if necessary the material concurrence of Russia
is secured to our policy in this question. Russia only asks
for a guarantee against a Scandinavian union, and I think,
Monsieur le Comte, that it would even be our interest to
combat Scandinavian tendencies.

As regards the other pending questions, the Emperor
Alexander and Prince Gortschakoff htive explained the
subject in the clearest and most precise manner. The
Sovereign of Russia insisted above all on the necessity of a
mutual understanding between the three Powers of the
North in the present state sf things in Europe. As all
treaties are, so to say, regarded as null, would it not be ad-
vantageous for the great Powers whose interests are in
many respects identical to form a league against certain
tendencies and pretensions r Would it not be necessary to
put an end, once for all, to the Polish agitations, and to
efface, once for all, the Polish question from the list of En.
ropean questions ? According to the view of the Emperor
Alexander, it would be the interest of the three partitioning
Powers to declare that they regard the affairs of Poland as
a matter exclusively internal, and thus take away every
pretoxt for foreign intervention.
His Majesty the Emperor Alexander has clearly made
our august Sovereign understand, as also has Prince Gorts-
chakoff, as. regards myself, that it would be desirable from
every point of view to sign a treaty or convention between
the three Powers which should be based on the reciprocal
guarantee of the territory of each Power. Such is in effect
the proposal made by the Emperor Alexander to our august
King, the importance of which will certainly not escape
your Excellency. Although we agree in many points in
the views of the Czar, we have not as yet arrived at any
decision, but the bases which I have jot indicated to your
Excellency will be the preliminaries of the future negotia-
tions on this subject.
The views of the Cabinet of Vienna in this matter are
indicated in the confidential communication which I have
just received from the Baron de Werther, and which your
Excellency will find annexed.
In every case, I beg of you,
.M. le Comte, to give me
early information of the impression which has been made
by the interview of the three Sovereigns on the Cabinet of
the Tuileries.

(Signed) BISMARCK.

The Strength of the llo3tile Fleets,

HAMBURG, June 29.

The Hamburg papers give the following as the
respective strength of the Danish and Austo.
Prussian fleets in the North Sea, where a decisive
naval engagement is shortly citxpected :
The Austrian force consists of the screw ship-of.
the-line Kaiser, 91 guns ; the screw frigate Schwar-
zenbarg, 50 guns; the ironclad frigate Don Juan
d'Austria, 16 guns; the screw corvette Friederich,
22 guns ; the paddlewheel steamer Elisabeth, 5
guns ; and the screw gunboats Wall and Seebundi
ate
each carrying 4 guns. The Radetzky screw
friS ,
35 guns, was at Borkum upon the 26th in
ststeamer
The Prussians have the paddlewheel
Preussischer Adler, 4 guns, and the screw gun-
boats Blitz and Basilisk, carrying 3 guns each.
The Danish force is believed to consist of the
screw frigate Niels JUel, 42 guns ; the screw frigate
Jylland, 44 guns; the screw corvette Heimdal, 16
guns ; the screw ship-of-the-line Skiold, 64 guns;
end the ironclad corvette Dannebrog, 15 guns.
The frigate Sjselland, 44 guns, or the Tordenskjold,
35 guns, will also probably be sent to the North
Sea, with other small craft.

►rag QUEIZSBELRY FAMILY.--Lady Gertrude
Douglas, daughter of the Marchioness, has taken the white
veil, and is UQW at the convent at ileunizersmith,—Court
Journal.

The Duke of So) n erset at Liverpool.

On Thursday, after cG itributing the prizes en
beard the school frigatt Conway, lying in the
Mersey, his Grace and pa rty embarked on board
the Satellite, which st, a rimed to the celebrated
'rams, His Grace went o. rer El Tonsson, and made
a very minute inspection. A boat's crew from the
Majestic worked one of t: he turrets, and showed the
rapidity with which it ra a.y be done, his Grace be-
ing inside the turret at the time. He was also
shown how the iron bulwal 're aro lowered for action.
fhe party neat went to 1; he Majestic, which wee
decorated with flags, and 1.31 e yards of which were
manned as he went aboard . They were then enter.
Mined at en elegant lunch con by Captain Paynter.
A salute was fired as thi) party left. Their ne.7.7t
destination was the yard of Messrs. Laird, where
his Grace inspected the new ironclad Agincourt,
now in the course of cons.tructicn.

In proceeding to view the ship wWch is now far
ctdvanced towards completion, the visitors were con-
ducted through the various departments in such a
manner as to reveal in a great measure the course
of proceeding in this great undertaking.
The first visit was paid to the armour-plate shop
as it is called. This occupies a very large spice, and
is supplied with an immense number of pon-
derous end powerful mechanical implements de-
signed for effecting the different kinds of fitting
necessary to adapt the massive armour-plates to the
places in the ship which they are respectively in-.
tended to occupy. The processes referred to may bt,
briefly stated to consist of so moulding and twistin g
the armour-plates as to fit them with the utmec4
nicety to the singular and beautifully modulated
curves presented by the different portions of t,(,
graceful and flowing outlines of the vessel. else
difficulty of accomplishing this purpose may he in
some measure estimated frcm the fact that each of
the armour-plates is of great size and thickness,
the principal portion of their number being 51in.
in thickness, and the average of them weighing
about five tons each. As these plates are railed
perfectly flat and trimmed into exact parallelo-
grams before they are conveyed to the building
yard, it becomes necessary that each of them shall
be moulded to fit the place it is intended per-
manently to occupy, and as this cannot be done
with safety without the aid of heat, the plates
are first placed in a furnace till they have acquired
a sufficient temperature to admit of being twisted
into any form without risk of destroying their fibre
they areihen placed in a strong iron frame, whica
is so fitted with ordinates as to present an exact
counterpart to the curves intended to be produced.
By the application of wedges the heated plate is
then forced to assume the curves presented by the
powerful mould. This having been accomplished,
the moulded plate is removed and subjected to a
process of gradual cooling, by which the tenacity of
the iron is considerably increased. After cooling,
the final and more delicate modulations of the
curves are produced by subjecting the plate to the
action of a powerful dydraulic press. The next
process it undergoes is to have the holes
drilled into it by which it is to be finally
bolted on to the ship's side. In the armour-
plate shop, besides the furnace alluded to and its
bending frame, there are also two hydraulic bend-
ing presses, four planing and three drilling.
machines, all of ponderous magnitude and groat
power, and also an ingeniously contrived as well as
powerful machine for putting the screw threads on
the bolts and nuts by which the plates are securely
fastened to the ships side.

LONDON GAZETTE.—Last Evening.

LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S OFFICE, JUNE O.

Orders for the Count's going into Mourning on Tuesday,
the sth of July next, for his late Majesty the King of

,
Wurtemberg, viz. :
The ladies to wear black dresses, white gloves, black or
white shoes, feathers, and fans, pearls, diamonds, or plain
gold or silver ornaments.
The gentlemen to wear black court dress, with black
swords and buckles.

The Court to change mourning on Tuesday, the 19th of
July next, viz. :

,
The ladies to wear black dresdes, with coloured ribbons,
flowers, feathers, and ornaments.
The gentlemen to continue the same mourning.
And on Tuesday, the 26th of July next, the Court to go
out of mourning,