The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-28 00:00:00

THE CONFERENCE,

The following is thesummary of the deliberations
of the Conference of London, from the 25th of April
to the 22d of June, 1864, which Lord Palmerstcn
described last night as having been drawn up by
one of the Plenipotentiaries, and which he rccom■
mended to the attention of the house :
At the invitation of the Government of her Britannic
Majeity, the Plenipotentiaries of the Courts of Austria,
lienmark, and France, of the Germanic Confederation of
the Courts of Prussia, Russia, and Sweden and Norway,
met in Conference in London with the object of coming to
an understanding respecting the arrangements to be made
by mutual agreement in order to re-establish peace between
Denmark and Germany.

In order to come to a thorough understanding of the re •
lative situation of the belligerents at this period it is suffi-
cient to cast a glance at the mail, and to recall in a few
NVords the events which had preceded the opening of the
Conference.

The Duchy of Holstein had been in military occupation
of the Federal troops, in virtue of a measure decreed by the
Diet of Frankfort. This occupation, it must be stated, was
effected without a blow being struck, King Christian IX.
having resolved not to oppose by force of arms a measure
taken by the Germanic Confederation, whose authority he
was bound to recognise in the quality of Duke of Holstein.
In the month of February an Austro-Prussian army
crossed the Eider to take possession of the Duchy of
Schleswig as a material guarantee for the execution of the
engagements contracted by the Danish Government in 1851
and 1852.
After a courageous but unequal struggle the Danish
troops fell back as far as the north of Jutland.

A combat, long undecided, was still going on before the
fortified position of Duppel. It was carried by the Prussian
troops on the eve of the day fixed for the opening of the
Conferences.
At the same moment the Danish garrison, abandoning
voluntarily the fortress of Fredericia, delivered the key of
the position of Jutland to the allies.

With the exception of the northern extremity of this pro-
vince, to the north of the Lime Fiord, all the continental
portion of the Danish monarchy was thus in the power of
the allies at the time when the Plenipotentiaries were about
to enter into deliberation in order to arrive at the re-estab-
lishment of peace.
Conquered on land, Denmark maintained her superiority
on the sea. Her navy blockaded the ports and captured the
merchant vessels of the German Powers.
In reprisal for the losses sustained by their commerce the
allies levied on the inhabitants of Jutland a contribution of
war estimated at 650,000 crowns, £90,000 sterling.
Such was the state of things on the 25th of April.
The first care of the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain
was to invite the belligerents to consent to a suspension of
hostilities—a preliminary measure equally called for by the
interests of humanity and of the negotiations confided to the
care of the Conference.
This proposal, made by Earl Russell in the meeting of the
25th of April, was unanimously supported by the Plenipo-
tiaries of France, Russia, and Sweden.
A prolonged discussion took place as to the simultaneous
suspension of hostilities by land and sea. The Danieh Go-
vernment at first insisted on the maintenance of the blockade,
which they considered as an equivalent for the occupation
of the Duchies by the allied troops.
The insufficiency of the powers with which the Plenipo-
tentiaries of the belligerent Powers were furnished made
itself felt for the first time during this debate. The neces-
sity of having recourse for fresh instructions to Copenhagen,
to Berlin, and to Vienna has occasioned delays which have
interrupted the labours of the Conference in a manner much
to be regretted as regards the success of its deliberations.
Even the rapidity of telegraphic communication was found
insufficient to overcome this difficulty. This will be ad-
mitted when it is known that the route for direct corres-
pondence being closed to the Danish Plenipotentiaries by
the state of war, they were obliged to correspond with their
Government by the route to StVeteasburg, Lapland, and
Stockholm.

These circumstances explain how it was that the question
of the suspension of hostilities, brought forward on the 25th
April, was not settled till the third sitting, on the 9th May,
after a fortnight's loss of time.
We will shorten the account of this long debate. In the
opinion of the representatives of the neutral Powers it would
have been preferable to conclude a regular armistice of a
certain duration, in order to leave all necessary latitude for
negotiation. The Courts of Prussia and Austria declared
themselves ready to consent to this proposal. The Danish
Cabinet would not adhere to it, for reprisals by sea being
the only measures within the power of Denmark, it is easy
to understand that the Danish Plenipotentiaries did not
wish to deprive their Government of this arm during too
prolonged a period, above all in the Baltic, where the navi.
gaton is of short duration.

We point out this consideration in a spirit of strict equity,
however injurious the restrictions imposed by Denmark on
the suspension of hostilities might be to the negotiation
itself.

The Danish Government limited it to four weeks—viz.,
from the 12th May to the 12th June.

Protocol No. 3 determines the conditions of this truce.
They may be resumed in these terms :

"Hostilities shall be suspended by sea and land, from the
2th May, for the space of a month.

" On the same day Denmark shall raise the blockades.
" Prussia and Austria engage during the suspension of
hostilities not to impede, in the parts of Jutland occupied
by their armies, either the commerce or the communications
or the regular course of the administration ; not to raise
contributions of war, but on the contrary to pay for all that
may be furnished to the German troops, who shall simply
continue to occupy their present strategical positions.
" The belligerent parties agree to preserve their respec-
tive military positions by ■ea and land, and engage not to
reinforce them during the continuance of the suspension of
hostilities.

" Official notification shall be made to the commanders of
the belligerent forces by sea and land by their respective
Governments."

This notification did not arrive in time to prevent the
naval combat which took place at a short distance from the
island of Heligoland ; but the cannon shots exchanged be-
tween the respective forces were the last from that to the
present time.

The Conference has no cause to regret its having offered