The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-01 00:00:00

DESPATCH TO THE DANISH AMBASSADOR AT BERLIN

" Copenhagen, Oct. 26, 1863.

Sir—Enclosed I forward:you the declaration the
King's Minister at Frankfort has received orders to
make to the Diet. In this document I have shown
in the most striking manner the distinction be-
tween the Federal side and the international side
of the question. The Federal side is that in sups
port of which the Diet cites the stipulations of the
Federal acts, and the Federal character of which
springs from the fact that an execution undertaken
in Holstein would prove a sufficient means of carry-
ing out the decrees of the Diet. The international
side is that which seeks support in transactions
outside the Federal acts, such as those of 18M-52,
and the international character of which is shown
by the absolute impossibility for the Diet to avail
itself of the occupation of Holstein to carry its de-
crees into execution itself.
The King's Government is quite ready to fulfil
those demands of the Diet which appertain to the
first category. You will see that, in conformity
with your advice, we have enopAced as a general
thesis the principles that the holstein Estates shall
be admitted to exercise entire legislative power upon
the part of Holstein ie common affairs. In speak.
lag of the patent of the 30th March we have said
that in our opinieti it has sufficiently established the
same principle, and that, if the secondary stipule-
tions•of that act do not fully satisfy the wishes of
the Diet upon the subject, we are disposed to modify
them in agreement with the Diet, and in conse-
quence of this disposition of the Danish Govern.
meat we have used the expression provisional,' of
which somuch has been made.

"As regards the demands of the Diet coming
under the second abovementioned category, media.
tion alone would avert the danger of war if the Diet
does not think it can lend itself to a direct agree-
ment with us. You will remark that I have avoided
using the word war' in the declaration, although
it must be evident that such an eventuality is in my

mind.
" I send you at the same time an extract of a de-
spatch from the Charge d'Affaires of the King at
Frankfort, containing the opinion of M. Scherff—
who certainly cannot be denied the quality of an
impartial judge in the matter—upon the exaspera-
tion which appears to prevail in the committee,
and by which unfortunately the reporter appears
to be especially carried away. I believe that these
enclosures will not be without interest for you in
your conversations with Sir Andrew Buchanan. It
seems that Earl Russell had addressed a third
despatch to Sir Alexander Malet, and., according to
information I have received, it appears that Earl
Russell has exactly laid down himself the distinc-
tion I have drawn in our declaration. He reeog-
ui,,es exclusive Federal competence in all things
which concern the autonomy of Holstein, but be
claims an international character for the other parte
of the question.
" I have this moment received your despatch No.
20, explaining your telegram of the day before yes-
terday. I thank you for your readiness in sending
me information of this fresh demand, but I do not
perceive to what disposition prior to the patent of
the 30th March allnsiou is made. Is the reference
perhaps to the normal budget of the 28th February,
1856? In any case, however, we must now await
the effect our declaration will produce.
(Signed) " C. HALL."

Trial of ILK's Turret Barn V,
corpiou. . a,14K4
! fs4ll
Jaceaeete44V
On Tuesday the first of the celebrated stem tlitegiir;7atver--eee
dr^,,a4e4
built by Messrs Laird Brothers, of Bit ketthead,
a preliminary, or engineers', trial tr; :p. Since
vessel has been banded over by C imernmeat to Alii
Messrs. Laird, all that has been donut has been to
put the vessel in the graving dock, ail rape her bot-
tom, and clean down the paint-w0r.71 and machi-
nery, which had become much deteri orated by ten
months' exposure to the weather in tl ie river. Be-
sides the builders, there were on boat .d Mr Dinnen,
Admiralty inspector of machinery ; Mr Hobbs, in-
spector st•*pwr: whr, -uperinte nding, the con-
struction of tee .aad frigate .Agincourt, by
Messrs. Laird ; and a few ot'ao.r gentlemen,
amongst them one or two naval of ricers. The ves-
sel, which was originally christened El Tousson,
has had her name changed to the Scorpion since
her addition to the Royal Navy list. The Scorpion
is 224 ft in length on the water line, including the
oft ram, 44-ft beam, and tuft deep, measurement
1,890 tons. Her sides are plated with 4in. iron
plates, backed with 10in. of teak, and behind this
the ordinary iron skin. The Scorpion has engines.
of nominally 350 horse power, the cylinders being
laid horizontally, and fitted with double pistola-
roads. The diameter of the cylinders is 56in. each,
with 3ft length of strobe. The Scorpion is rigged
as a three master schooner, and will carry a large
spread of canvas, being fit to cruise anywhere.
In the trial on Tuesday there were about 200 tone
of coal on board, and the vessel drew 13ft forward
and 14ft 9in aft. 1n consequence of the newness
of the machinery and danger of dirt having got into
the bearings while the vessel was lying unfinished
the Scorpion steamed easy down the river against
the flood tide. The Rock Lighthouse was passed
at 10,30 a.m„ and, going down the Queen's Chan.
nel, the north-west light ship was reached at 11.15,
a distance of 14 nautical miles, in an hour and a
quarter. Afterwards the engines were put to a,
higher speed, and with 201 b pressure of steam, an d
the engines making 69 revolutions per minute, t'ae
run between the Victoria Channel, Fairway buoy,
and the Queen's Channel Bell buoy, a measured
distance slightly short of one nautical mile, was
run in 4 min.4o sec, or nearly equal to 12.237 knots
an hour, a speed much beyond what was exTected
when the vessels were designed. Two subsequent
runs were made when the ebb tide got stronger.
The first oect.k.-d 5 25 sec., the second 4
mins. 58 sec., mean time 5 min. 111 sec., or 11
6-10th knots per hour. The machinery worked with
great smoothness, and not the ordinary vibration
from the screw,which is 14ft diameter, with 3 blades.
The vessel cruised about outside the banks for some
time, and the facility with which she answered her
helm was remarkable, the half circle being made at
full speed in a little over two minutes. With six,
men at the wheel, the vessel going at full speed,
the complete circle to port was made in 4 min. 10
secs., to starboard in 4 mins. 45 secs., the vessel
turning in apparently twice her own length. The
vessel is steered with a wheel aft, and in action
with a wheel placed between decks amidslaips, and
protected by the plated sides of the vessel. There
are two turrets, 24ft. in outer diameter, covered
with blin. plates, and 14in. teak. Each turret will
carry two 12 ton guns, or 300-pounders, trained
alongside of each other, and served by the men from
outside the lower part of the turrets between decks.
Within th© turrets there will only be three men to
each gun. The turrets revolve on wheels, the mile
chinery being worked by four winches acting 011 a
toothed rim. The facility with which the turrets
were turned in either direction was admired by all
who witnessed the operation. There :is a difference
in Capt. Coles's principle of revolving these turrets
and that adopted on the American monitors, be-
lieved to be greatly in favour of the former, the
revolving machinery being all in the under pact of
the turret, and protected from an enemy's fire.
With armament and stores on boar& the Scorpion
will probably draw nearly a foot mor e water than
on Tuesday, but as the screw will be more immersed
the speed will scarcely be effected. The armament
of the Scorpion, it is expected, will 'be sent down
to Birkenhead to be fitted on board, alter which an
official tri,l trip will take place, and Ow capabilities
of the vessel to stand lire satisfactorily
In a month or six weeks the second ram, the
\Vyvern will be ready for trial.
It is satisfactory to know that the Eag!ish navy
alone possesses such a class of vessel as Mitt —fit for
dither harbour work or eceau cruising, and • having
such a rate of steed at a emparative ex.pcn-
pethiiture of power. The limous Anteriokat monk
tors are not so fast by several knots, and they are
only coast vessels.— zoianehester Courier.

Prisons and Prisoners.

The average number of prisoners in the county and
borough prisons of England and Wales in the year ending
last Michaelmas was 18,806 (nearly 1,000 of them however
only in custody for debt or for military offences), and the
average number of convicts in convict prisons was 8,055.
These persons came from a criminal and suspected class
estimated at above 150,000, and every one of them while is
prison costs the country between £2O and DO a year. They
require a prison staff of no less than 3,654 officers in the
convict prisons—one to every.six prisoners on an average—
and one to every eight in the county and borough gaols,
Excluding from the reckoning the debtors and military
prisoners, 129,527 persons were in the county and borough
prisons of England and Wales in some part of the year,
those who were in gaol more than once in the year being
counted each time. The prison records give but a meagre
description of this army of bad subjects. Oi the 95,000
men, above 50,000 are vaguely styled labourers, and 6,000
more of no occupation ; but others are more distinctly
designated-23,219 are classed as mechanics or skilled work-
men-4,322 factory workers-4,598 soldiers and sailors-
-2,53S shopkeepers and dealers-1,532 shopmen and clerks-
-251 in professional employments-1,164 domestic servants.
Of the 34,487 females, 16,500 aro described as of no occu-
pation-9,176 charwomen, needle women, and labourers-
-3,46S domestic servants-2,596 factory workers-1,162
shopkeepers and dealers-68 shopwomen—S72 skilled work-
ers. Fifteen in every 100 of these were natives of Ireland,
and yet in the population generally only three in 100 are
natives of Ireland. Women, it will be observed, are not
very much more than a third of the men in number—but
that women, when criminal, are worse than men seems to be
indicated by the fact that 42 in every 100 of the women in
gaof in the year had been in prison before, but only 32 in 100
of the men. 1,173 of the men, but no less than 2,773 of the
women, had been in prison above ten times before. 8,459
of the prisoners of the year—more than six in every
100—were under 16 years of age ; and doubtless many
of the older criminals commenced their career of crime in
childhood. But the proportion of prisoners under 16 con-
tinues to decrease, yielding to the efforts made to reform
the younger offenders, in 1856 there were 12 per cent of the
whole number, in 1860 8 per cent, in 1863 6.5 per cent.
The ignorance of the class of the population from which
the mass of these prisoners came is shown by the return
relating to instruction ; 35 in every 101—more than one in
three—could not read or write, and GO more only imper-
fectly, leaving only five in 100 able to read or write well. But
in convict prisons, where the more skilled criminals are to
be found, the proportion who come in entirely ignorant of
reading and writing is much smaller, and very few leave a
convict prison without having been instructed. A curious
return has been compiled with care relating to the 512 con-
victs in custody in Pentonville Prison at the end of 1863;
370 of them, nearly three-fourths, were single men, but 65
of the number living in concubinage. Of their previous
moral and religious status we learn that 302, three in five,
were sober men, and 42 of the rest only occasionally
drunken. More than half were attendants at public wor-
ship ; 109, one in five, regulars attendants.

MELANCHOLY DEATH OF A LADY.—On Tuesday
forenoon a melancholy accident occurred to Mrs.
Elizabeth Winlaw, wife of the Rev. William Winlaw, of St
Mary's Church, Preston, Lancashire, by which that lady
was instantaneously deprived of life. Mr and Mrs Winlaw
came to Berwick on a visit a for tnight ago, and were resid-
ing with Mr Winlaw's father, a bouturake in Iligh-street.
On Tuesday the Rev. Mr Winlaw left the house to go to
bathe at the Greenses Shore, and a short time afterwards
Mrs Winlaw, accompanied by her sister-iu-law, Miss Jane
Winlaw, proceeded to the Magdalen Fields to meet him.
They proceeded to a headland near the Greenses harbour,
from which a footpath leads to the shore, and they were
proceeding down the bank, when Mrs Winlaw lost her
footing and fell over the cliff, failing heavily upon the
reeks beneath. her companion raised en alarm, sad Mr
1:- P. Todd, dancing-master, and Mr John Brown, his, son-
in-law, being close at hand, proceeded to the spot, bat found
that the unfortunate lady was dead. Dr. Cahill was also
speedily on the spot, but of course his services were of no
avail. Mrs Winlaw had fallen upon her back, her head
striking the rocks, and death was instantaneous. Informa-
tion was at once conveyed to her husband, who was bath-
ing within a few hundred yards of the scene of the unfortu-
nate occurrence. A cab was procured, and the body was
conveyed to the house of her father-in-law, win re it awaits
an inquest, which will be held upon it. The melancholy
occurrence caused great gloom in the town, Mr Winlaw's
family being well known and highly respected in the town
and distriet.-15COVitan.

LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 1, 1864.

It is satisfactory to find that Mr. LINCOLN'S re-
election is by no means so certain as his friends and
ardent admirers would have the world believe.
This is an important step gained, at all events, for
it cannot be denied that a prolongation of his tenure
of office would bode ill for the interests of peace,
and be a blow to the expectations of those who are
seeking a peaceful issue to this protracted war. The
fact is, that matters have been pushed too far, and
because at first there was so much excitement mani-
fested concerning the war, Mr. LINCOLN has
made the mistake that the feeling would continue
in its first vigour even when the circumstances that
gave rise to it had so materially changed. In this
he will be undeceived in all probability before very
long, and it will be all for the best if it prove so, for
the interests of all demand a spesey settlement of
affsirs. There is a strong feeling springing up in
the States that too much sacrifice has been 'made
already for sn idea, and that some compromise
should be made. Mr. LINCOLN'S dream of success
is, therefore, very indefinite, and it will be seen
that all accounts from America agree in asserting
that a reaction has taken place in the minds of
=any who hitherto have been stedfast adherents to
the cause of the Union. It must be confessed that
enough has occurred to damp the ardour and quench
the enthusiasm of even more inveterate disputants
than thane combatants, if such they could be. We
hear of unparalleled losses and injuries
to trade and commerce, but with these
and hundreds of additional evils, who has
yet been able to tell us of one decided gain ?
There is neither gain nor glory to be found in the
war on the Federal side at all events. The Con-
federates have made themselves most conspicuous
by their courage and constancy, but they have had
a cause to fight for, Their independence has been
their slavery, but their opponents have been put to
their wit's end to find an equivalent to this stirring
iecentive. They have shouted the Union to l'Attle
purpose, and now, it is universally admitteld that
the restoration of the Union is impossiloie. They
then had recourse to the notion of sla-eery, but that
has also failed them. It is, then, Pot be wondered
at, that slowly but surely a sentiment has sprung
up which condemns the farther persistence in a
war which is grievous, costly, and unproductive cf
Effects. A strong party of Democrats are in favour
of an armistice with the view of csming, to terms.
In abort, it may be premised from the intelligence
received on all sides that a strong will is
up. It rues be very possible, 8.8 yet, for interested
par lies to shut their eyes to it, but no less surely
the tide rising which is destined to submerge their
p!ats in its gulphs. We may be, however, disaP
painted if we are in too great a hurry, rcr these
things take time, and it is idle to expect a mighty
war to cease in a short time. It is something gained
that any indications of a peaceful tendency are ob-
servable, and it will be our anxious task to watch
for further revelations of the same satisfactory
tender cy. It will not l.c) surprising ii
the prolongation of the war does not, in
the end, make mere Secessionists than
there were st the commencement of the out-