The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL 15, 1864.

Me ,ns, when the several resolutions for giving effect to the
propositions contained in the Budget were aneed to, after
discussion, except that on the Fire Insuranc=l Duty,
The Report of the Committee of Ways and Means was
brought up and agreed to.

The remaining orders and motions having been disposed
of, the house adjourned at a quarter past 1 o'clock.

Government the pohcy of wuich I h-d strenuouely
opposed, I felt that there was but one course for me
to adopt in so peculiar and delitate a position, and
that was to ccralte myself to the most strictly im-
partial hakrative of that which I myself saw or fully
ascertained ; to exclude politics from my correspon-
dence ; and, while avoiding that partisanship into
which it is not difficult to be led by good will
towards those with whom one daily associates, to
render full justice to the army with which I lived.
And this is what I have done, or at least striven to
do; and I think those would be mistaken who should
imagine they detected a bias in my correspondence.
I could cite the names of other foreigners, now at-
tached in one capacity or other to the Prussian
army, who, like myself, have heard with regret and
disapproval of the slur attempted to he cast on the
courage and discipline of its soldiers. The same hos.
tile and unscrupulous tongues which announced
that handreds of executions had taken place by
order of General Gablenz—an officer whose gentle-
ness and kindness of heart are as well known as his
brilliant gallantry in the field—have endeavoured '
to make the Prussian eoldier appear as a coward,
deaf to his officer's voice, and on whom blows are
well bestowed, but have little effect in the way of
making him advance against an enemy. I can assure
you that these young soldiers need no such stimu-
lus. They are obedient, weli disposed, and coura-
geous, and un excellent spirit pervades them. They
are cheerful—a quiet gaiety, not noisy and obstrepe-
rous—and I have never heard them repine under any
fatigue, hardship, or privation. I should be surprised
if proof could be given of an instance in which they
did not readily follow their officers but needed driv-
ing on, As to the story of their being beaten to
induce them to advance, none acquainted with the
usages and system of the Prussian army of the pre-
sent day will think it worth refuting. The great
fault of the Prussian soldier is his youth, which dis-
qualifies him for the fatigues of a long and severe
campaign. In this army there is a leaven of older
men, taken from the reserve; but they are only a
small minority, or rather a fraction. Most of the
others are mere boys. The Guards are, perhaps,
the least adapted of any to bear toil and hardship.
Yuu are aware that the Pt ussian conscripts are sifted
in their respective provinces, where those who pass
through remain in the line regiments, while the big
residue found in the sieve ate sent up to Berlin for
the Guards, in whose ranks are thus assembled all
the tallest men in the country. But as such men
require m ire time to become formed and set and
strong than smaller men do, I take the Guards to
be the regiments which have the least stamina and
which would soonest break down. They are fu.l of
big beardless youths. Some of the light infantry
battalions, the lagers, composed of small men,
although of much the same age, are more compact
in buiid, manly-looking, and capable of resisting
hardship. The Guards are very good for a " spurt."
I am told that, coming down from Jutland, some of
their battalions m arched 16 German miles in 2 days.
A very good trait in the character of the Prussian
soldiers is their kind treatment of their prisoners,
which I have had repeated opportunities of observ-
ing; and even after death they show them the re-
spect which bravo men owe to each other. In West
Duppel churchyard is a cross bearing the inscription
" Here lie 25 brave Danes, who died the hero's
death on the 17th of February, 1864." The cross
and inscription were placed there by the soldiers of
Gen. von Roeder's brigade, who buried the Ames
after the sharp fight on the above date. They
needed no prompting to pay this homage to the
memory of a gallant foe.

1 P.M.

The bombardment began at half past 10 o'clock thit
morning, and I hare just returned from observing
it, from a height near the Venning Bund, NO ince,
in clear weather, every shot fired at the first seven
forts can be noted, as well as its effect. But,
although the dense mist which lay over the
country this morning has partly cleared away, the
air is damp and heavy and no breath of wind is kit,
so that the emoke, instead of rising and drilling
away, spreads over the earth and there lingers,
masking much of the view. The fire is general and
heavy. lam told that 96 guns are at work to-day,
and judging from what I saw and heard I should not
think the estimate exaggerated. There are the mor-
tar batteries, erected last night without opposition
from the Danes, the rifled guns in both parallels, the
Gammelsmark batteries, three others on the same lint
(part of the flink fire) but within theVenning Bund,
a twelve-pounder battery to the right of the
Ruhenberg, arid a 24-pounder battery on the high
bank at the inneimost corner of the Bund. This
list is for the Rolle Krake, should she come, which
t )-day she dues not seem ihclined to do, but lies
out at a considerable distance from the entrance of
that inlet. It is reported that she went towards
Eckernsund early this morning and was fired at b)
;he Atnoer batteries; but I know nothing of the
truth of this. Besides the batteries enumerated
and which were known, and some of them near
to me, I could discern the smoke of others awa
towards the left, which the inequalities of the ground
concealed from me. The fire was very steady, and
at times, when the smoke lifted a little, ono could
plainly see the shells end bombs plunging into
Forts 1,2, and 3, which, if anything can dilapidate
hem, must be pretty well knocked about by this
time The Dines fired very little from those forts,
if at all. I sometimes thought I discerned the
smoke of a gun rising from one of them, but the
view was so indistinct, owing to the clouds of smoke
and dust, that 1 could not be sure it was not the
.oursting of a Prussian shell. I certainly did not
see any Danish shells burst on this side, and as
they are apt to do so in a conspicuous manner, high
in the air, I almost doubt whether any were fired,
at least against the Prussian right. So, perhaps,
the Danes continue their old tactics of shutting
themselves up in their bombproofs and leaving the
Prussians to blaze away to their heart's content.
Liter in the day we may hear something of the
t ffects of the cannonade, but as I have to send my
letter into Gravenstein, whence the post departs at
half-past three, I must conclude.

REUTER'S EXPRESS.
COPENHAGEN, April 11.
The latest reports publisiaed by the Ministry of
War were as follow :
" April 9.

" Advices from headquarters state that the vehe-
mence of the enemy's fire yesterday (Friday) was
very great. From the Broager batteries alone, which
had remounted new guns, 1,150 shots were fired in
the course of the day, while the far more vehement
fire in the front could not be ;rept under. The
enemy's parallels and batteries were advanced yes-
terday to within 600 paces of our left wing, and
occupied by a strength of 1,000 men, notwithstand-
ing our energetic fire. Part of Rageboi (Backchat!)
was set on fire by our projectiles. Nearly 70
wounded were brought in. The bombardment of
Sonderborg was continued last night, but the fire
was weak.
"April 10.

of `t`hTehteo
wbonmobfarsdo
was weaker than usual
ge Duppel position and
yesterday, but shells were thrown upon the ground
7 de ne
rt hoo f rth
in rear of the position. Twenty-two wounded were
brought into hospital, the mnjority, however, only
slightly hurt.
"April 10, Noon.

" Advices from headquarters announze that yes-
terday and to-day (Saturday and Sunday) thick fog
has covered the ground in front of the position. The
enemy has probubly availed Mims, V of it to exteno
his works. APer a weak bombardment during the
nightvehern fienrecer.eobep:-nng sp,ciaily directed to the grounded at 10 tnis morning with greaT
in rear of the works. Occasional shells still fall
into Sonderborg, but the flames they kindle are im-
mediately extinguished.
"April 11.

" The heavy fire of the enemy was kept up all
yesterday until 7 p.m. Our loss in woundLd is, how-
ever, only 20 men. Duppel windmill was burnt
down.

since you, Ihe twbie people o Italy, m Oe a gigantic
step in advance towards the sacred end of unity and
civil freedom. The sighs which resounded froth jour
beautiful country over the entire universe and deeply
moved all free nations were replaced by indescrib-
able exultation at the dawn of your regeneration,
the most splendid achievement of the century. You
now stand equipp2d, strong through concord, free-
dom, and dominion over a great country, calmly and
courageously awaiting the future, which may per-
haps soon lead you to new battles Ind victories.
" When you recently fought heroically for your
selves by the side of the French, you fought at the
same time the battle of freedom, of civilisation, and
of humanity for every people that, like yourselves,
has suffered under the national arrogance and detes-
tation of liberty manifested by German powers. Btr,
Italians, many of your countrymen stand now in the
Austrian ranks, side by side with Poles, Magyars,
and Czechs, fighting for a cause alike hateful to you
and to us. This fact has filled our hearts with sorrow.
Hundreds of Venetians have fallen in battle or have
succumbed to the hardships of a winter campaign in
our rigorous climate, and yet we have no quarrel with
you. The nation situated between us—a nation
greedy of conquest and hostile to liberty—is your
enemy and ours. Recently it was you who waged
war against this people to free a portion of your
country from its domination. Its arrogance then was
humbled; it wag pressed back within narrower fron-
tiers, and compelled to accede to a degrading peace.
It is now our turn—a small nation hardly a tenth part
as numerous as yours—to maintain a life and death
struggle against this same enemy. He sends out his
hordes upon a foray against us, and relying upon the
circumstance that a number of Germans have immi-
grated into Schleswig and have been hospitably re-
ceived, supports Germany in her attempt to gain
possession of this ancient Danish freedom. He desires
to rob us of our nationality and our civil freedom,
which are our strength and our pride. He endeavours
to gain salisfaction from little Denmark for the
humiliation 3oa have inflicted upon hi.n, and to
re over fto'u us the :wire :s woa from him by your
heroism.

"It is a lister errerience 'hat the poop' es of
d v;de el,' fo ces vheol t'oe:, endeavour
s'ngi:►, ea h nation 'o: its-it, 10 resist opp ess n
af)d wrong. It is a b tter exper ence .hAt h.
Powers wi.o a'Aor freedom clam ngiy know how
to ovel threw th&r opp ►cent3 av9.ilir g hem-
,eivfs of o -e c nque!ed nariol t ) enclave an t' e-.

"lien. ! oar cauee s s axe a.rd will s( m • day
prevail. You command resources wh.ch c n mea
sure themecive s with those of the elemy. Our cause
too is holy ; we fight f*Jr our lives and our hopes.
and, although in spite of the enormous superiority
of the enemy we are not by any means vanquished,
a heavy bu des te-ti up( n our (u!d •rs. The por-
tion of our country adjoining Germany is overrun
by the enemy, and we stand alone—alone apiast
two cf the first military powers of Eurcp,. We
are unable to expel taem from the peninsula. It is
true that we are still more than a match for the
enemy at sea, and can inflict on hem sensible losses
n that element ; but even these will be lessened 1
Austria should find Lerself able to despa ch a bilge
division of her fleet from your waters, manned by
3 oar seamen, to watch our coasts.
" If wa are still compelled to stand alone in
futu-e, we must ultimate'y succumb. Victory
shall c )st the enemy d-ar, if ho attain it ; and m;ny
more will follow those who have already met
heir death upon the ta.t'efields of Schleswig
and Jutland. But, Italian brothers! if Germany
is now permitted to vanquish 11F, you will have lost
an ally who labours for the same object as your-
selves, who fights for freedom, for right, for coun-
try, and for honour.

"We send you our greeting in fraternal affection."

Progress of the Thames Embankment,

A sub-committee of the Board of Works, from the grand
committee, under whose supervision and control the exten-
sive works intended to form the northern embankment of
the Thames is confided,with their engineer, Mr. Bazalgette,
a few days since inspected the wc.rks at Westminster-bridge,
and the several points on the line eastward, where large
bodies of men, under the direction of the contractors,
Messrs, Furness and Ritson, are employed in the prelimi-
nary arrangements for the construction of the new em-
bankment and street from Westminster to Blackfriars-
bridge, and thence to the Mansion-house.
Subjoined we furnish an account of the nresent state of
the works, and also an outline of those connected with this
great project :

The contract numbered " 1" in the working drawings is
being carried out under the superintendence of Mr. Lovick,
one of the engineers of the board, the contractor being Mr.
George FurneMs, and the amount of the contract £51.0,000.
This portion of the embankment extends from Westmin-
ster to Waterloo-bridges, and about 250 ft eatrward thereof.
It is 3,740 ft in I.lgth, and will consist of a main brisk
embankment or retaining wall, faced with granite and backed
with concrete. At the back of this wall one of the main
drainage sewers, called the "low level sewer," is to be con-
structed of a circular form varying from 71t 9in to Bft 3in in
diameter. With this sewer the following will be connected,
and consecptently intercepted from discharging sewage into
the Thames, namely, the Northumbaland-street sewer,
the Victoria-street sewer, that of Regent-street, and the
Savoy-street sewer, weirs, or safety channels in large chum-
hers will be attach,,cl to the main sewer for the purpose of
letting off into the Thames the flood waters in periods of
storm. On the top of the low level sewer, a subway (for
gas and water pipes, &e.) 7ft 3in high, by 9ft wide, will be
built. Steamboat piers will also be constructed. That at
Westminster-bridge will be about 300 ft in length ; that at
liudgerford 509, and that at Waterloo 480 ft. The cele-
brated" Watergate" erected by Inigo Jones, and at the pre-
sent time standing at the bottom of B uckingbans-atreet, will
be carefully removed and re-erected opposite to Whitehall-
gardens. It will be thoroughly renovated and restored, and
sustained upon an arch and wall of rusticated work, and
forming landing stairs ; the improvements and alterations
being from the designs of the chief engineer of the Board of
Works, Mr. Bazakette. The whole work of the line of
embankment will be formed with wrought iron caissons,
the main caissons immediately facing the river b. log about
12ft long and 7ft wide, their form being elliptical. These
main caissons will be sunk through all the superficial
strata into the London clay. One of these caissons has
been sunken already to a depth of about 36ft below
Trinity high-water mark, and they will continue to be
lowered along the line as rapidly as possible. The pre-
liminary works of pile-driving for guides for the eaia-
sons, for jetties, landing places, travelling cranes, steam
pumping, and engineer's work in general, have at the
western end of the embankment been some time in hand,
and are in several instances completed. Of coarse these
are but temporary works, intended to endure only until the
oon.pletion of each section of the intended structure, but
they are the essentially necessary extension parts of a work
of this vast and complex character, whilst they necessarily
consume much of the time permitted for the completion of
the work itself as a whole.

The pile driving ia the No. I contract commenced in
December last, and has been actively proceeded with since;
and the " fitting in" of the wharves, &c., has been going on
with rapidity, and along a considerable extent of frontage
for some time. The formal order to Mr. Furness, the con-
tractor, was delayed ia consequence of the difficulty expe-
rienced in obtaining possession of the wharves, and even
up to the present time only a few of those required have been
obtained, The order alluded to was given on the 16th Feb.
last. Mr. Furness is the same contractor who has so suc-
cessfully carried out the northern outfall main drainage
sewer and the northern reservoirs for the Metropolitan
Board. The time allowed for the completion of this branch
of the work i 6 three years only.
The contract No, 2 is under the engineering superintend-
ence of Mr. Cooper, the contractor bei, g Mr. Ritson. It was
let on the 18th December last, the amount being £229,000.
This portion of the great whole extends from and eastward
of No. 1, already described, to the eastern end of the gardens
of the Inner Temple. It is in length about 1,970 feet, of
similar construction, and will have a steamboat pier and
landing stairs at Essex-street. Both contracts have inter.
cepting sewers formed in and under the foreshore of the
river for the purpose of taking the collateral sewers and
drains which at present discharge their contents along the
shore, much to the annoyance of the nearer residents and
the thousands who are conveyed by steamboats, &c., along
the river, The preliminary arrangements in the case of
No. 2 contract are not so far advanced as in that of No. 1,
but the pile driving ana filling in has commenced, and is
being vigorously proceeded with.
The contract No. iis not yet settled. This portion will
join that of No. 2 at Temple-gardens, and pass along east-
ward to Chathaw-place, Blacktriars, and join the new street
leading to the Mansion house, but its exact line has not y. t
been agreed upon, nor has it yet been determined whether
the under surface of the embankment and new street is to
be used for railway purposes, these propositions still waiting
the final decision of Parliament

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