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

which he is anxious not to complicate, Far from I
wishing to aggravate the difficulties which may re-
tard the re-establishment of peace, his Majesty seeks
to diminish them.
The Plenipotentiary of Russia, after having ex-
plained these [views, by order of the Emperor,
added—
" I congratulate myself on having been called
upon to express, as I have just done, the sentiments
of his Majesty, in depositing the Protocol of War-
saw of the year 1851 among the archives of the
Conference, That document has given rise, more
than once, to false interpretations. They will be
contradicted by the publicity which the declaration
I have just made in the name of the Emperor will
not fail to acquire. The spirit of conciliation which
presides over his illsjegty's policy will then be
generally known, as it has been unanimously appre-
ciated to-day by all the members of the Conference."
Already the task confided to its care ran the risk
of being rudely interrupted by the sudden resump-
tion of hostilities. We had arrived at the 6th of
June. There remained only six days up to the
term fixed for the duration of the truce. It was
with hesitation that the Danish Cabinet decided to
prolong it. At the reiterated request of the Pleni-
potentiaries of the neutral Powers, they ended by
consenting to it. But they limited this prolongae
tion to a fortnight.
Austria and Prussia, on their side, felt extreme
repugnance to accepting a truce of such short dura-
tion, when they had proposed the conclusion of an
armistice of several months.
After discussions, the record of which we abridge,
it was agreed to suspend hostilities till the 26th of
June. Clearly, this period was insufficient to leave
to the Conference the necessary means of accom•
plishing its task successfully.
The Protocols of the 611 and 9'll of :Tune attest
-tLe perbe.vorance of tae-effer-e- -cle,ployed to obtain
the consent of the Danish Government to a cessa.
Lion of arms of a longer duration.
In order to explain the refusal repeatedly pro-
nounced by order of this Court, M. de Quaade de-
clared more than once that it could not consent to
a prolongation of the suspension of hostilities unless
there should appear to be a fair probability of agree-
ment upon a point so vital as that of the frontier.
This particular question has formed from that
time the main subject of discussion. It has been
discussed not only in Conference, but in meetings
held confidentially by the Plenipotentiaries of the
neutral Powers, both with the representatives of
Denmark and with those of the Germanic Powers.
These frequent deliberations, prolonged and
directed by a feeling of sincere friendliness, have
had for their object to bring about a desirable re-
conciliation between the two parties.
We will indicate briefly the results of this attempt
at conciliation.
The first line of demarcation adopted by the
Danish Government had been traced from Eckern-
forde to Frederickstadt, a little to the south of the
line proposed on the 28th May by the Plenipoten•
tiaries of Great Britain. It was only at a later
period that the representatives of Denmark were
authorised to adhere to the line of the Sehlei and
the Dannewerke. They stopped there, their in-
structions not permitting them to entertain any .
other arrangement whatever.
The first line of demarcation put forward by the
Plenipotentiaries of Prussia and Austria was traced
from Apenrade to Tondern. Nevertheless, Count
Bernstorff, wishing to give a proof of his desire
for conciliation, declared his readiness to recom-
mend to his Government a second line which
should be drawn from a point to the north of Flens-
burg, and would terminate to the north of Tondern
at Hoyer. This second line would have had the
advantage of leaving the Danish Government in
possession of the Island of Alsen.
Count Apponyi did not at first consider himeelf
authorised to adopt this second line. Subsequently,
however, ho obtained permission to do so. The
Protocol No. 9, however, states that this second line
which Count Bernstorff had recommendtd to his
Government was not definitively adopted, " because
hitherto no steps had been taken un the other side
to meet the German proposals."
This consideration decided the Plenipotentiaries
of Austria and Pzussia to recur fiaally to their first
frr.rn Anenrade to Tondern, and this
proposition forms the extreme innit. at VI La.!. tla,7
have finally taken their stand.
In this state of things there remained between
the two lines—the one Danish and the other Ger-
man—an intermediate territory in dispute, and it
was not in the power of the Plenipotentiaries of the
neutral Powers to induce either one or the other of
the two parties to advance a single step towards an
equitable arrangement.
Such was the situation on the 18th of June. One-
half of the period granted by the Danish Govern.
ment for the suspension of arms had elapsed. There
remained but a space of eight days to accomplish
the work of peace confided to the Conference.
Wishing to persevere in this task without permitting
themselves to be discouraged by the obstacles which
they encountered at every step, the Government of
her Britannic Majesty resolved upon a last attempt
at conciliation.

1111 suggesting this arrangement, Lord Russell
conformed to a desire earnestly expressed at the
Congress of Paris in the interest of the maintenance
of a general peace. This desire, enunciated on the
14th of April, 1856, had for its object to recommend
to the Cabinets, in the event of a serious misundcra
standing, to have recourse to the good offices of a
friendly State before appealing to force.

In making himself the organ of this proposition,
Lord Russell expressed himself in the following
terms, which we quote verbally :
" Now that the principal question in dispute has
been reduced to the tracing a frontier some miles
more or less to the north, when the two belligerent
parties have brilliantly sustained the honour of
their arms, and when the renewal of hostilities
would produce a new series of calamities, disastrous
to humanity, and unworthy of the civilisation of our

--
age, the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain think it
their bounden duty to propose to the belligerent
Powers—namely, to Austria, to Prussia, and to
Denmark, that a friendly Power should be appealed
to, in order that a line of frontier may be traced,
which should neither pass to the south of the line
indicated by Denmark, nor to the north of that
designated by the German Plenipotentiaries."
The Plenipotentiaries of the belligerent Powers,
being without special instructions, took this pro.
position ad referendum.
The Earl of Clarendon thought proper to explain
its meaning, so as to prevent any misunderstand.
ing. With this object, he said, that ho did not
admit the interpretation of M. de Krieger that the
declaration of the Congress of Paris is not applicable
unless an appeal is made to the mediating Power
with .regard to all the questions in dispute. The
disputed territory and the frontier are alone in
question. The intention of the English Plenipod
tentiaries is to propose that the question of the ter •
ritory between the two lines pointed out should be
submitted to the arbitration of a friendly Power,
accept its do-
the be, belligerent
fiigeera,enit Powers engaging to

Iplenipotentiaries of
Prussian thed saemanmdeedsitthtaintg thetheinhabitants of Schleswig
should be consulted upon the arrangements to be
adopted with regard to them, and that the fate of
a part or the whole of those populations should be
decided without their wishes being first properly
declared.

This project gave /ise to a discussion which the
Plenipotentiary of Russia summed up in these

:erros

" In this meeting we sometimes choose divergent
paths in order to arrive at an object which is common
to us all ; I mean the restoration of peace. The
ope
just made c Fal whichwiththisthe Pienipotenthries of Prussia
vobject has not met with
an unanimous assent in the Conference. The
Plenipotentiaries of the Court of Austria have
stated how far their views differ from those of
Prussia. The Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain
have pronounced their dissent in a manner still more
formal. I have been compelled to express myself
in the same spirit. The Ambassador of France has
limited the question to the mixed districts, without
extending it beyond them. The Minister of Sweden
and Norway has been unwilling to prejudge in this
respect the intentions of the Plenipotentiaries of