The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-05 00:00:00

!'HE SLIN, _LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 5, 1863.

The Ministerial Crisis in Prussia

13ERLiN, March 2,

With respect to the Ministerial crisis, the Cologne Gazette
of thiS day's date has the following, under the head of Ber-
lin :

" It is positively asserted that M. von Bismark tendered
his resignation on Monday last. The English Minister, Sir
Andrew Buchanan, who, in his quality of ambassador, has
direct access to the King, is said to have made, in a conver.
sation with his Majesty, representations against the Conven-
tion, which did not fail of their impression. In consequence
of them, it is further stated, discussions with respect to
the Convention took place in a Cabinet Council—discus-
sions which were all the more animated because two of the
members did not conceal their scruples respecting it. Under
these circumstances, M. von Bismark proffered his resigna-
tion, whose acceptance, however, under the existing circum-
stances, was the less likely to ensue, since the formation of
a new Ministry must necessarily involve comprehensive con-
cessions in the military question."

The fact is, that M. von Bismark knew very well his re-
signation would not be accepted, or probably he would not
have offered it. He professes, we hear, to be weary of office
and its disagreehbles, and to be anxious to relinquish it so
soon as he can do so consistently with the interests of his
country and the wishes of his King. If this country were
asked, it would beg him to follow his inclinations and re-
tire, but of course he has no means of knowing this, since
he is persuaded that the seats in the Chamber and the
bulk of the press are in the hands of a disloyal clique of
democrats. Doubtless the King is willing to retain
him for the present, for otherwise he must already
have fallen from total absence of support. That he him-
self, however, really wishes to retire—and that at a mo-
ment when it would be scarcely possible to give him a
first-class or even a second-class diplomatic appointment
abroad—is a hat nobody believes, any more than that his
most ambitious desires are limited to a bucolic existence in
his native pastures of Pomerania. The debate on the Po-
lish question ended with spirit and animation by reason of
two good speeches made on its last day by Messrs. Simson
and Sybel. In reply to the first-named, M. Bismark made
use of an expression which has caused much speculation.
" It is not my intention," he said, " to answer the strong ex-
pressions made use of by the last speaker, who compared the
Ministry to Don Quixote and afterwards to a ropedancer.
I will not bring those clever sayings here under discus-
sion—perhaps a ' less personal' way may be found of so
doing—but keep myself purely to the matter in hand."
Nobody can imagine what M. von Bismark meant by
his less personal way. Had it been "more personal,"
one might have concluded that the Minister-President
proposed challenging the ex •President of the Cham-
ber to a combat a l'outrance, a contest in which poor Sim-
son, who has but lately recovered from a severe illness,
could not but have succumbed before the grand sabre of
the doughty Knight ofiSchonhausen. Somehow or other the
report has got about that M. von Bismark and his col
leagues propose testifying their disesteem of the Chamberand
their wariness of its discussions by no more appearing in it.
This would be a fresh and manifest violation of the
constitution, of which Art. 60 gives to each Chamber
the right to demand the presence of Ministers. A
paragraph in the Not d _Deutsche Allgemeine of yesterday's
date countenances the rumour, and perhaps has contri-
buted to its propagation, but the Official Gazette of Satur-
day night warned the public against the statements of that
pretended semi-official paper.
Under the beading of " Warning" the Cologne Gazette
has just published an article declaring its belief in the
possibility of a French army being soon marched into the
Rhine Province. It claims credit for its prediction on the
ground of its having always discountenanced alarmist re-
ports, when those have been current respecting a war with
France. While doing so it has invariably declared that,
when real danger should be at hand, it would be the first
to uplift its voice. To-day, the writer adds, we redeem
our pledge and give warning. " Our well-weighed opinion
is that, since 1815, the prospect of a war with France has
never been so near as now." This is serious, if true, and
one can only hope that the usually well informed Cologne
Gazette is to-day less correct in its anticipations than is

often the case. The peril is all along of this unlncky Con-
vention, it declares, and the only salvation cf Prussia lies
In cancelling it. If the Government adheres to it through
a false point of honour—" beware l" says our friend at
Cologne, " and bear in mind the false step taken by the

Emperor Nicholas when Le entered the Danubian Princi-
palities. Because he could not decide to retrace it in time,
ruin came to himself and his Empire." We will hope better
things than such disasters should befall Prussia, or that
King William should have the opportunity of ;proving the
excellence of his reorganised army in a campaign against
the French, with Marshal Wrangel and Gen. Manteuffel
for his chief military advisers. I prefer believing that mea-
sures are new taking to extract the sting from the Conven-
tion which in Cologne it is thought might lead to:such cala-
mities. Withrespeet to alleged notes presented here from the
French Government, I think myself justified in assuring
you that up to this time the communications between Paris
and Berlin have (at least in the capital) been limited to con-
versation.

To-night's Berlin papers give long reports of the debates
in the English Parliament, and especially of that on Mr.
Hennessy's motion. The telegrams from Poland are of
various complexion. One dated from Breslauthis morning
reports the destruction of a Russian corps, stationed at
Zombkowitz, by a column of 6,000 men, under command of
Langiewicz. There is a traveller's report of another Polish
triumph on the railway near Myszkow. On the other hand,
from Warsaw (date of yesterday) we are told that Langie-
wicz has been beaten and wounded. A disturbance in War-
saw, with no serious results, completes our telegraphic in-
telligence from that quarter.

houses in character with the site ; and to widen
Millbank-street the whole way to Vauxhall-bridge.
The Palace of Westminster would thus have on all
sides a space that would compensate for the
depression of the level and the quality of the
surrounding atmosphere; the Abbey would share
the boon. On the west of Old Palaceisrd, as thus
enlarged and extended southward, Mr. Gil-
bert Scott proposes to build round two sides
of the " Garden" a double row of immense
cloisters, having a communication with the Abbey,
and evidently intended to take in those monu-
ments of distinguished persons which the Abbey
can now no longer find room for. Returning to
New Palace-yard, the Commissioners propose to cut
off the projecting portion of the Sanctuary north of
the Abbey, in order to straighten and widen the
route to Victoria-street. Turning then northward,
they shrink from recommending so large a clearance
as that of the block between Parliament-street and
King-street ; and propose, as a compromise to widen
King-street on the west side, throwing back the
new Government offices for that purpose, This, of
course, is only a halt measure, and will only give half
satisfaction. The difference in cost between the
larger clearance and the less can hardly be worth
leaving so manifest an eyesore as the block between
Parliament-street and King-street. The city and
its approaches belong to the metropolis; the Houses
of Parliament and their approaches to the empire at
large. So the Commissioners suggest that, while
the new street from Blackfriars to the Mansion-
house shall be paid out of the metropolitan funds,
the clearances at Westminster may reasonably fall
on the Imperial Treasury. This is very fair. Ac-
cording to the estimates on which the Commis-
sioners rely, the improvements they recommend at
Westminster will cost altogether about the same as
the proposed street from Blackfriars to the Mansion-
house. The nation is thus to do as much as the
metropolis ; that is, when the Embankment itself
has once been completed out of the metropolitan
funds. Certainly, there are no buildings more worthy
of a good use than our Houses of Parliament and
Westminster Abbey, and there is no' site more un-
worthy than Old Palace-yard, Abingdon-street,
and the river-side premises under the Victoria
Tower. In Paris it is often the site that makes the
building rather than the building the site. Even
the majestic pile of St. Peter's at Rome, so far
as regards the outside, would make but little
figure were it not for the Piazza and Colonnade.
Our own St. Paul's cannot be seen till you are
almost under it. Few indeed of our public edifices
have the commonest justice done to them in the way
of site and surrounding adjuncts. There is now an
opportunity of retrieving our credit, and making
up for long neglects, round that great common cen-
tre of all our institutions, our religion, and our
liberties, on the old Isle of Westminster. Something
must be done, and, as it must be, let it be done in
a manner worthy of our country.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT EASTERN.

Yesterday a meeting of shareholders in this
company opposed to laying out the large sum con-
templated by the directors on new lines and exten-
sions, to be raised by preference shares, was held
at the London Tavern. Mr. C. Smith was called to
the chair.

The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings,
said that the meeting would no doubt remember
that there was a great discussion at the last meet-
ing of the company upon an amendment proposed
by himself, and another proposed by Mr. Sergeant
Gaselee. That discussion turned chiefly upon the
question whether the dividend should be postponed
by the rejection of the adoption of the report, and
the result was that after some conversation it was
agreed that the amendment of Mr. Sergeant Gase-
lee should be put as a substantive motion if the re-
solution for the adoption of the report were allowed
to be put. The report was almost unanimously
adopted, and after some further discussion the
amendment was put as a substantive motion, and
carried by a large majority. Mr. Love, the chair-
man, had stated that if it were carried both he and
his brother directors would religiously carry out the
resolutions ; but, to the surprise of the meeting,
after the resolution was carried, Mr. Bidder, one
of the directors, demanded a poll. The rest of the
proceedings were of so very unsatisfactory a nature
that the present meeting was determined upon.
The object of the meeting was to give the share-
holders an opportunity of consulting together, so
that they should become better acquainted with
each other's opinions, and in the event of their coin-
ciding, then to adopt some resolution to give those
opinions effect. The only object he had in view
was the good of the company, and he must say that
while the stock was depreciated 50 per cent., the
directors should not raise money on preference
shares at 5 per cent. in order to construct new ex-
tensions. The state of the affairs of the company
did not justify them in recklessly and heedlessly
plunging further into debt. It was under these
circumstances that he hoped the proprietors would
not sanction the expensive extension to Finsbury.
With regard to the poll which took place on Mr.
Gaselee's motion, the dissenting shareholders, as a
body, refused to poll, as they were determined to
stand to the agreement with the chairman that the
Board would carry out the amendment if the adop-
tion of the report were allowed. (Hear.)
Mr. WADDINGTON then, at great length, depre-
cated the conduct of the Board with regard to the
numerous extensions of the company, but he sug-
guested that no strong resolutions should be passed
at the present meeting, but that they should be pro-
posed at the adjourned meeting, with a view to assist
in promoting the welfare of the company.

In the course of a conversation which ensued, it
transpired that the following were the amounts pro-
posed for the extensions in the directors' report :
Finsbury Extension—share capital, £1,200,000;
debentures, £400,000 ; for the line from March to
Spalding—share capital, £165,000; debentures,
£55,000; and fromßamsay to Chatteris—share capi-
tal .Z 40,000 ; debentures £13,300 ; total £1,873,300.
Mr. LEVY then proposed the following resolu-
tion :—" That this meeting is of opinion that in the
present position of the Great Eastern Company,
and under the circumstances in which it is now
placed, no further extension is requisite, and
therefore ought not to be allowed to take place,
and that the only means open to the share-
holders to prevent the directors from carrying out
such extensions is for all those shareholders opposed
to further extension to join in presenting a petition
to the House of Lords against the Finsbury exten-
sion, and, if it should be necessary, against any other
extension bill introduced into Parliament by the
Great Eastern directors in the present session."
Mr. MICHELL thought the resolution was of a
really business character, and therefore he had great
pleasure in seconding it, and hoped that it would be
carried unanimously,
Mr. C. LEGGE hoped that the ordinary proprie-
tors would prevent the directors from making ex-
tensions, for their dividends were already too small.
The March and Spalding extension was intended to
get traffic from the north, and in doing that they
would have to fight the Great Northern, who, pay-
ing good dividends, could carry at a lesser figure
than the Great Eastern could.
After some further conversation, the motion was
carried unanimously, and after a vote of thanks to
the chairman the meeting adjourned.

the South-Western should be the future chairman
of this company.

Messrs. W. Cubitt and J. R. Stebbing were re-
elected directors, and the proceedings closed with a
vote of thanks to the directors.

WAVENEY VALLEY.

On Monday the extension of this line from Bun-
gay to Beccles was opened for traffic, and the whole
project from Tivetshall to Beccles is now completed.
The line is worked by the Great Eastern Railway
Company.