The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-28 00:00:00

EXTRACT OF A DESPATCH FROM EARL RUSSELL TO LORD

COWLEY, DATED FOREIGN-OFFICE, NOV. 11, 1863.

My Lord,—l have to acquaint your Excellency that the
Queen has received from the Emperor of the French a letter
dated Nov. 4. The Queen has stated, in reply to this letter,
that the Emperor may be assured that any suggestion or
proposal made by his Imperial Majesty will always command
her Majesty's most earnest and attentive consideration, and
more especially when the general welfare of nations is con-
cerneo ; that her Majesty has accordingly directed her con-
fidential advisers to submit to her the opinion which after
due deliberation they may arrive at in regard to the im-
portant measures which the Emperor recommends for the
adoption of his Allies; and that her Principal Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs will, with as little delay as possible
authorise the ambassador at Paris to make known to his
Imperial Majesty's Government the conclusion which, after
weighing that opinion, her Majesty may feel it her duty to
adopt,—l am, &c.,

(Signed)

RUSSELL.

FROM EARL RUSSELL TO EARL COW LEY.

Foreign-office, Nov. 12, 1863.
My Lord,—Her Majesty the Queen having been pleased to
refer to her confidential servants a letter of the Emperor
Napoleon, addressed to her Majesty, on the subject of a con-
gress, I proceed to inform you of the view which her Ma-
jesty's Government take of the proposal contained in it, The
letter invites her Majesty to take part in a congress, to be
held in Paris, on the affairs of Europe. I am commanded in
the first place to inform your Excellency that her Majesty's
Government see in this step a proof of the interest taken by
his Imperial Majesty in the welfare of Europe. I will now
proceed to remark on the ground stated for this proposal,
and then examine the proposal itself. His Imperial Ma-
jesty observes, that on all occasions when great convulsions
have shaken the foundations and deranged the limits of
States, solemn compacts have been entered into, having for
their object to reduce to order the new elements, and to re-
cognise, while revising them, the changes that have been
effected. Such was the object of the Treaty of Westphalia
in the seventeenth century, and the Negotiations of Vienna
in 1815. On this last foundation the political edifice of Eu-
rope now rests, and nevertheless, his Imperial Majesty ob-
serves, it is crumbling to pieces on all sides. The Emperor
goes on to state that, if the situation of the different coun-
tries is attentively considered, it is impossible not to admit
that, in almost all points, the treaties of Vienna are de-
stroyed, modified, disregarded, or menaced. When so im-
portant a proposal as that which the Emperor has put forth
is made to rest on certain grounds, it is our duty to exa-
mine carefully the grounds themselves. Nearly half a
century has elapsed since the treaties of 1813 were signed.
The work was somewhat hurried by the necessity of giving
repose to Europe after so many convulsions. Yet the
changes made in this period of 50 years have not been more
than might have been expected from the lapse of time, the
progress of opinion, the shifting policy of governments,
and the varying exigencies of nations. If we take half a
century from the peace of Westphalia to 1700 or a similar
period from the peace of Utrecht to 1763, we shall
find these periods marked by extensive changes, as well
as the period which has elapsed between 1815 and 1863.
Yet it was not thought necessary, at the epochs mentioned,
to proceed to a general revision either of the Treaty of
Westphalia or of the Treaty of Utrecht. It is the convic-
tion of her Majesty's Government that the main provisions
of the treaty of 1815 are in full force; that the greater
number of those provisions have not been in any way dia-
..

turbed ; and that on those foundations rests the balance of
ptmer in Europe. If, instead of saying that the Treaty of
Vienna has ceased to exist, or that it is destroyed, we in-
quire whether certain portions of it have been modified, dis-
regarded, or menaced, other questions occur. Some of the
modifications which have taken place have received the
sanction of all the great Powers, and now form part of the
public law of Europe.

It is proposed to give give those changes a more general and
solemn sanction ? Is such a work necessary ? Will it con-
tribute to the peace of Europa ? Other portions of the
treaty of Vienna have been disregarded or set aside, and
the changes thus made de facto have not been recognised
de jure by all the powers of Europe. Is it proposed to ob-
tain from powers which have not hitherto joined in that re-
cognition a sanction to those changes? Lastly come those
parts of the treaty of Vienna which are menaced, and upon
those portions the most important questions of all arise.
What is the nature of the proposals to be made on this sub-
ject by the Emperor Napoleon? In what direction would
they tend ? And, above all, are they, if agreed to by a ma-
jority of the Powers, to be enforced by arms ? When the
sovereigns or ministers of Austria, France, Prussia, Russia,
and Great Britain met at Verona, in 1823, upon the affairs
of Spain, the first four of those Powers carried into effect
their resolutions by means of armed forces, in spite of the
protests of Great Britain. Is this example tr. be followed
by the present congress, in case of disagreement ? Upon
all these points her Majesty's Government must obtain sa-
tisfactory explanations before they can come to any decision
upon the proposal made by the Emperor.
Her Majesty's Government would be ready to discuss
with France and other powers,by diplomatic correspondence,

any specified questions upon which a solution might be at-
tained, and European peace thereby more securely estab-
lished. But they would feel more apprehension than con-
fidence from the meeting of a congress of sovereigns and
ministers without fixed objects, ranging over the map of
Europe,and exciting hopes and aspirations which they might
find themselves unable either to gratify or to quiet. Her
Majesty's Government have no reason to doubt that the
Emperor Napoleon would bring into such an assembly a
spirit of moderation and of justice. They feel confident that
his object is to give security to the peace of Europe. The
only question is as to the means by which that object is to
be attained.
You are directed to read and give a copy of this despatch
to M. Drouyn de Lhnys.—l am, ttc.,
(Signed)

RUSSELL.

FROM M. 'ROUYN DE IMUYS TO THE MARQUIS DE

CADORE.

Palace of Compiegne, Nov. 23, 1863.

Sir,—Lord Cowley communicated to me some days ago, a
despatch from his Excellency Earl Russell, dated the 12th
of this month, and which expresses the opinion of the Bri-
tish Government relative to the proposal to call at Paris a
Congress to deliberate on the affairs of Europe. You will
find annexed a copy of it, My previous correspondence has
answered beforehand some of the considerations developed
in this document. It is my duty, nevertheless, to sum up
in this despatch,of which you will send a copy to his Excel-
lency the
jit::roinuenitpinalaSecretary of State, the motives which
hit:dititeerwm),:ed the resolution of his Majesty. The Impe-
his
rial Government have no intention either to apologise for
7atroe4eriteise the treaties of Vienna. The Emperor de-
clared
Lately,
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again, in
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ns
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ses
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been seriously infringed.