The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-14 00:00:00

with the following remarks :

" The point of view from which the King's Go-
vernment considers it its duty to regard the present
motion has already been stated in the declaration I
had the honour to make at the sitting of the 27th
ult. In connexion therewith and for further ex-
planation of the considerations by which the King's
Government is actuated, I am now commissioned to
state the following as the ground or my definitive

vote to-day.
"By accepting the motion now introduced the
majority of the Diet would contradict its former
resolutions of 17th and 24th July, the Ist September,
and 3d November of last year, as it would prejudice
its position with regard to the legal questions refer-
red to the committee by not waiting for its report.
The King's Government would participate in such
prejudgment were it to co-operate in the expression
of an expectation which it cannot but regard as un-
founded, because the supposed rights of the heredi-
tary Prince of Augustenburgare not only as yet un-
proved, butinthe opinion of the King's Government
are for the greater part incapable of proof.
" Further, an exchange has hitherto not even taken
place between individual Federal governments of
their legal views, and of the grounds which each
may be able specially to bring forward. Such a first
and indispensable basis of understanding would have
to be prepared by a report of the committee, and
with this conviction the King's Government has
voted for reference of the presentmotion also to the
Holstein committee. It still adheres now to that
vote, but rejects the motion itself.

" As reference is made in the preamble to the pre-
sent motion to the statement of the King's Govern-
ment at the London conference, the representative
believes himself obliged in this respect to observe
that the King's Government was able at the Con-
ference to propose the institution of the hereditary
Prince of Augustenburg as a solution of the warlike
complication suitable to the circumstances then exist-
ing, as a means for the peaceful agreement of the
European Powers, without thereby acknowledging
an undoubted and exclusive legal claim of the heredi-
tary Prince to the succession. But this proposition,
irrespective of its definite rejection by the Confer-
ence, has lost all further importance by the legal and
actual position of affairs having since become greatly
different. The King's Government was at that time
able to make the proposal without injury to any
other claims than those of the House of Brandenburg
and those of King Christian, with whom Prussia
was then at war. Since then, however, a new
claimant has appeared in the person of the Grand
Duke of Oldenburg, whose claims have a full right
to the examination of his Federal allies. Since that
time, further, after continuation of the war against
Denmark, that peace has been concluded which
transferred the rights of King Christian to Prussia
and Austria.

"The King's
Government would therefore no
longer be now in a position to repeat the proposal
which it then considered itself justified in making,
in the interest of the only claimant who had at that
time publicly come forward to restore the peace of
Europe. Its only intention with regard to the
Duchies was to terminate a position. dangerous to
the general peace, similarly to European conven-
tions effected at other periods with regard to Bel-
gium and Greece. But in no case could a title of
right, which did not previously exist, be created by
this effort at political agreement."
After adoption of the motion had been voted,
the Prussian representative delivered the following
declaration :

" The representative must not abstain, in reply
to some of the statements preceding the vote, from
reserving the protest and answer he considers neces-

sary. He especially feels it his duty expressly to

reject the insinuation of the Saxon representative,

that the Prussian Cabinet, by requiring an equal

examination, of all claims to the succession, thereby
admitted the right of the Diet to ultimate decision

upon the point.

" On the other hand, the representative, referring
to the declaration of the Austrian Government, can

only confirm -what was therein said as to the actual
progress of the negotiations between -the Cabinets
of Prnmsia, and Austria, and in the came of his

Government exrresses its readiness to con-
tinue them until arrival at an agreeMent. It is to
be expected that the Austrian Government will ex-
pressly declare its intention of maintaining the in-
dispensableness of examining the legal question, and
of, at the same time, demanding similar attention
for the claims of Prussia as for all others. The
King's Government also agrees with the Austrian
declatation in stating that it is determined to uphold
its rights to co-possession and the use of their title
until a solution corresponding to their own convic-
tions and the interests of the Germanic Diet is ob-
tained.

" Under these circumstances, and with regard to
the view of the legal aspect of the question put for-
ward in to-day's sitting, the representative believes
he ,may already express the certainty that no pro-
spect exists of the expectation expressed in the
motion being fulfilled."