The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-07 00:00:00

be effaced from my grateful heart, and it will still further
serve to cement the sacredness of the bonds which bind
me to the generous inhabitants of the Scandinavian
Peninsula. The Almighty has meanwhile deigned to
give us a fresh proof of His divine goodness by the birth
of my grandchildren. The stability of the succession to
the throne which is the result of this fact is a rich source
of satisfaction and gratitude.
" A dangerous epidemic has again ravaged the king-
dom, but the people of Sweden have been calm and
resigned to the decree of Providence.
" Our relations with all the foreign Powers continue
to bear the stamp of mutual amity and confidence. I
shall not cease to devote my constant solicitude to the
maintenance of the country's independence and most
1 sacred interests.
1 " Agriculture, the most important branch o
most
f our
industry, has within the last few years made the
satisfactory progress. The recent harvests which we
have gathered have not, however, given a corres-
I ponding augmentation to the general weal. Wasted
to a great extent by the fabrication of a liquor the
harvests
abuse of which threatens to undermine the most
noble faculties of the population, those
have not availed to exclude the importation of arti-
cles of consumption from f
suoreign countries, which
the soil of our country mightsupply in plenty, even be-
yond the wants of our native consumption. Gentle-
men, it is time to pave the way to results which are more
conformable to the public good. All good citizens are
in this respect animated by a sentiment which is as noble
as it is patriotic. I have received numerous petitions
from all parts of the country, entreating to
the disastrous fabrication and the excessive
submit consumption
of that liquor. Gentlemen, shall to you a
proposition tending to effect that purpose, and I am
, convinced that you will be eager to meet my paternal
intentions.
" Your attention will be claimed by the measures
necessary to regulate the simplification of the property
tax, in order to give to this important matter a definitive
solution, in conformity withthe general principles adopted
by the last Diet.
" In the first instance, our care should be devoted
to the means of creating a successive development of
our material resources, of promoting the growth of the
various branches of our industry, of improving our
means of communication according to the exigencies of
the age, and of creatng fresh sources of subsistence and
comfort for our ever-increasing population. In the find
posals which will be submitted to you, you will
fresh proofs of my solicitude for those objects, and I
rely on your enlightened co-operation to insure their
execution.
".My feelings of duty in the presence of the political
position of Europe compel me to present to you, gen-
tlemen, a detailed plan of the allocations which are
necessary for the completion of our system of na-
tional defence, and of the proper measures to carry
that system out, so as to guarantee the independence
of the kingdom. All true friends of the country
will, of course, give their most serious attention to
these important matters. Never did a Sovereign of
Sweden appeal in vain to the patriotism of his subjects
in matters concerning the honour and nationality of his
people. lam sure you will show that you are the
worthy representatives of a nation whose courage and
devotion have engraven the name of ' Swede' in inef-
faceable characters on the most glorious monuments of
history.
" An examination of the propositions which will be
presented to you will prove to you, gentlemen, that the
fresh allocations for public works, the army, and the
navy, do not imply the necessity of an augmentation of
the ordinary imposts which were voted by the last Diet.
" In conformity with the powers given to me by the
constitution, I declare that your deliberations are opened,
and, imploring the blessing of Almighty God, I renew
to you, gentlemen, the assurance of my Royal affection
and good-will."

PRUSSIA.
The King of Prussia was prevented by indisposi-
tion from presiding at a Council of Ministers on
the 2d.
On Monday, was celebrated at the church of St.
Gud.ule, at Brussels, the marriage of M. de Bri-
gode, son of the ex-peer of France of that name, to
Ghislaine, daughter of Count Vilain XIV.,
vice-president of the Chamber of Representatives.
The Count de }latzfeld, Prussian Minister at
Paris, has just been named by the King of Prussia
Privy Councillor of the Ist class, with the title of
Excellency, which is the highest civil dignity that
can be conferred on him in Prussia.
It appears that one of the main obstacles in the
way of his Majesty's proceeding without further
delay to nominate the members of the future Prus-
sian peerage lies in the repugnance of the descend-
ants of the ancients of the Empire and various
mediatized Princes to accept of a dignity which
would imply i meir recognition of the present Prus-
sian Constitutor, which, in conformity with the
spirit of the time iu which it took its birth, has
abrogated or ignored their ancestral baronial and
manorial rights and privileges, secured to them in
the fundamental statutes of the German Confe-
deration. Some of these noblemen have already,
within the last few weeks, been reinstated in the
rights they claim, and it is understood that nego-
tiations are on the Lapis with several others for the
removal of all objections founded in law or justice.
The opening speech of . Baron von Manteuffel
seems to have created a perfect furor throughout
Prussia, and a strong feeling of satisfaction. The
+tin language used stands
than he mere word to any
one unacquainted with Prussian history. To put
forward this seemingly natural sentiment of a de-
termination to uphold the independence of the
country, and follow only the interests of the com-
mon weal, implies, that all the traditions and the
time-strengthened routine of the German Bund
and its deadening trammels, are in this matter to
be laid aside ; the ties of family relationship, and
even the last injunction of a dying parent, are to
be left unheeded, when the real interests of the
country demand this revolution of policy. There
can be no doubt the language used by the
Baron implies a determination not to adopt the
policy of Austria, either in her poverty-com-
pelled neutrality or her eventual leaning towards
Russia. Before Prussia can be expected to take
any active steps against Russia in the event of a
general war, the protection of her coast in the
Baltic must be secured to her, and even then there
is but a small chance of her undertaking active
military operations against her old ally ; as matters
stand at present, there is also no chance at all that
she will back the Czar in his schemes of unjust
encroachment on all sides.
The absolute party in Prussia, which is so strong
at court and is working against M. Manteuffel in
favour of Russia, has already sustained some se-
rious defeats in the chambers, and seems likely to
suffer more. The other sections of the right seem
to be agreed upon the necessity of checking its
pretensions. The bureaucratic right, called the
Hohenlohe section, appears to hold the balance of
power, and give signs of an intention to oppose
the progress of the reactionists in union with the
centre and left.