The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-13 00:00:00

PRUSSIA,

The following letter, daled Berlin, Sept. 11,
will be read with interest :

"At the close of my letter yesterday I mentioned
the interpretation put upon the military preparations on
the Prussian Baltic coast by those well informed in the
views that pervade influential circles. However con-
fidently the neutrality of Prussia in this struggle may
be attributed in other countries to an undue leaning to
the Czar, as being connected by marriage with the
Royal family, and as being the main pillar of the so-
called Holy Alliance, those better acquainted with the
recent history of Prussia, and the present state of
things here, know that neutrality and inaction are, for
the present, imperatively incumbent on Prussia for far
more weighty reasons than those imputed to the reign-
ing powers as motives. Whenever there is an adequate
inducement, and the constellation favourable, Prussia
will consult her own interests, even though compelled
to act hostilely, and even aggressively, against Russia.
At present there is no adequate motive for Prussia's co-
operatiop in the war to outweigh the difficulties and
dangers ; for, in addition to her want of interest in
the subject-matter of the struggle, and the remote.
ness of the seat of war, she looks on the action of the
other Powers as simply a contest for increased influence
in Europe, which cannot be attained without sinking her
relative position lower than it is at present.
"The necessity of Prussia's neutrality 1 have made
the theme of various letters in the beginning of this
year ; the policy of Prussia's taking part with Russia
eainst the Western Powers has been recognised by the
whole country as suicidal and out of the question ; the
crime that a Ministry in Prussia would commit by siding
with Russia has been pronounced with authority to be
equivalent to parricide. Nevertheless, it would at nre-
sent be inopportune to point out what conjunction of
circumstances would necessarily have influence in the
councils of Prussia, and bring her into the field. If
the allied Powers remain steadfast throughout the win- !
ter in rejecting any and every attempt at tampering •
with their alliance, and their firm resolution to compel
Russia to a relinquishment of those pretensions de jure
which are always lost to her de facto, and in the sprinl
res'eme operations against the stronghold of Russian.
despotism in Europe, they will doubtless oucceed in

performing the
,Vertteet possible . Petrice to Germatty 1
and kgcancliirtavla ; but these two 6ofiSldet them.,
selves incapable of contributing any assistance towards ;
this object themselves. Should it subsequently be found
desirable to carry on a war with still greater emphasis
against Russia, so as to humble her military and inland
power, it would not be cc difficult to obtain the co-
operatiCd of the two nations, but success against the
strongholds of Russia's maritime power is the indispen-
sable condition for overtures to them, if they are to have
any chance of prospering.
"The recent military preparations of Prussia putting
her cavalry and artillery on a full war footing was
rightly viewed at that time as a demonstration against
Austria, and, in more remote connection, against the
Western Powers ; but that increase of strength would
serve equally as a demonstration against Russia, if she
were to use any threatening language, or take up any
threatening position on the frontier. I have on former
occasions mentioned the extreme state of preparedness
for a mobilisation in Prussia, should such a measure be
deemed necessary ; still more recently the plan has been
agitated here of connecting every fortress throughout
the kingdom with the main lines of railway so that branches
should run into the fortress itself. To a very considerable
extent, as good results are as practicable in this direc-
tion had been already attained by negotiation with the
various railway companies at the time of granting the
concessions, and almost all lines have been constructed
under the cognisance and assistance of a military dele-
gate of the Government, so that very little more that
is practically useful remains to be done in this direction.
In the matter of telegraphs, however, a larger field is
open, and an officer of the general staff has lately in-
spected the whole net of telegraphs throughout the
country, for the purpose of bringing all fortresses and
garrisoned places into connection with the capital and
each other. When those preparations are completed, it
is believed that a force of 60,000 men can be collected
in the capital, and a not much smaller one at any por-
tion of the frontier, within 48 hours.
" Within a month the Prussian army will be stronger
by one-third than it usually is at this period of the year,
without calling in any reserves, or calling out the Land-
wehr. The Ist of October is the period when recruits to
the amount of one-third of the whole army enter its
ranks simultaneously with the departure of those who
have served their term of 3 years. To these latter, who
are the roost trained soldiers of the army, having had 3
years' drill, it has been intimated that their services
cannot for the present be dispensed with. At a moment
when Prussia is bent on being on the qui vice, it is felt
to be particularly undesirable to have the army at com-
mand composed of one-third of raw recruits, another of
soldiers of one year's service, and the other third of sol-
diers of two years' service.
At the same time the greatest activity is maintained
in the Ordnance department, in the endeavours to im-
prove old or invent new projectile engines. I lately
sent you the description of a two-barrelled cannon swing-
ing on a pivot, so as to deliver two shots in little more
than five seconds. Still more recently experiments have
been made here with heavy guns of cast steel, it having
been found that the touch-holes of bronze guns will not
" hold out more than 100 discharges without injury. Not j
only is the cost of this cast steel considerably smaller
than that of bronze, but also the metal appears to have
considerably greater powers of resistance ; no attempt
that was made succeeded in bursting the gun. Rclata
refero.
" Though Prussia has hitherto in this year remained
free from the plagues of war and pestilence, she
has been severely visited in the shape of floods.
The devastation 'caused by inundations of the Oder
in Silesia, and, in a somewhat less degree, of the
Warte in Posen, has attained the extent of a great
national calamity, one which no amount of private
benevolence or State assistance that Prussia is capable
of bestowing can more than slightly mitigate. The im-
mense falls of rain that took place the third week in
August have so swelled the Oder and its tributaries
that they have overtopped and broken through their
banks and dykes, and for a distance of 40 leagues there
lies a sheet of water of from one to two leagues in
breadth. All the villages .and the dwellings scattered
over this tract of land are under water up to the roofs ;
not only the harvest in the fields, whether of corn or
potatoes, but also what was already housed, is washed
away ; the proportion of loss varies between the whole
and the half. In most cases, the cattle and sheep that
did not perish in the waters have been obliged to be
slaughtered for want of fodder. Food for the popula-
tion of those parts is already very scarce, and there is
little or no chance that even spring and summer will
bring any alleviation of the distress that threatens the
population in the corning winter. There will be a de-
ficiency even of corn seed. Most of the arable land is
laid waste with sand, or the soil has become rotten with
the lengthened inundation. The result of the official
inquiries of the Laidraihe, or high sheriffs, shows
that the loss of harvest alone is equal to the half
of the produce of the whole province, and the
value of what has been swept away or spoilt
amounts to from 25,000,000 to 27,000,000 thalers.
Silesia is accustomed to partial inundations, more or less
extensive, but none so thoroughly ruinous as this has
been known for more than a century there. Some idea
of the devastating power of the streams that have surged
over the land on the breaking of the dykes may be
formed from the fact that, at one place, called Itansem,
the entire churchyard was so thoroughly washed away
that not a corpse or tomb remained to show that human
beings had ever been buried there. Every nerve is being
strained here in every rank and condition of life to get
together contributions for the sufferers. A main com-
mittee has been constituted in Berlin for co-operation
with local committees in the different quarters of the
capitel, and throughout the whole country.
Silesia is the Ireland of Prussia, and constitutes,
with rare intermission, an ever open sore in her body
politic; the characteristics are rich landowners con-
trasted with a wretched population, seldom far removed
from starvation hand-loom weaving, and Roman Catho-
licism. Originally conquered by Frederick the Great
from Austria in an unjust war, in which England op-
posed him, Silesia was sliccessfully maintained by him
against the military power of nearly the whole continent
of Europe during the seven years' war, during which
struggle hits only ally, besides Branswiele, was Great
_ Britain,"