The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-10 00:00:00

THE AUSTRIAN PEACE PROPOSITIONS

( Prom the Journal des Debats of yesterday.)
Our correspondents at Berlin lead us to believe that
the interposition of Austria took place differently from
what is generally supposed. According to them, it is
the Cabinet of Berlin which first made new efforts at St.
Petersburg -to prepare the re-establishment of peace, and
which first ii isisted on the opportuneness of a resumption
of diplomat is relations, suspended since the 4th June.
These measiares of the Prussian Government are stated
to have beei i taken at the beginning of November—that
is, two mon the after the occupation of the south part of
Sebastopol by the Allied Powers. The Court of Prussia
(says one of them) was much struck by the incompar-
able v;gour 'of the blows struck by the armies of France,
England, ts nd Sardinia, and by the eclat of their
triumphs. As soon as military operations were sus-
pended by the severity of the weather, the King of
Prussia sent pressing instructions to Baron de Werther,
his minister at St. Petersburg, to see Count de Nessel-
rode without delay, and to recommend the Russian Go-
vernment to lend itself to the attempts which might be
made, at Paris or London, to obtain by non-official me-
diation the opening of new conferences. The King did
not offer himself as mediator—be admitted that he was
not qualified for the office, on account of the special
position which had been made for him ; neither did
he think that the part of mediator would suit
Austria, she being the ally of the Western Powers.
But,' said M. de Manteuffel, in the name of the King,
there are in Germany states which would not be
suspected like Prussia, or interested like Austria, and
whose voice might, consequently, be listened to ;
Bavaria and Saxony, for example, could easily come
to an urederstanding with Prussia and Austria, and
could speak in the name of all Germany.' M. de
Werther accordingly battened to see M. de Nessel-
rode, but only obtained an unsatisfactory reply ; the
Russian unThister intimating that the state of excitement
in which the partisans of war in all Russia were would
render it impossible to speak of negotiations so long as
the allied armies should occupy a single point of Russian
territory. The attempt of King Frederick William
accordingly failed. But it was not kept so secret that
it was not known at Vienna, and the Austrian court re-
solved to take a frmer and more precise initiative, by
applying to its Allies of the 2d of December. This it cpuld
do all the better from its having in the conferences of
Vienna proposed a plan of arrangement inspired by a
strong desire of conciliation, and which M. de Buol
nresested in the sitting of the 4th June, las perfectly
honourable for all parties, and as uniting, in his
evf s, all the elements of a satisfactory solution !' The
Viennese Cabinet accordingly again took up the project
of the 4th June ; developed ems of its dispositions ;
added others, which were the consequence of the vic-
tor:es obtained by the armies and the fleets of the Allied
Powers 3 and the whole were submitted to the Cabinets
of Paris and London, with an offer, after their approval
of them, to propose to the Emperer Alexander to accept
them, and to declare that they expressed the formal
opinioa of Austria. Austria at the same time proposed
to present the new project at St. Petersburg as a sort of
ultimatum, which, if it were rejected, might be followed
by 'the respective recalls of the Ministers of the two
Governments and by a rupture of diplomatic relations.
The project of M. de Buol was accepted at Paris awl
London ; but it was not returned until after haviag
undergone several modifications, of which M. de Buol
approved."