The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-24 00:00:00

THE. DESPATCH. OF M. T.HOUVENEL.

The following is the despatch which M. Thou-
venel addressed to the French Chargé d'Affaires at
Berne, giving an account of the statement made
verbally to M. Kern relative to Chablais and Fau-
cigny

" Paris, March 13.
" Monsieur,—The Federal Council being unable
0 overlook the importance and unanimity of the
_ .

manifestations proyoked in Savoy by the antici-
pated possibility of a dismemberment, instructed

~
M. kern to ask me whether the Government of the

Emperor still persisted in the intentions I have
made known to you. The Minister of Switzerland,
during our interview, gave me to understand that

if the Helvetic Confederation should not obtain
either Chablais or Faucigny, his Government
would have no alternative but to protest before the
Courts which signed the treaties of Vienna against
any modification of the status quo, and to
raise without any hesitation a very grave question,
and one most embarrassing for the Government of

his Imperial Majesty.
"My answer to M. Kern was in substance as
follows :

" ' The manifestations to which you refer,' I ob-
served, 'do indeed present a character which pre-
cludes all doubt of their importance and sincerity ;
they are occurring every day, and on different
points; the elective councils have resolved to become
their organs ; already several members of a deputa-
tion of the Councils-General of Chambery and
Annecy, advancing further than their colleagues,
in the fear of a premature resolution, have hastened

o Paris to make known their wishes and com-

plaints. You will easily understand that the Em-
peror's Government cannot be indifferent to these
proceedings, and to the sentiments which they

.eveal.

" ' The Emperor has shown, by the language I
have been authorised to hold to you, how friendly
his feelings are towards Switzerland; but, while
the first thought of the sovereign of France, as
soon as the question of the annexation of Savoy
presented itself to his mind, proved his solicitude
for your country, the Federal Council omitted no
means of exciting distrustful feelings towards us,
and all its efforts tended to form a league among
those Powers which seemed inclined to such a

measure.

" ' This is evident from the official correspon-
dence communicated to Parliament by the English
Government, and I merely call attention to the
fact. I frankly avow that if these tactics, which
were carefully concealed from us, had been known
to me, I should have thought myself bound respect-
fully to represent to the Emperor that we ought to
refrain from entering into any negotiations with the
Federal Council. Ido not, however, regret any of
my words, as they prove the sincerity of our inten-
tions ; and I even persist in giving you the assurance
that we should still prefer being able to settle this
matter in accord with you, and with due regard to
your interests.
" I think it superfluous, however, to tell you
that it was not with the sole view of pleasing Swit-
zerland that we propounded the question of a ter-
-1 ritorial change, which, in a manner, only implies a
rectification of our frontier, and that in demanding
the cession of Savoy we could not have for our
chief object the annexation of Faucigny and Cha-
blais to the Confederation. From the first we heve
been anxious to conciliate all interests, and we are
still ready to enter into your views ; but if it is
demonstrated to us that we cannot have Savoy,
with the consent and goodwill of the popula-
tion, without renouncing its dismemberment to
your advantage, we shall consent to that condition,
and the Federal Council will itself acknowledge
that we cannot decline it.
" 'We are scrupulously endeavouring to obtain
information on this point, and to ascertain as ex-
actly as possible the real dispositions of the inha-
bitants respecting it; but what we cannot be asked
to do is ourselves to subject the cession of a terri-
tory which we consider indispensable to the security
of our frontiers to that which the Federal Govern-
ment solicits, and to succeed or fail with it, by
placing the populations under the obligation of
pronouncing against their union to France if they
will not consent to remit to Switzerland a portion
of Savoy. This solution would maintain the pre-
sent state of things, which suits the Confederation ;
but it cannot suit France, which, without having
Chablais and Faucigny, would equally lose the other
districts which have become necessary to our de-
fence.

"' There is, as you see, a notable difference be-
tween the positions of the two Governments, and we
must take it into account. The agitation which the
partition of Savoy occasions would not be so great as
it is if, while we left to the populations the task of
freely appreciating their veritable interest in this
question, Swiss emissaries had not given an alarm,
and joined to their propaganda acts which only tend
to wound the national sentiment. You reap what you
have sown. You committed the error of, by your
attitude, causing it to be believed that you pursued
a territorial augmentation. Did you not yourselves
—by, so to speak, proposing to me to conclude a se-
cret treaty of partition—place me under the neces-
sity of declaring to you that it was not permitted to
us to dispose of a territory which still belonged to
Sardinia? This premature ardour produces its natural
consequences in Savoy, and it is not on France that
Switzerland can throw the responsibility.
" ' I cannot have the idea of suggesting to the
Federal Council the conduct which it ought to
adopt under these circumstances. It seems to me,
however, that there only remain to it two paths to
take. If it does not fear to be reminded that it had
expressed a wish for a private arrangement, it can
protest against any modification of the status quo:
the Powers will appreciate its proceeding in the
reply to the explanations on the entire queSticel
which we propose to address to them ; but, for nil
part, I do not believe that the union of Savo,'
to France can be regarded as constituting a
new danger for the neutrality of the Helvetia
Confederation. Guaranteed as that neutrality will
be on all occasions by the energy and courage of the
Swiss, it is still more so by the respect of Europe,
and it is not from the side of the Lake of Geneve;
that its frontiers would be most accessible, if a morel
barrier did not constitute the greatest force of theta'
The protest of the Federal Council would thee
change nothing in the basis of things, but would,
nevertheless, cause a certain ruffling of our relation!,
which reciprocal interests require should be avoided'
" The other path open to it is to confide in our
sentiments for Switzerland. It has been able t°
it
appreciate them in other circumstances, and
ought not to doubt that, subject to the sole con'
dition of not completely compromising a result
which is imposed on us by imperative necessitic7,
we shall seek and shall know how to find th
arrangements the best calculated to prove that 5;411.3,
are anxious to satisfy Switzerland, and to conscia%
date her neutrality, which is a protection for 115.14:r,
for her; and to take he: interests in consideraticio
as completely as the essential interests of France
this question will permit.'
T bola
" Such, Monsieur, is the language which - kea
to M. Kern. Ido not doubt that he has rePor''
it correctly to Government ; neverthele.ss,_t
authorise you to read this despatch to the Preside'
of the Federal Council.—lt2ceive, &c., 0
" TtioUVENfi-

FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION —A terrific b°lirsg
acinth;ar: ",ere
explosion occurred at Airdrie on Friday morning, 3,,,jr
nearov engines
tinhees
minutes after, six o'clock, at a nit belonging to the SuP3:ceet,
lee Iron Company, immediately at the back of Ilig,h-3",ere
Olcl Masons' Lodge.
rLgeo boilersn&
t
stoutly employed keeping up the steam. The cause 05 are
atihi(ei paitirheema
explosion seems unexplOined, but two of these bode rcolf
completely destroyed, one of them being'cut in tV n.oetlf
equal
.parts, which were thrown to great distances in
,ppostte directions. The second boiler seems to haY,,,,i'-'l„tit
shivered to pieces; a portion of it about 15 feet in it. 0
had been almost complete,, stroioltened, and thro.',v',oell
distance of nearly 300' yards to the' northeast, and
rt
velocity that it has sunk into the earth to the dept.",
or eight feet, immediately behind the houses in Nortn.;sat
Ch third boiler has been completely lifted from rts,srfuree
l. et•
thrown right across the place where the two
let he
gines once stood, the engines themselves being ""
cO,s,'
shivercd to pieces, and scattered about in fragmeulhe spot;
oversman, engineman, and fireman were killed ott,_'ra &iota,
and their bodies, which were much mutilated,' I'e 20 3u,
tying in different directions, at a distance of frog:_el,
vords. William Cathcart, a miner, was so se`delvilo Ncol
hat there is no hope of his recovery. A carter,t;uck aIIe
engaged in filling a char at the time, was al.so,s ,s after tllt
much bruised by the flying missiles. Immedia,eloy, tbe pi ,r
explosion steps were taken to get the men out „,o,oclg.
;mud they were all got safely out by a little after v