The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-29 00:00:00

—Probably the largest forgings that have ever been
attempted (not even excepting those for the Great Eastern)
were required for the building of the Warrior. Tho " nose"
or beak of the ship is one immense t4ab of iron 30 feet long,
by no less than 1b inches thick, and it-Jilia'rie—iily42o:tons.
The heel •post, in which the outer bearing of the screw rests,
is one piece of the finest forged iron, without the slightest
flaw of any kind, and weighing upwards of 41 toils.. There
ere =dry few yards in the world, public or private, at which
such forgings: could be turned ,out, and Certainly nonexhieh
c,)uld produce a. greater pe; fection of workmanship than
is evidenced in the perfect finish with which all the
huge masses are joined together in the frame of the Warrior
the, armament of thiS Magnificent man-of-war is not yet
entirely decided upon, but there is little doubt that it will
consist of 36 GS4ounder 95 cwt. guns on the Main deek, 10
Armstrong 70-pounderi on the spar deck, and two pivot
Armstrong 100-pounders, one forward and one aft, making
48 in, all. With only 10 broadside guns on an upper deck
of 400 feet, there ii, of course, a space of nearly 80 feet
between each gun. Therekre, without in the least expos-
ing the men or crowding the " quarters" the upper-deck
armament can be doubled at any time. On her trial no
more guns than those we have mentioned will be placed ;
but if the result of her first cruise is such as to show she
can carry them easily, the number of broadside upper-deck
70-pounders will be increased from 10 to of course,
breeeh-lc;aders. The masts and spars of the Warrior will
be very light -merely those of an ordinary frigate, with.the
admirable exception that the cross-jack or mizen-yard will
be done away with, and the vessel rigged.as a barque.
Such are the general outlines of the superb vessel which
will this day, we trust, be safely afloat on the Thames.
Once at her moorings in the VictorikDock, the work of
putting on the remainder of the plates will go rapidly for •
ward, and at the same time Messrs: Penn will-proceed
with-fitting in the machinery. She is expected:to be ready
by the end of April to go round, to Portsmouth under
steam to be rigged. Before rigging she will be tested at
the measured mile, and when complete for sea make her
first trial cruise across the Bay of Biscay about the middle
of July next.

MINISTERIAL POLICY OF AUSTRIA.

The following is the text of the circular of the
Chevalier de SchMerling, the new Minister of State
at Vienna, addressed to the various Governors, a
short summary of which had been already received
by telegram :
" Being named Minister of State by the Emperor, our
master, I the more strongly feel the necessity, at the mo-
ment when I assume this important post, to give a clear
and open expression to the ideas which must direct me, that
the situation is more serious, and the responsibility with
which lam charged the more considerable. My mission is
also yours; let us endeavour to execute it clearly in all
directions. It is no other than to realise immediately, each
within the limit of his competency, the resolutions and in-
tentions of his Majesty, as expressed in-the diploma and
the manifesto recently published. His Majesty confides to
the matured intelligence of his people the prosperous de-
velopment and consolidation of the institutions which con-
tain in themselves the guarantee of a free movement.

" In consequence of that resolution, Austria has entered
with all her integral parts, equally, and in the same man-
ner, into the rank of those European States, which have
found in participation, reposing on the oldest historical
foundations, and regulated by the public right of all the
people, the means of elevating herself to that high power
which constitutes the fundamental condition of material
prosperity and intellectual impulse, the inviolability of the
law and of international consideration, as well as of the
patriotic pride which not only excites the brave sons of the
country to acts of courageous, heroism, but also givei
creased strength to the occupations of peace.
" In entering with resolution and confidence on the
path which his Majesty has traced out to me, I, in the first
place, cast my eyes on the matter which more particularly
distinguishes the constitutional State—the objects relative
to the personal liberty of its citizens, in order that for the
future every individual may enjoy, as far as concerns reli-
gion and conscience, and his spiritual and material inte-
rests, that independence which is compatible with well-
regulated order according fo the experience of free States,
and which is particularly indispensable to our country, in
which not only various nationalities, but also different reli-
gious creeds, should form a band indissolubly united.
" The Imperial manifesto says :---‘ The free exercise of
religion must form one of the first fundamental bases of
the State ; but it Le necessary that in this respect the Su-
premo will be executed without reserve to the full extent of
its humane intentions. Ihe free exercise of religion con-
stantly brings with it its natural consequences in matters
concerning civil and political rights.'
" Hence it is the express will and pleasure of his Ma-
jesty that civil and political rights also be secure from all
injury in the spirit of regular liberty, and that the recipro-
cal relations of the various religious confessions (creeds) be
regulated on a footing of equity and real Christian love, in
harmony with the pacific relations which, in point of fact,
do exist between them.
_

_
" Knowledge is power. I consider that one of the
highest tasks which the Government has to execute is to
favour, by all means in its power, the noble tendency of all
nationalities to raise themselves by their own efforts to a
superior degree of intellectual development. If we ought
to leave to each nationality the task of producing itself
the intellectual capital which must fructify in circles
more and more extensive, or to borrow
.it from the
wealth of a language more adyanced in the path of
deverOpment, the Government nevertheless will not omit
anything which can aid in that development, and will
manifest solicitude calculated to produce good effects for
all ; but always, and in all things, it will'fix its eyes on the
highest objects of knowledge.
"I consider it necessary to remark expressly that nothing

is further from the thoughts of the Government than the
desire to neutralise a national element, whatever it may be,
for it is convinced that all citizens would be more devoted
to the country if they were to see their nationality not only
assured but favoured, and that the shield with which the
Government covers them is large enough to protect all
alike.

"As regards the Press, which must be considered one
of the most powerful instruments for the propagation of
knowledge, and of the sentiments which form the bases
of sound instruction, the arrangement made is that all
preventive intervention shall cease. It is only justice to
acknowledge that, in many difficult circumstances, the
Press has zealously and ably defended the cause of the
country ; during the war last year especially, it happily
combined a patriotic attitude with prudence. This experi-
ence is of a nature to inspire confidence, and the confidence
which the Government has resolved to place in the Press

will contribute, I hope, to maintain it inthat path of mo-
deration, of unimpassioned, cool, and rational judgment, of
propriety, and also to fill it with that noble pride to which
its mission of enlightening millions gives it the right to
aspire. The consciousness of independence will, at the same
time, imbue it with the sentiment that it alone is respon-
sible, and to a greater degree than ever, both for the sub-
stance an'l the form, and this sentiment will preserve it from
all excesses. •

" No one can deny that the prosperity of material interests
has its root in the spontaneous activity of individuals.
ticcordingly, it is one of the essential tasks of the indepen •
dent commune, of the provincial corps, = and of free
associations, and industrial corporations, founded in all
the provinces, to turn to advantageous account the rich
mines of production and of gain. But the Government is
not less in a position to exercise influence in the develop-
ment of agriculture, of forests, minus, manufactures; and
commerce, in a word, of all sources of prosperity, and to
contribute thereto either by public instruction, the inex-
• haustible source of all improvements, or the completion of
lines of communication, or by encouragement and the-
indication of examples, calculated to excite emulation. The
Imperial authorities have at all times displayed great
activity in this way, and have even obtained by degrees
important results, or at least have contributed thereto—
our towns and country diatrieta, the vigorous race of our
peasants, who have not their like in Europe, the ability of
our manufacturers, and the animation which reigns every.