The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-09 00:00:00

Count Bismarck's Circular Note.

BERLIN, June 8.
The following despatch has been sent by Count
Bismarck to the Prussian representatives abroad :
" I have already communicated to your Excel-
lency at a former period the despatch I addressed
upon the 7th of last month to the King's Ambas-
sador at Vienna in reference to Count Mensdorff's
Note of April 26, upon the question of the Elbe
Duchies. I purposely selected for that communi-
cation the form of a confidential statement, not in-
tended to be conveyed in copy, because experience
had taught me that a real understanding is not pro-
moted by the exchange of documents,
which are
wont immediately to obtain publicity, and because
it was the first wish of the King's Government still

to leave open to the Vienna Cabinet the possibility
of an approach. We had also, at first, cause to
assume that this step of ours would be appreciated
at Vienna, and, judging from his remarks to Baron
von Werther, Count Mensdorff seemed to have per-
ceived in it such a possibility. Indeed, the tenour
of our communication, wherever it transpired, was
looked upon as a symptom of cordial feeling, in-
creasing hopes in the preservation of peace.
" We have waited in vain for a reply, or even for
a mere expression of the Emperor's Ambassador
upon the subject.
" We are forced, on the contrary, to consider the
declaration delivered by the Austrian Government
at the Federal Diet at Frankfort-on-the-Maine on
June 1 as the answer to our conciliatory overtures.
In that declaration, after a retrospective statement
at variance with facts and offensive to Prussia,
Austria hands over to the Diet the decision upon
the Schleswig-Holstein question, and at the same
time gives notice of an act of sovereignty in Hol-
stein —viz., the convocation of the Estates, which
she is not entitled to undertake single-handed from
the moment when she released herself from the Gas-
tein Treaty by reference to the Diet, and thereby
substituted the old relation of the co-possession for
Vienna against
the recent geographical division.
" We have already protested at
this unjustifiable and one-sided act,. as against the
equally unjustifiable disposal of our rights by hand-
ing them over to the Diet, and reserve to us to
take further steps.
"But, first, I cannot refrain from declaring that
in. this proceeding of
the Austrian Government we
are unable to perceive anything but the intention
of a direct provocation and the desire forcibly to
bring about a breach and war.

"All our information agrees that the determina.
tion to make War upon Prussia is firmly settled a.

Vienna.

" I may confidently acquaint your Excellency,
by his Majesty's desire, that at the time when he,
addressed the conciliatory communication above
mentioned to Vienna, the King, actuated by the
duty of preserving
peace as long as possible, readily
listened to a Proposal for direct understanding
made from an
impartial quarter at Vienna,
and first cornmuuicuted to his Majesty, without the
participation of the Ministry, in order to ascertain
whether his Majesty the Emperor of Austria was
still actuated by the wish of maintaining peace.
The proposal was to treat the Schleswig-Holstein
and the Federal Reform questions in common, and
by this connexion to facilitate the giolution of both.