The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 12, 1859.

Sale of Harness, Serge Cuttings. Files, Blankets, Lead
Ashes, Lead and Antimony, India Rubber, Wood, Iron,
Tin, Boat, and Old Stores.
BY Order of the SECRETARY OF STATE
for WAR—TO BE SOLD BY PUBLIC AUCTION,
at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on MONDAY, the 14th of
November, 1859, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, precisely, the
following stores :—Harness, Serge Cuttings, Blankets. Files,
Lead Ashes. Lead and Antimony, Miscellaneous Stores,
India Rubber, Boat Staves, Iron, Wood, dm.
May be viewed from 10 to 1 o'clock, and from 2 till 5 o'clock,
on the three working days previous to the sale, and Cata-•
logues obtained at the War-office, Pall-mall; at the Tower;
and Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

TILE ITALIAN QUESTION.

The Moniteur of yesterday publishes the follow-

ing :

" The labours of the Zurich Conference have come
to an end, and the documents which it was its mis-
sion to draw up have been signed to-day by the
Plenipotentiaries of France, Austria, and Sardinia.
" They comprise three treaties ; the first, con-
cluded between France and Austria, stipulates the
cession of Lombardy to France, with the conditions
thereunto annexed.
" By the second France cedes that province on
the same conditions to Sardinia.
" The third re-establishes the state of peace be-
tween France, Austria, and Sardinia.
" The various clauses of these treaties, conceived
in the spirit of the preliminaries of Villafranca, con-
firm the dispositions.
"he Government of the Emperor and that of
his Imperial, Royal, and Apostolic Majesty have
agreed to convoke 4 Congress, which will have to
receive communication of the treaties of Zurich, and
to deliberate on the best means of placing the peace
of Italy on a solid and durable basis."
The 2lfoniteur also publishes the following cir-
cular despatch, addressed by Count Walewski, the
French Minister of Foreign Affairs, to all the
French diplomatic agents of the Emperor :

" Paris, Nov. 5, 1859.
" Sir,—The Zurich negotiations had a starting
point and an object clearly defined beforehand.
The preliminaries of Villafranca indicated to the
Plenipotentiaries the spirit which ought to in-
spire them, and the object they had to attain.
The work of both Sovereigns conceived and ac-
complished under solemn circumstances, the preli-
minaries were to be loyally understood, loyally
interpreted. Such is the idea which, joined to
a persevering solicitude for the prosperity, of
Italy, has never ceased to guide the conduct of the
Government of the Emperor"; the Zurich documents
will give proof thereof.
" These documents confirm, in the first instance,
the cession of Lombardy by Austria to France and
by France to Sardinia—that is to say, the disinte-
restedness and generosity of the Government of his
Majesty, who, in assuming arms, has again only
sought profit in that of his ally.
" This cession, the general conditions of which
were indicated at Villafranca, gave rise to many
important questions as regards their application.
First of all it was necessary to define the new fron-
tier line between Austria and Piedmont enriched by
Lombardy. Was the line to follow the right bank
or the valley road of the Mincio ? and what ought
to be the range of the fortress of Peschicra ? As re-
gards the line,. the Government of the Emperor was
of opinion that it was conformable to justice, as well
as to the interests of the new possessor of Lombardy
to adopt the system which in attributing to 'that
province half the, bed of the river, places the two
adjoining States on a perfect footing of equality,
and gives them the means of drawing from that
watercourse the same advantages for the safety of
their frontiers. The Government of his Majesty also
thought it just to leave, according to custom, the
necessary rayon to Peschiera, and consented that
the average range of fortresses under similar cir-
cumstances should be adopted. Thus, the line, on
leaving the Tyrolese frontier on the north, follows
the middle of th 4 Lake of Garda, and, after making
round Peschiera a semi-circle of 3,500 metres, it re-
joins on the south the valley road of the Mincio,
which it leaves only on its entrance into the Upper
Lake of Mantua, and starts again 'from Le
Grazie in a direct line towards Scorzarolo
and Luzzara, on the Po. The rich and spacious
territory which extends between this line and
the Ticino contains a population which forms
about three-fifths of the ancient possessions
of Austria beyond the Alps, and which, by increas-
ing that of Piedmont more than one-third, brings
it up to nearly 8,000,000 souls.
"Austria, who loses this territory, the principal
basis of her influence in Italy, renounces at the
same time, by protocol, the right of keeping a gar-
rison in the three great fortresses of Ferrara, Co-
maechio, and Piacenza, which she possessed in
virtue of treaties, and thus is put aside one of the
dominating causes of the state of dependence in
which the Italian Peninsula was placed towards
that Power. Her position ceases entirely to be
aggressive and preponderating, and is no longer of
a character which may not perfectly coincide with
the free development of the interests of Italy.
" It was just that Austria, in ceding Lombardy,
should not be charged with the mortgage of that
province, and that Piedmont should receive the
ceded territory with its obligations as well as with
its resources. This principle is so conformable
to reason and precedents that the Government
of the Emperor and the Sardinian Government
made no difficulty in subscribing to it at once at
the opening of the negotiations ; but it could not
be admitted that Piedmont was, in addition, to
support a portion of the general debt of Austria.
The debt of the Mont de Milan, an institution for-
merly common to Lombardy and Venetia, amounts
to a little more than 250,000,000 of francs, and
Lombardy, forming, as I have just said, about
three-fifths of the ancient Lombardo-Venetian
kingdom, the share falling upon the province would
be 150,000,000. If it had been necessary that
Lombardy should have a proportional share in the
general debt of the empire, whatever combination
might have been adopted to diminish the weight, it
would have been considerable, and the total would
have reached a sum' which Austria at first calcu-
lated at 600,000,000 and which after her last con-
cessions still amounted: to 375,000,000 francs.
" This difficulty has been the chief and almost
sole oause of the delays which for a month sus.
pended the negotiations. However, the only point
which, according to the views of the Government of
the Emperor, was of any moment, was to ascertain
if the portion of the Austrian loan of 1854, as re-
gards
account L oomf bart
the
de y mm
pi gehr
tthough vbiee da
dddi re edc ttloy
theon
Passif ' of the Mont de Milan as falling by right
to the province. The Sardinian Plenipotentiaries
having expressed themselves in the affirmative the
question was at once solved. Piedmont consented
to be answerable for, in addition to the 150,000,000
constituting her share in the Passif 'of the Mont
an approximative sum of 100,000,000 resulting
from the Austrian loan of 1854, which, by its nature
and form, entered, in fact, into the category of
debts, specially mortgaged on Lombardy. But the
Government of his Majesty did not think that
Piedmont ought to do anything more, and it is in
these terms, after the exchange of numerous com-
munications between the Plenipotentiaries, that the
agreement was come to.
" As, on the other hand, the creditor and debtor
accouet of the Mont de Milan will be divided in
the proportion of three-fifths, the ways and
means, therefore, follow the obligations which con-
tinue to weigh on this head upon Lombardy, and,
in fact, the 100,000,000 of the loan of 1854 consti-
tutes the only debt which really falls upon Pied-
mont.

" In its :sentiments of good-will towards that
country the Government of the Emperor consents,
not, as has been said, to advance the money it owes
to Austria, but to place (operer) in the hands of that
Power the stipulated instalments, facilitating to

the Sardinian Government the means of repayment
by mutual arrangement.
'• As price for its many sacrifices, France only
asks from Sardinia an indemnity of 60,000,000,
which is about one-sixth only of the expenses of
the war.
" The treaties of Zurich, moreover, in all clauses
consequent upon either the territorial cession or the.
restoration of peace, are drawn up in the most

liberal spirit. One of the clauses, which concerns
the giving up of prisoners, was even fully carried
out before the negotiations were terminated. At

the same time that the small number of our men
made prisoners returned to France, the Government
of ' the Emperior sent back to Austria, without
claiming any indemnity, all those whom the chances
of war had placed in our hands. The Austrian
vessels seized, and which had not yet come under
trial before the prize committee at the time the pre-

liminaries were signed, will also be restored to their
owners, an act which will bo the more appreciated,
we believe, as it is contrary to the general prin-
ciples of our law on this subject, and there is only
one single precedent in" the history of our maritime
jurisdiction.

" The treaties of Zurich also stipulate an amnesty
as extended as possible for all individuals, civil or
military, compromised in the war; and, as regards
questions of jurisdiction and property resulting
from tho territorial cession touching the interests of
religious or commercial bodies, or even individuals,
they have been settled in such manner as to shield
all rights, and according to the principles of a fair
and perfect reciprocity. Soldiers of Lombard origin
in the Lombard service aro entitled to the full en-

joyment of their own nationality, and will be at
once exempted from military service. Not one
point of interest in the change of the position of
Lombardy has been overlooked by the Government
of his Majesty, and every one ought to be thankful
for the conditions made 'in his favour.

"As regards the questions of general policy, it
was not for the Plenipotentiaries to take decisions
which might have prejudiced that solution, not only
because they touch the rights of third parties
not represented in the Conference, but because
from their very nature they belonged to European
deliberations. The Government of the Emperor
looked upon them in that light immediately after
the signature of the preliminaries. His opinion has
not changed, and his plenipotentiaries, conformable
to their instructions, have limited themselves to re-
produce in other terms the dispositions agreed upon
at Villafranca between the Emperor and his Impe-
rial and Royal Apostolic Majesty.
" The treaties of Zurich mean then, that, with a
view to assure the tranquillity of the Pontifical
States and the power of the Holy Father, the two
Sovereigns will unite their efforts to obtain from
his Holiness a system of Government which re-
sponds to the wants of the populations.
"As regards the Duchies, it has been settled
that, as their territorial limits cannot be altered
without the,sanction of the Powers which partici-
pated in their formation, the rights of the Sove-
reigns of Tuscany,_of Modena, and of Parma, are
reserved between the contracting parties.
" Finally, the two Powers engage themselves to
give their support to the formation, under the
honorary presidency of the Pope, of a Confederation
of the States of Italy, having for its object the de-
velopment of the moral and material interests of all
its mmbers, as also the common defence by means
of a federal army ; Venetia, while remaining under
the Crown of Austria, is to form part of this asso-o
elation.

" Thus, the future remains open, in this order of
ideas, to combinations which may be judged most
expedient to pacify Italy, and .to consolidate the
new conditions of existence in which she is placed.
The Government of his Majesty has, moreover,
agroed with the Austrian Goverment to invite the
Powers which signed the general Act of Vienna of

1815 to meet in Congress to consider the treaties of
Zurich, and to deliberate on pending questions, with
the addition of the Two Sicilics, Rome, and Sar-
dinia.

"The Government of the Emperor has already
received the assurance that the Holy Father only
awaits an opportune moment to make known the
rerorms which he purposes conferring upon his
States, and which will have the effect, by assuring
a generally laical Government to the county, of
giving it guarantees of a better distribution of jus-
tice and of a control over the financial department,
by means of an elective assembly.
"I have had the honour of painting out to you
how the Government of the Emperor looks upon
the pacification of the Duchies, and you aro aware
that his view to find the conditions is an arrange-
ment based upon the return of the Grand Duke of
Tuscany to his States, and which would combine
with certain arrangements of a nature to satisfy at
the same time the wishes and legitimate interests
of the populations.

" Always convinced, on the other hand, that
nothing will contribute so much to the prosperity
of Italy as the establishment of a Confederation des-
tined to make the efforts and resources of each of

its members contribute to the general welfare, the
Government of the Emperor intends to exert all its
influence to favour its establishment. It remains
equally convinced that the bases laid down in the
preliminaries and reproduced in the treaties of Zurich
are conformable to the real interests of Italy, espe-
cially if a separate administration and a national
army are obtained for Venetia.
" To resume, if we consider the clauses of the
treaties of Zurich which regulate the interests upon
which the contracting Powers had to form final re-

solutions, the Government of the Emperor is confi-
dent that they attain their object iu the manner
most advantageous for Italy. As regards the clauses
which concern the general situation of the Penin-
sula, and which remain reserved, the Government
of his Majesty is convinced that they are con-
ceived with a view to prepare solutions no less
satisfactory. He thinks, therefore, that he may
already congratulate himself on the results of his
intervention in the war which has just termi-
nated. They mark a new era for Italy, and, if time
is requisite to allow a due appreciation of all their
advantages, we may be allowed to suppose that by
contributing powerfully to the prosperity of a peo-
ple whose political state had been so long a perma-
nent source of anxiety and danger to Europe, they
will at the same time be one more guarantee for the
consolidation and duration of the general peace.
This the Cabinets cannot fail to admit as soon as the
passing effects of an inevitable commotion shall
have given place to a regular order of things, when
a sound judgment may be formed, independently of
any accidental circumstances, of the changes which
the treaties of Zurich bring to the condition of
Italy, as also the institutions the bases of which
they contain. " WALEWSKI."

THE Loss OF THE ROYAL CHARTER.—Tuesday
next has been fixed for the official inquiry at Liverpo)linto
the circumstances attending the loss of the above vessel.
The inquiry will take place before Mr. Mansfield, stipen-
diary magistrate, assisted by Capt. Harr* as nautical asses-
sor to the Board of Trade. Mr. O'Dowd is appointed to
conduct the inquiry. In connection with the melancholy
facts attending this wreck, it may be stated that Lord Bos-
ton, as lord of the manor of the district near which the dis-
aster took place, has sent in a claim to all property or trea-
lure that may be washed ashore. The subscription towards
the-reliof ortho sufferers by the Royal Charter progresses
satisfactorily. Subscriptions will bo received in Liverpool
by the following :—Arthur Heywood, Sons, and Co., Ley-
land and Bain; Moss and Co., Gibbs, Bright, and Co., and
at the Exchange and Underwriters' rooms. In Manchester,
by Sir B. Heywood and Co., and in London, by Heywood,
Kennards, and Co., and P. Champion and Co., Lloyd's.
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—Holloway's Ointment and Pills.
The Nursery.—ln infancy, from various causes, the founda-
tions of many complaints are laid, which the vigilant nurse
might at once remove by the judicious use of Holloway's
preparations. In accidental injuries and constitutional taints
this Ointment will be found wonderfully efficacious ; and it is
an unfailing curative for the many diseases of the skin which
render the infant restless and the nurse anxious. The
youngest and most delicate child can in no way be injured by
its means, but must derive benefit from its use. When infan-
tile diseases have been maltreated or neglected, the Ointment
and Pills will remedy the error ; purify the blood, cleanse the
skin, invigorate the glands and absorbents, and secure health.

THE GREAT B ,STERN.

SOUTHAMPTON, Nov. 11.

There have been some strong winds since the
Great Eastern has lain at her moorings in South-
ampton, quite sufficient to test the strength of the
chains which hold the vessel, and to show that in
no harbour in England could she be more safely
moored and completely sheltered. Of course as
concerns the security of the ship this is most grati-
fying, and as much as can fairly be expected. If
the directors hare anticipated other results in the
shape of receipts from the influx of sightseers they
are likely to be disappointed. The season is (rite
over for excursionists, and though some 200 or 300
have visited the ship each day, yet even this small
number, is diminishing, and will continue to dimi-
nish, till in another fortnight or so the big ship
will be left alone in her glory for the rest of the
winter. That there are any visitors at all during
this inclement weather is more surprising than that
there are few, and only shows what the receipts to
the company would have been if the vessel had
been brought round there in the first instance, in-
stead of taken to an out-of-the-way place like
Weymouth. A large number of the crew and fire-
men have been dismissed, and preparations are
being made to lay up the ship snugly for the win-
ter. Only a sufficient number of sailors and stokers
are retained on board to keep the vessel in order.
But, with the aid of theselew picked men and the
comparative immunity which the vessel now en-
joys from visitors, greater progress has been made
during the last fortnight in getting the ship into
order than has ever been done since she left the

river. No unseemly litter now disfigures the immense
expanse of deck -which has not only been cleaned,
but is positively becoming white, in spite of the de-
cayed gaps and sunken holes in which it abounds.
The sails have been unbent, dried, and stowed
away for the winter, the masts scraped down, the
yards and funnels painted, and the standing rig-
ging is being mostly blacked over. Tho whole of
the outside is to be painted afresh, and in the course

of another fortnight or so, the Great Eastern will
be as smart as any yacht at Cowis, and, to outward
seeming, as-clean and well found as any vessel that
comes up Southampton Water. Below decks the
progress towards organisation has been as great.
The dining saloons have at last a finished look.
Swinging trays have been fixed above the tables
for decanters and tumblers (artfully contrived, .it

must be admitted, for letting out all the glass
the first time the vessel rolls) and some very hand-
some moderator chandeliers by Messrs. Defries and
Sons, have been hung throughout all the chief com-
partments. The lower decks are as clean and as
cold as vaults, and here too, everything is gradually
working down into its proper place with a system
and regularity which could hardly have been ex-
pected so soon when the hopeless state of chaos in
which the whole vessel was a month or so since is

remembered. Each day makes the working order
of the ship more familiar to Captain Harrison and
his officers, and with the next three rnonthsat least
befdre them to consolidate and arrange still more,

there is no reason whatever why the Great Eastern
should not on her next starting be one of the neatest,
best disciplined, and best found ships quitting the
kingdom. But though this result will we hope be

arrived at,:the experience oven of the lasttrip ;howl;

:hat an inmensesamount'of work has to be done in

,he meanwhile to complete the ship properly, and

to give Captain Harrison a fair chanco of doing
justice to a really noble vessel. The trip from
Holyhead to Southampton was more than a mere
run from port to port. It was intended especially
to try the ship for speed, and during that run to
endeavour once and for all to discover the defects

which might exist in the machinery. Now that
the result of this test has been examined with

care and. deliberation, it is found that a great
deal will have to •be altered and adjusted,

and that the greater part of this winter must
be'
.passed in carrying out such improvements
as are imperatively itecesary: Our readers may re-
member that after passing the Land's-end on the

last ruu the Great Eastern was tried at what was

called full speed, with both screw and paddle en-
gines, and made 15 knots, or about 18 miles an
hour. It is mere justice to state that the credit for
this.speed is mainly duet) the paddle engines, for
the screw most undoubtedly was not worked in pro-
portion to the revolutions of the paddle. On all the
trial trips of the Great. Eastern there has been
some unaccountable drawback of this kind. Going

round to Weymouth neither engines worked much
at all ; on the run to Holyhead it was the screw
which mainly drove the snip, for Mr. Scott Russell
declin3d to work the paddles up to their fair quota
of ETPec(L Returning from Holyhead, Mr. M'Lcu
nan took charge of the paddles and made them
work in a style which few expected they ever could
do, but his efforts to attain a high rate of speed
were not well seconded by those in the screw en-
gine-room, and so this last trial, like the others,
became an unfair test of the real speed of the vessel.
Why it is that in these trips, professedly under-
taken to test the rapidity and power of the ship,
something should always intervene to prevent a
fair run, and keep the vessel below the speed she
ought even now to accomplish, we cannot say. The
facts, however, are as wo have stated, and up to the

present day both sets of engines have not been
fairly tried at full speed together, and the pace at
which the Great Eastern can go with such an im-
petus is still more or less conjectural. During the
last run Mr. M'Lennan made the paddles go at 121
revolutions a minuse, and according to the .calcu-
lated proportion of 31 revolutions of the screw for
one of the paddle, the screw should havo maintained
a speed of not less than 43 to do its fair proportion
of the work. But,•as we have said, Mr. M'Lennan's
efforts with the paddle were not well supported by
those in charge of the screw, which only at a few
rare intervals reached 392 revolutions, and through-
out the wholo trial of speed scarcely averaged
more than 38. It is believed by those on board that
with more careful firing and both engines work-
ing fairly for the best result, an increase of nearly
a knot and a-half an hour may be gained upon the
last run ; and, if this is true, it is to Le regretted
that it was not accomplsshed on the last occasion.
We have no groat faith, however, in any future trial
unless Mr. M'Lennan has most complete and un-
divided authority over both sets of engines, and
with power to compel both being worked for the
best result fairly and honestly. When this is so
we may possibly see atrial run of 17 knots an hour
for a short space, though such a rate of speed, if ever
reached, can never be maintained for long.

During the voyage round to Southampton, both
the engines were, as we have said, carefully watched
to ascertain what defects existed, in order that they
might be effectually remedied during this winter,
and the result of this examination shows that
several adjustments and alterations, more or less
important, are required in many parts of the ma-
chinery of both screw and paddles. To begin with
the latter, great difficulty nas always been experi-
enced in getting a vacuum at starting, so that on
some occasions a quarter of an hour has been lost
before the wheels could be set in motion. This
most vital defect, which .it was at first thought
could only be obviated by enlarging the condenser,
can now, we believe, be set right at small trouble
and expense by fitting ipipe to turn a jet of cold
water into the condenser at starting. Much fear
was entertained at one time that the boilers did
not generate sufficient steam to keep the engines
working at their full power. The fault is now, it
is said, not with the boilers, but with the size of
the funnels, which are too small for the draught
required to burn the fuel freely. The airways to
the furnaces of the paddle engines are very good,
and the furnaces could be made to burn easily 120
tons of -coal a day if the funnels were only larger.
If this is so the defect may be easily put right
by, introducing a short blast pipe of steam from
the boiler up the funnel, which will at once
give all the, draught required. This improve
meat should be made at once as the cost will be
a mere trifle, and the gain is of the last import-
ance on the ship's speed. An increase in the num-
ber of stokers on duty in the boiler-room might also,
we think, be made with advantage. Each boiler-
room has 20 furnaces, which require constant feed-
ing, and the watch in the boiler-room consists of 10
men only. Of these 10 one has to attend to the
donkey-engine, four aro trimmers or men who bring
the coals from the bunkers, and five are firemen.
Each fireman, therefore, has four furn Ices to look
after, and to ceep shovelling coals into incessantly
for four hours. This work, with the heat of the
stokehole, is almost too much for the firemen, and
towards the end of the watch they either cannot, or
do not, keep the furnaces so well supplied as they
should be to insure full steam. If a blast pipe is
introduced into the funnels, and the number of fire-
men on duty increased from five to seven, there will
always be found steam enough to keep the paddles
going at 134 or even 14 revolutions a minute. A
good deal of anxiety was at one time felt about the
piston and air pump rods as being too small for their
work. Coming round from Southampton, when
the vessel was rolling, each wheel alternately out of
the water, those parts of the machinery got a fair
trial. The result would seem to show that the pis-
ton rods stand well, but those ,of the air pumps
, vibrate very considerably, and are therefore still