The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-01 00:00:00

DENMARK.

The opening of the Supreme Council took place
on the 26th ult at Copenhagen, but not in the
usual solema, form. The King not being present,
M. Hall, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, read the
following message :
" We, Frederick, by the grace of God, &c. In
the interval which has elapsed since the last meet-
ing of our faithful Council of the empire, the nego-
tiations commenced with the Germanic Confe-
deration, relative to the constitutional affairs of
our duchies of ;Holstein and Lauenburg, have been
continued. It results from the documents which
will be submitted to the Supreme Council on this
subject that things had come to such a point that
we had only to choose between a federal execution
and the abrogation of the general constitution of
Oct, 2, 1855, as regards the duchies.of Holstein arid
Lauenburg. As the corrective measures of the
Confederation are based in the present case on an
interpretation of the federal law which we cannot
consider well founded, but which, nevertheless,
would not have had the character of an act ex-
ceeding the powers of 'the Confederation, we have
thought it preferable, out of regard to the
interests of the provinces directly concerned
as well as of the whole of the monarchy,
to abrogate the said constitutional law as far
as regards the duchies of Hoh-tein and Lauen-

burg. At the same time we have convoked our
Provincial States of Holstein, in order to give them

an opportunity of expressing their opinion on the
re-establishment of a constitutional bond between
the Duchy of Holstein and the remainder of the
monarchy. Although the memorial of the Assembly
of the Provincial States of Holstein may not be of
a nature to facilitate a definitive solution of the
constitutional question, we retain the hope of suc-
ceeding in the removal of the obstacles which have
hitherto stood in the way of it. Until this object
shall have been attained, we have considered it
useful to decree, by a letter patent of this day,
various measures destined to protect the interests of
our Duchy of Holstein during the present transitory
state of things. Meanwhile, the great European
complications which followed soon after were of such
a nature as that the question of the position of the
Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, in the Danish
monarchy, disappeared to a certain extent, before
the questions which resulted from our quality as
member of the Confederation for those duchies. It
will be seen, from the documents which relate to
this order of questions, and which will be commu-
nicated to the Supreme Council, what efforts we
have made to conciliate the neutrality of the mo-
narchy with the accomplishment of the federal ob-
ligations imposed on my German duchies, endea-
vouring at the same time to render as light as pos-
sible the burden that would be entailed by them.
Our attentien nevertheless has always been directed
to the means of re-establishing a constitutional
union between my Duchies of Holstein and Lauen-
burg and those portions of the monarchy which do
not belong to the Germanic Confederation. As,
under present circumstances, we have thought
right only to introduce in the present session bills
of urgent importance, we hope that you will be
able to terminate your labours in two months. We
express to the Supreme Council our grace and royal
'avour, Written at our palace of Christiansburg
e 23d September.
(Signed)
(Countersigned)

FREDERICK.
" HALL."