The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 24, 1866.

of Prussia ; no one at all cognisant of 'Herr Bis-
M.4.ECK'S policy can fail to comprehend what this
means. It must, be indeed, an enthusiastic
and sanguine disposition that believes in the pro-
bability of anything like freedom under these
auspices. Of course Prussia will assume the right
of supervising all things herself, and under her

"vigorous leadership," as the official journal of
Berlin has styled i 5, there will be no progress made
in social advancement or national prosperity. The
South of Germany is to have the option of forming
itself into a union as an independent international
body, which is doubtless considered a great boon,
although what benefit it will .be to them remains to
be proved. The Elbe Duchies are to be annexed
to Prussia with the exception of the Danish
portion of Schleswig. One of the most •
un-
conscionable demands of the whole is that there
should be " part payment" by Austria of the Prus-
sian war expenses. This is quite inconsistent, when
we remember that it was Prussia who declared
war in the first instance, and must thus bear the
chief responsibility of the act. Besides, Prussia has
been the aggressor throughout ; and if she has in-
curred enormous expenses, she should not grudge
the cost when her gains have been so great. The
maintenance of the integrity of Austria, with
the exception of Venetia, is one of the con-
ditions. Very fine sounding, no doubt, but
devoid of much foundation. No one knows
better than the Prussian authorities themselves
how much the proposals here made will weaken the
influence of Austria, and injure her in various ways.

We have not yet reached the limits of the demands
of Prussia, however, when we close the chapter of
her requests from Austria. Apart from these we
learn that Prussia intends to annex territory con-
taining about three millions of inhabitants. We
may well ask what is to be done next, and feel
surprised that anything is left to Austria at all.
As for the unfortunate city of Frankfort it has,
indeed, fallen upon evil days, and will long
have cause to rue the day when the chances of war
gave it up to the tender mercies of the Prussians.
According to the last accounts received, we find
that the most extortionate demands are being made
upon the inhabitants to pay enormous sums to the
invaders. In consequence of the refusal of the
over-taxed citizens to comply with these unwarrant•
able demands, General MANTEUFFEL has shown him-
self in his true colours, and declares that he wir
reiterate the demand, and in the event of its meet-
ing with non-compliance he will deliver the two
up to pillage. So much for the inauguration of
the wise rule and benignan tsway of King WILLIAM ;
and how cheering au example must this afford to
the North of Germany, which is to be under the
military and diplomatic direction of Prussia. The
consternation that exists in Frankfort may be ima-
gined ; many of the inhabitants are leaving it, and
the Bourse and warehouses are closed. In order to
intimidate the inhabitants, twenty-four cannon have
been sent to a hill that commands the city. What
makes this conduct still worse is that the
city has already paid some immense sums
to the Generals in command of the troops,
and, therefore, this arbitrary course that
is being pursued looks very much as if an excuse
were desired for destroying the place altogether.
Already there has been paid to General FALKEN-
STEIN six millions of florins, and to General MAN-
TEUFFEL the further sum of 25 million florins, and
besides these enormous advances the inhabitants
have had to furnish horses and provisions to a very
large amount. Nearly all the newspapers in Frank-
fort have been suppressed, which speaks strongly
as to the policy which will be pursued by Prussia.
Inosd -sync) expect that there will be any change fer
the better, compared with the tactics recently
carried on in Berlin, will find themselves
very much mistaken. It is a curious fact, we]
worthy of notice, that the Prussian Chambers, a

which we heard so much a short time ago, have not
been allowed to meet. Now that the work is pretty
well over, we find that an official decree, dated
Brunn, has been promulgated at Berlin, in which
both Houses of the Prussian Diet 11,ve been con-

yoked for the 30th instant. Of course neither
KING, or Minister has had any wish to hear the
opinions of the representatives, and are only
willing to let them assemble when any
remonstrances on their part will be useless.

It is certainly a relief to hear that the
horrors of war are over, or, at all events, nearly so ;
but, at the same time, we cannot see any cause for
satisfaction at the charges wrought in Germany.
The old things that have passed away needed no
doubt to be relinguished, but the new order of
things that are to success them is by no means pro-
mising. Nothing that has no true foundation can
be expected to have a permanent existence or to
flourish, and while wrong and usurpation are the
spirits in the Berlin Government, no one
h
right to suppose that their efforts will be
crownedrualsi ag
with success, or conduce to the well-being
of the States they govern.

The alteration which the Chancellor of the
Exchequer proposed last evening in the Budget of
his predecessor was received with general favour.

However just and reasonable was Air. GLADSTONE'S
suggestion for the reduction of the National Debt,
there were many dotibts even at the date of
the proposal whether it was a suitable and conve-
nient time for carrying out those intentions. Sub-
sequent events have more than confirmed this
opinion, since, in the presence of continental
disturbanees it is evident that this country
should be fully prepared for any casualty, however
desirous she may be to keep out of war. Men of
all parties agree in the necessity of an immediate
outlay for the equipment of our troops and the
increase of our navy, and therefore it is certainly
unwise to select a period of such heavy exceptional
expenses for the settlement of long-pending claims.
A rash and reckless system of expenditure is very
much to be deprecated, and we have had, and still
have, a great deal too much money spent in many
public departments. But it would be a very poor
saving to impair our national defences, and
to run the risk of having to send
,our
troops to battle with an inferior gun, or our sailors
to an armed engagement in ships that are unequal
et on thoseenough
g h forof ohtehre r nations.mistake,
and
paid
many o Ie
dearly
n r
tcircumstancesslal advoewleai
ilspead
Ntvo carnriinpgplteo huesrasstrwenelgltabs,
to others. The action of the Government in con-
verting ourEnfield;rifles into breech-loaders has met
with general favour, and will certainly not be
condemned as a needless outlay. Added to
this expense there were supplementary estimates of
£200,000, which the late Government were about
to bring forward, and these, added to a quarter of
a million necessitated by the alteration of the guns,
brings up the additional expenses to the sum of
£495,000. The £502,500 proposed to be devoted
to the Terminable Annuities offered therefore a
very tempting means of getting out of the difficulty,
and however sincerely Mr. DISRAELI may lament
that his first act should be the ungracious
one 0.1 proposing an addition to the Budget,
he may be thankful that he has so easy a
way out of the labyrinth, since the imposition
of new or increased taxes would be a far more

invidious task. Mr. GLADSTONE, of coirrite, offered
no opposition to this arrangement, only reserving to
himself the right of renewing his proposal to liqui-
date the National Debt next session. The principle
of reducing the national liabilities is undoubtedly a
sound one, but it will be only prudent and reason-
able to defer such an attempt until we have a clear
and decided surplus.

wig.

ion.

L A TESTINTEL LIGENOE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE PRELIMINARIES OF PEACE.
PARIS, July 23.
The following despatch from the Minister of the
Interior has been posted up this afternoon :

" Austria has accepted the preliminaries of peace
admitted by Prussia. The Plenipotentiaries have
rssembled at the Prussian head-quarters in order to
negotiate an armistice. The definitive reply of Italy
is expected, but that Power has already admitted
in principle the preliminaries of peace."

The preliminaries of peace proposed by Prussia,
and approved by France, are as follows :
Austria to recognise the dissolution of the former
German Band and the organisation :of a new Con-
federation from which she would be excluded.
The North of Germany to form a union under the
military and diplomatic direction of Prussia.
The optional formation of a union of SOuth Ger-
many as an independent international body.

National bonds between these two Unions.
The annexation of the Elbe Duchies to Prussia,
with the exception of the Danish portion of Schles-

Part payment by Austria of the Prussian war

expenses.

The maintenance of the integrity of Austria, with
the exception of Venetia.

These conditions have been submitted by France
to Austria, who has already agreed to the first
point, excluding her from the Germanic Confedera-
tion to be re-organised by Prussia.
Apart from the demands submitted to Austria,
Prussia intends to annex territory containing about
3,000,000 of inhabitants.

PARIS, July 24.
The Moniteur of this morning announces tha
Italy has agreed to the suspension of hostilities.
FLORENCE, July 23.

Baron Ricasoli has left here for Ferrara.

The Italie of to-day says—" We can state on
good authority that Prussia has not called upon
Italy to sign an armistice. The Prussian Minister
in this country is only charged to negotiate with
Italy the bases of the proposed suspension of hos-
tilities. No armistice can be concluded unless
agreed to by both the allied Powers."
FRANKFORT, July 23 (Evening.)

The town of Frankfort has not yet paid the con-
tribution demanded by the Prussian commandant.
The inhabitants have invoked the intercession of
England and France for their petition to the King
of Prussia to diminish the amount of the contribu-

QUARANTINE AT MALTA.
MALTA, July 23.
A quarantine of 15 days is nos imposed upon al
arrivals from Liverpool and Marseilles.
The public health in Malta is satisfactory.

SPAIN,

MADRID, July 23d (Evening).

A Royal decree has been issued ordering the an-
ticipatory payment of the taxes due in the next six
and twelve months. These taxes must be paid in
advance on the sth of August and sth of November
next. ____

The official Gazette says that the Government
regrets that it is compelled to take this measure on
account of the public requirements and the state of
monetary affairs.