The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-20 00:00:00

lIER 3IA.TESTY'S SHIP DAUNTLESS.

A letter in a contemporary says :--" Understand-
ing that it is the intention of the Admiralty to send
the Dauntless to the coast of Africa, I trust you
will insert in your columns these few remarks,
which may possibly deter the authorities from
takinc, so unjust and dangerous a step. This ship
is of all others the one most unsuited for that sta-
tion. She is badly ventilated, and cramped in her
quarters. In her first commission, in the West
Indies, she lost by fever nearly half her officers, and
between 80 and 90 of her crew. She is prover-
bially one of the most unhealthy ships in the ser-
vice. Her lower deck is not flush like other frigates,
but is divided into two parts by her engines. This
materially affects the ventilation. The Termagant,
commissioned a short time ago for the coast, which,
unlike the Dauntless, has a flush lower deck, was
not sent there, on account of her bad ventilation,
the case being brought before the House of Com-
mons ; and this ship is appointed to take her place
when there are so many others far better suited for
that station, especially corvettes of the Pearl class.
There is not a naval man who does not exclaim
against the injustice and cruelty of sending the
Dauntless to the coast of Africa ; nor will any able-
bodied seaman join her, and, although she has been
five weeks in commission, she still wants half her
complement. Why of all others the Admiralty
should pick out the plague ship' for the coast of
Africa it is difficult to imagine. I trust our brave
tars may be yet spared serving in this ship on that
unhealthy station, and that the Admiralty will re-
consider her destination, remembering experientia
docet.

MANIFEST,

OF THE H

IRIA.

The following is a translation of the manifesto of
the Emperor of Austria, a summary of which we
gave on Saturday :
" When all concessions that were allowable, and
compatible with the dignity of the crown and the
honour and welfare of the country, have been ex-
hausted, and when all attempts at a pacific arrange-
ment have miscarried, there is no room fir choice,
and what cannot be avoided becomes a duty.
" This duty placed me under the stern necessity
of demanding from my people new and painful
sacrifices, in order to place in a state of defence
their most sacred interests. My faithful people
have responded to my appeal ; they have pressed
forward unanimously in defence of the throne, and
they have made the sacrifices of every kind de-
manded by circumstances with an eagerness
which merits my gratitude—which augments, if
possible, the profound affection which I feel for
them—and which was adapted to inspire the
assurance that the just cause in defence of which
my brave armies went forth with enthusiasm to
the contest would be victorious.

" Unhappily, the result has not corresponded
with the general effort, and the fortune of war hai
not been favourable to us.

" The valiant army of Austria has in this instance
again given proof of its tried heroism and its in-
comparable perseverance so brilliant that it has
commanded the admiration of all, even of its ene-
mies. I experience a legitimate pride in being
the chief of such an army, and the country
ought to feel indebted to it for having maintained
vigorously, in all its purity, the honour of the Aus-
trian flag.
It is not less perfectly established that our
enemies, in spite of the greatest efforts, in spite of
the superior forces which they had for a long period
been preparing for the conflict, have been able, even
by making the greatest sacrifices, to obtain only ad-
vantages, not a decisive victory ; while the Austrian
army, still animated by the same ardour, and full
of the same courage, maintained a position, the
possession of which left perhaps a possibility of re-
covering from the enemy all the advantages that he
had gained. But for this purpose it would have
been necessary to make new sacrifices, which cer-
tainly would not have been less bloody than those
which have been made already, and which have
deeply afflicted my heart.
" Under these conditions it was my duty as a
sovereign to take into serious consideration the pro-
positions of peace which had been made to me. The
consequences of this continuance of the war would
have been so much the heavier, because I should
have been obliged to demand from the faithful
people of my dominions new sacrifices of blood and
of money much more considerable even than those
which had been made up to that time. And, not-
withstanding, success would have remained doubt-
ful, since I have been so bitterly deceived in my
well-founded hopes that this contest not having
been entered into for the defence of the rights of
Austria only, I should not be left alone in it.
" In spite of the ardent sympathy worthy of
acknowledgment which the justice of our cause has
inspired, for the most part, in the governments and
peoples of Germany, our natural allies, most ancient
allies, have obstinately refused to recognise the
great importance of the grand question of the day-
Consequently Austria would have been obliged all
alone to face the events which were being pre-
pared for, and which every day might have ren-
dered more grave.
" The honour of Austria coming intact out of this
war, thanks to the heroic efforts of her valiant
army, I have resolved, yielding to political consi-
derations, to make a sacrifice for the re-establish-
ment of peace, and to accept the preliminaries which
ought to lead to its conclusion ; for I have acquired
the conviction that I should obtain in any event
conditions less unfavourable in coming to a direct
understanding with the Emperor of the French,
without the blending of any third party whatsoever,
than in causing to participate in the negotiations
the three great Powers which have taken no part
in the struggle. Unhappily I have been unable to
escape the separation from the rest of the empire
of the greater part of Lombardy. On the other
hand, it must be agreeable to my heart to see the
blessings of peace assured to my beloved people,
and these blessings are doubly precious to met
because they will give me the necessary leisure
for bestowing henceforth without distraction all
my attention and solicitude on the fruitful
task which I propose to accomplish—that i°
to say, to found in a durable manner the inter-
nal well-being and the external power of Austria
by the happy development of her moral and mate-
rial forces, and by ameliorations conformable to
the spirit of the time in legislation and administra-
tion. As in these days of serious trials and ;3046'
fives my people have shown themselves faithful to
my person, so now by the confidence with which
they respond to me they will aid in accomplishing,
works of peace, and in attaining the realisation of
my benevolent intentions.
" As chief of the army, I have already expressed
to it, in a special order of the day, my acknowledg-
ments of its bravery. To-day I renew the expres-
sion of these sentiments. While I speak to oil
people I thank those of their children who have
fought for God, their Emperor, and their country.
I thank them for the heroism of which they haye
given proof, and I shall always remember with
grief those of our brave companions in arms who
have not, alas ! returned from the combat.
(Signed) "FRANCIS JOSEPEG
" Laxenbourg, 15th July, 1859."