His Excellency took leave of me by saying that he had no hesitation in declaring his private opinion to me that the scheme put forward by your Lordship could never be assented to by Denmark, and that the only practicable manner of abolishing the Sound dues without injustice to her was contained in the Danish proposal. The Earl of Clarendon. ANDREW BUCHANAN.

No. 11.-Mr. Buchanan to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Rec. April 13.) (Extract.) Copenhagen, April 9, 1856. AT an interview that I had with M. de Bluhme, the Danish Commissioner for conducting the negotiation for the abolition of the Sound dues, on the day after I received your Lordship's despatch of the 23rd ultimo, acquainting me with the decision of Her Majesty's Government to decline the Danish proposal for the capitalization of the dues, I fulfilled the instructions therein conveyed to me, and acquainted his Excellency with the grounds on which the refusal of Her Majesty's Government is founded, and with their readiness to consider favourably a scheme for commuting the dues into tonnage duties, to be levied for a limited period at the first Baltic port of entry, or the last Baltic port of clearance.

M. de Bluhme said, that he could only express a private opinion on the communication which I had made to him, until it had been submitted to the consideration of the Government, but that he felt assured such a scheme as that which I had indicated, would meet with the opposition of all the Baltic States, would be found impracticable, and could never be agreed to by Denmark, as affording her a just compensation for the abolition of the dues.

I said that I trusted, however much his Excellency might regret that the more simple, and, as far as the interests of Denmark were concerned, the more advantageous, arrangement which he had proposed could not be adopted, he would not reject the suggestion which I had been instructed to make to him, without duly considering whether it might not afford the means of conciliating the views and interests of all parties; and that I hoped before the return from Stockholm of the messenger who had brought me your Lordship's despatch, his Excellency would be able to inform me that his Government would be willing to adopt it as a basis of negotiation with the other Powers interested in the question.

I yesterday again saw his Excellency upon the subject, when he stated that the time of the Ministers had been so much occupied with the affairs under discussion in the Council of the Monarchy, that he had not yet had a conference with them with respect to it, and he could therefore only speak to me in his own name. He then went on to say that, if called upon for his advice, he could never recommend the Danish Government to consent to the scheme sug

gested by your Lordship; that he had reason to believe the Baltic Powers would not agree to it; that the process of collection would be attended with risk to the Treasury, if confided to the Consular Agents of Denmark at present established in the harbours of the Baltic, many of whom were unpaid, and were not subjects of the Danish Crown; and that it would be impossible for her adequately to remunerate such a large staff of trustworthy receivers as would be required; while, on the other hand, if the Customs officers of the Baltic Powers were to undertake the duty, and there were no international difficulties in the way of tolls being levied in foreign States for the behoof of the Danish Treasury, Denmark would be giving up a well-secured revenue, collected under her own jurisdiction, for another over which she would have no control, and in the collection of which she would have no security that her interests were duly attended to. But, continued his Excellency, even admitting that all these difficulties of execution could be surmounted, he had yet to learn how, by a system of tonnage duties, anything approaching to a fair equivalent for the Sound dues could be offered to Denmark. I said I feared that this was his real objection to the scheme, and that it magnified all the other difficulties which he had enumerated; but he maintained that, if Her Majesty's Government had come to the conclusion that the idea of levying dues on the Baltic trade in Great Britain would be unprecedented and impracticable, the same objections might surely be urged to the levying of dues in Baltic ports on vessels which had passed, or intended to pass, the Sound, because as many vessels cleared from one Baltic port to another as from Baltic ports to ports without that sea.

To this argument I replied, that the question was one in which the States of the Baltic were more deeply interested than Great Britain, and that admitting, which I did not, that the cases were identical, and that the difficulties were equal, it would be fair that the inconvenience which might attend the levying the dues at the ports of delivery or shipment, should be borne by the States most interested in the trade of the Baltic. To this observation M. de Bluhme replied by referring to Russia, whose Government had no wish to see the Sound dues abolished, and he said, that though they were willing to meet the views of Denmark and contribute towards the capitalization of the dues, they would not, as far as he was yet informed, consent to levy dues for Denmark in Russian ports to get rid of those levied at Elsinore, which they did not consider a grievance.

I have thought it right, at the risk of trespassing too much upon your Lordship's time, to lay before you these details, and I have to add, in conclusion, that his Excellency stated it to be his opinion, that the Danish Government would decline any proposal which

might be made to them on the basis suggested by your Lordship; that they would keep the offer open which he had made to the Commission on the 2nd of February last; that they would not consent to diminish the amount which they had declared themselves ready to accept for the abolition of the dues, but that they would be ready to listen to any arrangement which might suit the convenience of the States interested, as to the manner in which such an indemnity should be paid; and that, as their proposal had been already accepted by Russia and Sweden, and they had reason to believe that other Baltic States were disposed to consider it favourably, they would not abandon the hope that it might eventually be found to be the only one which could satisfy the expectations of the commercial world, as to the abolition of the Sound dues, without injustice to Denmark. To his observations with respect to the facilities which Denmark might be willing to afford, as to the mode of payment of a fair indemnity for the abolition of the dues, I replied that the point was of no importance, as it would be indifferent, I believed, to Her Majesty's Government whether such a claim upon them should be paid at once, or liquidated gradually by an annuity, and that it was the principle of taxing the community for the benefit of a single branch of trade that was objected to as one for which they could not hope to obtain the sanction of the House of Commons. The Earl of Clarendon.

ANDREW BUCHANAN.

No. 12.-Mr. Buchanan to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Rec. April 13.)
MY LORD,
Copenhagen, April 11, 1856.

As the messenger Ridgway did not arrive from Stockholm in time to proceed by the steam-packet which left yesterday, I have availed myself of the delay to seek an interview with M. de Scheele, and to inquire whether information which he may have received from abroad, or the time which he has had to consider the subject, had induced him to modify the opinions which he expressed to me when I first spoke to him of the suggestion contained in your Lordship's despatch of the 23rd ultimo, for commuting the Sound dues into tonnage duties, to be levied in the ports of the Baltic.

I regret to say his Excellency's language was unchanged, and that, on my expressing a hope that Denmark would not withhold her consent to the arrangement proposed, if other difficulties in the way of its adoption were removed, he declared, in the most decided manner, that the Danish Government would meet all the risks which the question involved, rather than agree to a measure so impracti cable and so inconsistent with their interests, and what they considered to be their indisputable rights.

I think it as well, however, to add, with regard to these rights, that I generally find Danish statesmen willing to admit that they

are not of a territorial character, and that as they merely rest on Treaties, they would be abrogated by war.

The Earl of Clarendon.

I have, &c.

ANDREW BUCHANAN.

SIR,

No. 13.-The Earl of Clarendon to Mr. Buchanan.

Foreign Office, April 22, 1856. HER Majesty's Government approve the language which you held to M. de Scheele and M. de Bluhme on the Sound dues, as reported in your despatches of the 9th instant.

A. Buchanan, Esq.

I am, &c.

CLARENDON.

No. 14.-Mr. Buchanan to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Rec. May 15.) (Extract.) Copenhagen, May 12, 1856.

I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith a copy, communicated to me by M. de Scheele, of the Protocol which was signed on the 9th instant, recording the acceptance by Russia and Sweden of the Danish proposal for the capitalization of the Sound dues.

The Earl of Clarendon.

ANDREW BUCHANAN.

(Inclosure.)-Protocol.

Copenhague, le 9 Mai, 1856.

LES Gouvernements de Sa Majesté l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies, et de Sa Majesté le Roi de Suède et de Norvège (de Sa Majesté le Roi de Suède et de Norvège, et de Sa Majesté l'Empereur de Toutes les Russies) ayant adhéré aux propositions faites par le Gouvernement de Sa Majesté le Roi de Danemarc par rapport au rachat des péages du Sund et des Belts, les Délégués de Leursdites Majestés, ainsi que le Délégué du Danemarc, dans la négociation sur les péages, sont convenus de constater, par le présent Protocole, les différents points auxquels cette négociation s'est arrêtée.

Bien que le Gouvernement de Son Altesse Royale le Grand Duc d'Oldenbourg ait également adhéré aux propositions susmentionnées, le Délégué de Son Altesse Royale dans la négociation sur les péages n'a pourtant pas pu concourir à cet Acte, étant pour le moment absent de Copenhague.

Le Délégué de Sa Majesté Danoise, en récapitulant les propositions qu'il a faites dans les Conférences du 4 Janvier et du 2 Février de l'année courante, les précise de la manière suivante :

Le Danemarc renonce au péagé du Sund et des Belts moyennant une compensation de 35,000,000 de rix-dalers rigsmynt aux conditions suivantes :

a. Le rachat comprendra toutes les Puissances intéressées dans le commerce et la navigation du Sund et des Belts. Pour que l'abolition des péages devienne obligatoire, le rachat devra être agréé par toutes les Puissances représentées dans la négociation actuelle ; le Danemarc se réservant de traiter séparément avec les Puissances non-représentées.

b. Ladite somme de 35,000,000 sera considérée comme compensation tant des droits sur les navires que des droits sur les cargaisons. Les droits sur les navires seront répartis selon le pavillon; les droits sur les cargaisons seront répartis par moitié sur les marchandises importées et sur celles exportées par le Sund ou les Belts.

c. Le payement de la quotepart qui d'après le Tableau N B, présenté dans la Conférence du 2 Février, tombera à la charge de chacune des Puissances représentées, sera assurée au Danemarc d'une manière qui lui paraîtra satisfaisante.

Dans la Conférence tenue le 4 Janvier dernier ont été présents les Délégués de l'Autriche, de la Belgique, du Danemarc, de l'Espagne, de la France, de la Grande Bretagne, des Pays-Bas, de la Prusse, de la Russie, et de Suède et de Norvège.

A la Conférence du 2 Février a assisté, outre les Délégués cidessus nommés, le Délégué de Son Altesse Royale le Grand Duc d'Oldenbourg.

Le Délégué de Sa Majesté Danoise répète ce qu'il avait déjà énoncé dans la Conférence du 2 Février, que suivant les ordres précis de son Gouvernement la somme indiquée plus haut est le minimum de l'indemnité que le Danemarc se croit en droit de demander pour l'abolition des péages.

Conformément aux principes proposés pour la répartition de l'indemnité éventuelle, les quoteparts pour lesquelles les différentes Puissances représentées dans la négociation actuelle contribueront à ladite somme de 35,000,000 de rix-dalers rigsmynt, sont: