The Express.
London, England, 1863-03-17 00:00:00

is MARCH 17,

POLAND
-.-

tram out owe cosaasroarsarr.)
BERLIN, Mauro 12.
In my last I gave you an account of a victory
gained by the WO olee who crossed the frontier,
near Posen, over the same number of Russians. I
am sorry to say that Prussian t•-eashery caused
this victory in • few hours afterwards to be suc-
ceeded by a terrible defeat, which, resulted in the
complete dispersion of this gallant and well-
equipped Polish band. Scan:eV bad it crossed the
frontier, than the Prussian police, who are acting
in concert with, and even under the orders of,
Colonel Weymarn, an emissary of the Russian
government lately seat to Posen, despatched a mes-
senger to Bonin, the headquarters of the Russian
army in that part of Poland, to inform the com-
mandant of the arrival of a body of insurgents in
his district. Immediately, the whole of
the Russian troops then quartered at
Bonin, numbering three thousand men, set
forth in pursuit of the Pawners, and came up with
them near the lake of Poividz. A desperate contest
ensued, which, notwithstanding the disproportion
of numbers, there being ten Russians to one Pole,
lasted nearly the whole day, and was only sus-
pended by the approach of night. Mieleneki's
Polish detachment of 1,000 men now came up, and
the battle was renewed the next morning ; but the
odds were still too great, and the new arrivals were
badly armed. The insurgents dispersed in different
directions, most of them, however, escaping into
the interior of Poland. The rest, numbering about
fifty, fled back into Posen. A few miles on the
other side of the frontier they met with a detach-
ment of Prussian troops which had gone in pursuit
of them, and a brief encounter ensued, in which
Captain Hostas, a Prussian officer, was wounded.
Thus ended this unfortunate expedition, which.
had it not been for the base espionage and reachery
of the Prussian pollee, would have been a most
important support to the Poles, for the 900 men
who were thus destroyed and dispersed were the
i flower of the Polish youth in Prussian Poland,
well provided with money, and completely equipped
and armed. Whether the convention is or is not a
fact, there can now be no doubt that Prussia is at
this moment doing her utmost in helping Russia to
subdue the Poles. Her Polish province is swarming
with Rumen officers in full uniform, who are con-
stantly employing the Prussian police in watching
and otherwise persecuting the Polish inhabitants.
The system of terrorism which has of late marked the
conduct of the government in the Grand Duchy of
Posen is only too evident • mark of the influence
of these Russian agents ; indeed there is very little
difference between the treatment of the Poles in the
kingdom and that of the Poles in Posen, except that
the latter are fined and imprisoned under the sem-
blance of a judicial trial. They abstain carefully,
however, from any open demonstration against
Prussia, which might give her a pretext for treating
their patriotic efforta in aid of their fellow-country-
men as an insurrection, and thus establishing a soli-
darity of interests between herself and Russia in
opposition to the Poles. These efforts of the
Poseners, though sometimes failures, are in general
successful, and arms—the great want of the insur-
gents—are frequently smuggled across the frontier.
Since the great battles of Skala and Pieakowa
Skala, Langiewicz has remained at Goazcze, where
be is busily drilling his small but well-disciplined
band. The brilliant 11111110AMIS of this gallant
leader at Malagoer.cze, Skala, and Pieskows Skala,
appear to have struck a sort of panic into the Rus-
sian troops, who do not venture to stir out of their
headquarters at Czenstochowa, Olkusz, and Mie-
ahow. In fact, in the whole of Poland the Russian
troops—who are not accustomed to the rapid and
constant marching and counter-marching necessary
In this guerilla war—are very discontented,
fight unwillingly, and even sometimes refuse to
obey the commands of their officers, when
they are ordered to make • long and rapid march,
or when there is no prospect of plunder in the dis-
trict which they are directed to occupy. There
cannot be the smallest doubt as to the overwhelm-
ing superiority of the Poles, animated as they are
by military ardour and the oousciowineea of a glori-
ous cause, to the discouraged and discontented
Russians. Even with their extremely inadequate
supply of arms the Poles have defeated the Rus-
sians in almost every encounter, often against eon-
aiderably superior numbers ; but the want of arms
always prevents them from reaping any solid
advantage from their victories. With sufficient
arms and a base of operations in a friendly country
free from Russian troops, the success of the
Poles and the ultimate recovery of the whole of their
country would be certain. Such a friendly country,
wealthy, patriotic, and full of resources, is to be
found in Galicia, whose frontier is moreover the
chief seat of war. But will Austria at length
forego her temporising policy, and by taking a de-
cisive step in favour of Poland establish an impe-
netrable barrier between herself and Russia ? It is
on the answer to this question that hangs the fate
of Poland.

The small bands scattered over the country are
now nearly all under the command of reoognised
leaders. In Podhide these commandants are
named Lslevel and Lewandowski ; in Plock, Pad-
lewski ; in Kalisz, Mielencki ; and in Pinsk, Rae-
zynaki.
An attempt has been made in Warsaw by the
government to get up another address, similar to
that which resulted six months ago in the exile of
Count Andrew Zamoyaki, asking the Emperor to
give Poland the institutions sanctioned by the
treaties of 1815. The attempt failed, as might
have been expected. Six months ago. if the
Emperor had given Poland her rights as defined in
the treaty of Vienna, she would have gladly ac-
cepted them ; bnt the blood since shed of thousands
of Poles, and the position she now occupies with
regard to Russia, give her a right to claim nothing
lessthan her complete independence. That nothing
short of this will make Poland lay down the sword
is certain.

GREECE•

(ROM

mrr.)

ATHENS, NAlog 6.

The most important event that I have to commu-
nicate to you this day, is the discovery of a con-
spiracy, whose aim was to effect the restoration of
the Bavarian dynasty. This conspiracy appears to
have had ramifications in several provinces, es-
eecially in the Pelop.onnesus, and more particularly
in Messenia and in Maine. The disclosure of
this plot has caused much surprise, owing to
the fact that Otho had no friends or
adherents at all in this country. But by
means of gold, which seems to have been need
rather profusely, and by the common action
of some tools of the last regime, who, under the
present state of things, had lost all consideration
and all hope of recovering their former position,
everything had been organised for a reactionary
movement of no small importance. The govern-
ment would not at first take the matter se-
riously, but their investigations led them at last to
take the step of ordering the consul of Bavaria to
leave this country without delay. Subsequently,
further disclosures and discoveries having been
made, the Bavarian consul was recalled from the
Piteous, where he had been sent to embark for
Trieste, and was brought back to Athens, when he
admitted that be had really worked for the recall of
the Bavarian dynasty, but that he had put a stop
to all proceedings for effecting this as soon as the
National Assembly had promulgated the decree
abolishing for ever that dynasty. Re moreover is
said to have given the names of such persons as bad
spoken and worked with him. These persons were
at once arrested. It appears that the 20th instant
was the day appointed for the simultaneous
outbreak of a reactionary counter-revolution
'in as many points of the country as they
could reach by their intrigues. It is indeed
extremely fortunate that all this should have
been discovered in time ' • for it would have been
a great midortune should snob an outbreak
occur at a time when the country is in so critical a
situation kavin jest witnessed the overthrow of
the Provisional Government, and before the conso-
lidation of the new form of government which has l
bowies:o)l4M by the National Assembly. Any '