The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-07 00:00:00

MEETING AT MANCHESTER.

A very crowded meeting was held in the Man-
chester Town-hall, on Monday evening, to consider the im-
portance of the Kingdom of Poland as an independent state
in her relations to Europe. Mr. WILLIAM MARTIN pro.
[sided.

Mr. J. ASPINALL TORN'S briefly moved a resolution
czpressire of sympathy with the Polish nation, and the do
sire of the meeting that it should be reconstituted as an
independent state. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. Aassa.on Wemnize seconded the resolution, which
was carried unanimously.
The Rey. Dr. Vie co HAN moved the adoption of a petition
Ito parliament in favour of the re constitution of Pohlad.
Re sold—The opinions and sentiments eapreased in the re-
solution that has been se cordially adopted by this meeting,
and I presume the opinions and sent. meats expressed in the
main in the petition just read, are of so 111 b.
Mous a description that few would be disposed
to take any exception to them. The wrongs of
Poland constitute a matter about which there can
scarcely be a division of judgment. We do not knew what
the issue of the present struggle may be, but we are hen be
my that, should the Moue be such as to allow of it bring
possible that the future settlement of Europe should in-
clude the restoration of Poland to its ancient independence,
Poland may be so restored. (Cheers.) Sines I came upon
this platform a card has been put into my hands, on which
a gentleman inquires whether I would be kind enough to
say distinctly what I think about the justice or injustice
of the war itself. (Hear, hear.) I have no objection upon
earth, sir, to say what I think. (Groat cheering.) Cer-
tainly, it the war itself be not just, it hardly becomes as
to be talking about justice to Potent!. (Hear, hear.) We
are supposed here to be satisfied that the war itself is just,
and use hope to take into the sphere over which it will ex-
tend the element of justice, possibly to Poland as well as Tur-
key. (Hear,) That is the ground we take, and I should be
very sorry indeed to have any hesitation in ststiog, even in
Manchester, in any place, in any pretence, the reasons
which convince me that the war is a just war; which con
einem me that it is a war that England has not sought, a
war that England would gladly have avoided, but a war
into the midst of which England has been placed by Pro-
vidence, and where it behoves us to acquit ourselves with
all the courage, and with all the endurance, and with all
the wisdom that we may. It is a very great mistake to
suppose that this war with Russia is a great accident.
There is no accident in it at all. It is not a hogs mis-
fortune, that would
foolish talk of this man, or some silly doing of the other.
It is a very shallow phikamphy which teaches that great
effects do ever come from little causes. (Hear.) The great
Mice's may seem to come from little causes, but they
come so in reality. Behind the little cause, in immediate con•
tmxion with the effect, be sure of it there is some great cause,
abundantly aufficient to account for the effects. Now, the
causes which have led to this war with Russia, to an intelli-
gent man, are written out upon the surface of Europe as
broadly as the fact of the war itself. You see them in the
long-continued encroachments and the still ambitious par-
pease of Russia on the one side, and in those suspicions and
that f danger which have been forced upon the other
nations pf Europe by that mere, upon the other. These
causes are as wide as Europe itself, and out 'Othello a 5..,,
the struggle has come. In this hall the prediction bee been
made, once and spin, years ago, that the question of a war
with Russia was simply a question of time—a question of
circumstances. What would just bsppen to bring it about,
when it would precisely come, we could not tell, but some
thing will happen, and come it will. When these predic-
tions were uttered, the good, comfortable people of Maio
chester did not, perhaps, very much heed them ; and the
staid, senatorial people at a distance thought still less of them;
but here is the war, and sure to come it was, unless Provi-
deuce should have doomed civilised Europe to be so servile
and so dastardly—so eaten up as it were with its grovelling
slavishness as to put its neck under the hoof of the Cossack
and the Cannock. (Loud cheers) It is in vain, therefore,
to sty ; all this has come from the meddling of these Free&
people, and the rash talk of that French ambassador at Con-
stantinople. Very possibly the spark did come from Francs,
but the, gunpowder came from Rnssis. (Cheery.) Before
that spark came from France, Russia had been acting in tae
same direction ; one encroachment after another had been
made by the members of the Greek church at Jerusalem, ie
the face of protest offered again and again to those encroach-
ments by the Latin chnitistis—a minority there. Russian
influence had been employed in sanctioning the encroach-
meets, and in procuring confirmations of them from time
to time from the Porte. Catholic Europe had been silent
Ind inactive, in reference to that subject, for nearly •
century ; bat the Greek church, under Russian inflames,
had not been silent or inactive ; and in all honesty, there-
fore, we ought to say the thing did not begin—though •
man like Lord John Russell may seem to be of a different
opinion—with M. Lavalette at Constantinople. It began
with those ',recesses of encroachment which, at best, ;had
reached a point that made it seem to be a fitting thing foe
catholic Europe, through the voice of France, to put a
check upon it, and to require something like a more reason-
able adjustment. (Hear, hear.) Having referred to some
of the preludes of the war, Dr. Vaughan proceeded to say
if you neglect to balance a great power by a combination of
the smaller ones, telliig it to keep within bounds, then the
power that is the strongest has lull liberty to eat up all
the rest, and the only privilege left is that of being
swallowed last. (Loud cheers.) It is easy for men to talk,
in very grand phrases, about these things, but they ars a
women sense matter Mtn all, and admit of being put into
the plainest English, so that the plainest Lancashire man
may comprehend them. (Cheers.) Now, Ido not wonder
at all that the Cur and Count Neseelrode should have said,
"All this has come from you English people and from
France. If you had left the matter to have stood merely
as • question between Turkey and Russia, it would have
been settled very promptly." No doubt it would. (Hear.)
Turkey would either have accepted the proposals of Prince
Mentchikoff, or 'something worse than that ; or it would not.
It it bad accepted them, Russia would have got that footing
in the Turkish empire that would have enabled her quietly,
stealthily, bit by bit, to get first the formal, and then the
virtual sovereignty of that empire. (Cheers.) If Turkey
had resisted, there would have been a war, and Russia
would have had the occasion she so much coveted,
for going in with military force upon Turkey; and
then, being loft in that state which we are sometimes told se
such a blessed one for nations, without anybody to interfere
sad prevent us, she could, of coarse, have concentrated e
bee myriads upon Turkey, and possessed Constantinople
logy speedily. (Hear, hear.) Dr. Vaughan then reverted
IM Vie muse of Poland, and urged that the restoration of
ghat kingdom would be the rearing up of a great rampart
between Russia and Turkey on the one side, and of the
Western European nations on the other, and bath Austria
lend Prussia might be made to see that it was their interest
tint it should be so. The rev. gentleman concluded by
sowing the adoption of • petition praying that as much fa.
year might be shown for Poland as for Turkey.
The meeting was subsequently addressed by Mr. Ads-
head, Mr. Gould, Mr. J. Gregory, of Charlton-hell, cud Mr.
Zabs, the petition was adopted, and the meeting separated,
with thanks to the chairman.

Welt.—A public meeting of the magistrate',
gentry, and inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of
Honiton was held in that town on Monday. the Mayor
(Mr. Aberdero) in the chair. The Hon. W. W. Addington
proposed that the muting,. earnestly desiring the speedy
restoration of peace, is convinced that no measure is so well
calculated to attain that end as the vigorous prosecution of
the present war. Mr. Woodward seconded the resolution,
which was carried MM. CON. Mr. Porter (a magistrate)
proposed, " Th►t this meeting regrets the disastrous conse-
quent*s of the war, proceeding from the incapacity of vari-
ous departments, and entertains the confident hope that the
whole military department might be placed on a more effi-
cient footing ; and that in all branches of the public service
promotion might be made more dependent upon merit." Mr.
Davey seconded the resolution, which was carried unani-
mously. Resolutions end speeches condemning the system
of ruckus at present Friesian in the army were made,
and the meeting separated.
LIVERPOOL, ThEeDAT.—The Blue Jacket, Captain
Underwood, sailed this gumming for Melbourne, with the
March mails for Australis, 60 robin and 160 intermediate
passengers, and a fair cargo of merchandise on freight. The
screw steam transport, Great Britain, Captain Gray, em-
barked yesterday about 120 men belonging to the Royal
Horse Artillery, and will sail to-morrow tow Queenstown,
where she will fill up her implement of men and horns.
The screw steamer, Etas, Captain Miter, embarked a
number of horns to-dey, and will leave to morrow for
Balaklava. _ _

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CIIISTAL PALACE, MAP= 6. ONE-SHILLING
DAT.—Admissions on payment, 1,114 ; admissions by season
tickets, 302; total, 1,416.