The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-12 00:00:00

H. MILNEB said that the speech of the noble lord
(J. Russell) during the debate one former night was not one
which the house would be likely to forget, and he thought
it more advantageous that they did not approach this ques-
tion under the influence of the exalted sentiments contained in
that speech, but more coolly and less enthusiastically than
whew under the influence of the high impulses which it oust
have caused. He thought there were other consideration
involved in this question besides the national honour, and
which ware not undeserving of attention. The noble lord
had said that it was almost improper in that house to enter-
tin the question; and implied that they were taking en
titemealms an act of supererogation, if not of ssaumption, Ia
ifillaning it out. In this country we were too apt to leave
IWO affairs entirely to the foreign minister, who was
almost alsoloto ; and on whose will it almost depended whit
isAsmallen skean be laid on the table of the house ; bat be
(Mr. Mikes) coocei red that it was a privilege of dm braes
L judge of that minister's acts. The government having, la
one portion of the speech from the throne, alluded in the
most solemn manner to the protest which had been made
against the aims ration of Cracow, would not have doss so
without a strong sense of its injustice. In another pomp of
the speech, allusion had been made to another insideat in
foreign affairs, namely, the correspondence which had takes
place between the governments of England, Francs, and
Spain on the subject of the marriage of the Infants with
the Due de Montpenaier. In that case, the noble lord had
made a strong protest, but no mention was made of that
protest in the speech, and therefore it was right that there
should be no discussion on that subject in that house. Bat
the subject of the absorption of Cracow had been very dif-
ferently treated, and the honer had a right to confirm the
sentiments expressed by her Majesty, and those which hod
emanated from a large body of the people. By one past of
the resolution now before the house, they would state
their opinion that they viewed this act with alarm and in-
dignation, and it would tend to strengthen the effect of that
protest in the eyes of Europe. The hon. member here
entered into a review of the history of Europe connected
with Poland up to the treaty of Vienna, and observed that
in October, 1814, the Emperor Alexander himself
had issued a proclamation stating that Russia had
caused to be adopted a proposition, making Cracow a free
and neutral state, which would remain " a monument of
a most magnanimous policy." A short time, however,
had elapsed before, at the hand of the same power, this
" monument of a magnanimous policy " was extinguished.
(Hear' hear.) It had often been matter of controversy
how it was possible the the. e great powers, Austria, Russia,
and Prussia, could have consented to allow Cracow to be
established in the midst of them as an independent state. It
however did not appear that from this arrangement an
inconvenience bad arisen. On the contrary, whatever had
been the spirit of Polish nationality, it was gratified without
injury to any of. those powers, and Cracow had enjoyed a
decent share of liberty until the outbreak of 1830. Into the
subject of that outbreak it was not his intention, nor was
this the proper time for him to enter further than to observe,
that, not only in that house, but amongst the public
generally, there existed the same sympathies as had been
expressed by the noble lord at the head of the government,
and by the right hon. baronet the member for Tamworth.
But it seemed that Prince Metternich had brought an accu-
sation against the inhabitants of Cracow for their sympathy
with the fall of Warsaw. Now he (Mr. M. Milnes) saw no
guilt in their having witnessed with something like interest
the awful struggle which their fellow-countrymen in War-
saw were making, but it was wonderful that Cracow had
not thrown itself into the conflict, and, if so, perished more
honourably than she had now done. However it was
marvellous that the senate of Cracow had succeeded in
maintaining order and peace during the Polish revolution. It
was quite clear that when Warsaw fell, Austria and Ramis
had determined upon the destruction of Cracow. By a rearm-
tion agreed to between the three powers in 1834, they agreed
to send into Cracow troops, in equal proportions, on the
demand of any two inhabitants. Such a demand they could
not have any difficulty in obtaining. It would occupy the
house too long were he to detail the vexation; the tyranny,
and the injustice, to which Cracow was expoeed from the'
time of its occupation by these troop the end of all, how-
ever, had been that which might have been expected
namely, the extinction of Cracow as a free state. In this
there had been a clear dereliction of duty, both on the part of
this country and of France ; to that neglect of duty
this result was in a great degree owing. It
was impossible to read the debates in this and the
other house of parliament on the subject of Cracow,
without observing that it had there been felt that the only
chance to save •teat state from the destiny which had sines
befallen her was the cordial intervention of England and
France in the appointment of consular and diplomatic agents
there. He believed that if, on the first occupation of Cracow
by Austrian troops, consular *gents had been sent out by
England and France, the whole of this misfortune might
have been averted, and a safer and more secure state of
things established, by which the people of Cracow might
have been spared the national loss. In the course of those
debates, the noble lord opposite (Lord Palmerton) de-
clared to the house the positive intention of her Majesty's
t to send out consular and diplomatic sgents to
mr=l
He had not done so, and though he (Mr. M. Milne')
did not wish to press hard upon the noble lord on this
yet be thought the noble lord ought not to have relpumsed,
when called for, the production of those papers which formed
the basis of the non-fulfilment of his promise. But the in-
terest which had been shown in that house with respect to
sending out a consul to Cracow had been shared by the
other house of parliament, where Lord Lyndhurst expressed
himself strongly on the subject, slid urged that the
suppression or annihilation of Cracow would inflict
a arises bijou upon the commercial interests of
Lis senntsr-ein opinion which had been reiterated
by the aside lord opposite (Lord Palmerston) in one
of ble LAM deopetchm Notwithstanding the declaration of
Lord Landlann•sepinionan this subject, he (Mr. M.Milnes)
did set dot the* ea a Aimee of ministry the noble and
learned hied bored bit oalleope, the Earl of Aberdeen, to
show soy mono syeeaem te moue Cracow than had been
evil's,* by the bed egyeiles (Lord Palmerston). The
three pewee. to whom he lied already PO often alluded, had
deteemdooi goo the datreetion of Cracow as a free state,
am& the fromolkite came anigned was the impossibility of
ere after the events which had taken
ipP arlini=there
at the commencement...if last year. A dis-
ilusion Ise pies at the end of the last session, in the course
of whteh the lAA, of the circumstances of that transaction
letemplred. halm appeared that the town of Cracow had
been tocephed by Austrian troops, and that, on the entrance
Into the town of a very small hod of democratic insurgents,
the Austrian General eva Craosw, and took away
with him all the wealthy residents and authorities of the
place, leaving it in the hand' of a band of revolutionists,
who issued a sort of proclamation, and established what they
called a government The whole number of this body was
extremely null, and might at once easily have been put down ;
but, whether from • yor intention, the whole territory of
Galicia bad been le apparently undefended—the peasantry
had been excited by the local authorities, not to say by the
nunediatis orders of the central authorities, to massacre
the principal landowners of the district. This had been
allowed to take place in one of the most civilised empires of
the world in the nineteenth century. (Hear, hear.) As to
the facts of this massacre, the Austrian government had
shown so much concealment that it was impossible to come
to accurate details. The number of persons sacrificed had
been very large, but the may clear idea of it was given in a
sentence of a despatch of Prince Metternich, in which he
used phraseology which, however shocking in its reality,
WAS calculated to provoke a smile. Restated " that in conse-
quence ol the great accumulation of embarrassment to the
Austrian government, it was not with impunity that the
stratum of the social hierarchy of the political body
could disappear." Therefore, it appeared, on his au-
thority, tlot one stratum of the social ierarchy had
disappeared—;hat was to my, the landed gentry—
had been murdered. To an such expressions in re-
ference to an sena of this amass was a pismires= which
before was unparsiOrled. ( Hem, hear.) After rush a dis-
patch, it was astursl:v to be szpand die annihilation
of Cracow would follCw ; bats the lea sf diplomatic
agents abroad, there sneered 10 love sees sogirot, or alt.