The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-11 00:00:00

The Great Polish Trial at Berlin,

The reading of the documentary evidence brought
forward by the prosecution was resumed on the 2d.
Herr Brachvogel objected to the reading of a pro-
clamation of the National Government from the
newspaper Ojczyzne, on the ground that the mere
fact of the publication of documents in a newspaper
is no guarantee for their authenticity. This objec-
tion was allowed by the President, who also took
note of a remark of Herr Brachvogel that documents
relating to a period subsequent to the arrest of the
accused cannot be admitted as evidence against
them. Several proclamations of the National Go-
vernment, dating to the 18th March, 1864, were
then read, the counsel for the defence pointing out
that in none of them is there any expression which
can be interpreted into an intention of extending
the insurrection to Prussia or Austria. Herr Brach-
vogel having made some strong remarks on the
nature of Russian rule in Poland, which was so in-1

tolerable as to drive the Poles to open resistance,

was interrupted by the President, who desired him
to refrain from making any remarks of that kind.
The President next announced that the prosecution
had put in a collection of documents relating to for-
mer political trials. in answer to some remarks from
Dr. Gneist, the Crown prosecutor explained that
these documents were purely of an historical cha-
racter, and were necessary as proofs of the political
objects sought for by the Poles. Messrs, Elven,
Taneski, Holthoff, Lisierki, and Gneist had no ob•
jection to the reading of the abstracts of the pro-
ceedings of past trials, but protested against the
documents being read. The Court, however, decided
that as the defence denied the statements of the
prosecution with regard to these trials, the docu-
ments should be read to prove whether these state-
ments were true. Dr. Gneist then said that the
defence objected against such material as broad-
sheets, newspaper articles, and prcclamations being
put in as evidence. An anonymous document is
absolutely worthless as evidence. These printed
papers are the work of unknown authors, and it is
in the nature of things that in times of disturbance
communistic ideas should be afloat. These papers
have been collected in a most extraordinary manner
from various parts of Europe, and cannot be ad-
mitted to prove anything whatever. The evil con-
sists not in the production of a single document,
but in the placing in juxtaposition a series of
documents which have no real relation to each
other. He, therefore, begged the President not to
permit such matter to be read. After a few remarks
from the Crown prosecutor, the President said the
Court would give a decision on the subject, and the
sitting closed. On the 3d Herr Brachvogel re-
quested that the correspondence of M. Guttry
should not be read, as he did not act with any one
else, and his letters could, therefore, compromise no
one but himself. This was disputed by the Crown
prosecutor, who said that M. Guttry was a mem-
ber of the Posen Committee, and that his papers
were, therefore, evidence of the tendencies and
objects of the committee. M, Elven rejoined
that the prosecution had yet to prove that there
was such a committee in existence ; and one of the
accused, M. Koczorowski, declared that, although
intimately acquainted eeith M. Gattry, he knew
nothing of the papers in question, that that gen-
tleman was in relations with a so-called universal
national European movement, and that none of the
accused knew anything about these relations. Se-
veral papers were then read, among others a decree
of the National Government stated to bear the sig-
nature of M. Niegolewski, which, however, was
strenuously denied by that gentleman. At the sit-
ting of the 4th the testimony of a witness named
Faucheux was read by the prosecution, to prove the
finding of a circular of the National Government
in the house of Moszczenski. Herr Brachvogel
here remarked that although the witness had had
many opportunities of ascertaining what were the
objects of the Poles, he firmly maintained in hie
evidence that he had observed no signs of any con-
templated hostilities against Prussia. Herr Hol-
thoff then proposed that Faucheux, who resides in
Paris, should be summoned to appear as a witness,
to which the Court agreed. A series of papers,
translated first by Russian officials into French, and
thence into German, were then read, notwithstand-
ing the protest of the defence that the translation
of a translation could not be accepted as evidence.
The sitting then closed.
It will be observed that in all the mass of evidence
which has been brought forward by the prosecution
nothing has as yet transpired to prove that the ac-
cused, or even the Poles of other parts of Poland,
had any intention of attempting to seize Posen and
separate that province from Prussia. The letter
from the Russian general, Mink witz, read at the
sitting of the Ist, proves that the Prussian Govern-
ment even resorted to Russian officials to obtain
proofs against the accused. The letter in question
is to the following effect :—" I have repeatedly ap,
plied to the various commissions of inquiry for
information as to whether the insurrection is directed
against Prussia as well as Russia. With the excep-
tion of a large number of printed fly-sheets and
newspaper articles I have not, unfortuuately, found
in the numerous papers of the commissions of in-
quiry, and the evidence of prisoners, anything that
could be of any use for the trial. I did not confine
myself to the documents of the commissions, but
searched the diplomatic chancellery of the Viceroy
in order to inform him of anything that might be
of use in examinations. In the large volumes 1
looked through and found nothing but personalities
and a great many letters, and which were of no use
for the object I had in view. The grand inquiry
into the affair of the attempt on General Berg, which
seemed heavily to compromise young Count Stanis-
laus Z imoyski, also produced nothing for the present
trial. Perhaps something may come to light ; if so,
I will immediately report it. The only thing I have
yet found is in the letter7bag of the French sub-
lieutenant, young Von Blankenstein, who was killed
last spring. This is a paper of the Military Com-
mission for Posen. and a list of various persons en-
rolled in Posen. I send them both, meagre as they
arc."