The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-28 00:00:00

LONDON RAILWAYS.

Lord ENFIELD gave notice that on Tuesday next he
should ask the President of the Board of Trade whether,
looking at the number of railway projects afoot for the me-
tropolis and suburbs, it would not be expedient, with a
view to the protection of the public, to appoint a special
committee or Royal Commission to report thereon.
ENTRY OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES.

ORDER OF PROCESSION.
Sir H. CLIFTON asked the Secretary of State for the
Home Department whether there was any truth in the
statement in the newspapers yesterday that he had written
to the authorities of the City as to changing the ceremonial
upon the reception of the Princess Alexandra?
Sir G. GREY replied that he had not given any instruc-
tions altering any plan of loyal ceremonial that her Ma-
jesty's subjects proposed adopting. He had, it was true,
been co-operating with the different authorities, in
order to assist them into the best mode of doing
honour to her Royal Highness in her passage
through London, (Loud cheers.) The procession would
not be a state one in the usual sense of that term.
There would be six open :carriages, provided the weather
was of a very favourable nature—(laughter)—and
the cortege would be attended by a squadron of
Life Guards. A strong desire had been expressed by the
City of London—always foremost in all loyal demonstra-
tions and in loyalty to the Throne—(cheers)—to take a
leading part in the reception of the Princess at the
Bricklayers' Arms, the citizens claiming some jurisdic-
tion over the ancient and loyal borough of Southwark.
The other municipal authorities of the districts through
which their Royal Highnesses would pass had also ex-
pressed an anxious desire to be allowed the fullest oppor-
tunity of taking a part in the proceedings of the day.
(Hear, hear.) It had, therefore, been arranged
that the authorities of Southwark—attended by his two hon,
friends the members for the borough (Mr. Layard and Mr. I
Locke)--(hear, and laughter)—should attend at
the Bricklayers' Arms to receive the Princess.
The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs would be likewise
present at the station ; but it was arranged,
in order to prevent overcrowding, in consequence of the
number of carriages, that the civic procession, in
its entirety, should join at London-bridge and
precede the cortege as far as Temple-bar. At
Temple-bar the authorities of Westminster, headed
by the Duke of Buccleuch, High Steward, the Dean
of Westminster, the High Constable, and other burgesses,
would receive the Princess. (Hear, hear.) The authorities
of every part of the metropolis, through which her Royal
Highness will pass had really and truly vied, the
ono with the other, to do honour to the Princess
Alexandra, and to be afforded an opportunity of exhibiting
their loyalty on this interesting occasion, a feeling shared
in common by all her Majesty's loyal subjects, and every
opportunity would be afforded them, in carrying out their
desires. (Loud cheers.)
In reply to Mr. LOCKE and Sir G. BOWYER,
Sir G. GREY said the Sheriffs, being SheriffsofLon-
don and Middlesex, would continue with the procession
along the whole of its route.
Mr. LOCKE considered that the authorities of South-
wark should have precedence in the procession. Would the
Lord Mayor and the civic authorities head the procession ?
Sir G. GREY should feel obliged if the hon. gentleman
would communicate with him out of the house as to the
arrangement on the day of the procession.
THE LEVEE—OVERCROWDING.
In reply to an HON. MEMBER,

Sir G., GREY said he had consulted with the Lord

Chamberlain, and it appeared from the statements of that
noble lord that the last Levee was a most exceptional one,
no less than 3,000 r entlemen having attended to show
their respect to th, Prince of Wales. (Hear, hear.) The
accommodation provided on these occasions was only for
1,500. The gentlemen were invited to use a room with a
number of seats provided for ladies attending the Drawing
Rooms, but no one availed themselves of the offer—(laugh-
ter)—so eager were they to gain access to his Royal High-
ness. (Hear, hear.)
BREACH OF PRIVILEGE—SIR F. SMITH AND
MR. REED.

Sir J. PAKINGTON rose to put the following question
to the Secretary to the Admiralty, whether he could inform
the house that Mr. Reed, previous to his employment by
the present Board of Admiralty, had ever drawn the lines,
or prepared the models, or superintended the construction
of any man-of-war or other ship ?
Lord C. PAGET replied, that looking at the circum-
stances that Mr. Reed was about to be called to the house,
it would be better for the right hon. baronet to defer put-
ting his question. (Hear, hear.)
The SPEAKER then inquired of the Sergeant-at-
Arms if Mr. Reed was in attendance ?
The SERGEANT-AT-ARMS—Mr. Reed is in at -
tendance.
The SPEAKER—Let him be brought in.
The SERGEANT-AT-ARMS then retired, and immediately
returned with Mr. Reed, who bowed respectfully to the
house.
The SPEAKER—Did you write that letter? (The letter
to Sir F. Smith was here exhibited to Mr. Reed by the
Chief Clerk, Sir Dennis Le Merchant.)
Mr. REED—I did.
The SPEAKER—Is that the letter?
Mr. REED—It is.
The SPEAKER—I have to acquaint you that the writ-
ing of that letter has been adjudged a breach of the privi-
leges of this house. Have you anything to say with respect
to that letter ?
Mr. REED replied—Sir, I was not aware, when I wrote
that letter, that I was committing a breach of the privileges
of this house, or most assuredly I should not have
written it. Knowing now that I have committed an
offence against the rules of this house, I beg to
apologise most humbly for the error I have com-
mitted. (Hear, hear.) To the hon. and gallant mem-
ber I beg to tender an ample apology, First, for hav-
ing written in the terms I did with respect to a statement
made by him, and secondly, for having employed in the
letter I did write phrases of impropriety. I am quite
confident, Sir, that I wrote this letter under feelings of
irritation, and that the hon. and gallant gentleman was
quite misunderstood by me, and that he did not mean to
commit any injustice. (Hear, hear.) I hope this apology
will be deemed sufficient by the hon. and gallant officer, of
whose high character, both in this house and his honour-
able profession, I have a full and perfect knowledge.
The SPEAKER—You may withdraw.
Mr. Reed having withdrawn,

Sir F. SMITH said the staightforward apology made by
Mr. Reed perfectly satisfied him, and if the house was, as
he ventured to believe, of the same opinion, he should move
that Mr. Reed be relieved from further attendance on that
house. (Hear, hear.)
The motion was agreed to.
SUPPLY.
POLAND;

On the motion for going into Committee of Supply,
Mr. HENNESSY rose, pursuant to notice, to move an
I address to the Crown on the subject of Poland. He said
that in the session of 1864, when he asked the attention of
Parliament to the state of Poland, he was met by the stereo-
typed reply that Poland was net a practical question. In
the following session he received the same answer. lie
ventured to affirm that, whatever tone might be taken by
the Government, that repl3 would not be given to-night.
Since 1861 Poland had become, in the estimation of every
member of that house, not only a practical but a momentous
question. In 1861 events were taking place in Poland that
were little understood in other parts of Europe. It was then
said that theendurance and passive at titudeof the Poles were
an indication that they laboured under the pressure of three
great Powers, and that the heart of Poland did not beat
under that pressure. He thought, on the contrary, that the
great forbearance of the Poles was a proof of their trust in
their leaders, their confidence in their cause, and their faith
in the future. It was duo to the Russian Government that
the attitude of the Poles had been changed, and it was owing
to the conduct of that Government that recent events had
occurred. Early in the year 1862 an Imperial ukase was
issued which promised reforms, and appeared to confer
privileges on the Poles. On the 10th of Juno, 1862, the
Emperor appointed the Grand Duke Constantine his Lieu
tenant in Poland, and the Marquis Wielopolski to assist him ,
The Grand Duke Constantine solicited the Polish nobles
to confer with him on the wants of Poland. The nobles,
the great landowners, and the municipal bodies responded
to that appeal. It was not alone from the Emperor of the
Russias and from his Lieutenant the Grand Duke that indi-
cations were addressed to the Poles, telling them to petition
for a liberal form of government. When he called the
attention of the house to the state of Poland there was
seated in the Peers' gallery an illustrious Polish nobleman
who overheard the words spoken from the Treasury Bench
by Lord J. Russell. That noble lord was then making his
last speech in that house, and he said to Poland, " I believe
your interests point to tranquillity, and to petitions and re-
quests for a more liberal form of government, and for insti •
tutions similar to those whioh were granted from Vienna."
How was that advice followed? The marechal de noblesse
went back to his own country shortly after the noble lord had
made that speech. The ukase to which he had referred was
published, and inconsequence the noblesofPodol ia a sse m bled ;
300 of them met, the 12 marechals de noblesse at their head,
and an address to the Emperor was drawn up in which
they said—

" Rejecting all thoughts of the predominance a any par •
ticular race or class, the Podolian nobles remain true to the
fundamental Polish idea of giving to all classes the same
political rights, and they require union with Poland because
they see in such union the foundation of free institutions.
The situation of the country is very bad—a people without
means of education, the laws opposed to the customs, tradi-
tions, and interchange of opinions, the execution of the law s
rendered nugatory by an administration foreign to the coun-
try, and concentrated beyond the pale of the national wants
and interests,' and, finally, a population without organs
selected from its own body for the purpose of directing its
affairs.
What was the result of that address ? He held in his hand
three letters describing the fate of that nobleman who had
heard the advice of Lord Russell, and had followed it. One
of the letters was dated from a prison at St. Petersburg,
and the other two described what had happened. The last
letter was dated the 16th February, 1863, and was written
by a near relative of the nobleman to whom he referred. It
said, " The marechal de noblesse whom you have seen in
England is now at the fortress of Petropaulovski,cendemned
for 14 months, with 11 of his companions, to most inhuman
torments." (Hear.) So much for following the advice which
had been given in that house, and also taking counsel of the
Russian authorities. (Hear.) He mentioned that incident to
illustrate the conduct of the Russian authorities as far as
it affected the higher classes in Poland. But every class in
Poland felt the pressure of the Russian Government, because
during the time of which ho was speaking a state of siege
prevailed. He had said that the Grand Duke Constantine
had invited the municipal authorities and town councils to
confer with him upon the state of the people. The Town
Council of Warsaw, acting upon that invitation, sent in to
the Grand Duke a report, dated July 20, 1862, on one of the
prisons of Warsaw. The report began by saying that "the
total number of men and women arrested from the begin-
ning of the year 1862 to July 19, was 14,533." The de.
scription of the room in which the political prisoners were
confined was as follows :

" Room No. 18, the same small size as the other two, ex-
cept that it is but halftkeir width, contains 30 men, arrested
for not carrying lanterns at night. This room has no furni
ture and only one small barred window. There is so little
space that the men in it can neither lie down nor move
about with freedom. There is scarcely a breath of air, and
the close packing of these 30 persons is an unprecedented
instance of disregard of human life."
The report closed with this sentence,—
" Considering, first, that the number of people arrested
during the past half-year amounts to nearly 1-10th of the
whole population of the town, and to 1-sth of such popula-
tion, excluding children ; second, that among those arrested
are persons detained for the most trifling inattention to the
decrees of the police, and mothers with little children, even
children of four years old and children at the breast are
often arrested—the Deputy-President and the delegates of
the Municipal Council consider it most expedient to take
immediate steps to put a stop to this evil."
He was not quoting newspapersnow,lest any person should
accuse him of exaggerating; he had quoted from the report
lof the Town Council upon the prison of the town. (Hear.)
There were other addresses from provincial councils in re-
ply to the invitation of the Russian Government, and he
would read a few words from the address of the provincial
council of Piotrkow, dated November, 1862:
" The council also feels it its duty to call the attention of
the authorities to one of the chief causes of the present
position—the want of men qualified for the various kinds of
labour, Between the years 1833 and 1856 many thousands
have been recruited for the army from this province, consti-
tuting the cream of the population, and not leaving enough
men for labour. These recruits were sent thousands of miles
away, into strange lands, for many years, were attacked by
a dreadful mortality in consequence of the climate, and re-
turned, their numbers reduced to 498, not only useless, but
a burden to their province. For these reasons the Council
has felt it to be its duty to protest against any recruiting
for the army which might be carried into effect on similar
principles, and, above all, against a system which, by call-
ing to the army the majority of persons belonging to the
educated or mechanic class, would deprive the province of
every means of self-development or progress. It is of opi-
nion that the retention of recruits in their own country,
with duo protection for their language and religion, which
are the only treasures left, to a nation under foreign rule,
could alone render a conscription tolerable to the popula-
tion of this country ; any other will always be considered
as something worse than the heaviest of misfortunes."
He had read these extracts to the house as a statement of
their case by the only official element left in Poland. Well,
in accordance with the request of the Grand Duke Constan-
tine, Count Andrew Zamoyski was asked in open day to
suggestithe policy which he thought best suited for the
country, and nothing could be more moderate than the
document which was drawn up in reply. For that act of
petitioning Count Zamoyski was summoned to St. Peters-
burg, he was exiled, and was now in banishment with his
brother Ladislaus. And now ho would call attention to the
extraordinary language addressed by the Emperor blinsel