The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-30 00:00:00

No. 170.

EARL RUSSELL TO LORD NAPISR.
Foreign-offit•e, April 24, 1863.
Sir,—l have received and laid before the Queen your
excellency's despatch of the 12th inst., enclosing a copy of
a manifesto on Polish affairs issued by the Emperor of Rus-
sia on the 31st of March (April 12).

Her Majesty's Government have carefully and anxiously
c,nsidered the contents of this document, in thehope to find
in it the germ of the restoration of peace, and a hope of good
government to Poland.
I have to make to you the following remarks as the result
of their deliberations. _

An amnesty may lay the foundation of peace in two

cases :--

1. If the insurgents have been thoroughly defeated. and
are only waiting for a promise of pardon to enable them to
return to their homes

2. If the amnesty is accompanied with such ample pro-
mises of the redress of the grievances which gave 000810i0111

to the insurrection as to induce the insurgents to think
that their object is attained.
It is clear that the first of these cases is not that of the
present insurrection.
It is not put down ; it is, on the contrary, rather more
extensive than it was a few weeks ago.
Let us, then, examine the amnesty with reference to
the second of the supposed cases.
The Emperor, referring to the institutions which he has
Conferred (" octroyees") on the kingdom of Poland, says:—
" En maintenant encore aujourd'htti ces institutions
dans leur integrite, nous nous 14servons, lorsqu'elles
auront ete epouvees dans la pratique, de proceder a leur
d‘veloppement ultetieur selon les besoins du temps et ceux
du pays."*

This promise can hardly be satisfactory to fiat Poles. For
it must be observed with regard to the institutions already
given that it was during their existence that 2,';00 young
men were seized arbitrarily in the night, and condemned
to serve as soldiers in the Russian army in defiance of
justice, and even in violation of the law of 1859, so recently
enacted. So that it is evident no security w uld be obtained
by submitting again to the same laws. With those institu-
tions in full force and vigour innocent men might be impri-
soned as criminals, or condemned to serve as soldiers, or
banished to distant countries, without a trial, without pub-
licity, without any guarantee whatever.
As to the promise held out for the future, it must be ob-
served that it is made to depend on the practical working of
these institutions and on the wants of the time and of the ,
country.

The first of these conditions alone destroys all reasonable
hope of the fulfilment of this promise. For the practical
working of the institutions hitherto given depends on the
co •operation of native Poles of property and character as
members of the Council of State, and of provincial and muni-
cipal assemblies. But the recent conduct of the Russian
government in Poland has deprived them of the confidence
of all Poles of this description, and forced all such Poles to
withdraw from the bodies in which their functions were to
be exercised.

There are wanting, therefore, in this imperial manifesto
the first elements of success, namely, a guarantee of secu-
rity on the one side, and the feeling of trust and confidence
on the other.

In a dispatch of Lord Durham, then ambassador at St.
Petersburgh, dated in August, 1832, Lord Durham says :
—" There has long been a jealousy, nay, hatred, existing
between the Russians and Poles." Her Majesty's Govern-
ment had hoped that the present Emperor, by raising the
social position of his Russian, and securing the political
freedom of his Polish subjects might have united both by
the link of loyal attachment to the throne.

This hope has been unfortunately disappointed, and it
is with great pain that her Majesty's Government observe
that the feelings of hatred between Russians and Poles have
not in the lapse of 30 years been softened or modified.
The present amnesty does not appear likely to diminish
the intensity of the insurrection, or give any solid security
to the most moderate of Polish patriots.—l am, &c.,
(Signed) RUSSELL.

• Translation.—" In maintaining, at this day, these in-
stitutions in their integrity, we reserve to ourselves, when-
ever they shall have been practically trier, to proceed t.,
their further development in accordance with the require-
ments of the age and of the country.