The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-06 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 1863.

How long are the great Powers of Europe going
to look oe, to all appearance most apathetically,
while the Polish patriots are struggling fiercely,
spasmodically, for life and death, with the great
Russian Autocracy ? Remembering the history of
Poland, aware of the disproportion between the
opposing ranks of the belligerents—an inflexible
persistence on the part of the great Powers in the
application to this new phase of the Polish question
of the principle of non-intervention certainly does
seem not only erne], it seems hardly less than crimi-
nal. Willie we write, this afternoon, there just now
comes to us as the latest telegram from the seat of
war, yonder in the north-east of Europe, the
announcement of yet another engagement between
the Imperialists and Insurgents. The contest in this
instance, we learn, took place on the 29th ult. at
Grochowy. The result—as so often before now
has proved to be the case, since this last popular
rising of the Poles commenced—turning oat
decidedly in favour of the Insurgents. The
Russians, we read in the telegram, were defeated
by the Poles with great loss—that is on the 29th
of May, in the battle which then took place at
Grochowy in the Kaliez Palatinate. Not only
was this the result, but upon the next day, that
is upon last Saturday (this day week) the vie•
tory won by the Insurgents was repeated !
The Russians returning to the attack on
the following day, the 30th ultimo, were again
repulsed—this time at Slawiszyn ! And, as if this
renewed advantage gained over the Russians by the
Polish Insurgents were not sufficient to satisfy the
p itriotic determination of the latter, yet a third
contest took place, there, in that same Palatinate of
Koiisz on the very day afterwards, the 31st, that
is last Sunday—several waggon-loads of Russian
soldiers (we presume wounded) being driven across
the frontier of the Prussian territories from the
direction of Brudzawo : there, when safely lodged
upon the Prussian soil, being hospitably received
by the local authorities and cantonned at Pleszewo.
Satisfactory though these tidings are in themselves,
when we read that the Russians were again and
again defeated, the Polish insurgents again and
again being left by their imperial antagonists masters
upon the field of slaughter—one can never hear, at
the same time, of one single Polish victory without
a qualm of anxiety as to the result of those same
tidings when brought to the Imperial councils at
St. Petersburg. There, in the Palace of the CZAR
--Mr. KINGLAKE has pointed the moral and
adorned the tale of this formidable
truth in regard to the Great Northern
Autocracy—there, in the Palace of the CZAR, at St.
Petersbargh, sits in his chamber the despotic ruler
of 60,000,000 of men. One who has but to stretch
forth his, hand, there, in thatpa!ace chamber where he
sits—who has but to stretch forth his hand, to ring a
bell, to utter or to breathe a few syllables, and
within a few seconds issue his mandate through the
electric wires to the extremities of his vast dominion!
Mandates setting in motion wherever and whither-
soever he pleases hundreds of thousands of armed
men soldiers well armed and highly disciplined—
ready, by their concentration upon any given
y" in overwhelming numbers, to repair
"dinary disaster of a warlike kind ! All
Gres` Possible any day, if the rest of the
to eat "Powers should appear to the CZAR himself,
be still beat
t?! on resolutely carrying out the
policy at
wttelli
e•leents
apathy, out like this with seeming
uf l„
ciple of nen-interZt'le"than to the vaunted prin-
ln• In the instance of the
Poles, sometimes even
fain in the instance of the
Americans, we are
stehriiso
policy
that
the period. for thus persic'scetilat
non-intervention has at length been
Plss'd•

It is not many years sincelhestate of our Indian
finances was the cause of serious con
d, and
forebodings and dismal propheciescern abound loomY
there were not wanting "me who doubted whether
it -etuer
it were worth while, in a monetary point of vieA
to retain possession of so unprofitable ell empire,
Rut a few brie!' years have passed, and What do we
see? By the wand of the two beneficent fairiEß
peace end prudent financial administration—the
deficit has been converted into a surplus. The
empty exchequer has been replaced by an elastic
revenue, and the Indian financier is enabled, after
reducing the obnoxious income tax by one-fourth,
lowering the duty on iron, and diminishing that on
beer to one half, to leave himself, in the new finan-
cial year, an unemployed sum of nearly half a mil-
lion. This large amount, which he retains unap-
Proprip.ted, will serve as a reserve fund to meet any
possible emergency, or supply an unexpected defl-
t ; better still, it mt4y be employed in develop-
-31R the re„ur
eta of the country by road making

NT! Lter works, and the extension of railways. The
re pid growth of the Indian revenue, after so great
a depression, is almost unexampled. The average
nnual increase has been over two millions and
half. In 1858-59 the Indian revenue was
£30,000,000; it is now X 45,000,000. When we
consider the effects of that tremendous outbreak
WI Lich shook India to its foundations, we shall see
tt.at the most sanguine anticipations could hardly
have foretold so rapid an increase. This is only a
sample of what the future of India may be if only
the same principles that regulate our English ad-
ministration are allowed free scope. Sir CHARLES
TREVELYAN is ready, he tells us, to supply funds
to any extent for making cotton roads, and adds
that the want of the cotton cultivation in India is
not money but labour and superintendence. Here
is an excellent field for the energy and enterprise
of our middle classes. The effects of European di-
rection and management have been forcibly shown
in many other branches of Indian commodities, and
if a sufficient number of skilled and energetic
men would undertake the superintendence
of the cotton plantations we should pro-
bably see as great and as rapid a change
in the prospects of the Indian cotton trade
as was visible when the culture of indigo passed in
Bengal to the hands of the Company's agents. Sir
CHARLES TREVELTAN 18 liberal, as an Indian
financier in the present state of the country has
urgent need to be, in his expenditure on public
works. The following statistics show the rate o
expenditure :

1862-63. 1863-64.
Works of public improvement £2,380,000 £2,618,000
Railway supervision and cost of land 132,500 182,500
Loss by railway exchange 366,300 294,600
Civil buildings 570,000 570,000
Military works, ordinary
Military works, extraordinary
One per cent appropriated ex income-
tax ..

Total
Total for 1862-63

Increase
When we add the sum of £238,000 reserved for
cotton, roads, and other works of the kind, we shall
hope for some good results. We are reaping the
reward of our own negligence, as well as of the
misgovernment of past generations, in the tardi-
ness of those results oompared with what
might have been. On this subject Sir CHARLES
TREVELYAN says :—" The lacites of ages cannot be
repaired in a single generation, still less in a year
or two. We must not repeat in India the mistake
made in Ireland, by not distinguishing between the
ultimate capabilities of a country after its resources
have been developed, and the improvements which
are immediately practicable. The soil and labour
of India are so largely engaged in producing indigo,
saltpetre, opium, oil seeds, fibres, and other export-
able commodities, besides this last urgent demand
for cotton, that she can with difficulty meet all the
demands upon her. We are too much accustomed
to look upon India as an inexhaustible fund to be
drawn upon ad libitum. She ought rather to be
regarded as a bank, the many pressing claims upon
which can be answered in full only by making the
most of every available resource." When we re-
member the vast amount of waste land and the lack
of irrigation, besides the old and limited system of
agriculture mostly followed, we shall rather regard
India as a bank, which has a large portion of her
capital lying idle, and profiting neither herself nor
her claimants.

Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN'S Budget has been
favourably received in Calcutta, as it deserved to be.
At its conclusion he announced his intention of
carrying out a very valuable and necessary
reform. He proposes undertaking a thorough
revision of our Indian public establishments, not
with the object of reducing the expense, but
of rendering them more efficient and satisfactory.
In some imstances two officers from England will
assist an Indian officers in the task of reorganisation.
In others Indian officers will undertake it alone. The
❑umber of ill paid and unprofitable native servants
who still linger in our offices are said to be the cause
of much of that corruption which is so difficult to
detect and so disastrous in its effects. It is not
intended to seduce the salaries but to secure the
fittest men for the work. Let a good amount of
work be done in a proper manner and the pay will
be proportionate. Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN has
evidently a clear perception of the real wants of
India, and while his satisfactory budget will give
confidence to the merchant and the capitalist we
hope the enlighted assistance he promises to public
works will meet ready assistance from the energy
and enterprise.of this country.

It is satisfactory to find from tLe late remarks
of the Crown Prince of PRUSSIA that he at least
takes no part in the late unhappy affairs that have
caused so sad an estrangement between the people
and their rulers. His Royal Highness arrived at
Dantsic. They paid a visit to the Rathhaue, and
were received by the municipal authorities. The
chief magistrate regretted that the untoward cir-
cumstances that had recently taken place prevented
any public rejoicings that might celebrate the visit,
to which the Crown Prince replied, "I also regret
that I have come here at a time when disagreement
has taken place between the Government and the
people, the news of which surprised me greatly ;
being absent, I was unaware of the ordinances
which have brought about this position of affairs,
and took no part in the deliberations when they
were resolved upon." His Royal Highness could
not have spoken more strongly than this, and indeed,
considering the extreme delicacy of his position, we
might well have supposed that he could not say so
much. He could hardly have been placed in a more
awkward situation, and from this he extricated
himself very successfully. He added a few words
about the good wishes of the King for the welfare
of Prussia, which, of course, from him, were genuine,
and were appreciated accordingly. It has long
been hinted and whispered that the CROWN PRINCE
has taken no part in the austere arrangements that
have of late so marred the prospects of
the country, but it is very gratifying thus
to meet with his viva voce testimony to the con-
trary. The perusal of this short discourse will be
very encouraging to all whom it concerns, and it
is a most fortunate coincidence, that just at this
particular juncture an opportunity should have
presented itself where, without any undue effort,
in-
terfere his Royal Highness could publicly state his views,
or rather what were not his views on great political
with the pea
questions such as those which now threaten to in-
to the propositioYn of
xly,the Common C
an addrcsa to the Berlin has resolved to agree
The mutieipaut peace and prosperity of th© land.
Council to send
has reached us, it a I%'"
From the 3urnmary which
and to refer to thePPearaht° be a very suitable
one,
forcible and yet te e-ict
Points •
temperate lan at issue in
The address calls the Biiagß-
the prejudicial consequences
of hia Majesty to
recent ordinance on the eeß
of
I)(3,,tacultill
the government without press,
and
eEkri *g the
a settled bud 5."'
en
cents the unfavourable influence get. it re,re.
of the r
tracted constitutional conflict u "13-Prcl-
loon the relations
property, trade, and the public credit, and concludes of
by requesting the King to re-establin the consti-
tutional state of bffitirts by a speeuy conveeatiou of
he Diet.

If King WILLIAM chooses to persist in the course

already entered upon he will not offer the excuse
that he has not received sufficient warnings as to its
un wise and mischievous tendency. From all sides
there have been protests, and if these representa
tions have been made quietly they ought to have
had more effect, and those who remonstrated should
have been treated with more respect for their re-
straint and moderation. The address above referred
to brings plainly before the King the importance of
speedily terminating those unseemly contentions.
It shows him that a prolongation of the pre-
sent state of things will be prejudicial to
the vital interests of the community. It
will, therefore, be with open eyes that King
WILLIAM proceeds in his present arrangements for
curtailing the rights of the Constitution, if not
suppressing them altogether. The Press has also
vindicated its claims to consideration in a decided
manner. Six Berlin journals have just published a
joint declaration, " reserving their rights in view of
the Royal Ordinance of the Ist inst. relative to the
Press ; they say that the Government has yet to
furnish the nation With proofs of the legality of
that measure." Altogether there will be a firm
stand made against these innovations, and the
KING and his Ministers will find that theirs is not
a path of roses. It is rumoured that M. BISMARK
is to accompany the KING in his retirement
at Carlsbad. If so it will be a most
unhappy occurrence, for the counsels of that
statesman have been proved to be most pernicious
to the welfare of the State with whose legislatio❑
he has unfortunately so much to do. The late un-
fortunate misunderstandings are mainly owing to
the pernicious influence of the Ministers, who have
done their utmost to foster and encourage all the
tendencies to unconstitutional forms of government
that they have noticed in the King's disposition.
They have insulted the Chamber of Deputies at
every possible opportunity, and then always de-
clared that they acted solcly in regard to the in-
terest of their Sovereign, thus giving him the
odium of their own actions. Sad as affiirs are, it is
a positive relief to notice that a decided stand has
been made in some cases to the carrying out of the
Royal decrees, and it is not yet too late to hope that
a quiet resistance may do much to effect its purpose,
and that dark as the present is, the future may
shine out brighter over the distracted kingdom of
Prussia. It is always difficult to trample on those
who steadily resist invasion with calmness but
decision, who do nothing to provoke, but who
also will never yield to oppression.