The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-21 00:00:00

THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

(From the henna correspondent of the Times,)
VIENNA, Feb. 17.
The semi-official DonauZeztung contains an article
on " The Polish Interests of Austria" which will
hardly be to the taste of the Russian Government
and its Prussian coadjutors. In substance it is as
follows : _ _ .

" In some of the Prussian newspapers we read that Aus-
tria ought to have acceded to the Russo-Prussian Conven-
tion, because her interests and those of Russia and Prussia
are identical. We do not share this opinion, and therefore
believe that the Austrian Government has acted wisely in
having nothing to do with a convention, which would not
contribute to the security of the Polish possessions of Aus-
tria, though it may lead to unpleasant complications. It
was unwillingly that Austria in the last century agreed to
the partition of Poland. Since that tune there have been
great territorial changes, but Austria has never either sym-
pathised with or rendered assistance to insurrectionists.
Two of the most important things for the Poles are their
nationality and their religion (the Roman Catholic), and
both of them have been respected by Austria. The Poles in
Galicia know that no attempt has been made to Germanise'
them, and they also know that the Imperial Government
has never disturbed their relafions with the Papal Chair. In
consequence of her straightforward policy, Austria, notwith-
standing the storm raging, is not obliged to have recourse
to extraordinary measures for securing her Polish pos-
sessions.' '

The Warsaw correspondent of a Prussian paper
a few days ago stated that the Austrian Govern-
ment had privately sold some thousands of muskets
which were in the citadel of Lemberg, and also
that they in secret had given assistance to the
insurgents ; but both assertions are totally un-
founded. Some of the Prussian papers have re-
cently spoken of the Archduke Ferdinand Max
as a pretender to the throne of " regenerated"
Poland, but people here laugh at a report which is
as absurd as it is false. During the last few days
Prince Gortschakoff has been exceedingly polite to
the representatives of Austria and Turkey at the
Russian Court, and it must therefore be supposed
that he has some object of importance to attain.
With the French Minister he is cooler than he used
to be, and at St. Petersburg it is whispered that the
Russian Court is dissatisfied with the present policy
of France in the East. For a long time Prince
Gortschakoff and Lord Napier could not agree, but
recently their relations have been somewhat more
satisfactory. The refusal of Count Rechberg to
accede to the Russo-Prussian Convention has so
much annoyed the St. Petersburg Cabinet that it
would not surprise me if the Emperor Alexander
should make a direct appeal to the Emperor Francis
Joseph, and try to persuade him to renew that
alliance which was so long the bane of Germany
and Austria. At present there is no reason to be-
lieve that the Emperor of Austria is inclined to
renew the Holy Alliance, but he is surrounded by
people of reactionary principles, and it is therefore
impossible positively to say that his Majesty will
never follow the example given by the Prussian
Government. It is obvious that the Russians are
trying to drive the insurgents into the centre of
Poland, in order to get them within a ring of
bayonets, but as long as Austria remains neutral
they will not be able to do so. The Russo-Aultrir
boundary line is some 500 English miles long
the 6
t get
the insurgents will therefore always beheab
latter are I
into the rear of the Russians, unless
able to keep garrisons in all ter towns
teed.. that the in-
and villages. It is to be supo
surgents in Poland were aware
p ru
b lwi chl ya t rwe
paosr ti id"
tended, for as soon as it was
that Prussian and Austrian plenipotentiaries were
about to go to Warsaw they began to send large
and Podo-
lia. to Lithuania, Volhynia,
The Enssiaes boast, and with reason, of their
strong position in the Kingdom of Poland, but
in the above-mentioned provinces and iu the
Ukraine they have very few points d'appui. By
private letters from Poland we learn that.the insur-
rection was not to have broken out until after the
3d of March (19th of February, Old Style), on which
day some twenty millions of serfs will become free
men. It is here believed that there is a secret un-
derstanding between the Polish and Russian serfs,
but we have no proofs that such is the case. In my
opinion, the Russians will succeed in quelling the
insurrection, but certainly not until torrents of
blood have been shed. The wounded Poles, the
majority of whom have been carried off to the
woods, mast be in a most deplorable state, as they
have neither bandages nor medicines. The political
ferment in Roumania, Servia, and Montenegro is
increasing, and I am inclined to suspect that Prince
Gortschakoff is trying to bring about a general
rising in European Turkey, in order that the atten-
tion of England and France may be diverted from
Poland.
By private letters from Germans residing in riff-