The Sun.
London, England, 1831-08-17 00:00:00

POLAND.

Colonel EVANS, whose name hid been called over on
the motion paper, but who did not happen at that moment
to be in the House, having entered aince the order of the
day for the Reform Committee had been read, now begged
to be allowed to proceed with the motion of which he haul
given notice. In order to do this, he was obliged to intro-
duce it in the form of an amendment to the motion that
the House should go into Committee on the Reform Bill.
lie observed, that at all times he had experienced the iadul-
pence of the House, and lie trusted that he should do so on
the present occision. This was the second Session of Par-
liament that had occurred since a war had arisen in Po-
land, and yet scarcely a word had been tittered in Parlia-
ment upon the question of Poland up to this time.—(Hear,
hear.) His object in introducing the matter was to call
the particular attention of that House to the situation of
the gallant people of that unfortunate country. He knew
perfectly well that there were other indivi,luals better fitted
than himself for the performance of such a duty, but as
they had not undertaken it, he had resolved to attempt the
task himself. He believed that this was a subject upon
which, on all sides of the House, the same opinion existed.
The particular point to which he wished to call the attention
of the House was the observance of a strict neutrality by a
State bordering upon Poland, and dividing it from the sea.
In the first place, he should refer to some statements con-
tained in the public papers, from which it appeared that
the traneports granted by the agency in this country had
not met with that respect which they were entitled to
from the Prussian authorities. Our merchant vessels bad
encountered undue obstacles, and our merchandize had not
b, en allowed the benefits of a free transfer. This had
been made the subject of complaint, and the answer as
stated in the public Papers, and as represented to have
been given by the Minister of the Court of Berlin, was of
a most extraordinary nature. That statement was, that
the Prussim Cabinet declared that they were not in a
state of neutrality with et spect to Poland, but merely in a
state of inactivity, and that they heartmlY wished their
good ally the Emperor of Russia might triumph. The
reason given for this was, that if Russia did not triumph,
there were some provinces that might he rescued from the
Prussian dominions. Ile should now refer to sonic mat-
ters which, though perhaps known to some Hon. Mem-
bers of that House, were, probably, not known to the
public at large, either bete or in other countries. These
would prove on the part of the people of Poland a right
to the observance of neutrality at least by the Prussian
Government. Their rights were not only those of neu-
trality, but they were secured to them by the most sacred
treaties ever entered into between nation and nation in an-
cient or mod, rn times. Without adverting to the ori-
ginal rights of the Pules, he would rest upon their imme-
diate and inure indisputable rights, established by the Con-
gress of Vienna in 1815. In that year it was that the
British Minister initiated the proposal for re-constructing
the Polish kingdom, dismembered first in 1772, and sub-
sequently in 1795. The chief ground on which he had
rested that re-construction was, that it was absolutely ne-
cessary as a barrier between Russia and the Western States
of Europe, and for the preservation of that political equi-
librium called the balance of power. He (Colonel Evans)
begged leave once for all to say, dust by political equili-
brium was never meant an equality of power, but an equa-
lity of rights between the lesser and the great, r States.
In his views the English Minister was supported by the
repueaentatives of Austria and France—the former declar-
ing that she was ready to make some sacrifices of posses-
stun for the sake of re-establishing the kingdom of Po-
land; and the latter, through Prince Talleyrind, express•
ing the same sentiment. But not being prepared at that
time to act vigorously for the accomplishment of the com-
mon object, the design WAS resisted strenuously by the
Emperor Alexander, who would consent to no arrange-
ment that had not for its basis the annexation of the
Duchy of Warsaw to Russia. He was willing that the
throne of Poland should he reconstructed, provided only
that it was made hereditary in his own family. At that
period Russia was in military possession of Poland, and
the other allies were not in a condition to wrest it from
her. Nevertheles., at the pressing instance of England,
France, and Austria, Russia consented to give a free C Ji-
stitution and the privileges of nationality to Poland, on
condition that it should be annexed to Russia. Hence, at
the Congress, the Duchy of Warsaw was declared to he
" irrevocably bound to Russia by its Constitution." A
charter was therefore drawn tip, which contained many
provisions—among them, that Poland should have nation-
ality of power--that her army should not he required to
serve Russia out of Europe—that open discussion in the
Diet should he allowed—that the freedom of the Press
should be established, and that taxes should he levied only
by a vote of the Diet. These articles were virtually gua-
ranteed by the high contracting parties, but the House
would not require him (Colonel Evans) to go into
detail to show that, after the lapse of four or five years,
each of them had been flagitiously violated. Public dis-
cussion was not permitted—the freedom of the Press had
been annihilated—not a single budget of taxes had ever
been laid before the Diet, and personal liberty was so pre-
carious, that the gaols were tilled with prisoners confined
without even time show of legal process. He would not
attempt to recapitulate the different acts which had at
length driven a nobly suffering people to throw off the
yoke and to appeal to arms. They had done so, hut not
until after the most ample and cruel provocations; and
they now, in the face of Europe, called for that protection
for their unalienable rights which was secured to them at
time Congress of Vienna. Undoubtedly, many exaggera-
tions haul gone abroad with regard to the policy of Russia,
but all who had read her history fur the last ettritury must
know, that she had engaged in no war that had not ter-
minated in an accession of power. In 1815 her Sove-
' reign was at time summit of his greatness ; and when it,
was hinted that the allies were unwilling that he should
retain Poland, he merely replied that he had four hundred
and eighty thousand men at his disposal, and that they
should be put in motion before he would relinquish his
hold upon the Duchy of Warsaw. Bonaparte in his ze-
nith had never more openly or insolently appealed to the
irresistible argument of force ; and such had been the in-
fluence of Russian policy, that she had compelled the Aus-
trian Government to extinguish the last spark of liberty in'
Italy, and had induced the Cabinet of the Tuileries to send
its armies into Spain, to support the odious despotism of
Ferdinand. Such was the power of this remote and semi-
barbarous empire. He wished to advert briefly to 'the
speech of the Prime Minister of France, which arrived
two days ago : he talked of the preservation of peace ;
but how could that be preserved which did not exist ?
Every body must allow that at the present moment peace
did not exist in Europe. The war against the
Poles was not only a war against the independence
of nations, but an outrage against all time Powers who
guaranteed the independence of Poland in 1815. Hence
it was evident that the assertion of the Prime Minister of
France was founded upon a fallacy. The same individual
had also adverted to time distance of the scene of action,
hut he seemed to forget that it had been traversed two or
three times both by the armies of France and Russia.—
On the whole, he thought that if the expressions of the
Prime Minister of France were correctly reported, they
were not by any means justifiable : they seemed to him
(Colonel Evans) to contain an improper disclosure of the
intentions of the Cabinet of Paris, highly detrimental to
time interests of that country, and obviously put forward
in defence of the Ministry, at the expense of the policy
and interests of the country. Notwithstanding such
speeches, the French people would recollect timat had not
the Poles risen to defend their hearths and altars, the same
sword, now reeking with their blood, would have been
brandished over the frontiers of France. He did not rest
the motion with which he should conclude, merely on the
statements in the public papers, but as a military man it
had appeared to him for the last two months that time re-
source+, of Russia were drawn entirely from Prussia,
which professed to be a neutral State. The rear of the
Russian army was upon the Prussian frontier ; its com-
munication with Russia had been cut off, and it must
have obtained its supplies from Prussia, inasmuch as it
could not have procured them elsewhere. After noticing
what the Hon. Member termed the unwarrantable answer
of the Prussian Minister to the Court of Fiance, ht moved