The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-23 00:00:00

He has, however, exercised several acts of rigorous'
despotism in the conquered country totally incom-
patible with his engagements to his allies and his re-
spect for Polish privileges. It is one of the funda-
mental laws of Poland that no Polish subject shall,
in case of an alleged crime, be withdrawn from his
native judges for trial, or sent out of the kingdom
for punishment. Yet, in the face of this stipulated
and acknowledged right, the Russian Government
has begun to people the penal settlements of Si-
beria with Polish patriots. It was a law of the late
kingdom that Poland should be administered by
Poles only, in all its civil and military departments ;
but we observe that half of the Provisional Govern-
ment lately appointed are Russians. Confiscation
was abolished by the Polish laws, but it is now re-
vived by their foreign tyrants against the Poles
themselves. Hence the large property of Czar-
toryski, and of the other Polish patriots, who sup-
ported the revolutionary cause, have been appro-
priated for the use of the Russian treasury. We
omit the persecution of Clopieki, and of the officers
who stood out after the surrender of Warsaw—the
punishments menaced against the members of the
Diet and of the Provisional Government—and the
other acts of Holy Alliance tyranny perpetrated on
Holy Alliance principles; but we may say, that we
cannot see how a single stipulation of the Treaty of
Vienna can be observed, if Poland is to be occupied
by Russian troops, and administered by Russian
functionaries. It may continue to bear the name of
a kingdom in official acts ; but to all practical pur-
poses it becomes a vassal province of the Czar. If
the constitutional Governments of Europe were un-
able, by their most vigorous remonstrances and their
most zealous offers of mediation, to arrest the Rus-
sian eagle in its career of slaughter, without point-
ing their cannon against its ravages so as to en-
danger a general war, it is not very likely that they
can now frighten it away from its unresisting prey,
without a similar danger; but surely they must do
something to secure the faith of treaties to which
they have been parties—from a regard to their own
honour, from a sympathy with outraged patriotism,
from an admiration of heroic virtue, or even from a
feeling of common humanity !—Tintes.

The Tories and Anti-Reformers, the enemies o
the King, the Ministers, and the people, were yes-
terday in the dumps, ill consequence of the firm-
ness evinced by the King, and the determined con-
sistency of his Majesty's Ministers, in calling Par-
liament together at the earliest possible period. To-
day they will be in an ecstasy of delight, in conse-
quence of the issuing of a foolish Proclamation in
the Gazette of last night, declaring Political Unions
to be unconstitutional and illegal ! The Political
Unions were the terror of the Tories, on the one
hand, as they have, on the other, proved the very
life of Reform ; and the Tories will now congratu-
late themselves that the Political Unions will be
put an end to, and that having managed to
net the above Proclamation from his Majesty's
Ministers, they will be able to put down
the spirit of the country in favour of Reform.
and to do with it as they please. Let them not lay
the flattering unction to their souls ! We are not
to be put down—we will not be put down ; and if
his Majesty's Ministers do not carry the Reform
Bill successfully through both Houses of Parliament,
the country will take its own way of carrying it,
and that way, they may rely upon it, will not be so
mild or pleasant as that proposed by his Majesty's
Ministers. The spirit of Reform is prevalent every
where, and the essence of it is only seen in the re-
solutions if the Political Unions. The latter may
be put down, but the spirit cannot be quenched.
It is every where prevalent, and it must pre-
vail, " The King," as a Member of his Ma-
jesty's Cabinet observed some years ago, " may
die—the House of Lords may be put aside—the
representation of the people may become a dead
letter—but the people never die !" Nor any
more will the spirit of Reform die among the
people. The taxes are a sure remembrancer—the
undeserved pensions and sinecures are daily memo-
rials—the immense sums of money voted by a cor-
rupt Parliament to persons of whose services the
public knows nothing, are evils not to be forgot ;
and, therefore, it is that although every Political
Union existing in the kingdom were to be dissolved
to-morrow, we confidently trust that: the cause of
Reform would gain instead of losing by it. With
regard to the proclamation, we have only to ob-
serve, that it is a concession to those to whom no
concession ought to have been made—a conces-
sion to those who hate the people, and, in their
hatred, would extinguish them, provided that
they could benefit by their extinction. It will
be observed, however, that the proclamation is
not of a very strict character, and that it is
only directed against those Unions which are
" composed of separate bodies, with various divisions,
and subdivisions, under leaders, with a gradation of
ranks and authority, and distinguished by certain
badges, and subject to the controul and direction of
a superior Committee or Council"—and not against
all unions, which are otherwise constituted. A
district union, for irotance, is lawful—a parochial
union is lawful—a city union—a county union—is
lawful, provided it have lawful ends in view; but
then it must not organize itself in the manner de-
clared to be illegal by the King's proclamation. So
far so good. The union of the people will not be
the less complete—the people will arm themselves
privately—and in default of the unions being able to
correspond with one another in furtherance of the
common cause, a secret understanding will exist
between them, which will be equally effectual to
all constitutional purposes.—Morning Advertiser.
It is said that his Majesty's Ministers have re-
cently been in communication with some distin-
guished Peers of the conservative party; and if we
had no other reason for believing this report, Nye
should find a tolerably good one in the measure, im-
perfect, feeble, lame, though it be, to which Go-
vernment has shown so much courage and virtue as
to resort, for the discouragement of illegal Associ-
ations. Any degree of courage or virtue exhibited
by the present Administration must be ascribed of
course to some external influence, cela a sans se dire;
and we cannot imagine any source whence an infu-
sion of these qualities might more probably have
been derived than the intercourse to which so much
allusion has recently been made. If the Earl of Har-
rowhy and Lord Wharncliffe have enlightened the
Members of Administration with whom they have
been in correspondence as much upon the subject of
the Reform Bill as they would seem to have done
upon that of Politieal Unions, the presentation
of a rational and honest scheme of Reform upon
the meeting of Parliament is a thing of which
perhaps we ought not yet entirely to despair.
The proclamation against illegal asscciations is
not indeed such as would have proceeded from a
vigorous or honest Government. It is so much in
the style of homily, that had Ministers happened
to be upon good terms with the Establishment it
would in all probability have been ordered to be
read in churches, although these are the only
places to which the members of Political Unions
never repair, unless, indeed, when a Bishop is to be
insulted. It contents itself with earnestly warning
and enjoining all the King's subjects to abstain from
entering into such unauthorised combinations, with-
out intimating to the Magistrates that they will
be held responsible in the several districts for
the speedy apprehension and legal punishment
of those who shall presume to disregard the
mild arid paternal admonition. But still the step
which Government has taken, if not positively
good, is good considering the character and posi-
tion of the Statesmen by whom it is adopted. It
is at least, as far as it goes, a step in the right
road, anti, if it stop short, as it does considerably, of
the length to which a vigorous and honest Ministry
would have at once proceeded, it must be recollected
that the latter description of Ministry would not have
promoted such combinations as it is now attempted
to suppress, for any purpose whatever, and least of
all for tile selfish and unworthy purpose of maintain-
ing themselves in office. It is well, however, that
Ministers have had their eyes so far opened as to
I perceive that the allies whom they had called to their