The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-24 00:00:00

:="1111;

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1848.

One of those excentrsc discussions which never take
place anywhere but in the House of Lords occupied
the attention of our hereditary legislators yesterday
evening. It was a discussion provoked by the in-
quiry of Lord S.lNNaian as to whether or no the
Government were prepared to lay before Parliament
printed copies of documents relating to the recent +
disturbances in Posen. Lord KINNAIRD, we say,
made the interrogation, Lord HARROWBY objected to
the production of the required papers as constituting
an unwarrantable interference in foreign politics on
the part of the British Legislature. Lord BEAUMONT,
on the contrary, considered that such a proceeding
would not only be perfectly justifiable, but that it
was in a great measure incumbent upon the adminis-
tration ; and Lord LANSDOWNB settled the matter,
off hand, by declining altogether to entertain the
notion of such an official reprint, being a reprint of
documents referring exclusively to a remote quarter
of the European continent, and involvinc, in no re-
spect whatever either the interests of the English
people or the character of the English Government.
From the particular stress laid upon the inquiry by
Lord KINMAIRD, from the peculiar curiosity
evinced by Lord BEAUMONT, and from the ear-
nestness of tone which characterised the whole of
this interjectional debate, any one ignorant of the
late revolutionary movement in Prussian Poland
would certainly have conjectured that the papers in
question were as rare and precious curiosities as a
halcyon's egg, or an autograph of SHAKSPERE
little dreaming that every one of those documents
(the convention signed at Jaroslawiec on the 1 1 th
of April, 1848, between the Commissary of the King
of PRUSSIA and the Polish National Committee, the
Prodamation issued from Boguszyn on the 17th of

April, by General VON WILLisEN, and the Address
to the Commissary voted at a meeting of the inha-
bitants of Berlin on the 26th of April, and subse-
quently conveyed to General WILLISEN by a deputation
of those citizens,) were already familiar to every ob-
servant man in Christendom. It is the prerogative
indeed of the European press, the press of Germany,
of France, of Italy, of the Peninsula, and of Great
Britain, alike, to anticipate the sluggish compositors
and tardy pressmen employed by their several Go-
vernments ; and in illustration of this circumstance it
is only necessary to remark that many thousand
copies of the very papers demanded last night with
so much solicitude by Lord KINNAIRD have been
long since distributed throughout the United King-
dom by the aid of journalists and the pam-
phleteers.

As was intimated yesterday evening in the Upper
House of the British Parliament, those documents
are of a very peculiar and remarkable importance,
seeing that they vindicate the unfortunate population
of the Duchy of Posen from the charges of cruelty,
brutality, and faithlessness bruited against them by
their antagonists. To give an epitome of the occur-
rences which have latterly transpired among the
Poles situated on the frontiers of Prussia Proper, and
to give that epitome with more direct authentications
than were adduced either last night by Lord KIN-
NAIRD, or on the night of the 16th of May by Lord
DUDLEY STUART, will, we doubt not, prove by no
means unacceptable.
Of the three divisions of Poland, Posen has enjoyed
the most liberal institutions—institutions almost the
direct antithesis of those under which the Gallicians
and Lithuanians have groaned since the first epoch
of the partition. Nevertheless, after the grand out-
burst of democracy in Berlin, on the 13th of March,
it was but natural that a vision of brighter days to
Poland should have lured that enthusiastic people to
a sympathetic demonstration, and should have in-
flamed their hearts with the idea of the resurrection of
their nationality. Palpitating with these hopes,
Posen rose, almost to a man, on the 20th of March,
and in scarcely seven days there sprang into existence
an army of liberation, an army of peasants, from
20,000 to 25,000 strong, an army of patriots, bearing
in their hands every description of weapon, from the
huntsman's fowling-piece to the mower's scythe. A
Committee of Safety was constituted, a deputation
from the committee proceeded to the capital city of
Berlin, demanding from the SOVEREIGN concessions
akin to those which had already been accorded
to the Prussians, those demands were frankly
acceded to, and the deputation returned homewards
in exultation. Meanwhile the Prussian soldiers,
driven out of the metropolis by the population, had
gone a-crusading against the inhabitants of the
doomed Duchy, to the number of 45,000, 20,000
of which troops were quartered in the city of Posen
alone. Without the permission, and certainly with-
out the instigation of the Prussian Ministry, these
buccaneering warriors roved in formidable bands over
the country, slaughtering the people en masse, and
ravaging several districts with all the barba-
rities of fire and sword, of rape, carnage,
and spoliation. In the midst of these fright-
ful atrocities an extraordinary commissary
General Vox WILLISEN—was dispatched from
the seat of Government, in the hope of leading to a
speedy pacification of the Duchy. On the arrival of

this commissary, what was the position of affairs ?
The Prussian troopers, drunk with their previous
butcheries, were preparing for a general mas-
sacre ! Thanks, however, to the energetic saga-
city of General VON WILLISEN, a Convention
between the belligerents, signed on the 11th of
April, restored tranquillity, to all appear-
ance, to the Duchy ; the Poles, in fulfilment
of the stipulations of the Convention laying down
ther arms. That the Poles did in truth fulfil those
stipulations is manifest from the assertion made by
the Commisary in the very preamble of his proclama-
tion, to the effect that "the conditions of the Conven-
tion were executed most conscientiously, and with the
utmost punctuality and vigour by the Polish com-
manders." Yet immediately the poor peasantry of Posen
had resigned their arms in a perfect reliance upon
Prussian honour, they were deliberately fusilladed
as they passed through the villages by Jews and Ger-
mans lying in ambuscade. Six Polish officers were
shot—" erroneously and accidentally shot," as was
afterwards confessed by their assassins, and a
variety of other barbarous and perfidious deeds drove
the inhabitants into a mood of absolute distraction.

Who can blame them that they rose again ? Who
can be amazed to find that bands of these simple
peasants, armed only with scythes, could reap
down 'the warriors of Prussia like stubble in
the frenzy of their indignation ? It is
against the horrible cruelties inflicted upon
the people of Prussian Poland—cruelties which
for a moment distracted the peasantry to such a
pitch of heroism that for the moment they were vic-
torious under appalling odds—that the voice of
Christendom has become so clamorous ; it is that
which seems to impend, like a thunderbolt, over the
Palace of the Great FREDERICK; it is that which had
deprived the reigning monarch of Prussia of the mere
chance of the imperial diadem of Germany !

The debate on the West Indian question has again
been adjourned, the House having now been occu-
pied no less than four nights in the discussion of the
preliminary resolutions. Should these resolutions be
carried, and a Bill founded thereon introduced, there
will be no less than seven stages through which it
will have to pass before it can be sent to the House
of Lords, and as it will be a money Bill, in which,
according to the standing rules of the House, no two
stages can be disposed of on the same day, a con-
siderable period must elapse, even under the most
favourable circumstances, before the propositions
submitted by the Government for the relief of the West
Indian colonists can pass into a law. These propositions
are undoubtedly of a beneficial character for the colo-
nists. The temporary protection afforded by the Act
of 1846 is intended to be increased both in amount
and in duration. A considerable reduction is to be
made in the differential duties between rum and Bri-

Ash spirits, and a large sum of money (500,000/.
sterling, in addition to 160,0001. already granted), is
to be advanced to the colonies for the purpose of
enabling them to obtain an adequate supply of labour
for the cultivation of their plantations, which has been
described as the great desideratum with which they
would be enabled successfully to compete with the
slave-holding states. It cannot be denied that these are
important boons, which should be received with gra-
titude by the parties for whose especial benefit they
conceded. The only possible question, with the
greatest advocate for protection is, whether they
afford adequate relief, and are sufficient to stimulate
the failing energies of the planters, who are, un ues-
tionably, in common
witheveotuhnedr
under
q
ttehreespt,reass.
well domestic as colonial, suffering
sure of the unparalleled distress of last year. Full
justice should, therefore, be rendered to her MA-
JESTY'S Government for the spirit in which they have
entered upon the consideration of the question, and
their anxiety to grant every assistance nut inconsis-
tent with their duty to the community at large.
It must not be supposed that the planters are
the only persons whose interests are involved in
the result. Our own industrious and hardworking
population are also deeply concerned. Sugar is now
an article of daily consumption with the working
classes, and any addition to the cost price thereof
must inflict a serious injury on them. The sums of
which they would thus be deprived would not in-
crease the national revenue, or diminish the other
burdens by which the public are oppressed. They
would be levied for the benefit, or fancied benefit, of
a particular class, and the probable result would be
to prevent parties from exhibiting that active in-
dustry, and introducing those improvements in the
cultivation and manufacture of the article, which
would prove a thousand times more beneficial,
and create greater prosperity, than the es-
tablishment of the most stringent monopoly.
The great principle of free trade must not be aban-
doned. On this point there can be no retrogression.
The country will no longer permanently sanction im-
posts on sugar for the mere purpose of protection any
more than on any other commodity. By the Act of
1846 this point was clearly decided. But the Legis-
lature did not desire that the erroneous system should
be changed with too great rapidity, or without afford-
ing a reasonable time for the transition. What was
then considered a reasonable protection was granted
by that Act, but various circumstances deprived the
colonists of the full benefit which it was intended they

should recei' re. The Under-Secretary for
the Colonies ) ast night stated two reasons why
the law then en acted should be modified-Ist, " That
the commercial distress so universally prevalent had
deprived the V Test Indies of a portion of that time
which they m ight otherwise have used in preparing
for free trade;' and 2dly, " The introduction which
was not anti( ;dated of a superior quality of sugar,
65., which sr igar was worth more in the market
relatively to other sugars, and came in at
a less duty." It therefore became necessary to
carry out. the spirit of the law, the real
intentions of the Legislature in sanctioning these
enactnrQnts—antd the alterations now contemplated
are for that pur• pose and no other. The duties on colo-
nial sugar wou)sl, from the sth of July, having been
145., and on for eign 18s. 6d. That for colonial will be
reduced to 13 1., while, the duty on ordinary foreign
Muscovado is to remain, as fixed by the Act of
1848; but that. on brown clayed sugar is to remain
for another yet .r, until the sth of July, 1849, at the
present duty o f 20s. That will afford, as shown by
the Hon. Mer nber for Dartmouth, on Thursday,
increase of pr otection of from 33 to 34 per cent.,
and give it for an additional period of two years. It
is hard, inde 2d, to satisfy the Protectionists, when
even these concession are received not only without
thanks but wi th vituperation and reproaches.
We cannot conclude without censuring the unfor-
tunate practice in which the Protectionist Leader so
frequently indulges, of making the most serious
personal charges against his political opponents. It
is perfectly legitimate to examine the policy of their
measures, and to reprehend their actions if they
should be found worthy of censure ; but it is most
improper to impute gross fraud and dishonesty to
gentlemen of the most unimpeachable characters,
without the most convincing evidence thereof. On
Thursday much valuable time was unnecessarily
consumed in consequence of the Noble Lord, the
Member for King's Lynn, intimating that
the Government were bargaining with the Irish
Members, in order to obtain their support to the Bill.
Two hours were wasted in the discussion that took
place thereon. But even that was pardonable when
compared with his most unjustifiable attack last night
upon as high-minded a nobleman and as upright and
honourable a gentleman as any who have ever taken
a part in public affairs. Lord GREY and Mr. 13.

HAwEs scarcely require that their characters for in-
tegrity and good faith should be vindicated before their
countrymen. Full and convincing answers, however,
were given by their colleagues in the Ministry to the
unwarrantable charges made against them. Lord
GEORGE BENTINCK should consider that undue per-
Honalities never further any cause, and that they are
more calculated to recoil on and injure the vitupe-
rator than the persons on whom his reproaches have
been lavished. Sir ROBERT PEEL never stood higher
in the opinion of his countrymen, or obtained greater
sympathy from all classes, than when he so con-
vincingly repelled the aspersions that had been cast
upon him by the Noble Lord in reference to the
premature decease of Mr. CANNING.

SPAIN.

Madrid papers of the 18th have arrived.

The Carlist general Emo has entered Navarre,
and CABRERA and ZARIATEGURI are at Toulouse with
SALAMANCA and Don ENRIQUE, concerting measures
for a general rising throughout Spain—d rising that
cannot but be successful, as CHRISTINA and NARVAEZ
have exhausted all the available resources of the

Treasury.
ISTURITZ passed through Bayonne on the 19th. It
is said that he is excessively disgusted with the con-
duct of NABVAEZ and SOTOMATOR towards Sir
HENICY BULWEE.
The Bolsa was closed on the 18th.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

We ha►e received the Paris papers of yesterday.
The Minister of Marine communicated to the
Assembly dispatches which he had received
from the colonies of Martinique and Guadaloupe.
The Governor of those islands wrote to say that
considerable disturbances had occurred at St. Pierre
and Point-a-Pitre, as well as in the interior of the
islands. It was on the 20th of May that the distur-
bances began. The slaves evinced a spirit of insu-
bordination, which went on increasing to the 22d.
Houses were burned down at St. Pierre, where, in
one house, 35 persons perished. The Governor, by
the advice of the Colonial Council, and as the best
means of restoring calm, proclaimed the total aboli-
tion of slavery, which took place on the 23d. The
agitation spread to Guadaloupe, and the same mea-
sure was had recourse to, and the abolition of sla-
very was proclaimed. When the Governor had sent
off his dispatches on the 23d, matters had become
more tranquil, and it was hoped that there would
be no further disturbance. Such, said the Minister
in conclusion, is the true state of the case; and his
statement would have the effect, he hoped, of pre-
venting too ready belief being given to exaggerated
rumours.
A private letter from Martinique, of the 24th ult.,
gives the following details of the rising of the slaves
in the island :
" On the 24th, M. Duchamp, landowner, residing in
the commune of the Pricheur, obtained permission
from the authorities to cause one of his slaves, who had
committed the crime of talking politics, to be arrested.
Four gendarmes proceeded to effect the arrest; but being
hooted and attacked by his fellow-labourers, it was with
difficulty they succeeded in lodging him in gaol. No
sooner was this done than an immense crowd furiously
demanded his release. Shortly after, the men employed
on the neighbouring estates, called together by the
blowing of horns, descended in arms on the town. By
that time the people had begun to unpave the streets and
to form barricades, when M. Papy, a citizen of great
energy and influence, first deputy to the mayor, feeling
the imprudence of the arrest, and that it might cause fatal
consequences, ordered the prisoner to be set at liberty,
which was done. But it was too late—another imprudence
compromised all. Fear, and the sentiment of preservation,
caused a certain number of white persons to aAerable
at the house of M. de Sannois, one of the largest in the
town. One of them, M. Desabey, fired on a band which
was passing along the street. A man fell mortally
wounded, and immediately the people of the city, and
the population of the country, assembled round the
corpse, crying, and demanding vengeance. The hotel
was invaded, and every one of the men who were there
perished. The revolution began to the cries of 'Vive
la Libert6 !' and on both sides victims were counted.
M. Fourniol, jun., was killed. Presently a fire broke
out in the quarter of the fort, and numerous victims
perished in the flames. In one house there were no less
than 35 victims. At the Putzheur, the gendarmerie and
the crew of a vessel fired on the slaves, who were march-
ing in columns to cries of Viva la Libertir Many fell,
but the columns continued to march, and threw them.
selves on the town, which became the scene of frightful
carnage. The flames subsequently consumed three-
fourths of the houses. At Fort de France the news of
what occured at St. Pierre caused an impression impos-
sible to describe. We have also had our day of revolu-
tion, but to-day all is calm."

The discussion on the Government project for the
seizure of the railways was commenced on Thursday in
the National Assembly. The general feeling appears
to be against the measure. M. DE MONTALEMBERT
opposed it, because in his opinion it is the first step
towards Communism, towards making the Govern-
ment the sole proprietor and the sole employer in
the State. In the meanwhile Socialist clubs are
agitating, and the ouvriers in the Ateliers Nationaux
are preparing for an outbreak. The Journal des Debuts
gives the following account of the proceedings of
the ouvriers

" For some days past the Government, pressed by the
12,000
energetic resolutions of the Assembly, has considered it
its duty
to
outthye to take measures for the dissolution of the
Ateliers Nathiaovnaiix.
.A fresh census has been made, and
e
vonred to excite
Enesiplzveineiensswerhibeeredvtehretihrenirams scebseimngayreabdeyreto.
hadnb
quired.
agitatorsd went among them, and endea-
eearvai
thee provinces, and that those who
would be ill-treated in by telling them that they
proceeded to the Luxembourg,
had already gone
On Thursday morning tr beaten by the country people.
0 and demanded an band of about 400 workmen
inter-
view with the Executive
con-
sented to receive a deputation, and M.
tbMearnieumberwere introduced. The foremost oaritthoehm wishing to ad-
elo.ufsedthe baenard which had
hdrimessthllalt.
aMsairliee,fothrme
eladttperarrt
him, telling
invaded the Chamber, he could not consider
the workmen, and turning to him as the
the other four
of
f-ou are not the slaves of that man, you can
pointo
said,rg a no,
M. Marie,
after your wishes as well as he can.'
after listening with the most patient attention to,
their complaints, sought to dissuade them from allow-
ing themselves to be led away by agitators, who
wished to put them into a state of rebellion against
authority and society. lie fully assured them that the
Government were zealously employed in considering of
the best means of improving their condition. It would
Lima,. thus Ili,- debates 1-I.kd not e,:rreetly rpr,,,rt,,j to
their comrades the remarks of M. Marie, for they said
that he had called them slaves. The whole band then

began to raise cries of A bas Marie V ' A bas la