The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-07 00:00:00

the world for an example to such a course.—(Loud
cheers.) So much it was his duty to state on the present
occasion ; they would see that security and not conquest
was the motive that led to the late great and glorious results.
He was aware that the reports had reached Government,
and he was consequently surprised that no mention had
been made respecting rewards to be conferred upon the
several officers engaged in these operations. He hoped
that some such communication as that to which he had
alluded might be made in that matter as to set every
one at rest with regard to the intention of Government,
and that no long time would elapse before her Ma-
jesty's most gracious intentiors were communicated
to the House. He wished that the unusual course which
had been pursued in this lasiness, of making a communi•
cation to this House without laying the requisite papers
on the table, had not been adopted.
The Earl of RIPON said that it was impossible to
express his regret at having been unable to enjoy the
benefits of his Noble Lord's attendance when the vote
of thanks to the officers of the Indian army was so
unanimously and satisfactorily carried through
the House. The facts were that he had
asked this question on Tuesday evening,
at which time the official accounts had nut reached her
Majesty's Government, and when no answer could be
given. Those accounts were received on Wednesday
morning, and, as the House of Commons were sitting on
that day, it was thought better to give notice in that
House, and so to depart from the usual course. He was
not at that time aware that his Noble Friend
was out of town, and he had addressed a
letter to him accordingly, but, on discovering that fact,
he had added another communication to his Noble
Friend, who was confined to his bed by the gout. That
was the reason why sufficient notice had not been given
to his Noble Friend (the Marquis of Lansdowne) of the
motion for Thursday evening. He was truly rejoiced to
find that the conduct of the Governor. General, and that
of the several officers associated with him, had met, as
it deserved to meet, with the full approval of his Noble
Friend. With respect to the question which his Noble
Friend had put, he might say that, in point of fact,
all that had been received up to the present
time was that which had been already pub•
lished in the Gazette. All the arrangements
however with regard to the remainder of the intelligence
had not been reduced to proper form, but as soon as they
were care would be taken that they should be
immediately laid before their Lordships. Until
those documents were ready, it would be impossible
for him to lay any further intelligence before them.
With respect to what his Noble Friend had asked
as to whether any communication had been re-
ceived from her Majesty with regard to the honours
to be conferred upon those great men who had
achieved those great victories, he could only say that at
the present moment he was not authorised to make any
statement upon that subject, but this he could say,
that no sooner had her Majesty become
aware of the events which had occured, and the services
which those two individuals had rendered, then she gave
her commands for the patent of Sir Henry Hardinge and
Sir Hugh Gough—(Cheers)—a proceeding which would
confer honour not only upon; those two individuals, who
had so richly deserved it, but on the country for which
they had fought.—Cheers.)
THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

Lord BEAUMONT said that he had given notice to
the Noble Earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs that it
was his intention to put a question to him to-day, and he
understood from him that he had no obection to his doing
so. The question that he intended to put to the Noble
Earl regarded recent events in the provinces of the
Austrian empire. In putting that question, he should
not apologise to their Lordships for bringing it before
them, nor should he pause to ask them to reflect
whether there was combination, any treaty, or
any international custom which gave him the
privilege of bringing the subject before them in that
place. He claimed the privilege and the right to do so
on far higher grounds ; be claimed it on the ground that
he believed that all European states had entered into a
tacit compact to advance civilization, and to
arrest the continuation of any barbarous custom or
law, which had hitherto existed in Europe. A re-
volution had recently occurred in some of the Aus-
trian provinces, which all must deplore.—(Hear.)
The subject he did refer to was the practice they had there
established of creating a kind of servile war, by the authorities
encouraging the peasantry to rise against their masters. A
series of wholesale slaughter against their lords and masters
had been the consequence, and he found that in the province
of Galicia, at the instigation of the Prefect of Tarnow, the
peasantry, and even the very serfs, had advanced against their
lords, and in the expectation of a reward for every head, they
had committed murders by wholesale, and castles had been
wasted. Now he might be required to give his authority for
those statements. At the present moment he confessed they
were founded on private letters, and on the public statements
contained in twenty or thirty of the continental journals. But
there existed no doubt on the minds of any person who had at-
tended to the subject, that the cases thus put forward had not
been exaggerated, and with their Lordships' permission he
would read a short extract from one of those letters. It was
published in the Journal des Debats, a journal which he
scarcely need remind their Lordships, admitted no statement
of this character until it had taken measures to ascertain
whether it were correct or not. It stated that in the third circle,
one of the most dense in the whole province, there was scarcely
a single landed proprietor to be found—their
lives had been taken, or they had been
compelled to flee, leaving their houses to be pillaged. The
writer then went on to mention the names of those who suf-
fered. He proceeded subsequently to state, that in some
places the peasantry had proceeded with certain forms, which
seemed to show that they had been tutored for the purpose.
When they presented themselves before the chateau of —,
they told the proprietor to come out ; and when he, who had
been a father to the district, did so, they told him to prepare
to die. He asked time to fulfil the duties of a Christian, to
which they assented, and after he had confessed to the priest,
they killed him with blows from pikes and poniards. They
then assailed the chateau of the Countess —, and murdered
her brother, her mother-in-law, and other relations. She
darkened her children's faces with soot, dressed them in mean
clothes, and concealed them in a loft. She managed to escape,
and;hid herself in a wine-shop. They forced her thence, and
then committed on this young and fair woman, the most infa-
mous of all offences. They afterwards, when she was insensible
threw her into a ditch, where she was found by an Austrian offi-
cer. He has found similar scenes repeated in different journals,
he could not, therefore, consider that they were altogether un-
founded. He had looked in several papers on the other
side, to see if there had been any instance of the parties being
punished, or whether the Government had disapproved of this
conduct or no. He had found instead a proclamation encou-
raging this state of things, and he did not thank that such
language, as had been used in these proclamations should be
addressed to troops who had acted in that manner. He would
ask if they had received any information as to the truth of
what had taken place in Austria ; and if so, whether they
have taken any means to let them know the pain ani disap-
proval with which these things have been viewed by this
country.
The Earl of ABERDEEN would be happy to give the
Noble Lord the information be might require upon this or any
other subject. In the present case, the multitude of asser-
tions, and the contradictory statements were such that it was
very difficult precisely to state what was the truth or falsehood.
The subject was one in which this country was not directly
concerned, neither were British subjects or 13ritish interests
effected by the events, whether true or false. With re-
ference to the accusation, that the Austrian authorities had
excited the peasantry of Galicia against the propietors of land.
He had the happiness for a great many years to live on terms of
intimacy and friendship with the eminent person by whom the
Administration was represented in this country, and he could
only say that he felt certain that policy of that kind was as
impossible for the Government to adopt as any of your Lord-
ships. It was undoubtedly true that the Austrian Government
in Galicia had always been the friend of the peasantry ; to
them the peasantry had always looked for protection. It
was now seventy or eighty years since the province of Galicia
came under the Austrian dominions, and he believed that
during that time the condition of the peasantry had been
improved by the reforms introduced by the Austrian Government.
During the time of Joseph 11., and his predecessor, their con-
dition was greatly improved compared with their condition in
life when they ascended the throne, and, therefore, it was na-
tural that they should apreciate all the advantages of their
form of Government—that they should enjoy everything
that was liberal, humane, and considerate which prevailed
under their sway. Was it not natural, then, that they should
feel that loyalty and attachment to the Government to which
the Noble Lord had referred in his address? He (the Earl
of Aberdeen) had, however, very little information on the
subject beyond that possessed by their Lordships. Besides, he
did not think it was incumbent on him—he did not think it
was the duty of this country to interfere in the administration
of states, situated as Austria was at the present moment. A
revolt had broken out, and her Majesty's Chargé de Affaires in
that country had, from time to time, no doubt, sent him ac-
counts of the transactions which had taken place ; but the
statements which they contained were very different indeed
from those which the Noble Lord had referred to as having
recently taken place. He would read extracts from two or
three of the statements contained in the communication which
he had received. Mr. Maginus, writing, Feb. 28th, said, " The
peasantry of Galacia have shown themselves most opposed
to the revolutionary movement, and have resisted the threats
of the proprietors and their followers to join them ; and al-
though unsupported by military forces, have in many places
opposed the insurgents with force of arms, and have made pri-
soners of many of them who wished to use them to acts of vio-
lence, and have denounced their proceedings." Again, on
March 3, he said, after speaking of the revolt at CraCow,
The peasantry continue to assist the soldiers and the Govern.'
ment to arrest the leaders of the insurgents, and the number
of prisoners is so great as to cause serious embarrassments to
the Government ; and if they did not remain in captivity,
al-
though they had many opportunities of escaping, they uldbe massacred by the peasantry, thus increasing the embarrass-
ment to amuch greater extent." The last accounts which he
had received
. from Limberg, the capital of Galicia, were
very satisfactory. " The peasantry continue to evince
,the best disposition in support of the Government,
and in arresting the instigators to the revolt." In
many places the peasantry established guards to protect the
property of parties, thus showing their disinterested conduct.
There was nothing in these letters to show that the Austrian
Government deserved the stigma . of the Noble Lord. The
revolt,. and
peasantry had proved themselves faithful duringem life,
but there
in doing that they may have taken
was nothing in their efforts to warreanwtaysusch condemnation as
said so much, he was
had been made against them. a n
not prepared to say what amountHofvtlisegreports circulated were
true, and what were false. . What he said was on the faith of
the nformation he had received from the party alluded to.
Lord KIN NAIRD thanked the Noble Lord for what he had
stated in reference to the matter, and agreed with him that the
accounts were very conflicting. He was forced to state that
the peasantry of Galicia hart been peculiarly well treated by
the Austrian Government; different from what had been the
case in the provinces under the other Governments. But that
the Governor of Galicia had issued a proclamation, offering a
reward for bringing in the nobles, dead or alive, could not be
denied. In doing so he believed the Governor was acting en
the authority of the statute law of Austria. There was ono
statute law which declared that all deserters should be
brought in dead or alive, and another law, declaring that
all rebels should be treated as deserters. Still he hoped, for
the sake of the character of Austria, that the Government never
sanctioned so barbarous a proclamation. He was also glad
that the matter had been brought under consideration, as it
would be shown that the feeling of this country abhorred such
barbarous proceedings.

Lord BEAUIIION T thought that the reason assigned by the
Noble Lord was anything but sufficient to account for or to
justify the outrage that had been committed; for it was his
firm belief that the Noble Lord would have preferred remain-
ing in captivity to being subject to such violence as they had
endured. If such were the state of the law, he trusted that it
would soon be assimilated with the law of Turkey.