The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-17 00:00:00

interest which was alone within the sphere of Govern-
ment to conduct, and if, in consequence of that neglect,
another power had profited to an extent which pro-
mised to be dangerous to this country. He would prefer
to place his resolution in a different form, and he would
accordingly make it an address for papers, which he
supposed there would be no difficulty in granting. The
Hon. Members who had formerly advocated the cause of
Poland had all disappeared, and while he (Mr. Urqu-
hart) felt humiliated at being left nearly alone at the
task, he thought he must be encouraged by the House
in the course which he was taking,when the condition
of Poland was considered, and when it was also con-
sidered that England was in alliance with the enemy
of that country. The object for which he claimed
the attention of the House was not an abstract but
a particular and clear object. It depended on the
voice and opinion of that House, expressed on any
one of the questions which turn the current of the
public policy of this country—it depended on that
House, the ally of Russia or of France, to sanction acts of
injustice and public crime, or to make this country the
protector of the world. It was for that he claimed its
protection on that occasion; and if the House would
`only give the subject which he brought before them the
same care and time which it would bestow on a railway
enterprise, or any unimportant question, he declared
that no possible injury could accrue to foreign affairs
or from foreign dangers. In his judgment of the case,
to which he had given a most thorough investigation,
he considered that it such was given there was nothing
beyond the shores of the Channel that would present to
England any aspect either of danger or embarassment,
but, on the contrary, would present every opportunity
for the preservation of strength and security. This
country was in the habit of deciding on the internal
affairs of other countries as if they were its own. He
asked, was the House aware, when it raised a ministry
to conduct the affairs of this country, that it was also a
ministry for the government of foreign states? The
Government had brought the country into a most extra-
ordinary position at the present time in Europe, and he
warned them if they did not restrain their present policy,
that the tide would be turned against them, and they would
fall a victim to the injurious manner in which its affairs
had been conducted. The origin of the anomalous and
extraordinary state of things which was at present in
existence was the Holy Alliance. That anis:lice had
been prompted by Russia, who bound Prussia and Aus-
tria, who became its slaves ; the accession of France
took place not directly, but in an insidious manner, and
still under the direction of Russia ; Hollaud :Acceded
likewise at her instigation ; and Swi,zerland acceded
from the same cause ; consequently, the Holy Alliance
was established in Europe to manage the affairs of na-
tions it the instigation of Russia. It was well known
that England had refused to accede to that alliance ;
but he proceeded to maintain that the Government had,
by their foreign policy, deviated from the principle
which had dictated that refusal, and had allowed Russia
to hold a supremacy which was injurious to the inte-
rests of this country and the other countries of Europe.
The question was one of the deepest interest, and
there was high authority for the supposition—in which
he did nut concur, but with regard to which,
all that he himself required was that it should be con-
curred in—that the Noble Lord opposite (Lord Palmer-
ston) had been no match for the policy of that Cabinet.
Napoleon had said, in reference to the position of Russia
with regard to Europe, that all depended upon Poland,
and that if Alexander succeeded in reconciling Poland
to Russia, the Russian Government would have gained
the greatest etep towards subduing India. Poland was
now the great question of Europe, and he regretted to
say that the last time that country was in a state of
revolution, namely, in [B3O, her interests had been sacri-
ficed by England, as was fully shown by the dispatches
of the Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs
(which the Hon. Member read to the House)—that
Noble Lord avowing in 1831 that his fears were not
against Russia, but against France. He apprehended,
judging from the conduct of that Noble Lord, that the
same diplomatic agency which extinguished the life of
Poland in 1830, would, now that she was no longer in a
position to assert her rights, prevent its revival. Poland
was the link between England and France, and if they
suffered Poland to be destroyed they could no longer
hope for any intercouse between these countries, or even
between the East and the West. The Hon. Member
concluded by moving that an humble address be pre-
sented to her Majesty, praying for a copy of the papers
relating to the treaty ot'Unkiar Skelessi, and also for a
copy of the correspondence that had taken place relative
to the proffered mediation of Great Britain between
Prussia and Denmark in respect to Schleswig-Holstein.
Mr. HOME seconded the motion.
Lord PALMERSTON said he was quite aware of
the power as well as the right which was possessed by
every Member of that House to make a speech upon any
subject without giving notice of his intention; at the
same time, there had been certain rules framed for the
convenience of the House, which, when departed from,
were productive of much inconvenience. The Hon.
Member for Stafford was somewhat prone to depart from
those rules. There was a saying attributed to a cele-
brated diplomatist to the effect that speech was given to
man to enable him to conceal his thoughts; so also it
would seem that the Hon. Member placed his notices on
the paper in order to conceal the subiect of his motion.
The Ron. Member's notice on the paper stated that it
was his intention to call the attention of the House to
the relations of this country with Russia, and instead
of confining himself to that topic, he had sprung upon
him (Lord Palmerston) two addresses for papers of
which he had given no notice whatever. The lion.
Member had stated the:reasons why the House should ac-
cede to the addresses in question. The first of those mo-
tions related to the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the
second to the offer of mediation of Great Britain it re
spect to the Schleswig-holstein question; and the Hon.
Member stated that it was necessary for those paper.; to
be laid before Parliament, in order that the country
might perceive how Russia was combined with Austria
for the purpose of preventing Prussian Poland from
uniting with the other portion of that &minion hell by
Russia and Austria. He could assure the House that
the papers moved for would throw no light whatever
upon that subject. The treaty of Unkiar Skelessi had
lasted eight years, and was defunct, having been put an
end to by the events consequent upon the Syriac war of
1841. That treaty had nothing whatever to do with the
subject of Polish nationality. Tne correspondence
which regarded the affairs of Schleswig-Holstein and the
mediation of Great Britain with Prussic and Denmark,
had no bearing upon the affairs of Poland or of Russia,
and he objected to produce any such correspondence, as
it might be highly prejudicial to make it public at pre-
sent.—(liear, hear.) The House, he was persuaded,
would not desire such correspondence to be pro-
duced.—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Member for Staf-
ford went into a great many topics, but he (Lord Pal-
merston) should abstain from following him in the argu-
ments or details he had entered upon. The Hon.
Member had expatiated 'against the treaty of the Holy
Alliance. He (Lerd Palmerston) was the last man in
that House who would stand up and offer any opposition
to the disparagement of that treaty by the Honourable
Member. There was nothing in the policy pursued by
the present Government which could be in any way as-
similated to the treaty of the Holy Alliance, or which
either anticipated or would be supposed to lead to the
consequences aimed at by that treaty. When the Hon.
Member stated that the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs exercised a controlling influence over the affair
of foreign European States, he ascribed to the Govern
mint of which he had the honour to be a Member, a far
greater degree of power than the course of events on
the Continent would bear out. The Government of her
Majesty had done their best for the good of their coun-
try, as well as of mankind, and with some success in
several instances, but with less good fortune in others—
for they had not accomplished all that they wished. But
he certainly did not understand what the cases were that
the Hon. Member put on the footing of having been dealt
with under the policy dictated by the treaty of the holy
Alliance. Perhaps the Hon. Member alluded to Bel-
gium ; if so, ho must remind him that the King of Hol-
land had himself called the conference, at which the
terms of settlement between that country and himself
were to be based ; and that conference had been called
during the Ministry of the Duke of Wellington, the two
first protocols having been signed, not by himselr, but
by the Earl of Aberdeen, who was then Foreign Secre-
tary. Therefore, the Hon. Member's observations on
that head altogether passed by the present Government,
and he was ready to accede to all that had been said by
him respecting the treaty of the Holy Alliance. The
Hon. Member then said that the whole policy of Eng-
land had been directed towards the promotion of the ob-
jects sought to be attained by Russian diplomacy. He
(Lord Palmerston) was aware that the Hon. Member had
a standing idea upon that subject—(A laugh)—and that
it was useless for him to try to alter it.—(Hear, hear.)
All he should say upon the subject therefore was, that
her Majesty's Ministers tried by every means in their
power to benefit the country to which they had the
honour to belong and which they served, and that
they recognised neither national enemies nor national
friends in foreign powers; but if they found a foreign
nation pursue a policy which accorded with their own
they regarded it as friendly, and if not, they regarded
it otherwise than as friendly. The Hon. Member had
quoted a sentence from a book written by M. Louis
Blanc, wherein that person attributed hostile inten-
tions to him (Lord Palmerston) because he had said
that 'in 1831 France was the great object of jealousy
to England. How M, Louis Blanc could arrive at a
knowledge of what he had thought he knew not, but as
far as the statement in question was concerned, he must
observe that no English Minister could have made any
such assertion, seeing that England and France were
joined together in effecting a great European object at
the particular time when such a statement was attributed
to him, and, consequently, when there existed the least
possible ground for any jealousy on the part of England.
The Hon. Member stated that it was this jealousy which
had prevented the Polish nationality from being re-
stored. He admitted that Russia had rights under
the treaty of Vienna, and he (Lord Palmerston)
must remind the Hon. Member that the Government
with which he had acted never admitted Russia to
possess other rights than those already ceded to her by
the treaty of Vienna, and certainly had never dreamed
of going beyond the strict limits of that treaty. he
did not know whether it was necessary for him to an-
swer the other portions of the speech made by the Hon.
absent Member. It was on principle that he had
objected to the course pursued by him. He objected to
the first address, because the papers called for would
throw no light upon the subject, and he should resist
the second address because he objected to the produc-
tion of any correspondence, on the ground that such a
course would very seriously mar the negotiations that
were going on between this country and Prussia sad
Denmark.
Mr. HUME said that he was anxious to explain his
reasons for having seconded the motion of the lion.
Member. On a former evening an Hon. Baronet had
counted:out the House in a very ungracious manner, the
Hon. Member having a motion immediately pending.
When ho (Mr. Hume) had met th© Hon. Member that