The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-08 00:00:00

POLAND.

A letter from Warsaw, dated August 1, says :
Letters from Austria announce the commencement
of religious persecutions, similar to those in Poland,
in that most catholic of countries. The following
notice has been forwarded by the Austrian Govern-
ment to the proprietor at Szezawnica, in Gallicia,
on whose estates the church is situated :
The Imperial Government has been informed that during
a funeral service which was celebrated at Szezawnica, the
hymn of " God Save Poland" was sung. As this hymn is
not among the hymns of the church, and the only object
with which it is sung must be to provoke a national demon-
stration, the instigators of this proceeding have been brought
to justice. It appears that this hymn is sung daily in the
local chapel, and that you do not interfere, which it is both
your place and your duty to do. You are requested, there•
fore, to do all in your power to prevent demonstrations of
this kind, as otherwise I shall be under the disagreeable
necessity of instituting judicial proceedings against you,
and ordering the church in which these demonstrations
take place to be closed.
(Signed) KALITOWSKI,
President of the Circle of Sandecz.
Sacz, Jnly 22, 1861.

A few days afterwards the church was actually
closed, much to the distress of the inhabitants and
numerous visitors to the baths of the place.
The moral strength of the agitation in the king-
dom of Poland has not only not diminished, but is
becoming every day more active and extended, and
strikingly shows the power and vitality of the
national feeling, which has penetrated to all parts
of ancient Poland, including the province of Lithu-
ania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Ukraine. The Russian
Government, on the other hand, instead of yielding
to the general demand for reform, wastes its powers
in impotent efforts to crush the feeling of nationality
which pervades the country, and which stimulates
the Poles to a perseverance for which they have not
hitherto obtained credit. Warsaw, for instance,
has been transformed by its influence from the
gayest city in Europe, next to Paris, into a body of
labourers, who work unceasingly amid blood and
tears for a better and happier fortune. All pleasure
and amusement is given up ; the whole country is
in mourning, and steadily perseveres in its labours
for the development of its moral resurrection. The
news of Mr. Hennessy's motion in the Lower
House, and that of Lord.Harrowby in the Upper,
and the debates which were their consequence,
had the best effect here. It is true that these
debates had no practical result; but this was not
expected. The expression of opinion which was
elicited regarding Poland's rights, and of sym-
pathy for her misfortunes, produced the greatest
enthusiasm and friendship for England.
Official news is scanty. M. Potapow, disgusted
at the refusal of the nobles to aid him in reor-
ganising the police, has left for St. Petersburg.
No one cares whether .he will return or not. The
carrying out of the project of the reorganisation of
the schools is hidden in impenetrable secrecy. It
is known, however, that the authorities chiefly
occupy themselves with the police, and that they
are contemplating a renewal of the Inquisitorial
Committee, which was formerly all powerful.
Colonel Leichte, who was one of its members, has
returned to Warsaw from Modlin, where he had
been imprisoned for murdering three peasants. He
will probably resume his functions in the new com-
mittee.

The Russian ladies have selected as a medium of
communication between them and the ladies of
Poland the Russian journal the Bell, published by
M. Herzen, in London: " Speak to them," they
write to that paper, " of our sentiments and our
convictions ; tell them that we likewise pray to
Heaven for the most complete liberty and indepen-
dence of Poland. May our feeble voice mingle
with the sonorous sounds of our Bell, and after
having penetrated the heart and the conscience of
all the wives, mothers, and sisters, reach also un-
happy Poland." The address is as follows :
Sisters, weep with us and more than us. May the lamen-
tations of the Russian wives and mothers be made known
to you, Polish wives and mothers. We wish we could
throw ourselves into your arms, and blend our tears with
your tears. We supplicate you on our bended knees to for-
give our husbands and our sons, and to pity us more than
them, for we are to be pitied more than they. Our hearts
bleed when we poor Russian women think of our husbands
and our brothers who are now in Poland, and when we hope
and at the same time are horrified to see them again. How
and which of them shall return among us ? It is what we
ask each other in our solitude, and our sufferings begin be-
forehand ! And we have brought them honest and faultless
in the eyes of God and men. And we are to see them again.
How and which of them shall we behold ? Perhaps with
reproaches and malediction; or perhaps an abyss separates
us from them. Oh, my brother, my son, prostrate thyself
on earth I Our mother, open thine ear and listen : the groan
on our steppes is groaning.* What torments, what tortures
can be compared with our misery ? Unhappy mothers as
we are, our sole and ardent wish is that our sons should
disobey our monarch, and prefer death or exile in Siberia to
fratricide, shame, and dishonour.

In proof of the violence committed by the Rus-
sian soldiers in Poland, the Czas publishes the fol-
lowing complaint, addressed by the cure of the
town of Mlawa to the Archbishop of Warsaw :
On the 25th of July, at half-past 9 in the evening, the
lieutenant-colonel of the Regiment of Ingermanland, in
garrison at Mlawa, presented himself with four detachments
before the parish church, occupied all the outlets of the
church, and kept prisoners till 7 o'clock in the morning all
the persons who were singing and praying inside. At the
same time the soldiers tore down from the crucifix of the
cemetery the statues of our Lord and the Holy Virgin, and
asked what they should do with them. The lieutenant-colo-
nel told them to break them and throw them into the canal.
(I do not know whether that order was executed.) The
vicar Rzouca was arrested by the soldiers at the moment of
his leaving the church, and conducted to a grange in the
midst of the soldiers, and there subjected to the worst
treatment. The soldiers profaned the cross and the ceme-
tery in the most unworthy manner. The officers smoked
cigars, took tea, and walked about the church, conducting
themselves in the most unbecoming way towards the women
that were praying there. In a word, the parish church of
Mlawa is profaned, and the people no longer dare to enter
it. I have the honour to inform your eminence of these
facts, and to pray you to come instantly to our aid.
VALENTINE eIIEBIZINSKI,
Cure of the parish church of Mlawa.

The same paper states that at Czenstorhan also
the soldiers forming the garrison of the town com-
mitted all sorts of violence. For instance, a soldier
boxed the ears of a man who was carrying a flag in
a procession of pilgrims, and insulted the pilgrims
and their religion. At Kalisch, when the Regi-
ment of Kostrowa, which was distinguished in
the Warsaw massacre, entered the town, it was
accompanied by Cossacks, who lashed the inhabi-
tants with whips. This, it is supposed, was done
because a rumour had got about that the inhabi-
tants intended to make a demonstration against
the regiment. Some days afterwards some officers
grossly insulted an inhabitant of Warsaw in one of
the cafes. This proved a little too much for the
patience of the people, who waited for the officers
and gave them a beating in the park.

ADDRESS OF WARSAW TO ENGLAND.
WARSAW, JULY 31.
The following is the text of the address presented
to the English consul, Colonel Staunton, on July
21:—

SUNDAY, JULY 21, 3 P.M.

WARSAW TO ENGLAND.

I, the City steeped in the blood of my children; I, a
widow in mourning, with chains on my hands ; I, a slave in
a living tomb, send these words of thanks to thee, English
people. The voice of the members of that much esteemed
House of Commons, the voice of the workmen of thy towns,
has raised the lid of the tomb in which violence and indiffe-
rence have precipitated Poland. To my call of blood and
tears God has replied by the mouth of an honoured people.
Glory to God I and thanks to thee, oh, England I With all
that remains to me of life and immortality, after a long mar-
tyrdom, I bless thee, thy old men, thy men, women, sons,
and daughters, wishing them eternal liberty and beatitude.
May thy patrons ever pray God for thee, because thou,
venerable and happy England, hast advocated the cause of
abandoned, mutilated, and crucified Poland.

* The Russian steppes are immense uncultivated plains,
covered with a short herb, and withodt any trees. The
popular superstition thinks it hears strange cries in these
solitudes when the country is in mourning. Then it is cus-
tomary for the peasantry to say," The groan of the steppes
is groaning."

MONTROSE RIFLE GATHERING.—MONTROSE,
August 7.—Scotland's Cup, shot for at 700, 800, and 900
yards, five shots at each, was won by Edward Ross, of
Cambridge University. He made eight, seven, and six
points. Smith, of the Edinburgh Volunteers, won the
second prize, with three, eight, and seven points. Major
Moir, of Stirling, won the third prize, after shooting off
ties at 15 with two others. Strangers' Cup, 10 shots at 900,
and 10 at 1,000 yards.—Ross made 13 points; Kirkwood,
Reldrew, 17 ; and Moir, 16 points,