New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-05-11

eNueHes SO rnchent) tndorses not by an ACT OF Cpn
gress, but by the living voice OF his mioas, kcssuth
Christian principle If non intervention
Its as II ought TO he. and every man not quite
befet OF ether brain heart must have seen II would
have come 10 pass
Just and righteous. however, though the cause OF
hungary be- CALLING though be- the chains that bini her,
there Is nevertheless in the Non OF Europe scopntry
eqn-ny II not more oppressed. and which 1t VIII be my
eb"ea'o 70 prove has equal II not stronger claims 70
the sy mlathy OF the American people Need say, thar
that country Is Poland That Poland which, how great
soever ught have been its sns-snd mean not TO deny
that they were both gevous and manyhss at least one
undispued, and 10 II alone among all nations OF Ed
rope, belonging merit that ii except It's connection
with Napoleon land even this admits Of strong pais-
uon) s sous were never found battling on the side OF
Liberty.
II we turn to the annals Of Poland in the sixteenth
century, viii find IL at the Poles that epoch,
steeprd IN IDEAS Of legitimacy and Divine right ~ OF
kipgs, had some crude. ildeveOyed, indeed, but not
the lees earnest conceptions of popular govern nent
ana religious liberty, lar in advance OF any other then
exiting people
While Henry VIII of England slaughtered, OF his
own alpoweffu WILL not only his wives, but his sub
Jec's "hlie Charles Emperor OF Germany, put cue
ctrsiuy down the first fires of ire dom, klufcd up by
the emancipation Of consceDces from the thraldOn of
ecclesiastical tyranny while Francis OF France,
checked fhe random strvings OF his mercura subjects
after political freedom in Poland alone prosecuted
OF OIL atlo Ms found safe asy aud free exercise Of
religion according TO the dictates OF their onsciences
And The Poles alone hesitated To proclaim the
world, by their acts that The Institution Of kings was
OF aan-the night OF the people to govern ITSELF of
God.
The abolition Of hereditary monarchy in Poland and
her twin sister Lhuania and the substitution of elective
soyerei9ny in Its stead, however dangerous it has
proved TO the stability, to the very existence of the
country ITSELF involved nevertheless principle rghs
principle that tie people have right make and
make lie governors. From the acknowledgment OF this
principle bssi- II the future government of the
- hid al
OF perfect unconditional equality OF iti citizens. But,
may be told only small portion Of the Polish people,
viz, the bodies, admt 10 the privilege OF citizen
ship True and what of that! Nobl.s alone eni wed
the right OF citizens, but the principle Of equality OF
tn, 80, anon Themselves and with the king.
quireo only time end favorable circumstances b.
tended further and wider till IL spread over the whole
population OF equal before the law and laws equal
to all And this because the very groundwork of
the privileges of nobility well calculated extend
that principle Of equality.
PrimogeDlture and law OF entail those mighty bul'
wal ks of aritOcTacy, never acknowledged in
troduced into Poland They were indeed exotic plants
which could thrive coexist with the national char
acter of the people. Hence, landed properly being by
law equally divided among all descendants, admitted
not OF that undue purely arstocratc influence which
kept for three hundred years neighbours the III
gaIians attached to the crown of the house OF Hips
burg.
There certainly existed some families, such as the
CZaItoryskis, LamUysks, RadZivils. and dozen
others, who having accumulated enormous sums, by
plumber In the wars against the Turks and Muscovy
purchase extensive territories thus IuirDg danger
Gus, and as il proved ruinous influence These how
ever, were exceptions whereas the great majority OF
ntbles remained onparaiively poor and INDECENT
SO thar although the mobiles alone had right vote
elections Of kings and legislators they did not form
in England, France and Hungary, class predominant
by wealth and material power, but athcr body of
freemen whose franchise bad been determined by the
fortuious circumstance OF BIRTH instead of dollars and
cents, as ia constitutional monsrchca governments
II ia nod m ri iJarch
in ancient Greece and moiern Venice, because the
majority OF it, membe lacked that power which wealth
unquesiionsy places at the disposal of it, possessors
but the hole system bore germs of progressive demo-
cratic development.
That this development was rapid, may be concluded
from the fact that while the mobiles numbered scarcely
10000 al the election OF the first elective King Henry de
Valos atterward Henry ILL., of France in the year l51
at That of Augustus III, in 1873, upward Of $4,000 APP
peared on the field of election.
1t would be udicIous were it less painful. to Pole
acquainted with the social state of his country 10 hear
men exclsining, in perfect earnest, On you have
been nothing else but an Oiearchc Republic" Oil
garchy forsooth Behold noble blowing, di gging aud
hoeing on the ten acres OF land which form all his
earthly posses,ions See the noble dame and her young
laoes tripping it baretooted the church. their high
heted sh, and worsted stockings under their arm
ready to be put in the churchyard and sec serf,
driving his family with two If four excellent horses
in II direction, and you will scarcely riaize an
ogarchan arstocrat And ii it he true that that non
noble the ser groans under heavy burden ofnjusice
lay 10 the charge of the dark ages still in existence in
Europe, which, nevertheless, less dark less
gloomy in Poland than elsewhere since the pinnacle of
the uDhallowed temple OF all misery, oppression and
ienorance-leeitimacy been scattered to the
winds.
Nor wa. this the only onward move Poland made,
during the period speaking of Q573-9D; for,
during that time, indeed tar back the hrstnamed
year, and while religious rancor ran the highest
while the white cliffs OF England, the emerald Hills OF
Ireland the VINEYARDS of France the fertile plals OF
n CrinsOned
with human blood, she in the Of God Ofthe God
OF love and mercy while the" Holy nqu 'ition burned
beretics and the Protestals committing TO iamei
Papsts for the good of their sOulsPoaDd and Poland
slone remained innocent of blood and the prosecuted
Huguenots or Wadenses well as the equally perse
cuted Irish Ropanists were received with Christian
affection into her bosom.
Reotry triumphant for while, during the reign OF
the jesuit ridden King sigsnund iii, succeeded in
Guiding from the Councils of the State, Dssidents-as
were called in Polsndbut its triumph
of short duraiion the better feelings of citizens pre-
vailed: these religious disabilities removed and
nearly century before any other power dreamed
of admitting the great truth that Religion private
conc, IN between every individual and his Maker Poland
presented the glorious spectacle OF Protestant Catholic
and Roman Catholic sitting side by aide In the halls OF
All these undoubtedly historically true facts are
sufficient proof that the Poles In the early days OF
their political education, had an almost instructive abb
horrence of oppression, and that therefore, they were
deserving of that liberty on their march toward which
they made go rapid progress
The two fundamental principles of freedom, viz the
right OF the People to elect its Rulers and the free
exercise Of Religion, once established, time alone
and the progress OF ideas were wanting to extend ber
ty TO ali classes of the people, and political equal
ifv TO all individuals. Nor must be forgotten the
fact. that as the advantages of commercial pursuits
began TO be appreciated, poorer pobles-casting
of their long cherished prejudces, amagamated more
and more with the jewellers OF cities and townsville
barrier which separated the noble from the burgess
was removed-and this latter closely connected
with the class of ser peasants for according to the
theory of the constitution whoever was not noble
tien must have eventually led to the emancipation OF the
latter Further, although the magnstes claimed the
mass Of the poorer MOBILES their own, and for their
own political purposes all the sympathies, social and in
telectual of these last ran in contrary direction
towsrd the husbandman trader. And as the mag
nstss As have said above, formed bat handful
tsny not exceeding, with their hangerson and satel
iites onefenth of the whole number OF voting mobiles
is but rational TO suppose nay 10 be certain, that had
=, Poland pershed she would have shown further to