The Sun. — 1863-06-26 (London, England)

THE RUSSIANS IN POLAND.  The following letter, addressed by a Polish noble. man to an English friend, has been placed in our hands for publication. It gives a terrible picture of the sufferings of the Poles in Volhynia : __  " Volhynia, June 15.  "My dear C—,—l sieze the occasion which has just offered of sending a letter across the frontier (by* post it would be impossible to send one telling of the real state of things here). I write to you probably for the last time, as landed proprietors who have remained at home with their wives and children are in daily expectation of death. You nay have heard, though it is difficult to believe, to what inhuman means the Russian Government resorts to get rid of all that is Polish or Catholic. They have gladly seized the occasion offered them by this insurrection to accomplish their long•mcditated plan of .annihilating ail that is not Russian in these provinces. Several months since we were deprived of all arms or weapons of defence ; now, by a Government order, we are informed that we are no longer to expect any kind of protection from them, and that they are not answerable either for our properties or lives. Mean whil e,t he Government officials and the Greek priests do all in their power to put the Greeks against the Catholics ; and Russian soldiers, disguised as peasants, with all the ruffians, who have been let loose from the prisons for this purpose, scour the country, attacking all the country seats on their road where there is a chance of plunder, pillaging, burning, and putting to death all they contain, and destroying whatever comes in their way. The cruelties perpetrated by these bands are incredible; not content with simply putting to death, they invent new tortures every day. They screw their victims with iron screws to the wall, knock their teeth down their throats, tear out their eyes and tongue, and saw living men into pieces; the woman they outrage and then murder, as well as their children. My pen cannot describe to what a fearful death we are every day exposed ; and yet we must not complain, for the committees of inquiry which are sent to ascertain the truth of these atrocities always end by rewarding the perpetrators of them, finding that they had good reason for acting in that way. After the engagements which took place in this neighbourhood, at Slawzita, Miropol, and other places, the Russians forbade any assistance to be given to the wounded roles, and the more effectually to prevent it, ordered the wounded to be buried with the dead. Our priests are murdered at the feet of our altars while in the act of officiating. With all this we have not the right to leave our estates, but are obliged to wait patiently the cruel death which will certainly fall to our lot ; for the peasants, in their simplicity, tell us that the Government has informed them that on a certain given day all Catholics, rich and poor alike, are to be exterminated—this being the expectation we now live in. One day, perhaps, those civilised Governments who are now spectators of this bloody tragedy will reproach themselves with not having interfered more energetically; but we are resigned to offer the sacrifice of our lives, if, by the Effusion of so much innocent blood, our unhappy country may one day be delivered from the hands of its barbarous oppressors.—Yours till death, ' "  The