POLAND. 



749 



assumed during the last century, the attitude 

 of the Cabinet of Vienna has not been identi- 

 cal with that of Russia and Prussia." This 

 difference, it is said, has not escaped the Polish 

 population, and has not been without influence 

 in their dispositions toward Austria. In a 

 despatch to Baron de Gros, the French Minis- 

 ter at London, dated Feb. 21st, 1863, M. Drouyn 

 de 1'Huys expresses the expectation that the 

 British Minister at Berlin has received instruc- 

 tions perfectly coinciding with those of the 

 French Minister. He suggests, however, whe- 

 ther it would not be advisable to give to the 

 manifestation of the opinion of the two Gov- 

 ernments " a more permanent and a more de- 

 termined form ; " whether, for example, they 

 could not " combine the terms of an identical 

 communication, to be delivered simultaneously 

 to the Berlin Cabinet, and then brought to the 

 cognizance of the St. Petersburg Cabinet ? " 

 It also appeared to M. Drouyn de 1'Huys, 

 that " a step of this nature would obtain the 

 adhesion of the Austrian Government," as 

 there was reason to believe that the Vienna 

 Cabinet took the same view as England and 

 France of the convention between Prussia and 

 Eussia. In order to give the English Cabinet 

 some idea of the views of France, a copy of a 

 draft of a note was inclosed, in which, how- 

 ever, as M. Drouyn de 1'Huys stated, France 

 was willing to admit all reasonable alterations. 



A circular despatch from M. Drouyn de 

 1'Huys to the French diplomatic agents abroad, 

 dated March 1st, stated that "the Government 

 of Her Britannic Majesty had not adhered to 

 the step which France was disposed to take ; 

 that Austria, on her part, while adopting the 

 view of France, had not thought herself justi- 

 fied in officially discountenancing a convention 

 with which she had from the first declined soli- 

 darity ; that France in this state of things had no 

 means with which to pursue further a propo- 

 sition which supposed an agreement. 



The view taken by Great Britain of the 

 Polish question may be inferred from the note 

 of Earl Eussell of the 5th of March, 1863, ad- 

 dressed to the Powers that signed the Treaty 

 of Vienna. It differs from the French in re- 

 ferring to the proclamation of the Emperor 

 Alexander, which formed no part of the final 

 act, instead of invoking the treaties. The fol- 

 lowing were the demands proposed to be made 

 of Russia : 1st. An immediate amnesty in 

 favor of the Polish insurgents. 2d. The reali- 

 zation of the promises made by the Emperor 

 Alexander to the Poles in his celebrated proc- 

 lamation of November, 1815. 3d. The imme- 

 diate convocation of the Polish Diet. 



On April 17th, the representatives of Austria, 

 Franco and England, at St. Petersburg, pre- 

 sented to the Russian Cabinet notes of their 

 Governments concerning the Polish question. 

 The notes of France and England are dated 

 April 10th, that of Austria is dated April llth. 



The French note says what characterizes 

 the disturbances in Poland what gives them 



an exceptional importance is the fact that 

 they are not the effects of a temporary crisis. 

 Effects which are almost invariably reprodu- 

 ced with each generation cannot be attributed 

 to purely accidental causes. These convulsions 

 which have become periodical, are the symp- 

 tom of an inveterate evil ; they are so many 

 proofs of the impotency of all plans hitherto 

 designed to reconcile Poland with the position 

 hitherto conceded to it. On the other hand, 

 these too frequent disturbances are a source 

 of anxiety and alarm. Poland, occupying a 

 central position on the continent, cannot be 

 disturbed without the other states touching up- 

 on her frontier suffering a shock which rever- 

 berates through the whole of Europe. This 

 has always been the case whenever the Poles 

 have taken up arms. These conflicts do not 

 only create anxiety in the public mind, but, 

 if they are prolonged, may disturb the rela- 

 tions between the cabinets, and cause most 

 lamentable complications. It is the common 

 interest of all the powers to see that these in- 

 cessantly recurring dangers are stopped. The 

 French Government feels confident that the 

 Court of Russia will show that it is animated 

 by those liberal views of which the reign of 

 the Emperor Alexander has already given 

 such striking proofs , and that it will take 

 measures to place Poland under . the condi- 

 tions of a durable peace. 



The English note takes the ground that, the 

 general sympathy which is felt for the Polish 

 nation might, of itself, justify her Majesty's 

 Government in making, in favor of the Polish 

 race, an appeal to the generous and benevolent 

 feelings of his Imperial Majesty ; but that the 

 Government of Great Britain has a peculiar 

 right to make its opinions known to that of 

 Russia, because Great Britain having, in com- 

 mon with other European Powers, been a 

 party to the Treaty of Vienna, her Majesty's 

 Government should interpose with regard to 

 any matter which may appear to constitute 

 a departure from the provisions and stipu- 

 lations of that treaty. The English Govern- 

 ment regrets to be obliged to say that, al- 

 though the union of the kingdom to the em- 

 pire has been meditated in accordance with 

 the stipulations of the Treaty of Vienna, the 

 conditions upon which that union was distinct- 

 ly made to depend have not been fulfilled 

 by the Russian Government. The Emperor 

 Alexander, in execution of the engagements 

 contracted by the Treaty of Vienna, establish- 

 ed in the Kingdom of Poland a national repre- 

 sentation and national institutions, correspond- 

 ing with the stipulations of the treaties. But 

 upon the suppression of the revolt, in 1830, 

 those arrangements were swept away. Prince 

 Gortschakoff, like his predecessors, argues that 

 the suppression of that revolt cancelled all the 

 engagements of Russia in the Treaty of Vi- 

 enna with regard to the Kingdom of Poland ; 

 but the English Government cannot acquiesce 

 in a doctrine which it deems so contrary to 



