756 



POLAND. 



no hesitation in declaring their conviction that 

 the principal obstacle to the reestablishment 

 of order in Poland is not the assistance obtain- 

 ed by the insurgents from abroad, but the con- 

 duct of the Russian Government itself. The 

 Empress Catherine in 1772 promised to the 

 Poles the maintenance of their religion. The 

 Emperor Alexander I. in 1815 promised to the 

 Poles national representation and national ad- 

 ministration. These promises have not been 

 fulfilled. During many years the religion of 

 the Poles was attacked, and to the present 

 hour they are not in possession of the political 

 rights assured to them by the treaty of 1815, 

 and the constitution of the same year. The 

 violation of these solemn engagements on the 

 part of the Russian Government produced dis- 

 affection, and the sudden invasion of the homes 

 of Warsaw, in a night of January last, was the 

 immediate cause of the present insurrection. 

 Unless the general feeling in Poland had been 

 estranged from Russia, the moral and material 

 assistance afforded from abroad would have 

 availed the insurgents little. It is true, however, 

 that lively sympathy has been excited in Europe 

 in favor of the Poles. In every considerable 

 state where there exists a national representa- 

 tion in England, in France, in Austria, in Prus- 

 sia, in Italy, in Spain, in Portugal, in Sweden, in 

 Denmark, that sympathy has been manifested. 

 "Wherever there is a national administration 

 the administration has shared, though with 

 prudence and reserve in expression, the feelings 

 of the legislature and the nation. Russia ought 

 to take into account these sympathies, and 

 profit by the lesson which they teach." His 

 despatches conclude as follows : " In commu- 

 nicating their views to Prince Gortschakoff, it 

 remains to her Majesty's Government to dis- 

 charge an imperative duty. It is to call his 

 Excellency's most serious attention to the grav- 

 ity of the situation, and the responsibility 

 which it imposes upon Russia. Great Britain, 

 Austria, and France have pointed out the 

 urgent necessity of putting an end to a deplor- 

 able state of things which is full of danger to 

 Europe. They have at the same time indicated 

 the means which, in t their opinion, ought to be 

 employed to arrive at this termination, and 

 they have offered their cooperation in order to 

 attain it with more certainty. If Russia does 

 not perform all that depends upon her to fur- 

 ther the moderate and conciliatory views of the 

 three Powers, if she does not enter upon the 

 path which is open to her by friendly counsels, 

 she makes herself responsible for the serious 

 consequences which the prolongation of the 

 troubles of Poland may produce." 



The French note, which was simultaneously 

 addressed to Prince Gortschakoff, was accom- 

 panied with a note, in which M. Drouyn de 

 I'Huys explains the European character of the 

 stipulations which were accepted by Russia, 

 Austria, and Prussia at the Congress of 1815. 

 The French Minister recalls " 1. That Russia 

 has entered into an engagement to bestow on 



the Kingdom of Poland a distinct constitutional 

 regime. 2. That Russia, in making the reser- 

 vation to approximate the Polish institutions 

 to those of Russia, could only allude to the 

 Polish provinces without the Kingdom of Po- 

 land Proper. The Powers have a direct and 

 positive right to claim for Poland a faithful 

 execution of the treaties." The note of Aus- 

 tria to Russia expresses great regret that Russia 

 has not given a more satisfactory reply to the 

 notes of the Great Powers. The note then 

 proceeds to state that the interest of Europe 

 demands an early fulfilment of the work of 

 conciliation in Poland. "Foreign influences," 

 it says, " are not the only cause of the insur- 

 rection. Poland would be tranquil if Russia 

 had fulfilled the political and religious engage- 

 ments which she had contracted. The proposed 

 conference of the great Powers ought certainly 

 to be acceptable to Russia." In conclusion, 

 Prince Gortschakoff is requested to give his 

 most serious attention to the present state of 

 things, for the consequences of which Austria 

 declares Russia alone will be responsible. 



The replies of Prince Gortschakoff to these 

 three notes are dated Sept. 7th (old style, Au- 

 gust 26th). Prince Gortschakoff regrets that the 

 expectations, based upon the diplomatic dis- 

 cussions and their results, had not been fulfill- 

 ed, and that the differences of opinion had not 

 been removed. He, therefore, thinks that a 

 further extension of these discussions appears 

 superfluous. He finally states that Russia as- 

 sumes the full responsibility of her acts. In 

 the reply to France, Prince Gortschakoff more- 

 over emphatically declines any discussion on 

 the Polish provinces of Russia Proper. He 

 says: "We will draw attention to only one 

 point in the despatch of M. Drouyn de I'Huys, 

 because we are anxious to remove beforehand 

 every fresh subject of misunderstanding. I 

 refer to the allusion made by the French Min- 

 ister of Foreign Affairs, several times and under 

 various forms, to the western provinces of 

 Russia, as participating to a certain extent in 

 the international stipulations which determined 

 in 1815 the position of the Duchy of Warsaw. 

 The Imperial Cabinet cannot in any way admit 

 this point of view even to the slightest extent, 

 and your Excellency is requested to reiterate 

 to M. Drouyn de I'Huys the declaration already 

 made in my previous despatch, that his Majesty 

 the Emperor, always ready to scrupulously 

 fulfil his obligations toward all the Powers, 

 must peremptorily exclude, even from an inter- 

 change of friendly opinions, any allusions to 

 parts of his empire to which no international 

 stipulations of any kind whatever apply." 

 These notes were accompanied by a memoran- 

 dum of considerable length. This document 

 treats the question exclusively in an interna- 

 tional point pf view. It gives an historical 

 sketch from the Congress of Vienna. It thor- 

 oughly examines the extent Russia is bound 

 by those treaties, and dwells at considerable 

 length upon the congress itself. It endeavors 



