[Poland.] conformity of opinions and principles relative to the interpretation and application of the Treaty of 21st April 1815 (No. 12), 3rd May ' between the 3 Courts who may be said to be more especially concerned in it. With regard to political expediency, nothing can, doubtless, be more judicious than the considerations which the English Ministers have thought proper to suggest; nothing can be more friendly than the advice which emanates from them. The Emperor has much pleasure in thanking the British Cabinet, but he flatters himself that that Cabinet will not refuse to take into consideration the position of the Imperial Government, and the duties. which it entails. The questions in point affect so closely the interests of the Crown, and those of the Empire, that the Emperor cannot but take into consideration those very interests in the resolutions which he has still to come to. It is not with a view to inflicting on the Poles a punishment. doubtless well deserved, that the Emperor has resolved not to renew a Constitution which they themselves trampled on, but because experience has proved that that Constitution was not the best means of insuring the peace, and, consequently, the welfare of the country; that, far from having been able to prevent the disasters which have taken place in Poland, it is that very Constitution which has, during 15 years, kept alive among the Poles that discontented and turbulent spirit which the first spark kindled into open rebellion. Now we leave the English Ministers to judge themselves whether it would be wise or politic to let institutions subsist which have so little answered the benevolent intentions of their august founder, and of which a criminal use was made. With regard to the appeal made by the British Cabinet to the feelings of mercy and humanity of our august Master, his Excellency has already replied to them by the Amnesty of the 20th October; all our Allies, mon Prince, applauded this act. France alone deemed it right to insist on a general Amnesty, without a single exception. But she seems since then to have arrived at a juster view of the subject. Perhaps the French Government will recognise in time that its own interest demands that revolution should not go unpunished, and that the Government itself gains strength and security in proportion as the Revolutionary Party in France and elsewhere is weakened. [Poland.] Such are the arguments which we should oppose, mon Prince, to the suggestions contained in the communications of the British Ministry with reference to a complete and entire Amnesty. But we are happy to think that that Government will not persist any more than that of King Louis-Philippe did, and that they will even judge with greater impartiality the acts of the Imperial Government. All the efforts and all the care of the Emperor tend towards the establishment of moral peace throughout the Kingdom, that is, to soothe and put an end to that irritation which is the necessary consequence of a sanguinary and calamitous struggle, and to bring about gradually a sincere reconciliation between two nations united under the same sceptre. His Imperial Majesty entertains the just hope that, with the assistance of Providence, he will fulfil this salutary task; but what must delay its accomplishment, keep up a certain agitation among the Poles, and encourage the guilty hopes of those who persist in opposing legitimate Government, is foreign intervention in the affairs of Poland, and the anxious surveillance exercised over all that passes in that country, the false interpretation one gives to Treaties, and the right of patronage that appears to be assumed towards those among the Poles who are excluded from the amnesty, or who reject benefits. This deplorable system, which the Propaganda has made France adopt, and which has been imitated in other countries, has already produced the most disastrous results in the Kingdom of Poland. This is in a great measure the cause of the dogged resistance of the Poles, which prolonged the struggle beyond all expectation. It can still do infinite mischief, if Governments do not seek, at least by their example, to paralyze the effects of a tendency which shows itself so generally, if they do not consent in good faith to trust the future fate of the Kingdom of Poland to the wisdom and good feeling of the Emperor, to the knowledge which he must possess of the real interests of his Government and of bis subjects, to the respect which he has always professed for existing Treaties, and, lastly, to his anxiety for the welfare of his people, for their recovery from the sufferings which a period of calamity had entailed, and the necessity of for ever preventing its recurrence. It is particularly from the British Government that our august Master thinks he has a right to expect this proof of confidence and consideration. The political course of his Cabinet, the [Poland.] straightforwardness and honesty of which the British Cabinet has so often been in a position to appreciate, invests His Imperial Majesty with this right. On the other hand, the British Government is not under the disagreeable necessity of submitting to the requirements of a party which only seeks to disturb the friendly relations of the Powers with a view of their attaining the object of its efforts, that is, general confusion. This Government will, therefore, avail themselves of their power to pursue the line of conduct prescribed by their principles of justice and the wisdom of their councils. By a necessary consequence they will respect the rights of the Emperor in the justest of causes. We have just, mon Prince, with perfect straightforwardness, -expressed our opinion on the subject of the communication which -Lord Heytesbury made to us by order of his Court. This was due to the bond of friendship that unites the two Governments, and which the Emperor will always be anxious to maintain. It was due especially to the friendly spirit which pervaded that communication. But His Imperial Majesty flatters himself that our explanations will be satisfactory to the British Government, and that it is the last time he will be called upon to give explanations on a subject which concerns himself exclusively. His Majesty is all the more anxious for this, as he highly values the importance of rendering his relations with the British Government more and more intimate, and that he is anxious to remove from them everything that could impair them. Your Highness will be so good as to explain this wish to Lord Palmerston, when you communicate the contents of this despatch to him. NESSELRODE. [See further British Protests of 23rd November, 1831, and 3rd July, 1832.] [Poland.] No. 158.-MANIFESTO of the Emperor of Russia, on the promulgation of a New Organic Statute for the Government of the Kingdom of Poland. St. Petersburgh, 26th February, 1832. (Translation.*) By the Grace of God, We, Nicolas I, Emperor of All the Russias, King of Poland, &c. the 6th February In announcing to our faithful subjects by our Manifesto of 25th January of last year, the entrance of our Armies into the Kingdom of Poland, momentarily withdrawn by rebellion from the legitimate Sovereign, we have declared our intention to strengthen the future of that country on solid bases, in harmony with the events and well-being of the whole of our Empire. Now that the strength of our arms has put a stop to the disturbances which have agitated the Kingdom of Poland, and that the nation, led on by factions, has been brought back to duty, and pacified, we have judged that the time has arrived to fulfil our intentions, and to lay down the basis of a solid and lasting state of affairs, in order to guarantee from all new attempts the indissoluble Peace and Union of the two peoples, which Divine Providence has confided to our care. The Kingdom of Poland, already conquered by the victorious arms of Russia, had not only recovered a national existence in 1815, but had obtained a Constitutional Charter [27th November, 1815], monument of the magnanimity of our august predecessor, the Emperor Alexander, of glorious memory. That Charter has nevertheless not satisfied men inimical to all order and legitimate power. In their guilty projects, dreaming of separation of the two countries subject to our sceptre, they have abused the benefits of the regeneration of their country, and have used as a means to overthrow his work the privileges and constitutions which they possessed exclusively from his sovereign will. Torrents of blood have been shed; the peace and prosperity which the Kingdom of Poland enjoyed to a degree unknown until then, have given way to the horrors of civil war and total ruin. These disasters have nevertheless come to an end. The Kingdom of Poland, brought *For French Version see "State Papers," vol. xix, p. 961. [Poland.] back again under our power, is now pacified, and is again about to breathe under a tutelar regimen. But our paternal solicitude for our faithful subjects enjoins on us the duty of preventing, as far as depends upon us, the return of similar disasters, and to remove from the evil-intentioned the means which they have themselves laid bare to disturb henceforth the public Peace. We wish, at the same time, that our subjects of the Kingdom of Poland should enjoy all the advantages necessary to their wellbeing and the prosperity of their country; that the respect for persons and property, liberty of Commerce, and municipal franchise, should be maintained; that they should have a distinct Administration, in conformity with their wants, in such manner as that the Kingdom of Poland may never cease to form an integral part of our Empire, and that they may in future make with the Russians but one nation, one people of brothers. For these purposes, we have judged it necessary to determine by an Organic Statute, promulgated under this day's date, the future organisation destined for the said Kingdom, in conformity with the intentions described above. Given at St. Petersburgh, the 14th February, of the year of Our Lord, 1832, and the 7th year of our reign. The Minister Secretary of State, COMTE ETIENNE GRABOWSKI. NICOLAS. (ANNEX.) ORGANIC STATUTE of the Kingdom of Poland.- |