Operations of general Dembinski's corps.--He traverses the
country between Szawla and the Niemen without being observed
by the enemy.--Attacks and disperses a brigade of Russian
infantry.--Passes the Niemen and throws himself into the forest of
Bialystok.--After leaving that forest, is joined by the corps of
general Rozycki.--Reaches Warsaw.--His reception at Warsaw.--View
of the exposed situation of Paszkewicz after his passage of the
Vistula.--Examination of the plan of operations of the Polish
commander.--Morbid state of the public mind at Warsaw.--Skrzynecki and
Czartoriski deprived of their trust.--Capture of the city.--Documents
showing the influence exercised by the cabinets in discouraging active
operations.--Conclusion.
The corps of general Dembinski had been more fortunate than those of
Chlapowski and Rohland. That general, quitting Kurszany on the 9th of
July, returned, in obedience to the orders which we have detailed, by
means of the forests, to the environs of Szawla, leaving the enemy
upon the right, and without being observed by him;--he having advanced
with his whole force in the direction of Worna, under the belief that
our undivided forces were in that position. This corps traversed the
country between Szawla and Rosseyny, and arrived during the night of
the 15th at Janow, where they dispersed a squadron of the enemy's
cavalry and took fifty prisoners, and passed there the river Wiliia
without interruption. From thence they left for the environs of Kowno,
where, not far from Rumszyski, on the 16th, they met a brigade of
Russian infantry which was on the march from Wilno to the frontier of
Poland.
General Dembinski attacked this brigade with such impetuosity, that
they were thrown into the greatest consternation. Two cannons and
several prisoners were taken. The great forests, by which the Russians
were able to effect their escape, alone saved this brigade from entire
destruction. Having thus opened their road, they took the direction
of the town of Lida, passing the Niemen not far from that place.
Afterwards they threw themselves into the forests of Bialystok, and
in these forests the corps was reinforced by a considerable number
of Lithuanian insurgent cavalry, which had been acting with great
advantages over the enemy, by cutting off his transports of ammunition
and other modes of harassing him, during the whole of our campaign.
This force was under the command of colonel B***. General Dembinski
quitted the forests in the environs of Orla, and leaving the town of
Bielsk on his right, passed through the town of Bocki, near which
he surprised and dispersed a regiment of cossacks, and took several
prisoners, and among them a number of officers. In the environs of
Siemiatycze, where the corps arrived on the 20th of June, they were
arrested by the sudden appearance of a large body of troops. General
Dembinski halted and placed his forces in order of battle, sending his
flankers in advance. On the other side the same movement was made. The
flanking parties of the opposite forces approached each other, but
what was the astonishment of the two corps at seeing the tirailleurs,
in place of firing upon each other, rushing into each other's arms,
and rending the air with patriotic exclamations. The corps which
was thus met by that of general Dembinski, was the corps of general
Rozycki, which had been sent from our grand army to reinforce the
corps of general Gielgud. The reader will now call to mind the plan
of operations proposed by colonel Valentin after the battle of Wilno;
and the arrival of this reinforcement at the very spot which was to
have been the point of concentration aggravates the regret that his
plans were not adopted. Nothing could exceed the satisfaction of the
two corps at thus meeting. General Rozycki, learning the disastrous
circumstances which had occurred, changed his plan of operation, and
decided to unite himself with the corps of general Dembinski, and to
return with it to the grand army. The junction of these two corps had
scarcely taken place, when a cloud of dust, in the direction of Bielsk,
announced the march of another body of troops. A small reconnoissance,
sent in that direction, returned with the intelligence that it was
the Russian corps under Golowkin. Our generals, considering all
circumstances, determined not to engage with them, and continued their
march towards Poland, passing at night the river Bug. They then took
the direction of Wengrow and Kaluszyn, and by that route arrived at
Warsaw, toward the end of the month of July.
The corps of general Dembinski, which had traversed more than four
hundred miles in about twenty days from its departure from Kurszany,
in the midst of detachments of the enemy, was received by the nation
with the greatest enthusiasm. The president of the senate, prince Adam
Czartoriski, the generalissimo Skrzynecki, with all the officers of
government, followed by an immense body of citizens, met him at the
distance of a half league from the city; and he was greeted with an
address expressive of the thanks of the nation for his courageous and
persevering exertions. It ended in the following terms:--'Dear general,
and brethren in arms, you will be a living reproach to those who,
forgetting their sacred duties, have, by their misconduct, forced their
countrymen to lay down their arms, and seek the protection of another
nation.'
To commemorate the brave exertions of this corps, and to transmit these
events to posterity, the address above referred to was ordered to be
enregistered in the volumes of the public laws. A printed copy was
also given to each soldier of the corps. At the same time a commission
was appointed to inquire into the conduct of generals Gielgud and
Chlapowski.
When we consider the manner in which the Russian army, after their
passage of the Vistula, passed the interval between the 27th of July,
(the day of their arrival at Lowicz) and the 15th of August, we shall
be at a loss to account for their inaction.
If general Paszkewicz was in a condition to take Warsaw, he could gain
nothing by this repose. Nay, every moment of delay might increase the
difficulties he would have to overcome. Why then all this delay? What
could have prevented us from reinforcing our ranks, strengthening the
fortifications of Warsaw, and even sending another corps, however
small, into Lithuania, to support a new insurrection? Such a corps
could have easily made its way even in the midst of the Russian
detached corps remaining on the other side of the Vistula, and indeed
those corps, so imprudently left there, could have been beaten in
detail by our forces. If these circumstances are well considered,
the reader will be satisfied that this manoeuvre of passing the
Vistula, though in appearance so threatening to us, was in reality a
most imprudent step on the enemy's part, and exposed him to the most
imminent danger. Many detailed considerations might be given upon this
point, but as they would occupy much space, and would withdraw us too
far from the purpose of this narrative, we must leave them to abler
pens. The general view, however, which we have taken of the position of
the enemy, will be enough to awaken the astonishment of the reader that
the event of the contest should have arrived so suddenly and so fatally
to us. We are, therefore, led to present some reflections upon what
seems to us to have been the true causes of the disastrous issue of the
struggle.
We may, in the first place, be permitted to remark that the removal
of our army from Warsaw to Lowicz to meet the enemy there, does not
appear to have been a fortunate disposition. By it, some twenty
days were spent in indecisive manoeuvres against a superior force.
If, during that interval, in place of marching to meet the enemy,
the army had been concentrated in the environs of Warsaw, and
employed in constructing fortifications upon the great roads leading
to Warsaw, from Blonie, Nadarzyn, Piaseczno, and Kalwaryia, as a
first line of defence, and in strengthening the great fortifications
of Warsaw:--then, leaving half of our force to defend these
fortifications, we might have crossed the Vistula with the other half,
and acted upon all the detached corps of the enemy on the right bank,
and have, besides, intercepted all the reinforcements for the main
army of Paszkewicz. Our communications, also, with the provinces,
being thus opened, and their territory freed from the presence of the
enemy, we should have again been enabled to avail ourselves of their
co-operation. I cannot but think that if such a plan of operation had
been adopted, for which, in fact, there was ample time in the interval
above named, an altogether different turn would have been given to our
affairs.
If the objection should be made that the delay which actually occurred
could not have been reasonably anticipated, and that Paszkewicz might
have immediately advanced to the attack of Warsaw, still, without
entering for the present into more detailed considerations in support
of my opinion, it will be enough to answer, that if twenty-four
hours merely were to be had, those twenty-four hours should have
been employed in fortification rather than manoeuvring, for it was
not at Lowicz, but under the walls of Warsaw, that the enemy were to
be fought. As it was at Warsaw, then, that the decisive encounter
must inevitably have taken place, would it not have been the most
judicious course, to have confined our operations on the left bank of
the Vistula, to the strengthening of the defences of Warsaw; to have
in fact adopted in regard to the enemy, who had now transferred his
strength to the left bank of the Vistula, the same course of operations
which we had hitherto pursued against him while he was in occupation of
the right; in short, to have made of Warsaw another Praga. Our course
of operations should in fact have been just reversed, to correspond
with the change which the enemy's passage of the Vistula had made in
our relative positions. While he was on the right bank, the region on
the left of the river was open to us, and there were our resources;
but now that he was acting with his main army on the left bank, it
should have been our aim, by annihilating his detached corps, to have
opened to our operations the whole region of the right, which was far
more extensive than the other, and which, besides, had the advantage
to us of being contiguous to the insurrectionary provinces. In case of
an attack on Warsaw, which of course could not be an affair of a few
days only, that part of our forces operating on the right bank could be
withdrawn in ample season to present our whole strength to the enemy in
its defence.
Since I have allowed myself to make the above remarks in regard to the
plans of the general in chief, I must also be permitted to add that, at
that period of inquietude and distrust, the presence of the commander
in chief and of the president of the National Government, at Warsaw,
was of the utmost importance. That presence was continually needed to
act on the minds of the people, to preserve union and tranquillity,
and to discover and bring to exemplary punishment the traitors who
had been plotting the ruin of their country; in short, to encourage
the patriotic and to alarm the treacherous. If those two individuals
so deservedly beloved and honored by the nation had been present, we
doubt whether those melancholy scenes at Warsaw, on the 14th, 15th,
and 16th of August, when some forty persons who were under conviction
of treason, perished by the hands of the people, would ever have taken
place. Revolting as those scenes were, we must yet consider whether
the circumstances of the moment will not afford some palliation for
them. Deserted by those who had been the objects of their profoundest
attachment and confidence, haunted by the recollections of the terrible
disasters which had been incurred, and which they could attribute to
nothing short of treason,--seeing twenty days again sacrificed, during
which the Russian corps from Lithuania were permitted to pass the
Vistula, (that of Kreutz at Plock, and that of Rudiger at Pulawy,)
and join their main army; in fine, seeing this immense Russian force
approaching the capital, from which perhaps they were expecting a
repetition of all the atrocities of Suwarow,--remembering the thousands
of victims which these traitors had already sacrificed, and reflecting
on the thousands whom they had plotted to sacrifice; can it be wondered
that, in those moments of despair, that people should have yielded to
their impulses of indignation and have chosen rather to sacrifice at
once those convicted traitors, than permit them to live, and perhaps be
the instruments of the vengeance of the conqueror. Abandoned thus by
those who should have been near to tranquillize them, the people took
that justice into their own hands which the government had neglected to
execute, and with their suspicions operated upon by this accumulation
of disasters, they went to the degree of demanding the removal from
their posts of prince Czartoriski and the general in chief.
Such are, I think, the true explanations of those acts, so serious
in their consequences, and which have created so much surprise. The
removal of Skrzynecki from the chief command was certainly one of the
most deplorable results of this disordered state of the minds of the
people;--for who could so well meet the exigencies of the time as
he, familiar with every detail, engaged in the midst of events, and
possessing the entire confidence of the army? It was in this period
of distrust and suspicion that the Russian army, which seemed to have
been waiting only for such a moment, received the intelligence from
some traitors, yet undiscovered, within the walls of Warsaw, that the
time had arrived for their attack. It was undoubtedly directed by such
intelligence, that they made their attack on Warsaw, at the moment
when the greater part of our army had been sent by its new commander,
Prondzynski, to act on the right bank of the Vistula against the corps
of Golowkin, which was menacing Praga. The city thus defended by the
national guard and a small part of the army alone, and distracted by
the divisions which Russian intrigues had fomented, fell, after a
bloody defence,[82] and the fate of Poland was decided.
We have stated our belief that the fatal events which hastened the
catastrophe might have been prevented by the mere presence, at the
capital, of the heads of the army and the National Government, at
those trying moments which brought on that disordered state of the
public mind. Of this error we cannot readily acquit them, upright and
patriotic as we know their intentions to have been. But upon the other
point--that mysterious inaction of our forces, for so considerable a
period, there is an important light thrown, in the following extracts
from the correspondence of the prince Czartoriski with the French
minister of the Exterior, read in the chamber of deputies, on the 19th
of September, by the venerable general Lafayette, and in the extracts
from his remarks, and those of general Lamarque, made on that occasion,
and which have probably before met the eye of the reader.
EXTRACT FROM THE LETTER OF PRINCE CZARTORISKI.
'But we relied upon the magnanimity and the wisdom of the cabinets;
trusting to them, we have not availed ourselves of all the resources
which were at our command, both exterior and interior. To secure the
approbation of the cabinets, to deserve their confidence, and to obtain
their support, we have never departed from the strictest moderation;
by which moderation, indeed, we have paralyzed many of the efforts
which might have saved us in those latter days. But for the promises
of the cabinets, _we should have been able to strike a blow, which
perhaps would have been decisive_. We thought that it was necessary to
temporize, to leave nothing to chance--and we have at last seen the
certainty, at the present moment, that there is nothing but chance that
can save us.'
_General Lafayette_: 'If it be said that the promises here referred to
might have been only an affair of the gazettes,--I answer, that I have
demanded explanations of the Polish legation, and here is the reply
which I have obtained.
'"In answer to the letter which we have received from you, general, we
hasten to assure you--
'"1. That it was the Minister of Foreign Affairs who engaged us on the
7th of July, to send a messenger to Warsaw, whose travelling expenses
were advanced by the Minister: that the object of this messenger
was, as his Excellency the Count Sebastiani told us, to induce our
government to wait two months longer, for that was the time necessary
for the negociations.
'"2. That the circular of our Minister of Foreign Affairs, dated the
15th of August, signed by the Minister ad interim, Audne Horodyski, and
also another circular of the 24th of the same month, signed by the new
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Theodore Morawski, came to our hands by
the post of the 14th current; that they are the same circulars which
we at first officially communicated to the Count Sebastiani, on the
15th of September, and which we immediately after addressed to the
journals, where they appeared on the 17th and 18th, and that those two
circulars in fact explain the effect which the mission of the above
envoy produced at Warsaw.
'"Le Gen. Kniazewiecz--L: Plater."'
_Paris, the 20th November, 1831_.
_Gen. Lamarque_: 'Poland! Can it be true that this heroic nation,
who offered her bosom to the lance of the Tartars only to serve as
a buckler for us, is to fall because she has followed the counsels
which France and England have given her! Thus then is to be explained
the inaction of her army at the moment when it ought to have taken
a decisive step. Thus is to be explained the irresolution of the
generalissimo, who from the first moment had showed so much audacity
and skill. We may now know why he did not profit by the passage
of the Vistula, which divided the army of the enemy, to give him
battle either on one bank or the other. The minister rejects with
indignation this imputation of complicity. He declares formally that
he had made no promise, that he had given no hope, that he had fixed
no date.--Honorable Poles, whom I have seen this morning, affirm the
contrary. Our colleague, M. Lafayette, will give you details, almost
official, on this subject.'
SESSION OF THE 13th SEPTEMBER.
_Gen. Lafayette_: 'I will ask this, without the least expectation of
receiving a reply, but only to render a just homage to the conduct of
the Poles, and of their government,--I will ask, if it is true that the
Poles were urged by the French government, by the English ministers,
and by the French ambassador at London, to use moderation, and not to
risk a battle, because the measures which those powers were to take in
behalf of Poland would not be delayed but for two months, and that in
two months Poland would enter into the great family of nations.--Those
two months have expired; and I state this here to render justice to the
conduct of the Polish government, the Polish army, and its chief, who
may have thought that on his giving a general battle, to prevent the
passage of the Vistula, they could thwart the good intentions of the
French and English government in this respect. I think that this will
be considered a fair procedure towards Messieurs the Ministers, to whom
the questions shall be addressed on Monday, to apprize them that this
is one of those which will be then submitted to them.'
* * * * *
These documents will be for the present age and for posterity an
explanation of the true causes of the ruin of Poland. She fell not by
the enormous forces of her enemy, but by his perfidious intrigues. We
cannot accuse France or England, and indeed no Pole does accuse them;
for, although we may have some enemies in those countries, yet we
cannot conceive of the existence of any causes of hostility towards
us, by which those nations can be actuated.[83] They were blinded by
the promises of Russia,--by the solemn assurances[84] which she gave,
that she would soon arrange every thing in the most favorable manner
for Poland. In this web of intrigue were those cabinets entangled, who
would else have followed the common dictates of humanity in succoring
Poland. While she was thus deceiving the cabinets, Russia was doing
her utmost to sow distrust and disunion among our people. It was
her intrigues, through the instrumentality of the traitors whom she
had gained for her accomplices, that caused the estrangement of the
nation from Skrzynecki, who, having a true Polish heart, had repelled
all her vile attempts to shake his integrity, and who, by his talent
and energy, had so often defeated and might still defeat the enormous
masses which she had sent against us. Those intrigues succeeded,
and Russia gained her end in overwhelming Poland with misery; not
reflecting that by so doing she was bringing misfortunes upon her
own head. Russia, by a liberal concession to Poland of her national
rights, could have been truly great. Not to speak of the influence
of the Polish institutions upon the happiness of her own people; her
true stability and strength could in no way be so well secured as by
the independent existence of Poland. They who have labored for our
destruction were not then true Russians; they were the enemies of their
country and of humanity;--heartless calculators, acting with a single
view to their own personal aggrandizement;--men, in fact, who have no
country but self. Equally the enemies of the monarch and of the people,
they make the one a tyrant, and sport with the misery of the other.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 82: As the author was attached to the Lithuanian corps, and
as he was actually in a Prussian prison at the time of the capture of
Warsaw, he cannot undertake to give any details upon so important an
event with the limited information at present at his command.]
[Footnote 83: Appendix No. III, IV.]
[Footnote 84: Appendix No. IV.]
APPENDIX.
No. I.
HISTORICAL VIEW OF LITHUANIA.
If, notwithstanding the many good works recently published upon Poland,
the history of that country is still but imperfectly known to the
rest of the world; it may be said that the history of Lithuania is
almost absolutely unknown to the people of the West. It is generally
thought that it has always composed an integral part of the Russian
empire, and that it was only occasionally that it has held relations
with ancient Poland;--a false impression, and one which the public
journals have but too frequently assisted in propagating. The truth
is, that for five hundred years, Lithuania has voluntarily associated
herself with the destinies of ancient Poland, and it is only with
shame and reluctance that she has borne the Russian yoke. But that
which is of great importance at present to consider, is, the ancient
sympathy which has constantly united the two people. There is a common
spirit of nationality, which, notwithstanding the studiously contrived
disintegration of their territory, has always animated the Lithuanians
and the Poles;--a most important fact, for it is on this fraternity of
feeling and community of opinion between the ancient Polish provinces,
that the salvation of modern Poland essentially depends. We will
endeavor, by presenting to the reader the following extracts from the
work of Leonard Chodzko, to throw some light upon the political history
of this interesting portion of the Slavian race.
'For a long time a distinct power, and governed by its Grand Dukes,
united for the first time with Poland in the year 1386, and making,
in 1569, an integral part of the republic of Poland, Lithuania, from
that epoch, to that of 1795, formed, in the political state, the
third province of Poland; being composed of the palatinates of Wilno,
of Troki, the duchies of Starostia, and Samogitia, of Nowogrodek,
of Brzsclitewski, of Minsk, of Polock, of Witepsk, Mscislaw and of
Smolensk. The Grand Duchy was bounded on the north by Courland,
Semigallia, Polish Livonia, and the province of Great Nowogorod;
on the east by Moscovy; on the south by the Ukraine, Volhynia, and
the country of Chelme; on the west, by the Baltic Sea, the duchy of
Prussia, and the palatinates of Podlasia and Lublin. Its arms were
a cavalier at full speed, with a sabre raised over his head. This
cavalier of Lithuania, joined with the white eagle of Poland, figured
inseparably upon the arms of the republic, upon the national standards,
the public edifices and the coins, up to the moment when foreign force
and domestic treason struck a liberticide blow at that union which
ages has consecrated. In 1812, for a moment, those fraternal arms
were united; but separated again, they once more floated upon every
banner after the memorable date of the 29th of November. According to
ancient traditions, towards the year 900, there landed on the coast
of Samogitia, between Memel, Polonga, and Libau, a colony of Italians
who introduced into that country a certain degree of civilization,
and from thence came that multitude of Latin words which are to be
remarked in the Lithuanian language. From these Italian families, arose
several sovereign dynasties, which governed Lithuania and Samogitia. Of
this origin were, without doubt, the Gerules or Herules, who formerly
governed Lithuania. This people is the same which in the fifth century
invaded Italy, with Odacre, and returning on their steps, spread
themselves upon the shores of the Baltic, which embrace, at the present
day, Oriental Prussia, Lithuania, Samogitia, and Courland.
'The Lithuanians, though subjugated first by the Russians, did not
fail to make their strength soon felt by their invaders. In the 13th
century, when the Tartars ravaged on one side the Russian States, the
Lithuanians on the other side took possession of Grodno, Brzesc, and
Drohyczyn, and did not stop till they reached the banks of the Prypec
and the town of Mozyr. In the north their victorious arms were pushed
as far as the Dwina, and the city of Polock. In the year 1220, the
Russians, under Mscislaw-Romanowicz, declared war upon Lithuania, but
they were beaten near the river Tasiolda, and the Lithuanians augmented
their possessions by the occupation of Pinsk and Turow. Ringold was
the first who took the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1235.
Mindowe or Mendog, having promised the Pope to embrace the Christian
religion, was crowned king of Lithuania in 1252, at Nowogrodek; but
this did not continue long, for Mindowe, finding himself deceived,
returned to Paganism, and died in 1263. From 1280 to 1315, the dukes
Latuwer and Witènes reigned over this country; but the greatest power
of Lithuania dates from the fourteenth century, when Gédymin seized the
reins of government. Impatient to crush the Russian power, which had
distressed Lithuania, this prince defeated the enemy in 1320, upon the
river Pirna, made himself master of Volhynia, of Küovie, of Sewerie,
of Czerniechovia, and extended his boundaries as far as Putiwel upon
the Diésna. In 1340, when Gédymin perished upon the field of battle by
the hands of the Teutonic knights, the Tartaro-Russian power commenced
ravaging Polodia, but Olgerd, successor of Gédymin, came to the succor
of his nephews, Koryatowicz, who were in possession of that province,
defeated the Czars of the Tartars in a pitched battle, and extended the
territory of Lithuania as far as the banks of the Don and the Black
Sea. To form an idea of the extent of the Lithuanian provinces, it is
sufficient to point out here the partition between the sons of Gédymin:
Monwid possessed Kiernow and Slonim; Narymond--Pinsk, Mozyr, and a part
of Volhynia: Olgerd--Krewo, the ancient capital of the duchy, and all
the country as far as the Berezina; Kieystat--Samogitia, Troki, and
Podlachia: Koryat--Nowogrodek and Wolkowysk: Lubar--Wlodgimierz, with
the rest of Volhynia: Jawnat--Wilno, Osmiana, Wilkomierz, Braslaw. The
last succeeded first to his father, but after his death it was Olgerd
who took the reins of government.
'Olgerd was the most powerful of the sovereigns of Lithuania.
The republic of Pskow, in 1346, and that of Nowogorod, in 1349,
acknowledged him for their master. In 1363, the Tartars of Pérékop
(Krimea,) became his vassals. On the east, embracing the cause of the
duke of Twer, he came three times, in 1368, 1370, 1373, to break his
lance against the ramparts of the city of Moscow; of that city where
at a later day the great generals of Poland and of Lithuania, and at
last, in 1812, the Gallo-Polono-Lithuanian lances were crossed in
front of the superb Kremlin! Kiegstut powerfully seconded his brother
in his conquests. It was under such auspices that Olgerd, descending
to the tomb, left his brilliant inheritance to Jagellon, one of his
thirteen sons. Jagellon, who ascended the grand-ducal throne in 1381,
ceded it to his cousin Witold, in 1386, when he went to place upon his
head the crown of the Piasts, to unite his hand to that of Hedwige,
and to cement forever the glorious junction of Lithuania and Poland.
In 1389, he gave the government of the duchy of Sévérie-Nowogorodien
and the republic of Nowogorod-the-Great to his two brothers; while on
the other side, his cousin Witold, being attacked in his new conquests
by the Tartars, beat them, chased a part of them beyond the Don, and
transported those who fell into his hands into the different countries
of Lithuania, where, instead of reducing them to slavery, he gave them
possessions, with the liberty of freely exercising their religious
rights. It was the descendants of those Tartars who showed themselves
such worthy children of their adopted country, at the epoch of the war
of independence, in 1794, and in the campaign of 1812. In this manner
Witold acquired the possession, not only of the Russian territories,
delivered from the yoke of the Tartars by his grandfather and his
uncle, but those which were held by the other small Trans-Borysthenian
Czars. Turning then his victorious army to the north, he forced the
northern republics, whose fidelity he suspected, to humble themselves
before him, and recognize his unqualified supremacy. In fine, Poland
and Lithuania arrived, at that epoch, to such a degree of power, that
the dukes of Mazovia and Russia, the Czars of Moscow, Basile, that of
Twer Borys, that of Riezan, Olegh, the little Czars of Pérékop and
Volga, the Teutonic masters, the Prussians and Livonians, in fine,
the emperor of Germany, Sigismond himself, accompanied by his wife,
and several princes, Erik, king of Denmark and Sweden, as well as
the ambassadors of the emperor of the East, Paleogogus, presented
themselves to Wladislas-Jagellon at Luck, in Volhynia, and held there
a general congress in 1428, in which they deliberated upon the war
against the Ottomans; and at which the emperor of Germany attempted
in vain, by means of intrigues, to throw some seeds of dissension
between Jagellon and Witold. Witold died in 1430. Kasimir le Jagellon,
successor of Wladislay, was reigning still with eclat; when the
moment approached, at which from one side the Ottomans began to take
possession of the Tauride, while a new Muscovite power, subjugating the
Russians from the north and east, were soon to contract the frontiers
of Lithuania.
'All this, however, could have no effect upon the union of the two
nations, which daily acquired new strength; for, subsequently to the
first union of 1386, a Diet, in 1413, held in the bourg of Horoldo,
having declared the Lithuanians to be on an equal footing with the
Poles in regard to taxes and laws, many Lithuanian families allied
themselves with Polish families; in fine, the arms of the two nations
were united. It was then determined that the Lithuanians should receive
their grand duke from the hands of the king of Poland, and that,
when the latter should die without children or descendants worthy to
succeed him, the Poles should elect their new king conjointly with the
Lithuanians. The alliance concluded in 1413, was renewed in 1499; and
it was added, explicitly, that the Lithuanians should not elect their
grand duke without the concurrence of the Poles, nor the Poles their
king, without that of the Lithuanians. In 1561, the knights militant
submitted themselves, and the part of Livonia which remained with them,
to the domination of the king of Poland, as grand duke of Lithuania;
the new duke of Courland became also his feudatory. In fine, in 1569,
under Sigismond-Augustus, the Poles and Lithuanians held a Diet at
Lublin, in which the grand duchy was limited to the kingdom of Poland,
so that they thereafter formed but one body, subject to one prince, who
was conjointly elected by the two nations, under the double title of
king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania. It was agreed, also, that
the Diet should be always held at Warsaw, that the two people should
have the same senate, the same chamber of deputies; that their coins
should be of the same designation; that, in fine, their alliances,
their auxiliary troops, and every thing, should be in common. The
campaigns of Moskow under Sigismond III, Wladislaz IV, and Etienne
Batory, amply proved that the Lithuanians were worthy of calling the
Poles brethren; for they were found ready for every sacrifice, when
the general good of the country was in question. In the laws of 1673,
1677, and 1685, it was ruled that each third Diet should be held in
Lithuania at Grodno; the Diets of convocation, and of election and
coronation were excepted, however, from this rule. In 1697, the Polish
and Lithuanian laws received an equal force and authority.
'At the epoch of the regeneration of Poland, the Lithuanians gave the
most convincing proofs of their devotedness to the Polish cause, in
the last years of the existence of Poland. In effect, when they became
satisfied that, for the common interest, and to give more consistency
to the new form of government which it was proposed to establish,
at the Diet of 1788, it was necessary to strengthen still more the
relations between Lithuania and the crown; that is to say, between
Little and Great Poland, so as to form out of the three provinces a
single powerful state, and to obliterate totally all the distinctions
which had before existed between the Poles and the Lithuanians, they
made a voluntary sacrifice of the privileges which they had held with
great pertinacity, and renounced, without hesitation, that of having
a separate army and treasury, consenting to unite themselves under a
single administration with the two other provinces.
'The whole world was witness to the heroism which the Lithuanians
displayed in the glorious confederation of Bar, from 1768 to 1772;
in the campaigns of 1792 and 1794, against foreign rapacity, when
Kosciuszko, a Lithuanian by birth, covered with imperishable laurels
the chains of Poland. The Lithuanians fell, but they fell with the
whole of Poland, and were buried in the common ruin. How nobly have
not the Lithuanians been seen to figure among the brave Polish
patriots, who sought in France, in Italy, and in Turkey, some chances
of restoration for a country which had been the victim of foreign
ambition! And how many of them have not been found under the banners
of Dombrowski, in Italy, and under those of Kniaziewiez, upon the
Danube? Have we not seen, in the years 1806 and 1809, twelve thousand
Lithuanians, united with their brethren, the Volhynians, the Podolians,
and the Ukranians, hastening to range themselves under the banners of
the army of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw? In 1812, their joy was extreme,
when they thought that their political existence was, at last, about to
be renewed. Then was seen the cavalier of Lithuania, united with the
white eagle, decorating the flags planted on the walls of Wilno. But
the disastrous retreat of the French army struck a mortal blow to the
destinies of those countries. The kingdom of Poland was proclaimed in
1815; the Diets of Warsaw, of 1818, 1820, and 1825, preserved silence
respecting the lot of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A look full of
hope from all Lithuania was turned once more towards Warsaw, upon the
24th of May, 1829, the day of coronation of Nicholas the 1st, but the
reunion of Lithuania was not even made a question of.'
[_Tableau de la Pologne, ancienne et moderne, par Malte Brun, edition
refondue et augmentee par Leonard Chodzko. Paris, 1831._ pp. 288-295.
Tom. I.]
No. II.
ADDRESS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF POLAND TO THE INHABITANTS OF
LITHUANIA, VOLHYNIA, PODOLIA, AND UKRAINE.[85]
_Brethren, and Fellow Citizens!_
The National Government of regenerated Poland, happy on being able at
last to address you in the name of the bond of brotherhood and liberty,
is anxious to lay before you the present state of our country, and to
show you our wants, our dangers, and our hopes.
The wall which separated us is broken down--your wishes and ours
realized. The Polish eagle flies over our territory. United as we are,
hand and heart, we will henceforth proceed in concert to accomplish the
difficult, perilous, but just and sacred work--the restoration of our
country.
The Manifesto of the Diet, in explaining the cause of our rising, gave
an account of our sentiments as well as yours. Scarcely had we risen in
arms, provided with but few means, and uncertain what course to pursue,
before we showed to the world and to the Emperor Nicholas that the same
spirit animated us, and that we were desirous to become, as we had
formerly been, but one and the same nation. The Emperor Nicholas did
not wish to consecrate the tomb of his brother by a monument, which,
during the life time of Alexander, would have sealed the glory of his
reign.
He did not wish to regard us as Poles, bowed down with injuries--as
citizens of a free and independent country;--and would treat with us
only as slaves who had rebelled against Russia. We have arrested--we
have driven back the threatening phalanxes of his different corps. Of
the forces of which our army was composed, some fought here against the
main body of the enemy; others penetrated into your provinces to call
forth our brethren to range themselves under the national banner. You
did not wait for this appeal.
At the very commencement of the insurrection, many of your citizens
explained their sentiments and their wishes in the National Assembly,
and some raised regiments, dignified by the names of your provinces; in
fine, whole districts of Lithuania and Volhynia rose _en masse_.
The partition of Poland has been denominated a crime by the unanimous
voice of Europe, and who at this day will revoke such a decision? Who
will venture to come forward as the champion against it? Undoubtedly
none! And we have the well-grounded hope that Europe will hasten to
recognize our independence, as soon as we have proved by our courage,
our perseverance, our union, our moderate and noble conduct, that we
deserve to be a free nation. This revolution is only a consequence of
our oppression and our misfortunes. It was the wish of our hearts, and
arises from the nature of our history, which displays our determination
from the very beginning, and proves that our rising was not of foreign
prompting. It is not civil war--it is not tainted with the blood of our
brethren--we have not overturned social institutions in order to raise
up new ones at hazard;--it is a war of independence, the most just of
wars. This is the character of our revolution, which is at once mild,
but firm--which with one arm conquers the enemy, and with the other
raises and ennobles the needy peasant.
We admire England and France--we wish to be, like them, a civilized
nation, but without ceasing to be Poles! Nations cannot and ought
not to change the elements of their existence. Each has its climate,
industry, religion, manners, character, education, and history. From
these different elements spring the feelings or passions which display
themselves in revolutions, and the circumstances proper to be adopted
in their future conduct.
Individuality strongly expressed, forms the power of a people. We have
preserved ours in the midst of slavery. Love of country, prepared to
make every sacrifice--courage--piety--noble-mindedness, and gentleness,
formed the character of our forefathers. These qualities also are ours.
The patriots of Warsaw triumphed without chiefs and without law; yet
with what crime can they be charged? An army of 30,000 men, and, in
short, the whole kingdom, rose as if by enchantment; and how did they
conduct themselves towards the Grand Duke Constantine? That prince, who
for fifteen years had shown himself destitute of regard or pity for
our feelings and liberties, was in our power; but he knew the nation,
and, just to it for once only, he intrusted his person and his army
to our honor! At the moment of alarm, we did not listen to the voice
of public vengeance, but respected the prince and his troops, without
taking advantage of our superiority. Our battalions who had awaited
with a firm determination all the forces of Russia, allowed to pass
through their ranks the fallen enemy, whose safety was guaranteed by
the national honor.
The generosity of the nation has been proved by many isolated facts,
and Europe admires our moderation as much as our valor. Brethren,
fellow-citizens, equal admiration still awaits us. Without delay,
then, come forward with the whole of your force simultaneously, and
act as one man in peace and in war; it is the people who are the
source of all power. To the people, then, direct your views and your
affections. Children, worthy of your fathers, you will act like them;
you will break the odious bonds, and you will cement a holy alliance
by reciprocal benefits and by gratitude. In other countries it is by
force, and force alone, that the people recover their liberties--here
those liberties are received as the gift of their brethren. A generous,
just, and necessary deed will become the act only of your own choice,
and you will proclaim to the people their independence, and the return
of the Polish eagles to their native soil. Our fields will lose nothing
in cultivation and value when they are tilled by the industry of brave
men. You will be ennobled in the eyes of civilized Europe, and your
country will gain millions of fellow-citizens, who, like our brave
peasants, will fly to the defence of their liberty, and drive back a
power whose character is that only of slavery. Do not forget, brethren
and fellow citizens, that the Greek religion is professed by a great
part of the people. Toleration is one of the qualities of civilization.
The clergy, the churches, and religion, shall be placed under the
protection of the government, and will lend you their assistance in
carrying this measure of justice into effect.
[The address goes on to enlarge upon the respect paid by Polish
noblemen to religious rites and feelings, and calls on the people on
this occasion to follow their example; also to send deputies from
the different provinces to the National Congress. It then goes on
to describe the vast power of Russia, and the difficulties to be
encountered, much in the same manner as the proclamation of Skrzynecki,
and concludes thus:--]
God hath already wrought prodigies for us. God, and not the Emperor of
Russia, will be our judge! He will decide.
He will decide who hath committed perjury, who has been the victim
of oppression, and who ought to obtain the victory. We have already
fought with success, in the name of the God of our fathers; and we will
fight till at length we have accomplished the ends of justice. All
the nations of Europe possessed of the feelings of humanity tremble
for our fate, and exult with joy at our successes.--They only wait
your general rising to hail you as members of the free and independent
nations of Europe.
Brethren and fellow-citizens! when we shall have finished this terrible
and unequal contest, we will invite the Powers of Europe to form
themselves into a tribunal of justice; we will appear before them
covered with our blood, lay open the book of our annals, unroll the
chart of Europe, and say--'Behold our cause and yours! The injustice
done to Poland is known to you: you behold her despair; for her courage
and generosity appears to her enemies!'
Brethren! let us hope in God. He will inspire the breast of our judges,
who, obeying the dictates of eternal justice, will say--'Long live
Poland! free and independent!'
The President of the National Government,
(Signed) The Prince Czartoriski.
Warsaw, May 13, 1831.
No. III.
There is a rich consolation for the sufferings of a just cause, in the
demonstrations of sympathy which my countrymen have uniformly met with
on the part of the people among whom they have been thrown in their
exile. I cannot refuse myself the satisfaction of inserting here one
among the many notices which have appeared in the journals of the day,
exhibiting the warm interest with which they have been regarded by the
people of France.
[From the N.Y. Courier des Etats Unis, 7th April.]
'The _Journal of Saoine and Loire_ publishes full details of the
arrival of the Poles at Maçon. The reception given to the third
detachment, which has passed through that city, was even still more
marked, affectionate, and touching than that of the preceding. All the
inhabitants of the country quitted their labors, to go out to meet
the exiles. The national guard and the troops of the line paid them
the honors of the place. Salvos of artillery announced their arrival
and their departure. It was a triumphal march. The director of the
packet boats gratuitously transported the Poles from Chalons to Lyons.
At Maçon, just as the packet boat pushed off, a Polish captain threw
his sword upon the bank, exclaiming--'Brave Maçonnois, I give you the
dearest possession I have in the world; preserve it as a token of our
gratitude.' The sword was carried in triumph to the _Hotel de Ville_,
of Maçon, where it was deposited, and a subscription was opened to make
a present to the brave stranger of a sword of honor.
'The arrival of this column at Lyons was celebrated with great
solemnity. An idea of it may be formed from the recital which is given
in the _Precurseur de Lyon_.
'"Since the triumphal passage of the veteran of Liberty, Lyons has
seen nothing so magnificent as the great movement of which the arrival
of the Poles was the signal. From eighty to a hundred thousand souls
marched before the column, upon the road of Bresse, and from far beyond
the faubourgs. Having reached the entrance of the city, escorted by the
elite of its inhabitants, the Poles found themselves in the midst of an
immense crowd, who made the air ring with their cries of enthusiasm and
sympathy. From thence to the Place de Terreaux, the column experienced
extreme difficulty in advancing through the throngs of the delirious
multitude. Words would fail to give the brilliant colors of this truly
sublime picture.
'"Maledictions against the infamous policy of the Cabinets, mingled
with the cries of 'Vive la Pologne!' The accents of generous
indignation were united with those of a deep and heartfelt pity for
those remnants of an exiled people.
'"A banquet was prepared at the Brotteaux. One of the committee
ascended a carriage to conduct hither that young heroine [the
countess Plater, we presume,] who follows to a land of exile her
noble companions in arms, as she had followed them upon the field of
battle. The people had scarcely recognized her, when they precipitated
themselves towards her, unharnessed the horses, and dragged the
carriage in triumph to the place of the assemblage.
'"The banquet was attended by more than five hundred persons, and the
committee had been forced to refuse a great number of subscribers on
account of the smallness of the accommodations.
'"The first toast, given by the president, M. Galibert, was, 'To
immortal Poland!' This toast, enlarged upon with an eloquence full of
warmth and pathos, excited a universal enthusiasm. The French embraced
their noble guests, and it was a touching spectacle--this assembly,
electrified by the most pure emotions of the soul, and in which tears
flowed from every eye.
'"It was affecting to see the physiognomies of the brave Poles during
this solemnity. Many of them understood the French language, and
tears flowed down their cheeks at each of the allusions which the
orators made to their absent country, their crushed revolution. The
young heroine, seated by the side of the president, and who excited a
profound and general interest, could hardly suppress the sobs which
oppressed her.
'"The most perfect order reigned through the whole fete. Not a
gendarme was present, and no excess of the slightest kind occurred.
This countless multitude was calm, notwithstanding the violence of its
emotions. The people proved how little their masters understand them."'
No. IV.
The following extract from the London Courier of April 9th, 1832, in
reference to the recent Imperial Manifesto which converts Poland into
a province of Russia, may serve to confirm the remarks which we have
made in the text, on the system of deception practised by the Emperor
Nicholas towards the Cabinets both of England and France, on the
subject of Poland.
* * * * *
'We perceive that the Manifesto of the Emperor of Russia, relative to
Poland, which we gave on Saturday, has excited general indignation in
France, as well as in this country. Perhaps, as the Poles are not of a
character to be awed into submission by the power of their oppressors,
whilst the slightest chance of emancipation is open to them, it is
better for the cause of humanity that they should be tied hand and foot
in the bonds of slavery, than that any opportunity should be afforded
them of again saturating the soil of Poland with the blood of its
best and bravest patriots. If life with disgrace be better than death
without dishonor, the destruction of the nationality of Poland may
not be so great an evil as the world at large imagine. If the utter
impossibility of successful revolt be clearly shown, the Poles may at
length wear their fetters without resorting to vain attempts to shake
them off; and the monarch who has enslaved them, may gradually witness
the extinction of mind, in proportion as he coerces and binds the body.
But what a sad disgrace it is upon the government and people of this
country to have neglected, in proper season, the means of securing to
the brave and unfortunate people of Poland a nationality which would
have given to them the form and substance of liberty, without involving
the necessity of a rupture with the Power which has conquered them. Is
it not true, that, at a time when the warm-hearted and generous portion
of the people of this country were calling upon the Government to
exercise the influence and power of the British Crown on behalf of the
Poles, the reply was, 'We cannot go to war with the Emperor of Russia
for foreign interests--we cannot insist upon his evacuating Poland,
and leaving the country in a state of complete independence; but we
will use our good offices towards obtaining favorable terms for the
insurgents; and we have already the satisfaction of knowing that the
Emperor Nicholas has declared that the nationality of Poland shall in
no case be forfeited, and that in all other respects the world shall be
astonished at the extent of his generosity towards the vanquished.'
'Is there a member of the Government, or any other person, who will
tell us that such language as this was not made publicly and privately,
in Parliament and out of Parliament, in the newspapers and out of the
newspapers, and that the sole excuse for non-intervention was not
the real or pretended belief that the nationality of Poland would
be respected, and the conduct of the Emperor Nicholas be full of
generosity and magnanimity? Gracious God! and are we come to such a
pass that the sovereign of a semi-barbarous country can laugh at the
honor and dignity of the British name! Is all the respect that he can
show to the good offices of the British Government, in behalf of a
great-minded people, to be found in empty professions and unmeaning
declarations; and are we to put up tamely with one of the greatest
insults that ever was inflicted upon the Government of the country?
Was it for this that we conciliated the Autocrat of the North on the
Belgian question? And is all the return of our concessions a bold and
naked defiance of our power, and a determination to convince the world
that the days of British influence are passed forever? Perhaps we shall
be told, even now, of the magnanimous intentions of the Emperor of
Russia; but the cheat is too stale. Every body knows not only that we
have truckled to Russia in vain, but that to deception she has added
insult, and that at this moment there is a Russian Ambassador in town,
with instructions to cajole the Government on the Belgian question,
and to withhold the ratification of the treaty until after the passing
or rejecting of the Reform Bill, when the Emperor may be enabled by a
change of government to dispense with it altogether.--But we are tired
of the subject; the more we look at it, the more we feel disgraced. We
blame not this or that minister; for the intentions of the government
towards Poland, we firmly believe, were kind in the extreme; but we
blush for the country at large in having purchased the chance of peace
at the sacrifice of honor.'
No. V.
The following is the Imperial Manifesto referred to in the preceding
article, as it appears in the Berlin State Gazette, under the head of
Warsaw, March 25th, 1832.
* * * * *
'By the grace of God, Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, King of Poland,
etc. When, by our Manifesto of Jan. 2, last year, we announced to our
faithful subjects the march of our troops into the kingdom of Poland,
which was momentarily snatched from the lawful authority, we at the
same time informed them of our intention to fix the future fate of
this country on a durable basis, suited to its wants, and calculated
to promote the welfare of our whole empire. Now that an end has been
put by force of arms to the rebellion in Poland, and that the nation,
led away by agitators, has returned to its duty, and is restored
to tranquillity, we deem it right to carry into execution our plan
with regard to the introduction of the new order of things, whereby
the tranquillity and union of the two nations, which Providence has
entrusted to our care, may be forever guarded against new attempts.
Poland, conquered in the year 1815 by the victorious arms of Russia,
obtained by the magnanimity of our illustrious predecessor, the
Emperor Alexander, not only its national existence, but also special
laws sanctioned by a Constitutional Charter. These favors, however,
would not satisfy the eternal enemies of order and lawful power.
Obstinately persevering in their culpable projects, they ceased not
one moment to dream of a separation between the two nations subject to
our sceptre, and in their presumption they dared to abuse the favors
of the restorer of their country, by employing for the destruction of
his noble work the very laws and liberties which his mighty arm had
generously granted them. Bloodshed was the consequence of this crime.
The tranquillity and happiness which the kingdom of Poland had enjoyed
to a degree till then unknown, vanished in the midst of civil war and
a general devastation. All these evils are now passed. The kingdom
of Poland, again subject to our sceptre, will regain tranquillity,
and again flourish in the bosom of peace, restored to it under the
auspices of a vigilant government. Hence we consider it one of our
most sacred duties to watch with paternal care over the welfare of our
faithful subjects, and to use every means in our power to prevent the
recurrence of similar catastrophes, by taking from the ill-disposed
the power of disturbing public tranquillity. As it is, moreover, our
wish to secure to the inhabitants of Poland the continuance of all
the essential requisites for the happiness of individuals, and of the
country in general, namely, security of persons and property, liberty
of conscience, and all the laws and privileges of towns and communes,
so that the kingdom of Poland, with a separate administration adapted
to its wants, may not cease to form an integral part of our empire,
and that the inhabitants of this country may henceforward constitute a
nation united with the Russians by sympathy and fraternal sentiments,
we have, according to these principles, ordained and resolved this day,
by a new organic statute, to introduce a new form and order in the
administration of our kingdom of Poland.
'St Petersburgh, February 26, 1832.
'NICHOLAS.
'The Secretary of State, Count Stephen Grabowski.'
After this Manifesto, the organic statutes of Poland are given, the
principal of which are as follows:
* * * * *
'By the grace of God, we, Nicholas I, Emperor and Autocrat of all the
Russias, King of Poland, &c, &c.
'In our constant solicitude for the happiness of the nations which
Providence has confided to our government, we are occupied in fixing
the basis for the future organization of the kingdom of Poland, having
regard to the true interests and positions of the country, and to the
local wants and manners of the inhabitants.
'GENERAL DISPOSITIONS.
'Art. 1. The kingdom of Poland is forever to be re-united to the
Russian empire, and form an inseparable part of that empire. It shall
have a particular administration conformably to its local necessities,
as well as a civil and military code. The statutes and the laws of
cities and towns remain in full vigor.
'Art. 2. The Crown of the kingdom of Poland is hereditary in our person
and in our heirs and successors, agreeably to the order of succession
to the throne prescribed by all the Russias.
'Art. 3. The Coronation of the Emperors of all the Russias and Kings
of Poland shall be one and the same ceremonial, which shall take place
at Moscow, in the presence of a deputation from the kingdom of Poland,
which shall assist at that solemnity with the deputies from the other
parts of the empire.
'Art. 4. In the possible event of a regency in Russia, the power of
the regent or regentess of the empire will extend over the kingdom of
Poland.
'Art. 5. The freedom of worship is guarantied; every one is at liberty
to exercise his religion openly, under the protection of Government;
and the difference of Christian faiths shall never prove a pretext for
the violation of the rights and privileges which are allowed to all the
inhabitants. The Roman Catholic religion, being that of the majority of
our Polish subjects, shall be the object of especial protection of the
Government.
'Art. 6. The funds which the Roman Catholic clergy possess, and those
of the Greek church united, shall be considered as the common and
inviolable property of the hierarchy of each of those creeds.
'Art. 7. The protection of the laws is assured to all the inhabitants
without distinction of rank or class. Each shall be empowered to assume
dignities or to exercise public functions, according to his personal
merits or talents.
'Art. 8. Individual liberty is guarantied and protected by the existing
laws. No one shall be deprived of his liberty, or called to justice, if
he be not a transgressor of the law in all the forms prescribed. Every
one detained shall be apprised of the motive of arrest.
'Art. 9. Each person arrested must submit to a delay of three days to
be heard and judged of, according to the forms of law, before competent
tribunals: if he be found innocent, he will instantly obtain his
liberty. He will be equally restored to liberty who shall furnish a
sufficient surety.
'Art. 10. The form of judicial inquests directed against the superior
functionaries of the kingdom, and against persons accused of high
treason, shall be determined by a particular law, the foundation of
which shall be accordant with the other laws of our empire.
'Art. 11. The right of property of individuals, and of corporations,
is declared sacred and inviolable, inasmuch as it will be conformable
to the existing laws. All the subjects of the kingdom of Poland are
perfectly free to quit the country, and to carry away their goods,
provided they conform to the regulations published to that effect.
'Art. 12. The penalty of confiscation shall not be enforced but against
state crimes of the first class, as may be hereafter determined by
particular laws.
'Art. 13. Publication of sentiments, by means of the press, shall
be subjected to restrictions which will protect religion, the
inviolability of superior authority, the interests of morals, and
personal considerations. Particular regulations, to this effect, will
be published according to the principles which serve as a basis to this
object in the other parts of our empire.
'Art. 14. The kingdom of Poland shall proportionably contribute to the
general expenditure and to the wants of the empire. The proportion of
taxes will be stated hereafter.
'Art. 15. All contributions and all taxes which existed in November,
1830, shall be levied after the manner formerly settled till the new
fixing of taxes.
'Art. 16. The treasury of the kingdom of Poland, and all the
other branches of the administration, shall be separated from the
administration of the other parts of the kingdom.
'Art. 17. The public debt of Poland, acknowledged by us, shall be
guarantied as formerly, by the government, and indemnified by the
receipts of the kingdom.
'Art. 18. The bank of the kingdom of Poland, and the laws respecting
credit, shall continue under the protection of Government.
'Art. 19. The mode of commercial transactions between the Russian
empire and the kingdom of Poland shall be regulated according to the
respective interests of the two countries.
'Art. 20. Our army in the empire and in the kingdom shall compose one
in common, without distinction of Russian or Polish troops. We shall
reserve to ourselves a future decision of this, by an especial law,
by what arrangement, and upon what basis, the kingdom of Poland shall
participate with our army. The number of troops which shall serve as
the military defence of the kingdom will be also ultimately determined
upon by a law.
'Art. 21. Those of our subjects of the empire of Russia, who are
established in the kingdom of Poland, who possess or shall possess,
real property in that country, shall enjoy all the rights of natives.
It shall be the same with those of our subjects of the kingdom of
Poland, who shall establish themselves, and shall possess property, in
the other provinces of the empire. We reserve to ourselves to grant
hereafter letters of naturalization to other persons, as well to
strangers as to Russians, who are not yet established there. Those of
our subjects of the Russian empire who may reside for a certain time
in Poland, and those of our subjects of the kingdom of Poland who may
sojourn in the other parts of the empire, are subject to the laws of
the country where they reside.
'Art. 22. The superior administration of the kingdom of Poland is
confided to a council of administration, which shall govern the kingdom
in our name, under the presidency of the governor of the kingdom.
'Art. 23. The council of administration is composed of the governor of
the kingdom, of superior directors, who superintend the commissions,
and among whom are divided the interests of the administration, of
comptroller, presiding over the supreme Chamber of Finance, and of
other members, whom we shall appoint by special orders.'
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 85: Not having a copy of this address in the original, we
make use of a rather unsatisfactory translation, which we find in the
journals of the day.]
LIST OF POLISH NAMES,
_With their Pronunciation in English_.
POLISH ALPHABET.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q
ah bey tsey dey ey ef ghey hah ye ee kah el em en o pey koo
r s t u w x y z.
err es tey oo voo ix ee zed.
_Note._ In every Polish name, or word, the letters are all sounded and
pronounced, as their names indicate.
Names as spelled in Their pronunciation. Polish.
A
Adamski Ahdamsky
Augustow Owgoostov
Alexota Ahlexotah
B
Bestuzew Bestoozhev
Boleslaw-Chrobry Boleslav-Khrobry
Biala-Cerkiew Beahlah-Tseyrkyev
Bilinski Belinsky
Biernacki Byernatsky
Bialystok Beahlistok
Brzesc Brzhests
Boimie Boimea
Boguslawski Bogooslavsky
Bialolenka Beahlolenkah
Bug Boog
Bielak Bieylak
Berowski Beyrovsky
Blendowsky Blendovsky
Bystrzyca Bistrzhitsa
Berzykowski Berzhyhkovsky
Beysogola Beysogolah
Bialowiez Beahlovyezh
Belzyca Belzheetsah
Borowa Borovah
Beresteczko Beyrestechko
Bady Bahdy
Brainsk Brainsk
Bielsk Byelsk
Bukowski Bookovsky
Bialobrzegi Byahlobrzheygy
Bocki Botsky
Blonie Blony
C
Chlopicki Khlopitsky
Chodkiewicz Khodkyavitch
Czarnecki Tcharnetsky
Czartoryski Tchartorisky
Ciechanowiec Tsyakhanovyets
Czyzewski Tcheejevski
Czaykowski Tshahovski
Czarno-morskie Tcharna-morskyey
Chlapowski Khlaposvky
Ceglow Tseyglov
Chrzanowski Khrzhahnovsky
Czyzew Tcheejev
Czaykiszki Tchaikishki
Czenstochowa Tchenstokhovah
Cytowiany Tsetoviahny
Czarna Tcharnah
Ciechanow Tsyeykhhanov
Chodzko Khodzko
D
Dembek Dembek
Downarowicz Dovnarovich
Dombrowski Dombrovsky
Diebitsch Deebich
Dwernicki Dvernitsky
Dobre Dobrey
Dembe-Wielkie Dembey-Vielkye
Dnieper Dneeper
Dembinski Dembinsky
Dawgeliszki Davgalishky
Dubno Doobno
Dlugie-Siodlo Dloogya-Syodlo
Dobzyn Dobzhin.
G
Grabowski Grahbovsky
Grodno Grodno
Grochow Grokhov
Granica Grahnitsah
Goclaw Gotslav
Gotembiewski Gotembyevsky
Gielgud Gyelgood
Grombkow Grombkov
Gruszki Grooshky
Galiczyn Gahlichyn
Graiewo Grahyeyvo
Gielgudyszki Gyelgoodishky
Gury-Konarskie Goory-Konarskya
Gorzdy Gorsdy
Giedroyc Gyedroits
H
Hauke Houka
Hildebrand Hildeybrand
Hurtig Hoortig
J
Jablonowski Yablonovsky
Jgelstrom Eegelstrom
Jurgaszko Yoorgashko
Jezierski Yazhyersky
Jadow Yahdov
Jablonna Yablonnah
Jakubow Yahkoobov
Januwek Yahnoovek
Jankowski Yankovsky
Jendrzeiow Yendrzhagov
Jarburg Yarboorg
Jagiellow Yahgyellov
Jedlina Yedlenah
Janow Yahnov
Jeroma Yaroma
K
Kosciuszko Kostchioushko
Krzyzanowski Krzhezhanovsky
Kichelbeker Keekhelbaker
Kachowski Kakhovsky
Krasinski Krahsinsky
Kornatowski Kornahtovsky
Kozienice Kozhyanetsey
Krukowiecki Krookovyetsky
Kock Kotsk
Kaluszyn Kahlooshyn
Kostrzyn Kostrzhyn
Konik Konyik
Kawenczyn Kahvenchyn
Kicki Keetsky
Krasny-taw Krasneestav
Kozieradzki Kozhyaradzky
Karczew Karchev
Kurow Koorov
Konskawola Konskahvolah
Keydany Kaydahny
Kowno Kovno
Kazimierz Kahzheemyerzh
Kolodno Kolodno
Krzemieniece Krzheymyeynyets
Knielce Knyeltsa
Kuflew Kooflev
Kolacze Kolachey
Kamionka Kahmyonkah
Kleczkowo Klechkovo
Kaminski Kaminsky
Koss Koss
Kalwaryia Kalvahreya
Karwowska Kavovskah
Kurzany Koorzhahny
Kikiernicki Kekyornitsky
Kniaziewicz Knyahzyavich
L
Lubowidzki Looboveedzky
Lazienki Lahzhyenky
Lelewel Leyleyvel
Lubecki Loobetsky
Lubinski Loobinsky
Lowicz Lovich
Lubomirska Loobomeerskah
Lenczna Lenchnah
Lukow Lookov
Lublin Looblin
Liwiec Levyets
Leduchowski Leydookhovsky
Lagowski Lahgovsky
Lewandowski Leyvandovsky
Latowicz Lahtovich
Lipawa Lepahvah
Lukowiec Lookovyets
Lomza Lomzah
Lubartow Loobartov
Lubania Loobahnyah
Lipinska Lepinskah
Lida Ledah
Lysobyki Lysobyky
Laskarzew Laskarzhev
Laga Lahgah
Luberacz Loobeyrach
M
Murawiew Mooravyev
Mieciszewski Myatsishevsky
Mokotow Mokotov
Miendzyrzyc Myenjeerzhyts
Makowiec Mahkovyets
Minsk Minsk
Macieiowice Matsyaovcetsa
Mingosy Mingosy
Milosna Melosna
Makow Mahkov
Malachowski Mahlahkhovsky
Maslowski Maslovsky
Markuszew Markushev
Magnuszewo Magnooshavo
Memel Mamel
Mycielski Meetsyelsky
Modlin Modlin
Milatyn Meelahtyn
Mordy Mordy
Modzele Modzala
Mniszew Mneshev
Menzynin Menzhenin
Malinowski Mahlenovsky
Mlawa Mlahvah
Matusiewicz Mahtoosyavich
Myszogola Meshogolah
Michalowski Mekhahlovsky
Maluszyn Mahlooshyn
Morawski Moravsky
N
Niemcewicz Nyemtseyvich
Nasielsk Nahsyelsk
Narew Nahrev
Nowawies Novah-vies
Nowy-dwor Novy-dvor
Niewiaza Nyavyahzhah
Narewska Nahrevkah
Nurzec Noorzhets
Neydenburg Nidenboorg
Nowe-miasto Nova-myasto
Nadarzyn Nahdarzhyn
O
Ostrowski Ostrovsky
Ostrolenka Ostrolenkah
Orsyca Orseetsah
Okuniew Okoonyev
Osmiany Osmyahny
Ostrog Ostrog
Orla Orlah
Oyrany Oyrahny
P
Plichta Plikhtah
Pestel Pestel
Potocki Pototsky
Poniatowski Ponyahtovsky
Powonzki Povonsky
Pac Pats
Pultusk Pooltoosk
Parczewo Parchavo
Praga Prahgah
Pientka Pyentkah
Paszkiewicz Pashkyavich
Pulawy Poolahoy
Polonga Polongah
Prondzynski Proodzynsky
Piast Pyast
Plomieniec Plomyanyets
Proskirow Proskerov
Piaski Pyasky
Poznan Pornan
Prasynsz Prasnysh
Plater Plahter
Podbrzeze Podbrzhazha
Piwecki Pevetsky
Pawenduny Pahvendoony
Piaseczno Pyasechno
R
Rozniecki Rozhnyetsky
Releiew Reyleyiev
Rukiewicz Rookyavich
Ruda Roodah
Ryczywol Reecheevol
Radom Rahdom
Radomierza Rahdomyerzhah
Radzimin Rahjeemin
Rybinski Reebinsky
Rozany Rozhahny
Rosseyny Rosseyny
Radziwil Rahjecvel
Radziwilow Rahjeevelov
Raygrod Raigrod
Rumszyski Roomshysky
Rewdany Revdahny
Rasinowicz Rahsenovich
Retow Retov
Racioncz Rahtsyonzh
Ruzycki Roozhytsky
S
Sokolnicki Sokolnitsky
Soltyk Soltyk
Szlegel Shleygel
Suwarow Soovahrov
Sobieski Sobyesky
Sapieha Sahpyahah
Szulec Shoolets
Siemiontkowski Syamyontkovsky
Skrzynecki Skrzhynetsky
Szembek Shembek
Sierawski Syeyravsky
Siedlce Syedltsa
Serock Seyrotsk
Stryinski Stryinsky
Seroczyn Serochyn
Sokolow Sokolov
Stoczek Stochek
Swider Sveder
Stanislawow Stahneslahvov
Swierza Svyerzhah
Szachowski Shakhovsky
Skarzynski Skarkhynsky
Siekierki Syakerky
Sznayder Shnider
Szuszerin Shoosherin
Siennica Syenneetsah
Szymanski Shymansky
Szawla Shavlah
Swienciany Svyentsyahny
Szerwinty Shervinty
Sucha Sookhah
Styr Styr
Stary-Konstantynow Stahry-Konstantenov
Starygrod Stahregrod
Stoiadly Stoyadly
Strzebucza Strzhaboocha
Suraz Sooraz
Sierakowski Syeyrahkovsky
Szymanowski Shemahnovsky
Szczuczyn Shchoochyn
Suwalki Soovalky
Swieta Svieytah
Salacki Sahlatsky
Slupecki Sloopeytsky
Sloboda Slobodah
Sonk Sonk
Siemiatycze Syamyahtecha
T
Tarnowski Tarnovsky
Trembicki Trembitski
Turno Toorno
Targowek Targovek
Troki Troky
Tarnopol Tarnopol
Tarnogura Tarnogoorah
Troszyn Troshyn
Tykocin Tykotsin
U
Uminski Oominski
Uscilug Oostseloog
Uchania Ookhanyah
W
Wigielin Vegyalen
Wielkaniee Vyelkahneetsa
Wiliaminow Velyahmeenov
Wyzechowski Vezhakhovsky
Wysocki Vesotsky
Wengrzecki Vengrzhetsky
Wonsowicz Vonsovich
Wolicki Volitsky
Wlodawa Vlodahvah
Wielezynski Vealazhynsky
Wengrow Vengrov
Wawr Vavr
Wkra Vkrah
Wilanow Velahnov
Wodynie Vodenya
Wieprz Vyeyprzh
Wilno Vilno
Wilkomierz Vilkomyerzh
Wereszczaki Vareshchahky
Wielkie Vyelkya
Wyszkow Vyshkov
Wroclaw Vrotslav
Wiliia Veleyah
Worna Vornah
Wierzbna Vyerzhbnah
Z
Zamoyski Zahmoisky
Zymirski Zymeersky
Zegrz Zeygrzh
Zlotoria Zlotoryah
Zelechow Zheyleykhov
Ziemiecki Zyeymyeytsky
Zombky Zombky
Zagroby Zahgroby
Zaluski Zahloosky
Zoliborz Zoleborzh
Zimna-woda Zimna-vodah
Zamosc Zahmosts
Zambrowo Zambrovo
Zeymy Zaymy
Zawadzka Zahvadzkah
Zaliwski Zahlivsky
Zabiello Zabyello
[Transcribers Note: Original spelling of names and place-names
has been retained]