POLAND, RUSSIA, AND THE THREE POWERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1189, 28 January 1864, Page 2

POLAND, RUSSIA, AND THE THREE POWERS.

(From the ' Times,' Nov. 2.)

The partners in an unsuccessful enterprise seldom part at its conclusion as good friend as they were when they entered into it. One has been too hot, and another too cold, one too quick, and another too slow. People forget, iu the bitterness of disappointment and the desire to shift the responsibility d ill-success from themselves, the calculation* on which they acted, and the appearand which things presented. They view oao'i other's conduct by the light of subsequent events ; and have, therefore, no dittlciilty in finding materials for the most damaging eiv ticism. The inevitable tendency of human nature ought to discourage us from enter: nil on doubtful adventures, since the alternative is not merely between success and failure, but between success and failure aggravated by more or less mutual recrimination .mil ill will. France, Austria, and England just met with a very mortifying result at the hands of the Emperor of Austria. They flattered themselves, and not withoj it some reason, that the material force which they can command, and the moral weight of tin 1 ;;' opinion, would enable them, without trouble, without danger and without expense, to obtain a peaceful triumph which might redrew a crying injustice and put an end to a question which has for ninety years racked n' l ' conscience and disturbed the diplomacy of Europe. In these agreeable anticipation? the three Powers have found themselves entirely mistaken. With a polished iron) which thinly concealed the consciousness tli-' she had nothing more to dread than a few 10 111 words, Russia refused to allow the iiitertei - euce of a foreign power with her dome* u concerns, denied the right of the partie* '> the treaty of 1815 to enforce its stipulattoi < and went on steadily flogging, plunderingshooting and hanging in her own tradition" manner. The three powers have not by a single feather the weight which pres^ 6 oh Poland; they have not dried a single teaior prevented the flowing of a single drop blood. Yet it would be doing injustice u them to say that they have done absolute nothing. We do not doubt that by t their interference they have made it a po' l *. honor with Russia to put down the rebel i with the utmost severity. They have ma mercy appear in the light of a concession foreign dictation, and enlisted the pnde o

...eptible and patriotic people on the side "JLjJeltv and violence. l\ T or has their in--o\ r been without effect on the Poles. We do! indeed, remember that the original tbreak of rebellion was quite independent °f foreign intervention j but, had 110 foreign • i -veiition followed it, would the distresses "f C polaad have suffered the aggravation which thev are now undergoing ? The hope f.-hievin"' any permanent success by the • ssisted "exertions of the Polish nation, T'-ivs faint and remote, has now become a tterlY desperate. Time has been given to Jhe Russian Empire to bring up its troops f-ora the remote provinces in which they ere dispersed; the circle of iron is closing Lund the devoted band; every day makes f ruin more certain and its resistance a 1 ore prodigal waste of life. Yet still Poland J f . U (Jles on; the leaves on which the insurTentsrely to g' ve thein shelter from the eyes £,■ numerous and übiquitous enemy are ; the terrors of a Northern winter are Snou 'them; they must fight against incalculable odds almost without the necessaries f life. Yet the insurrection is to continue till next spring, because the Poles cannot believe that the three Powers who have made 0 vigorous a remonstrance against Russia wil leave them to perish without striking a blow ir their behalf. If they are right in this anticipation, there is nothing more to be said: but if wrong, to the intervention of the three Powers are to be ascribed all the miseries that Poland is to suffer during five more months of fruitless and protracted warfare ? I 3 this expectation well founded ? "\Vill the three powers rest content with the exertions they have made, and leave to Russia the undisturbed occupation of exterminating the oldest nation of the great European family? We have no difficulty in answering for England. The power of England to assist Poland is exceedingly small; and small as it is, she never had the least intention of employing it. She had no objection to see what could be done by pacific means, but failing these, she had no intention to appeal to force. We have frequently expressed the opinion that it would have been far better if our words had been more consistent with our actions. We predicted that we should have one day to choose between going to war and putting up with insult. The alternative has arisen, and we have very wisely chosen the less of two evils the insult rather than the war. . There are, no doubt, many reasons which might induce Austria to take a more active part than ourselves in favour of the Poles. She is on the spot; she is herself a Polish power; she is deeply interested in checking the ambition of Russia; she aspires to the leadership of the liberal party in Germany. Tet, notwithstanding all this, in the present state of her finances, and with so much discontent ready to break out on the first opportunity in so many of her provinces, Austria can hardly venture to take any decided step. The whole hopes of Poland, therefore, repose entirely on the prospect of assistance from France, and the speculations of mankind are eagerly directed to know what course she is likely to take. "We are about to enter on a period like that which preceded the campaign of 1859 —a period of pamphlets and assurances of peace, interspersed with active preparations for war —a period of uncertainty and of boundless diplomatic activity, of vast expenditure and of breathless expectation ; or will Prance, with her 600,000 soldiers, with her Continental position, and with the mission she has so chivalrously taken upon herself of redressing injustice all over the world, forfeit the reputation she has acquired, and sink down to the same level of common-1 place and business-like expediency as I England herself? This is the question for the solution of which not merely Poland, hut every country on the Continent is anxiously waiting. How keenly its probabilities are discussed may be gathered from the letters of our correspondent on the spot. There is no doubt, according to him, that a war for the sake of Poland would be popular in France. It unites in its behalf the two powers by whose favor it used tjo be said the Imperial dinasty occupies the Throne. The Eepublican party are ready to fight for liberty; the clergy are ready to preach a crusade in favor of Catholic Poland against schismatic Bussia. The voice of the army, like that of Sempronius, is always given for war. The Opposition in the Assembly are very powerful in talents and eloquence, and, since they have multiplied sixfold, not utterly contemptible in numbers. They have an excellent text for declamation in the conduct of the late elections, and no diversion could be more effectual than to involve the nation in the perils, the anxieties, and the glories of war. These are, doubtless, very powerful elements, and it may be that even in Imperial France so vast a mam ol opinion brought to bear on a single point way be found at the moment of trial irrePerhaps the Emperor may find that it is a lesser evil to embark alone on all the uncertainties of a great European war than to incur the disapprobation of so large and influential a portion of his subjects. . hatever be the result, we are quite certain that tin's country will come in for no inconsiderable amount of censure. If France ecide not to fight, the blame of the decision je thrown exclusively on the hardiearted policy of England, who, though billing to take her chance of success so long that success was to be obtained by words, ays the common cause the moment there appears a chance of anything more serious , lun a diplomatic defeat. If, on the other lan d, I ranee should decide on going to war, must expect to hear all the same taunts pointed by comparisons between the ehiv.ilrous vigor of our neighbors and our own u calculated inactivity. We have no ''OinpiimeiitH to expect from any quarter, and r ou gh our intentions have been certainly pod, we can hardly avoid feeling that we >a\e ])° right to complain. We trust for e future we shall learn that the pleasure interposing can hardly be indulged in i" 1 "'n'nity by those who are not prepared °r something more than verbal njediation, those who ape determined to do nothing V 1 act wisely if they say nothing.