THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 625, 21 November 1863, Page 8

THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

Very astive negotiations me going on br-twcen tbe C-.Mnet of St. Cloud s.w\ those of Berlin and St. Petevsbuig, in which it is rspoitcl that the Cabinet of Berlin i's acting as» mentor to rring about a good understanding between tUo other two on tho Polish rju^stion, Fruioe, ifc would see-n from an artiolo in La France, is but too glad to jump a' nny proposal which Prussia may make to ex neat* heiself from fc'ie Polish diiem ma, mil it ti now be< Sieve 1 on all sides that a pacific solution of the question is inevitable Cavalry engagements of Tacznowski'a corps, fnvorab!e to tiie insurgent?, took place on the 18th Aueust at Ku'no, and 0:1 the 19th at Podderabiea, Th,<f insurgents have been victorious in ?iva}ry enga^meits at l)olra on the 21st, and m Gluchow on th.3 23rd in the Woyworle-:li!J of Kdi«z Two engagements have taken plac in the government of AugustowCj afcSzezucin and Suwalki. Eminowicz n,nci Cuiik defeated the Russians on tiie 31"=.t, at Kowal, not far from Radora, in iho Woywobship of Handomir. An engagement took place between the insurgents and the Bussian troops on ths 2lth, at Oorohu' z, iv the pa'atinate of Lubin. The Polish leader Rudzki was kill d and Dresniski wounded. Jasinski gave battle to the Russians on the 25 th, at Hutazelazna, ' ia the district of Lublin. The Husiian Ooionsl Kotgazzsfi was killed. Engagements, terminating favorably for the insurgents, occurred at Rierzbolow, in Augustoivo district, nnd at Preny, and KieJany, in Lithuania, on the 13th and 16th. The main body oi the insurgents are said to have gained, on the 30th, a considerable victory over the Kussians at Janow. Seven insurgent corps are stated to Inve been engaged in this affair, The reported dispersion 0! Kruk's force at liierzbirco wns incorrect. (PROU THE DAILY HEWS.) Our own correspondent writes from. Berlin, September 5 : — " The cry of the Polish insurgents is still for arms, Men there are in abundance, and money is not wanting ; so that the strength of the insurrection may be accurately measured by the quantity of arras which arrive ia liussian Poland. As arms can only come with anything like regularity through Posen and Galicia, Prussia nnd Austria may be said to hold in their hands the nrst formidable weapons against the insurrection. In a former letter I attempted a deserip. tion of the way in which Austria uses this weapon ; in this I will endeavour to show what is done with it by Prussia. Barbarous an 1 indefensible as is the conduct of Austria towaids its Gfalician subjects, it is humanity itself, compared with that of Prussia towards the inhabitants of the provinces on the frontier of the Kingdom of Poland. Arrests, imprisonments, and sequestrations are almost m common there as in I the provinces under _ the rute of Mouravieff, and this I although there is no insurrection whatever in Prussian Poland ; and the worst crime of which th<3 victims oi the Prussian police in that country can bs accused is their having sent arm 3 and clothing to their friends nmoT.g the insurgents. Scarcely had the eighty four Poles of all classes who were arrested some time back been sent to the prison at Berlin, than 160 more were confined in the citadel of Poscn. All Prussian passports for the kingdom of Poland have been" declared null and void; andanyone fou-d in ia village or estate without a. -written, psrmission. from the police to stay thpre, is immediately ai rested and thrown into prison. The frontier is guarded by numerous troops from Scoleswig and Pomerania, selected from their autipathy to the Poles, and endowed with almost unlimited powers, which they u<=e in the most offensive and provoking manner agaiaat the inhabitant. These troop 9 are con*fcmfciy receiving reinforcements, and already form aconside;nble army, with regiments' of all arms, iucluding even batteiks of artillery, which sarely cannot be required for guarding the frontier. A very general impression prevails that they are destined to act when required with the Russian army figninst the Poles, in pursuan/eof the or. J er given by General Werder to General Waldesee, which, although the fact of its issue has been contradicted, is believed not only to have been given, but also not; to have been revokei. Vyith such me3sures qs these io full force, it will be seen that the Poles must encounter tremendous difficulties in smuggling arms across the fiOnti.'r. Yet the patriotic traffic is carried on under the very noses of the authorities, who often fail to obse'ive it from the very boldness with which ifc is transacted. "Thousands of rifles a»d waggon loads of ammunition constantly falls into the hnnds of the Prussians; but in the general confiscation something at jeast escapes and is j jyfully received by the unarmed warriors 011 the other side The impossibility of wholly guardi'gsoloug and easily- traversed a frontier as' that of Posen is further demonstrated by the fact that iusurgents from Prussian Poland are constantly crossing, and being almost always armed, form valuable nuxiliaiies to (he bands ii the kingdom. The enthusiasm in nil the Polish part of the country .is tremendous, and theobstaa'es must be insurmountable indeed that will prevent them from aiding, by their property or their persons, in the struggle for the independence of their country ." A desperate engagement has taken place at Sarnaki, in the pnlatiuato of Podiachia. The Poles numbeied 500 men, under Grzymala, and attacked three Kussiau columns, under General Drizer. The fust of these, under Major Griwejewski, was defeated by Grzymala, near Konstantinow ; but, the two others coming up, the Poles reheated in order, 'caving their baggage and a few prisoners in the hinds of the enemy. ■ The losses on both sides were jqunl. , . r The_ Protestant priest Krosss3wski 1 has ,t>een mmv, lered in the most atrocious mannecby the Cossacks in the village of, Gostkow. They seized him' in, bis carriage, tore oil 7 his canonicals, and. be^t -him ivith the butt-ends of their.muskets tjU he wasinsen-

I sible. Supposing 119 was dead, they left h'ra the " ground ; Kufc on their return, an hour afterwards, finding that he still breathed, they stabbed him with their bayonets and dashed out hi 3 brains. The peasants who witnessed this deed were loud in their indignation at the conduct of the soldiery # Three small towns in Galicia — Bozeck, WJKez, and Oswicini— have fallen victims to the flimesr A. telegram states that the town of Zalefzczyki is at present the scene of a dreadful fire, and that at the det parture of tlie despatch more than 100 houses had ! already betn consumed.