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    JhBaEMBER2 ,J&B4 t ] THE LEADER. 1133

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    ANNIVERSARY OF THE POLISH INSUKKECTJON. ...

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    Jhbaember2 ,J&B4 T ] The Leader. 1133

    JhBaEMBER 2 , J & B 4 t ] THE LEADER . 1133

    Anniversary Of The Polish Insukkectjon. ...

    ANNIVERSARY OF THE POLISH INSUKKECTJON . A public meeting was held on Wednesday evening , in St . Martin's Hall , Long-acre , to celebrate the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Polish Insurrection of 1830 . The large room was filled in every part by an audience a considerable number of whom were foreigners . The chair was taken by Sir Joshua Walmsley , M . t \ , and amongst those upon the platform , and who were announced to address the meeting , were M . L .. Kossutli , and Professor Newman . When the Chairman rose to open the meeting , there commenced a scene of confusion which lasted for between ten minutes and a quarter of an hour . This was caused by the attempt of a large number of persons who were outside the doors to obtain admission into the body of the hall . At last the doors , which had been closed , gave way , and the persons from without rushed into the room , driving forward those who had previously occupied the body of the hall into the reserved seats . Many persons were slightly crushed against the benches , but no

    s injury was sustained by any one . After the restoration of order , which was only effected after the interference of M . Kossuth , who threatened that " if the tempest did not cease he would bid the meeting good-by and go home , " The Chairman proposed for the acceptance of the meeting a programme which had been prepared by the committee , and it was unanimously adopted . In accordance with this programme , the chairman then addressed the meeting as follows •— " Gentlemen— . My gratification in taking part in your meeting at this important crisis is clouded by the remembrance that death has deprived us of the countenance of one who has always taken a

    leading pare towards the restoration of Poland , and who deservedly enjoyed the confidence of his own countrymen . His life was shortened by his exertions in the cause , and in him Poland has lost an earnest advocate , liberty one of her best and truest champions , and each of us a friend . Ever prompt to relieve suffering humanity in whatever form it appeared , his zeal was so tempered by gentleness as to disarm even his political opponents . If the spirits of immortals can mingle with the affairs of mortals , his will aid our efforts : his example is at least worthy of all imitation . Before entering on the business of the evening it is necessary 1 should know your wishes

    as to the manner in which you desire it to be conducted . A programme has been furnished me by the committee , with the names of the several speakers . It -will avoid confusion if this programme be followed . I will , therefore , ask you to agree to that course . Louis Kossuth will be the last speaker on that list , and , if it be desirable , other business may then follow . One of our greatest poets has said , ? Thrice is he armed who has his quarrel just , ' and none , at least none here , will question the justice of the objects we arc met to promote . If this be bo , we can well afford that the moderation of our language shall comport with the dignity of those objects . I believe the time is at hand when the friends of

    freedom may prove their sincerity by showing that they seek not the interests of a section , but the will of the whole people . Our efforts should be directed in unity and sincerity to give Poland the opportunity of selecting her own future . It is not my province as chairman to declaim against the perfidy which enslaved the Polish people , nor upon the ingratitude which so basely betrayed the Hungarian nation ; neither would I venture to eulogise the heroic efforts eacli has made to regain their independence . Others will better portray the miseries of the past—I will merely express the earnest hope for a brighter future . But I cannot forbear to say that 1 feel shame and remorse that England , enjoying the blessings of true

    liberty and constitutional government , should have suffered without an clibrt the happiness of millions of their fellow-men to be sacrificed to the insane ambition and thirst of conquest of men whom we designate as allies , 1 am persuaded I speak the sentiments of tho greut body of the English people when 1 say they look upon those acts of tyranny with abhorrence , and aro prepared to nniko the necessary sacrifices for the independence of botli Poland and Hungary . I am no advocate for war , unless it bo just and nuceasury . I believo it is bo now . I ltno >\ v that war must increase our burdens , diminiaU our commerce , ami restrict our

    national industry ; but I also know that there are higher aims and aspirations than any which can arise out of mere monetary considerations . I believo tlmt national interests and national honour are involved in tho struggle . It i « no » . simply u question between Russia und Turkey , neither is it one to bo suttlt ; ' by diplomacy , but butweon aggression , or non-aggression , butweon despotism ami freedom . I cannoc forgot that Itussiu and her allietj have been tho means of enslaving Ituly , of subjugating Hungary , of blotting Poland from tho map of nations , and would now make Turkey the moans of iiitro . ducing her barbarous hordes to woatum Europe . Wliat her course would bo wero aim iniatieaa of

    Constantinople will best be gathered from the unscrupulous policy she has hitherto pursued . Of our alliance with Austria I will not here trust myself to speak . I shall be glad to find it does not end in disaster and disgrace . Apart from the justice of the objects to be attained , I am fully persuaded that it is the interest of France and England to make common cause for Polish independence . I believe it be the will and wish of the people of this country . The sooner we direct our efforts to the real issue the sooner shall we be able to check this game of aggression and tyranny , and ensure a permanent and honourable peace . " Mr . Peter Alfred Taylor , so -well known in connexion with the Society of the Friends of Italy , made an excellent speech , which , in spite of the natural impatience to hear Kossuth , was earnestly listened to , and greatly cheered :

    In accordance with the programme read , by the chairman , and accepted by this magnificent assembly , it lias been determined that a resolution should now be presented for your acceptance , pledging this meeting , and especially the English portion of it , to a recognition of the circumstances and duties described and involved in the ad < lress from the Polish committee which has just been read to you I have been desired . to submit this resolution to you , and with your permission I will proceed to do so with a few preliminary observations . Although this is far from the first time on which I have had the honour to assist at these commemorations of Poland ' s last grand struggle for her freedom , at these sacred commemorations I will call them—for are they not sacred these meetings held over a nation ' s tornb?—I am not clear in my memory whether it is according to our

    precedents so far to anglicise them as to have an English resolution proposed by an Englishman ; but I think you will feel with me that there are specialties in the circumstances under which we meet this year amply justifying us in adopting such a course , even though it be not in accordance with our previous custom . Hitherto in these commemorative meetings we have been compelled to dwell rather on the past than on the future . It is true that in raking together , if I may use the expression , the almost-expiring embers , we have not been without a hope that we were preserving that saered fire which hereafter iThould barn with renewed intensity , but these hopes have assumed no practical form ; they ha-ve beeneherished as an ideal in the hearts of those who h old a firm faith in the final triumph of right and justice . But , sir , to-day all this is changed . It is to the future that every

    eye is turned . The re & toration of Poland is no longer only a bright but distant dream—no longer only a . claim founded upon'sympathy with the oppressed and love of freedom in the abstract ; it is now demanded by the policy of England , and for the safety and peace of Europe ; it is no longer the cheap offer on our side of a barren sympathy—out of our need we call for Poland ' s right . We demand the help and alliance of the Polish nation in return for the recognition we arc bound to make of her power to render it . Yes , Poland ' s enemy is ours , and that enmity is no longer restricted to diplomatic notes and word-protests , but on the tented field , the West and the East , the onward and the retrograde , Freedom and the Cossack have to fight their giant's fight Wo demand the restoration of Poland because we are at war with Russia , and Poland is Itussia ' s weakest point . Look at

    the map of Europe , place your linger over Warsaw , there is the ulcer of Russia's strength . Russia knows this well , for it is there she concentrates her hordes whenever war threatens her . frontiers . We demand , then , the restoration of Poland on a principle of military btrategy plaiu enough for the merest civilian to comprehend . Wo demand tho restoration of Poland , because there , on tlie centre of the war , aro a nation of warriors—a population of twenty millions burning with a noble ardour to unshcath once more their country ' s swoi'd . Tlioro on the spot aro a nation of recruits ; and wo have no spare thousands ) to send to the aid of our armies in the East . * Wo demand the restoration of ' Polund , because in that fact wo find the solution of difficulties in the future not otherwise resolvable : as , when tho Crimea fulls—if fall it do—in wlioso hands will it bo safe from Russia ? How aro

    tho Principalities to bo supported in their independence , when attained ? How fcservia and the other states ? Poland once free , no furthur question need arise ; merely her life would kill these giant doubts . Lastly , and as of old , we demand tho restoration of Poland—for as there ia a God in heaven , thero should be justice upon wirth—wo demand the restoration of Poland as Englishmen mid for ljuropo . Wo meet hero aa Englishmen and not aa m « n of any class , sect , party , or opinion . Wo are not hero us democrats or Tories , Uiuiiealu , or Socialists . Wo nro here , I any again , as Englishmen . I glory in thinking that thinking England ia true to hersitlf—tlmt there is no Tory , however exalted , who would desire to see his countrymen reduced to the dead luvul of Russian serfdom—no renub-licun ho red tlmt ho would ho . sitato to put his hand to tho plough , careless almost whether tho harvest of indojnendonco should « s « ume tlie phase o f republic or of monarchy . I know mot what proportionot tho crowds

    , around mo may bo Tories in opinion , but this I know , that whether wo look to tho dail y press , to the monthly or <| tiurtorly reviews , or to tho pabliahod Hpeochos of" thu Tory party , wo liuU sentiments thu inont noblo , languago tho moat outup ken , on tho question of Poland , just there wlioro on homo pulitiott thoro would probably l > o loa » t nccordwneo with the yievyn of most of um . And "gain , who thinlco of clans or of opinion in raiding of tho gallant exploits of oar countryman in tho Orimoii ? Wlion wu read of utmds so noblo tliHt tho very thought of their * nmkoa tho hourt bout quicker and tho norvo . i tlirill with admiration ; dueda niwurpunMoii in any cuum > , ia any country , or in i \ ny ago . When one remit ) of Homo nut of Iiuroio during , who reclcrt whothor ariiitourat w plebeian wa « tl » o hero ? Who aska whether In ; sprung from tho old Norumu chivalry or from tho ntoul blood ot I ho Saxon churl ? No , ICnglandl glorluB in and venerated tlioao grain ! exploits of our noblo uoiiiitryinan—England givca her tears for tliosu that fall , and England should mvcur that .

    so far as in her power lies , that noble blood shall not be shed in vain . But where then , it may be asked , lies our difficulty ? If all is really so plain—if these are England ' s sentiments—if England be at war with Russia , how can she hesitate to strike her best at Russia ' s heart ? Why , Russia is not the only foe ttiat England has to reckon on ; between Poland and her restoration , as between Hungary and her independence , and between Italy and her unity and freedom , there stands a treacherous serpent dynasty , for Austria holds her portion of the Polish spoil—Gallicia . That serpent dynasty that would be against us if it dared , for it fears and hates western civilisation and progress ; that , failing this , would be with us if it dared encounter the anger of its brother and master , the Czar of Cossackdom ; and that failing both , subsides into that middle course so well befitting its traditions of treacliery and falsehood—a false and

    hollow neutrality , in which , promising much on both sides , it does nothing openly for either , but secretly does all it can and dares to aid , assist , and strengthen the power of Russia —to thwart , delay , and injure ours . And through whom but Austria is it that the noblest of England are being oppressed and murdered at Sebastopol by the ho des of Russian savages ? Yes , she has done more evil to our cause than , perhaps , she could have been of service , had she honestly so desired . Through Austrian intrigue it is that able captains are refused to Turkish troops—through Austrian influence that Poland ' s aid is lost—through Austrian treachery that Omer Pasha is stopped frorn making a diversion in Bessarabia—and under a thin guise of Austrian neutrality it has been that she occupif s the wretched Principalities , and stands a bulwark between the conquering Turk and the-discomfited

    Russian . And why is this ? Whence this hideous infatuation ? It is the accursed phantom of an Austrian alliance . People are taught to fear tlie power of Austria , and to say , " We have sureljr enough to do in lighting Russia , would you bring another . mighty power on our flank ? " The power of Austria J . Her power lies in our weakness , in our fears . Austria strong ! Yes , as strong as a house built of cards when the north wind blows—as strong as those walls of old which looked firm and everlasting to the spectator , but which fell flat upon the earth before tile blast of a trumpet . Let that trumpet sound—metliinks I hear its first faint echoes nowthe trumpet that tells of awakened sense of right and lore of justice in the British nation—and the walls of Austria shall lie as low as those of Jericho of old . Austria has a great army , truly—half a . million strong , they say—and

    where does that army come from ? From Hungary , from Italy , from Bohemia- —composed of men who have many of them already fought for freedom ; of men who loathe the livery they wear ; who would doubtless at the bidding of their masters draw the sword , poise the lance , and prime the cannon , but who might perchance turn thern m a direction not looked for by the Power that gave the word . As a matter of policy I denounce the Austrian alliance . But I must go one step beyond this estimate of probabilities—I believe- there are crises in the affairs of nations—moments when the fall of empires seems to tremble on a thread—when the moral atmosphere seems surcharged with as it were electric fluid , and when thought flashes like the electric spark from train to train ^ from nation to nation . I think the p . ifre of history records such times—I

    believe this now is one of tliem— -when these close calculations of policy must give way to the inspiration of a noble impulsewhen in such critical examinations are found not strength but weakness . I believe that now tiiis hesitating'inquiry as to what this Empei'or or King will think or say—how that old diplomate wilf wag his head , or how the result of tho ominous conjunction of this cabal with that committee will affect our position—these , and sudi-like littlenesses , I take to be tho evidence and cause of weakness , not of power . Oh , that for this time we could get rid of the wily diplomatist and get a man to lead us—a Milton or a Cromwell , say—a mail who , with no childish haste , but in slow and terrible deliberation , should unsheath England ' s swordshould throw her glorious banner to the winds—and , in few stern words , should tell her- cause—Justicu to men , Freedom

    to Europe . I do believe—poetry and sentiment apart , for they are out of my line—L do believo thut man might plant that flag victorious against a world in arms . You have heard a letter read from Gruneral Thompson , —noblo old man —gallant old colonel—for as Colonel Thompson , waiting bo long for his promotion , ho is best known to us—thoro ia not , I think , h man in the country 1 honour as I do that gallant veteran ; and , by tho way , wero 1 an elector of Mary lebonc , I should know to whom to give my vote , They havo lost one noblo man , can they not boo whore they might find another ? But , as I was going to Bay , you have heard his letter read , in which he status quite plainly that ha deems there is treason in tho camp , or rather in the Ministry ; a deliberate Hiicrifleing of England ' s interests , to which the only proper answer ia impeachment . It wore useless to endeavour to coneoal that thi « is an opinion strengthening day by day , and week by woulc . Tho . so who repudiated it at first with scorn , do bo Ichh iirml y now or not at all . For myself , I will say , I do not believe in treachery . I shrink from tho idea

    that Englishmen ami HtutoHmoii could bo far forgot tho traditions of their country , or all Henwo of honour , us to botruy voluntarily tho interests of our country ; but I cannot conceal from you that I think thu iinmodiuto future muni ) teat their honoaty , Thoy Imvo inadu mistakes—groat , terrible- mistakes ; mistakes hurtlly to bo forgiven . What bumiicBs had we at Hohastopol . Poland nhould havo been tho mark ; struck at tho heart tho blond could not havo flowed to tho Crimean oxtivinity ; tho trow would linve bvun girdled , and Sebiirttopol havo fallini liko a rotten pour from a dead branch . Or grant that Hi up , whut hIiiiII exouau our allowing Austritin divomiou to liivour ItiiBsiim concentra - tion ? Still to tho future l « t um look . Ono would rathoroli , how muchmthur—that , our ( iiivonimont had boon misled by old traditions of diplomacy—by tho taint of worn-out politloul My » t « m«—by tho t'vnr how far popular opinion would back thorn in a bdltlor oourm : —by anything rather than by treachery . Hut . tho linni for hottiutiou or oxcuuo bus paBttoil ; by tlwir prcmint , action bo thoy judged . Our iinnics have tailed boforo fcJobuutopol ; tho aiogo aoeina well nigh

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 2, 1854, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_02121854/page/5/