§ VISCOUNT STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFEsaid, he wished to put to his noble Friend at the head of the Foreign Office a Question or two upon a subject which he deemed of the utmost importance. Those Questions referred to the manner in which the war was being carried on in Poland, and to the cruelties which it was alleged were being practised in suppressing the insurrection. It would be within their recollection, that when the 1115 subject was brought before their Lordships a few weeks ago by the noble Earl opposite, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs gave them to understand that he would make a communication to the House as soon as the state of the negotiations would permit. He should have waited with patience for the noble Earl to fulfil that promise at any time when his noble Friend should judge that the proper time had arrived; but seeing that the public prints contained statements which must produce a great impression upon the countries of our allies, and might materially influence public opinion in this country in a manner ultimately inconvenient to Her Majesty's Government, be thought it right to call attention to those statements by means of the Questions which he should put to his noble Friend. The circumstances which were noticed in the papers might, or might not, be strictly true. There was at present no official information as to these atrocities; but his noble Friend might throw some light upon the matter. It was impossible, however, to consider the nature of the war, and not to see that in all probability very great cruelties would be perpetrated. Such large interests were at stake, the character of the Russian Government was so well known, and the insurrection was so formidable, that no doubt there would be great severity practised and great abuse of authority, He would read the substance of what he had taken from the public newspapers during the last two or three days, connected with a warfare of a most murderous character and with a, struggle of a most exciting nature. The fact was that there now existed a reign of terror upon both sides—upon the side of authority and on the side of the insurgents. The principal items of intelligence which he gathered from the newspapers were these:—"Priests and citizens executed without forms of law, and with circumstances of superfluous cruelty." "Women and children put to death wholesale in their places of shelter." "Unprovoked attacks on private houses." "Prisoners slaughtered in cold blood." "Threats of forcing people to address the Emperor on pain of being hanged in case of refusal." "The prisons full to overflowing, and only relieved by daily executions." "Landowners imprisoned, and their estates confiscated, for giving food or drink to passing insurgents." "Ladies threatened with the knout or rod for being dressed in mourning, or not giving up their accused husbands." 1116 He believed their Lordships would agree with him, that if one-tenth of those statements were true, there would be sufficient to force the European Powers to a deep consideration of the subject, and to call forth a universal expression of detestation. He believed that it was the natural result of desperation on the one side, and a sense of endangered power on the other. He gave his noble Friend, and he gave Her Majesty's Government generally, credit for being animated by the best wishes, and by a desire to find a satisfactory solution. But he could not avert his eyes from the consequences of this state of things, and he was therefore anxious to elicit from his noble Friend something positive, or something on which reliance could be placed. The subject was one of great importance. The circumstances were so pressing, so shocking, and so fraught with evil consequences, that he hardly needed to apologize for occupying a few moments of their Lordships' time. It was of the greatest importance to ward off any collision between the different Powers. Things were coming to the point at which principles would be at enmity with each other, and the interests of different countries might come into collision; and it was for the interests of this country, as well as of Europe, to see whether a state of things could not be brought about which would be satisfactory not only to the parties concerned, but to Europe generally. He did not pretend to made any suggestion on the subject, but he entertained a strong opinion that unless something were done of a positive character which would produce a separation between the two parties so long engaged in hostility with each other, and whose hostility was of a nature not easily to be set aside, there could be no cure for an evil which had so frequently proved itself dangerous to the peace of Europe, and which would become more and more so. He wished to ask the noble Earl, At what period of the Session he anticipated being able to lay on the table further communications with respect to the affairs of Poland; and also whether he had received any information respecting the rigour and cruelty displayed by the Russian authorities towards their prisoners, and particularly as to the issue of the atrocious order for the flogging of women?
§ EARL RUSSELL—My Lords, with respect to the first Question of my noble Friend, I have to say that no long time 1117 will elapse before I shall be able to lay additional papers on the table of this House, containing communications which have taken place, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, respecting the affairs of Poland. On Wednesday last despatches left London, Paris, and Vienna for St. Petersburg, containing the views of the three Powers respecting the present state of affairs in Poland. The views expressed, I think, will be found to be very nearly identical. When an answer has been received, I will lay the papers on the table; and, I will add, that if there is any delay—a delay of more than a few days—I will lay on the table the communication which Her Majesty's Government has made to St. Petersburg, without waiting for an answer. With respect to the noble Lord's second Question, the only corroboration we have of the accounts of the rigour and cruelty said to be practised by the Russian Government which have appeared in the newspapers, is a passage in a despatch from our Consul at Warsaw, from which it appears that some persons who had been taken prisoners by the Russians had been put to death without any judicial process—I suppose by some form of court martial. As to the atrocious order said to have been issued with regard to the flogging of women, I cannot believe in the existence of it. We have had no authentic accounts of such an order being issued; and I certainly could not address a remonstrance to the Russian Government, except I had the best evidence of the issue of such an order. Atrocious acts of pillage have been committed by peasants; but I am assured by Prince Gortschak off that inquiries have been set on foot with a view of convicting the persons who have been guilty of these acts, and that some are already in prison awaiting their trial. The Russian Government entirely denied having anything to do with the acts with which these persons are charged.
LORD BROUGHAMsaid, he was extremely rejoiced to hear that his noble Friend did not confirm the reports which had been received in this country respecting the issue of a most atrocious order by the Russian authorities in Poland. No doubt, there had been much exaggeration; but for there being much foundation for the accounts received he could answer from his own information. Unfortunately—though he did not say it in extenuation—atrocities were too frequently inseparable from civil war. Not only on this side, 1118 but on the other side of the Atlantic, much was going on which was to be deplored and to be reprobated. He did not mean to say that in the contest going on between the North and the South any atrocities had been committed of the same character as those described by his noble Friend opposite as having been perpetrated in Poland, but there had been abundance of things done not only to be lamented, but strongly to be reprobated. He only wished that he could see any prospect of an end being put to that contest, which was disapproved and lamented by the unanimous voice of Europe.