Adam Jerzy Czartoryski

“ This fact must be sufficient to show that the emperor is very far from entertaining any jealousy or anxiety as to the interference of the Polish nation with his empire. Austria has never considered free and independent Poland as an inimical or rival power, and the principles upon which his illustrious predecessors acted, and which guided his Imperial Majesty himself until the partition in 1773 and 1797, were abandoned only under the pressure of circumstances which the Sovereigns of Austria had it not in their power to controul. ”

“ IX. The sovereign alone shall have the power to determine the participation of the kingdom of Poland in the Russian wars, as well as in the treaties of peace which that power may conclude.
X. In every instance in which Russian troops may be introduced into Poland, or Polish troops into Russia, or in the event of the passage of these troops through any province of either of these kingdoms, the support of such troops, and the expences attendant upon their journey, shall rest entirely with the nation to which they belong. The Polish army shall never be employed out of Europe. ”

“ The Duchy of Warsaw, with the exception of those parts which have been specified as otherwise disposed of by the Articles of this treaty, and by the treaty signed this day between his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, and the King of Prussia, is united to the Russian Empire. It shall be irrevocably united to that Empire by its constitution to be governed for ever by his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, his heirs and successors. His Imperial Majesty reserves to himself the right of determining the extent of this kingdom, possessed of a distinct administration, as he shall think proper. ”

“ If the Poles have been duped by the cabinet of St. Petersburgh, England, Austria, France, and indeed all Europe have been equally duped. The barrier which the Polish provinces although dependent, were to oppose to the colossal power of the Russian empire has been destroyed. The danger to which Europe is exposed from the Russians is increased since the last war with Turkey, and since the last residence of Marshal Diebitsch at Berlin. ”

“ Fourthly:—All these stipulations were obligatory upon Russia not only as they regarded the Poles, but the other contracting powers, who had desisted from the re-establishment of Poland upon these conditions. Not being able to interpose between themselves and Russia the barrier of an independent kingdom of Poland, under a dynasty of its own, they had at least secured what independent Polish provinces, with a representation and national institutions of their own, could afford. ”

“ LII. The authority of the regency of the kingdom shall be equal to that of the King, except that it shall not have power to nominate senators, and that all its nominations shall be subject to the approbation of the King, who may revoke them when he takes the reins of government into his own hands. ”

“ The Diet many times petitioned for a law which might regulate the operation of this article, and repress the abuses arising from the ill-conduct of government officers; but no regard was ever paid to its entreaties. Once, indeed, a draft of a new law was laid before the diet, (in 1820) , but it was rejected as being contrary to the Charter: it ascribed to the King alone and his lieutenant, the power of preferring an indictment against public officers of royal appointment; an arrangement which would render all responsibility a perfect delusion. ”

“ The Polish provinces incorporated in the Russian empire, were refused the enjoyment of those institutions which had been established in the new kingdom, because, by being extended, those institutions would have been strengthened, whereas it was intended that they should become a prey to despotism, supported by forces infinitely superior. ”

“ The object of the different branches of the administration should be the execution of the laws; whence it follows that all public affairs should be regulated by laws,—by decrees, that is, of the Diet. Not thus was public business transacted. The most important affairs were determined by Royal ordinances, or by the ordinance of the lieutenant, and even the Ministers arrogated to themselves a part of the legislative authority. Thus in spite of the judicial regulations of the Charter, offences against the revenue laws were tried by Committees of the Palatine Administration ”

“ CI. The members of the State council have a right to sit and to speak in the two chambers whenever they are deliberating upon a government proposal. They have not a right to vote, unless they are senators, nuncios, or deputies.
CII, The reception of a law shall be determined by the majority of votes. These votes shall be given audibly. A law thus sanctioned by a majority in one chamber, is to be carried to the other, which will deliberate and decide in like manner. When the votes are equally divided, the law is to be received. ”

“ Russia has declared, that the best security for the repose and the vigour of nations, consists in the happiness of the people, and that this happiness is inseparable from the righteous care of the rulers over the nationality and customs of their subjects. ”

“ During the fifteen years which have elapsed since the birth of the modern kingdom of Poland, in all which time a restless police—a police paid for the express purpose of hatching conspiracies—has never ceased to bring forward its political accusations—in all this time not one man has been tried by the regular tribunals ”

“ LXXXIX. No member of the diet can be arrested, or tried for a criminal offence, while the diet is sitting unless with the consent of the chamber to which he belongs.
XC. The diet shall take into consideration all proposed civil, criminal, or administrative laws, referred to it by the King, through the council of State. It shall deliberate on all proposed modifications or alterations of the duties of public offices and constitutional powers, such as those of the diet, the council of State, the judicial order, and the government commissions ”

“ CXLIV. There shall be judges of the peace for all classes of inhabitants, and their office shall be that on conciliation.
CXLV. No affair can be carried before a civil tribunal for the first hearing, until it has been laid before the competent judge of the peace; such only excepted as are forbidden by law to be arranged by conciliation.
The Tribunal for the first hearing. CXLVI. There shall be civil tribunals, and tribunals of the police, in every commune and in every town, to take cognizance of transactions not exceeding five hundred florins. ”

“ CXXXIX. By the independence of the judge, is to be understood the liberty that he has of giving his opinion with all freedom, without being influenced by the supreme authority, by the ministerial authority, or by any other consideration whatsoever. Every other definition or interpretation of the independence of a judge is declared to be an abuse. ”

“ The Polish subjects of Russia, Austria, and Prussia shall enjoy a representation and national institutions, modified into such forms of government, as the powers upon whom they depend may judge expedient to grant. ”

“ The Emperor is of opinion that he cannot better express the conformity of his own intentions in the present instance, with the maxim laid down, than by directing his plenipotentiaries to declare that he entirely agrees with the sentiments expressed by Lord Castlereagh in his memorial of the wishes of his Court, as to the future lot of the Poles, and with the reply made on the 19th of January last, by order of the Emperor of Russia, to that declaration. ”

“ Add to this, that the whole prohibitory system, including the tariff of importation duties, was grounded, not upon a law, but upon an ordinance of the King, or of his lieutnnant. All this would have been impossible, if the responsibility of the Ministers had been anything but a delusion, and if enormous taxes levied without the consent of the Diet, had not furnished means for transforming Government Officers into blind slaves of absolute power. ”

“ The president has the power of convoking it for other purposes.
CXVI. The senate is to decide upon the propriety of putting upon their trial such senators, heads of departments, counsellors of State, and masters of requests, as have been specified by the King, or his lieutenant, or accused by the chamber of nuncios, of mal-administration in office.
CXVII. The senate is to give definitive judgment upon the validity of the dietines, and of the assemblies of the communes, and of the elections; also, on the formation of civil lists, both in the dietines and in the communal assemblies. ”

“ We have already remarked upon the violations of property, committed by virtue of the royal decrees. Similar violations were every day committed by government orders from the lieutevant or from the ministers, and if the aggrieved, by applying to the tribunals, obtained judgment against the government authorities, this judgment was perpetually reversed by a commission of arbitration, consisting of counsellors of State, removable at pleasure. ”

“ The ambition of a legitimate Prince can have no tendency to promote the happiness of the people, whom providence has entrusted to him, and who can only prosper under the Ægis of perfect security, in a calm but not menancing attitude. ”

“ The constitution acknowledges no other method of replacing the king when absent, than by the appointment of a lieutenant. The emperor Alexander had conferred this office upon the old general Zaionczek, but the grand duke Constantine as commander-in-chief of the army was placed by his side. ”

“ Fifth:—Of artists, distinguished by their talents and acquirements, or by the services they may have rendered to the arts or to trade. CXXXII. No person can be admitted to vote in the communal assemblies, unless he be registered in the civil communal list; unless he enjoy the rights of a citizen ”

“ This arrangement opened a vast field for abuses, which we have already referred to, in the observation on Article twenty-six. The decisions of the tribunals in the suits between the government and individuals, if contrary to the former, were often set aside by the Council of state, under pretence of abuse of power and incompetence. ”

“ This responsibiliy was a mere name, as we have already shown. A man was responsible for his obedience or disobedience to the orders of his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke, and never for disobeying the laws. ”

“ The aforesaid powers having named plenipotentiaries to the Congress———those of the plenipotentiaries who have been witness to the termination of these negociations, are authorized, after having shown their credentials in. ”

“ First, The treaty between Russia and Austria, concluded 21 April,/3d May, 1815.
Second, The treaty between Russia and Prussia concluded the 21 April/3d May, 1815, &c. &c., are considered as integral parts of the arrangements of Congress, and shall have the same force and weight as if inserted word for word in the general treaty. ”