The success of the French arms against Prussia in 1806 reanimated the hope of the Poles to see their country restored. As soon as the French entered the Polish territory, the inhabitants rose in their favour, and organising themselves into a military force with amazing rapidity, immediately joined the French in combating the enemy. Yet Napoleon, after his success against the Russians, stopped at the banks of the Niemen, and concluded at Tilsit a peace with Russia. The Polish territory which bad been taken by Prussia in 1793-5 was erected into a sovereign state under the name of the Duchy of Warsaw, with tho exception of the province of Bialystok, which was given to Russia. A representative constitution was granted, the French code of laws introduced, and the sovereignty declared hereditary in the house of Saxony. In 1809 the Austrians invaded the duchy and occupied Warsaw, which the Polish forces were obliged to evacuate after an un equal contest; but having entered Austrian Poland, their numbers were rapidly swelled, so that their insignificant force soon became a consider able army, and compelled the Austrians to evacuate the duchy of War saw, and also a large part of the Polish territory which they held.
At the congress of Vienna in 1815, the affairs of Poland were arranged in the following manner :—A part of the duchy of Warsaw was given to Prussia under the title of the duchy of Posen. The salt-mines of Vleliczk and some districts were given to Austria.
Cracow with a territory of 490 square mike was erected into a republic ; and the remainder was entitled the kingdom of Poland, and nnitsal to Russia under one sovereign. The new kingdom received • representative constitution, which guaranteed security of person and property, the liberty of the press, the responsibility of ministers, the , independence of the judges; the use of the national language ; and a national military force. The representative body was composed of two chambers, senator* and deputies.
Such a liberal constitution granted to a kingdom with 4,000,000 of Inhabitants, whose sovereign was monarch over more than 50,000,000 subjecte, was • perfect anomaly. It could not be expected that such a constitution should be faithfully maintained; and it was not. The hopes raised by the emperor Alexsuder, that the Polish provinces incorporated with Russia should be united with the new kingdom, were soon dissipated, and discontent began to spread among all the Polish population. The country, it is true, began to make rapid pro peen in agriculture, and industry was greatly increased ; but the acts of government evinced a systematic hostility to all that was national, particularly with respect to the system of public education. The free ex premien of opinion on the part of the students at the university of Vilna was forcibly repressed, and the utmost severity was exercised upon young men who had been imprudent enough to speak plainly what they felt strongly. Similar persecution of the students took place at
Warsaw, and the modem of instruction was continually rendered less efficacious by substituting absurd modes of teaching for sound methods, and by limiting the subjects of instruction. A severe censorship pre vented not only the printing of every work of liberal principles, but omen the introduction of similar works from abroad.
These causes producel their natural result. The French revolution of July 1530, which produced a general excitement all over Europe, was not without effect on public opinion in Poland : an insurrection was meditated, and the time was fixed for the spring of 3831. Information of this projected movement having reached the govern ment, some of those who were implicated were arrested—a circum stance which hastened the development of the plot. The insurrection broke ont on November 29th 1830, and was effected by the military school, composed of about 200 young men, who were joined by many !tridents of the university and a few thousands of Polish troops stationed at Warsaw. The Russian troops, which had made some ineffectual attempts to put down the insurrection, took up a position near the town under the grand-duke Constantine, with whom two regiments of Polish guards remained. A provisional government was organised, which acted in the name of the emperor Nicholas as king of Poland, and the grand-duke Constantine remained in his position nwaiting the arrival of the army which was summoned to Warsaw from different place& The army having assembled and declared for the insurrection, the grand-duke, as its commander, by an order of the day, transferred his authority to the national government, and was allowed to retire from the country with 8000 Russian troops and 24 guns. In January 1831 the Diet declared the throne vacant, and organised a national government under the presidency of Adam CzirtorTski. A vigorous defence was resolved on. The nation how ever could hardly muster 60,000 men to oppose a Russian army of 130,000 men and 396 guns. In the campaign which followed the Poles fought with great bravery and gained several victories; but on more than one occasion, advantages they had secured over the Russians appear to lucre been thrown away from the inefficiency of their commanders. In a battle which took place at Ostrolenka, on May 26th 1831, the Polish army sustained an enormous loss, particu larly of officers. After this Polish affairs assumed a melancholy appearance. The want of ammunition and of every kind of resources was severely felt. This was chiefly caused by the Prussian govern ment, which did not permit the slightest assistance to the Poles to cross the frontier. The Russians, on the contrary, were allowed to have their magazines on the Prussian territory, and always found a fro ndly asylum whenever they were obliged to retreat there, while the Poles in such cases were invariably disarmed and retained prisoners.