Count de Zaba's Lecture.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2906, 8 June 1878, Page 2

Count de Zaba's Lecture.

Count de' Zaba, a Polish nobleman, whose lectures in Auckland recently have been very popular, lectured at the Academy of Music last evening on the " History and Literature of Poland." There was a large and fashionable audience, and the proceeds of the lecture were devoted to the funds of the Thames Mechanics' Institute. At 8 o'clock Captain Fraser, 8.M., took the chair, and introduced the lecturer to the audience.

Count de Zaba, who was received with warm applause, first referred to the important object to which the proceeds of the lecture were to be devoted. He said the subject he had selected was one of great magnitude, and to place before them a comprehensive sketch of the history and literature of Poland he would have to hare recourse to abridgment. His sub ject embraced a period of 11 centuries, during which Poland had bean one of the most influential States of Europe. For the sake - of order he would divide his lecture into four periods, viz.,—(l) Embracing a dynasty of absolute monarchs, which extended from 832 to 1472; (2) a dynasty of constitutional kings from 1372 to 1572; (3) an elective monarchy from 1572 to 1764; and (4) the period extending from 1764 to the present day ii which period had been exhibited strenuous efforts on the part of the Poles to reform social evils, and remove foreign tyrants fiom the internal administration of the country, and establish native independence on a firm basis. The lecturer referred to the first era,more as illustrative of every human passion than higher intelligence, and showed how during that period the people were divided into two classes—the equestritn order and the aglicv.! tr.; ists. The agricu! turists filed the

land, and the equestrians fought the battles of the country and were the governing classes. A further line of demarcation was made between the two classes in the course of time, as the numerous wars had the effect of reducing the prisoners to dependants. The equestrian order, however, was one of merit, and anyone deserving could become a member, as sometimes to a whole village were extended the privileges of the order. They were to be compared with the electors in constitutional monarchies. The lecturer then compared the 16th century Poland with contemporary England and France, saying that up to the time of the passing of the Reform Bill England, with 30,000,00') inhabitants, bad only 500,000 electors, and France, under Louis Phillippe with 36,000,000, had only 245,000 electors. Poland, in the 16th century with 19,C30,000 people, had 2,003,000 electors. Poland had been the first country to practically assert that no man had a right to interfere with another's conscience, by affording an honorable shelter to the Jews when they w ere persecuted and driven by the surrounding nations. At present there were 2| millions of Jews in the country. The lecturer drew a flattering comparison between the social condition of Poland in the 16th century, and that of England and France. The strong impulse given to mental activity by the introduction of printing and religious troubles of the 16th century was next referred to, the Count referring to the calmness and serenity of Poland while bloody wars and terrible massacres devastated western Europe. Poland gave an honorable, shelter to all who stood in need, and this practice, of which Britain and America in the present day were so proud, had been in vogue in Poland three centuries ago. She (Poland) fully recognised the principle of civil and reli- ; gious liberty, and at this time Protestants and Catholics were sitting quietly in the Senate discussing the great questions of the day. The Count gave a short account of the reigns of Sigismund the Ist and Sigismund Augustus, whose reigns were designated the golden era of Polish literature, and gave several extracts from the poems of the emancipator of Polish literature from the Latin tongue. The Count also recited several lines of one of that poet's laments in the Polish language. The lecturer then adverted ty the great astronomer Copernicus, who was a Pole, and classed him with such men as Newton and Kepler. He said on the death of Sigismund Augustus the dynasty was extinct, and the Polish came to the conclusion to have an. elective monarchy. Unfortunately they admitted Frenchmen, Englishmen, and other foreign princes to try for the Crown, and they often gained it by false promises, and from this dated the growth of foreign influence in the Polish Cabinet. The lecturer then referred to the celebrated John Sobieski, who, by defeating the Turks at Vienna, saved Europe. The services of the Polish king were considered of so much importance to Christendom that it was not considered blasphemous for sermons to be preached from the text, " There was a man sent down from heaven, and bis name was John." The lecturer then rapidly sketched the history of Poland up to its first dismemberment, which took place in 1771, and was brought about by Poland endeavoring to free herself from Foreign influence. Russia sent some troops to " pacify " Poland (just as she was "pacifying" the Turks now), and though for foiir years the patriots struggled against the armies of Russia, Austria and Prussia, she at last had to succumb. The lecturer then spoke of the Polish Constitution of 1791, which had been greatly admired by Fox, Burke, and other great men. The constitution; was suppressed by Russia and the second partition of, Poland took place in 1793, after which the patriots rose under Kosciusko, and successfully combatted the threearmies until their great leader Xosciusko, who was wounded and taken prisoner. The lecturer here recited a pbrtion of the poet Campbell's beautiful lines on the " Downfall of Poland." The career of Napoleon was then referred to, and the serious mistake he made in not establishing the kingdom of Poland. When passing through Poland on his disastrous march to.Mccow, he was in treated to winter at Warsaw and organise the State. But he said "wait till I am at Moscow." The history of Poland was then sketched up 1822 when the patriots who presented the Russian Emperor with a petition for the redress of grievances were thrown into prison, and the struggles of the Poles for independence in 1830 were next advented to. The Count then described in a realistic manner the funeral of five Poles, who had been killed in 1863 while forming a monster demonstration to the Russian Government demanding their rights. In conclusion, the Count said that the question would arise was their »ny hope for Poland P He might say, if justice were admitted to take part in the discussions of the Co-igress to be held in a fortnight at Berlin under the Presidency of Prince Bismarck, the interest of the independence of Poland would be proclaimed. At the conclusion, and during the lee- ' ture, Count de Zaba was loudly applauded, and during intervals in the lecture some members of the Choral Society rendered several selections of Polish music in a most efficient manner. Mesdames Stannier, Payne, and Kilgour, and Mr Airey sang solos. Mr R. A. R. Owen performed the accomp niments in his usual good style. A rote of thanks was accorded to Count de Zaba and to the choir, and the Count proposed one to the Chairman, which was carried with applause. . ■ The Chairman announced that the Count de Zaba had been induced to promise to deliver a lecture on "The Method of Studying Universal History " on Monday next for the benefit of the Thames Hospital. . „ >