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Leader (1850-1860), 20th February 1858, Edition 2 of 2, Page 3

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      No.413, February 20, 1858.] The Lea Be R...

      No . 413 , February 20 , 1858 . ] THE LEA BE R . . 17 l

      Imperial Parliament. Monday, February 15...

      IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . Monday , February 15 th . THE PUNISHMENT OF THE INDIAN MUTINEERS . In the House of Lords , the Earl of Ellenborough asked whether the Government had received any intelligence with regard to the execution of one hundred and fifty mutineers by Sir Hugh Rose . The rebels ought , of course , to be punNhed , and severely ; but , except in some cases , death ought not to be resorted to . As the Duke of Wellington remarked sixty years ago , the natives of India derive from their religion a contempt for death , so that the prospect of it does not afflict them -with any terror . Flogging , which degrades them in their own eyes , is a far more efficient punishment . Between ninety and a hundred thousand people had taken part in the mutiny ; and it was quite evident that the punishment of death could not be resorted to in every instance . Since the capture of Delhi , there had been , ¦ with the exception of a few days , executions to the amount of four , five , or six a day ; and , if this be continued , a bloody feud will arise between us and the natives which will make the re-establishment of civil government impossible . —Earl Giunville replied that the Government had as 3 > -et no information on the subject except by means of . the telegraph . The Government quite . agrees — and so , it would appear , does theGovernor-General—in the general principle laid down by Lord . Ellenborough .

      The Duke of Cambridge expressed his satisfaction at the despatch written by Sir Colin Campbell in exculpation of General "Windham ' s conduct at Cawnpore . Certain returns in connexion with the Bankruptcy Commissioners were ordered , on the motion of Lord Brougham , and their Lordships then adjourned . ANNEXATION OF OUDE . Mr . Darby Griffiths presented a petition from the Manchester Free Trade Association , praying for an inquiry into the facts connected with the annexation of ¦

      Oude . the Hudson ' s bay company . Mr . Labouciierk wished to correct a misunderstanding which had gone forth to the public japon an important paint in the answer that he gave to the question of the member for Sheffield in . regard to the territory of the Hudson ' s Bay Company . He was represented to have said that it was the intention of the Government forthwith to take the whole of the territory from' the Company . What he said wns , that immediate steps Tvould be taken to "bring Vancouver ' s Island under the authority of the Crown . With regard , to the Hudson ' s ¦

      x > ay Company , all he said was that he should be prepared to produce p : ipers that would show what steps her Majesty ' s Government hud taken in the matter . WEIGHTS AND MEASURES . In answer to Mr . Child , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , said that the question of Weights and Measures had engaged the attention of the Government ; but there arc difficulties in the way of introducing a measure , and Ministers cannot pledge themselves to such a , course . CIVIL Ol'l- 'ICKKS IN INDIA . Mr . Talk asked the President of the Board of Control whether the Licutcnuut-Govcrnor of Bengal had made any use of the services of those ofliccrs of the civil service who wore recalled from their furlouirh bv a despatch

      from the Court of Directors to the Governor-General of India , and who have been respectively renttached to the Bengal Presidency ; whether the officers had receivod or would bo entitled to any remuneration for the expenses of their return before- the , expiration of the furlough they claim t 6 be entitled to after ten years ' service ; and ¦ whether the time occupied , in performing the double journey will bo permitted to reckon ns service . —Mr . Vehnon Smith <* aid lu > had received no report on the subject , but he had much from the Gazettes that some of ' those oIlicL'i's had buuii cmnlovad . Their lmssairo out

      ¦ will be paid , mid the furlough will , count as service to the extent of throe years , Tine mjunasios on education . Mr . Cowrm ; brought up hor Majesty ' s reply to tho address of tho House , praying for tho appointment of a I commission to inquire into tho aCnto of education in ' England and Wales . Il ^ r Majesty slated tlint sho has ¦ ulrundy directed u commission to issue for tho purposos I requested by tho Ilouso . ' TIIK INDIAN GOVERNMENT HILL . Tho adjourned debute on thu motion for loavo to bring

      in a bill for tho b . tlur government of India was opened by Mr . Uoicm . 'cic , who rumarkod that , in tho acquisition of our Indian umpire , wo hud broken through almost every rulo of morality , and , ¦ while exhibiting groat vnlom' and groat intelligence ^ had » hown 111 tl « -i virtue . ¦ " ¦ "Still , our sway m ! g lTF"l ) O ™ l ' urried to '( lIo ^ rrenfTiononFof 1 tho people of India , who aro inoapablu of governing thomsolvos . India is not a colony , but ii conquered territory , and wo liavo therefore to frame a form of government , for tho natives under our charge . Tho double Government had destroyed all roMpoiiHlhllity ; mid ihoro hud never been ivworHi / ndininlatnilioii In tho world tliali that of tho Court of Directors , as ovon Lord Macmulay , though a groat dofohdor of tho Company , had shown . With cortain changes , such na tho omission of tho

      irresponsible councillors , he ( Mr . Roebuck ) thought that the proposed bill would be the best home administration for India . He liked the idea of a responsible secretary , I and thought he would be likely to succeed where others have failed . —Mr . Duff . also gave a general support to the measure . —Mr . Whiteside defended the Company , and said that no case had been made out against them . The introduction of Parliamentary authority over India had been demoralizing and mischievous , and , if Lord Clive and Warren Hastings had been guilty of annexations , so had Lord Dalhousie . —Mr . Lowe said that the defenders of the Company wished to make others believe that the Government designed entirely to reconstruct , or revolutionize ,, the administration of India ; but the Court of Directors might be safely eliminated , and a Council would perform its duties much more effectively . The effect of the indirect agency of the Court is to produoe delay and embarrassment ; besides , the Princes of India feel themselves degraded in being the vassals and tributaries of a mercantile body , and the natives generally have a notion that they are farmed out to that body . Another anomaly is that the Company might be at war with a Power with which the Queen , is at peace . —Mr . ILiddell opposed and Mr . Slaney supported the bill . —Mr . Crauford thought there should have been a previous inquiry by a committee of that House . He objected to the number of the Council , to the exclusion from Parliament of the members of the Council , to vesting the whole power of the present Secret Committee in President and Council , and to the enormous additional patronage placed in the hands of Government . —Sir Henry Raavlinson , while obiectinsr

      to some of the details of the bill , thought it would be an immense improvement . Describing what he called "the gestation of an Indian despatch , from the first stage of its conception to the last days of parturition , " he showed that its progress is a triumphant specimen of ' Circumlocution-office' tactics , the document being banded about for several weeks between the secretary to the East India Company , the chairman , the Board of Control , and the Court of Directors . In cases of emer-¦ 1-1 'I I ^ L-l ^ ^ T ^^^^^^^^ m . A kab _ _> - - L A . ^ - * . T _ ^ \ t 1 1 . % iwiiiis

      ^* ^ ^* * fjcuuv-, Luc migut ue simpiinea ; out wnat is to De thought of . a sj'stem which must be altered the moment the trial comes ? The sooner the double Government was done away with the better . He believed that the natives of India would prefer the domination of the Crown to that of the Company , and so -would the European community and the officers of the army , with the exception of a feiv covenanted civil servants . . —Sir J . Walsh thought that the double Government presented useful features . Englishmen require checks on absolute power , and those checks necessarily involve complexity and delay . By tliis measure the Government would ^\ W 1 ^ f \ T m % *!* ? vat £ v »^» ^ A ^ ¦¦ * ¦ ¦» ^ 4 1 m * fe . # J e ^ - „» ¦ - £ ? . k u . _^_ . & (| uiicvuai l uuiia ctuu Lite Ul 21

      ^^^^ ^ ^ *^ ^ . ^ ^ .. ^ ** * * . . av . ; J « gu UmpUSHA reVCUUC Ol 30 , 000 , 000 / ., with only a phantom of control on the part of that House . He feared-that the pressure which had forced the Government to introduce this bill would compel them to take steps for the conversion of the natives to Christianity . Our Indian Empire would thus be endangered ; and consequently lie should vote for the amendment . —Mr . A . Mills , Mr . " Wyld , rmd Mr . Danby Seymouk spoke in favour of the bill , Avhich Mr . Adams opposed . —Mr . Elliot denied an assertion of the last speaker that Europeans in India are either afraid or ashamed to mako profession of their Christianity . —On the motion of Colonel Sykes , the debate was adjourned to the following clay , 280 being in favour of the adjournment , and 82 ag-ninst it . raitw «¦ i .. . m , iie 6

      . jL noue acyourneu at a quarter to one o clock . Tuesday , February lGt / i . GENERAL ¦ WINDHAM . Ill the HousJi ( Mf Lokds , tho Duke of Cambridge said , with reference to some observations he had made on the previous night , that ho had intended to state that he had received n . report to tho cfl ' uct that no blame whatever attaches to General Windham for tho defeat at I Cawnpore , but that blame does attach to some other parties , and Unit those oases are under investigation by Sir Colin Camnboll .

      | Tho Cifunow of England Special Sjguvioes Bill was considered in , committee , and , certain verbal amendments having boon agreed to , the House rosumed , and immediately ul ' torwnids wont into committee on tho liisitoi's' TucsTd Substitution Bill . This having passed through commit tee , tho House adjourned at hnlfpast woven o ' clock . In tho House of Commons , Mr . Evvakt gavo notice for thut day fortnight of a motion for tho future improvement of India by education and othorwiso , THU I HICNCH DJESI'ATOUCKS .

      ¦ j Mr . Griffiths n » 1 cprt tho First Lord of tho Treasury | whether—since tho lottor of tho Oth of February from the French Ambassador , expressing tho i-egrot of tho Emperor for tho publication of tho addresses in tho \ Aioniteur has not ii ^ ipearod in that pftUorJlji ^ tto—flftTOSU \ - vrny tin its prodecoflBcr ofTho 2 C ? th oT . faminry , asking for redraws— it bo tho intention of Government to suggest to tho French Government that its publication would , in their opinion , bo conducive to tho satisfactory termination ol'tho transaction ? Lord Pai .. mkkht <>« : "Before answering tho quoatlon of tho lion , gcntlomnn , I "wish to put a quostion to tho House . 1 wish to ask tho Houso wlrat is their intontion upon a matter of gruat national importance ; ' whothor It is their wiah nnU intontion tiiat thoso fi-iondly and confl-

      dential relations which now happily exist between her Majesty ' s Government and the Government of the Emperor of the French should be maintained , or whether it is their intention to infuse into the relations between the two countries a spirit of irritation , of bitterness , and of animosity ? (// ear , hear . ) Now , Sir , if the latter is their object , no more effectual course could be adopted , though it is not a very dignified one , than the continuance of personal attacks in this House upon the Emperor of the French and the French nation ; and therefore though with great regret , I will try to prevent it . Yet if the House choose to pursue that course , upon them be the responsibility . If the House , on the other hand , attach the importance I attach to the maintenance of the friendly relations which exist between the two Governments , they will resist the continuance of these attacks upon the Emperor , who has been the spontaneous choice of the whole French , nation . ( C / teers . ) With regard to the question of the hon . member , I can only say , that it is not the intention of her Majesty ' s Government to adopt a course of proceeding snch as he suggests , because we think that such a course would be highly improper , and , if I may be permitted to say so , without meaning anything personally offensive , excessively absurd . " ( Laughter . ' ) TOOK RELIEF , AND LAWS OF SETTLEMENT AND REMOVAL . In reply to Mr . Wise , Mr . Bouverfe said her Majesty ' s Government did not contemplate introducing any measure to alter the mode of raising the rates for the relief of the poor . With regard to the laws of settlement and removal , the subiect was nearl y exhausted , as far as

      j \ t t / i _ inquiry was concerned , and he should not think it his duty to move the appointment of a new committee to consider -the general effect of the laws . With , regard , however , to the particular point relating to irrem < rvable paupers , the Act had bsen in operation a very short time ; it will expire next year , and then it might "be advisable to have an inquiry into its operation . THE ENGLISH PRISONERS AT NAPLES . In answer to Mr . MoncicTon Milnes . Lord 'Pat — .. . _ . __ _ . _ 9 . _ __ _

      , _ .- - - mkrston said the Government had been in communication with the Government of Naples , through her Majesty ' s consular agent , -with , regard to the English prisoners . The consul had attended the proceedings of the court , and had given due attention to them . TJie state of the matter was this :- —Parkes had been put upon his triah With regard to Watts , unfortunately , his spirits had been very much affected by the imprisonment he had undergone , and by the apprehensions that existed in Ms mind as to its final results ; and he was found to be in a state of mental excitement which rendered it improper that his trial should be proceeded with . Upon

      tJie application of the consular agent , he had been delivered over to the representatives of the British Government , and placed in tho British hospital at Naples , where he would bo attended by Englishmen , medical men and others ; and he ( Lord l ' almerston ) hoped that with proper , treatment he would recover . THE DUBLIN POLICE . Mr . Grog an moved for a select committee to inquire into the system of management of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force , and adduced certain figures to show that there are more policemen in Dublin than are necessary , and that the expense is very burdensome to the public . —Mr . Vance seconded tho motion . —Mr . 11 . IlicKBiQRT opposed tho motion , stating at the same timo mat is to uuis

      cue oovernmenc prepureu lay on me table which will remedy any abuses under the present system . — -Upon a division , the motion was negatived by 200 to 105 . THE REUliXLJON IN INDIA . Mr . Baili . ie , disregarding a request from Lord l \ al-, xnerstoii that ho would postpone his motion in unter to allow tho debate adjourned l ' rom the preceding night to bo proceeded with , called attention to the " causes whiuh have led to tho rebellion in hor Majesty ' s dominions in tho East . " Tho general opinion of our foUow-couutryiiimi in is utUL nitluuemuu ild iii

      jikuu ) uuu vjui ^ wuuug a portion of the Muhomcdan population , irritated uiul alarmed by the policy of annexation , imminent Indian statesmen had recorded protests against that policy . Tlic Duke of Wellington , Sir Thomas Muuro , Mr . . li . 1-phiiiBtono , and Lord Ellouborough , had all wanted tho country us to the consequences of pushing tiie principle too far . Tiio annexation mania begun in lbJ ) 3 , siucu wliiuh date wo have seized the territories of Scindc , the Punjab , Nagpore , and Oudo . The annexation of tho laat-niontionod state had caused tho dissatwfaction of tho liuugal armr . Ho had received information Uiat thousands of .

      petitions had boon sent up from that army against Lho seizure of that kingdom , liy tho annexation of Vu < iv , tho tenure of land wan atifocted , and Cue Sopoys , lioiug tho sons of tho small farmers , wore all more or less Interested in it , The feudal chiefs hod oflbrud to tliu luLu TKiagl ^ bTTn ^^ tionatc artillery , if Jio would resist tho aniiaKaUuii ; but he refused , and submitted to tiie Iiritiwh ( jlovorjimuiit . Tho annexation of Oudo was highly discrodUahla to the Government of Lord DalhouHMi . Tiio rujurn of OuUe . lmd always boon the frlcnius and allies of this country , miuI the only charge that could ho brought against theui ym » the oppression of thoir subjects . We tthouhi huve luiim bettor employed of late years in improving our aduiluibtratlon ot our own poasos » ions than in acquiring itaah

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 20, 1858, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20021858/page/3/