Leader (1850-1860), 24th April 1852, Edition Town of 2, Page 382

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  will not be the fault of the soldiers ; The imper ialist propaganda is now undisguised and incessant . The assumption is a mere » question of days . If France be indeed unfit £ a&x& ' JBh&-0 $ tfafi& it begins to be clear that she is Far iftttre unfit fflf a pure' despotism . Already opposf ^ n , growing daily more elastic in resources and g&bedients , is sending out its flying skirmishers , xhe Press * is
  
  waxing bolder in thougK 6 # hd language : the very Constitutionnel , we suppose from sheer satiety of adulation , shoots a poisoned arrow ; and in the / miserable Legislative , a nominee screws up courage to give his rulers a ** bit of his mind . " In the faubourg of the Workmen , the Dictator is greeted with the flat blasphemy of Vive la Mepublique , hissing at his ears like an execration . What is to be done with the countless mobile elements
  
  of resistance in a country where esprit overflows ? 35 ven the lacqueys ; the menials , the creatures of the tyranny , are prone to opposition , as a pastime . Louis Bonaparte has lost his strongest friend in Europe , Prince Schwarzenberg . The Great Powers are fain to fight Shy of such a phenomenon as a second Emperor Napoleon . As a " utility" President , he was worth encouraging , but as a brother in the purple!—1815 forbids it .
  
  ; The meeting of the Zollverem Congress at Berlin has discovered the smouldering jealousies of the great German Powers . If Prussia hold firm , she may y $ t be able to atone by commercial supremacy for political humiliations . At Naples , the British ambassador lisps the " compliments of the season" to the royal executioner , of whom fresh cruelties tb Mr . Gladstone ' s
  
  unhappy clients are recorded : while at Rome , . " converted" Englishmen making themselves a spectacle to gods and men in religious ceremonies ; and Eton and Rugby challenging " all the world /' in the Capital of the Caesars , to a match atcricket , and getting well beaten for their pains , are certainly a more pleasant , if a more ridiculous , subject for our meditations .
  
  As official enquiries advance , the report of vessels seen on a field of ice , off the Great Bank , on the 20 th of April , 1851 , by the mate and crew of the Renovation , grows more distinct and probable . It does seem certain that two ships were so seen , and probable that they were Franklin ' s ships . Captain Ommanney evidently thinks so , from his desire to send to Canada for more information
  
  about them . If so , the vessels were drifted away early in 1851 , and one of them was in good condition ; the crews were not vely-4 ikely--tonave perished long before : what then has become of them ? Conjecture only tantalises itself by thinking of such enquiries ; but in the meanwhile , $ he vision of the ships lias stimulated both curiosity and hope , and it has been made known opportunely , just as the new Arctic expedition is leaving bur shores to continue the search .
  
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  the Week : in parliament . The serious business of the Common s began on Monday with the motion by Mr . Heebies for the appointment of n ' ? Select Committee to inquire into the operation , of the Act 3 rd and 4 th William IV ., c . 85 , ' for the "better Government of Her Majesty '* Indian territories / and to report their observations thereon . " In advancing this motion , Mr . Herrfes glanced rapidly at the history of the authority vested in the East India Company .
  
  The system of the Government was originally established in 1784 ; but since that each subsequent measuro has had ft tendency furthor to enlarge the restrictions whioh conferred exclusive rights , privileges , and possessions on the Company . When the Charter was ronewed in 1793 , a small private trade was admitted , under control of thd Company ; but until 1813 , the introduction of privato trade was very partial . In . 1812 there was an important inquiry , and one immediate raault of that investigation
  
  . was , that in 1813 private traders wore admitted to full competition with the Company , except in China , the trade with whioh was still retained exclusively to the Company . In 3883 still larger changes wore made . Tho Act passed by Parliament in that year , converted the East XUtdin Cowmny from' being proprietors of the soil of tho tetaritory of India—territory acquired under their governmesalt , but by the prowess , no doubt , and the akill of tho miEtwy ftna navaYarinainohts of Groat Britain —^ -into iridtaidttiua having" no further right or property in tho 4 wr ifcwy so wqx&ed ijr& £ & * bo 0 « ano time , it not only
  
  divested them of thw previously exclusive right of trading With China , but ^ fitively inhibited them from trading at all ; so that , from the passing of the ? act , and so long as the act should e ^ Stinue to be enforce ^ , they ceased to .. tfe , Hot simply exrattfive * traders , but trMttfs of any charfcfeP HmkieyeT . itH theiif jiossessionsV ^ # re reMe' ove : r * $ & ^ he $ e&wn ; thfiir comrtt ^ ial assetd i * fere < disposed of , iheir Mttre pow ® P 6 f trad ^ entirely aiinhilate % so long- ' as the fitl | continuM in fo * t ? 6 i The acf Was jpasiifed for twenty fiMtt' , that ¦¦' % & to Mfj it was to " : 10 ft : frojB 1834 to 185 & One of thfftondAisipiis on the side" elf % e 3 B * £ st India € oj& * pany ' for this—nS fuust certainly ' . call lc ^ immense sacrifice " on their part— -was , that their stock , then amounting to
  
  6 , 000 , 000 ? ., which they had lent to the public , should not be subject to redemption before the year 1874 ; that was to say , not until forty years after the passing of the act . On the other hand it was enacted , that if during the continuance of those forty years the Government should at anytime take from the Company any of the privileges which it then conferred upon them as agents for the administration of the empire of India , the Company should have the right of requiring the redemption of that stock , by the payment on the part of the public of 2007 . for every 100 Z . of stock so existing ; a condition ^ on which the East India Company would not be likely to insist so long as the market value of the stock remains , &S it H 6 W does ,
  
  60 Z . or 701 . above the value of 200 ? . Another condition was , that the Coinpany retained the Entire patronajje of the Iiidian administration—^ the appoihlirietit of all thef officers for the administration of Indian Affair ' s J the Governor " - General and the Cotn'mandef-in-Chief albne . exceptedj . and the Board of Pbectors further hadihe right of revoking , indiscriminately , all appointments to offices in India , noteven excepting the Governor-Generalship though this office they could not confer wiihout theConsent of the Crown , under this arrangement the affairs of India had continued to be administered from 1834 ' to ^ the present ' time ; and they would continue to be | so adnlii ^ stered until the vear 1854 ; when it Will reinain for
  
  Parliament and the Crown to determine whether the system shall be continued or altered . Now since 1834 , great changes have taken place . India has made great progress ; and Mr . Herries rapidly indicated the nature of the progress . The revenue of India has greatly increased * ^ In the year 1894 * 5 ; at the comirien * ementof : the period in questiori , the total revenue of India wasl 8 , 4 O 7 > 77 & ^ f aTS 3 B ^ ie that year there had beeny upon the whole number of ycfars , a gradual increase In that revenue , as thus;—in 1835-0 , the revenue was 19 , 294 , 877 / . ; in 1836-37 , 19 , 119 , 902 ? . ; in 1841-42 , 19 ^ 874 , 142 ? . ; in ! $ 42-43 , 2 O , 672 f , 786 ? . in 1848-4421423243 ? . ; in 1848-49 , 23 , 342 , 544 ^ . j in
  
  , ,, 1849-50 , 25 , 160 , 5757 . ; in 1850-51 ( estimated ) , 24 , 679 , 282 ? . The difference between the first and the last years is 6 , 000 , 000 ? . He was sorty to say that the expenditure had also increased—from 18 , 602 , 250 ? ., in 1834-5 to 255 , 257 , 991 ? ., in 1850-1 ; the latter sum . showing a deficiency of revenue of 678 , 709 ? . But the wars ? of that period — -the AfFghan war , the war of Scinde , the first and second Punjab war , cost altogether 36 , 000 , 000 ? . In the interval the debt had been increased only by 20 , 000 , 000 ? . ; so that 16 , 000 . 000 ? . had been met by the elasticity of the revenue . The interest on the debt of India has increased from 1 , 774 , 153 ? ., in 1834-5 to 2 , 201 , 105 ? ., in 1850-1 .
  
  The trade returns show the elasticity of Indian resources . Imports have increased from 6 yl 54 , 129 ? . in 1834-6 , to 12 , 549 , 307 ? . in 1848-9 ; Exports , from 8 , 000 , 000 ? . and some odd hu ndreds of thousands , to 18 , O 0 O , 0 OOZ . and some odd hundreds of thousands ; shipping tonnage , from 108 , 870 to 252 , 163 . And in reference to the war expenditure , it should be mentioned that in less than twenty years we have added to our Indian possessions 166 , 000 square miles , and 9 , 000 , 000 of population ; the consolidated empire now comprising 160 , 000 , 000 of British subjects . The interval exhibits a persevering determination on the part of the Government to promote the employment
  
  and education of the natives ; as appears by the following statement of t he number of natives employed by the Government in India in posts of administration ( not speaking of judicial appointments , to which he should afterwards refer ) : —Natives employed by the Government in India upon salaries ranging above 24 ? . per annum—1 at 1 , 560 ? .: 8 at 840 ? . to 960 T , ; 12 at 720 ? . to 840 ? .: 68 at 600 ? . to 720 ? . ; 69 at 480 ? . to 600 ? . ; 68 at 860 ? . to 480 ? . ; 277 at 240 ? . to 360 ? . ; 1 , 173 at 120 ? . to 240 ? . ; 1 , 147 at and under 120 ? . ; total , 2 , 818 natives . A native judicial force had been constituted and invested with powers to a degree and extent wholly unknown previously to the period to which he was adverting ; and that justice was administered
  
  mainly in India by natives , not only between natives and natives , but in civil causes between natives and Europeans . From these civil courts the appeals only amounted to 16 per cent ., and tho reversals of sentence did not exceed 4 per cent . Mr . Horries referred to this statement to show thd progress of education . " In 1823 the only native educational establishments foundod by the British Government were the Mahomodan College , Calcutta , and Sanscrit Col-Jego , Benares . In 1836 there were 14 . In 1852 there were now in Bengal and the North-Western Provinces above 40 . In 1835 tho groat chango was adopted of substituting the English for tho Oriental system of education ;
  
  and in the report of the Council of . Education torlovjD Mr * Bothuno said ;— ' There is no institution in England whoro the published answors of tho students are subjected to so strict and severe a test . I have no hesitation in saying , that every succeeding examination that I witness increases my admiration of the aoutonosB and talent , literary and scientific , which are ovincod by tho young men of this country . ' In tho Elphinstone Institution of Bombay the oouree of study was stated 'to bo equal in extent to a course for a degree in an English University . '" Tho financial dofieionoy for 1861-2 would bo 788 , 000 ? . ; but that would bo more than absorbed in outlays for publio works ; canal * , roods , and tanks , Mr . Homes rond «•
  
  st ^ teme ^» 5 '! p ^ p 6 V ^^ ks . - ^ Grand trunk-road Cni cutta to iMWi t 4 M dttjStmued to Lahore and Peshawin . ' complete to Kuri |^> jto * th of Delhi , 965 miles , metalled throughoutj , fc oWfvl / WDfrvper ™ ile » total cost , abnnt J , 600 $ 00 ? . « t ^ rB ^^ G # i ^ itta and Bombay mail-roa ? about l , 000 f mllefifiHc ' oit 500 , 000 ? .. Bombay and 'SS ToaA /^^ eL mtp ) Oiit 350 ? . per mile . Ganges Canal for irrigation 01 JlfifiaB bet ? ween the Ganges and Junnia . from Kturdwai jto" ^ ^ Sttoar ooTtfj ^ irool ^ . length , 766 nailes ^ cost about l , 60 Q , 00 Wf Ea ^ wayfif—Gp lcutta , iffladras ,, and Bombay . " ¦ irji- -.-i - '''* i < - '* i ' - . t /¦¦ in :. i 1 : 4 ^ t *_ ni i _ i . i . — . ' -A ' .-r __ _ T « ¦> - »¦ - -,. _ - ¦¦ * 5 ccleiasticallfi 8 taraisMnents inindia
  
  _ J § > - . ^^ . —^ In the year 1812 there weret only 14 chaplains ^ t . Bengal , 12 ' at Madras , and 5 at BorttKay . In 1813 a bishop of Calcutta and three archdeacons for the presidency were appointedin 1832 there were in Bengal 37 chaplains , in Madras 23 * and in Bombay 15 ; Under the act of 1833 the archdeacons ceased , and two additional bishops ^ were \ appointed and noW there we ' re three pisliops and 68 chaplains in Bengal 34 in Madras , and 28 in $ < rabay- ^ mia 1 dng 3 \ bishops and 130 chaplains altogethei , in . addition to 6 of the Scotch church . Distribution of Patronage by the Company durine the last sii years . —In . 1845 , 28 writers , 280 cadets and 66 surgeons ; in 1846 , 28 wr iterftj 28 Q cadets . 28
  
  surgeons ; in 1847 , 28 writers , . 262 cadets , 66 surgeons in 1848 , 28 writers , 196 cadete ; in . 1849 , 28 writers ' 250 cadets , and 28 sinrgeonsj arid in 1850 , 56 writers ' 234 cadets , and 56 surgeons j the reason of the large addition to the number of writers being the annexation of the territory of thfs Punjab to the empire of India . Out of 146 cadets now at Addiscombej 57 were sons of Indian servants ; arid Out of 2622 appointnients that had been madeI between 1840 and 1851 , he found that 1100 had Jjeen given to sons 6 £ Indian . servants 5 Exhibiting therefore something * the Teveise of that partiality with which the Cojnpany had been , charged . Although her Majesty ' s Ministers are _ respon 8 ible for the government of Indian said * Mr ^ Herries , it is a
  
  mistake to suppose tKattbe&rectoTfe of the Company constitute a mere ageBegf ^ On this point , however , mucli fuller information was given later in the evening by Sir JMstWipt BEip& ^ — - V ' :: ] ) : ^ . { , ¦ - . ; . ¦ " All matters of war and of treaty with . native powers were ^ ^ vested , and properiy rested ^ mentj witoj- « £ tor iraniing ^ a despatch on tiiese topics , sent it , not to iiie Court of jJirei ^ f s , ^ &i" ^^^*^^ Committee , Consisting of the bhainn ^ aijtbJi depOty chairmaii , and thie senior membe * of i £ i& eburt j . an&ipr % at despatch her Slajesty ' s Governmerit was exclusively responsible . Thisj however , Ttfas a very small and abinufe part of the administrative ectveiitiiiii&xt of-Inditt / the business of the vested
  
  financial , judicial , and other departments being ~ fty law in the East India Company , and transacted practicaUy by the directors . All letters and despatches came to the Court of Directors ; and aespatcheSj after being framed by the executive , were submitted to the committee of the department to which they belonged , and , if disapproved Of , a discussion took place upon them ; they were taen placed Upon the table for a Week , and afterwards underwent discussion by the whole Court , After this , the despatch Went to the Board of Control , who either approved or disapproved of it ; but in this last case the law provided that , should the Court of Directors disapprove of the alteration made , they had a right to remonstrate and to ^ caiJ on t ™ iiyr « i « o < -. » a ^ K-m ™™ t- ? # » ¦ oDoiirri thflir reasons lor tne
  
  ,, , alterations , provided they thougnt it their duty to insist upon them . This was the working of the / vstem , irom wliich it would bo seen that the great body of directors were separate and quite apart from the Secret Committee , and might know nothing of the particular businessi transacted by the latter . ' Another point referred to had beg the patronage of the Court . It was a delicate thingior him to touch upon this subject , but he might state that on inquiry which had been instituted had shown that , out oi 2900 appointments , 1100 were given to the . sons ot servants oT the company , 1700 to the sons of tie nobihty , gentry , and professional men , and the rest were pve ^ as ot navai
  
  they ought to bo , td the aona anu """ . ""•' -Tfl to in tho Queen ' s service , and the largest P . P ^ ° LfL ! mine the clergy . It wOuld be for the committee to ^ Jjl whether the patronage had been fairly admuuster ^ There was abuse everywhere , but a greater abuse tner could not be than for a man to purchase votes tor o _ Bt » in the direction by promises of patronage . In the wn course of his canvrts no voter , eitW directly « »^ W . had intimated to him even , a hope that he wouldjew ^ ber him , except in one cose , and the consequence ww » ho loft the individual ' e room and declined his Buppor . Sir James also contributed some faets wb ? 6 "" 1 ' ^ judicial courts . He was not speaking now ot iienfe , Madras , or Bonibay alone , but of the whole ot in «» >^ ngl he found that in 1849 there Were disposed of oeio b suits , 268 , 674 cases . Of that number . ^ 161 , or y
  
  cent ., wore disposed of by native judicial o ...---- f . European judges 2 ( 428 , or only 1 per cent . £ " £ ? ^ ut haps bo said that natives wero entrusted w « n . Y '* , e thom not with appellate jur jediotion . Now , he ^» WP ^ tho roBult of tho appellate jurisdiction . In ^^ fLthor , that to whichhohadreferrod , tho suitsdisposed otaico « q ^ tho whole suits of India , including a PP onlfl ' , v : ^ 8 edof by of which suits 310 , 664 , or 98 per cent ,, were dispoBi . ^ natives , and 21 , 364 , or 6 and a . fraction J ^^ hJZ ^ v , a » pean judges , The only return relatin g to » . , from the No * th ¦ Western Provinces , 7 ™ ° £ wero 15 por cent ., and tho reversals only ^ P ^ V nco ; Mr . lforrie »' 8 motion met with general co" « " * r ° rioll 8 tlto various speakers , however , throwing « t ] j 0 hints . Sir Thomas Coxkdbook xotnaricea u ^ real goVornraont of India mtwt ^ after ally do l t tf itsolf . Mr , nma dopre < s « ted 'ewiovaJ ^«» flIiy Bir ^ tors ; and insistou tlmt Ii ? dia is better oit tn « of W colonies ; bnt ho ittlvocatcd roud-m ^^ fS
  
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- Leader (1850-1860), April 24, 1852, page 382, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1932/page/2/

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