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the claimants of universal suf&age ^ thei worftuxg elassea do support any man who demands the removal of intolerance—the working classes in this t respect acting upon : a spirit more chivalrous and' gentlemanly' than some who professedly ; stand above them- One great journal , which seemed to have been engaged for the purpose of influencing Lord Joaur B-TJSSEiiL upon the point , urged him to go up into the House of Lords on the mission of
persuading the peers next session to pass the Oaths Bill or the Reform Bill ; no easy task for the distinguished commoner . But the very demand upon him thus to perform a , parody on the sacrifice of Ctjbtius shows how remote the peers have become from the action of English politics . It is necessary , as it were , to have an ambassador from the House of Commons in order to bring them to a sense of the concession required by the public opinion , the feeling , and the progress of this country . And the notion that new blood in the shape of a single man should thus correct the vis inertia of the House of Lords , was in itself quite visionary .
On the whole , it is a subject on which the country can take no interest . Plain men are daily losing their sympathy with these honours ; which are indeed too remote to be easily understood by the vulgar . A huge class is growing up which cannot perceive the great advantage that a Marquis will derive frOnti henceforward being called ' Duke . It is generally thought that Lansdowne will be pretty much the same , whatever the prefix maybe ; while it is distinctly perceived that if Lord John Russell be made a Peer it
would be actually a promotion downwards . The separation between the Peerage and the Commonalty is widening so far , that the two classes are becoming incapable of understanding each other ' s feelings . The distinction is maintained by the practice of intermarriages , and that of recruiting the 'Upper' class chiefly from its own cadets , as the royal class is recruited and is kept apart from the country . At present , Lords and the connexions of Lords have a monopoly of political power and of political influence , the substitutes for their former territorial power . With a public
opinion formed in their own class , with habits of thought and association limited to the same class , they care comparatively little for the sentiments or judgment of other classes ; bo long as the Commonalty can be induced to pass convenient votes through the House of Commons . As the royal class stands chiefly connected with its own class throughout Europe , and is only to a slight extent national , so the noble class is become decidedly separated from England . The creation of peerages is a wonderment which used to excite some admiration amongst the vulgar ; it now , in these humbler strata , excites less admiration than amusement .
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THE SESSION . TVh have had two parliamentary sessions this year , and it is possible we may have a third . China was the battle-ground in the first , Divorce in the second ; if there be another , India will be the field of discussion . There have been debates on the Bengal mutiny , on Persia , on the "West Indies , on our Italian diplomacy , the ballot , church rates , the county franchise , parliamentary oaths , Maynooth , education , crime , Ministers' money , the sale of poisons and beer , and the National Gallery . The House of Commons , on questions of economy , has been ohiefly moved by its youngest members , Setting aside the sham opposition of Mr . Hobjbtjok , the job of the Princess IBoYAx ' si dowry was almost exclusively resisted by gentlemen in their first session . Much the same remark applies to the administration of the National Gallery . We have
thus an illustration of the practical value of new ; Bloodiin PMEamen * . Large ^ political questions' have tieett poorly dealt vrftnv The ballot debate wa » a disgrace to a popular legis * lative assembly . Whether from apathy ; inca " pacity , or cowardicej the Liberals were all but dumb , and Mr Bbbkbebt was ridden < iown by a silent majority . Mr . Locke Ekstg ' s annual motion was naturally lost , owing to the reluctance of the House to » entertain the subject of the franchise while a Government
pledge is looming in the future . Mr . Spooi « rEB , with his ; antirMaynooth fanaticism , was left in a minority whichy if he were a man of intelligence , would dissuade him from future appeals to sectional bigotry . We will not say be has no desire to carry out bis opinions , since , without Maynooth , Mr . Spooiseb would be no more , success sinking him into obscurity . That is a very vulgar and deceptive notion , which we leave to those who doubt Mr . Bebkelex ' s sincerity on the subject of the ballot . The educational debates have
been , as usual , nearly without result . There has not been one brilliant debate during the past session . Not a spark of ! Fox or Bttbke revived when the mighty crisis in Asia was under the consideration of Parliament . There was no one to say to a hushed House , ¦' . It is good for us to be here ; clouds and darkness rest upon the future . ' Mr . DiseaeiiI lectured ; Mr . Vebkoit Smith explained ; the CHA 3 SFCEI . I . OB OI THE EXCHEQUER stated ; Lord Palmebston talked ; the little oracles of the Tory Opposition rolled out their verbal rotundities ; but there was no gleam of genius , no sign that we have one great commoner . Indeed ,
imperial questions seem too vast for the contemplation of Parliament , which prefers small vestry gossip and quiet colloquies to rousing eloquence and the war of parties . Finally , Lord Pax . merston ' , having managed the session , discovers that his House being in working order , is not so docile as in the early days of June . Therefore he dismisses it in a speech singularly patronizing . He praises its general good conduct , and distinctly announces himself its master . Perhaps , next session , when the Reformers reappear , there will be more Parliamentary independence in Parliament .
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BENGAL AND THE SEPOY . We have said that the Bengal mutiny is traceable to no single cause . ¦ India has been inefficiently governed , and her military system in Bengal having been more defective even than her civil administration , has been shattered by an outburst of fanaticism . There is no reason to believe that the revolt originated in any political movement , although secret political agitators have subsequently taken advantage of it in the interest of their employers . The Sepoy was probably offended by certain acts of the Government ; but it is sheer extravagance to say that he was goaded into rebellion . The English had not broken faith with him ; it had been distinctly explained that the reforms lately introduced were not to affect existing interests . The reforms themselves , in point of fact , were just and reasonable . Enlistment was to be henceforth for general instead of local service - —a principle which had been safely and with
good results introduced into the Madras and Bombay presidencies . Such a prospective arrangement was no real grievance to the Bengaleso , since it did not affect those already enlisted , while , as to future recruits , there is no conscription , and no man was compelled to enlist it he disliked the conditions of the service . Another source of complaint has been the order to accept men of nil castes—in fact , to abolish religious
disqualifications for military enftploynieiifci Such has been the rule in Madras and ; Bombay * and it * introduction into * Bengal imposed no grievance on the soldiery , since the , older Sepoys , having experience and seniority in their favour , would necessarily engross most of the promotion for several years . Other petty innovations were established , in order to assimilate the systems of the three presidencies ; but in no sense was the Bengal Sepoy deteriorated . Last of all came the greased cartridge business , which , taken alone , might have excited a murmur , but would never have stimulated an insurrection .
But the Bengal Sepoy is a peculiar being ; he considers himself the member of a military aristocracy ; his son will be a Sepoy , or , if below the standard , a peon , or policeman . He has usually some little patrimony , or can spare some contributions from his pay on which his sons may live until they can enlist . The privileges of the army have thus come to be regarded as matters of hereditary right , so that proposals of reform are construed by the Sepoy as attacks upon his class ; when inferior castes are enlisted the highbred soldier complains that the bread has been taken out of the mouths of his
posterity . Moreover , the Asiatic in general , and the Bengal Sepoy in particular , is the very incarnation of the Conservative principle ; , he hates change for its own sake , whether it be for better or worse . He found reforms upon reforms coming thick and fast upon the army , and he fancied he could detect a scheme to Europeanize and Christianize him . JSTewspapers and gentlemen at mess-tables had long been discussing the ' decline of caste' in India , and anticipating its total abolition ; and such gossip being set afloat , found its way , exaggerated and deformed , into the native press , which , beyond measure incendiary , made the most of these * opinions of our
Eeringbee masters . ' Here , in a few words , we have , as we believe , one mainspring of the Bengal mutiny . It is a protest against European innovations . The Indian Government imagined that it had mastered the character of the Bengal Sepoy —a character more perverse , obstinate , and irrational than that of every other human being , except , perhaps , the Chinese Tartar ,
It was well known , of course , that nothing would be more perilous than an i nterference with caste , and care was taken not to infringe this sacred social law ; but it was not foreseen that every species of innovation would be interpreted as an attempt to meddle and deceive . The multiplication of European officers , under the existing system , would have availed but little to break up the mutinous rdnba rtf t . Tifl "RftTunml Senovs . because the plots of the Bengal Sepoysbecause me
, European officer , in a native regiment , is simply the leader in action and the paymaster and judge in quarters ; he never interferes with what may strictly be called the internal discipline of his men ; he cannot go among them , or form with them any intimate acquaintance . Caste is the gulf between the Englishman and the Bengal Sepoy . An entire army conspires , and not one British ofticer knows , or can know , anything of the conspiracy . Had there been fifty with every regiment they could have known no more The men who did know were the native > officers , and they kept the secret . But there were ample reasons—the tone of the native press being one—why the Government should
have been on its guard . The European officer , in the regular » a ™ ve regiments , seldom sustains his dignity . ± n Q Sepoys see him at goose-step ; they see torn going to school to a munshi ; they see aUms boyish follies when he firafc enters the service . Now , in Irregular corps , the natives have only three or four European officers , who , it noi
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830 JBI LEA 33 BB . [ KQ ^ 388 » Aar € gBaKe , 29 ^ 1857 ;
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 29, 1857, page 830, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2207/page/14/
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