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Tories , the Widest iEeldEeral ^ liEeXipEds the Commons had abandoned them to theix fate , and a parliamentreturned . ^ expressly 'to vindicate the honour of the British flag' in China permitted British citizenship tobe insulted and trodden under foot at Naples . "Cord Mabnesbuiy -was not . particularly ^ British . until he sat in the Foreign-office ; Lord Palmerston never discovered that a demand might be made upon If aples until he had bathed in the Dead Sea of Opposition ; as for the independent members , they , as usual , were speechless . At length , upon a change of government , after the . press had been remonstrating for ten consecutive months , and after ten months of torture and iniustice had been
inflicted upon the engineers , Lord Malmesbury found it convenient to say what might and should have been said last summer , and which Lord Malmesbury might have suggested by moving a resolution in the Bouse of Peers when he saw Lord Clarendon neglecting his public duty . And now — no thanks to Downing-street — the Englishmen are liberated , the one sent home , broken down in minfl and JbacLyj the other out on bail and stall liable ± o conviction in a Neapolitan court . The royal rescript sets forth that " his Majesty , wishing to give a p _ rool of deference toiwards ^ subject of her Britannie Majesty , deigns to permit that Watt may return to England . " Will he deign to
make amends for the gross outrage he has committed against the laws of nations . and the persons of two British subjects ? Will lord Malmesbury consider himself bound to insist upon indemnity ? Here is another part of the case to he taken up by the press , and , if vigorously developed , ten months hence , whatever Cabinet may be in power , some Mr . Lyons may be sent to Naples to require a further proof of "King Ferdinand ' s " deference towards a subject of her Britannic Majesty /* The two Englishmen have a distinct claim upon the Government , and since their cause is identical with that of the nation at large , it will no doubt be prosecuted until , without any thanks to Downingstreet , a settlement is obtained .
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REORGANIZATION OF INDIA . The only reasonable ground upon which we can take our stand as the liolders of India , is that we are , in moral and intellectual power , the dominant race . On the ground of mere equality with the Asiatic , we must give up every right to govern him . To make sure our footing , then , in India , it is our business , and in behalf of civilization our duty , to make manifest , by every means in our power , the superiority , moral and intellectual , to which we lay claim . That must be a fundamental principle in our attempt to pacify India , and to re-establish upon a firm and lasting basis our empire over the Asiatic mind . No ' reorganization' but that founded upon that principle will ever be efficacious or just . Mr . William Ewact ' s suggested colonization of India goes near to point out the great want of India ,
detected and pointed out long before by General Jacob— -. namely , English mind . Throughout India there is no influence more respected than that of an honest and able English gentleman ; than suoh a ma » -fchere is none whom the native would receive more willingly for his ruler . It becomes , then , of the last importance to secure for India the services of » uoh men only aa are morally and intellectually fitted by their personal conduct to impress the native with this high respect . And here is the difficulty . "Where aie euoh men to be found P If the old system of appointment failed to secure the fittine i » en , is the new competitive system any more likely to aeoure them P The service required is one that oan scarcely be reduoed to system , but is one in wlwoh , guided by general principles , the civil servant in India jnust be left to act in many circumstances upon his own discretion .
India can never he governed by a oentral Authority , dfor the reason that that central authority oan jwwer he thoroughly acquainted with the wants and jjeoeasities of . distant provinces—necessities requiring to be met at the moment , and to be un"ders 1 fcoo ~ donly " b ^ ledge and present knowledge . It is on the character of the local governors of India that we have to rely for the security of our preeminence . Nothing , then , that can bo done to got the right man into the right place' must be left undone xu our labour of reorganization . Experience has of late abundantly proved what power one strong English mind way exorfc over an entire district . If care wore taken , to qhooso only men thoroughly flttpd for the difficult task of Indian
local government , it is impossible to over-estimate the probable good that would result . To secure suoh men every advantage in the way of salary , consideration , and support should be offered as inducements ; for , as General Jacob has said , English mind in India is cheap at any price ; and a powerful and respected local governor , by increasing the productiveness and general prosperity of the district over which , he presides , repays twentyfold the cost of his government . "In introducing European honesty , energy , perseverance , knowledge , high prxaoiple , and ability into this country , " says General Jacob , " we are , in fast , importjjuff so nmeh
life ; every single human creajiure within range of such influence becomes a higher order of being , and possibly tenfold more productive , as respects the public wealth , than before . " But a task even more difficult than the organization of the civil service of India has to be under taken : the reorganization of the Indian Army . One thing is certain , that for ages to come our rule in India will only be maintainable by the aid of an efficient military force . How that force is to be made efficient to the utmost degree is what we have to consider in forming or adopting a scheme of reorganization . The system upon which the Bengal Army has been formed having given way , what is
to be the system upon which a new Army is to be constructed ? To this question , unfortunately , there will be as many answers as there are interests bound , up in the subject . But there seems to be one opinion—coming as it does from a man who has given practical , not to say glorious , proof of his power to deal with this great subject— -that is worthy of taking precedence of all others given or to be given : it is that of General Jacob , whose regiments , enlisted from districts largely impregnated by the spirit of discontent , have never swerved jrom then * loyalty under any temptation . That the Army of India must , in the main , be furnished by the Indian , must be acqepted as a
necessity s the permanent maintenance of a sufficient European force being all but physically impossible . But the organization of the Native Army must be , in most respects , the reverse of that under which the Bengal Army ripened for revolt . Henceforth the dangerous prejudices of caste must find no recognition , and the European officers , instead of being systematically separated from their men , must systematically familiarise themselves to their men , in order that the basis of their authority may be respect inspired by their personal as well as military qualities . For there is no influence so potent with the Asiatic as that which is personal .
Were the men selected who are best qualified to gain the kind of ascendaucy here demanded , comparatively few would be required to do the work of officering the Native Army , that is , compared with the number hitherto supposed to be necessary . If experience goes for anything , the system of General Jacob for the organization of native irregular cavalry mig ht be adopted for the reorganization of the entire Army . Every district should have its own military force , drawn , so to speak , from its own soil , officered by Europeans to whom
it should be attached by the strongest personal ties of respect and trustfulness ; each corps should be a complete army , on a small scale , having its dep 6 t in the district to whieh it belongs , hut being always ready to move wherever its servicos may be required ; it should have its own artillery and menus of convevanoe complete . The difficulty of moving any considerable body of troops in India is too well known to need proof for the purpose of showing the imme » so importance of supplying to each oowps or regimont tho means for the transport of the necessaries of the march . An example of the advantages of General Jaoob ' s system will suffuse to show its valuo >—
« I n December , 1846 , " he Hays , " -when General Simpson received ordera to move a brigade from Hyderabad 'to jBhawulpoor -with all possible despatch , I was in the a « t of mounting my horse for parade , when the Aaslatant-Quartorraaster-General rode up and asked mo from the General when I should bo toady to march ? I replied that wo wore always roudy ; nn < l wo actually dia lworoKlTie same' aSyrr ^ chinl 3 erc - < rsvith-tho-wholo regiment in perfect order , and fully equipped , before a man of tho « regular' troops could bo moved from Hyderabad ( fifteen days after pur departure ) , although they wore aided by a ' baggage corps , ' by tho commissariat department , tho collector , » n < l the police authorities , while the Sinde Irregular Horse was wholly indopondent of all external aid . . . . The whole essence of tho Sllidur eyatem with reference to carriage , as to all elee , consists in tho men being mode to provide for tJiemeolvoe in all reppeots , and tho commanding oflkojr Hieing left to nj » l ^ e hie own rules mid arrangements
untrammelled by the forms and regulations of t * a regular # rmy . Thus , the regiment is rendered at « H times complete in itself , and independent of all otC departments , " WCT These views will not be any novelties to oar readers , who have' been prepared by the special letters of our own military correspondent writis * from Nagpore . Wo have also been the medium through which many of the now collected writing s of General Jacob were given to the public . It any r&te , the Jtinae is come when successful experience should he tried against unsuccessful experience m arranging the civil and military reoreaniza " ition of India .
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THU LAST 'MISCONCEPTION . ' Ax length it reay be positively stated that the paia ful misconceptions which have existed during the last few weeks between the French and British Cabinets have been happily brought to an end . That Lord Palmerston should have failed in rel uniting two great countries so generousl y jealous does not appear surprising , when we consider that Lord Malmesbury , a diplomatist of a far higher order , was unable to briug about that perfect reconciliation upon , which the interests of European civilization depend . At all events , the late dispute has now been , settled in a manner honourable to both nations , and , we will add , to the spirit and
sagacity of the high contracting parties . The representative of Great Britain must , upou . this occasion , be tjomplimented upon the explicit candour with which lie replied to a state paper issued from the Tuilerics , and history will certainly do Louis Napoleon the justice to say that his response to the appeal was worthy of his throne and character . There are occasions upou which it . is impossible not to set aside the weapons of polemical criticism , and to acknowledge heartily and fraukly the services of those statesmen who , whether upon a throne or in a humbler situation , have probably preserved the peace of Europe , and , to quote a late Prime Minister , rolled back the tide of
war for the next fifty years . As the official correspondence is not yet before us , it would be premature to pronounce conclusively upon it ; but we are in a position , we think , to disclose the general tenor of the negotiations . The Emperor Louis Napoleoa had , by proxy , accused Mr . William Carpenter , subeditor of a weekly contemporary , of acting as the paid chairman of the Discussion Forum , which , be it known to all by these presents , is held at the Green Dragon , Elect-street , and of presiding over % meeting which discussed the right of regicide Unlike Lord Palmerston , Mr . William Carpenter promptly replied to this manifesto , aud observing
the limits of diplomatic courtesy , described himself as a voluntary chairman , vindicated the legislators of the Forum against the aspersions of a foreign despot , pointed to the rank and opulence of the politicians with whom he had the honour to aof , ana signified iu a manner that was no doubt intelli g ible at tho Tuileries , that , let the four quarters ol the world rise iu arms , Fleet-street would preserve its Mldependence , the Forum its dignity , and Mr . William Carpenter the chair in which he sits , an uusalanca Speaker , a Lord Chancellor without the base hope oi a retiring pension , his only prospect of reward being that tho fumes of many a pipe as yet unsmoked wiU ,
in winter nights to como , embrown the portrait ol one who . bcsides beingPresident of the Discussion I orum , has brought Louis Napoleon to a proper sense ot bit own positionand the undoubted rights of Englishmen . The Imperial reply—not am autograph but a olcnqm communication—signified that Franco had misunderstood Mr . Carpenter ; that his Imperial Majesty was satisfied with Mr . Carpenter ' s cluoKWr tion ; that Prance and his Imperial Majesty joiuuy apologized to Mr . Carpenter . Now , hud J-tora Pivlmerston acted as Mr . Carpenter noted , he niim * to this day have boon Prime Minister ot Enguuw-But ho loft tho honour of tho country to Up
vindicated by William Carpontor , JUsq ., »* Dragon , ITloet-stroot . As an experienced » latoamanrho-shouW-h ave-kiio \ vn 4 littt-whon . onq 4 i « llti ?« i __ louder overbalances himself another is invurmwy ready to vault into his place . But it is use loss w regret the past . Wo havp had several wooks ol u 1-noocsaary misconceptions , and now that tho uvt of Monmouth has been saluted by tho river oi Macodoii , and Aloxandcr tho Conqueror oxehuugca greetings with Alexander the Coppersmith , wo » ' » J confidently trust that no question is likely soon 10 uriso to ' disturb tho alUauoo of two povoriuj empires .
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m& T ? H E Ii P A P IE R , ftfo , 418 , Marcb 27 , 18581
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 27, 1858, page 302, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2236/page/14/
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