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INDIA, AND _ INDIAN PROGRESS. ¦ ' . ?——
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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RECENT COURTS MARTIAL . Six courts-maitial recently assembled at Morar , Gwalior , for the trial of privates belonging to the 3 rd Bengal European regiment , chiefly for insubordinate and mutinous conduct . The men seem to show a degree of independence and hauteur in their bearing and conduct towards their superiors which must tend to subvert discipline in the regiment . Unfortunately , Lord Clyde seems to be rather leniently disposed towards these refractory soldiers , and in the majority of cases the sentence passed by the court has not been confirmed , the punishment appearing to the commander-in-chief to be much more severe than the offence demands .
It is to be hoped that the late events , so deeply affecting the interests of the army , will not be without their influence on the future welfare of the soldier . Much remains to be done in carrying out genuine ' army preform and hygiene , The Crimean war , with its glory and its havoc , laid bare and made intolerable many abuses and wants . The late military disturbances will , we trust , produce a similar result . In two instances the court sentence * the prisoners to suffer corporal punishment and imprisonment besides ; but the former has not been approved of by the commander-in-chief , and , of course , has not been carried out . Without in any way underrating
the importance of securing order and discip l ine , the punishment of fifty lashes , with imprisonment for seven years , in the case of John Dallas , charged with having made use of insolent language towards a . lance sergeant , his superior officer , by saying , " It is better for you to be off ; you have no business here ; " and with having escaped from confinement before he was set at liberty by proper authority , appears to be unduly severe . It is curious that , in their first sentence , the court sentenced the prisoner to penal servitude for four years . But the commander-in-chief , not concurring with the court , asked them to reconsider their decision , evidently thinking that they would reduce the original
service . And what did they do ? They increased the punishment by the addition of fifty lashes and three years' further imprisonment . The commander-in-chief has some sensible remarks on the revised sentence of the court : — " The original sentence was illegal—the punishment of penal servitude not being awardable under either of tlie Charges— and consequentl y the court was directed to reconsider its award ; and it was informed that this being an exceptional case , the restrictions usually in force as to the duration of the punishment might be considered relaxed . But the commanderin-chief never anticipated that the court would think of awarding imprisonment for the lengthened be held to
term of seven years , which in India may be nearly equivalent to a sentence of death . " The revised sentence was reduced to imprisonment for one year , and the remainder of it remitted . The other case , in wliich corporal punishment of fifty lashes on the bare back was awarded , Is that of private John Condon , who was charged with disobeying the lawful command of a sergeant , his superior officer , if by wilfully neglecting to answer his name when it ; was called out . " The sentence was not confirmed by the commander-in-chief , who , in consideration of the previous good character of the prisoner , reduced the term of the imprisonment to four months , and remitted the corporal punishment .
Of lato years tli . oro has been a change for the bettor in the system of punishment for military offences . At home corporal punishments have become so , rare that it is said in the IToot Guards only one instance lias occurred in every 1 , 000 men annually . The establishment of military prisons , to whioh offenders may bo sent from all parts of the country , has partly lod to this result . Not only has there been thisgreat reduction in the frequency , but a corresponding alteration has taken place in tho severity also . Even so late as 1838 tho number of lashes whioh might bo awarded by a general courtmartial was Unlimited , and , in 1825 , it is on record that one man was sentencod to 1 , 900 , of whioh ho
received 1 , 200 . ITrom 1882 to 1837 the maximum number of lashes Inflicted by the sentence of such courts became gradually reduced to 200 . After 1836 no higher number could bo inflicted i while a district court-martial was limited to 160 , and a regimental one to 100 . Since 1847 the maximum of this dosorlption of punishment has been limited to 50 lashes . All this has occurred , wo beliovo , without ; any relaxation of discipline in the army . It has often been said that flogging is a necessary
evil . Bruce , in his Institutions of Military Law , 1717 , gives what we doubt not was a true account of the composition of European armies in his day : — " If all infamous persons , and and such ashavecom-r mitted capital crimes , heretics , atheists , (!) and all dastardly and effeminate men , were weeded out of the army , it would soon be reduced to a pretty moderate number , the greater part of the-soldiery being men of so ignoble , disingenuous tempers , that they cannot be made obedient to the allurements of rewards ; nay , coercion being , generally speaking , the surest principle of all vulgar obedience . There is , therefore , " he grimty adds , " another part of military institutions fitted to such men ' s capacities , and these are the various punishments awarded to their crimes , which , as goads , may drive these brutish creatures , who will not be attracted . " .
We are now trying a more humane principle , and hope that it will be found more effectual irk ameliorating the condition of European soldiers than the barbarous practice of flogging . —Bombay Gazette .
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LATEST INDIAN INTELLIGENCE . The Bombay mail has arrived with intelligence to the 12 th October , the news being again of a warlike character . The expedition against the Waghurs , a piratical tribe who have thrown off their allegiance to the Guicowar , has been brought to a successful termination . The fort and island of Beyt were stormed on the 7 th inst . The expedition arrived off the island on the 3 rd inst . On the morning of the 4 th i says the Bombay Standard , two boats , armed , from Her Majesty ' s steamer Feroze , two from Her Majesty ' s steamer Zenobia , and one boat from Her Majesty ' s steamer the Victoria , the whole under the command of Lieutenant Chitty , of the 'Indian navy , were sent to cut off the boats belonging to the enemy .
On the 5 th the Feroze , the Zenobia , the Victoria the Clyde , and the Constance , opened fire on the fort , Avhich was continued all day . On the 6 th the troops landed under cover of the guns of the fleet at 2 p . m . The enemy made a stout resistance , and 60 to 80 of our men were killed or wounded . ' Our loss is 2 officers killed * ^ officers wounded , 13 men of the 28 th regiment killed and 33 wounded ; 9 men , of the 6 th Native Infantry killed , and 12 wounded . The names of the officers killed . are - ^ Lieutenant M'Kormick , 28 th Foot , and Ensign Willaume , 6 th ht down
Native Infantry . The Zenobia has broug the following wounded officers and men : —Captain Glasspoole , Lieutenant Grant , 33 men of Her Majesty ' s 58 th Regiment ; 10 men of the 6-th Native Infantry ; 2 men of the Marine Battalion . The outbreak , is more likely to have originated in the turbulence of the people than in the oppressions of the Cuicowar , if we are to judge from their history from remote time . The promontory to which Dwarka nnd Beyt belong has been distinguished in all time , under the name of Okhamundul ( bad district ) , for the thievish character of its people and the sterility
of its soil , . The Bill for Licensing Trades and Professions has been the most fruitful topic of discussion during the past fortnight . A meeting at Bombay , presided over by W . B . Tristram , Esq ., > vas a great success . The attendance was large—about a thousand—ami the opposition to the bill strong and unanimous . Two native gentlemen , Dr . Bhuu Daji , a Hindoo medical practitioner , and Byramjee Hormusjee Cam a , Esq ., a Parsee merchant , took part in this mooting ; but the movement on the part of the native community has been conducted independently , under the auspices of the Bombay Association- Two large meetings have beon held , one on the-8 th , and a At the formerall the
second on Sunday , the 9 th . , leading Hindoo , Parsee , and Mahomedan gentlemen assembled , tho proceedings being conducted In the Gnjcrati language . A committee was appointed to prepare a roport , to bo ' subinitted to a future inciting . The mooting on Sunday was called by Dr . Bhau Dtiji , whose invitation was responded to by some 800 native gentlemen , chiefly Hindoos . A memorial to Parliament was agreed upon . On the whole , the opposition to the bill lias been so hearty throughout India , that it is possible its passing may bo postponed until Mr . Wilson shall huvo the opportunity of giving his opinion on it . llao Ram Buksh , talookdar of Doondeah Knera ,
has been found guilty , and sentenced to bo hangod . lie is one of the many who treacherously betrayed unfortunate fugitives during- the rebellion . Those from Cawnporo , who sought sheltor upon his estate , were barbarously murdered by this monster , whoso namo will not be forgotton for ages . We have not henrd of his actual execution , but think it is hardly lllcoly that oven Lord Canning will pardon him , Kajah Jyolall Singh was also found guilty of abetting the murdor of Miss Jackson , Mrs . Green , and othors . He was convicted on the clearest and most conolualvo evidence'j hosts of witnesses deposed not only to his having beon tho primary mover in the niassaoro of our countrymen ana country wotnoti , but also to his having stood by and witnessed , if not uctually
superintended , the brutal proceedings . The execution was to take place at Luoknow on the 1 st inst ., at sunrise , on the spot where his victims were murdered . A small monument marks it . It will be a relief when we hear that the hangman has not been disappointed in disposing of these two friends . The case of Jyelall has excited as much interest in Oude a » did that of the Nawab of Furruckabad . The Nana is still , it is said , on the north bank of the Raptee , where its course from the hills flows westward . His followers , who have no money or supplies , plunder the inhabitants of the Deoghur Valley . A correspondent of the Zucknow HeralA writes from the frontier more specifically : —" The
Nana is now at Deoghur , and the Begum one march beyond it . It is reported the Ranee of Lahore is ia camp . The Begum has 200 rebel sepoys , and the Nana 500 , with one howitzer . He has also a small body of cavalry numbering 150 sabres , 40 elephants , 40 camels , and 12 palkees , in which his and Eala Rao s families are conveyed . He has just made arrangements for the issue of three quarters of a seer of coarse rice and one chittack of dhol . I am tola that a brigade of Ghoorkas from Khatmandhoo have arrived at Dhang , with a view to drive the insurgents from the hills . The rebels frequently cross the border and plunder' the inhabitants of Iurwaii Koosaha , where there is a company of sepoys belonging to one of the talookdars /'
Jung Bahadoor has at last , it is positively affirmed , ordered the Nana , Mummoo Khan , Beni Madho ? and the rest of the principal rebels , to quit the Uepaul territories , under pain of being forcibly ejected by his troops . This will be service equivalent to the tract of country which it is in the contemplation of Government to make over to Nepaul . The trumpery sum of " 56 , 000 rupees has been levied on Agra on account of plunder taken during the disturbances . Rewards are dealt out on a very different scale . The Terai , and the country lying between the Raptee
and the hills , are to be made over to NepauJ m requital of its services ! The boundary line is to be the same as that which existed previous to the Oude treaty of 1819 . This very tract , now to be made Over to a state that has grossly humbugged us , if it have not been actually treacherous , was valued by-us , when we made it over to Oudein 1816 , as worth a million sterling .- It includes some considerable villages , and largetracts of very fertile land . In it ,. moreover , is situated the Rajah of Buhampoor ' s estate ; so tliat , when the transfer is made , the rajah will become the double subject of both our government and that of Nepaul .
THE VICEROYS PROGRESS . A Calcutta letter says :, —The Governor-General leaves on the 10 th inst ., nnd is to hold a grand Durbar at I ^ ucknow on or about the 20 th , to which all the grandees in Oude have been invited . He then proceeds to Agra and Delhi , receiving en route native princes of all grades . The expense of the journey will be very great , the viceregal escort alone including 3 , 000 men . The camp will not number less than 20 , 000 persons , and the majority of them , lot the ' camp magistrate' do as he likes , will live at the expense of the peasantry . The total direct cost to the State is estimated at Rs . 100 , 000 a month , is tionable
and the utility of tho journey very ques . The native princes are so sensitive , and Englishmen , however carefully trained , so neglectful of the minvtia : of Oriental etiquette , that the interviews will probably create more irritation than confidence . Sir Charles Trevelyan » for examp le , the other day entertainod Azeem Jah , representative of tne Nabobs of the Carnatic . He has been refused the musnud , and Sir Charlos , on his entrance , witfc genuine kindliness advanced almost to the door to meet him . The prince is only entitled to two steps from the dais , and ho loft tliQ room confident that the extra steps implied his restoration to the family
privileges . THE NEW FINANCE MINISTER . m Mr . Wilson is expected in November , and has precise poition soems to have been settled hero Ketty definitely . In default of special instructions , ho will be left on all questions of pure finance , i . e . n nil matters of loans , accounts , and banking systems , quite independent . On matters of revenue ho will bo- simply a Member of Council-that is , while Lord Canning is hero , nothing at all . It w understood that his * first duty , is to " combine tho " of revenue and finance so long dissociated m India . " If that account is correct , ho has been lot to perform an impossible task , if only for tho simple reason that while financial alfairs are unifor the control of tho Government of India , revenue ' ™" erB ftr 0 < lecidod hy the flv ° L ° Qa G ° " vornmouts .
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Jai-anbbk Pomov . — A correspondent of tho \ J > aUy NamWrites :-We are again at Kannpwj , to { h e Bav of Yoddo , some seventeen miles below the capital , on tho southern bank , and designed by tho negotiators to bo tho port of the still secluded axrf tabooed metropolis , tho residence of the Tycoon , and ,
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NV > . 503 . Nov . 12 . 18594 THE LEADEB . 1247
India, And _ Indian Progress. ¦ ' . ?——
IIDIA / AND _ INDIAN PROGRESS . ¦ ' . ?——
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 12, 1859, page 1247, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2320/page/11/
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