The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-09 00:00:00

26 which has been brandished before Parliament for the last ten yea's, and which disturbs the consideration of other grave social and politi cal problems that await solution. That the Conservative body and the landed interest are treated unfairly by the present system, seems to have been admitted by the Cabinet of Lord ASIRDIEN. That Ministry was composed both of statesmen who had opposed and of those who had supported the Bill of 1832. They knew what had been done by the Grey Cabinet. By the Bill of 1832, one hundred and forty-twomembcrs had been with drawn from boroughs previously sending repre sentatives, and of those boroughs a vast number belonged to the Conservative connection. [Any reader who may desire to see the statistics on this special point, and on others in this impor tant subject, will find them most luminously arranged in Mr. NEWMARCH'S valuable essay, read before the "Statistical Society" in June, 1857.] What, then, did the Coalition Cabinet pro pose in 1854? By the scheme which was introduced in that year (and over whose with drawal Lord Jon% RUSSELL shed tears) it was suggested to withdraw 62 members from boroughs previously sending representatives— viz., 29 members from boroughs wholly to be disfranchised, and 33 members, by reducing from two members to one the representation of 33 boroughs ; and to these 62 seats were added the four vacant for Sudbury and St. Albans. Of these total 66 seats so obtained roaxv-sra were assigned by the scheme of 1854 to COUNTIES, and seventeen to boroughs ! That fact must not be forgotten ; and it is of great importance that its signifieduce should be clearly understood. The " Coalition" was no friend to the Conservative body ; and yet it pro posed that the number of members for the coun ties should be increased by forty-six seats. Could any testimony be stronger to what the late Mr. CROKER called "the uni-lateral character" of the measure of 1829? Even the Aberdeen- Russell Cabinet thought that something should be done to redress the balance between the two great parties in the country. So that when the Times of Thursday speaks of "further increasing the county franchise " and of " the watchfulness of party," and when the Queen's Speech lately announced a measure " for regulating the franchise," we are fully jus tified in directing the " vigilance " of the Con servative mind to the serious consideration that it may be quite possible for the Premier to introduce a measure which will diminish the Conservative influence in the counties, without giving them any equivalent advantages in the boroughs. Instead of adding " forty-six" members to the agricultural interest, the Pre mier's bill, aided by the dexterous manipula tion of the Reform Club, may have the effect of subtracting that number from the Con servative interest. When these points arc observed and learned, we do not think that any intelligent Conservative will say that all discussion of Reform is "premature. Nor would it be safe or wise to deride as " visionaries " the motley gathering of Radi cals who follow at the heels of Mr. BEaseLEy. Their scheme may be briefly designated as a sort of rose-water Chartism, but it would be shortsighted to scoff at the action of the oar ties who endorse it. Their body may yet be used by Mr. HATrxre as a corps of reserve, and while disclaiming their principles, that veteran fictionist may organise their influence, and teach them how to raise a cry for " the (Pal " merston) Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing "but the Bill." What happened in 1831 must not occur again. A Whig measure was pro pounded in the spring of that year, and the Radicals shouted fox• it with ulterior purposes; and it was only by strenuous efforts, and an immense expenditure of tune and energy, that the Conservatives defended the Constitution Let the Conservatives now recollect that by the working of the Bill of Lord GREYS Cabinet an ascendancy of two to one was organised in favour of Liberalism in the towns and boroughs ; that by the unforeseen and un calculated influence of Parliamentary changes a prodigious electoral superiority was given in Ireland to the Roman Catholic body ; that in Scotland " Reform" has been worked in a moat one-sided way ;that in the changes of 183'2 an immense number of seats was taken THE PRESS, JANUARY 9, 1858. from the Conservative body, as compared with those subtracted from the Liberals ; that the Conservative interest in large constituencies like those of Marylebone, Lambeth, and Fins bury has been practically swamped ; and, above all, let them not forget that the con sideration of these and similar results induced even the Coalition Ministry of 1854 to propose an addition of roams= seats for the counties of England. Conservatfves want nothing more than their representWve rights, and those they are determined to obtain. CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. THE late circular in the Punjaub of Mr. MONT. (MISERY regarding the employment of native Christians in the public service, we do not hesitate to confess, is not at all to our taste. It is clear that in penning it he had an eye to other parties than those subordinates whom he ostensibly addressed. And however much we may love Christianity, we do not admire claptrap, or like to see turned to platform uses a subject so sacred as this. We have, indeed, no fancy for spasmodic action, whether in the affairs of religion or of tho State ; nor can we see what occasion there was for any announoe- ment of the kind. Wa know of nothing in Indian laws, or Indian regulations, or Indian official practice, to give the slightest occasion for putting forth such a document at all. We are aware of no rule to prohibit the employ ment of native Christians in the public ser vice ; on the contrary, all the legislation of India tends the other way. Nor in practice are native Christians prevented from holding public offices where fit for them ; since there are many native Christians in the public ser vice in other parts of India, if not in the Pun jaub. That they should have been excluded from the public service there is, of course, a deep disgrace to the Commissioner, as the circular itself admits ; but we do not see how it can be held to be a disgrace to the func tionaries of other provinces where a different system has prevailed. The truth is, that the native Christians have obtained comparatively little promotion in India, not because they are Christians, but because they are for the most part a very poor and ignorant, and, We may add, too generally a degraded class. There have, to be sure, been some noble exceptions, but very few. Indeed, conversions must necessarily be rare among the better classes, con sidering that by it they are wholly cut off from their race, their families, and their friends. Nothing but great enlightenment and the highest moral courage could induce a man to face such difficulties for such an object ; added to an intensity of religious feeling such as is rarely met with even among ourselves. To expect to find all these exceptirnal quali ties unitel among the natives generally would be to expect a miracle, for which we have no right to look. We see, accordingly, that the great majority of native Christians are com posed of the descendants of the Nestorian settlers—of those who were forcibly converted by the Portuguese—or of the earlier European adventurers who adopted native habits and married native wives. Of mere converts there are very few; and these are not usually per sons who have been induced to profess Chris tianity out of any enlightened preference for its doctrines. They are mostly men too igno rant to know much either of the new religion they have adopted, or of the eld one they have left. This state of things is very sad, but it will not be improved by sending circulars to the missionaries, inviting them to elect converts for public employment in the Punjaub. This may serve as a forcing-pit for hypocrites; but it will do nothing else. What is wanted is the spread of Christianity on its merits, and not by such baits as these. They will attract only the dishonest among the people; and it is not the offscourings of India, but its intellect and integrity, that we must gain to our side. This can only be done by imbuing the upper and middle classes with our language and our literature, and so gradually changing the whole tone• of native thought. It 1 3 fir ' hat the native mind, now choke it, for Wre must do is an error to indoos as conversion language .d by the official lan• Their aeveral the vernacular , . was the language of the State. In that language all the public business was transacted, and iu that language all the records, whether civil or military, were kept. That language, therefore, every aspirant to public employment was compelled to learn, as were all above the mere peasantry who were in any way brought in contact with the Sovereign, or his viceroys, or his feudatories, or his officials in any shape. The consequence was that every village was filled with self supporting schools, where the favoured tongue was taught. Had we followed the same prin ciple it would have been the same with us; for at the Presidercies where the English is the language of the law courts and of commerce in its higher branches, there is no dearth of persons sufficiently versed in it, nor wou l .l there be in the Mofussil after a short tie,. English is not more difficult than Persian ; and what proved so effectual for the spreaoc.^i the one would prove equally effectual for the spread of the other if we had but the couri4e to make the plunge. When the study of English had thus beco4.c general, and the native mind had become fully impressed by means of it with English ideas, we should have no fear for the progress of Christianity : it would speedily supplant the Koran and the Hindoo plurality of gods. Even as it in, we find the instructed native ashamed of his religion, though he is prevented by the natural dread of isolation from the adoption of a purer creed. Let English, how ever, be everywhere introduced as the language of office, as Persian was by the Moguls, and the study of it begun as a task would be con tinued as a recreation, till the whole tone of thought among all classes of India but the very lowest was changed. Even the ideas of the lowest would gradually assume the same hue, on the principle of assimilation which we everywhere see. Thus at no distant period the universal mind of India would be prepared for the reception of the Gospel ; but thus only can the thorns be rooted out which now choke the seed there wherever it is sown. Thus only can that vast empire be turned into good ground, which brings forth fruit, the Scripture tells us, a hundredfold. LORD PAN MURE AND HIS FREE KIT. No one can have recently passed by the Horse Guards without noticing the enormous placards which, as a further inducement to the " few fine young men" who are " wanted to complete" the regiments in her Mtkjesty's ser vice, state in the most prominent manner that every man on enlistment will receive a bounty in cash of 21., with the addition of a " free kit." Until about three years ago the bounty was nominally much larger, but after the recruit had been attracted by the offer of 51. he found on joining his regiment that 3/. were deducted for the purchase of regimental necessaries. He felt that he had been inveigled under false pretences, and never got rid of the impression that he had been deliberately cheated. The result was, that not only did the man enter the service with a feeling of discontent, but that many others were deterred from enlisting by his representations of the injustice which had been done to him. When Lord Papuanßs became Minister for War one of his first steps was to abolish this system and to enact that every recruit should be paid the whole of his bounty in cash without any deductions, his regimental necessaries being supplied by the public. That the change was in itself most salutary cannot for a moment be doubted ; but thus that we must prepare the nati by uprooting the weeds that now clic the reception of Divine truths. We as the Mahomedans did. It is an suppose that they persecuted the Hi a rule. Their great instrument of cc was the introduction of their own and literature ; and this they effecte , simple process of making it the off guage throughout the land. Theis officers, of course, spoke the w fluently ; but Persian alone was the