The Press. — London, England, 1858-02-20 00:00:00

I THE PRESS, FEBRUARY 20, 1858. se jeopardised by official imbecility and Ministerial cor ruption. The lion. baronet was loudly cheered on resuming bis seat. Lord J. Russ/tax, arguing in favour of immediate legislation, on the ground that we had legislated on the Catholic question while Ireland was on the verge of a civil war, for parliamentary reform when the whole country was bursting with tumult, and for the corn laws when the public mind was far from ten tlni!, could not consent to leave this matter in doubt for another year. Whatever might be the perils of dealing with this great subjert, he saw no alternative but to look it in the face, and to come to a solution of as large a question as ever came before that house --What was the system of Government that would best secure the welfare of a great empire, and the •lippiness of millions of people ? He trusted they wooed do that duty well; he was sure they could not avoid it. The late mutiny had necessitated great changes. The native army could not be restored, and India must be garrisoned by a large force of British troops, consisting of Queen's regiments. The military power would then belong to the Crown, and the political power should go with it. Contending that the transfer of authority from the Company to the Crown was inevitable, the noble lord indicated some particulars in which he desired to see the pre sent bill amended. He wished to secure the inde pendence of the proposed council, to pres2rve the Indian service unvitiated by favouritism or corrupt patronage, and to rescue the important questions of Indian policy from the contests of party in that house. Mr. DISRAELI was surprised that Lord John Russell, with so full an acquaintance with this subject, and so profound a conviction of this immi nent peril, had not in 1453 thought fit to call the attention of his colleagues to so serious a state of affairs. Nor did he feel that the noble lord was par ticularly happy in the argument he urged and the illustration he offered to show that this is the time for legislation respecting India, for last year no one was so strong, he might even say so violent, as the noble lord, in impressing upon the house that until the insurrection was completely put down it was idle to investigate its causes, and that all the energy of the country ought to be devoted to its suppression. He (Nlr. Disraeli) had long been of opinion that it was a matter of high policy the relations between the Sovereign of these realms and the inhabitants of India should be drawn more near and rendered more direct; but turning his attention to the measure of the Premier, he felt convinced that its effect would be quite the contrary. He wished the house, before it came to a vote upon the question before them, to consider how the bill would operate financially. There was a bill already on the table for raising money for the service of India, and it was idle to talk of a difference between English and Indian finance. It was idle to say that the payments would be made from the Indian revenue; but the credit of England was at stake it' the revenues of India did not meet the demands. Let them look at the finances of the two countries. A return before the house showed that there was a chronic deficit in India of about 2,000,0001., and they were to have in future 92,000 of her Majesty's troops in India, or 52,000 in excess of the established number. The estimated cost of this force would be about four or five millions, and deducting from this one moiety, the cost of the abolished Bengal army, and they had a deficit of at least four millions sterling. Had they in this country such a satisfactory state of finance as would justify the passing of this bill then? Why, he would not take seven millions to pay the deficit which the Chancellor of the Exchequer would intro duce in the course of a month. Under these cir cumstances, before undertaking any liability in regard to India, they ought to make themselves masters of the resources of India, of the means by which that revenue A raised, and the expenditure controlled, and unless they were prepared to do this, and to manage the resources carefully, all the effect of this bill would be that they would have to pay the ex penses of a distant Government over which they had no control, and the course of which would inevitably aggravate all those injurious consequences which it was imagined this act would terminate. What they wanted was a change in the administration in India itself; they wanted to put an end to the power which created deficits; they wanted to raise the revenue; and they wanted to modify the tenure of land, to bring native money into the cultivation of the soil. They were beginning at the wrong end. When they put an end to the mutiny, they should have sent out a royal commission, with full powers to provide remedies in the matters to which we had referred, and to reorganise the Indian army. If they agreed to the proposition of the Government, what would be its result ? When it was proposed in 1853 that one-third of the directors should be nominated by the Crown, he objected, on the ground that they would have no security for the independence of the council ;--- There seemed to be for independence and knowledge two qualities which were indispensable, no security but permanency. ( Hear.) That I thought a vital objection to the bill of and if it were a vital objection to that bill by which only one-third of the directors or councillors were j.o be Government nominees, what shall we say of a proposition according to which all the members of the council are to be nominees ? ( Hear.) How will this work? What will be the inevitable course, the influence which it will exercise upon the real government of India, and the fatal reaction which it will have upon the fortunes of this country? The Government nominees, according to the plan proposed by the Government, cannot be inde pendent. Far from independence, there is every element of dependence provided. ( Hear, hear.) We do not even see them in this house. They are secluded from the con stitutional criticism of Parliament. What will be the in fluence of the:nominees upon the President of the Council ? Why, sir, they will have that influence upon their superior which inferiors generally exercise: They will have no in. fluenco unless they pander to his interests—( Hear hear )—and none will be commended, none will be looked upon as assiduous and el.ergetic except those who are his assiduous supporters, and those who are active to accom plish the purposes of the Government. It requires no argument to prove that, so far as influence is concerned, they will sink into that insignificant position which is the inevitable lot of persons placed in such circumstances ; they will become completely the creatures of the Minister, who will be able to rid himself of them whenever he likes. A plausible Minister could get rid of his eight nominee councillors in twenty-four hours. But suppose that a Minister for India with eminent talents, great experience, and unrivalled energy is obtained, what will be his position ? With all the demands that will be made upon him, and these will be the greater in proportion to the brilliancy of his qualities and the energy of his mind, what 'ill be the position of this President of the Indian Council when he has to transact the business of twenty five nations in Hirt dostan ? (Hear, hear.) Why, sir, there is no intellect that will not sink perplexed and overwhelmed under the burden. ( Hear.) And what will be the consequences ? Everybody in this house must know. He will have to trust entirely to the Governor-General. (Hear.) It will be impossible for the English Minister to grapple with the details of Indian administration, snit what then will be the position of the Governor-General? You think you will have obtained Indian reform by this bill ; while, in point of fact, it never touches Indian administration on the other side of the ocean. The Governor-General may be an able and an ambitious wan, and he may be desirous, as most men are, that his name should be talked of and remembered. He will embark, perhaps, in conquests or in great works, and take care that his administration is brilliant and famous. The expenditure of India will in crease every year, because the Governor-General will depend upon the admirably-conceived and highly-gifted labours of the civil servants in India, and they will support and assist him so long as he supports and assists them, and so long as he depends on the revenue raised by the proconsular system which they uphold. They will sup port the Governor• General so long as he carries out the system of Government now established in India—s system which may have been admirably devised and admirably suited to the condition of ladle, hut which if adopted by this country will soon have such an effect on our finances that I believe it will not be a question whether we shall rule India, but whether we shall ruin the country. ( Hear, hear.) But is that all ? May we not have a Minister at home, who, though not able to grapple with the details of Indian administration, as no one man can, will be an able man, capable of taking general views, and who will not allow the Governor-General to pursue his csreer with out some notice being taken of it in a fine historical despatch, such as no one could write better than the noble lord the member for London? (A laugh.) How will the Governor-General, in such circumstances, manage a suspicious administration in London ? He will place at the disposal of the Minister the patronage of India. (Cheers.) Whenever there is one to be rewarded or got rid of in a moment of emergency, in such exigent circum stances the Government will know there is an all-powerful friend who will assist them in the person of the Governor- General of India. ( Hear, hear.) But when the Governor- General has favoured all your creatures ; when in hundreds of cases you are placed in difficult and dangerous circum stances, and his power and patronage have always been reedy to save you, can you call that Governor-General to account ? (Cheers.) Will lie not be the possessor of a supremacy of power such as I should be sorry to see any English subject command ? (Hear, hear.) The conse quence will be that, instead of a change which would draw nearer. the relations between the inhabitants of Hindostan and England, 3ou will have a law that will produce exclu sion and estrangement upon a great scale. (Hear, hear.) Instead of a law that will allow you to breathe a new spirit into our Indian administration, and elect wholesome and regenerating measures, you will have an abyss established between this metropolis and Calcutta that no man will ever be strong enough or bold enough to pass. (Cheers.) The financial question, he repeated, must be met, and how, be asked, were we, who found so much difficulty in adjusting our expenditure to our means, to provide for an enormous deficiency in India ? lie insisted That it was not time to legislate for India until we had a much more matured plan of legisla tion : Till w•e hare complete possession of the resources of India in India—till we have the means of avuilingourselves of its resources—dill we have taken the steps that arc necessary to increase those resources, and place them in a sound and healthy cordition, do not let us take a course which is not transferring the government of India from the Company to the Queen, but is only transferring the 177 patronage of the Company to the Government in Downing• street. Hitherto India had not been a subject of general interest in that house ; but for that then was a very simple and satisfactory reason—" Englishmen have never yet had to pay for India " : That is the secret why India has never produced any interest in this house. Questions of cowl/rest, questions of annexation, and even questions of rebellion, the greatest rebellion that has ever happened in this empire, last year hardly commanded attention because hon. gentlemen, full of confidence in the Ministry and in their good stars, went out into the lobby and said, Never the Company will have to pay for it." (A laugh.) Sir, I think that delusion is gone for ever. I don't think, after this bill shall have passed, that there is one among us who will fail to see that there is a complete identity between India and Englishmen. Of all the delusions ever practised in Parlia ment was that arrangement of P 4 .):3, which afforded the House of Commons an opportunity of hearing an India budget. (A laugh.) An Indian budget detailing the for tunes and progress of the emnire was a subject not likely t) contribute much to the edification of the house, and who could be surprised that the Minister could not com mand a house to listen to the lucid harrative ? ( A laugh.) But what I want to impress on the house is, that those days of Paradise are over. We may in future misgovern India, but in future we shall have to pay for it. ( Hear, hear.l We have been discussing these affairs for three or four nights, hut what hon. gentleman has descended from the high Empyrean of politics to touch on this vulgar point? De pend upon it, however, it will more and more develop itself until it acquires colossal proportions, and if you wish to take a prudent step and seize the opportunity of examining your position before incurring fresh responsibili ties, I recommend you to wait till yon have seen the budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer before involving your self in the Indian expenditure. (Cheers.) Lord PALMERSTON, in reply, observed that so far from the bill proposed establishing a complete identity between the finances of India an.l those of England, "it would, on the contrary, render the division between the two Exchequers more clear and more precise." In conclusion, he called upon the house to permit the introduction of the bill, and to "bestow their most serious attention upon its provisions, for the purpose of passing it in an effective shape." 111 r. NEWDEGATE endeavoured to be heard, but without success, and, the house having divided, the amendment was negatived by 318 to 173. Leave was then given to introduce the bill. The house adjourned at five minutes past one o'clock. NOTICES OF MOTION. SIONDAY. Mr. l'itincint --of his intention ; move on the following day for leave to bring in a bill providing for compensation to tenant farmers for improvements made by them upon their land during the time of their occupation thereof, and limiting the power of eviction in certain cases. . . . Mr. MACARTNEY—of his intention to move for leave to bring in a bill to make uniform the weights and measures iu Great Britain and Ireland. Sir H. WILLOUGHBT—of his intention, on the house resolving itself into a Committee of Supply, to call attention to the vote No. 10, from which it would be seen that a sum of 5161001. had been expended without the authority of that house. Mr. V‘ Y!..E —that it was his intention, on the Chancellor of the Exchequer moving for a select committee to inquire into the proposed sites for a national picture gallery, and into the plans for enlarging the British Museum, to move es all amendment that, a Royal commission having been tupointed at the request of the house, and having reported on the subject., any further inquiry la unnecessary. THURSDAY. Mr. ROEBUCK—that on that day fortnight he should call the attention of the house to the subject of the Viceroyalty of Ire. lend, in the words of his notice which st.. , od on the paper. Mr. PACKS—that on the motion for going into committee on the Church-Rates Abolition Bill, be should move that the house do go into committee on that day six months. Mr. WlSE—that on Thursday, March 4, he should move— " That this house is of opinion that the recummendaticu of the select committee of 18:.0 on official salares, to discontinue the salary of the Lord Privy Seal, and to transfer the duties of that Minister to some other department of the Government, should be carried Into effect." Mr. LIDDELL—that that day fortnight he should call a'tention to the subject of the delay in the con traction of railwaya in India, with a view to an inquiry into the causes of that delay. Lour) PALMERSTON received a deputation of noble men and gentlemen, representing the Orange Asso ciation, on Saturday last. The deputation waited upon Lord Palmerston for the purpose of presenting a memorial protest, signed by 2,700 of the leading peers, members of Parliament, magistrates, country gentlemen, and others, against the recent letter of the Chancellor of Ireland, recommending the Lord Lieu tenant of the County Down, directing him not to m. commend gentlemen to be justices of the peace who would not subscribe to a declaration that so long as they held the commission they would not connect themselves with Orange lodges. Lord Palmerston made a lengthened reply to the deputation, recom mending them to break up the Orange Association. He did not intimate the withdrawal of the Chan cellor's letter, but promised to give every considera tion to the protest presented to him. Stu DE:LACY EVANS'S SELECT CON lIITTEE, to inquire into the transport of troops and stores to India, met for the first time on Wednesday, End again yester day. Mr. P. Me?vile and Mr. Mason, secretaries to the Military and Marine Departments of the Easi India company, were examine) at length, ...