The Press. — London, England, 1853-05-28 00:00:00

~i ~, .:. ~"~•~ 96 the rising sun, and the cool air is refreshing after the heated supper-room. For the ten thousandth time the contrast between the calm beauty of nature, and the stir and noise of feverish passing life comes 11)1011 US, 111111 the heart is touched. But as we are passing down this narrow street leading from 3ennyn-street, what noise is that? Ha! there is a riot in yoader house, and the door is suddenly opened, and % oou,pl.e of fellows, looking like bandits in servank ti ' livery, kick out into the street, amid profuse imprecations, a cheating blackleg. Yes ! it is a gaminghouse. Ascend tit* stairs, walk into the second-floor chamber, and'isok /at the horrid scene. You .few fret. Amsterdam is a gamester, noted through Einvo ! Near him is an Irish veer, staking the rtmains of his rack rents. There is Lord EgremotA, who thinks the whole set around a pack of pickpockets, but still plays on ; that fine young -Ilan, with frenzy in his face, Hushed with *. ver i s h rage , i s Prince of Blood Royal—the: D u k e o f Y or k. Aakd there is Fitzpatrick, exhatisted in body, Mid , excited in mind—and, oh s hame ! there .is that Fox on whose burniiw, wo rds • the seetate lately hung enraptured ! lhere is that Fox • from whose lips we heard the cords of virtue, the precepts of the purest morality, and the fialltering accents of enthusiastle. philanthropy ! .see him now, half maddenetl with the avri :Nora filmes. See the gnawing misery in his Ofaggard features, and hear hint but no ! We cannot look on. The hero of our man. Our dream of a varnishes. We will not . gambler stagger home we found him last noon Ited. We Lave for the whining sentimentalist Alas ! poor human nature So euds our , of Fox." It will of itself llDill was, from first one his equal but ._ great in tellect. Darker :, but we have revealed ' reasons why, amidst the people of England, Fox lths, and Pitt counted , of years ! The personnel , fatal to his party and himself. .., summing - up upon the effects o f that exttraordinary man's career, and upon his place ia history, we will reserve for another paper. i India as it May Be. An Ontlint of ye Proposed Uovernment and Policy. By George Camp bell, Author of " Widen' India." ILondon : Murray. I.lAen renewal of the charter of the I:iast India Company has called into existence iimmerous plans for the future government of oiar Indian territories, and several of them havd not been without considerable merit. 'l'h present volume is, however, entitled to dile especial consideration of the student of the lindia ques tion, not only as coining from the; pen of an experienced civilian in the Compa4's service and an able writer, but because it 44 rumoured that the author, in many portions, of his pro posed scheme, has adopted the vi6ws of a very learned member of the House elf Peers. Ile this ns it may, the book is, filer se, a good hook, and is entitled to take its stand on its own merits ; and, however nu ch we may (Infer from Mr. Ciunpbell in some of his broader view* and many of his more minute details, we can conscientiously recommend it to our readers as indispensable to every one desirous of mastering the immense subject of India, and of 'suggesting or discussing pro posed measures of reform in the system of its government. Mr. Campbell, previously to the publication of the present work, gave to the world an admirable treatise on the whole system of the Indian civil goveniment.* " Modern India" was the necessary precursor of the present volume, and should be carefully perused before entering upon India as it May Be." It is written with great moderation, and though we find throughout the fond lean- 0 Modern India. A Sketch of the System of Civil lloverip merit. To which is prefixed some Account 44 the Natives and Native Institutions. By (iporgo Campbell, 1.1141., Bengal Civil Service. SW. Loutiou,lo32, Jam Murray.. idolatry %has fallen to a Ins philanthri )pic demigod vi wait to sec . the ruined to to the lodg ngs where NN on ; our feelin vs are revolt moment no pa 'once with a List who wouk cry, " Alu Ire!" our chronicle of " A Day itself explain wl such a i t 4) last, compt red by scarcely his 811 nior in ; trker tints might:4l)o used, red enough to show to ream , grave and decor ns is ?ox held office for town' cd his power by decad .s o tel of Charles F illi fox Wat thuself. But our judieia r IRE PRESS ing to the instuttions and practice of the North-Western Proii ikees , so conspicuous in all the civil servants of the Agra liovenunent, it is undoubtedly the umest résumé of the British-Indian system that :as yet appeared. It would be impossible to F. our readers un neeurate idea of the contents o f /twila as it May Be " within the limits at our younnhial. The volume comprises 4:18 pages of clos., reading ; every division of the subject is care fully entered into ; every detail is provided for ; it is like the " working drawing " of an arehitect, where everything is planned, mea sured, and calculated ; in fact, the work must be carefully read to be properly appreciated. We must, therefore, confine ourselves to a notice of the most salient points of Mr. Camp bell's Hellenic, trusting to be able to return at some future period to a nearer examination of its details. The author has divided his work into eight chapters. viz.— 1. Home Government. 2. Indian Government. 8. Our Political Rela tions. 4. The Civil Administration. 4. The Civil Service. 6. Military Establishments. 7. Finance. H. Mona and Material Impmve ment. At the present moment the first two chapters claim our chief attention, since the investigation of the parliamentary committees has been as yet confined to the first head under which they divided the important sub ject referred to them, viz.—" The authorities and agencies for administering the Govern ment of India at home and in India respec tively." The home Goventment, us at present constituted, meets with Mr. Campbell's almost unqualified disapproval. Not that he objects to the part taken by the Minister of the Crown, or by the Court of Directors, but to the baneful results of irresponsibility. "It is certain," says our author, " that in such unfortunate instances as Afghanistan and Seinde the directors have always held views which in the tind turned out to be just." The grand error of the present double Goventment is, not so much the despotic power possessed by the Crown Minister, although that might doubtless be limited with advantage, but the placing such power in the hands of one man who is independent and irresponsible, and almost always incompetent. The Afghan war, with its disastrous expenditure of blood and money, was, until the other day, the pro duction of an anonymous author. No one was responsible for it. Some laid it at the door in Cannon-row, whilst others persisted in attri buting it to the Court of Directors. It was not till Lord Broughton, who, whatever he may now know, was probably at the time un aware of the distinction between a Bengali and a Bauchi, stood boldly forward and said, " I did it," that the world knew that that folly, fault, and crime, unsurpassed in the annals of history, was the act of a single irresponsible minister whose sole Otani for excuse and par don must be that " he knew not what he did." Mr. Campbell's project for the home Govern ment is as follows :- 1. The title of the Court of Directors to he changed to that of "Senate of the Indies," the present twenty-four directors to he the first senators. The commercial constitution and rules of the Court to lie at the mune time altogether altered. 3. A minister of Indian affairs, holding office at the pleasure of the Crown, to be ex-officio president of the Senate, and chairman of the political committee. 4. To the next twelve vacancies, other than vacancies by rotation, notninati s shall lie DIA& as they occur by the Crown, in a efonsp; (refire, front among persons who have served the tiovernment in India for not less than ten ~.seer, who have filled certain superior offices (to be after wards partienlarimed) for not less than two years — who have lwen absent from India, or retired from the Kerviee, not mom than tell yeara—whose age lbws 1114 exceed sixty years—and who on retirement have titan declared to be emeriti either by the Senate or by the Intliant Supreme Government. The present Solid(' And eX4 iovernors- General to have the power of granting such certificates to persons already retired. The certificates to state that the Ireeipient has done remarkably good service to the state in a superior office, and is well fitted for farther important service. The existing Senate must accept Saud elect the person nominated by the Crown within one month, or the Crown must proceed to a fresh 1111 l nination. These senators to hold office fin life (subject to following provision), and future vacancies ill their 11111111 MT 10 he supplied Lv sintilnr 1111 l tinat• . To lie It able on address of 'Rouses of Patiianomt. A reasonable retiring pension to lie provided after long service, and senators to be pensioned on attaining the age of seventy years, unless Houses of Parliament address the Crown in their favour. rt. The remaining seats to be tilled by elect as at present (with the propesa addition of resident fuud- SATURDAY, holders to the constituency); the senators to hold office for the years, to go out by rotation, and to be immediately re eligible, provided that their age at time of re-election does not exceed seventy years. O. The Senate to elect among themselves six Com mittees, " " Home and General," " Finance," "Judicial,' " Military and Naval," and " Moral and Mate. rial Improvement," and every director to belong to at least tone committee ; also to elect a vice-president, who shall be ex-officio chairman of the home and general connuittec, and four chairmen of the remaining four com mittees (the president being ex-ottleio chairman of the Pditical ) ; all these offices to be held for five years, and the tiolders to be re-eligible. 7. 'The proceedings of the political committee to be, if the peesident consider it necessary, secret, and orders to be in that ease despatched and received without consult ing the getworsl Senate. In ease of difference of opinion, the president U. have the power of acting on his own respon sibility after receiving the opinion of the members ; but, if a majority of the •ttee protest, the president must obtain the concorrence and signature of the first Lord of the Treasury and two Seeretaties of State. N. All despatches received trout India to be referred to, and all measures to be first discussed in, the committees to whose department they belong. The committees to pre pare despatches or drafts of proposed resoluf , which drafts (being other than secret despatches) shall be ready • for the inspection of all senators the day before a general Senate is held. Committee% shall also prepare drafts ou such subjects as the president shall order. 9. A general Senate to be held weekly. Each chairman to produce the drafts which have been submitted fur inspec. tion the day before, and the said drafts to be accepted, rejected. tor remitted with instructions, with or without comment. Measures proposed in full Senate to be re ferred for report of committee. 10. The president may either assent at the time, or retain the draft for tone week for his consideration, and then may either assent, or veto in the name of the Crown, or may alter the draft for recorded reasons. If the Senate protest against alteration, the president must obtain the signatures of three ministers, as in rule 7. 11. Two to be a quorum of each committee, and eight of the general Senate. Senate to have power to regulate leave of absence, etc., of members, so that the quorum be made up ; and provided also that any member absent for more than half the year, or not attending regularly during the other half, is to have no pay or patronage for that year. Iu the exercise of all patronage, and in making all appointments, the president to have a power of veto as in everything else, but no power of substituting another name; and also to have no power of increasing or inserting grants of money. 13. Either the Crown or the Senate may at any time dismiss any servant at home or abroad; hut in case of dis missal of a Govenwr•tienend by the Senate without the sanction of the Crown, a concurrent vote of three-fourths of the whole number shall be necessary. 14. Each director to receive I►OlK. per annum, and a limited share of patronage to be subsequently proposed. Vice-president to have 1,500/., and chairmen of coin mittees l,►lool. The title of " Senate of the Indies" is rather fanciful, but there is much that is good in the general plan. As it seems to us, however, too much power is placed in the hands of the Crown ; the certificates—the election by the senators of the nominees of the Crown—would soon become matters of course, and the minis ter of the day would without difficulty secure such a preponderating influence in the Senate as might at any peculiar crisis outbalance the votes of its most experienced and unprejudiced members, and prove utterly destructive to our interests in India. Mr. Campbell objects strongly to the employment of persons who have not resided in India, but we think he is scarcely justified in saying that no man " who has never• breathed an Asiatic atmosphere can really comprehend Asiatic maners, Asiatic feelings, and Asiatic business." No doubt Mill erred egregiously when he put forward, amongst his qualifications for writing a history of India, the fact that he had never visited the country, and that he knew little or nothing of the native languaFes. Professor Wilson says, with his usual mildness, " His arguments are ingenious ; they will carry conviction but to few...* It is, however, equally certain that there are many Europeans who have never been in India, but who have attentively studied the languages, literature, and history of the East, and arc, perhaps, more competent to comprehend Asiatic manners, feelings, and fitets than two-thirds of the Company's Indian servants. With regard to Asiatic business, we believe it to be perfectly true that very few of the officials in Leadenhall street have ever been in India; but we also feel assured that in no establishment in the world is there so perfecta practical knowledge of eliminating. understanding, and collating the facts stated in the documents forwarded as is found to exist at the India-house. We can not object, however, to Mr. Campbell's sugges- • Mar* " llistury of vilitett by Wiloon. Preface, pageli. 1 40.+.0