The Press. — London, England, 1858-02-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS, FEBRUARY 13, 1858. 154 troversy which should put the friends of religion on their guard. Lord J. RUSSELL denied that the existing machi nery for inquiry was sufficient. The official inspec tors of schools were already overburdened with work, and had besides no authority to pursue investigations into any other than the establishments under the supervision of the Privy Council on Education. In these schools there wero about 530,000 scholars, while the whole number of children receiving educa tion in various ways was more than two millions, and at least three millions more were growing up in ignorance. There was, therefore, much to be learnt and much to be done, and he was persuaded that the proposed inquiry by a royal commission would prove highly useful in collecting facts and preparing the way for legislation. Sir J. PAKINGTON, in his reply, proposed to omit the words in his resolution, " whether the present system is or is not sufficient for its object." Mr. COWPER assented to the motion in that form. Mr. HADFIELD having withdrawn his amendment, the house divided upon she original motion as amended by Sir J. Pakington, which waa carried by 110 to 49. _ _ _ On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE QUER, the committee on savings-banks was nomi nated. Sir J. TRELAWNY obtained leave to bring in a bill for the abolition of church rates. Lady Havelock and Sir Henry Havelock's Annuities Bill was read a third time and passed. The house adjourned at five minutes before one o'clock. NOTICES OF MOTION. TUESDAY. Mr. GREER—that on an early day he should move that a com mittee be appointed to inquire into the nature, ongin, and extent of the tenant right custom in Ireland. Mr. CAlRO—that on that day fortnight he should move for leave to bring in a bill to provide for the cullectiou of agricul tural statistics in England and Wales. Lord Besx—that on an early day he should move for leave to loiroduce a bill to legalise marriage with a deceased wife's sister. Mr. when the Navy Estimates came under consideration, he should move that a sufficient additional sum be voted to her Majesty, the amount of which he should be pre pared to state at the time, in order that the wages of the ill-paid dockyard labourers might be increased. THURSDAY. Lord ERURY—that on an early day after Easter he should move an address to the Queen for the appointmtut of a royal commission of learned and discreet persons to consider the liturgy and services of the Established Church. THE WIVES AND FAMILIES OF OUR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. THE distress which prevails among the wives and families of oar 40,000 soldiers now on foreign ser vice has attracted the attention and enlisted the sympathies of certain actively benevolent persons. A public meeting was called on Wednesday at Willis's-rooms, when his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge presided, and addressed a crowded audience with effect. Alluding to the condition of the married soldier, the duke spoke against matri mony in the army : I am persuaded that a more unfortunate thing for the service could not happen than to encourage the marriage of soldiers ; and for this simple reason, that a soldier taken individually is a man well to do in his class of life, whereas a married soldier has unquestionably to struggle hard to gain his daily bread, and not his own bread only, but the bread of those who are dependent on him. In fact, a married soldier and his wife and children are placed in such a painful and unfortunate position that I am satisfied that those who consider the subject, whether military men or civilians, can arrive at but one conclu sion with respect to it. His Royal Highness then described the objects to be attained by the institute proposed to be estab lished as being to encourage the honest and hard working, to obtain employment for such as are in a position to work for their living, and to send the children of the association to school. Lord SHAFTESBURY moved the first resolution, which was seconded by Sir J. PAKINGTON, who alluded in the course of his speech to the charges brought against the Patriotic Fund committee : Nothing could be more base and unworthy than to pro stitute a great and noble charity to purposes of religious proselytism. Of the thousands who had fought and bled by the side of his Royal Highness in the bard-fought fields of the Crimea, no small proportion consisted of Roman Catholics from the sister country. Of that large army which had gone to India, a large proportion again con aisted of Roman Catholics, and God forbid that in re lieving their wives and families, and when acting in the sacred name of charity, they should ever be influenced by such unworthy considerations. The imputation might indeed be raised against them, but, at all events, they would not deserve it. Various other resolutions were proposed, a com mittee appointed, and a subscription-list opened before the proceedings terminated. strain of this unnatural war—so fierce the work do. Your readers will also remember how Sir Colin ) advancing from Allahabad and concentrating hi s force at Alumbagh, prepared to baffle the horde of murderers that were hanging about the Residency of Lucknow. He reached the suburbs of the cit . ) , —a place of narrow, dark, tortuous lanes—and, taking his point d'appui, began fighting for the Resi dency. A line of strong posts, needing only occupa tion, stretched between him and its walls, and these were won and garrisoned in rapid succession. Th e last of them, " Banks'-house," as it was called, com pleted the line, and " rested," in military phrase, upon the Residency. This done, a furious can nonade was opened upon that part of the enemy's position which expected attack from us, and at mid night the garrison was silently withdrawn under cover of this feint. Each exterior line of the rescued retired through its covering picket, and Sir Cohn waited " to crush the enemy," had the plot been detected by him and opposed. Sir James Outram, Sir Henry Havelock, and Sir Colin Campbell met at last on that dark November night, and the sepuy wolves were baulked of their bloody feast. Of course, before so perfect a plan could be carried out, much hard fighting was to be done. At the storming of the Secunderabagh, in which Sir Colin established his position, feats of arms were wrought that deserve a Froissart for narrator. Our blue-jackets and big guns, under Captain Peel, came into fine work here. That gallant gentleman, dissatisfied with the work his little pets were doing, carried them with a cheer right under the walls of fort, and at fifty yards' distance blew defence and defenders to the winds. " Never," says the commander-in-chief, " had 1 seen anything like that in war;" and he adds, with a licensed waggery, " the captain took up his position as though he had been laying the Shannon yard arm and yardarm alongside a frigate." And when the gates were breached, and the dark entrance open, our men poured in like a torrent. The long covered corridor was piled and filled with bodies, behind and upon which the fresh-corners fought in blood and smoke and twilight till English rage and English steel settled it, and the frantio defenders of that desperate passage ebbed out at its inner end. Then began, too, a stern work. No quarter given or asked, but all of those steaming heaps that had lire to lose were dragged forth and silently and swiftly passed into their punishment. By such men and in such a conflict Lucknow was regained. Leaving Sir James Outram at Alumbagh, where he still overawes the subjected city with some .1,000 men, Sir Colin Campbell passed on to Cawnpore. His train of ladies, children, sick and wounded, ex tended on the dusty road for six long miles, and these were all to be guarded and Cawnpore quickly reached, where his presence and aid were indispensable. The Gwalior Contingent, which had long hung about General Windham's camp there, had at last tempted him out into the field, but it seems clear that the general was deceived or had bad information, for he met, and gained some success in his meeting, with what was clearly only the advanced guard of the rebel contingent. This took place about eight miles frum the city, to which with two captured guns the general retreated. This was the 26th. On the 27tli the united insurgent army drew near, attacked and drove in our force, who were obliged to abandon bag and baggage and find safety in the intrenchnieuts. On the 2rtth the enemy held Cawnpore, looting the camp, and, among other bitter insults, hanging up on our own gibbet poor Captain Mackinnon, who had by a sad mischance fallen into their hands. What would have come of this is more than most would like to say had Lucknow detained Sir Colin. But on the 29th the first dawn showed the com mander's white tents under the sandhills of Cawn pore, and after him, over the bridge of boats, and occasionally fired at, came his men and their convoy. The ladies and sick were either put in safety or despatched to Allahabad, and Sir Cohn again girt him for battle." On the 6th he opened a tremendous cannonade, a verticle and horizontal fire, before which the rebels gradually melted. On the 7th they abandoned ail they held in the town, and on the evening of that day, seven or eight miles outside it, got their last thrashing from the commander's column of pursuit. This in its totality has been Sir Colin's Christmas work. The details of the last success are not supplied e yet. But what I have given you will illustrate and xplain those authorities which I send you for the good news, and from them you will learn what littla else there is to interest your readers from Bombay and Madras. LORD CANNING'S INDIAN POLICY. A PARLIAMENTARY PAPER, published on Saturday morning last, gives a copy of the letter of Viscount Canning (in council), dated the 11th of December, 1557 ( No. 144), in defence of his Indian policy, with sundry iuclosures. Lord Canning's letter of D. c. 11 enters into a detailed explanation of the measures taken for the punishment of those who have been INDIA. The following has been received from Cagliari direct : _ . _ ALEXANDRIA, Feb. 6. The Calcutta and China mails leave to-day, with dates from Calcutta, Jan. 9th ; Madras, 16th ; Ceylon, 19th ; Hong Kong, 30th December; Canton, 29th. A mail has also come from Bombay, with intelligence to the 13th of January. Dates from Cawnpore are to the 4th. Sir Colin Camp bell occupied Furruckabad on the 3rd of January, and was in communication with Colonel Seaton's column. On the 2nd the rebels had attacked the troops under the commander-in-chief, but they were repulsed after a severe skirmish, in which the enemy lost all their guns, seven or eight in number. In the evening of that day they evacuated Furruckabad, abandoning all their heavy artillery. Goruckpore was taken on the 6th of January by the Ghoorkas under Jung Bahadoor. The enemy, though strongly intrcnched, made a feeble resistance. Seven guns were taken and 200 men killed. Our loss was very trifling. General Outram's forces, 4,000 strong, continued safely posted at the Alumbagh. The peasantry were beginning to bring supplies into the camp. Brigadier Walpole occupied Etawah on the 29th of De cember. He proceeds to hlinpooree, and thence will join the commanderin•chief. The intelligence from India is generally of a cheering character. The direct roads between Delhi and Calcutta are now open. The Chittagong mutineers were attacked by the SyDiet Battalion near the frontier of Tipperah. The mutineers fled, but were pursued, and many overtaken and put to death. A bill has been introduced for uniting the Meerut end Delhi divisions to the Punjaub. The Lieutenant-Governorship is to be given to Sir John The Calcutta export markets, after undergoing some further depression, were again looking up. The import market was likewise firmer. Bank rates of interest were unaltered. Exchange, 2s. ld. to 2s. 2d. CHINA. BOMBARDMENT OF CANTON. The bombardment of Canton commenced at daylight on the 28th of December, and was continued during the whole of the day and night. The assault, in three divisions, two English and one French, was given at six o'clock on the morning of the 29th. Dough's Fort was taken at two o'clock, and blown up. The Chinese continued their fire from the houses, but the troops were restrained from entering the city. Exchange at Hong Kong 4s. 100. to 4s. 101 d. ; at Shanghai, on the 19th of December, 6s. trd. to 511. for credits. The prices of tea had undergone considerable decline, which had induced large settlements. Silk had declined ten taeli. MALTA, Feb. 9, Half-past eleven, Night. The aforegoing duplicate is to 'amid per Euxime. Nuthing new here. (From our own Correspondent.) POONAH, Jan. 6th. THE " well-graced actor" on the Indian stage at present is decidedly Sir Colin— the eyes of men Are idly bent on him that follows him and almost all present interest concentrates about the gallant commander-in-chief's marches and battles. And" a battle and a march" his tenure of office has been to him. No splendid succession of victories more pregnant in results or more fortunate iu issue ever entitled ancient or modern leader to his triumph. The extent and variety of his military operations, the perfect strategy of the retreat from Lucknow, the energetio and un resting advance upon Cawnpore—where, literally, " t he came, saw, and conquered "---the capture of two occupied cities, the relief of two beleaguered bands of Englishmen, entitle him as well as Fabius, I think, "ob cives servatos, oh urbes expugnatas, oh imperium renovatum " to all a soldier's praise. As it is possible that here in India we follow with closer attention the details of this second phase of the rebellion, I shall, in the absence of news from the sister presidencies, sketch out the course of Sir Colin's operations for the benefit of your readers. All of them know how, like the successive rise and fall of the mightiest. waves, leader after leader seemed to head the rescue, only afterwards to need it him self. Sir J. Lawrence is shut up in Lucknow, and Havelock marches to his succour. Havelock is pent up for men, and Sir J. Outram joins him. Together they relieve the exhausted prisoners —to become such themselves : so frightful has been the