The Press. — London, England, 1855-09-22 00:00:00

SEPT. 22, 1855. but a stronger plea for kindly usage ; for who can have more claim on our sympathies than those who are powerless of themselves to enforce their claims for redress ? But all who are acquainted with India must know how fallacious is the supposition that the natives are people of the imbecile and passive cha racter which is thus ascribed to them. As regards natives of rank, there are some of them, no doubt, who are little better than slaves to their pleasures ; but this happens not rarely with men of rank and opulence in every country. The greater number of them, however, pass their time in reading or being read to, in field sports, in the management of their estates, and In the private circle of their families, pretty much as is done by men of similar position throughout Europe. In point of natural talent they are inferior to none, and the deficiency of education ascribed to them is rather apparent than real. They know little, for instance, of the languages or the literature of Europe, but probably as much as is known of the languages and literature of Asia by the greater part of our nobility at home. There are more Indian gentlemen, in proportion, who are familiar with Persian than there are English who are masters of Italian; there aro as many who can read the Koran and the works of the commentators on it in Arabic as there are English who can peruse with facility the Testament and Chrysostom in the original Greek ; and Sanscrit is more generally under stood by the Hindoo priesthood than Hebrew is by the clergy of our own Church. To be sure, among the best educated of the natives of India, where their education has been wholly of the native description, one hears occasionally most absurd mistakes regarding the history and geography of Europe, but how often does one hear equally absurd mistakes from men highly educated in England regard ing the history and geography of our Eastern empire? Such natives know nothing of FIALLAM, but they have FERMATA, and a dozen other Mahomedan historians, at their fingers' ends. And how many Englishmen apart from those who have served in India know anything whatever of FERMATA'S history ? While such is the state of education among them, their capacity for learning is boundless. Under great disadvantages, a Hindoo, Dr. Cnucxxasurry, took the second prize at the first competitive examination for, assistant surgeons; and we have heard it made an objection to the competitive examination for Indian Civil servants that before ten years are over the great majority of the appointments will be carried off by Hindoos. Their mer cantile enterprise and talent may be estimated by the fact that there are probably more mer cantile millionaires at the Presidencies of India than there are in London ; while as to administrative talent there is no one who has held office in any country who does not know how much of the real work is done by the per manent establishments—and the whole of the permanent establishments in India are natives of the country. The real auditors, paymasters, commissaries, collectors, commissioners, and judges of India are thus for the most part natives. They it is who, like the Armenians in Turkey, for the most part do the duties of the offices for which their superiors of the ruling race are so highly paid. Not few are the magistrates and judges in India who take their decisions from their heristadars as im plicitly as a City alderman takes his from the clerk. If any one, in short, imagines that the natives are a set of imbeciles, let him ask the opinion of that fine old veteran Lord GOUGH. He will tell who it was that pulled him so admirably through the Chillianwallah campaign, the English Commissary-General, or the native commissariat contractor, Leila JOTEE PERSAUD. On the other hand, they who think that the natives are deficient in spirit have only to look at our Indian army, which is composed of the same classes precisely as those towards whom the practice of torture has been so rife. But, because this has been borne with apparent patience, it is an error to suppose that it is unresented in spirit, or forgotten. The Asiatic, like the animals that inhabit his forests, bears patiently the evils which he feels himself powerless to prevent; but it is only to show himself the more vindictive whenever he THE PRESS. thinks that the moment for retaliation has arrived. Even in our own country we see how much will be quietly put up with in obedience to authority by men of nations not wanting in the highest courage and of the most fiery spirit. In some of the Highland and Irish clearings scenes have occurred of the most hat rowing description; and in the poorer parts of London such scenes may be daily witnessed by any one who seeks for them. Yet neither Briton nor Irishman is held de ficient in manly feeling because he bows submissively to circumstances beyond his power to control. The Seiks—the bravest nation in Asia, and than which there is not a braver perhaps in Europe—long bore the oppressions of the Mahomedans who then ruled the land. They equally oppressed the Mahomedans when their own turn of supremacy came, and the Mahomedans, consisting for the most part of Affghans and other equally war like tribes, patiently submitted to the op pression. The Mahrattas, the cultivators of Central Western India, for years submissive under the tyranny of the Moguls, at last rose up against it, and showed that for mili tary daring to them there were no men in the world superior. Rajpoots and Rohillas have equally had their day of triumph and humi liation ; so have the Mahomedans of Mysore, and various other races once famous in arms, but now sullenly submissive to our rule. The whole history of India for centuries has been one continued tale of war, conquest, and successful rebellion against successive Thrones. Yet there are some among us, and those high in power, who dream that because we have conquered the country, we have therefore changed the very nature of the people, and that they who have ever revolted against other yokes which galled them will for ever bear submissively our own. From an exag gerated sense of their own security and the helplessness of those they governed, such persons would rule India without the slightest regard to the feelings of the natives. For our parts, if the case were so, we should deem such powerlessness to be an additional claim for kindly and equitable treatment at our hands ; but in this instance, as in all others, the dictates of honour and those of interest are the same. It will not less redound to our profit than to our glory to show ourselves the enlightened benefactors, instead of continuing to be the sordid and grasping tax-gatherers of the noble and magnificent empire of Hindostan. WHAT WILL LORD JOHN DO ? WE are not amongst those who believe that Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S career is entirely at an end. In nothing is Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S public life more remarkable than in its sin gular vicissitudes. For many years he was neglected in the House of Commons and thought to be a failure. The Reform Bill then wafted him into a sudden prosperity, and the deficiencies of Lord ALTHORPE as a Parlia mentary speaker brought out into strong relief the trenchant tongue of Lord JOHN, who finally led the Melbourne Whigs in the Lower House, and showed to Sir ROBERT PEEL that he had egregiously miscalculated the nature of his abilities. We shall not here discuss the character of Lord JOHN RUSSELL. It involves many seem ing contradictions, and is often misunder stood by his friends and by his enemies. But we are desirous of pointing attention to the unlikelihood of a man with his name and lineage, and the personal influence at his back, consenting to be ignominiously thrust aside by the apostate Tory who joined the Whigs only when they were coming into fashion. In domestic politics Lord JOHN has strong con victions, and though he has vacillated in his mode of showing his love of Protestantism, his Lordship has still considerable floating popu larity amongst the Dissenters, who dislike the conventional tone of the Premier. Besides, there is one consideration which must urge Lord JOHN RUSSELL to make an other effort to regain his lost position. A man 895 who has played so conspicuous a part before the world could never consent to degradation in the British Senate. His past services to the Liberals are far beyond those of Lord PAL MERSTON, and with all his faults Lord JOHN retains that love for his party which in better days was a characteristic of some of our noblest political natures. We take it as beyond all doubt that Lord JOHN RUSSELL will adopt any policy rather than that of tameness and inaction. Then the question remains, " What will " Lord JOHN do ?" In the northern part of the island (where Lord JOHN has many friends and connections), they are already beginning to discuss that subject. A well-informed Scotch journal has recorded certain rumours about a new coalition between Lord JOHN RUSSELL, Sir JAMES GRAHAM, Mr. COBDEN, Mr. BRIGHT, and other politicians. We care not to inquire whether these reports are founded in fact, but we feel assured that Lord JOHN will be forced to " do something," unless he desires to confess himself vanquished by the present accidental chief of the Whig Cabinet. But that " something" may not bo very pa latable to Lord PALMERSTON'S clique. What ever becomes of " peace in Europe," Lord PALMERSTON will have to try and patch up a peace with Woburn. In the present state of politics, to accomplish the latter object is an exploit beyond the Viscount's power. The future fame of Lord JOHN RUSSELL is deeply involved ; and we do not think that he is so degenerate as to succumb before Lord PAL. MERSTON, without a bold struggle worthy of his talents and of his former fame. EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS AT THE COURT OF SEWERS. Ax extraordinary scene took place last Tuesday at the Court of Sewers. On the motion of Mr. F. 0. WARD that the calculations of the Engineer-in-Chief as to the dimensions of the great intercepting tunnels should be printed, the Chairman, by a discreditable exercise of his casting vote, overruled the wish of the majority of Commissioners, and secured for the present the suppression of the Report—a document the publication of which is obviously essential for the due elucidation of the great questions in debate. It is altogether an un-English proceeding to refuse publicity to any document relating to the expendi ture of several millions of money, and bearing on questions of the highest importance to public health. On this occasion such a course was doubly to be de precated, as the accuracy, and even the good faith, of the Report had been impugned in the course of the debate, and as, if we are rightly informed, its publication had been recommended by a largo ma• jority of the previous committee. Mr. F. 0. WARD has been long before the public as the champion of tubular drainage, sewage irriga tion, and other sanitary innovations, of which the engineer of the Commission, who enjoys the protec tion of the Chairman, is also the recognised opponent. Under such circumstances, that fair play usually ob served in the debates of Englishmen, and which may be regarded as the " good taste" of public men, should have commanded the freest publicity for documents on both sides of the question. We are happy, however, to observe that the pro ceeding of the Chairman is likely to prove as futile as it was certainly ill-advised, a notice of motion having immediately been handed in by Mr. THWAITR3 to secure the reconsideration of the subject in a fuller court next week, when the majority, for a moment defeated, will have an opportunity of re asserting its rights. We are not aware whether the engineer whose calculations were called in question by Mr. WARD was himself desirous of shrinking from public scru tiny ; but it. is evident that his professional reputa tion would suffer more from such a course than from any result which could attend the free discussion of his views. Whether the sewage of London should, as Mr. BAZELGETTE recommends, be conveyed at enormous cost to Barking Reach, and there discharged into the Thames, or whether, as Mr. WARD and his friends maintain, it can be economically employed for the fertilisation of the soil, so as to produce a municipal revenue, is a quet tion fairly open to dis cussion; but the interests involved in that question are too vast to admit of its being made the subject of mere party warfare, especially of a warfare carried on by means so ignoble as the manoeuvres of a snatched majority, and the suppression of an o ffi cial return.