The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-08 00:00:00

DECEMBER 8, 1855. was a reprehensible delay in not organising the Scotch and Irish Militia. The blame of that delay ought partly to rest on the head of Lord PALMERSTON, who was Home Secretary to the Coalition Cabinet. And the recollection of that neglect reminds us that our Prime Minister has never been eminent at organisation. He never excelled as a legislator, or as the manager of a party. Because he was for years a Secretary-at-War it was presumed that he would make a good War Minister. We are not aware of a solitary act in his life which showed that he had genius for military organisation. As far back as 1812, after I. ord PALMERSTON had been for three years Secretary-at-War, the Duke of Witruunie- TON complained of the way in which the Militia was managed. His Grace particularly referred to the erroneous system en which the Irish Militia, at that time the chief nursery for our army, was constructed. Writing to Col. TORRENS, then at the head of tho recruiting department, the Duke, with his unrivalled sagacity, observed, " You forget that in Ire " land the peasantry marry young, and soon have families. The militiaman, under your system, with his wife and children, %ill not " volunteer readily into the Line. You should " adopt a different economy, and increase the " bounty for those who enter the Line from the " There are many who think that the hint thus given by the Duke has not been suffi ciently acted upon. They see some regiments of Militia nearly one thousand strong, where volunteers into the Line have been com paratively scanty ; while in regiments only half that number the volunteers have been singularly numerous. The questions then ale raised—" Does our Militia system work " well ? Have we been too liberal in offering " bounties to enter the Militia, and too nig " gardly in giving premiums for enlistment ' in the Line ?" These questions raise views open to debate, and it is likely that they will be much dis cussed in Parliament. It is obvious that the primary formation of a militia must require different rules from the method applicable when a great military force has been organised. With a militia properly managed our army would have always an ample supply of recruits, but we have no high opinion of the capacity of our present rulers of the War office. We are sure that Lord ELLENBOROUGH would have managed the Militia better than Lord PAN MORE ; and much still remains to be done before a perfectly satisfactorily answer can be given to the question—" How is the Militia working ?" COMMERCIAL SCANDALS. " GET property, if you eanlhonestly; but if not, get it anywise," was the sarcastic advice of a satirical moralist in the declining days of the Roman empire. It is plain that our commer cial world iu general, and the railway interest in particular, are great readers of the most objectionable parts of HORACE. They read his satire with an ingenious simplicity that is quite charming, and they accept his moral in structions, and carry them out literally, with out any fear of the "Old Bailey" before their eyes. If SwtFr's " Advice to Servants" was followed in the same way, and interpreted liter ally, masters and mistresses would have a queer time of it. Coming after the conviction of STRAR‘N, PAUL and Co , and of HUNTER and GORDON, the dishonest bankrupts in the Hammersmith distillery, these new scandals about the Eastern Counties Railway are calculated to seriously di m i n i s h respect for the probity of the commercial community. " Smart" men appear to be at a premium here as in America. The love of gold is taintirg the country, and de veloping vices amongst it with fearful power. There was a time when the word of " an Eng lish merchant" was as his bond. but we fear that the gambling mania which has seized on " the City"has lowered the standard of morals once held universally by the traders of Eng land. PLIt is only right to remark that the tempta Lions to commit frauds increase in an accele- THE PRESS. rated ratio where "Company" is concerned. By a strange perversity of conscience, com mercial delinquents appear to feel no scruple in defrauding "Company," while they recoil from cheating single individuals. They calcu late on the chances of not being discovered, and they think that there is no disgrace unless they are found out. They know that detection is more immediate when dealing with indi viduals, than when there arc numerous partners. "In the multitude of counsellors " there is safety." "Yes," said old Doctor GREGORY, the eminent physician, "there is " safety to the counsellors themselves," and BENTHAM was not far wrong when he said, " To destroy responsibility—establish 'Boards' as screens." IN The " Eastern Counties Railway Report " is indeed an extraordinary document. S a long since as the fifth of September last the Com mittee commenced their labours, and the result is in the form of a closely-printed volume of upwards of one hundred pages Upon the truth of the grave impeachments in that Report, we cannot now pronounce. While we write, a meeting is being held on the sub jest, and there is considerable excitement not only in " the City," but in the public at large. It could scarcely be otherwise after the alle gations that have been made in the Report. A catalogue of these charges is too lengthy for enumeration here, but nothing can be more serious than such accusations as these, viz., that sound materials were sold as " old stores " to certain parties, and afterwards boughtback at an enormous price as new stores ; that the Locomotive Superintendent of the railway (Mr. Gooex) had hitherto been paid by simply checking arithmetically the number of miles run out, without entering into the conditions of the agreement; that a dividend of 4s. 6d. had been made, though the Auditor (Mr REEVES) thought it too large ; and in general terms, as detailed by the same witness, there was no reliability in the accounts put forward by Mr. WADDINGTON and the rest of the Directors. Several instances were cited by the Auditor, showing bow the accounts had been " doctored." The manner in which certain doubtful sums were set down as positive assets, was quite extraordinary, according to that Gentleman's testimony. Large sums of money also had been advanced to various persons, on which no interest had been paid to the Company. In one case there was a sum of 30,0001. in this predicament, and nearly 10,0001. was paid in the purchase of an inn, which was charged amongst assets to the Company, while during the last half-year the account of revenue was debited with only 154/. on this account ! In one instance, a sum of 50,000/. was put down in pencil, and the Director was unable to procure the items which went to make up that sum ! The same Director (Mr. Baum) denounced the whole accounts as " incomplete,"—" perfectly un reliable," and " with some of the principal figures omitted " Scandalous charges these in a country which always piqued itself on its commercial honour. We have heard ad nauseum of aristocratic scandals. Let our straitlaced purists, our Pharisees of the platform, open their eyes and ears, and look to the frauds perpetrated among their own classes. The Lancet report described how our food was doctored by the ten pounders, but the large capitalists seem no better than the hucksters who retail drugged porter and adulterated bread. One of the greatest moralists of modern times, Doctor CHALMERS, was eloquently emphatic on the vicious morality of commercial communities Some have thought that his charges were made too broadly, but we are sorry to say that recent disclosures have shown that the imputa tions were not over-coloured. One thing is quite plain, that the commu nity would not be gainers by the affairs of the State being placed exclusively under the con trol of the mercantile body. There is jobbing and favoritism under the present official system; but the bribery would be flagrant, and the mercenary motives would be scandalous, if the public offices were placed under the managers of railways, and the speculators on 'Change. We commend these commercial scandals to the notice of the " Adminis trative Reformers." 1159 THE APPROACHING INDIA-HOUSE ELECTION. THE approaching election of Directors for the East India Company, in lieu of those going out by rotation, will take place, pursuant to Act of Parliament, on the second Wednesday of April next. This will be an important day in the annals of the Company, as deciding in all probability the question of its prolonged existence or its speedy fall. The Electors, as is doubtless known to our readers, consist of the holders of East India Stock to the extent of not less than a thousand pounds. And as this, at the present rate of selling, would indi cate a capital of two thousand three hundred pounds, the constituency as far as property is concerned is as respectable as it well could be. A glance, however, down the list of voters will show that there are few among them who possess any peculiar fitness for the task of electing the rulers of our Eastern empire. In fact, East India Stock is now purchased chiefly but for two reasons—the one as an investment more profitable than consols and almost equally secure, the other as a means of ob taining appointments for relatives and a share of the good things generally which the Coin• pany has to bestow. In former times the Proprietors took an active part in all Indian questions, and through their quarterly courts exercised a considerable control; bit in 1 latter days this action has almost entirely ceased, because the cause has ceased out of which it arose. In former times the amount of dividend was dependent on the success of the management; it is so no longer. Instead of an income fluctuating with the good or ill result of the year's proceedings, the Proprietors have now guaranteed to them ten and a half per cent. on their Stock, whether there be a surplus in the revenue of India or a great deficiency. It has of course become a matter of total indifference to them how grossly the government is mismanaged, or how lavishly its revenue misapplied. No surer plan could have been imented for inducing the Proprie tors to abdicate their duty of control over the Directors, and such in reality has been the effect. At the passing of the last Act for the govern- ment of India, Lord ELLENBOROUGH brought this state of things forcibly before the notice of the Legislature, and proposed a remedy fur the evils which he pointed out. His object was, by enlarging the constituency, and bringing a greater amount of Indian weight and talent into it, to give a really practical character to its proceedings, in substitution for the purely passive one which it then possessed. He was overbnrne however by the Ministry, and his efforts on this point were without avail The mischievous tendency of the system was not denied, but it was said that the good sense of the Proprietary would be sufficient to insure its own reform. The body was in consequence allowed to remain unchanged, and the April election will determine the result. That will decide whether the Proprietors purpose still continuing passive spectators of Indian misrule, or whether they are determined to take that active part in controlling their Directors which i their position as electors so clearly marks out. It will prove, in short, whether they are pre pared to exercise or to abdicate the functions which the Constitution has for use, and not for show, committed to their hands. It must be clear that if the old system is to be continued, if Directors going out by rota tion are to be certain of their re-election, whether they have a dministered the affairs of the Company well or ill, then the whole plan of election for a term of years only will b• vitiated, and the Directors will bo as free from all check or control, whether by the public or their constituency, as if they had been nominated for life in the first instance. To make the Constitution designed by the Legislature for the Indian Government work properly, the Proprietors must tit to t I) their duty ; just as in our oa n Constion the county and borough electors have to do theirs. At each successive election of Directors the Proprietors must carefully review the con duct of their representatives during the period that has expired, and, removing the useless or i 1