The Sun. — London, England, 1825-03-24 00:00:00

EAST-INDIA HOUSE. A Quarterly General Court of the East India Company was tle 14 yesterday at their House in Leadenhall-street. W. ASTELL, Esq. M.P. took the Chair at twelve o'clock. The SECRETARY read the minutes of the proceedings of die last Court, and of the result of the ballot on the Hydrabad Papers. SUPERANNUATION LISTS. The CHAIRMAN then begged to call the attention of the -Court to a List of Superannuauons of the-Servants of the Corn aaay, made by the Court Of Directors since the last Quarterly 4; cnual Court of Proprietors. The SECRETARY was desired to read the list: when he read the head of it as a matter of form only. HUSIX begged that before the Chairman proceeded with titer business, the pope! might be read entirely, so as to show the names and the services of the persons to whom the super agniated allowances had been granted. She Curan accordingly read the paper, which contained only it.e mime of one individual, whose salary having been 1101. a -ear, it had been resolved by the Court of Directors, that at consideration of his long services, he should be placed on =he Superannuated List, and allowed two-thirds of his salary, Wing 73/. Mr. TaAwT said, it had often occurred w him, that such papers as these ought to be laid on the table in the adjoining room for the perusal of the Proprietors previously to their being called upon to vote upon them. The CHAIRMAN observed, that this course had never been considered necessary, and theref;re had never been adopted. Bea the Court was required by Act of Parliament to lay these - papers before the House of Commons; and according to a bye law of the Court, all papers whatever that were to be laid be fore Parliament were first of all to be laid before the Court of Proprietors : it was therefore necessary that this Court should have the present list submitted to it. Mr. H emE wished to be informed whether any regulation exi. , ted at the present moment to prevent aged persons from en tering the service of the Company ; for it appeared to him that If there were no such regulation, the consequence would often be that many persons would enter their service at a time of life that in a very few years they would become superanuated. The CHarattaw said that there was always in these cases at tention paid to the age of the individual, although there might he no particular regulation upon the subject. But the general rule was, not to take persons into the service of the Company beyond the age of thirty-five. The individual who had been placed on the superannuation list had served the Company faithfully 17 years, and he thought was an object deserving of the allowance proposed to be made to him. The Resolution was then agreed to. APPOINTMENT OF FIRST ASSISTANT TO THE SUR. VEYOR OF BUILDINGS. • - - The CHAIRMAN said, he had further to inform them that -this Court had been made Special for the purpose of laying before the Proprietors for their approbation, in conformity to the I7th section of the 6th chapter of the bye -laws, a resolution of the Court of Directors of the 26th January last, for the ap pointment of a person in the capacity of First Assistant in the office of the Surveyor of Buildings, at a salary of 3501. per annum, but his successor to be at a salary of 3001. per annum. All that he should.do, therefore, was to move—That the Court do approve of this Resolution of the Court of Directors, and of the appointment made by them. Jr. HUME was desirous of being informed who was the Surveyor of Buildings. It was quite evident that the individual who filled that appointment should be a person qualified by education, experience, and talent, to perform the duties of it. He, therefore, wished to know whether the person who had been named by the Court of Directors had been regularly bred to the business of a surveyor, so as to enable him to act effi ciently in his situation ? The CHAIRMAN said, the Hon. Member had wholly mis taken the object of the motion ; he was confounding the two offices of Surveyor and of First Assistant together. The person now appointed was the First Assistant to the Surveyor, and not the Surveyor himself. The Surveyor was a gentleman whose merits were well known to every body. He had built our College at Haileybury, which was considered by all who had seen it ILi the finest monument of his talent and genius. The gentleman whose appointment was now under consideration was formerly the Clerk of the Works, and in that capacity had shown himself a most useful and meritorious servant. Upon the retirement of Mr. Cockerell the Court of Directors thought it-fortunate to be able to appoint him on the ground of merit only. lie had no increase of emolument by the exchange, but owsty a few more privileges, which by his past services he was considered eminently entitled to. Mr. He ME did not object to the amount of salary ; he only wished to know whether this person was capable of affording that assistance which the Report of the Court of Directors said would be required of him. The CHAIRMAN said, the Court of Directors were quite sa tisfied of his ability to perform the duties of his situation. A PuormETOR asked, what was the salary of the Surveyor, and what were his duties, that it should be necessary for him to tiave a first and second assistant ? The CHAIRMAN said, the present salary of the Surveyor was 5001. a-year. The increase of his duties was very considerable. Ilan. Members need only look over the very great extent of the hoilding they were now in to satisfy themselves that the ap pointment of Assistant Surveyor was absolutely necessary. Criarnatasr then put the motion, that the Court do ap prove of the appointment, which was agreed to. PENSION TO SIR JOHN mALcor,m. The CHAIRMAN begged to inform the Proprietors that this Colin had been further made Special for the purpose of laying bstere them, for their approbation, a Resolution of the Court at' Directors of the sth of January last, granting to Major-Ge neral Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B. a pension of 1,0001. per ann. from Christmas last, in consideration of the eminent services, bqtli civil and military, which had been rendered by him dur *lie a long period of active service. He should content himself with moving—" That this Court do approve of the Resolution of the Court of Directors of the sth of January last." General THORNTON fully approved of this grant, and he -yes only sorry that, seeing the Gallant General in such a state of health and vigour, he was no longer in -the service. Mr. PATTi •oer begged to say a word or two in answer to the ebeervation which had just been made. When the Gallant Generel, whose meritorious services every person must acknow ledge, returned from India, great hope was entertained by the Court of Directors that that great officer would soon be again employed in some public capacity. He had the honour to be in the Chair on the occasion when the subject was discussed, as to sending out a mission to Persia; and at that time Sir John Malcolm evinced the greatest readiness to go upon that Mis iiioe ; but this appointment was opposed by the Colonial De partment, and therefore nothing was then done. When he left the Chair, it was upon the pledge, that if their present Hon. Chairman did not take the matter up, he (Mr. Pattison) should consider it his duty to pursue it; but the consideration of the 11edrahad papers put a stop to all other business; and pre vented him from proceeding as he had intended. It was thought, however, by many of the Court of Directors, that we ought to appoint this distinguished officer to one of the Governorships of India—( Hear !) ;—and, if that had been done, it would have prevented them from coming to this Court to-day to ask for a pension. But that attempt had also failed, and the consequence was, that this eminent person was now put upon the shelf, for reasons which we could not well understand, but which he dare softy were very sufficient. Under these circumstances the Court of-Directors thought that they could not allow this illustrious officer to go out of their service without some signal mark of their entire approbation of his conduct during a long series of splendid services to this Company. Mr. H u ME said, that he should most cordially vote for the • motion ; but he wished to state the grounds why he did so. Although we had had many valuable officers in our service whose merits were worthy of being rewarded, yet few had en joyed the opportunities of rendering such eminent services to the Company as the Gallant Officer whose name and merits were now under the consideration of the Court. It happened that he (Mr. Hume) was in India when Sir John Malcolm was coming fairly into the seriice, and he could only say, that the universal feeling towards him, both on the part of the natives and of Europeans, was that of the highest respect and gratitude. lie was not aware that any public servant ever, before that pe- Tsai, he might say nor since then, stood so well in India as Sir John Malcolm. He mentioned this fact, because lie considered that if there were any of their servants who deserved more en ocouragement than others, they were those who by their conduct and example taught and encouraged others to endeavour to make the natives of India look up to us as their friends, their fathers, and their benefactors, instead of contemplating us as their masters and their tyrants. —(Hear, hear !)—lt was such men whom we ought to keep in our service, and ought to reward. He could not help contrasting the state of India during the time of Sir J. Malcolm and at the present period. Then all w as confidence and respect towards the British name—now every thing was mistrust and doubt. • He saw with considerable regret . that many of the Directors had not signed theßeport of thisßeso lotion. Sure he was that such a feelmg no where else prevailed. Me would venture to assert, that whatever might have been the feelings of the officers connected with India during the period ,that : Sir John Malcom was-there, in other respects, they would all agree in this—that Sir John Malcolm had deserved by his signal exertions and wise counsels the peculiar gratitude of this Court ; and he (Mr. Hume) could not therefore but regret that die Resolution had not been unanimous on the part of the Court .of Directors, as he was sure it now would be on part of the Court of Proprietors. As it was his intention when the proper .simgarrived to bring forward the subject of the present alarm- , ing state of affairs in India, he should now prematurely take the Court by surprise into that question. He would therefore only say, he was confident that every Hon. Member who gave his vote to-day would declare, that he whe had entered our service in the year 1780, and had continued in it for a period of 43 years, and who had fought and acted more than any other man —( hear !) -- was most eminently deserving of our gratitude. He alluded more particularly to his diplomatic services; not that he meant to undervalue the military ones of that eminent man ; but he conceived his (Sir J. Malcolm's) talents had been much more splendidly useful to us in the diplomatic and civil depart ment than in any other. He hoped therefore the present motion would be unanimously agreed to. Mr. BucitrwonAlt said he was happy there was no pros pect of an opposition being given to the motion now before the Court. He should not, after the very full testimony which the Hon. Member for Aberdeen had given to the great merits of Sir John Malcolm, have troubled the Court, but that he con ceived the services of that eminent man deserved a more parti cular notice. Having been in Persia in 1816 it, was a gratify ing fact to Englishmen, that almost at every step the name of Sir John Malcolm was heard used in terms of the greatest re spect and gratitude. His name seemed to be adopted in that country as one sacred to the hearts of the people. This was a most powerful testimony of the services of that man. Having himself been unfortunate enough to be in some degree per sonally opposed to Sir John Malcolm, he felt it to be more especially his duty to come forward and add his humble testi mony to the splendid talents and the great services of that eminent man.—(Hear, hear !). LORD AMHERST'S ADMINISTRATION. Mr. MIME rose for the purpose of availing himself of the notice he had given in his former address to the Court. He begged to state, that he should not have troubled the Court at all, but that he felt the subject to which he was about to call their attention of the very utmost importance both to the inte rests of this Company and to the empire at large. His expe rience of Indian affairs was not inconsiderable, nor had his at tention to the progress of events in that great continent been little ; but he confesed that so extraordinary were the occur rences which had lately taken place there, that he was totally at a loss to account for them. He had an opportunity of wit nessing the state of India at a time when almost all .the Native Princes were at war with us, and yet the whole of the army, both natives and Europeans, were during that time in a state of the strictest subordination and attachment to the Government. The consequence of this good feeling was, that the greatest results ensued from the services of those troops, which tended to • consolidate the power of the British Government in India. We were therefore called upon in an especial manner to take into considera tion the circumstances that had since transpired in that coun try, and to see whether they could not have been prevented. His sentiments with regard to the public press of India were well known ; it was not his intention therefore to repeat them. He only alluded to the subject to remind the Court that he had already declared that the interference of the Government with the press would, in case of disturbance in that country, prove most disastrous. He had distinctly stated, and he would now repeat, that the injudicious interference on the part of the powers of India to put down the public press were attended with the most serious consequences ; such had been the case, and would go on be so until a state of things arrived which it was fearful to contemplate. Mr. S. Dixosr rose to order. He did not wish to interrupt the Hon. Member; but he could not avoid asking him whether, as he was now entering upon so momentous a subject, it was his intention to follow up his observations by any motion ? He really thought that the lion. Gentleman was taking •the Court by surprise, and that, on matters so important, some previous notice should be given, so that the proprietors might come with their minds prepared to speak on them. Mr. HUME said, if it should be considered as out of order merely by reminding the Court of what he had previously told them would result from the conduct they were pursuing, and by pointing out to them that his predictions had been verified, he then really could not perceive what was, or what was not, being in order. The CHAIRMAN' said, he considered Mr. Hume not out of order. - IN ulr. H SIE resumed.—He was about to state to the Court I that those views which he had previously taken of the subject - had proved correct, and the observations heisad made on former occasions as to the inconvenience which would take place in consequence of the interference with the Press of India had actually occurred. For what was the situation in which we now stood ? Events of the greatest importance had transpired, of which we were totally uninformed. NVe were at this moment ignorant of what was really the state of India ; for the infor mation which had reached us was either partial and suppressed, or it depended on private communications, which could not be acted upon. The evils arising from this were these ; that the Court were in utter ignorance of the actual state of India, and of the causes which had led to its present condition. When he had the honour to serve the Company in India, such transac tions as had since taken place were unthought of and unknown. We were, therefore, now called upon by the duty we owe to the people of India, to this country, and to ourselves, to consider whether it was sot in our power to put an end to such pro ceedings, which tended to the injury of all. It was with this view that he should submit to the Court a motion, that there be laid before us an account of the whole of the proceedings which had led to the present alarming situation of India. For this purpose he should move for a copy of the Bengal despatch made by the Marquis of Hastings in 1019 to the secret depart ment of the Court of Directors, respecting the organization of and allowances to the army of India; also for a copy of the dispatch of the Court of Directors sent to Bengal in 1823, on that subject; together with a copy of the dispatches from India, stating how far those orders had been carried into effect ; in order that we might judge whether the present state of India he or be not attributable to the orders given in the dispatch to Bengal. If there should be any Gentleman in the Court who had any communication with India, he hoped that , if he should state any thing incorrect as to the present situation of that country, the Honourable Proprietor, who ever he might be, would immediately put him right. But the letters which he had received all breathed the same , sentiments with regard to the affairs of India : and without 1 troubling the Court by reading those letters, he would lay this down as a proposition which had dedaced from them all—as well those from Madras as those from Calcutta—that the white population as well as the black had lost all confidence in the Governor-General of India—(hear!)—that they viewed with the deepest regret what had taken place, and looked forward with the utmost anxiety to what might ultimately ensue if the present system be persisted in.; but they declared that they do not believe these things can go on, and they fervently hope that the Government of England will send out men of talent and abilities, and.put an end to such a ruinous course. This, then, was the sentiment, this the united opinion of military men, civil officers, private merchants, and of the natives them selves, respecting the present state of India. Now, if this be true, if such were the :feelings of those persons, could this Court go on without inquiry ? Ought they not to obtain all the information that they could ? . The Court of Directors must be informed on the subject, but no other persons could ; for unfortunately the public press had no means of gising any information. Every consequence he had foretold had in tact taken place; we foued that every thing told here was totally different from what was com municated in India—such was the pernicious system new pur sued towards the press of that country. As a specimen of the course adopted there, he would state, that he had a note in his hand directed to an Editor of one of the papers published in Bengal, in which it was said that the writer was commanded to direct the Editor not to publish anything respecting the con duct of the 47th Regiment until the official statement of that occurrence had been made.—( Hear !)—But this was not all ; for the Editors were not even authorised to publish that official statement, but were subject to transportation if they did publish it. He had a letter to shew, that one Editor had been threatened to have his paper immediately suppressed, if there should ever occur in it a single paragraph in which the name of Mr. Buck ingham should be mentioned. This course, then, he considered as one of the important causes of the loss of confidence in India. He would again repeat, that if such a system was allowed to con- ' tinue, the conseuence would be an aggravation of that discon tent and want of'faith in the Government. He would ask, then, had any measure been taken by the Court of Directors to put an end to this system ? Had they recalled Lord Amherst ? Had they determined to send out men capable of governing India? If they had taken any such measures he was glad of it; and if Go vernment had refused to send out a man of talent nominated by them, they were bound to learn the ground of that refusal. In order to convince the Court of the great mismanagement that prevailed, he would just state that every one of the persons who wrote these letters exclaimed, for God's sake don't let my name be mentioned." What had led to the present state. of India? Was it one act ? No—it began with the attack on the Press, and was followed by an act of weakness on the part of the India Government, in undertaking hostilities against a power that could not have injured us had a proper policy been adopted. This undertaking, too, had been at a season when it was impossible for the troops to march, owing to Vie heavy rains, and against a country whose climate was the most fatal both to the native troops and to the Europeans also. Asa proof of this, out of 8,000 or 9,000 men who had been sent into that country we had already lost 1,10(1, whose deaths were occa sioned by the disease cont rac t e d by the climate. The native troops also had a superstitious notion that the Burmese Empire was the land of demons, who presided over their destiny. It was not that the troops were afraid to encounter the enemy, but it was the climate and these prejudices which alarmed them, and at this juncture the pay of the Sepoys was reduced. The imb ec ili ty betrayed on this occasion was conspicuous.N l e ought then to look at what had taken place,in order to judge of what might take place hereafter, if thatimbecility were allowed to continue to hold the reins of Government. We had, as a natural consequefice, found that a great unwillingness was found on the part of the native troops in coming forward to meet these difficulties at Barrack pore; nor was there any disposition on the part of the Govern ment to allay the fears and remove the prejudices of these troops. He would not altogether blame the Government for precipitating the war; hut having done so, and when with these warnings, he would ask, was it too much to expect that measures should have been taken to conciliate instead of adding to the excited feelings of the native troops ? What was the first warning? Why, no less than 2kl men out of 1,000 de serted in the space of twenty-four hours ; indeed, there was scarcely a corps in which this did not happen. The provisions having been curtailed by the supplies being cut off by the Burmese, the Bengal Government raised the charge so high, that the Sepoys complained, and the cattle being bought up by the Government, the Sepoys found they were deprived of a suf ficient number to draw their baggage. The Bengal Go vernment had much to answer, when, knowing this circumstance, they did not take measures to prevent it. It argued also great imbecility and want of talent-on the part of the Governor, and made it absolutely imperative that he should be recalled. The Hon. Member then adverted to the manner in which the mutiny of the troops had been suppressed, and declared that great injustice was practised towards the native commissioned and non-comniisioned officers, who, in stead of being praised and rewarded for having stood to their colours, were included—the innocent with the guilty—and all were dismissed from the service. \Vas it possible not to notice the imbecility that was betrayed on this occasion ? Was it' just or fair that these men should be disgraced and ruined be cause others had mutined ? It had been charged against them, that these men must have known of the dis con t en t prevailing among the Sepoys. They certainly did know that there were complaints; but he would pledge his honour, from the knowledge he had of the native officers, that they did not —could not—imagine to what extremity those murmurs would go. But what did the writers of the letters he had mention ed say ? They all expressed a hope that the Marquis of Hastings would be sent back again ; " for God's sake send hint amongst us again." How unfortunate then was it to see that this great individual was at this moment disgraced and degraded, as far as it was possible to do so, by that very body who were thus appealed to to re-appoint him. If the Marquis of Hastings had continued Governor-General, none of the consequences which we now lament would have hap pened. He was capable of conducting those affairs much better than a body of merchants, who knew nothing at all about the business.—(A laugh.)—The orders which had been sent out by the Court of Directors, sanctioned by the Board of Controul, would have been disregarded by the Noble Mar quis, and his own wise policy would have preserved India ; but Lord Amherst had obeyed those orders, and we now saw the result. It was our duty to ascertain whether the present state of India was not in consequence of this obedience. —They had a sacred trust reposed in them to have those facts fairly unreselled and the truth made known. If when those facts came to be fully known it should appear that he had un fortunately made a charge against Lord Amherst unfounded by facts, he should be the first man to make amends to that Nobleman. It was front that feeling that he repressed many things which it was in his power to state. The Hon. Member then concluded by moving for the production of the papers lie had mentioned. Mr. BITCRINGIIA3I said, before the question was put he wished to make one observation. It had been stated by the [lnn. Member—but by the indifference with which that statement was received he feared no credit was given to the fact—that the suppression of public opinion in India was in extreme connec tion with this before the Court. Gentlemen would remember that during the Censorship there was a mutiny in Cantac, which broke out into a rebellion, and which required four years to put down ; and he would say, that in consequence of the suppression of the press the very officers did not know on the preceding night that any complaints existed among the men. From the moment that the Marquis of Hastings removed the censorship there was one continued scene of tranquillity reign ing throughout India. Now, to show that discontent pre vailed among the troops at Barrackpore, he would state, that more than three weeks before the mutiny broke out the men had meetings and discussions among themselves. The reason this was not communicated to the Government, was the fear, on the part of those who could do it, of being consi dered implicated themselves ; they were thus discouraged from giving information. But if the press were free, these indivi duals would have had no objection to make an anonymous communication to the editor of a paper, and thus the cir cumstance would have been brought to the knowledge of the Government and the _public. Had the rumours which w e r e circulated respecting the discontent of the troops been com municated through the public press, the mutiny would not have taken place. All persons :acquainted with Calcutta must know that there was a considerable trade carried on between it and Rangoon. Those merchants were better informed of the climate and of the winds which prevailed than the officers of the troops could possibly be. Had the press been free he had no doubt a hundred letters would have been written to editors, impugning the wisdom of the Governor; but had any one ven_ . tured to do so at present, he was himself a living instance of what would have been the consequence. But the tact was, that the information was known in Calcutta. Two European regi ments were known to be proceeding to Rangoon, wading through water almost in an amphibious state, and living upon salt pro visions. These two battalions returned soon after, the one re duced to 60 and the other to 80 men. Under these circum stances he hoped it would be considered whether it might not be proper that even the censorship should be adopted instead of the present pernicious system. Mr. TRANI. thought it necessary to make an observation or two with regard to the statement of what had occurred at Can tac. It happened to him to know that what the lion. Member had stated was not the fact. For he was himself ordered to go there a few months before in consequence of the Government not being satisfied with the conduct of the Revenue Department.— With regard to persons being discouraged from making infor mation to Government, he begged to say he did not conceive that to be the case. With respect to the motion before the Court, he did not conceive the production of the papers at all necessary. lie thought it better to leave the matter in the hands of the Court of Directors. There was, however, one point, which he was sorry to be obliged to agree with the lion. Member for Aberdeen ; he meant as to the entire loss of con fidence on the part of the people of India towards the Governor- General. He was one of those who on the appointment of Lord Amherst experienced considerable astonishment.— He had never understood Lord Amherst to be a man of great talent, and the duties of a Governor-General required one who possessed the talents of the great man who had just then left that country. He did not mean to say that Lord Amherst could have prevented the war; but he would declare, that in his opi nion that Nobleman was quite incompetent to conduct it, and he should never be satisfied until he saw some other person con duct our affairs in India.% An impr ess i on h a d b een ma d e i n t h at country which nothing less than such a measure could remove, and he feared our friends might now be induced to take those liberties which they would not otherwise have done. lie there fore trusted the Court of Di rectors would lose no t i me i n re lieving us from a state of things which had already operated most prejudicially both in this country and in India. Sir C. FORBES expressed his concurrence in the sentiments of his lion. Friend (Mr. Hume), and was surprised that his motion did not go to the recal of Lord Amherst forthwith.— It appeared to him that Lord Amherst was an amiable man ; but it was not an amiable man, but an able man that we wanted as Governor-General in India. Because he had refused to turn his back to the Emperor of Chi na , or to ki ss hi s em i nence ' s toe, was it to be inferred that he was therefore capable of conducting the affairs of an extensive Empire ? He trusted that the recal of that Nobleman would be proposed, if not in this House, at least at another place, at no distant period. He had received letters containing remarks on the Governor-General's conduct, all convincing to his mind that such a measure was necessary. The clialamasr said, he should not at present notice the observations of the lion. Baronet, but briefly state his reasons for not agreeing with the motion. On the 30th March, 1824, the Court came to a Resolution, that this Dispatch should not he laid before the Proprietors. He was sure the Court would not consider it expedient to do that now which they did not think proper to he done then ; because if the agitation of this question was then inconvenient it would be much more so at the pre sent moment. The Hon. Member for Aberdeen had attribut ed the whole of those events--unfortunate events he would call them- 7 ( Hear ! from Mr. Hume)—to the suppression of the press.—(No, no ! from Mr. Hume and Mr. Buckingham.)—lt was too much to say a t t hi s t i me o f d ay t h at t hi s was the cause of all the misfortunes of India, or that a free press would be the panacea for all the evils existing there. It was also necessary to observe, that the H onoura bl e Gent l eman h ad g i ven not i ce o f a motion in the House o f C ommons f or t h e pro d uct i on o f this identical paper to-morrow ; he would then have an opportunity to speak•fully on the subject, and it therefore really was unne r cessary for this Court to produce it. It had been stated by an Honourable Memb er (M r . B uc ki ng h am ) t h at two r egiments had ret urne d f rom R angoon cons id era b ly reduce d b y t he disas trous of climate. All th a t h e cou ld say was , t h a t the Court Directors had received no intelligence of such a circumstancetbhye and that, in the absence of such, lie had no reason to believe the honourable Member's statement. The last letters received_ officially communicated he thought he was bound to 7 the Court were up to the end of October, and what haddennot.beln formation had been received through private channels (near !) and although . circumstances had occurred re gretted, he still hoped the results of the measnires. they would. now pursuing would be as satisfactory as he had reason to expect Mr. IiDMONDSTON observed, that during two . the most brilliant were' to be and successful 'period Marquis of press existed. Hastings' administration, the censorship of of India, even theunder If any influence were to be attributed to the press, he thought it had rather a tendency to insubordination than otherwise. It had been justly observed, that the Court of Directors was in possession of information much better than any other persons could obtain, and much more correct than could possibly be communicated through the medium of a newspaper; he there fore thought the question should be left with them, and that the papers ought not to be produced. Mr. WASBROUGH opposed the motion, and said, that the press of this country was under considerable restrictions, and he therefore thought it was highly proper the press of India should be. Mr. finmE—Yes, but we want the press of India to be on the same footing with that of England. It is not so now. Mr. WASHROUGH admitted there was this difference, that here we were obliged to undergo a trial—(Hear, bear! from Mr. Hume)—before we could be punished. Mr. HUME then replied. Mr. MILLS thought_ Lord Amherst had not been well treated by Hon. Members, and that they ought to have suspended the expression of their opinions until better information was before them. If this Court really sought for talent to conduct their affairs, he conceived the language which had been recently used towards the Noble Persons who served them was calculated to prevent that talent from coming forward. i%lr. GAIKIN protested against the doctrine of the Hon. Di rector (Mr. Mills.) It was impossible that the Proprietors could wait until the Governor-General came from India to London before they declared their sentiments regarding his conduct. He should, however, oppose the motion, as he should wait the result of the application to be made to the House of Commons to-morrow. After a few words from Mr. HUME and Mr. S. DIXON, the motion was put and negatived. _ . _ „ Mr. Humu then moved for the production of a copy of the communications from India respecting the mutiny, and of the proceedings of the Governor-General thereon. Dlr. TiANT seconded the motion. Sir CHARLES FORBES read a letter which he had received from the lady of an officer in the army at Rangoon, in which she stated that the spirit of discontent was supposed to have spread itself widely through the native troops, and that the ri diculous system of economy so much in vogue:now-a-days would not do in India.—(Much laughter.)—" The Sepoys were high caste men, and would not consent to carry their cooking utensils on their backs like labourers." The Hon. Bart. observed, that he hoped, from certain expressions he had heard f►ll from a gentleman connected with Government, that some measure was in agitation for the recal of Lord Amherst, but he believed they were a little puzzled who to select for his successor. Captain MAXFIELD opposed the motion. 111 r. HUMS replied. The motion was then put and negatived. General THORNTON gave notice of a motion on the next Quarterly General Meeting, respecting the suppression of com munications by the Officers of Government in India made to them, to be communicated to the Governor-General in Council. Mr. Hum E gave notice that he should make the Court Spe cial for the purpose of taking into consideration the conduct of Lord Amherst, as Governor-General of India. TUE OUDE PAPERS. Sir C. Fo KBEs asked when the papers relating to the transac tions with nude would be laid before the Proprietors ? Sir G. Ron' NSON said, the papers were now in the hands of the printers, but he begged to say, that since the discussion on the Hyderabad papers, he thought the most prudent course would be to suppress the publication of any other documents. A considerable discussion then took place between Hume, Sir Charles Forbes, Col. Millie, 31r. Weeding, and several other Gentlemen, as to the propriety of rescinding the motion for the papers, when it was at length weed to let the matter rest until the friends of the Marquis of Hastings had learned his Lordship's pleasure upon the subject. The Court then adjourned. SPAIN. We have reason to think that the following representation of the wretched state of affairs in Andalusia, may with great propriety be applied to every other Province in Spain : A respectable inhabitant of Seville, in a letter dated the 6th inst., writes as follows: " Misery is at its height in our province ; every step we take in our streets presents us with country people begging alms. If we go out of the town we are assailed by bands, who plunder us. If the drought continues God knows what will become of us : the cattle are already in want of pasture, and they are obliged to he sent 12 or 15 leagues from here to obtain it. Whether this drought, however, continues or not, a single piastre of the contributions must not be counted upon as likely to enter the Treasury; the inhabitants neither can nor will pay them. The Administration is so in want of funds that they have been obliged to curtail the garrison of half their destined pay, to buy their food, without giving them either bounties or sobra." The pay of a soldier in Spain amounts to 36 centimes (30.) per diem. Two-thirds of this are destined to his daily food, the remainder, called cobras, is to buy his clothing, &c. This fund has never till now been encroached upon; the soldier em. ploys it to buy the first necessaries of life, as also tobacco for smoking. The employes on duty have not been paid since the month of September. SYRIA. The condition of this Turkish province, as re presented in the following statement, is truly de plorable, but it is not singular in this respect, for owing to the oppressive exactions of the Ot toman Government, every part of the Turkish dominions is suffering the greatest want and mi-ery. It would seem that the long meditated plans of the PAca.4. of EGYPT to declare him self independent, are beginning to be openly manifested. Ile had assumed a sovereign au thority over the district of Mount Lebanon. The latest accounts received from the Pachalik of Aleppo and Upper Syria, dated in December last, state, that the Adminis tration of the Pacha of Aleppo seems to be guided by a spirit of ly heh. thaeke addresss h him moderation and wisdom which is not natural to him. The ate sensiblesmallness of hisf thely force weakness. k nesbs. B by which u t fortunately n s surrounded a s m to take retrograde steps. The Janissaries have resumed the cries of independence which they had formerly sent forth. They even commit excesses at which the Poli ce winks. The privates of the count r y en d eavour to gain them. Want. and misery are extreme, and the Eu ropean commerce suffers severely both by the depreciation of the coin and the difficulty of recovering debts. This state of things .is rendered worse by the incursions of the Curds and Arabs, who seem to besiege the city and intercept the commu nications with the country. The European merchants have just treated with the young and powerful Chief of the Turco mans, encamped in the plains, called the Turcomans of An tisch, for the conveyance of goods from Aleppo to Alexandria. Thus there is no reason to fear that the comrnupication will be interrupted during the winter. This fortunate agreement has been concluded through the medium of the French Consul- General, to whom the principal Chiefs of the Turcomans ap plied s pontaneously, and expressed the most entire confidence and honourable respect. om a tieed ri e p x o p li e i d s it c l oi ea n d to of p j t e h r e d 6. disorder ne is with supposed wldch to he The Anazi Arabs have forced the i n h a bi tants of the villages t o the south of Aleppo to abandon thei r h a bi tat i ons. 'r Av e ri i sn y b u e ePenacrev Pacha of Ti Assad, w h o i s gone to Tripoli, has prevented fresh disorders in that city, with t h e exception of Lattakia. Anarchy end a spirit of revolt prevail all over the country, especially among the Ansaries, who have pushed their incursions into the plains of the north of Hamma, while the Anazi Arabs commit all sorts of depredations between that town and Damascus. those It is feared that civil war w i ll shortly break out in the moun taiTnsheofutibr chaßnoen. ir is said to h ave received instructions from 0 3 n 1 ll eh:n a e n t d A n l o y t Pacha to of I f i; g A y h p da tt i o i ah p attend ac h h a e n ; c t e o fo , r v t. h h o t m o his e j o s n a l l e s r o s said to have written not to interfere in the affairs of Emir Bechir, on pain of incurring his displeasure and even threaten ing to send troops to take possession of St. Jean d'Acre. The accounts from Persia say, that the Bedouin Arabs in tercept the communication and greatly distress the inhabitants of Bagdad. The Pacha's troops have been twice repulsed by these banditti. Th e French officers at Kermanshah are going finally to quit that country ; they are extremely dissa tisfied with it. It seems t h at they intend to proceed to Russia. FRENCH FINANCE. The following statement of the results of M. de VILLELE'S administration, in a Financial point of view, appears in a French journal (77teCourier Francais.) It brings at once before us a view of the oppressive burthens imposed on France by. the Royalists during the last four years they have had the direction of the political affairs of the kingdom. It has been calculated, if M. de Villelle passes all his law projects in the present Session, that his administration will have . cost France, since the 14th December, 1821, that is to say, in less than three years and a half, infinitely more than the Admi nistrations of Law and the AbbE Terray united. The calcula tion, which is rather below the mark, is as follows:- Ist. The Spanish war, which, notwithstanding the wisdom of the Prince Generalissimo, has left that country in an abyss of misery, even supposing it did not plunge her into it. - fr. 270,000,009 2d. The loan granted to Spain, and which will never be repaid - . 34,000,000 [Not reckoning the current debt, which will, perhaps, raise that sum to one hundred mil lions.] 3d. The indemnity to the emigrants, not reckon ing the interest of five years - - 1,000,000,000 4th. The premium granted on the sale of the National Domains by the reduction of the duty on registration in order to force what is called the restitution - 187,500,000 sth. Premium granted to the Vendeans, after the suppression of a similar sum guaranteed to the General Officers by the text of the Charter, 200,000 francs, the valuation of which, viewed as an annuity to be extin guished, amounts to 1,200,009 6th. Increase in the capital of the public debt by the project of reduction - - 1,000,000,000 Total . fr. 2,492,700,000 PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. 110 USE OF COMMONS. Mereurii, 23 0 die illartii, 1825. Ma. SPEAKER reported the Royal Assent—to Assessed Taxes Bill, Mutiny Bill, Marine Mutiny Bill, Glebe Lands Bill,. Hayle Causeway Bill, Ardwick and Stroud Improvement Bills ' —Penwortham, Gatherley M o o r an d Wi nston , Bridg north, Boroughbridge and Catterick, Hinckley, Leeds and Tong Lane-end, Midhurst and Petersfield, Kirkby Stephen and Ilawes i Stockton and Barnard Castle, an d Winchester and Peterstield Roads Bills, and Maubert's Naturalization Bill. MESSAGE from the LORDS—That they have agreed to— Annual Duties Bill, and NlThiteburne and Dunse, and Bram cote Oddhouse Reads Bills, without amendment. That they have passed a Bill, intituled, an Act for the better regulating of the Forms of Process in the Courts of Law in Scotland. ROADS—Manchester and Ash ton—Petition from Droyslderli against—referred to the Committee on the Bill, Counsel or dered. NVelford Bridge and Leicester, Leicester and Lut- • terworth, Gravesend, Brighton and Cuck field, and Wake field and Denby—Bills reported, to be ingrossed. Canter ... bury and Ramsgate, and Trebarwith and ‘( .- .,'ontlolden—Bills read a second time, and committed. Wooler—Bill read third time, and passed. COMPANlES—Equitable Loan Bank (Petitions, against, from Clerkenwell, St. James (Westminster), St. Paul (Covent garden), and Auctioneers of London and Westminster; and in favour, from Inmates of King's Bench and Marshalsea Prisons—to lie on the table) Bill reported, to be ingrossed. Metropolitan Waterworks—Petition from Bethnal Green, in favour—to lie on the tahle. Western Ship Canal—Petition from Waterford, in favour—to lie on the table. London Water—Petitions from West Middlesex and Grand Junction Waterworks Companies, against—referred to the Committee on the Bill, Counsel ordered. Edinburgh and Leith NV - Liter —Petition of Ithe Edinburgh Joint Stock Water Compaq', against—to lie on the table. ESTATE—Rowbottom's—Bill read a first time. I INCLOSURE—OVE3IENT Margate Weston (Norfolk) Bills read a third time, and IMPOUNDING DISRRESSES passed. RAILWAY s—Bolton and West Leigh—Bill read a third tittle , and passed. East London—Petition of Carmen, &e. against, —to lie on the table. WATE nwoßxs—Oldham (and Gas)--Bill read a second time, and committed. NAVIGATION—Weaver—BiII reported, Report to lie on the table. Calder and Hebble—Bill reported, to be ingrossed- DOCKS—IsIe of Dogs—Bill read a second time, and com mitted. South London—Petitions from Bermondsey, and Robert Broadwater, against—referred to the Committee on the Bill, Counsel ordered. PORT or LONDON—Returns of 13ye-laws, Memorials relative to Obstructions, &c. ordered. TITHES—St. Botolph without Bishopsgate—Petition for Bill referred to a Committee. JUDICATURE (Scotland) Bills read a first time, to be reed QUARANTINE LAWS 5 a second time on Monday. ROMAN CATHOLIC " to provide for the re moval of the disqualifications under which his Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects at present labour," read a firs t time, to be read a second time on Tuesday, April 19, and to be printed. HOUSE—To be called over on Monday, April le. OIL AND BLUBBER—Petition from hull, for repeal of tis Duties on the importation thereof—to lie on the table. SMALL TITHES, &C.—Bill ordered. CHlNSURAn—Petition of Robert Lyre, respecting the captur e thereof by the late Samuel Eyre—to:lie on the table. MISCELLANEOUS ESTIMATES presented (by Command) Commissioners for inquring into Education in Ireland ; demnity to Proprietors in America for Slaves ; Emigration from the South of Ireland to the Canadas ; Repairs to th e Cobb at Lyme Regis—to lie on the table. FISHERIES—BiII "to amend an Act of the last Session of Parliament, for amending the several Acts for th e enco urage" went of the British an d . Irish Fisheries," read a first t ime, to be read a seco n d ti me on Monday next, and to be printed' NOTICES OF MOTIONS FOR THIS DAY. 1. Mr. Martin (of Galway)—Bill to amend Act [3 Oen. c. 711 for preventing cruel and improper treatment 0 Cattle. 2. Mr. Huskisson—Bill to make further provision for the pi' tnent of the Crews of his Majesty's Ships. if 13. Mr. Secretary Peel—Bill for the Amendment of the I as to the offence of sending threatening Letters. 4. Mr. Secretary Peel—Bill for defining the Rights of 041 2481 Convicts who receive pardons, and of Convicts after bay ing been punished for Clergyable Felonies. 5. Mr. Hume—Motion for a Copy of the Military Dispatcb of the Marquis of Hastings of the year 1819, respectiP t f , the organization and allo wances o f t h e I n di an Army; 'l' Copies of the Dispatches of the .4,urt of Directors in 0 .. ) :i . swer to the same; a nd h ow f ar any retrenc h ments direct by the Court have been complied with. ORDERS OF THE DAY FOR THIS DAY. 1. Game Laws Bill—Further consideration of Report. . 2. 'Caledonian Can a l Bill—Thi r d rea di ng . 3. County Treasurers (Ireland) Bill—Third reading. 4. Arrests for Debt Bill—Committee. 5. Wine Duties Bill—Third reading. • 6. Consolidated Fund Bill—Third reading. NOTICES GIVEN YESTERDAY. • Friday, March 25. Mr. Herries—Remaini ng Miscellaneous Estimates. Committee of S u pply. ) • Tuesday, ilfareli 29. Sir Francis Omm anney —A ccount o f Piratical Vessels take, • or destroyed by Shi ps o f W ar on the Jamaica Stat i o n be ' e , tween Ist April 1823 an d I st D ecem b er 1824 ; tog et with the number of Pirates tried and condemned io same period. Friday, April 15. tes' Mr. Goulburn—Remainin g I r i s h Mi sce ll aneous Estims (In Committee of Supply.) PRIVATE BILLS. Second Readings for This Day. Hockering and Morton lnclosure, and Macclesfiehl PaYlll4. In Connecticut, a certain Justice was called t : P g a gaol to liberate a worthless debtor, by receiving his oath ° p c he was not worth .5/. " Well, Johnny," said the Justice 0 , 1 01 entered,ee " can you swear you are not worth 51., and never d i e Why," answered the other, rather chagrined at question, " 1 can swear I am not worth that sum at presen t. —" Well, well," resume d t h e J ust i ce, " I can swear to tbe rest—so step forward Johnny."