The Sun. — London, England, 1857-07-28 00:00:00

selve 3 s to Les—_ asion ruing ja to ;Oh t ill; sou c os been ,e 1 )0 11 0 8 )11,4 Military mutiny is to be put down, the Government can not be trusted with the settlement of the amount of force to be applied and the means by which success is to be achieved, what confidence could be placed in them at all ? Therefore, if I agreed that this.was a military Mutiny only, even if I was of opinion that the force they recommended was not sufficient for the occasion, I shoal leave the responsibility to them, and if they failed in their object from want of means Parliament would be able to exact a due account. But, concluding, as I do, that this is a national revolt, I do not think that the means announced by the Government are adequate to the occasion. Let us consider what are the weans with which the Government intend to save our empire. We heard at first of 14,000 men to be sent out, but nearly one-half of that amount con sisted of reliefs. Some 6,000 of these men are to fill up vacancies among the European ranks in India; so that, although the total number of troops to be sent out amounts we are now told to 20,000 to '26,000, yet the additional force we s h a ll f urn i s h will be only 18,000 or 19,000 men. Of that number, how many can be fairly estimated ever to appear in the field? There will be the percentage of loss from the voyage, the percentage of loos from clim at e , and the casualties of warfare, even before actual war has begun. You cannot expect that of those 18,000, or 19,000 men more than 15,000 fresh troops will arrive on the field in India. To my mind, our efforts should be on a much greater scale. There should be not only an advance from Calcutta through Bengal, but also an expedition advancing UP the Indus, and I am not certain that the ;latter is not the more important of the two expedition'. lt is only in that manner you can embrace and command your empoei, and the means announced are not adequate to a de monstration of that kind, and it could not be done unless the noble lord takes much bolder steps than he seems in lined at present to adopt. I think he ought to call out the militia —not only call them out, but embody them ; and I do not und ers t an d, unless the noble lord does this, new he can maintain the war with effect. Besides it is of the ut most importance to establish in this country a powerful and ample reserve. How can that be done unless you not only call out but embody the militia ? The noble lord said the other night, in reply to some observations of mine, that he saw no use in calling out the militia, except to make that a means of recruiting the regular army. No doubt it is a high privilege and a noble duty for the militia to recruit the ranks of the regular army, but I cannot agree that it is the first duty of the militia. Their first duty is to defend our hearths, and I do not see, not caring to allude to the present state of Europe, but simply re garding the alarming condition of Asia, what steps can be taken for the proper maintenance of our national defences unless the militia be called out and embodied, and the noble lord comes down to the house to ask for ample means to prosecute the war in which we have embarked. I have made these observations as to force, and I should not have ventured to make any criticism upon the acts of the Go vernment upon this subject if I had been able to agree With them as to the causes of the disturbance. But to my mind that is not all that we ought to look to. Even if we do vindicate our authority with complete success—if we do revenge the insult that we have received—if we rebuild the power that has been destroyed, it appears to me that we have still a very great and responsible task before us, for it is impossible, even in the moment of action, to drive from our consideration not merely the future of India, but ' also the present condition and feeling of the great mass of the population. We may pour our legions and our fleets lip the rivers and through the provinces of India. We may be successful, but to my mind we should add to that suc cess and doubly strengthen our force—and I am prepared , for on e , t o g i ve any support to her Majesty's Government which they may require for that purpose, if at the same time we should say to India that supposes she is aggrieved and outraged—to India perhaps despairing of pardon, Although we will assert with the highest hand our autho rity —although we will not rest until our unquestioned su premacy and predominance are acknowledged, from the Punjab to Cape Comorin—it is not merely as avengers that We appear." I think that the great body of the populatien of that country ought to know that there is for them a future hope. I think we ought to temper justice with mercy —justice the most severe with mercy the most indulgent. Bat how are you to do that? What step are you prepared to take? How are you going, let me ask to govern India, when, as I have heard, it has be e n c i rc ulAted on the highest authority that the native army in Bengal no longer exists? Has the house well considered the consequences of so easily saying that as the native army of Bengal has no longer any existence we should substitute it by English regiments ? I do not wish to view the question as a question of finance. This country is in that condition at the present moment which will not permit us to dwell upon such considera tions. But suppose you had 100,000 or 200,000 English men in India, could you govern India with such men ? You might as well talk of governing India with a House of Commons. (A. laugh.) Why, the supposition that you are to have an army of Europeans to govern India assumes a complete revolution, both in your external policy and in sour internal administration. (Cheers.) How are you to invade kingdoms like Pegu, how are you to conquer coun tries like the Punjaub with men of English constitution ? How could they journey through those burning deserts and Perform those actions which now are with facility per formed by the native troops? You could not do it. Look at the position of the English regiments in India. We have been obliged to guard them up to the moment of those bat tles which they have been called upon to fight, and which they have invariably won. Well, then, what is to be said of your foreign policy ? It no longer exists. You must entirely change all your relations with the States coter minous with your Indian empire. But look at your internal administration. Can you levy your revenues with English troops? (Hear.) Are English troops to be put at every outpost ? Are they to escort the money from your treasu- Are they to perform all those duties which now are With facility performed by those whose nature and organi sation adapt them to live and work in that country ? I t is totally impossible that you can ever govern 100,000,030 of men merely by European agency. (Hear.) You must meet thatdiffi cu lty boldly and completely. Well, then , the course Which' reco in mend is this:e-You must at once, whether you have received news of success or of some defeat, tell the people of India that the relations between them and their ruler and Sovereign Queen Victoria shall be drawn nearer. (Loud cheers.) • You must act upon the opinion of India on that subject immediately ; and you can only act upon the opinion of Eastern nations through their imagination. (Hear, hear.) You ought to have a Royal Commission sent by the Queen from this country to India immediately to inquire into the grievances of the various classes of that population. (Cheers.) You ought to have a Royal pro clamation to the people of India, declaring that the Queen of England is not a Sovereign who will countenance the violation of treaties—(cheers)—that the Queen of England is not a Sovereign who will disturb the settlement of pro perty— (hear, hear)—that the Queen of England is a Sove reign who will respect their laws, their usages, their cie - tows and, above all, their religion. (Hear, hear.) Do this, and do this not in a corner, but in a mode and man ner which will attract universal attention and excite the general hope of Hindostan, and you will do as much as all your fleets and armies can achieve. (Hear, hear.) But to do this you must act with vigour. You must send to that country the men who are most entitled to such office, and who shall appear in Hindostan and demand possession in the Queen's name. If that be done simultaneously with the arrival of your forces you may depend upon it your military advances will be precipitated, and I believe your Ultimate success will be insured. (Hear, bear.) Sir, no one can be more sensible than myself that I have most im perfectly treated this great question. I may be asked why, with these convictions, I have ended these observations only with a motion for papers. It may be said that if the Views of the Government and those I have expressed ap pear to •be so contrary, " Why don't you assert your opinions in a resolution, and call upon Paid:au:tent to sanc tion it?" (Hear, hear.) I will state the reason why I have not taken that course. I thought it was of very great importance that at this emergency the Parliament of England should not shrink from entering into a dis cussion upon this question. It appeared to me that if We were to retuln to our counties in silence we should have abdicated our functions—(loud cheers)—and lost all Claim on the confidence of the people. It is at these moments that we who are the great council of the nation should stand forward to be the guides and guar , diens of the people of this country. The opinions of the Government upon it have not been expressed in such a d ecided manner—they have net been adopted so long that I can despair to find that their minds will rise with the occasion, and that they will embrace a more vigorous and larger policy than they have hitherto seamed to imitate or recommend. I cannot renounce the hope that even the discussion of this night, after others may perhaps have been li s t ene d to more competent than myself, may elicit from the G overnmen t a d ec l ara tion which may carry some hope and confidence to the people. If they should take that course, see in what a position we should then be placed. A united Parliament and a strong Government are two circumstances most necessary in the difficult posi tion in which we are placed. That is aconsideration which has influenced my mind. It is not that I myself, on this or on any other subject upon which I might recommend a Policy would shrink from responsibility ; but I wish to show'to Europe and to Asia that it is not the desire of a Parliament to overthrow a Ministry to save an empire. I trust, th ere f ore, th a t thi s discussion will at least elicit such, a declaration of policy on the part of t he Government that the only duty of the House of Commons in future will be to support it with cordial sincerity. If they do nottake that course—if they do not take sufficient means, and public disaster occur—deep will be their responsibility. We shall meet again perhaps sooner than this house ex pects; and if they neglect their duty to their country, I, for one, will not shrink from responsibility. I will then appeal with confidence to en indignant people and a deter mined Parliament, and I will ask them with united ener gies to save an endangered empire. (Great cheering.) Sir, I beg to move that there be laid before his House :-1. Copy of any minute or despatch addressedto the Governor • General of India, by his Excielleney the Commander-in- Chief, the late Major-General the Hon. G. Anson, dated on or about garch, 1855, re l a ti ve t o th e s t a t e o f the Ben gal army. 2. Copy of a report on the -organisation of the Bengal army, drawn up by the late Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Napier, and transmitted to his Grace the Duke of Wellington, K.G. Mr. V. SMITH said it was impossible to deny that the right hon. gentleman had made a very remarkable speech, but at the close of his three hours' oration he was tempted to ask what was the use of it. The right hon. gentleman had charged the Government with treating this grave ques tion of the mutiny of the Bengal army with levity. H e (Mr. V. Smith) denied that he had ever so treated it. When the right hon. gentleman put a question to him in reference to it, he answered it as well as he was able • and if he did not exhibit that anxiety the right hon. gentleman thought necessary, he co. ld only say that while he hoped and believed for the best, her Majesty's Government were preparing for the worst. He had not endeavoured to make light of the evil, but merely to state the view the Govern ment-took of it, and the course they were pursuing in re gard to it. All that they had heard from India justified him in assumieg that the Indian Government were taking the necessary means to 'nest the difficulty, and were san guine of being able to overcome it. The right hon. gentle man had taken a very different course, for instead of his statements being calculated to allay the alarm of the public —the course he had taken was fraught with mischief. If there had been any comfort and consolation in the last news from India, it was to be found in two points ; the first was that there was not the slightest symptoms of a national revolt ; there was not a tithe of evidence of any - such thing, nor had the right hon. gentleman produced any evidence to prove the existence of such a thing, although he had said that there was a national revolt. Another con solatory circumstance contained in the last information from the East was the assurance that no native Prince had any connection with or was concerned in these transactions. The right hon. gentleman, however, kept away that solace and consolation, and stated broadly that there was a con spiracy among the native princes. There was not a tittle of evidence of any such conspiracy, and he (Mr. V. Smith) was glad, when the right hon. gentleman was pro ceeding with those statements, to perceive, by looking at the clock, that the hour was past when the India mail of that night was closed, and that there was no chance of these statements of the right honourable gentleman going forth at the present moment to India. He denied that imputation in the name of the native princes—he denied it in the name of the Maharajah of Gwalior, who had done BO much to . a ss i s t us , and who had offered 1004 for every prisoner that was brought in by his troops, and in the name of the Rajah of Pumair ; and he denied the state ment of the right hon. gentleman when he raid of those native princes who had been our staunch allies that their only desire was to betray us. However he might admire the eloquence cf the right hon. gentleman, he could not but regret the inexpediency of the course he had ;deleted. As to the motion itself, it was nothing; and one p rt of it was a motion for papers which di I not exist, namely, any minute or letter addressed to the Governor-General of India by the late commander-in-chief, dated about March, 1856, relative to the state of the Bengal army. He had made every inquiry in his office, and a search had been made at the India-house, and the only minute or despatch of March, 135', from the commander-in-chief related to the leave given to certain officers of different regiments, and ending with an expression of his wish that there should be no further withdrawal of any regimental officers. With reg ird to the other paper moved for, a report on the organisation of the Bengal army drawn up by the late General Sir C. Napier, and transmitted to the Duke of Wellington, the despatch was founded on a totally different subject to that to which the right hon. gentleman had alluded ; for it related to the defence of the frontier of India, and especially of the Prinjaub, in the course of which an incidental ref rence was male to the state of the troops, but as it mainly, if not altogether, related to the defence of our frontier, it would be most unadvisable to produce it, especially as the other part of it relating to the troops did not bear out the statement of the right hon. gentle nan. Besides, the report was made in 1849 to the late Duke of Wellington, who took no notice of it, nor bad any notice been taken of it by any other commander-in in-chief ; so that neglect in that respect could not be at tributed to the Goveonment. He did not think that it was necessary for him to follow the right hon. gentle man into the details of the dissertation on the state of India into which he had gone, and the circumstances connected with which he said bad been going on for several years ; and therefore his strictures did not apply to the present, any more than to any recent Government; and they certainly applied to the Government of which the right hon. gentleman was a member, for he had ex tended his censure on the Government of India from 1848 to 1-56. The right hon. gentleman said with perfect truth—and in mauy of his observations he (Mr. V. Smith) entirely concurred—that in anything which related to a change in the condition of India, it would be well to con sider who was responsible for that change. (Hear.) It was quite true that India had been for years in a state of transition—that is, there bad been an attempt made to adapt the customs and opinions of this country to the civil and military service of India ; and the reason of that was, that in the House of Commons the question of India had been taken up in a peculiar way, and an attempt had been made to engraft on our Indian empire our own cus toms. Whether that was a wise coarse or not he could not say ; but the right hon. gentleman had solved the question, for he said that all the evils which had arisen in India had arisen from our going too fast. What had been stated by the right hon. gentleman with regard to the alteration of the Hindoo law of marriage —and he believed the right hon. gentleman went so far as to object to the abolition of Suttee—(Mr. Disraeli : "No, no.")—Well, at any rate, he spoke of the abolition of Hindoo ceremonies, but he believed that all that the right hon. gentleman had stated on that subject, and the effects which had been produced, was perfectly true; there could not be a doubt of it. But it was caused by the irresistible force of public opinion in the country, which no Government could hope to resist. The right hon. gentleman said that by making these changes, we interfered with the native authority, we interfered with the native religion, and disturbed the settlement of native property. The right hon. gentleman had gone very mi nutely into the quest on of the interference wit'i the native authority ; and the right hen. gentleman commented on the minute of Lord Daraotei , on that subject. He (Mr. V. Smith) had a great admiration for Lord Dalhousie, in which no doubt the right hen. gentleman would agree with him ; but he was not prepared to say that in this respect Lord Dalhousie did not go too far in his policy. It must, how ever, be recollected that Lord Dalhousie's policy had been more than once rejected by the East India Company and the home government. The right hon. gentleman was not correct in supposing that the system of adoption by the na tives of India was extended beyond their kinsmen and to strangers. This question was a grave and most important one, and one which was well worth the attention of the House of Commons awl of assemblies, such as committees and commis-ions, more calculated to sift and examine into it than the House of Commons. Every estate should be considered by itself, and the question should not be consi dered as a system ; for each estate in the 'case of the fail ure of issue was surrounded by its own circumstances and peculiarities. But the right hon. gentleman said in the most sweeping way, that the abolition of the system of adoption had been the cause of the revolt. If the native princes had been indignant at the treatment of the Rajah of Sattara, they would most probably have shown it, and when it was said that the Nizam ought to have shown some feeling on the subject, it was, in fact, admitted that he had not taken offence. Perhaps, however, when the speech of the right hon. gentleman was analysed in India, we should have a shoal of Indian princes coming over here and getting eminent lawyers to bring their cases before the House of Commons. Not that the right hon. gen tleman had ever interfered in any of these cases, nor had he been at any time mixed up with Indian affairs until the occurrence of this mutiny, which had caused so much excitement, when he had taken so much pains in the preparation of the eloquent speech he had delivered that evening. It would, however, have been better if the right hon. gentleman had exercised some reserve on this question, for although he (Slr. V. Smith) was aware that the difficulty of a Ministry was the opportunity of an opposition, yet it would have been bet ter on such an occasion as this to have been somewhat more reserved. The next thing which the right hon. gen tleman said had awakened the wrath of all India was the disturbance of the settlement of property, and he alluded to the commission which bad inquired into the system of the Jagheers and Zemins. The right hon. gentleman spoke of these holdings as freehold, but they were more in the nature of feudal tenures, for many of them were held by military service, swell as keeping a certain number of horses ready saddled and bridled for service with the Rajah ; but the tenure was not such as they could claim from the Rajah himself; and often when a Rajah died, they had to pay a thumping fine; and on the whole, the holders of land had been rather benefitted by the change of landlords. But the reason of the issuing of the commis sion was the gross frauds which existed in the system; and the commission was not appointed to inquire into the titles to land, but into the system of fraud which prevailed. No doubt the issuing of the commission had caused dis content among the fraudulent proprietors, and he sh rukl be glad to know where a law did not create discontent among those upon whom it pressed hard ? Therefore, to charge the East India Government as having given great offence generally in this respect, was an exaggeration hardly compatible with fact. The right hon. gentleman, in the third place, referred t o a su bj ec t of the greatest and deepest importance, the interference with the religion of the na tives of India. This was a question of great delicacy. The right hon. gentleman was wrong on one point, when he said that this was a new system. That was not the case, for it had been going on for years. The mutiny at Vellore was caused by that very system. What was said on that subject by the historian of the mutiny at Vellore ? The right hon. gentlemen then read, in a very low voice, an ex tract from a book, which was, as far as we could gather, to the effect " that considering the impossibility of a com bination between the Mahometaus of the Deccan with the Hindoos for purposes of disaffection, there was no reason to seek for causes of the mutiny ; it was the result of the obtrusion of religion on the troops by the military authori ties; it was an error to suppose that the In liens were so bigoted with regard to religion as not to admit of contro versy ; but compulsion on the subject of religion was what they dreaded ; it was believed that the Government meant to compel them to become Christians. This lesson was one of great seriousness, and ought never to be lost sight of; there ought never to be any grounds of suspicion given to the troops that there would be any interference with their religion. That was no doubt one of the grounds of the statement of the right hon. gentleman in which ho (Mr. V. Smith) entirely concurred. The missionaries were always treated by the natives with the utmost respect, for they considered them to be only employed in the performance of a great and sacred duty ; but when missionaries were found among the members of the civil service and the mili tary service; when (there need be no hesitation in men tioning hls name) men like Colonel Wheeler were found preaching in the bazaars, and distributing tracts to the sepoys, then they not unnaturally believed that there was an intention to subject them to compulsory conversion ; and it had been intended to instruct the Governor-General to interfere and forbid any missionary efforts on the part of members of the civil and military services. At the time of the mutiny at Vellore this question excited the greatest in terest in this country, and several papers were published on the subject, one of which was written by a relative of his, Mr. Sidney Smith, in which it was urged that if this mis siouary zeal went on among the troops mutiny would be the result; and it had turned out that that which bad been pre dicted in 1821 had come to pass in 1857. These things bad arisen, not on account of any action on the part of Govern ment, but because of the religious zeal which had been ex hibited in this country and in the House of Commons for the conversion of the natives of Indict. If, before the occur rence of this mutiny, he had ventured to say in his place in Parliament that the proceedings of the missionaries in India should. be prohibited, such an expression of opi nion would have been received with a shout of disapproba tion in that house, and the country. It, had been most erroneously contended that India was a field for missionary labour; and iu the House of Lords a nobleman remarkable for his ability and good sense had gone so fares to say that it would be better to lose India than to attempt to stop efforts for the conversion of the natives. The right hon. gentleman mentioned Mr. Halliday ; but the procession which that gentleman tried to prevent was one which was repugnant to all humanity, namely, for the purpose of carrying out the ceremony of swinging on hooks. The hon. member for Perth had asked him (Mr. V. Smith a ) whether it was the intention of the Government to put n end to the custom of swinging on hooks, and be replied that if a cessation of the custom could be caused by appeals to humanity and by persuasion, it would be doue away with; but that decidedly no attempt would be 'wide to put a stop to it by force. M r . H a ll i d a y proposed, immediately after the Sontal insurrection, that the whole territory should be handed over to the missionaries; but be (Mr. I/. Smith) forbade it. The right hon. gentleman ought to distinguish in ,his matter between the nets of individuals and the acts of the Government ; au , l so far as the former were con cerned, and the results that bad been produced_,. he . eu- . tirely concurred with the right hon entle man. The right . gentleman next reverted to 'le g e question of annexa tion, and again he (Mr. V. Smith) said with regard to au nexetion, to be consiasdehreedhaj saaisdty rightrh right hdti hon. gentleman .t gge o eb b n i tti e le c era t tneaun I was regarddhre:sttc annexationeriuedescribed. tei unjustodr in those ladoption,tyHh objected to it. tb the lt e Dal housie in this respect, fur he beganuClonly e tions which had taken place under noble lord. But there were several° w i b e t o t eu : s L st e e o s a s r a n d y fo whi cht e l hx a aa t t that, as in the case of Scinde under government o be t fore annexations Eue b °rough ; and indeed the annexation of the Punjaub, though it was finally settled .by Lord Dalhousie, was begun before his time. Mr. DISRA.ELI —That was a conquest. Mr. V. SMITH—Yes ; but a quarrel was provoked in order to lead to that conquest, and be thought that observa tion equally applied to the annexation of Scinde; nor did he see that there was so much difference in an annexation which was the result of a quarrel, and one which was the result of the system of adoption. While he was spe a king of annexation he must say a word on the subject of Oude, which was a subject of immense importance. The right hon. gentleman had said that that was a question which ought to be treated by itself, and he touched on it but lightly, and he (Mr. V. Smith) would follow his example. The) right hon. gentleman said that Oude was annexed in 1856 ; but it was well known all through 1855 that it was about to be annexed, and from then up to the present time not a word had been said about the annexation of Oude ; and that being so, he had a right to consider that the House of Commons did not think the subject, one of such pressing interest as to induce them to take np . the matter. No doubt the annexation of Oude was of great importance, THE SUN, LONEON, ; but when the right hon gentleman talked of the rights of the native princes, he should remember the wrongs of their subjects. The subjects of the King of Oude were kept in subjection by means of our forces; wa had a resident there , and troops also, and we were responsible for every act done there. If we bad withdrawn from it, the result would have been complete anarchy ; and Lord Dalhousie, think ing that such a state of things as existed in that country ought not to exist under our rule, thought it better to annex the kingdom in the manner in which he did. He (Mr. V. Smith) would not now enter into the question of whether it was done in the best mintier or not, but he believed it had been with the least possible offence to the feelings of every one. The allowance to the Sovereign was large; and since the annexation there had been a great improve ment in the social condition of Oude. Theright hon. gentle man had assumed that the mutiny in the Bengal army arose among the Oude sepoys, and that because they were dissa tisfied with the annexation of Oude. The right hon, gent le man might be correct when he said that there were 70,000 Oude sepoys in the Bengal army; he (Mr. V. Saab) thought that that statement of the number must be erroneous but he would take it to be correct. If there was discont tot among these sepoys, it was because they had had a mono poly of patronage in Oude. Tho Oude sepoy, after he had enlisted, if he felt himself aggrieved, communicated with his friends in Oude, who went to the British resident and he got redress at once ; and, in short, he enjoyed a mono p - dy of the re tress of grievances. But when the right bon. gentleman said that they were withdrawn from their homes, he could assure him that the contrary was the fact., for most of them were quartered in Owle, an .1 whatever discontent they felt was caused by the withdrawal of the monopoly of patronage which they had hitherto enjoyed ; but he hoped that when they saw the improved condition of their country under the new system they would be more contented. One of the commissioners who W.lB sent to Oude, Mr. Jackson, was now in England, and he brought with him the latest accounts, which went to show that a great improvement had taken place in the condition of the country. He thought he had shown that the attempt of the right hen. gentleman to connect this subject with the mutiny he-1 failed. The right hon. gentleman then pro ceeded to tell them of the warnings which the Govern ment had received on this subject, and finding nothing about- them in the papers, of the meag r eness of which he complained, he said that there must bo something kept back. If he (Mr. V. Smith) could have produced more papers, he would have done so. He had presented papers, in accordance with the motion of the Marquis of Clanri car-le, in the House of Lords, from the Ist April, 1837. Sir J. PAKINGTON —The enclosures were not pro duced. . Mr. V. SMITH—The enclosures, which were very volu minous, were not produced, because there had not been time to get them painted befell) the motion of the right hon. gentleman came en. The right hon. gentleman did not pre tend to say that he wanted the papers for which he had moved ; his only desire being to have an opportunity of stating his views on this question. W hen, however, it aas said that the Government must have had information on this subject, he begged leave most positively to deny it. The right hon. gentleman had spoken of the transmission of the " pancakes" all through India, but the transmission of them had been confined to the native villages, and they had not been sent to any of the troops; while as to the troops refusing their furloughs, it was only in the cave of one regiment, and that took place in April, 18-37, and it could not be said to hive been a warning to the govern ment, who did not knew that it had happened until May. Another allegation of the right hon. gentleman was, that the troops never thought of revolting until they heard of the wars with Persia anti China, and the consequent with drawal of European forces ; but if so, the time was pecu liarly ill-chosen, for the revolt occurred just when the war with Persia was over, and the European troops returning ; and as to the war in China, no European troops had been sent there from India. As regarded warnings on the sub ject, which had been given to the government by the government of India, he was prepared utterly to deny that any such warnings had been given ' • not the slightest indi cation of any disaffection among the troops had been sent home, or appeared in any paper which had been received by the government. On the contrary, the most perfect reliance on the troops was expressed, and in that remark able minute of Lord Dalhousie, in which, on going through all the questions relating to India, the noble lord devoted only one sentence to the army ; but that was a striking one, for he stated there had never been an army in a better condition than our sepoy army. The right hon. gentleman still persisted that there had been some such warning. Well, would he take the farewell address of Sir William Gomm? (Ironical cheers.) In that address Sir William Gomm said there never was anything like the discipline of that army—that it was in a most admirable state of discipline. Sir William Gomm was the corn-. wander-in-chief appointed by the Duke of Wellington, and during the five years he held that office he found no fault with the army, apd said that from their exemplary ob servance of discipline and their actual state of efficiency • they were troops of which any service might be proud. (Hear.) And teen with respect to what' the right hon. gentleman had described as Sir C. Napier's fiery autho rity. That gallant officer was' a man of very eminent ability, but of considerable eccentricity and some incone sistency, and if his opinions were (see-mined in detail some , papers might be discovered in which he spoke very fa.voer ably of the sepoys. (Hear, hear.) He said that in many respects the, sepoy was the finest soldier in the world—that as a young man he was good in action—that as a veteran he was good is experience—and when he contrasted the sepoy with the Europeans, he said that the sepoys beat them in height although perhaps not in breadth. Sir Charles Napier had been quoted as an authority with respect to - the - Bengal •army. He had served also in the Bombay army and -the &in& army. Whilst in the Ben - gal army he objected to the promotion entirely by seniority of native officers, and preferred the system which prevailed in the Bombay army. He, however, never made that alteration in the Bengal army, although when commander-, in-chief he might have carried into effect such changes as he thought desirable. Sir Charles Napier bad never come out as an authority until after the publication of his memoirs, and he did not believe that the gallant officer had ever made any remonstrance on the subject to the Court of Directors or the Indian Government. He knew it might be said that Sir Charles Napier entertained a sovereign contempt for the Directors and the Indian Government — (laughter)—but still it was not fair to reproach them for not attending to his warnings when they had never re ceived any- such warnings. (Hear, hear.) Now what other warnings had the Government received? The right hon. gentlemen stated that during the Russian war the Government had to much to do to be expected to attend to India. At that time the Government were constantly taunted, not with sending troops to India, but with not withdrawing troops from India for the Crimea ; and the hon. member for Devonport stated that twenty-five regi ments might have been withdrawn. The hon. and gal lant member for Westminster (Sir De L. Evans) stated that the East India Company's army was an admirable army, and that a portion of the European force might have been withdrawn from India. A great number of people were very wise after events had occurred, and it was easy to say that everybody might have seen con tain things were forthcoming. But he did not think many hon. members had given the country any warning with rEepect to these matters. • Quite the contrary. He had asked many eminent and intelligent men who had come home from India whether they were aware of any disaffection amongst the native troops, and had been con stantly answered " No." What was the opinion of parlia ment on the subject in 187,3? A committee sat in 1852, during the administration of Lord Derby. The question of the Indian army was discussed. The evidence of Lord Melville was taken, but nothing was recommended to be done with regard to the Indian army. I n 1853 the India Bill was passed, and a clause was inserted giving addi tional power to the Board of Control to increase the European army. Now, great jealousy had always been entertained respecting any addition to the Queen's troops in India. That jealousy displayed itself on Hr. Fox's bill, and had been felt ever since that time, and the number of Queen's troops was always limited to 20,000 men. An- other- consideration connected with this subject was that of finance. The right hon. gentleman stated that the finance of India bad this peculiarity—that it admitted of no addition. There were no means of diminishing the expenditure. A late Governor-General, now in the House of Lords, said that he had tried every means of dimin ishing the expenditure, and found it impossible t o do so. The right hon. gentleman went at some length into the causes of the late mutiny. He bad no desire to blink that question, but should have considered it unadvisable to enter into it had he not been forced to do so by the remarks of the right hon. gentleman. It was quite premature to say what were the causes of that mutiny. The right hon. gentleman called it a national revolt. Many people con sidered it a military mutiny. With the information at present in his possession, he considered it impossible to say whether it was a military mutiny or a national revolt. If it was a military mutiny it was impossible to suppose there had not been some mismanagement in the army. At Meerut there was no deficiency of Euro pean troops, and the first intelligence that arrived con vinced him that there were a sufficient number to quell any mutiny, and he was surprised at what had occurred afterwards, What had occurred at Meerut was this. Eighty-five men were condemned for disobeying orders, and wore manacled in the presence of their comrades. Now if any suspicion had been entertained that those comrades would not submit to such a thing there ought to have been a sufficient number of European troops to compel them, or the step ought not to have been taken. He considered it altogether unaccouutable that there had been no pursuit of these men over a line of road 35 miles in extent, and as level as the floor on which he was then standing. He could not help saying that he believed there must have been some mismanagement in the affair. (Hear, hear.) One of the principal causes assigned for the mutiny was the withdrawal of officers for dvil and staff purposes. That system had been going on for 60 years ; last year, in order to obviate the difficulty, an additional captain had been sent out to each regimentZMany offi cers contended that the system which had been so long in existence was perfectly defensible, and that the parties thus detached acquired a general knowledge which made them more useful. Besides, the presence of officers in great numbers wasi not always considered an advantage. It was not to the number of officers withdrawn that the evil was to be attributed. He believed that the natives were not so much impressed with the idea that we wanted greattn esaeeeathheet officers between to Christiani se th em as to d e - na ti ona li se an d de-Indianise them. The p os iti on of part i es h a d very muc h c hanged. He informede cherth, that ae too tmffi mess srea was y e n a d r s theth contemptuous,emr e ea had t h b a e a n nd the a that they someti mes spo k e of t h e sepoys as " n i ggers ." ( ,Heh of h f d e somev, beenrhar of e„ and a laugh.) He was glad to find that on a recent occasion the chairman of the East India Comp . 14 had strongly impressed this point upon the minds of the yo m emn b eg e ; l w h eaasr army. addressing. nt The t h h e e alteration I ' t alteration o w n a s ho fa a t n ie o nb t l h ies e et r ; matter which he had been informed did not affect the , cl o trttoeharmaa certain r Canningts Lat soldierseunu enlist ment men at the twh he ° le t made in the Bombay and Madras armies, and he remonstrance ndce processions.chhaa dn a dnl lately been nteg y h.alam m af al d ygn e i ycv againstoeomnffoffence neon:ez it in the Bengal army. The right hon. bad h g s a t t vae nt objectingno n for it by stating his determination not to allow the mbfp:aariatoldenccedeseions of the natives to be interfered with, and he had put whi c h h i s w v a e u t l o d h o n a v e a n i a t a e c r t f ared relating t with such the a eh processions.suburban T police, hat was a step which reflected the highest credit on the noble a no f t a e r ei t s h t e before, purpose That of bodyhad promoting E ri ti ot r uh e g p ph e to e lord. (Hea r, hear.) Under t he act of 1853 a new legisla tive council had been established, whi c h was e ndowed English objects with ou t any re f erence t o the natives, and he t r usted that what bad taken place wo uld be a warning to them not to meddle with the reli gion of the peop le. The ri g ht hon. gentleman had alluded brought forward rr a ws n d wrbdic E nh measures did to the question of education, and he (Mr. V. Smith) should say that be did not wonder that the natives, who had been accustomed to see women condemned to the most complete seclusion, should have been startled at the introduction of a system of female education. The truth, however, was, that it would be im p ossible for England altogether to re nounce that policy of improvement which had already led to the removal of such practices as the sacrifices to Juggernaut. Cut the same policy had given rise to eon- aiderable uneasiness in the minds of the people of India, and should be pursued with great caution. He should next pass to a consideration of that most important po , nt, the remedy to be applied to the existing evil. The right bon. gentleman said that the Government were not send ing out a sufficient number of troops to India ; but the fact was, that they were sending out more than Lord Can ning had thought necessary. They were sending from this country 20,000 men ;, and, besides, there were to be two regiments stopped in their way to China, and two regi ments were to be sent from the Cape, while 500 men were to be dispatched from Ceylon., He had not the slightest doubt but that the arrival of successive European regiments would produce the 'greatest awe throughout India. The effect produced on Orientals in warfare by the presence of Europeans was something, be believed, whioh it was hardly possible to imagine ; and under its influence a European ge neral could plunge with impunity into hazards which, with ariothernnemy, it would be moat unwise to encounter. The right hon. gentleman wished that a royal commission— which would of course supersede the Governor-General — should at once be sent out to India. But it appeared to him (Mr. Y. Smith) that it would be highly inexpedient to supersede, at the present moment, a governor in whom twh t t hhaheedtoyyhhhcoaot had. u hduem l greatestd otaimimtnt p ti, l eeisp a e:til e; sutk—seoeed t sham h ttonh e ifseieotnrgatrkhroiLeeresrov.siwo: trust ; and such a governor The o 3 rg aghin n rel o.eahabcu amnesty o e dudi evl cor rectedoosinrtnyedduha BO: Can n i ng. i n hr r a n n t oL h n t rh e i o n erfico . affes eae contrary, rnionnf everything in his . power to remedy. He (Mr. V . Smith) said that with a view to immediate aetion it would be most unwise to supersede Lord Canning, but it was very possible that a commission might be usetully employed with the sanction and under the authority of that noble lord ; and the Government bad informed him that if he wished for such aid they would be prepared at once to appoint a com mission composed of either civil or military men. The right hon. gentleman wished that the Queen's name should be connected with - everything done at present in India, and he recommended that an assurance should be given to the people of that country, in the name of her Majesty, that while the most vigorous measures would be adopted to suppress the mutiny, humanity and judgment would be exercised •in dealing with their future condition. But he (Mr. V. Smith) did not believe that the issuing of a pro clamation on the subject would b 3 necessary to convince the native population that, while the rebellion would be severely suppressed, the quality of mercy would be-exer cised is the subsequent proceedings of the British authori ties. It should also be remembered that the Parliament had deliberately placed the government of India in the hands of the East India Company, controlled by the Crown, and that the constitution so established must necessarily be carried into practical effect. The right hon. gentleman talked of rapidity of improvement in India, but every mea sure which may be devised for that improvement should be referred—first to the governorof the presidency, then tiithe Governor General, next to the Legislative Assembly, after war Is to the Court of Directors, and, finally, to the Board of Control. (Hear, hear.) That was the system which Parliament itself had chosen to provide for the Government of India, an 1 of course it was necessarily unsuited for rapidity of action. That was, however, a questien which must be left for consideration at some future time. Par liament might distrust ary of the authorities which it bad itself established for conducting the administration of India—it might distrust the Governor-General, or it might distrust the Court of Directors, or it might distrust the. President of the Board of Control. And when he said the. President of the Board of Control, he could not help remembering that it had been stated by an eminent autho rity in another place that a thorough distrust was felt in the gentleman who at present filled that office. That had been said by •a nobleman whose authority on Indian matters he (Mr. Y. Smith) very highly appreciated; and he only alluded to the subject for the purpose of observing that the noble lord who had just used that language was in the . habit of seeing all the disaffected gentlemen who came from India, that be was known to entertain a vindictive feeling against the East India Cdmpany, and that that feeling might perhaps extend to the President of the Board os Control, connected as he was with the company and with the Government. In the position in which he (Mr. V. Smith) was placed, he frequently felt it to be his duty to refuse claims and petitions put forward by retired East India officials ; and he had no doubt but those gentlemen in their disappointment often addressed themselves to the noble lord to whom be had referred, and spoke of him (Mt. V. Smith) in no very favourable language. But he was in the habit, on the other hand, of communicating with persons who still continued attached to the company, and those persons invariably shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders at the mention of the name of the noble lord. (Laughter.) He could, how ever, state that as long as the noble lord should continue to give such advice as that which he frequently gave, and should supply admirable suggestions for the Government of India, he should listen to those suggestions with the utmost deference and respect, and pass over with the greatest unconcern any compliments which he might be pleased to address to him. (Hear, hear.) Passing to a subject of a less personal and more important character, he should observe that any deficiency created by the recent events in the native army of India should be supplied by the employment of the Queen's troops. But when he came to the question whether they should abandon the native army he answered no. (Hear, hear.) It would be impossible to govern India without the assistance of some native regiments. He had at present in that country an army of nearly 300,000 men, and the people of England would never be prepared to incur the expense of main taining one-half of that force. The real remedy for existing was, he believed, to be found in a reorganisation of the native troops ; and that brought him to consider how these troops were composed. The Bengal army at present consisted in a great measure of high caste natives, And more especially of Brahniins. Now it seemed to him that such an arrangeinent was extremely objectionable. There had been a limit of late to the employment of Brahmios ; but there ought, he thought, to be a further limit in that directions--(hear)—that was one of the ques tions which would hereafter require the deepest conside ration. He believed it was the late Sir C. Napier who had proposed that members of various creeds should be enlisted in the same regiments ; and it was manifest that men of different castes might be engaged to serve together. Men of high caste and of low caste, and of no caste at all, were employed in the Bombay regiments ; and the Bombay and Madras armies formed the best models, as far as they were yet aware, on which our Indian military force should be organised, because they still remained faithful to the 'British standard, although he' admitted that it was ins possible, after the intelligence which had of late reached this country, to state with absolute confilence, how long they might so continue. They took their Waffles with them. That system might be improved. These were all circumstances that should be considered relatively to the different positions of the army in India. There ought also to be an addition made to the irregular cavalry. It was a proposition that had been frequently made, and Lord Dalhousie had sugeeste 1 the withdrawal of two regiments of the Q uee n's cavalry, to be replaced by irregular cavalry. The regu l ar cava lry of the Indian army had, however,. heen mu c h ma li gne d. Another point was, whether the native artillery should be continued. He had no doubt whatever that it was a vary dangerouis thing to leave the artillery in the hands of the natives—(hear, hear) -and he thohght it would be better to confine it altogether to European soldiers. These were points which he (Mr. V. Smith),threw out with great diffidence ; but they involved grave questions that ought to be in quired into. They wer e no t, h owe ver, questions to solve , which required an imm ense s t re tch of milita r y genius ; and, therefore, he had n o d ou bt they would be.satisfac torily decided when this mi s e ra bl e affair was over. There were now in India men p er f ec tly capable of dec idin g them ; there was Sir P. Grant, now in comm and in chief of the Bengal army, who h a d been sent to M adras at his (Mr. V. Smith's) instigation, and who was the first Corn- - He pany's officer that commanded Queen's troops. H was knowle d g e a man perfectly competent to advise in. these tter , Then there was Sir James Outrun, a s excellent as a civilian as he. was as a so ldi er . His (Mr. V. Smith s,) . m of India. noble friend at the head of the Governm ent o f India. therefore, would not be in want of good a dvice, if he had any need of it; but he (Mr. V. Smith) was quite sure his noble friend would waiv e a ll person al feeling, if it was necessary for the good of the c ountry, and accept assistance from any quarter where it was available. Therefore, though he (Hr. V. Smith) saw clearly enoug h the immense difficulty, in the case, he was not without hope that the question would be s e ttl e d. Certain h e was the set tlement should want nothing o n the part of her Ma j est y 's Government--that no energy should be l eft undis p la y ed by' them, and no means left untried to effect it. (Hear, hear.) The present was one of the most awful events that had ever happened in the history of this W country. (Hear, hear.) There neve r was a blow fell, more suddenly, and w hich p roduced a more profound impression on the public mind, Indeed, it was impossible to walk the streets of this metropolis and not see the excessive agitation which moved the people. He (Mr. V. Smith) thought that the right hon. gentleman might have abstained, therefore, from many of the topics on which he touch ed in the course his address. The question was one of th e greatest import ance, and if the house thought anythi n g was wron g with of those who had its management, it shoulit devote itself day by day and night by night to the task of investi g at i on, and change the circumstances as well as th e p ersons in the wrong, if it was deemed necessary. But he ( Mr. V. Smith) did nos think it advisable for the house to waste its time in fruitless discussion. If the house found any deficiency in those having the conduct of affairs--himself or any other—they ought to be made to give way ; and he, for one, would give way willingly if it was considered requi site for the prosperity of the country. If they saw a weak head or a faltering hand in those who held the govern ment, then they ought to wrest the power from their inno cent but enfeebled grasp. But if, on the contrary, the House of Commons thought otherwise, he (Mr. V. Smith) asked them, in the name of their common country, not to disparage the government—not to enfeeble the hands they still wishbd to strike—and not to embarrass the under standings they may still think fit to take charge of the in-, terests of the country iu the present awful crisis. (Hear.) Sir E. PERRY could not admit that the present was an inexpedient time for the discussion of the question. As to the mode iu which the revolt was to bo put down, he was glad to hear of the force that was to be employed. He wished, however, that more force had been l reseut discussion was w h e th er , whatle was so, viz., th a t th e m ilit ary revo lt was but a reflex of the ge neral feelin g of the country. The soldier ex hibited the outset, knowing the effect it would have had on the excitabl e imagination of the natives. Why not h ave s ent her Majesty's war s t eam ers with twenty or thirty regiments within ten days of the receipt of the ne ws from this country ? The believedgeat questionbefor true, in India occupied a higher social position than in any Euro pean country, he was therefore more closely attached to his family. That feeling was increased by th e e xtensive furlough a ll o wed. Ho thought, therefore, that the condition of the soldier entirely precluded any cause of discontent. He 'en tirely agreed with all that had been stated by the hon. mem ber for Bucks as to the causes of the outbreaks. The policy adopted by Lord Dalhousie was the real cause of the evils which hasserisen. The system of annexation had sunk to native mind. deeply in It had operated as the enunci ation of the same principle on the part of a governing race would have operated in the case of an European race. In addition to that, there had been a system of confiscation of private estates, ou the grounds of bad title, which had created wide-spread disaffection among the higher classes of the na tives. The right hon. gentleman said the policy of annexa tion,disgusted the native princes, and quoted the statement of General Lowe. We were supported in our north-west pro vinces, by the Gwailor Rajah, and yet this Rajah could have no affection for us, as we had taken one-half of his kingdom from hm. He only supported us out of fear, and because he was afraid we should take the other half. (Laugh ter.) He approved of the policy of the annexation of Scinde, as he believed th t th • princes of that country had deeply offended us But it was among the population of India that the disaffection in regard to anima: ion chiefly ex sted, aiid h would read tolthe house a series of statements which would con firm t at statement, which showed that the feeling was far and wide in the country. Could it be otherwise Could a series of lan owners bo dispossessed without feeling aggrieved by it ? Put the East India Company maintained the monstrous dee- rUESDAY EVE ri 28, sion to kingdoms in India ; but all that the Government had done was to prevent the invariable succession from one per son to ano' her. No interference had been attempted with regard to the succession to property. Much had been said with regard to .the Rajah of Sattara, into whose claims, which he denied, the hon. gentleman entered. The rajah w a s a mere puppet set up by the British Government—(hear, hear) —but it was much better that the rajah should appear in the capacity he had held than end his days in a dung , *a (Hear, and a laugh.) The right bon, gentle can had referred to the opinions of Sir Charles Napier and Sir Thomas Munro on the subject of tenure ; but ho (Mr. Mangles) was prepared with ample evidence from the former authority to show that the East India Company were not open to the censure which had been cast on them iu this respect. It bad been charged upon the East ludia Company that they eight to have been aware of the state of the sepoy army ; but Sir Charles Napier himself had pu: on record some very . emphatic opinions in favoor of the native troops. Sir Charles Napier, theirefbre, could not be said to have " warned" the Govern ment with respect to the state of the Indian army, in the sense contended for by the right honourable gentleman the member for Buckinghamshire. The "grievances" of the s. Toy army had been also alluded to. He (Mr. Mangles) believed that the scpoys bad been much indulged; but did net think the mutiny had anything to do with "grievances." lie traced it to a frantic fanaticism foundcd on a supposed intention to deprive the natives of caste. The mutineers were mad, under the impress.on th et their. c este had twee interfered with, aid wer ; not in possesion of th cir proper senses at the time of these o,Nurremies. No* le could yet tell whether they had nit bees acted oa by foreign influences. (Hear.) He entirely agreed with whet the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) had said as to the miEs'onaries. As mers missionaries he believed tat these gentlemen would be received with respect and without suspicion, but he agreed with t le right honour +Me gentleman that it: was of the last importance that Government should not be connected with the missionaries, farther than seeing to their personal safety. At the same time he thought the Government ought to do all I they could to reform the social manners of India. It was right that they should promote female education, and the society having this object in view, had been labouring amongst the Hiudoos for the last 30 years. He did not wish to tres pass longer on the attention of the house, though there were many ether matters to which he would wish to allude. (Hear.) Mr. AYRTON moved the adjournment of the debate. The house then divided on the question of adjournment— Ayes Noes Majority against the adjournment Mr. HADFIELD declared his deep regret that a debate upon so important a subject had been cut so short. Mr. DISRAELI—I had no personal interest in the divi sion which has just taken place. Having had an oppor tunity of expressing my views at some length on the condi tion of that country, which must now for some time occupy the attention of England, and considering that the motion for the adjournment came from the other side of the house, think . l should have acte t not only with discourtesy, but also with a want of fairness, if I had not Toted for it. lam con tented to have bad an opportunity of expressing in my place in Parliament my general views on the condition of our Indian empire, and I do not look upon the decision of the house,which e ter way it might go, or in whatever form it might be demand ed, as being really an incident of any importance in the matter. The future is hid from us, and until the future is revealed to us it is quite impossible to arrive at any satisfactory decision on these great events. Ido not therefore, solicit from the house any definite judgment, but I do think it of the last importance that the House of Commons, under such circumstances, should show to the country that it has given its attention and conside ration to events of such startling importance and interest as those which have occurred inlndia. I must avail myself, under these circumstances, of my privilege for a few minutes to make some remarks upon the observations which have fallen from different hon. members in the course of this debate, and as they shall be very few, I will at once refer to those which are of a personal nature. I can assure the President of the Board of Control that he labours under a great misapprehension if he supposes that I accused him of displaying levity in the answers which he made to me on a former occasion in reference to this subject. As I aot not in the habit of preparing any expressions whic h I use in this house, I would not myself venture to say that I had not made use of par ticular words, but I can assure the right hon. gentleman that nothing was more foreign to my feelings than to attribute anything of the kind to him, and my friends around me tell me that they were perfectly unaware that any such expression had fallen frona me. (Hear, hear.) I certainly did think, and I retain my opinion, that the manner in which the in formation from India was first received by the right hon. gentleman, and on a subsequent occasion noticed by one of his colleagues did convey to mo the idea, which is shared, I believe very generally by the House and by the country, that the Government did not attribute that importance to these events which I think they deserved. (Hear.) That is a point which, after all, time must decide, and I am not pre pared, and I never wished, to force the House to give an opinion on it. It has been said of me—and I hope the House will absolve me from egotism in referring to it—that this is a new-born zeal of mine in the affairs of India, and the bon. Chairman of the East India Company said of mo that I was the stormy petrel of Indian affairs, inasmuch as rnever made a speech on them except when they were in a disastrous con. dition. These are observations easily made and easily. l believed by a majority probably of the House. I cannot I suppose that there are many gentlemen who have watched my career with such critical minuteness as to be able to say whether the allegation is a true ono or not; but, as it has been made, I may be permitted to say that it has not the slightest foundation. Certainly I can say with respect to Indian affairs what I suppose every gentleman who has had a seat for some time in this House can—that it is not a sub ject which one gets much encouragement to meddle with in this 11 , ,use. The observations of the hon. chairman were a little inconsistent, because he owne I himself, in the course of his speech, that on the occasion of the disasters in kffghan istan I, occupying a very insignificant position in this house, did endeavour to attract its attention to the policy and to the causes which had produced them. But the hon. chairman says that circumstances or chance having placed me in a more influential position I did not exhibit that zeal for which I am now desirous of gaining credit in Indian matters. In 1853, the hon. gentleman says, I never favoured the house with any opinion upon India. But what is the fact? In 1853 not only did I trespass upon the house at almost greater length than I have done to-night, but I did all that I could to prevent the renewal of that charter to which the hon. gentleman owes the position which he at present occupies. It was at my in stance that my noble friend the member for King's Lynn brought forward the amendment which, if it had been carried, would have prevented the renewal of that charter, and I sup ported him to the best of my power. The hon. gentleman says that I was not a vary frequent attendant on the Indian Committee of 1853. That sounds very well in debate, but when you coma to analyse the facts --and I feel that I really must ask the house to excuse me for entering into these details—you will find that the result, so far as the interest which I took in India is concerned, is exactly the reverse of that which the hon. gentleman wishes the house to infer. It so happened that the inquiry into the expedi ency of renewing the charter of the East India Company took place when I was in office. The right hon. gentleman then at the head of the Board of Control did me the honour to consult me—as I had then the direction 'of the business of this house—upon the form and mode in which that inquiry shoilld be made. We finally resolved that there were seven heads of inquiry it was important should be entered into by the committee before its decision was arrived at. The first bead was as to the form of government ; the next referred to those great. questions upon which I have touched to-night —the revenue, the tenure of land, the interference of the Go. vernment With the religion of the natives, and other matters of that kind. The first head of inquiry was entered into during the year that I was in office. I sometimes attended, and though the pre sure of business was heavy upon me, I kept my attention fixed on all that took place before the committee. Next year, when we were out office, the Go vernment which succeeded us came to the conclusion that, although the committee of the House of Commons charged with an inquiry as to what should be the future government of India for a long series of years had only investigated ono of the seven branches which we had fixed upon— namely, that referring to the mere form of government—to the question of the double government, on which the country took so much interest—yet it was absolutely necessary, for the security of our Indian empire, that we should without loss of time legislate upon the form of Government, and enter upon an investigation of the other branches of inquiry after the act hnl passed. My nolo!e friend the member for King's Lynn then brought forward his amendment—the mildest and most moderate which could have been proposed. All my noble friend asked was that the house should not legislate until all the heads of inquiry had been entered into. I supported him in that motion, but we were defeated, as we always were when we took a view of Indian affairs opposed to that which continues to exercise so fatal an influence. The hon. gentleman now says that I did not attend the committee. But can a man occupy a more contemptible position than to be a member of a committee of the House of Commons to in quire what shall be the new government of India when the louse of Commons before that committee have half concluded their inquiry decide the very form of government that shall be adopted 7 (Hear, hear.) Why, it was a perfect mockery. I admit that from the moment the House of Commons passed that Act I no longer attended the Indian Committee. The hon. member did attend it, and if there is the slightest doubt on the subject I answer for the worthy chairman that he was sedulous in his attendance upon that defunct and obsolete society for inquiry into the condition of the country. I have been obliged to refer to evidence upon such subjects as the levying of revenue and the tenure of land, and . if the house want to see an apology for unalloyed and unmitigated :con fiscation they have only to turn to the evidence of the worthy chairman. (A. laugh.) Ile has now explained everything by what ho terms the " frantic fanaticism" of the Sepoy. Ido not know what frantic fanaticism is, but when I listened to the chairman the other night I remember the hon. member who fills that mysterious and responsible office rising and telling us that his mission was to convert the whole of India to Christianity. (A laugh, and " Hear, hear.") I sty that was fiantic fanaticism. (Cheers.) Recommend me to this C 3. en d , avowal of the Chairman of the East India Company, tn when our East Indian empire is in a state of emergency. (Cheers.) I now come to the answer of the righthaomn.ennte gen tleman the President of the Board of Control, which to this—" You say we have had warnings native army." I therefore expected that th of e rthigehsttahteeno. gen tlemanfthe eiety, history,w ould an have d advertedlife which t to placedthose features beforea t t u o re t s rat h e ce f e Indiannßultehoe the importance of which I end . 0 circumstances e i t s with outiey yesterday esrt a r Y ti startled h ie e w y the which right hon. gentlemen almost paseasevglutdaesteeiciier: notice. Ho reated them as o e tbe causeerie i tle h y e ehaanveee they y n heardp permanent m b e e n f before--because r e n t — a b n e d c ause enduringt iey e n a i l l ' are e s o le( of misrule—that I broughartethemd before the wm h eon o sl u td se p . nowe l te f rh t fau h vl e e y p h l a .e d lend . eavonred . d been nee thepro duced t e a: y e accidents ttsh that tf have coun try of the world. ) , ut the great defence of the right hon g nt!eman to the comprehensive to"e t a ke' was a technical, red-tape, Treasury, worn-out, and old-used argument. The right hon. gentleman says—" I will prove that we had so warnings. I will prove that we, the Government of Great Britain, that I, the Minister of India, wa s more completely ignorant of the state of India than you imag i n e." The right hon. gentleman spoke with all the sim n- t p ttnlai l aei i tut c meu i es t ar: y en, di t h ldhi a l eta. o t ehdna M oy,un r :l . oh Hastings thoughtai vt a e t cl i niigimtsiet einformationpprsaideoods,osisnitwi possible otee s hr ptetshehoseamuauttbel subject, r iic(ittAeh t , ahulgunihtsgdthwdi hon.a. otuhbpAlgoetgot Go vernment—with ne vernment —with this Cerberus to watch over the affairs of India, with the Government at Calcutta, the Government at Leadenhall-street, tho Gover• ment in Cannon-row, and all the complicated contrivances of this vast machine--I thought it possible that the right hon. gentleman might suc ceed in obtaining a glimpse of light and some slight fragment of information. But I did not think it right to assume tbat iu these events which have alarmed a country and endangered an empire these had been in official quarters the gross igno rance which appears to have prevailed upon these subjects. (Cheers.) The right hon. gentleman denies that he knew anything, and protested his ignorance with a plaintiveness that is irresistible and a pathos that I yield to without further -------, . • struggle and argument with a Minister who, so far as India is concerned, would lead us to believe that his Government is the most purely ignorant Government, and also the most iica pable (because there are some who believe that capabilitY Abets net depend upon knowledge)—the meet uriinforrieed and most ignorant Governmert that ever presented to i n fl uence ,th e ' destinies of that country. • (Loud Olean.) The right' lion. gentleman has suggested that this debate is af no use ; The noble lord the member for the city of London, who is not a stormy petrel but the halcyon brooding on the waters—(a latigh)—and Who, when the. Government is in any ,diffienity, produces a card—a conciliatory card—the noble lord, 44, does not see the use of this debate: Why; sir, have I notmtge gelded aeneetelee e that may have inconeeiveble ; impel-tenet in the future—the issuing of a Itoyil commission and have we not had au admission . from the. Gore nmeut that the pro position is not only politic red 'praCticable, but that per haps it will be adopted ? (Hear, "hear y More than that I am not a ware th a t this. proposition may not have been already decided on. (Cheers.) Is that' a debate without a result I Bat then the right hon. gentleman says that if we have a royal commission we must have a master n•ind (A laugh.) The light hon gentleman says, "It Is all "eery wall to recommend a Royal commission, lent' can yoeefind a master discoveringin the n o master s su eyt r r t ar n s v e i end: made,. that h A e . ha • M uo u e hu e . e'n ) Bd' sp u. l f n a l i E ve t eda . cr a t i ft ; o r l V observe to the G overnment that for' the cint'es I -withitho comtnission to perform uo master mind is necee ary. The possession of those high qualities that commend the con fidence of mankind —these are what we want. (Cheers.) What India wants is not a master mind, but the assertion of truth and justice and the sovereign powr of the country. Lot it be announced in an authoritative e manner froni the highest authority of this country that you will no loitger sanction the violation of right, that you will re.pect your engagements, and take care that those who are your subjects shall enjoy their just privileges; and rest assured that you will do more than all the devices of all the master minds to secure the tranquility of India. (Cheers.) I come now to the notice that I have placed on the paper. The right hon. gentleman says that I have moved for the production et one paper tbat does not exist, and of another paper-that cannot be produced. (A laugh.) Now, as to the first paper that does not exist. I read in au Indian newspaper, a year and a half ago, to which, therefore, it cannot be objected that it was an article produced with reference to these events, a detailed account of a document drawn up by General Anson and submitted by him to the Governor- General. Toe military service is congratulated upon thi: step ou the tart of General Atpon. The paper is sa dto describe the proposed constitution of the staff, and many other err tieulars are given. The writer awaits with the greatest anxiety, he says in conclusioe, the decision of the Governor-General on the subject. The man who wrote the article did not know the form of the document, and does not say whether it is a me morandum or a despatch. All that I can do, the refore, is to give a description of that document, thinking that no Minis ' ter would make a technical objection to its production, and that if it were in 'his posse sion it would be placed before the House of Commons as a doeument of importance. "-Now I have uo moral doubt that a document of thatelaseriPtios is in existence, and was presented to the Governor-General of India. So much, however, for a docemeut which is said not to be in ex stence. Let vie next advert for a moment to that which wll not be produced. The report of General Napier, according to the noble lord the member for London, is im material and ins'gnificant. Has the noble lord, -let me 'ask, rea that report ? If not, how does he know that it is imam• terial or insign fieant ? I myself have not seen it, but I know men of the highest character who are familiar with it, snd,who assure me that it is most material an I significant. -I think it t erefore of the utmost importance that that document should be laid before us; but instead of it and as a substitute for the re port of Gen, Anson, which if produced would givens some busi ness-like information, wo are, it seems, to have one of those dry constitutional platitudes which, in a moment of difficulty, the noble lord, the member for the city of London, mechani cally pulls out of the dusty pigeon -holes of his mind (laugh. ter), and shakes in the perplexed face of a baffled House of Commons. (Renewed laughter.) The noble lord's is one of those amendments which nobody can support, and which no body can oppose. (Hear, hear.) What idea, I would ask, *au a commonplace so vapid give to this country, to Europe, or to Asia, of the feelings, the thoughts, and the opinions of the House of Commons at this moment? (Cheers.) It is, in short, one of those constitutional platitudes which 1688 would be ashamed of (Hear, hear.) We have, I contend, a right to possess information upon the important subject of this debate. We ought not to bring it to a close by assert ing that which is after all nothing more than a mere routine expression of opinion. So far as I myself am concerned, I am satisfied that an opportunity has this evening been afforded we of stating, however imperfectly, my views as to the policy which we ought to adopt with regard to our Indian empire. The future must decide as to whether these views are or are not correct. I shall no longer contend about the miserable question whether two papers should be laid before this house, or whether we should aceept the commonplace which the noble lord, the member for London, has submitted to our consideration. I shall rest satisfied with having placed upon record, before we return to our respective con stituents, the principles which in relation to the important question in debate I profess, and the policy which I be lieve will be ultimately supported. (Cheers.) Mr. T. BARING and Lord J. RUSSELL rose together, and there were loud calls for the former, but .he gave_ way, and Lord J. RUSSELL proceeded to saythat ho had not, as the right hon gent'eman the memb• r for Buckinghamshire had stated, applied the words "immaterial and insignifi. cant" to the report of Sir C. Napier. He had obsrved that he believed the report was immaterial to the decision of the que-tion-at issue, but he had not need the word " insignia cant" at all. Mr. T. BARING said the point whether the system of double G..vernment should be adopted or not had been tho roughly investigated by the committee•before the bill for re newing the charter was introduced into the horse. If the rtght hon. gentheman then held the opinions he had ex pressed to-night, why did he not state them to the committee of whi ii ho was a member, and not reserve them for a time when affairs in India were in a crisis. The 'right hon.Lmem bees speech consisted of nothing but what they had heard before from the hon. member for Devonport. He had never heard a speech from the right hon. gentleman with greater pain. Lord PALMERSTON—The right hon. gentleman appears to be satisfied with his speech. I myself cannot pretend to answer for the opinions of other persons, but I must for my• self say that I regret that a gentleman who possesses the talent of the right hon., member for Bucks, and who holds such a prominent position in this house and in the country, should have selected a moment of great difficulty and anxiety to bring forward this motion. I myself shall not go further into the subject than to say that I am content to stand upon the speeches of my right hon. friend the President of the Board of Control and of the hon. gentleman the Chairman of the Court of Directors, and to leave those two speeches as an tidotes to the speech of the right hon. gentl eman . ' 'Wear, hear.) I shall not enter into the main question, or detain the house by repeating a' atements which have already been made ; but I must say with regard to one paper moved for by the right hon gentleman—namely, auassumed report from General Anson—the right hon. gentleman states that ho has read that report in an Indian paper--I can only say that the Government are not in possession of such a report, and there fore i is not in their power to produce it. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the report made by Sir C. Napier in 1849, that report undoubtedly does exist. The right hon gentle man says that he has never seen or read it. Now I have read every word of it, and I can say that it is not a report upon the organisation of the Indian army, but that it refers to the means of defence against external aggression. It sets forth precautionary measures to guard against witch a contin gency, and displays the sagacity and knowledge of its author ; but it is a paper the nature of which I submit to the house p: ecludes its being laid befog o Parliament. (Hear, hear.) It does, I admit, contain some passa. es relative to the Indian army, but the purport of those ,passages is not that which the right hon. gentleman would lead tae house to anticipate. I have no objection to the production of the par ticular extract which relates to the c Instruction of the Indi an army, but I think after what has been stated, that the right hon. gentleman will not be anxious for i a production. I, sir, admit it is only right and proper that this house should be called upon to take into their consideration the events which have recently occurred in India, and I think that my noble friend the member for L-ndon, has justly estimated the feeling, not only of every man in this house, but that of the people of this country, and has suggested a most proper course for us to pursue. lam sure that the House of Com mons will agree, now that we are called_ upon to discuss the recent unfortunate event, in India, to adopt the terms of the amendment which has been movad by my noble friend, (Hear, hear.) I am glad that my noble friend has moved this amendment, and I am sure that the blouse of Commons ought not to separate without voting the address which he has moved. (Hear, hear.) Sir J. PAKINGTON wished to advert to what lie con sidered to be an irregularity. From what had fallen front the noble lord ho understood th at the hon. member for Gaildf,rd had been reading extracts from that vary paper for • which his right hon. friend had moved, and which had been refused. Such •a course was most irregular, and ho hoped that , the noble lord would make that paper public by laying it on the table of the house. _ Lord PALM ERS iON—I stated that the substance of groat bulk of the paper referred to by the right hen, gentle man referred to a hubject different to the organisation of the Indian army. That part of the paper which relates to that subject alone I am perfectly willing to produce. Mr. DISRAELI—With the permission of the houseJ will move only for extracts from that paper to which the noble lord has referred. General THOMPSON said that no notice had boon taken of what was a most important part of the question, and thatwas the breach of faith towards the native troops, in fact it was the play of " Hamlet" being performed without a Hamlet. For his own part, he could only say that as yet he had heard but one side of the question, and he WM content to follow up the old maxim, " audi a lteram partem." The motion of the right hon. gentleman the member for Pucka was then negatived without a division, and the amend ment propos d by the noble lord the member for London adopted. The Municipal Corporation Bill was read a third time aid passed. The Lunatics (Scotland) Bill was read a third time and passed. The New Zealand Government Act Amendment Bill was read a second time. The Insurance Companies Bill passed through committee pro forma. , • COURT OF SESSION (SCOTLAND)I3ILL. This bill paised through committee. , OXFORD UNIVERSITY 818. This bill was read a third time and passed. ' AUSTRALIAN MAIL SERVICt. On the motion of Mr. BLiCHBURN, a return_ was ordered of the dates of arrival and departure'of • the steamers employed by the Peninsular and Oriental Company While performing the Australian mail service, showing how Often and to what extent the vessels failed to forward the mails in regular course, and of the dates of arrival and depaikure of the SOTO ral steamers of the Peninsular and OrientAl , Company em. ployed by them in the mail service for the last two years, showing the rates of speed of each voyage. , The house adjourned at two o'clock. Pills famed for the [ADvicansEmENTl-11ollowayie. cure of Liver Complaints and derangement of the Stomach.—The liver being ju-tly esteemed the noblest part of the body, and fountain of life, thus it is when the • b ecome poisoned life itself is threatened and the seuPrffaelng patient •is in the moat imminent danger, but thousandira borne willing testimo n y t o th e power o f “ ,this potent. zenndy, cleansing the blood from all impuri ties, strengtUiling the stomach, discharging the bile, removing all obstructions, and eradicating disease with out leaving a trace behind.—Sold by all medicine ven ders throughout:the world ; at Professor Holloway's Es tablishments, 244 . „ Strand, London, andBo, Maiden-lane, New York; by A. Stamps, Constantinople ; A. Geidioy, Smyrna ; and E.'Muir, Malta. - "-• _I B_s_7_ trine that the tenure of land was an evil, and seemed to think it an injustice to the. state vv , en land got into privet. hands. If it was sight that th• disaffection in the army was but a reflex of what was passing in the national mind, the course which they would have a right to pursue was clear. There were two modes of governing India—the one by an over whelming force, eshic'i would involve an increased army, the disbanding of the native troops, and the abandonment of all our schemes of education and improvement. The other Was by associating the natives in our system, by adopting the course adopted by the Humans in their Asiatic provinces. He wis sorry to see that Lord Ellenborough seemed to approve of the first of these courses, which was all bat impossible. .It was not the system whi c h he advocated to introduce what was called a European system into India. No one who knew India would think of introducing self-government or repre sentative institutions—nothing but a despotism would suit India. But what he himself and Indian reformers said was, that Indian interests ought to be considered equally with European interests. ' India would be more useful to us as a rich and thriving ally, not as a weak and powerless de pendent. Ho wished that the right hon. member for Buck inghamshire lied called attention earlier to this subject. Both sides of the house seemed to think India as caviare. He had never vituperated the Indian service—(oh, oh)—he respected it—but as long as it retained its rococo doctrine of centuries past—it would never reach the point it ought. But now that the statesmen on both sides seems determined that a wise policy should be adopted in India—this would do more than ever lied yet been done to redeem the affections of the Indian population. .Mr. CAMPBELL considered that the Government of this country should notbe embarrassed by discussions such as the present, but that they deserved the credit of the country for the energetic steps they had taken. The right hon, gentle man objected to the annexation of Oude ; if, Pike himself, he had travelled there 1r years ago, and had been in danger of losing his head, he would have told a different story, He re gretted the speech of the right hon. 4,rentlemau opposite ; he had never heard a more unpatriotic or injudicious speech ; and he recommended him to destroy every copy he could meet with. Mr. WHITESIDE protested against the doctrine that the subject was not then to be discussed.' in the House of Com mons. If this was not tee time when it was to be discussed, what was the time ? Were they not to die cuss war when they were at war. This was not the doctrine respecting India of Fox and Burke : The right hon. gentleman opposide had contradicted himself when lie characterised the movement as a miserable revolt, and then said that it came home to all the interests in the country. He had the good fortune to know Sir C. Napier. He had often discussed Indian matters with him. Sir C. Napier might sometimes express himself in a de cided manner, but was he wrong ? Ho had written a minute history of the revolt, which had occurred immediately after his arrival. He first found that the Sepoys received a multi tude of letters, such as they never received before. He then received a communication from Sir Colin Campbell, informing him of the imminent movement in his own troops, which he had checked by such decided measures as rendered revolt im possible. Sir C. Napier found that things were going on so similarly in his own troops, that he had no doubt of the movemement intended among his own troops. He took mea sures accordingly, and suspended the order he received from the Governor-General, for which he received a reprimand, which caused his instant resignation. Sir C. Napier left on record his opinion that Delhi should be defended by 10,000 picked men. He never said that the Bengal army was in a state of disore•anisation ; on the contrary, he said that it con tained some of the finest troops in the world, but he found a different system of promotion in the Bombay army, where promotion by seniority proceeded °ll e a different principle, and it was upon this that he acted in his conduct towards the two armies. Brigadier Jacob has pointed out eight evils which rendered discipline impossible in the Bengal army not only in extraordinary mutinies, but in its every day con duct. Col, Ja -ob with this view, desaribecl the manner of mounting guars of the sentries. The first thing a Sepoy did was to strip naked, dabble in the water, and then go to sleep, and it was out of his blanket that he went without his musket, when the sepoy on guard callel out to him to relieve him. He thought that the papers, barren as they were, con tained more things which threw light on the cause of the mutiny. He did not think that the missionary proceedings had anything to do with the movement, as the Hindoos took especial pleasure in religious discussion, besides which, the Americans, who had no territories in India, had successful missions. Lord Canning had said that the mi-sionaries were right in urging the Government to promote education. True, it was difficult for any Christian to say that he would not encourage the missionaries, but the question was whether the course taken was not likely to be really injurious to the cause. Lord Ellenborough was too energetic a man for these times, for if he thought a thing was right he would do it. (Hear, hear.) Many deputations had waited on the honourable gentleman, wno had received them very politely, and premised nothing. For his part, if the existing evils were remedied he should cot care what were the means taken, but he hoped that positive steps would be taken to remedy those evils. Mr. V. SMITH did not mean when he said "a miserable" mutiny, to imply a contemptible one, but a calamitous one. He had not said that it was only a military mutiny. Lord J. RUSSELL. Sir, I am one of those who had no wish that this house originally should have entered into this discussion. Sir, the hon. and learned gentleman who has just sat down has truly said that this is an awful calamity; but I cannot conceive anything less tending to 06-advan tage of this country wor of India if this discussion arising out of it is to end to night, as the hon. gentleman seems to wish it may, and the hon. and learned gentleman who has just spoken confidently predicates that it will. From what I gather from the speech of the hon. and learned gentleman he finds fault with- the government for what they omitted to do, and rather thinks that the right hon. gentleman the President of the Board of Control is in competent to fill the office be holds. The right hon. gentle man who moved. for papers pointed out the evils which afflicted India, and expressed his opini in that the Govern ment should place itself moie in connection with India, and show the people of that country that it had no interest in the violation of treaties—no interest in the disturbance of the country. 3ut what is to be the result of all this. Is it to be as tie hon. and.learned gentleman the member for Ennis killen seemed to point out, a vote of censure on the proceed. ings of the Government, or what the right hon. gentleman the member for Buckingham intimated, some strong measure declaring that the Government of India had hitherto been a tyranny ? I admit that the awful calamity which has hap pened in India is enough to affect the heart of every man in this metropolis But is it enough that the House of Commons should have a debas.o pointing out every sort of evil, now blaming the East India Company, now the Government, now Lord Dalhousie far the policy lie has pursued for the last ten years, and that they shall separate without any declaration wh itever as to what is to be done. That appears .to me not the course which the House of Commons ought to pursue. I should be very sorry indeed, the debate having been brought on, that we should separate without some declaration upon this important subject. The right hon. gentleman has very ably, and in a most eloquent speech, stated what he thinks is the responsibility of the Government in the matter ; he has pointed out the injustice done to the native in setting aside the rule pf adoption, the disturbance of landowners in their titles—he pointed out the disquietude of the soldiers with respect to their pox essions and the occupation of their lands —but the right hon. gentleman on all the topics on which he dwelt, with great knowledge and great felicity, never ven tured to say • that the great mass of the people of India were suffering under oppression. What are tie general merits of the case ? I do not mean to say that in some of the instances mentioned both by the right honourable gen tleman, and by the honourable and Earned gentleman, the Governor-General of India may not have been in the wrong. I am not prepared, and the house, probably, is not pre pared, to come to a definite jndgment on that. One thing however, has always.struck me as the result of Lord Welles ley's clisaliing the native princes, and that is that if they had carried things to an extreme, a violent revolutionary war must have ensued, but which was prevented by the!r being taken into our protection. lam quite sure that to leave every one of them at full liberty, and to assist tueir troops when their own people were di iven by tyranny into resistance, is not a course we ought to have taken. Then it may be said that thoush a revision of the titles of land is an arbitrary proceed. ing, yet if those titles are falsely held, I do not think it would be just to abstain from such an inquiry. It is impossible for us to say at this moment that injustice has been done by Lord Dalhousie to the people of the annexed territory, or whether, on the contrary, he has not done great good. The question of the soldiers' grievances, undoubtedly,.requires grave con sideration ; nor am I readylto say that different governments have fully investigated the matter, and I believe that Lord Wellesley himself objected to the system of disciplining the Indian army. But it must be admitted that wo could not hold India with native troops alone ; and perhaps one of the worst proceedings is that of taking officers from the army and employing them in the civil service, in which Lord Ellen borough and Sir C. Napier were as much in fault as any one. The natural result of that is laxity of discipline. In the olden times of. Warren Hastings and Clive, the men who went out there spent their lives in India, and were entirely absorbed in the habit of Indians ; they were consequently likely to have a considerable influence over the minds of the natives. But now young men who went out to India hoped to get back to England; they kept up a correspondence both by lettecs and newspapers with the old country and did not sympathise with India at all. I own that we have trusted too much to our native troops. Three hundred thousand have been spoken of as composing our Indian army. I should say that an army of 50,000 British and 100,000 natives would be quite as efficient. I think that the giving great facilities for justice and improving the land and spreading education is the proper way to improve India, midi believe that in that the company have not been much to blame. The hon. and learned gentleman said that justice was of no country, and went on to End fault with the Government because they said that a person iu India who changed his religion should not forfeit his estates. I always understsod that one of the most barbarous laws which formerly afflicted Ireland was the law which made Roman Catholics formerly unable to possess land. I think the first question on which the House of Com mons ought to express an opinion, is that it ought to support the Queen's Government in this matter, so as to strengthen the efforts they are making. (Hear.) We should also support measures which would tend to invigorate India. The Queen's Government must first resort to fore - to put the mutiny down. We ought to do everything we could to lend it a help lug hand in this matter ; and feeling as I do upon this sub ject, I shall make no apology for proposing the following amendment: —" That an humble address be presented to her Majesty to assure her Majesty that this house will cordially support her Majesty in aiy measures for suppressing the dis turbances in India and any measures that may be requisite for the permanent establishment of tranquillity in that im portant portion of her Majesty's dominions." Some expres sion of opinion likethat appears to me to be necessary, and if it is for this house to move in the question, it should be to assure her Majesty that it will support such measures as will ensure that her Majesty's subjects may live under a just and beneficent rule. (Cheers.) Mr. MANGLES was of opinion that the motion of the right hon. gentleman conveyed little or no information to the house, and that the arguments he had adv anced coul d bo easily refuted. Ho had not expected that the right lion, gentle man the member for Bueltioghamshire would have gone into the causes of the present state of thinss in India. The lud:al Government which might be supposed to have the earliest means of ascertaining those causes, wore not informed of 'them, but the right hon. gentleman seemed to have no diffi culty in the matter. The right hon. gentleman said that this was not 'a mere mutiny, but a revolt on the part of the Indian population. But, so far from the native princes siding with the natives, they had been found supporting the Gov ali ment, and the same remark applied to the landowners and zemindars, who were loyal and had rendered assistance to the Indian Government. The fact also strongly stood out that where there had been no sepoys there had been no revolt. (Hear.) I u these particulars, therefore, as in others, thecaeloef the right hon. gentleman broke do wn . In the Punjaub o , et , os the native population were with us . This wa eds o t u e r u m e en re cent conquest, and if that people were opp count of conquest they oug ht to be the first to rise up , but he had been infor med that to a man the population of the Punjaub were in o ur favour, and they were rendering as sistance against the mutinou s . of " The causes disaffection" us on which the hon. gentleman had dwelt were as well known to the committee of 1853 (of which the - right hon. gentle. man was a member) as at this moment—(hear, hear)—but he now sou ght to introduce them as discoverie s. The foun dation of those causes, however, he (Mr. Mangles) denied. Stress had been laid by the right hon. gentleman on the abandonment of the principle of adoption in the bums-