The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-16 00:00:00

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A very important article has just appeared in
the Austrian Gazette, on the subject of the pre-
sent prospects of peace in Europe. The state-
ments which it contains derive additional interest
from the fact of their having been put forth in this
semi-official form so immediately after the publica-
tion of the speech of William I. to the Prussian
Chamber. " Sardinia" says the Austrian Gazette,
"has neither men nor money enough to commence
a war on her own account. Everything depends
on the decision of France, and we feel certain
that France will not, under present circumstances,
make war in favour of Sardinia. There will be no
war between France and Austria, unless there is
war between France and Germany, and the French
have no wish for any such war at present, and we
therefore have confidence in the duration of peace."
There is here a distinct intimation conveyed by
Austria to France, and concurred in, there cannot
be a doubt, by Prussia, that should France again
attack Austria, as she did in 1858, she will on
this occasion find herself opposed by the whole of
Germany. We entirely agree, therefore, with
this journal in the opinion that the French have
no wish for any such war, and also, that a distinct
joint declaration on the part of Austria and Prus-
sia that they intend to stand by each other if
either Power be attacked, forms the surest ground
of confidence in the duration of peace.
The reactionary movements in the Neapolitan
provinces are far from being quelled, but it is to
be presumed that their continuance or cessation
will be made to depend on the result of the Gaeta
negotiations. The Pope, notwithstanding the
many causes of political discouragement from
within and from without, with which he is at
present afflicted, is finding some legitimate
sources of consolation in the restoration of the
Roman Catholic churches and religious houses in
China to the successors of their original founders,
and to the revival of his spiritual authority in that
remote region, as well as in the accession of
strength which the Latin Church derives from
the secession of the Bulgarians from the Greek
rite. His Holiness does not, of course, concern
himself with the causes which have led the Eul-
garians to secede.
The-rumour of Russian interference with the
intervention of France in the affairs of Francis

WHAT are we going to 4.6 *-ith India.? It is
certain that things cannot long go on -as they
are'; and unless we are prepared to o'Vek.an
entirely new lealf in develoting the resources of
that vast empire, we shall soon have no other
alternatiVc than that of precipitately and igno-
miniously retreating from a country which it has
cost us so much blood and treasure to conquer
and to retain. Why should rye continue to inflict
our unwelcome ?de upon the countless millions
of India, with an annual deficit in our Indian
exchequer of many millions sterling ? The popu-
lation
is taxed to a degree almost beyond their
endurance. The expenses of administering ()Ur
government there, seem to haVO Very "nearly
pared down to the lowest mark compatible with
efficiency. Nor 'does the future hold forth the
promise of any considerable additional taxa-
tion, or of any further telling reduction
of expenditure being possible. In short, our
present position in India is that of all but
hopeless insolvency ! Any room for improve-
ment in Indian finance that may yet remain to
be executed might tend to mitigate, but could not
substantially alter this disastrous state of affairs.
Nor is this result attributable to any extraordi-
nary or abnormal condition of that great depen-
dency. On the contrary, peace prevails generally,
and trade has been fully as prosperous and pro-
fitable as could have been looked for throughout
almost every portion of that Empire. even this
is not all the truth; for, from want of funds, the
completion of public works, upon which an enor-
mous amount of capital had previously been laid
out, is now suspended, and held hopelessly in
abeyance! Could anything be more disheartening?
What is to be done ?

Is India, then, such a worthless and good-for-
nothing territory that, with all our experience
and skill, we cannot make it pay its own way?
Were we not once proudly accustomed to boast of
the rich mines, the fertile fields, and the inexhaus-
tible resources of that sunny land ? Have we
not habituated ourselves to the idea of India
being the most resplendent gem in the Royal
Diadem of England ? Has not the fear lest any
ambitious and covetous rival nation should, by any
manoeuvre, obtain command of the great highway
to our rich Eastern possessions, for ever sat like
a nightmare upon the national breast ? Have
these been only idle dreams ? And has it
come to this, that India, instead of being an end-
less source of profit to England, is really and
irretrievably a perpetual outlet for the limitless
absorption of millions of money,—a possession too
costly to be retained,—and about to be allowed to
relapse its former darkness and paganism ?
Surely we have not been laid open to such a gross
and unpardonable insult to our practical good
sense, to our intelligence, and to our honour as a
people ?

There is only one effectual remedy. We must
invest more capital. We have spent untold mil-
lions upon millions in fighting and subjugating
the people, and in acquiring ever and anon fresh
territory. If we would make our widespread
conquests of any permanent value to us, we must
manifest something like the same readiness to
expend funds for the improvement of the people,
and the development of the natural resources of
the country. The Governor-General of India
informs us that the state of the finances has
obliged him to abandon the prosecution of works,
already far advanced, and from which a further
outlay would extract a percentage of profit
unheard-of in this country. To finish these
works, Lord CANNING says, will require not
less than eight millions sterling. There are,
besides, many more equally important and gigan-
tic public works which are imperatively necessary
to secure a fair measure of prosperity in India.
The returns, it is admitted, would be enormous,
and would, besides meeting the interest of capital,
effect a surplus of revenue equal at least to the
existing annual deficit. On this subject an able
contemporary remarks, " If a doubt remains as to
the remunerative character of such works, let it
by all means be removed by further investiga_
tion ; but if there is any truth in the unanimous
assurance of all Indian officials who are acquainted
with the subject, the Indian treasury possesses in
its Public Works Department an absolute mine
of wealth, which needs nothing but adequate
capital to work it. Imagine a man of enormous
wealth and ample credit dealing with an improv-
able estate as we are dealing with India. He
finds, we will suppose, that his tenants are turbu-
lent and poor, and that there is no possibility of
extracting from the soil a rental sufficient to cover
the expenses of management. He knows that
this unpromising bit of land contains a mine
which would give unlimited returns for a liberal
outlay of capital ; and he has abundant means, if
he chooses to use them. But he has indulged
himself in a crotchet that each of his separate
possessions shall be self-supporting ; and he pre-
fers enduring an annual loss on an unfortunate
estate to applying his spare capital to the purpose
of improving it into a valuable property. A man