The Press.
London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

700

THE WEEK.

Wa trust that the Government and the country are at length
satisfied that the rebellion of the Bengal army is not to be lightly
treated, nor the throb of public anxiety which heati; from one end of

Hindostan to the other to be regarded with composure or unconcern.
Lord PALMERSTON may still feel " no alarm," Lord GRANVILLE may still
pin his faith to the Indian funds, and Mr. V. SMITH may even still main-
tain the disaffection to be "at an end ;" but we apprehend the people of
this country see too much of the desperate precipice over which we are
vibrating, through the folly and negligence of India's rulers, to discover
in the situation anything satisfactory or consoling. They know, as
Mr. DISRAELI expressed it, that " lone' years of misgovern inent " have
brought about this terrible crisis. They see by Lord MELVILLE'S speech
on Tuesday that the current of discontent, not confined to one corner
of India, nor contracted within ono circle of complaint, has year by
year been permitted to gain strength, till at last, fed by a thousand
streams of illwill, through all the secret windings of Hindostan its
waters have swelled, and, too might] to be restrained, have burst into a
cataract of rebellion. And this is the result of our East Indian rule.
.By its neglect of good government it has fomented discontent, and
swelled sedition into revolt. In such a grave crisis as this, when the
fate of so many of our countrymen and the fortunes of the empire
for the moment tremble in the balance, the most manly course is the
most prudent, for by bravely resisting the torrent with which we are
threatened not only will present security be obtained, but future and
more deplorable mischief averted. That Lord CANNING has given India
an animating example of vigorous constancy or courage, we cannot con-
scientiously say. On the first outbreak he took shelter in temporising
measures which all the world knew would prove neither safe nor durable,
and by the latest accounts, in place of exhibiting firmness and caution
in every act, he was petting and pampering those regiments that
remained faithful, at once exhibiting his weakness and fears, and
doing the thing best calculated to provoke a general rebellion. At
present the mutiny is confined to the Bengal army. The Bombay
army, it is said, may be trusted, but symptoms of disaffection
have appeared among the Madras troops, and the people of
Bombay, Madras, and Bengal, we may rely upon it, though
neither seditious nor rebellious, know their rights. No man can
foresee where the movement will end. That the intelligence received
by this last mail is for more serious than the Government choose to
admit, is very generally accepted. The East India Board are in a state
of real alarm—it is impossible for them to deny it—and the feeling in
the City is the very reverse of confidence. In such a precarious and
wretched state of things the Government must act with promptitude
and vigour, and the nation must prepare for great sacrifices. Rebellion
has to he subdued, Central India must be reconquered, and unconditi3nal
submission exacted. It would have been better for us if by judicious
reforms the Indian Government had checked incipient sedition, and
spared us the necessity of exerting this terrible expedient of force ;
but Quos Deus cult perdere prius dementat.

It is now beyond a doubt that it is the intention of Prince
NAPOLEON, after leaving the manufacturing districts, to pay a visit to the
metropolis. During the stay of the Prince in London, his Imp eria
Highness will, we believe, be the guest of the Duke and Duchess of
HAMILTON, in Arlington-street. Prince NAPOLEON will also pass one of
two days at Osborne-house with the Queen before his return to Paris. r

The exhibition of Sir JAMES GRAHAM at the meeting of Members
of the House of Commons, in Palace-yard, on Thursday, was highly
characteristic of the man. Tt was a regular case of " Co3lebs in
" search of a party." He recited all his votes in favour of " Religious
Liberty," but he took no notice of his Conservative votes from 1831 to
1845, of his bitter allusions to death's.head-and-cross-bone denuncia-
tions, and more flowers of rhetoric in the same vein. He disclaimed
having had " communication with Lord J. RUSSELL"—a point apparently
uppermost in his heart—and he spoke of the " very liberal opinions
"of Sir R PEEL'S later years" Sir .TAMES GRAHAM then, in a set style,
talked of warning the House of Lords, end assumed a menacing air.
We must protest against any statesman taking such a tone
to either branch of the Legislature. It was the tone used in the
Sebastopol Committee by Sir JAMES GRAHAM, but the House of Coin.
mons laughed at his threats, and his imitation of Mr. CaexEß's
celebrated passage in the Reform-Bill debate about CROMWELL and
" that bauble, the mace." On that occasion Sir J. GRAHAM WAS told
that "he was a great proficient in the oratory of terror," and it is a
style of eloquence not calculated to sway Englishmen of any rank.
A politician injures his cause by employing it, as was found by seine
of the Anti-Corn-Law League legislators, who ceased to use it as they
acquired more experience. Sir JAMES GRAHAM has many talents, but
to improve by ago is not amongst his qualities. His displays have
always something of that heedlessness which was a reproach to him
in early days. For one who prepares his speeches, he is
singularly incautious. We like to see a public man
improve, and we call to mind what pleasure was felt, even
by avowed adversaries, on seeing the late Sir WILLIAM
MOLESWORTII improve every year up to the time of his early and
regretted death. But Sir JAMES GRAHAM remains hard and harsh in
his tone ; he does not mellow with time, and his ability is depreciated
by his acrid air and minacious manner. It is the peculiarity or this
eminent person to damage any cause which he takes in hand. Nobody
has so often contradicted himself: he is eternally fighting a hard
struggle against the ghosts of his former acts and speeches. After his
" scenes " with so many Members of the House of Commons, from the

THE PRESS, JULY 18,1857.

O'GORMAN MAHON to Mr. THOMAS DUNCOMBE, it is possible that Sir
JAMES GRAHAM would wish to close his public career by getting up a
" scene" to his own glorification with the House of Lords. But we
trust that he will be disappointed ; and we feel assured that, while the
Peers of England will always remain open to conviction from argu-
ments of real ability, they will disregard such a peculiar tone as that
einplcyed with sinister effect by Sir JAMES GRAHAM in his ill-
expressed speech at Palace•ynrd.

The motion of Lord BROUGHAM last night in the Lords, and of
Mr. Burros earlier in the week in the Commons, for the presentation
of addresses to the Queen with reference to the slave trade, and
unanimously accepted by both Houses, had more or less relation with
the recent sanction of the French Government to a scheme for pur-
chasing and importing into the French Antilles 10,000 Africans, who
under contract to submit to ten years' compulsory labour at the
fair rate of wage, are upon the expiration of that period of
service to consider themselves free. The good consequences of
this measure have been rather boldly prophesied ; but, to say the
least of it, the details which have now come to light exhibit it as a very
hazardous experiment. For what, in the name of common sense, will
constitute in the eye of the African a distinction between the French
legitimate buyer and the illegal slave dealer? Both go to the coast of
Africa to purchase negroes. The demands of each will fill the barra-
coons ; both will visit the barracoons ; both will barter or buy ; and
both will ship on so many negroes as he can get for his money or his
goods. It is in this fact of purchase we asseit lies the very pith and mar-
row of a legitimate revival of the slave trade The French agent will ap-
pear upon the coast as a competitor with the Cuban dealer. An imme-
diate impulse will be given to the slave trade—it is impossible to deny
it—and the very foundations of that edifice of African freedom which
has cost us millions of money and much valuable life will be
shaken to their centre. For what is to prevent Spanish and
Brazilian agents establishing themselves up and down the
coast at the Gallinas, in the Bights, at Kabenda, at
Loando, or at Ambriz, upon a similar plea ? Can any man
doubt for a moment but that such a result of the French scheme is
inevitable? The experiment is not to be limited only to France.
There is no reason why every other country should not supply their
labour market in the same way ; and it is not exactly pure conjecture
to say that they would, for Lord PALMERSTON, we all know, is not the
man to conciliate the strong power and to menace the weak. If the
French Government can by persuasion, not by purchase, induce the
free Africans on the seacoast to emigrate to the Antilles, the scheme
may ultimately prove beneficial to Africa, provided always that faith
he kept by France ; but if French agents are to be permitted to pur-
chase and export the domestic slaves of the more powerful coast
tribes, we defy the French Government or Lord PALMERSTON to
prevent the most extensive and alarming revival of the slave trade.
Everything turns upon this question of purchase. At first we were
led to believe that the African emigrant was to be a free agent in the
arrangement, but now that it appears " his freedom is to be pur-
chased"—a.delicate mode, by the way, of saying that he or she is to be
bought—the whole transaction assumes a different and a darker
colour. If the scheme is carried out as originally devised, all that we
can say is, that vigilance which Lord PALMERSTON promised last
week should be exercised by us upon the spot, will no longer
be needed, nor even the presence of our cruisers required.
The horrors of the middle passage will be at an end ; slavers
will disappear from the face of the ocean ; and capacious emigrant
vessels will convey the African to any part of the world he may select
for acquiring independence and wealth. A charming picture, no doubt.
But one, and the most important question of all, remains. What will
her Majesty's Government do under the existing facts of the case ?
That something must be done is manifest. Lord CLARENDON "doubts"
and " does not believe," and " trusts" that the French flag will not
be sullied by slavery. But we want some more manly and definite
exposition of Government intentions. We cannot tolerate any
measure bearing seeds which will irresistibly ripen into a revival of the
slave trade ; anti it would be well if Lord PALMERSTON took an early
opportunity frankly to state the policy her Majesty's Government have
determined upon in a question where the national honour and interest
are so deeply involved.

The appointment of Sir COLIN CAMPBELL to replace General
ANSON'S loss to the Indian army has been received with very general
satisfaction throughout the country. The high character, the marked
abilities, and the soldierly qualities of Sir Cow; are too fresh in the
memory of all to need rema"k. There is only one man whose
claims to the post have been mentioned with any show of superiority
to those of Sir CoLIN, and that is Sir PATRICK GRANT. Sir PATRICK iS
a Company's officer of high standing. He is Commander-in Chief at
Bombay, he is on the spot, and has even been temporarily invested
with the command before Delhi. We do not dispute the high
qualities of this gallant officer; but, apart from his belonging to the
service of the Company, we would venture to observe that a man who
has passed his life in the rebellious Bengal army, and who for many
years was the Adjutant-General of it, is too thoroughly identified
with the past rotten system to be the man for its reorganisation and
ref orm.

It is just now of vital importance that our troops should reach
Calcutta in the shortest period. The Times recommends the Govern-
ment to employ some of their spare screw line-of-battle ships, and
Admiral WALCOTT looks with wistful eyes upon her Majesty's enormous
and idle steam fleet, but Government has " reason to believe "
we quote Sir CHARLES Wooo's words—that the troops can be conveyed
" more conveniently and rapidly" by the employment of hired tram,