The Press.
London, England, 1856-12-13 00:00:00

Obituarg.

GENERAL THE HON. HENRY BUTLER, colonel of the
55th Foot, died in Paris on Sunday. He was uncle
of the Earl of Carrick, but was better known as the
father of three heroes who fell in their country's
service within a space of six months. The Hon.
Henry Butler entered the army as ensign in the
27th, in 1800; he became a lieutenant in the same
year ; captain, May, 1804 ; major, May, 1811 ; lieu-
tenant-colonel, July, 1816 ; colonel and major-
general, January, 1837; lieutenant-general, June,
1854. He was colonel of the 55th in 1855, being
transferred to it from the 94th. He served with the
Portuguese army in 1810 and 1811, was wounded at
Busaco, and received the Peninsular medal with two
clasps for Egypt and Busaco. On the 6th of
January, 1812, he married Jane, daughter of Clot-
worthy Gowan, Esq., by whom, who died in 1836, he
bad issue, four sons, one only of whom (Pierce, in
holy orders) survives him. His eldest son, Henry
Thomas, captain 55th Foot, born in 1813, was deputy-
assistant adjutant-general in the Crimean expedition,
and was killed at Inkermanu, Nov. sth, 1854, aged
forty-one. His second son, Charles George, captain
in the 86th Foot, was born in 1823, and died in
India, December, 1854, aged thirty-one. His fourth
son, James Armar, captain in the Ceylon Rides, was
born in 1827, was the hero of Silistria, but did not
live to receive the honours which awaited his
colleague, Lieutenant (now Major) Nasmyth, in
England, for the gallant and successful defence of
that fortress. He died from fatigue and sickness in
July, 1854, aged twenty seven.
FATHER THEOBALD MATHEW, who died last Tues-
day at his residence in Kingstown, Ireland, was the
son of James Mathew, of Thomastown, county
Tipperary, and was born at that place on the 10th of
October, 1790. His grandmother was niece of the
celebrated General Mathew, of whom honourable
mention is made by Sheridan in his " Life of Swift."
and his ancestors trace right back to the ancient kings
of Wales. Having lost his parents at an early age Theo-
' bald Mathew was adopted by his distant relative, the
Lady Elizabeth Mathew, who placed him under the
tuition of the Rev. Dennis O'Donnell, parish priest of
Tallagh, county Waterford. At the age of thirteen
he was sent to the lay academy of Kilkenny, whence
he was removed in his twentieth year to Maynooth
to pursue his ecclesiastical studies, having shown
signs of a clerical vocation. On Easter Sunday,
1814, be was ordained in Dublin by the late Arch-
bishop Murray. After some time he returned to
Kilkenny with the intention of joining the mission of
two Capuchin friars there ; but before long he re-
moved to Cork. By a rescript from the late Pope
Gregory XVI. he received the degree of Doctor in
Divinity, together with a dispensation allowing him to
pcsiess property. From the moment of entering upon
his missionary duties at Cork he began to show the
sterling worth of his character. Ever diligent in his
work of the pulpit, the confessional, and the
sick man's bedside, he devoted all his spare time,
not to violent agitation, but to the temporal and
spiritual wants of the poor, to whom he acted as
eQuuseller, friend, treasurer, and executor. When

SATURDAY,

he undertook the great cause of temperance, these
qualities stood him in good stead, and his immense
successes may be attributed more to his affability of
manner and generous nature than to any higher
cause. We have not the time or the space to follow
Father Mathew in his temperance progresses. Some
notion of their results may be formed when we state
that at Nenagh 20,000 persons are said to have taken
the pledge in one day ; 100,000 at Galway in two
days ; in Loughrea, 80,000 in two days ; between that
and Portumna from 180,000 to 200,000 ; and in
Dublin about 70,000 during five days. There are
few towns in Ireland which Father Mathew did not
visit with like success. In the prosecution of his
calling Father Mathew beggared himself and his
relatives. For the last few years he enjoyed a pension
of 300/. from the English Government.

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL 5111.31 AN has died this week.
The gallant geueral was formerly in the Guards, and
received the war medal with four clasps for services
in the Peninsula, having been present at Roleia,
Vimiera, Corunna, the Douro, and Talavera, at which
last battle he was wounded, taken prisoner, and de-
tained by the French until the end of the war.

MR. FREDERICK C. SEYMOUR, fourth son of Lord
Hugh Seymour, and brother of Admiral Sir George
F. Seymour and of the late Sir Horace Seymour,
was born Ist of February, 1707, and died on
Sunday last. He was twice married--first, in 1822,
to Lady Mary Gordon, third daughter of the
late Marquis of lluntly, who died in June, 1825 ;
and, secondly, to Lady Augusta Hervey, eldest
daughter of the Marquis of Bristol. The deceased
gentleman leaves issue by both marriages.
MR. GEORGE LINDSAY, Chairman of the Russia
Company, while sitting in his chair in the company's
rooms on Wednesday, fell dead to the floor. He
died from disease of the heart.

Mn. DAVID DYSON, of Manchester, a well-known
naturalist, died on Wednesday last, at the early age
of 33 years, at the residence of his brother, Mr.
John Dyson, Woodbine-cottage, Rusholme. The
cause of his death was ulceration of the larynx.

THE BISHOP OF CHICHESTER has addressed a letter
to Sir G. Grey, calling for the dismissal of Mr.
Blagden, the county coroner, for the course which
he pursued at a recent inquest. As the bishop tells
the story, a young girl, in the service of a farmer at
Lodsworth, purchased arsenic on the 27th ult., and
told a man, by whom she was pregnant, that she in-
tended to poison herself. The man does not seem
to have interfered, and the girl carried out her
threat. The bishop is informed that the coroner
stated to the jury that it was inconceivable that a
woman could be in a sane state of mind at the time
of destroying herself ; in short, that the tendency
and evident purpose of his remarks to the jury was
to influence them not to entertain the thought of a
verdict of felo-de se. The verdict said that—" as
to the state of her mind at the time of taking such
poison, no evijence appeared to the jury to enable
them to determine therein according to law." The
Rev. Mr. Clarke, the perpetual curate of the parish,
wbo attended the girl in her last hours, refused
nevertheless to inter the deceased with the burial
service of the Church. "He believed himself for-
bidden, by the rubric prefixed to the burial service,
so to inter her, under the circumstances, and with
only such a coroner's verdict as was exhibited to
him." The body was decently committed, in day-
light, to the churchyard-ground on the 4th instant,
in the presence of one of the churchwardens, but
without any religious ceremony. If Mr. Clarke is
not justified in his refusal he ought to he suspended
for three months, under the sixty-eighth canon of
the Church, and the bishop, sympathising with him,
asks that the circumstances he inquired into. " I
further respectfully represent," he adds, " that if
they be found—as I believe they will—to be substan-
tially according to the foregoing statements, they
show Mr. Blagden to be unfit to be continued in the
office of coroner."
Ma.

has munificently presented to
the nation the whole of his collection of paintings
and drawings for the purposes of public instruction
in art. Mr. Sheepshanks, disapproving irresponsi-
ble management by boards like the trustees of the
British Museum and National Gallery, has made it a
condition that the responsibility for his collection
must rest with an individual Minister—the Minister
for Education. Mr. Sheepshanks considers that a
•rowded thoroughfare is not a suitable site for quietly
studying works of art, and has stipulated that his
collection must be kept in the neighbourhood of its
present locality, at Kensington. He is willing that
the pictures, &c., should be lent to those provincial
towns which provide suitable places to exhibit them.
Upon these conditions, which we believe Lord Pal-
merston has accepted on behalf of the Government,
Mr. Sheepshanks has signified his readiness to hand
over immediately the whole of his very fine collec-
tion, which is especially rich in the hest works of
Mulready, Landseer, and Leslie, and contains fine
examples of the principal modern British painters
in oil. The value of the collection may be estimated
at about 60,000/,

DECEMBER 13, 1856.

,7 ittrature.

The Life and Correspondence of Major-General
Sir John Malcolm, (1 C.B. By J. W. Kaye,
Author of the " Life of Lord Metcalfe."
Two Vols. London : Smith and Elder.

MR. KAYE has produced a substantial life of
Sir John Malcolm. Without any of the higher
qualities of a biographer, and without ally
pretension to character in style, Mr. Kaye
treats the materials at his command in a good
business-like manner. He neither illustrates
nor digresses. He simply narrates, taking
events iu the order of their occurrence. He
does not often put forward opinions or views
of his own.; and when he does so, we commonly
see occasion to regret his departure from his
usual modesty. He is not one who can ven-
ture to indulge in the " ego " with success.
His mind seems entirely deficient of origina-
tive faculties ; and his general notions on
Indian politics correspond—perhaps fortu-
nately for himself—with those held by the
Direction of the Honourable East India Com-
pany. Mr. Kaye is, we believe, in some way
connected with the great house in Leadenhall-
street. Generally he appears to be a modest
and temperate exponent of its views.
The main fault of the book is that into
which writers of moderate abilities are most apt
to fall. As Sir John Malcolm is Mr. Kaye's sub-
ject, he conceives it to be his duty to magnify
Sir John as much as possible. " Arma
virtunque cano." Mr. Kave writes of Malcolm,
" Nature made him for a hero." Nature did
nothing of the kind. She made him for a
good working man, with a clear head and an
honest heart. He had very little that was
heroic in his character. Heroes leave their
impress on the transactions in which they have
borne a part, and on the age in which they live.
Malcolm did no more than other servants of
the Company might have done as well.
His ambition was of that well-regulated, sub-
ordinated character which is an admirable
element in the constitution of public servants,
but which has little in common with heroic
aspirations. Malcolm had been treated with
marked favour by Lord Wellesley during his
administration, and was an ardent supporter
of that nobleman's general scheme of policy.
When Malcolm's opinion was taken, it was
always favorable to a further extension of
British conquests. He adopted Lord Clive's
maxim, "To stop is dangerous—to recede
" ruin." At this time Malcolm was compara-
tively a young man, and saw a distinguished
career before him. He learnt the appoint-
ment of the Marquis Cornwallis, as successor
to Lord Wellesley, with great concern. That
Indian statesman came out expressly to give
to India the peace and repose it needed.
Lord Wellesley seems to have conceived that,
as Malcolm was decidedly opposed to the
contemplated change of system, he would
gladly embrace an opportunity of returning
to Enghtnd with him. When Lord Wellesley
was on the eve of departure, " a letter," says
Mr. Kaye, " arrived from Colonel Shawe, ex-
pressing a hope on the part of the retiring
" Governor-General that Malcolm would ac-
"company him to England." Here was an
opportunity for Malcolm to display, not
heroism perhaps, but disinterestedness, and
a grateful appreciation of the favour Lord
Wellesley had shown him. Malcolm's own
opinion of his duty was, however, that "he
" could in no way prove his attachment to
" Lord Wellesley so well as by remaining at
" his post to assist in carrying out his lord-
"ship's policy." Mr. Kaye dwells on " the
sore trial " to which Malcolm was ex •
posed by Lord Wellesley's wish. "It
"is hard to say what it cost him" to
write a letter virtually declining Lord Welles-
ley's proposal. Malcolm professed his wil-
lingness to comply with any command of Lord
Wellesley, but set forth such personal rea-
sons for remaining in India as made his de-
parture with Lord Welleslev out of the ques-
tion: The new Governor-General, Lord Corn-
wallis, had, it seems, from the first expressed
a doubt whether Malcolm would cordially co-
operate with him. This doubt Malcolm him-
self soon set at rest. In answer to a column-

THE PRESS.

nication from Lord Cornwallis, Mr. Kaye's
"hero" wrote:—

feel infinitely obliged by your lordship's condescend•
ing to explain to me the principles upon which it is your
intention to entry on your adm'nistration ; and 1 hope
your lordship will rest fully satisfied that the same sense
of duty which has invariably led me to give my opinions
when they were required with freedom and honesty, has
also taught me to submit on every occasion with the most
implicit respect and deference to the better judgment of my
superiors; and I feel confident in assuring your lordship
that however inferior I may be found to others in know.
ledge and ability I shall be surpassed by none in zeal and
obedience, and that it will add greatly to the happiness of
my life if my exertions in the public service should ever
be judged to merit the high distinction or your lordship's
notice and approbation.—September
The letter might, under the circumstances. be
very proper, but assuredly there was nothing
heroic in it.

Mr. Kaye, in his summary of Malcolm's
character, continues :
I do not know an example out of the regions of ro•
mance in which so man) remarkable qualities, generally
supposed to be antagonistic, were combined in the same
person. It is no small thing to cope with a tiger in the
jungle ; it is no small thing to draw up an elaborate State
paper; it is no small thing to write the history of a
nation ; it is no small thing to conduct to a successful
issue a difficult negotiation at a foreign Court; it is no
small thing to lead an army to victory ; and I think it may
with truth be said that he who could do all these things
with such brilliant success as Sir John Malcolm was a
very remarkable man in a very remarkable age.

This attempt to make an Admirable Crichton
of Sir John is absurd. The "no small things"
were many of them common to the whole
class of Indian politicians. In no case can it
fairly be said that Malcolm achieved " brilliant
success." He usually did his work well, but,
whether from want of opportunity, or from
lack of decided ability for any particular pur-
suit, he never rose to a first place, either in
arms, in diplomacy, in statesmanship, or in
literature.

With much more reason, Mr. Kaye speaks
of his success in obtaining dominion over the
minds of the natives of India, and justly as-
cribes it to the directness and manliness of his
character. Everyone who has served in India
knows that it is by such qualities that the na-
tives are most strongly impressed and most
easily governed. They are masters them-
selves in deceit and finesse, and truth appears
to impress them with greater reverence for
being in some degree foreign to their character.
They felt they could trust implicitly to Mal-
cohn's word, and his natural kindliness and
generosity of disposition were constantly
exercised to soften harsh conditions, and to
improve their state. His freedom from mer-
cenary motive was, on the whole, the most
striking and honourable feature in his cha-
racter. After spending neatly half a century
in the Indian service he returned to England,
possessed of only a moderate fortune. Often
he sacrificed his pecuniary interest to what he
conceived to be the public service ; and in
this, not in his achievements, consists what-
ever of heroism there was in his character.

The story of his lib is important, not only
for its own sake, but for the circumstances
with which it was surrounded. For example,
the affairs of Persia are now prominently be-
fore the public, and Malcolm has left on record
his opinion of the policy which this country
should pursue towards Persia. Again, Mal-
colm had, at different periods of his career, to
consider the wisdom of that policy of annexa-
tion which is always sure to find favour in
India. Eager to pursue it under Wellesley, he
saw occasion afterwards to greatly modify his
views, and to positively fear that the growth of
our dominion in Indio might proceed at too
rapid a rate. From his early intimacy with
the Duke of Wellington he was thrown much
into his society during his visits to England,
and became the depositary of his confidence.
These and other points we can best bring out
by a rapid glance at his career.
He came from a respectable Scotch stock
His father was a farmer in Dumfriesshire, and
was unlucky in some speculations in which he
engaged. He had a large family,—ten sons
(of whom Mr. Kaye's hero was the fourth) and
seven daughters. Malcolm was horn in 1769,
and when twelve years old crossed the Scot-
tish border in company with his maternal
uncle, Mr. John Pasley, who took charge of
him. His spirit and confidence were notice-
able early. " sow joplf, my mon," said his old

~..:._

"Ir

1191

nurse, as she took leave of him, " be sure when
"ye are awa' 3•e kaim your head, and keep
" our face clean; if ye dinna, ye'll just be
" sent hame agen." " Tut, woman," was the
answer, " ye're aye se feard; ye'll see if I were
" awa' amang strangers I'll just do weel
" alleugh." Jock kept his word, and had soon
an opportunity of showing his spirit. His
uncle procured him a nomination to the mili-
tary service of the Company, but it was doubt-
ful whether such a mere boy would pass :

Towards the end of the year 1781 John Malcolm was
taken to the India•house, and was, as his uncle anticipated,
in a fair way to be rejected, when one of the Directors said.
to him, " Why, my little man, what would you do if you
were to meet Hyder Ali ?" " Do, sir," said the young
aspirant in prompt reply, " I would out with my sword and
cut off his head." " You will do," was the rejoinder ; " let
him pass." The lofty spirit of the boy atoned for his lowly
stature, and that was granted to his big words which would
have been denied to his few inches. John Malcolm's first
commission was dated in October, 1781.

Malcolm, however, did not sail for Tndia till
some months later. He arrived at Madras in
April, 1783, was employed in such services as his
youth would allow, and in due time (January
1792) joined Lord Cornwallis's camp before Se-
ringapatam He had gained some knowledge of
the Persian language, and was appointed to
act as interpreter to some native troops.
Thus, says Mr. Kaye, "John Malcolm had
" planted his foot on the ladder of preferment,
" and from this time to the close of his career
" was uninterruptedly employed on the staff."
We need not follow his career step by step.
He was employed in various important ser-
vices—for in those days, when so much impor-
tant work was to be done, active, intelligent
meu were certain of employment—and soon
after the arrival of Lord IVellesley (1798)
was appointed to proceed on a mission to
Persia.

'IP

The French, in the apprehension of Anglo.,
Indians, were as dangerous in Central Asia
then as the Russians are thought to be now.
French invasion of India, from the side of
Persia, and with the aid of that power, was
thought far from improbable. Zemaun Shah,
the ruler of Affghauistan, was our most dreaded
enemy ; and it was.to relieve the Indian Go.
vernment from the fear of his invasions,
threatened annually, that Malcolm was sent
to conclude an alliance with the Persian
monarch. The account of this first mission
of Malcolm to Persia is amusingly told. He
succeeded in concluding two treaties with the
King of Persia—one against Zemaun Shah,
the other against the French. Should the
A ffglian ruler ever invade, or contemplate an in-
vasion, of Hindostan, the King of Persia was
to attack him, and the Indian Government, on
its side, was to aid by all practicable means the
Persian kingdom, should Zemaun Shah ever
direct his arms against it. Further—and this
point is rernarkahle,—the Indian Government
was bound to aid the attempt of the King of
Persia to recover Khorassan, by sending a
supply of artillery with equipments. As
against France, the treaty stipulated that
the French should never be allowed to land,
or settle, in any part of the Persian dominions.
Eight years later (in 1808) Malcolm was
sent on a second mission to Persia. A French
invasion of India seemed then more immi-
nent. France and Russia had concluded a
close alliance, and Malcolm was sent under
the Indian Government of Lord Minto to
counteract the intrigues of French and Rus-
sian agents. On his former mission he had
been enabled to carry matters with a high
hand, and to insist on privileges, trivial in
themselves, but important in the eyes of the
Court he visited. This time his high tone was
objected to. Mr. Kaye thinks he erred in
assuming! too dictatorial a policy ; Malcolm
himself contended that his manner had no-
thing whatever to do with his ill success, hut
that the foreign influences he had to contend
with were too powerful for him to overcome.
At the time of Malcolm's mission the English
Government had determined on taking the re-
lations with Persia into its own hands, and Sir
Harford Jones was despatched on a mission
to the Court of Teheran. Sir Harford arrived
at Bombay at the time that Malcolm was in
Persia He waited till news arrived of his
failure, and then sailed for the Persian Gulf.
Whatever may be said disparagingly of Jones,
the fact is that he aucceeded where Malcolm had,

1192

failed. He established friendly relations with
the Court of Persia, and soon afterwards Mal-
colm was sent to the Persian Gulf a third time,
with a present of artillery—the gallant young
officers in charge of it being destined for the
Persian service—as a present to the King.
This time Malcolm rose into higher favour
than ever. Liberal offers were made to him to
enter the Shah's service. He declined, though
with reluctance. His " History of Persia," and
Persian sketches, were the results of his visits
to the country. He continued ever after to
take a warm interest in Persian politics, and
to express his opinions on them freely.
Generally he conceived that it was ex•
pedient for Persia to subsist as an in-
dependent kingdom, interposing between
the Asiatic provinces of Russia and Eng-
lish empire in Hindostan. In that ease it
would be inevitable that the English and
Russian embassies at Teheran would at cer-
tain times be opposed to each other.

In countries situated as Persia and as
Turkey aro situated, between nations more
powerful than themselves, the politics of their
Courts must turn almost exclusively on the
politics of the foreign embassies resident with
them. The parties at Constantinople, instead
of being purely domestic parties, must be
English, French, Russian, and Austrian par-
ties, and the embassies are compelled to be
continually active to support their respective
influence. At the Court of Teheran we must
always expect to find English and Russian
parties. This diplomatic game is a harassing
one to play ; it requires great coolness,
patience, dexterity, and knowledge. The
agents employed must be equal to their
work; they must suffer no partial checks to
discourage them. When repulsed, they must
wait their time for the reaction which is sure
to come. They must always be vigilant, and
always firm, but never sulky; and, above all,
they must be made to understand that the
part they have to play is strictly diplomatic,
and that it is not for them to " haul down
"their flag" when they think proper, or to call
on their respective nations to send an army to
avenge their insulted dignity. If their office
is not the most dignified that can i.e con-
ceived, men should be found—and there are
such in the employ of every Government—who
by position and nature are fitted for it. A
certain quality of suppleness is required in
such men ; but, on the part of this country at
least, our agents must be instructed to sacredly
fulfil every promise they make, and to show,
under every conjuncture, that they are the
faithful friends of the Courts to which they
are accredited, and sincerely anxious to main-
tain their independence, to augment their
strength, and to extend their resources. This
policy, in the end, will not fail to be under-
stood and appreciated. The Government of
Persia, if rightly managed, might surely be
made to see that it has less to apprehend, and
more to hope, from a close alliance with Eng-
land than with Russia. There must be some
fault in our diplomacy when Persia is willing
to desert our side and fly into the arms of
her encroaching and dreaded Muscovite neigh-
bour.

Soon after the peace of 1815, Malcolm's
attention was particularly turned to the rela-
tions of England and Russia with Persia. It was
when his mind had been matured by reflec-
tion and experience that he communicated his
ideas on this subject to Count Woronzoff. He
wrote, apparently in reference to some specu-
lations on the danger to British interests in
the East from Russian ambition. We entreat
our readers' serious attention to these pregnant
sentences:— tences

I have heard all the news you mention about Persia;
but not the nonsense to which on allude. I am, how-
ever, so sick of the speculations which our English poli-
ticians indulge upon this subject, that I seldom read them.
Persia is on the eve of being in a very distracted state.
Amidst these disputes, if cool-headed men
are not on the scene, both your country and mine may be
led further than is good for the interests of either. 1 do
not think it probable they will immediately come into any
serious collision ; but, if care is net taken, the seeds of
future misunderstanding will be laid, and this can only be
avoided by an open and unreserved understanding of each
other's plans, which I fear seldom takes place between
C 'tins, thon..:h the prose nt is a case in which the usual
to mules of mystery and humbug, might be dispensed
W.ilt to the great advantage of loth parties. The desire of
sectuini; Anent; of qourisia, anti ).4.n.u. °titer vrv-

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