The Press.
London, England, 1857-08-15 00:00:00

the Governor of Moldavia to be applied, not only in Wel•
lachia, but also in Moldavia, in as far as they were appli-
cable, considaing certain local differences which existed
in the internal arrangements, constitution, and laws of the
two provinces. What with the confusion of telegraph
messages, and what with irregularities on the part of those
who ought to have transmitted these documents—l am
speaking now of the officers of the Turkish Government
—the elections in Moldavia took place without reference to
the authoritative interpretation of the firman. Then
arose a general opinion that the Moldavian elections were
not in accordance with regularity and law, and that if the
explanations which had been given of the firman had been
strictly acted upon the result of those elections would
have been different from what it actually was. liepresen•
tations to that effect were made to the ambassadors at
Constantinople, and four of them—that is to say, the
French, the Russian, the Prussian, and the Sardinian—
separately, and without acting with the English and
Austrian, called upon the Turkish Government to annul
the Moldavian elections, and to have the electoral lists
revised, in order that the elections might take place over
again. The Porte felt that this was a demand which,
applying to matters that had been treated in common by
the six powers, ought not to come from four alone, and
they declined, therefore, to comply with it, saying, however,
that if the same request were made by the six powers, the
matter would be placed in a different position. Mit).-
understandinws followed on all sides, and the result was
that the French, Russian, Prussian, and Sardinian ambas-
sadors either hauled down their flags or were about to sus-
pend diplomatic relations with the Government of the
Sultan. The recent visit of the Emperor of the French to
Osborne, accompanied as he was by his Minister for Foreign
Affairs, gave the English Government an opportunity of
coming to a full understanding upon these matters with
the French Government, and the conclusion we arrived at
was that there were undoubtedly sufficient prima facie
grounds of irregularity—not proved, but still founded
upon prevalent opinion—to make it desirable for the in-
terests of the Porte itself that the electoral lists should be
revised and brought into conformity with the firman and
the interpretation which had been given of that document,
and that the elections in Moldavia should take place over
again upon the lists so revised. We have reason to be-
lieve that the Austrian Government is disposed to concur
in that course, and under those circumstances we are con-
vinced that the Sultan, not feeling that his dignity and
independence will be at all compromised by yielding to
representations made by the whole of his allies, will take
the course which will be recommended to him—viz., that

of annulling the recent elections, revising the electoral
lists, and ordering the elections to take place again at the
end of about fifteen days upon the lists so amended. I
am glad to say, therefore, that there is no ground whatever
for any apprehension lest a difference of opinion between
the English and French Governments may lead to an
interruption of that harmony and good understanding
which have hitherto prevailed between the two countries.

THE CORPORATION OF LONDON.
Sir G. GREY, in reply to a question from Sir J.
Shelley, stated that the Government intended early
next session to bring in a Bill for the Reform of the
Corporation of the City of London.

SIR CHARLES NAPIER AND THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
Mr. H. BRUCE called attention to a statement
contained in a return on tenures of land in East
India made by the East India-house on the Isth
day of June, 1837, with the view of refuting certain
charges it contained as to the proceedings of the
late Sir Charles Napier when Governor of Scinde,
who was reported to have raised the price of corn
unjustifiably to a famine price, in order to obtain
high prices from the commissariat and the people.
This was a most serious charge against the honour
and conduct of one of England's most gallr.nt
generals, and watt now repeated by the East India
Company after Sir Charles Napier was dead and
unable to defend himself. The answerof Sir Charles
when the charge was first made the East India Com-
pany could not find—it was "lost:" but, fortunately,
there happened to be in this country the officer who
had served as collector of Scinde under Sir Charles
Napier—Colonel Rathbone—who had made the fol-
lowing staternent:—

Under the rule of Sir Charles Napier the Government
share of the produce was taken in kind, and was stored in
the Government granaries, as had been the case for ages
previously in Scinde, and as had been the case till com-
paratively lately in some of the provinces of Bombay
itself. The mode of realising the price was by publio
sale, but the grain was nct sold at artificially high or
famine prices, as the return made by the India-house
untruly avers, nor was the market interfered with by the
grain being drawn from the stores in the commissariat at
a nominal price. When grain was drawn by the commis-
sariat from the Government stores it was charged for, not
at nominal rates, but at the rates of the day as indicated
by the price current of the place where it was drawn. The
Government was debited in the military department and
credited in the revenue department, as happens daily in
England and in every other well regulated State where
transfers of the kind take place between different depart-
ments under the Crown. The commissariat account of
the period must be in existence, as must also the price
currents of the several military stations at Scinde at which
such transfers took place. A reference to these will show
that the imputation contained in the return on the govern-
ment of the late Sir C. Napier in Scinde as to this point
has no foundation whatever.

Mr. WILT.OUGABY, in reply to the observations of
the hon. gentleman, read the minute of Sir George
Clerk, which had been drawn up in 1818 and printed