The Press.
London, England, 1858-02-20 00:00:00

f3AILLIE'S MOTION.

MR. BAILLIE performed an excellent service in
bringing forward his motion for papers re-
biting to Oude on Tuesday last. His speech
contained much that was of very great interest,
and calculated to throw light upon the history
of the annexation which Lord DALHOUSIE
carried out. But, if it had possegsed no other
value, it would have entitled him to our grati-
tude for culling forth the admirable sentiments
which Lord JOHN MANNERS gave utterance to
in relation to that most iniquitous and most
disastrous affair. We do not remember to
have ever read a speech which more entirely
commanded our sympathies, as it will certainly
command those of all honourable minds. It
painted the enormity of the transaction and
the had faith of it in their true colours ; and
showed that under no consideration, whether
of natural equity or international right, could
a spoliation be defended, which was equally
contrary to both.
Those who are desirous of justifying this
act are very fond of going into a point which,
as Lord JOHN MANNERS proved very clearly,

172

had nothing to do with the question at issue.
They are loud in their abuse of the Oude
Administration under its native Sovereign, and
in their assertions of the imbecility exhibited
by the King. The ground is not a very wise
one in the partisans of the Ministera to take
up, because it would be difficult to show how
the King's Government could have been worse
than their own, as portrayed in the Bengal
Missionary Memorial, the minutes of Mr.
HALLIDAY, and the Torture Report of Madras.
Still more unwise is it to do so in the face of
the actual condition of Oude. For the natives
of the province, who must surely be the hest
judges of the matter, have pronounced their
opinion unmistakeably as to the relative value
of the two Governments, by rising as one man
in favour of that of the King, and endeavour-
ing, at the peril of their lives, to shake oar
own Government off. It is useless to tell us
what Colonel OUTRAM or Colonel SLEEMAN
thought, in the face of such facts as these.
Indeed, as to tiolonel OUTRAM, every one
knows that he was wholly unacquainted with
Oude before being appointed Resident, and
went there with a mind made up for its
annexation in accordance with the views which
Lord DALHOUSIE had conveyed to him when he
named him for the post. It is not usual for
Parliament to call for the production of private
letters ; but if it could have before it the one
addressed by the Noble Marquis to Colonel
OUTRAM at Aden, when he intimated to him
his intended appointment, and spoke of
" the sick man " on his hands with whom
Colonel OUTRAM would have to deal, it would
easily see that our information on this point is
correct. As to Colonel SLEEMAN, if his opinion
was latterly in favour of annexation, it had pre-
viously been the reverse; and his former
views were more likely to be valuable than his
latter ones, when his intellect had been
weakened by illness, to be at last by paralysis
broken down.

But it is not what may be thought by
colonels of a foreign race, ever ready to engage
in the work of spoliation, that we are to con-
sider, but what is thought by the people of
the country themselves; and their own view
of the matter they have now given utterance
to in a most decisive shape. We wonder,
indeed, that any man of sense could dream of
attaching to the opinions of such politicals in
favour of annexation at.y considerable weight.
For every one knows that Indian colonels
}sliding high official appointments must agree
with the Governor-General, unless they would
revert to regimental duty and its compara-
tively miserable pittance, giving up the posts
of honour and influence and vast emoluments
which they possess. Colonel (firm/of did, to
be sure, differ with one Governor-General, the
Earl of ELLENBOROUGH ; but he took care not
to go into opposition to him till he had lost
his place. Up to that moment he was quite
ready to carry out the Noble Earl's measures,
which he afterwards spoke of with such viru-
knee ; it was only after he had been re-
manded to regimental duty that he discovered
how iniquitous (though we, of course, do not
think them so) those measures were. Can
we, indeed, have a better proof of what annex-
ing colonels are capable of, than that which
has lately been afforded us by the colonels of
our worthy ally, the present Sovereign of
France? If their opinion as to the justice
and propriety of annexing England was to be
adopted, how long would it be before we re-
mained free from the attempt? Have they
not given quite as good reasons, according to
their own opinion, for invading this country,
as were given by our own colonels for the
annexation of Oude? And can any one doubt
that if their power were equal to their will,
and they were really able to conquer England,
they would have the slightest difficulty in
fra'ning any number of reports afterwards to
justify the act? How unsafe was pri-
vate property here might be shown by the
Tinges' own description of garottes and burgla-
ries at Notting-hill ; details of Regent-street
and the Haymarket might be brought forward
to show our vice; while, with the aid of a
little embellishment iu regard to our work-
houses and our prisons, it would be equally
easy to establish our cruelty to suffering
poverty, and our sympathy with crime. Why,
it was but the night before last that Colonel