The Press.
London, England, 1858-12-11 00:00:00

THE PRESS, DECEMBER 11, 1858.

la ta an Colonial Intelligence.

FRANCE.
THE MONTALEMBERT TRIAL.

A letter from Paris say.:—" It confidently
slated to-day, at the Palais de Justice, that the
papers in the Montalembert affair had been deposited
in the Registry of the Cour Imperiale. This
cause is to be brought on an early day before the
Court of Appeal of the Correctional Police, presided
over by M. Perrot de Chezelles. It was added that
the report on the case had been confined to Coun-
sellor Achille Treilhard. This afternoon the day of
hearing was even said to be fixed ; it was to be on
Tuesday, the 21st inst."
It is not yet known whether the seat of Public
Minister will on this occasion be occupied by the
Procureur General, M. Chaix d'Est-Ange. The
rumour is that it will.

THE " CHARLES GEORGES " AFFAIR.

The statement in a Belgian journal that the
French Government disapproves the conduct of its
Minister at Lisbon, in the negotiations on the
subject of the Charles Georges, is stated to be entirely
false. The Government, on the contrary, has ex
pressed to the Minister its unqualified satisfaction at
the course he has pursued.

1207

We hereby announce to the native princes of India
that all treaties and engagements made with them by
or under the authority of the Honourable East India
Compaq), are by us accepted, and will be scrupulously
tnaintaiued; and we look for the like observance on their
part. _ .

We desire no extension of our present territorial posses-
sions ; and while we will permit no aggression upon our
domiuions or our rights to be attempted sith impunity, we
shall sanction no encroachment on those of others. We
shall respect the rights, dignity, and honour of native
princes as our own; and we desire that they, as well as
our own subjects, should enjoy that prosperity and that
social advancement which can only be secured by internal
peace and good government.
We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian
territories by the same obligations of duty which bind
us to all our other subjects ; and those obligations, by
the blessings of Almighty God, we shall faithfully and con-
scientiously tulfil.
Firmly relying ourselves on the truth of Christianity,
and acknowledging with gratitude the solace of religion,
we disclaim alike the right and the desire to impose our
convictions on any of our subjects. We declare it to be
our royal will and pleasure that none be in anywise
favoured, none molested or disquieted, by rea'on of their
religious faith or observances, but that all shall alike enjoy
the equal and impartial protection of the law; and we do
strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in autho-
rity under us that they abstain from all interference with
the religious belief or worship of any of our subjects, on
pain of our highest displeasure.
And it is our further will,that, so far as may be, our
subjects, of whatever race or creed, be freely and impar-
tially admitted to offices in our service, the duties of which
they may be qualified, by their education, ability, and in-
tegrity, duly to discharge.
We know and respect the feeling of attachment with
which the natives of India regard the lands inherited by
them from their ancestors, and we desire to protect them
in all rights connected therewith, subject to the egnie
table demands of the State ; and we will that, generally,
in framing and administering the law, due regard be
paid to the ancient rights, usages, and customs of India.
We deeply lament the evils and misery which have
been brought upon India by the acts of ambitious men,
who have deceived their countrymen by false reports and
led them into open rebellion. Our power has been
shown by the suppression of that rebellion in the field
we desire to show our mercy by pardoning the offences of
those who have been thus misled, but desire to return to
the path of duty.
Already in one province, with a view to stop the further
effusion of blood, and to hasten the pacification of our
Indian dominions, our Viceroy and Governor-General has
held out the expectation of pardon, on certain terms, to
the great majority of those who in the late unhappy dis-
turbances have been guilty of offences against our Govern-
ment, and has declared the punishment which will be in-
flicted on those whose crimes place them beyond the reach
of Ftrgiveness. We approve and confirm the said act of
our Viceroy and Governor-General, and do further an-
nounce and proclaim as follows :

Our clerneney will be extended to all offenders, save
and except those who have been or shall be convicted of
having directly taken part in the murder of British sub-
jects. With regard to such the demands of justice forbid
the exercise of mercy.

To those who havit willingly given asylum to murderers,
knowing them to be such, or who may have acted as leaders
or instig 'tore in revolt, their lives alone can be guaranteed;
but, in spportloning the penalty due to such persons, full
consideration will be given to the circumstances under
which they have been induced to throw off their allegiance,
and large indulgence wilt be shown to those whose crimes
may appear to have originated in a too credulous Accept-
ance of the false reports circulated by designing men.
To all others in arms against the Government we hereby
promise unconditional pardon, amnesty, and oblivion of
all offences against ourselves, our Crown and dignity, on
their return to their homes and peaceful pursuits.
It is our royal pleasure that these terms of grace and
amnesty should be extended to all those who comply with
their conditions before the Ist day of January next.
When, by the blessing of Providence, internal tranquil-
lity shall be restored, it is our earnest desire to stimulate
the peaceful industry of India, to promote works of public
utility and improvement, and to administer its govern-
ment for the benefit of all our subjects resident therein.
In their prosperity will be our strength, in their content-
ment our security, and in their gratitude our best reward.
And may the God of all power grant to us, and to those in
authority under us, strength to carry out these our wishes
for the good of our people.
Lord Canning, as Viceroy and Governor• General,
has also issued a proclamation, and the principal
native inhabitants of Bombay have adopted a loyAl
and dutiful address to the Queen.

THE CAMPAIGN IN OUDE.
The following is Lord Clyde's Proclamation on
taking the field :

October 26.
The Commander•in-Chief proclaims to the people of
Oude that, under the orders of the Right Hon. the
Governor• General, he comes to enforce the low.
To enable him to effect this without ,
property, resistance must cease on the
The most exact discipline will be
camps and on the march; and when thei
houses and crops will be spared, and no
in the towns and villages.
But wherever there is resistance, or ,
fired &gains' the troops, the inbabitan,
incur the fate they have brought upon th
Their houses will be burnt and their I
This proclamation includes all ranks,
the tslookdare to the poorest ryota.

p damager
tof to t
ho life
people.
preserved in the
sere is no resistance
• plundering allowed
even a single shot
ants must expect to
themselves.
r villages plundered
a of the people, from

s •
1208 THE PRESS, DECEMBER 11, 1858.

[ Chief invites all the well•disposed

to remain in their towns and villages, where they will be
sure of his protection against all violence.

CLYDE.

6ourt anb clastion.

HER MAJESTY, the Prince Consort, and the junior
members of the Royal Family and suite, left Wind-
sor, on Monday morning, for Osborne, Isle of Wight.
The Court will return to Windsor Castle on Friday,
the 24th instant, for the Christmas holidays.
PRINCE ALBERT visited the Smithfield Club Cattle
Show, in Baker•street, on Saturday afternoon. The
Prince was received by the Duke of Richmond, the
President of tho Club ; Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, the
Secretary; and the stewards.

plittral.

or trade should be taxed in the same ratio as he who
derives the same income from the funds, landed, or other
accumulated property.
We require free trade internally; that the home manu•
facturer shall not be cramped by vexatious excise duties
when the foreign article is imported free. As, for example,
in the case of the paper and hop duties, both of them
opposed to the fundamental principles of free trade.
We require a settlement of the question of national edu-
cation.

We require an investigation into the causes of the
enormous mass of pauperism that now presses on the
country ;—one in every eleven of the adult population
being a pauper, and probably as many more are just on the
verge of destitution.
We require stringent laws against seduction, and
that the disgusting profligacy which disgraces both town
and country should have the serious attention of the
Legislature.
We require a searching investigation into charitable and
other trusts, in which the funds are either misappropriated
or the trust badly administered. Nearly every parish in
England can furnish an illustration. _ .

Now, hoisting a flag does nothing; if indeed Teople are
prepared to do something previously agreed to be done
on seeing that signal, then truly the Bag does perform an
important part in the play. Such is the fact ; the wonder
is that they should have let it out. A considerab
number, both of artillerymen awl sailors, there, did sant
to shot their guns ; they were restrained ; but it was only
under the promise conveyed through the army and navy
chaplains, that d moms de deux ass Us anent vengis de
Ang !den el
After citing authorities with the view of proving the
soundness of the construction which he puts upon
the intentions of our allies, he adds

We require a revision and consolidation of the statute
law. Many laws are obsolete, many contradictory, and the
judges have often to decide by majorities what is law.
We require a complete change in the bankruptcy laws.
Bad as the old law was, the present is much worse. Bar-
risters and official assignees are appointed to manage
insolvent estates, without competent qualifications to de-
cide commercial questions; and the proceeds of such
estates are often swallowed up in charges.
We require facilities for the transfer of real estate.
At present the expense is enormous, and numberless
titles are defective. In the United States, or in our
own province of Upper Canada, real estate is transferred
at the expense of a few shillings, and the titles are in-
contestable.

Such, fellow-countrymen, are a few of the questions in
finance, in commerce, in morale, and in law—all of them
out of the province of party warfare—which have been
postponed to the cabals and intrigues of rival statesmen
and place-hunters; which ought to have occupied the
attention of the House of Commons, and which will do so
as soon as that house fairly represents the national will.
If it were necessary to make out a case in favour of an
extension of the suffrage, the reasonableness of which even
the opponents of popular government now admit, we
might contrast the present state of society with its social,
intellectual, and commercial condition a quarter of a
century ago. Intelligence has immensely increased—the
working man is more sober, thoughtful, and provident,
conscious alike of his rights and his duties—there is a
greater respect for the laws, a more intimate knowledge
of the relation in which one man and one class stand to
another. During these five-and-twenty years, while this
capacity for self-government has been increasing to an
extent that makes the working man of the present day
equal in intelligence to those enfranchised by the Act of
1832, the existing basis of representation, with its disqua-
lifying clauses of ratepaying and registration, has shut
hi.n out from all share in the government of the country,
and the great industrial interest has been and is practically
unrepresented.
Fellow-countrymen, the reformers of Birmingham have
united themselves together for the purpose of removing
this injustice by obtaining a fairer and more honest repre-
sentation of the people. Progressive liberal and advanced
reformer, (-lector and non-elector,,we have resolved to sink
all minor differences of political faith in the determination
to advance our common cause.
In this cause we have no wish to lead. We will either
follow or go side by side with others. We desire only the
welfare of our common country.
We call upon you to aid us in our endeavour to secure
the efficiency of any measure of reform which may be
introluced into Parliament—by forming associations, by
public meetings, by petitions to Parliament, by obtaining
the co-operation of your representatives, and by every legi-
timate and peaceable means which the Constitution allows.
Above all things, be united. Apathy has to be overcome,
active opposition to be defeated, and discord and distrust
to be guarded against.
Reformers, you can succeed if you will. Upon your de-
termination now depends the character of the next Reform
Bill. Your earnestness now may decide whether party
or the national will shall triumph—whether an end shall
be put to the constant agitation and discontent which
a sense of injustice inspires, or whether the moderate
demand now made by the people for a fair share in the
government of the country shall be accumulated by vex-
atious delays, so as ultimately to create—as procrastina-
tion did once before—so violent an impulse as will no
longer admit of a calm and deliberate consideration and
settlement of the question.
Signed on behalf of the Birmingham Reform Associa-
tion. P. H. MUNTZ, Chairman.

Just after the Emperor mounted the throne he said to
an eminent diplomatist, " I have three missions to fulfil;
to re-establish the Napoleon dynasty, revise the freely of
1815, and revenge Waterloo." "At these last words"
said the reporter of this anecdote, " his voice altered and
trembled with emotion, and his dull eyes sparkled like
those of a basilisk." He has often declared to others
that be had three things to accomplish-Ist, re-establish
the empire; 2nd, put down the press; 3rd, revenge
Waterloo. He has done the two first, which, when he said
this, were more unlikely to be fulfilled, and certainly more
difficult, than the last The Emperor is
not a man to do things without preparation ; besides
which he will give us no warning. He knows that his
whole prospects, life, and fame depend on that one stroke.
He will send from Toulon and Algiers, at one and the same
moment, fleets and armies against Malta and Gibraltar.
He will send a fleet with troops on board to Ireland, where
he will be joined by rebellious Papists, determined to join
with anything which should destroy Protestantism, as their
authorized journals in France and Belgium have &clued.
He will send a fleet to fight your fleet in the Channel;
whilst gunboats from Cherbourg, Brest, and Boulogne
land troops in the Thames, the Mersey, on the southern
coasts, and, probably, at Glasgow. After he is here he
will, perhaps, proclaim war. He will risk 31'0,000 men;
he will land 100,000, and destroy here, at least, three
times that number of men, women, and children, beetles
burning an immense amount of property in buildings;
and the 10,000 foreign patriots now in London will set it
on fire in twenty places for the sake of plunder, and the
shopkeepers will run away.
Mr. Drummond proceeds to show what he would have
done :

Birmingham, I)ec. 3, 1858.

MR. DRUMMOND, M.P., ON A FRENCH

INVASION.
MR. H. Dauumosn, M.P., has just published, in
the form of a shilling pamphlet, " A Letter to Mr.
Bright on his Plan for turning the English Monarchy
nto a Democracy." In allusi on to the probability
of a French invasion, Mr. Drummond quotes from
a leading French paper these words, in reference
to the effect produced on the French by a speech by
Mr. Roebuck—" It required but the hoisting of a
flag upon a mast to have converted that roadstead—
meaning Cherbourg—into a sea of blood ; "—whete-
upon Mr. Drummond remarks

We have 93,000 bayonets in India ; they should be
brought home as soon as possible. I fear the people must
look to themselves, and not trust to the Horse Guards, to
defend us from foreign attack. The country is thickly
inclosed, and raw soldiers can do much behind hedges
and buildings which they could not do in the open field.
An invading army could bring neither cavalry nor artillery.
Our roads are narrow, and the columns of march must be
long; more men perish in war from want of rest than
from bullets, and the invaders should never be allowed
to sleep for a single instant. Every one who can afford to
buy a rifle and revolver should procure them forthwith,
and they should instantly form themselves into rifle clubs;
the people who cannot, must use pitchforks, scythes, or
billhooks on poles, flails, or whatever else they can get.
Every village or town where the invaders halt to rest
should be set on fire, and their flanks and rear should be
hung upon, no quarter given. If the emergency be not
thought sufficiently urgent to require the militia to be
now embodied, at least all the officers should be assembled
and formed into regiments at Aldershott, that they may
be thoroughly prepared, which the greater number are
not now, to take the effective command of meo when :he
necessity for calling them out arises. The lords-lieu-
tenant of counties, with the aid of the deputy-lieutenants,
should have lists of every cart, waggon, horse, and all
other means of conveyance fur troops, guides through
back lanes, and over uninolosed downs and heaths, to
conduct the armed masses on the flanks of the invaders,
all ready for the use of the Government at a moment's
notice. These measures would cost very little; but the
moral effect of such a demonstration on the part of the
whole population would be immense on the ardour of
those who are planning our conquest. We are the most
quarrelsome people in the world, the most insulting, the
most offensive, and yet will not learn or practise the
means of defending ourselves from the consequences of
our misbehaviour. On the first symptom of a hostile sail
appearing, martial law should be proclaimed, and every
male thing brought out to fight; and, from the experi-
ence which we have had in late years of the conduct of
kings, let us thank God that we have a Queen rather than
a man on the throne, and one with all the courage of her
race.

MR. BRIGHT ON MANHOOD SUFFRAGE.
AT a public meeting of the members of the Man-
chester Manhood Suffrage Association, bold on
Tuesday evening, for the purpose of discussing the
question of parliamentary reform, the secretary read
the following letter from Mr. Bright, M.P. :

Rochdale, Dec. 7, 1858.
Dear Sir,—l thank you for your le•ter and for a copy of
the resolutions which your association has forwarded. I
assure you that I do not consider associations ancn as
yours in any degree hostile to the views of reform held by
me and by those with whom I am acting. On a great
question like the one now before the country, there will
be differences of opinion. Some think one extent of
franchise better than another. Some are for a six•pound
rental, some for a five•pound rental. You are fur the
extension of the right of voting to every man; now,
.I
prefer to establish the parliamentary suffrage on the basis
which has been tried for some centuries In our parishes
and which has been adopted at a recent period in our poor