The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-19 00:00:00

to the Himalayas The wail of lamentation heard throughout
India last month, when the English mail of the 10th of July told
them that at that date only 850 men were coming to their
rescue, tells us too plainly the value we may set upon these high-
coloured statements of the Ministerial papers. If reinforcements are
pouring into the above extent, why this outcry at the apathy of Eng-
land'a Ministers to the throes of India ? Why also these exaggerations
of the actual forces which have arrived ? They betray the very
weakness it is the object to conceal. But let us look into a few facts.
Of the small force which comprised the division of troops sent to China
by the 10th August, certainly not more than 3,000 men had reached
Calcutta by the latest dates. That city itself for the approaching Ma-
homedan festival will demand a powerful garrison. The troops to be
sent from the Mauritius will not exceed 1,000 men ; 300 have only
arrived. From the Cape no reinforcements can be expected to reach
the Indian ports before the end of October ; while of that " Army of
Retribution" which has sailed from England, not a man will land much
before November, for it must be remembered that the first "
detachments were despatched in the veriest tubs of the Transport
Service. Now, we maintain that it is between the middle of August
and the end of September that the fate of India will be decided, and
that no reinforcements of any weight can reach India within that
period. Our letters from Bombay, both public and private, assure us
of the despair felt at the neglect of Government to avail themselves
of the overland route for troops. The importance of avoiding " incon-
venience and expense"—we quote Lord PALmEasvos's own words—is
not appreciated by our gasping countrymen suffocated with the blood of
their butchered wives and children. Now, in the face of these facts, are
the statements of the Ministerial journals representations of the truth?
We respect the political influences of Downing-street, but in this
alarming emergency it is treachery to the country to conceal from
it the real circumstances of our position in India, and the
manner in which the Ministerial journals have for weeks past delibe-
rately misrepresented the truth is as discreditable as it is disingenuous.
Such principles and proceedings, contemptible as they are, ar•e no less
injudicious, for they preclude the country from remedying any negli-
gence that has been committed, or repairing any mischief that has
been produced. The Government should despise the little policy of
concealments. We should know the whole of our situation ; and if
the information be new to the Ministry, let them take care to profit
by it. This is no period, we maintain, for silence or reserve. We
have heard enough of the boasted vigour of this sagacious Govern-
ment. Let us hear more of their activity : the country waits for
results. The fate of India at this moment trembles in the balance,
and not a private soldier from England has yet lauded iu Hindostan.

The past week has witnessed a little fracas between the Times and
Cardinal WISEMAN on the subject of a discourse delivered by the latter
at, Salford, in which the Indian mutiny is discussed. The Times
attacks the Cardinal for speaking lightly of the atrocities, and for
drawing an analogy between the mutineers and political refugees in
England. We ought not to protect the latter, he thinks, any mere
than we would allow any independent Indian State to protect the
former. The Cardinal, on the other hand, complains that the Times
overlooked the date of the sermon, and given its readers to under-
stand that it was preached only last Sunday week, instead of the 26th
of July, when the horrors of the rebellion were as yet imperfectly
known. We think that upon this point the Cardinal has exculpated
him-elf. Considering all that was known when the sermon was
preached, we don't see that his language was open to tie charge of
unpatriotism, or that the analogy was so utterly incorrect as the Times
declares. There is a good deal of truth, too, in the Cardinal's remarks
about Christianising India. But the leading journal is unbecomingly
intent at the mention of religion, whether from cardinal or bishop. The
Bishop of SALISBURY, for a very harmless proposal on the subject of Indian
mission, is pilloried by the Times with the usual weapons of assault.
Ilut, in spite of such tirades, we must acknowledge that Christianity
for India is a cry never to be lost sight of. Religion may have caused
this outbreak; but religion would also have modified it. Had the
Sepoys been Christians, their barbarities would have been much
diminished. It is better to take the bull by the horns. As long as
Braliminism and Mahomnedanismn prevail, so long, we fear, will our
tenure of India be insecure. The Cardinal's remarks about the treat-
ment of Roman Catholics in India may or may not be true; but we
strongly suspect it is a gross exaggeration.

The return to Mr. DISRAELI'S motion of Bth July has been
issued within the last few days. It is tabulated under tho bead
of " Property Tax and Population." It was ordered by the House of
Commons to be printed on 25th of August, 1857. It is a most important
tiaper, and will be sought for eagerly. The value is best seen in an
abstract of its contents. We have first (folio 2) " A
" Return of the Annual Value of all Real Property rated
" under Schedule (A) of the Income Tax. for the year ending sth day
"of April, 1857, in each County, or Parliamentary Division of a
" County, in the United Kingdom, exclusive of the Real Property
" in eacn. Parliamentary Borough, comprised within each such County
" or Division ; and of the Population of each County, or Parliamentary
Division of a County, from the Census of ISSI, not including
" thin Population within any Parliamentary Borough in each
" County." Thus we have a return of the wealth and numbers
of the counties in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the
figures being ranged in parallel columns. We have next a return
" The Annual Value of all Real Property under Schedule (A) of the
" Income Tax for the year ended sth day of April, 1857, in each