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

towed those transports into the trades, or that some of the African steam
squadron might have been ordered to cruise on the line to help them
out of the variables ; but let us he thankful that the troops have gone,
and trust in Providence that they get to the Ganges in time to be of
use. The appointment of General DUPUIS to the command of the
artillery, and of Major General WisnuAkt to the command of a division,
will be received with satisfaction. General WINDHAM, we believe, was
offered the appointment shortly after his return from the Crimea ; but
he declined it from motives %%hiclt have by no means lost their force.
His acceptance of the post at the present crisis does honour to the
Gallant General, and is in keeping with his manly and chivalrous
character.

The Drogheda Election Committee has seated Mr. MeCsNx
apparently on the ground that it was not proved that either Mr.
MCCANN or his agents were identified with the outrageous rioting
that took place in the town during the last election. There, as else-
where, the priests were conspicuous in playing the parts of brawling
electioneerers. So they have been for the last twenty years, and we
desire to know what the Ministers really propose to do against their
reverences? It is of no use for the literary organs of the Liberal
party in England to keep up a succession of strong articles against
" spiritual intimidation." If Ministers are serious in their desire
that sacerdotal electioneering should be stopped, other means must
be employed than pens and ink can supply. After the general election
of 1832, the Earl of DERBY earnestly called the attention of the House
of Peers to the scandal of the Roman Catholic clergy in Ireland voting
iu an organised manner at elections ; but the leaders of the Liberal
party then threw cold water upon Lord DERBY'S suggestions, and they
espoused the side of the priests. It deserves to be known that the
interference of Irish priests at elections is a modern abuse. The first
time that the priests became tribunes of the people was at the County
Waterford election in 1826. They decided the event on that occasion,
and in the following year they were similarly used at the Louth elec-
tion. They were next employed at the Clare election in 1829 ; and
the manner in which the Catholic Question was carried on one side,
and conceded on the other, has by many been held to have stripped
hat measure of its anticipated benefits. It was then hoped that the
priests would desist, but since that day they have been incessantly busy
in popular politics. They have totally destroyed the old Whig party
in Ireland, and :liminished the number of the Conservative represen-
tatives. When they take part in elections, it is almost impossible to with-
stand their influence ; they have become an imperium in imperio, and it is
strange that they play at the same time the parts of demagogues and
place-hunters. Hitherto the reclamation against these sacerdotal
malpractices has been confined to Conservatives, but many English
Liberals are now echoing the Conservative opinion that something
must be done to prevent the interference of the priests at elections.
Under their influence the public life of Ireland has degenerated in
honour, the eloquence of her sons ( with a few forensic exceptions) is
to be sought for in the past, and the fame of Ireland in the British
Senate is not adequately sustained.

The detailed intelligence from India this week completely sup-
ports the views we have from the first put forth. The outbreak is
national, not military. It i 3 a rebellion of the people and Princes of
India against our rule, and the army has been the first exponent of
the national discontent. Everywhere we see proofs of this in the con-
duct of the peasantry, in the gradual spread of the revolt, in the rebel
lion of the native contingents, in the suspicious attitude of the native
Princes, and in the fears felt at Madras and Bombay. —lt is not un-
amusing to mark the manner in which this intelligence is received by
the Government organs. The Post last week, although it has all along
maintained that it Was "a mere military mutiny," and that the rebels
in Delhi were "a rabble rout," with "not much artillery" and " no
" ammunition "—they have only, by the way, 150 guns, which they were
rapidly putting into position, and tons of stores and gunpowder—at
length admits that it is " a conspiracy," that " the greased cartridges
" have little or nothing to do with the movement," and that the "real secret
" of the rebellion is in the intrigues of the King of DUDE and some of
" his neighbours ;" while the Times, who has " looked in vain %for so
long a time for " the influence of dethroned rajahs," at length admits
that the conduct of the native Princes is far from " satisfactory." We
trust that the next mail may bring us no proof of that conduct be-
coming decidedly hostile. The fall of Delhi we can scarcely believe.
General BARNARD, by the last accounts, was waiting reinforcements,
which could not reach him for weeks. It is quite possible that failing
ammunition and approaching rains may have rendered a dash on the
town imperative ; but what if that dash only met with partial success,
and the loss of the best and bravest of the British officers ? What if our
Hoops, after succeeding in forcing their entrance at the point of the
bayonet through the walls, were decimated by the fire from the houses,
checked in their advance, and compelled to a desperate hand-to-hand
conflict in the streets? Although we should have no fears for the
result, yet the few thousand men General BARNARD had in hand
were scarcely equal to a prolonged street warfare. But it is
needless to anticipate the intelligence of the next maiL The Govern-
ment may approve of the petty policy of concealments ; the country
would rather it were alwa., s told the worst. But let us assume
General BARNARD may be so foi tunatc as to capture Delhi, will any
man of common understanding maintain that the rebellion will be
suppressed? Why we have the whole of Bengal up in arms, and the
rest of Hindostan plotting our expulsion. The fall of Delhi will be
the signal for a terrible guerilla warfare. Heaven grant tuat it be
nothing worse !