The Press.
London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

TIIC PERSIAN WAR.

Mr. ROEBUCK rose to move the following resolu-
tions :

That the war with Persia was declared, prosecuted, and
concluded without information of such transactions being
communicated to Parliament; while expensive armaments
were equipped without the sanction of a vote of this
house. _ _ . . .

That it is the opinion of this house that such conduct
tends to weaken its just authority, and to dispense with its
constitutional control over the finances of the country ;
and renders it requisite for this house to express its strong
reprobation of such a course of proceeding.

Mr. Roelm:,k, alluding to the Persian blue-book, said
the papers began as early as the year 1851, when
the British Government supposed that the Persian
Government had designs upon Herat which were
inimical to English interests. From 1851 to 1857
negotiations were carried on with the Persian Govern-
ment, and not until December, 1850, did the English
Government think it. requisite to take such steps with
regard to the Government of Persia as should lead
to war. In December, 1850, the Governor-General
of India issued a proclamation equivalent to a decia•
ration of war

No means were taken to call this house together, and
things went on. War was declared against Persia, and
then began a system which has led, as I believe, to the
disasters we are now suffering in India. Our forces were
taken from India and directed against Persia. lam told—
] do not know how correctly—that the Government was
warned on that occasion that denuding India of the forces
of England would endanger the very existence of our
Indian empire. I must call to the recollection of the
house and of the noble lord the prophecies—if I may so
call them—of Sir Charles Napier many years ago upon
this matter. He pointed out to the Government of India,
and through the Government of India to the Government
of England, that there were causes which should alarm all
foreseeing Ministers with regard to the army of India, and
he took steps which he thought precautionary to prevent
mischief arising on that occasion. Those steps incurred
the displeasure of the then Governor General, Lord Dal-
honsie. Sir C. Napier resigned, but his warning
remained. Lord Dalhousie returned home, and Lord
Canning went to India lam told—l do not know how
correctly—that the demands made on him for forces to be
directed towards Persia raised in Lord Canning's mind
such alarm that he communicated that alarm to the
Government of this country, and not only did he do so,
but I am told that the commander-in-chief did the same,
and that the Government of this country was fully aware
of the danger likely to arise if India were denuded of
roops.

The safety of our Indian empire was the safety of
England, and therefore the proceedings entered
upon were of the gravest nature, yet the war was
undertaken, carried on, and concluded without
leave of Parliament, the first intimation that
Parliament received of the circumstance being the
demand to pay the bill. Had anything of the kind
ever taken place belore ? The house had been
entirely passed over in this affair, and he maintained
that it had a right to inquire into the principles upon
which the expedition had been undertaken, for which
the expenses it was to be called upon to vote had
been incurred. Ho affirmed that a more contemp. •
thous mode of proceeding had never been adopted
by the Minister since the house had been a House
of Commons, and he asked whether the house was
prepared to undergo such an insult.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that
the war had been undertaken upon the occupation of
Herat by Persia. Now, it was a cardinal point in our
policy that Herat should not be permitted to fall
into the hands of Persia, for Persia was a weak
cluntry, and in point of fact " a vassal kingdom of
Russia ;" and as England and Russia had rival
interests in Central Asia, the independence of that
portion of territory intervening between Persia and
our Indian frontier was indispensable. Hence the
necessity and the policy of the late Persian expedi-
tion. In reply to Mr. Roebuck's objection, that no
special communication had been made to Parliament
upon the subject of the ivar, he observed that none
had been made on the former expedition in 1838 to
Karrak and linshire, there being no doubt of the
prerogative of the Crown to declare war, and of the
right of the Governor General of India to commence
hostilities in the East. He was at a loss, therefore,
lie said, to know how Mr. Roebuck could maintain
that there had been any irregularity committed, or
the smallest disrespect offered to Parliament. Ile
denied that the events in India could be connected,
as Mr. Roebuck had attempted to do, with the with-
drawal of troops from India to the Persian Gulf :
Tiler* is nothing better established in the accounts
which have reached us than that the mutinous spirit has
been confined to the Bengal army, and that whatever the
causes—at present imperfectly explained—they appear to
be peculiar to the army of Bengal and the north western
provinces. That bad spirit seems to spring from some