The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-14 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 14, 1858

AN INDIAN OBLIGATION.

Now that the fi;ast Ifidit Company is no more,
and that the Stiptcmc Government has assumed
its duties *ld reuponsitiditics us well as the snit,
stance of fts powur, it haforpes time to examfne
the condition in which that 'great possession has.
passed iuto the hands of Its new occupants. We
have taken our estate a it were by a forced.
transfer, by the decroo of a Court from which
there is no appeal, with all its imperfections on
its head. Now comes the task of searching our
registers, of marshalling our incumbrances, of
paying off our debts, of clearing, as far as is yet
possible, the ground that lies before us for the
ultimate utilization and enjoyment of that which
we have acquired.
Debts of honour are as pressing with honour-
able men as debts that can be legally enforced,
and it may be sometimes almost as dangerous to
leave the former undischarged as the latter. To
go no further, your friend is usually somewhat
unwilling to " become your banker," as it is
delicately called, a second time, if you have
scrupulously abstained from liquidating your pre-
vious arrear ; whereas, if you pay him punctually,
he will go on lending his cash until seventy
times seven.

Now we have a creditor in India whom we
have not paid, whom we have not promised to
pay, and whom it seems very uncertain whether
we mean to pay. That creditor is the Nizam,
and the debt we owe him is for the security of
half, if not the whole, of our Indian empire.
Hyderabad, the key of Southern India, is a
walled city, situated on a tributary of the river
Kistna, and filled with a turbulent and disaffected
populace of Ilindoos, Mahommedans, and Arabs ;
so fanatical and so dangerous that no European
ever thinks of entering it without a guard.
Opposite to, and entirely commanded by, two of
the towers which form part of the city wall, in a
magnificent garden sloping down to the rapid
stream, stands the Residency, one of the finest
buildings of its class in India, but as completely
undefended from attack as the most modern
English country house, and entangled and sur-
rounded by a variety of native buildings consti-
tuting the suburb on the left bank of the river.
Five miles fro►n the Residency is the British
cantonment of Secunderabad, and six miles fur-
ther is Bolarum, the head-quarters of the Hyder-
abad contingent. At the outbreak of the revolt
both these places—the latter of course entirely,
the former almost entirely—were occupied, as
has always been the case, by native troops. Up
to the beginning of last year the temper of these
troops had never been such as to cause any
apprehension, not even so much as has occa-
sionally been felt in other parts of India
which have continued tranquil. There have
been ominous premonitions of the present
crisis, but nothing like a mutiny has ever
disturbed the tranquillity of British officers at
Hyderabad. Whatever might be the temper
of the Arab mercenaries within the walls, or the
religious hatred entertained by a rancorous
Mohammedan population towards us, at no time
did either class receive any countenance from
their rulers. The father of the present Nizam
was our faithful ally. How far he might have
remained so had the present revolt occurred in
his time it is impossible to say ; but of the good
faith and staunch alliance of his successor there
can be no question. But how valuable, how
deeply important his unswerving friendship has
been to us, ►s perhaps not clearly understood in
England. The Quarter4i Review, indeed, in its
article on " British India," says that " SALAR
" JUNG, the Minister of the Nizam of the
" I)ekka►►, acting under the able guidance of
" Colonel DAVIDSON, the Resident at the Court of
" Ilyderabad, restrained, at the imminent risk of
" his own life, a fanatical Mohammedan popula-
" tion eager for Christian blood." And this is
perfectly true. An attempt at revolt was made,
and, by the united exertions of the Vizier and his
master, successfully quelled. Great was the danger
we escaped. Had the Niza►n or his Minister given
the slightest encouragement to the rebels—had
they even remained passive spectators, a rising
only second in importance to that of Delhi must
have ensued. There was everything apparently
to incline the balance against us. In the one

ally
to whom they
4 protector wh.—
scale there was fidelity to an
kr:ostyitiehcoetfsmio)ofawnieii
could never be at the best of times anything
more than. be at
tasiiiBeolochwerttitp
power and influence se(ipied tottering to its tall.
t
Itinw up into a wide and
cline p
etillitionottir
orvere i.gn there'
ful assistamT, and the ready help of tropepsr.
pi)tieantilleroite.ntittppers,,vitiwl=4
devastating flame. WIT Important aid afforded
to him cal his, march into Southern India,
AtumuNGZEBE had bestowed on the ancestor of the
present Nizam the distinction of Soubandar of
the Dekkan : was it too much to hope that the
holder of this proud title, reduced under the
British dominion to the mere shadow of sove-
reignty, might take his rank among the poten-
tates of India, and enjoy once more the reality,
and not merely the semblance of power ? Mid
such thoughts possessed for the mind of the
Nizam the attraction which they have done for
other princes, it is not too much to say that our
work in India would have been doubled. Even
if the small band of sepoys who are supposed to
guard the Residency had remained faithful, this
could hardly have been the case with the
I Iydcrabad Contingent, and the slaughter of every
European in and about the place would have
been the work of a few hours. Every ruler, great
or small, who had been watching the movements
of the Nizam would have cast in his lot with the
mutineers, and the troops at Bombay and Madras
could scarcely have been expected to exhibit the
loyalty which under existing circumstances they
have displayed. But the Nizam remained true—
the worst crisis passed—and time was afforded for
British troops to influence by their presence the
temper of the country. But the Nizam did more
than this. On a subsequent occasion he mani-
fested his loyalty in what, for him, was a still
more remarkable and decisive fashion. He went
through one of those ceremonies which seem
puerile to Englishmen, but which, as we learn
from the journals of Lord HASTINGS, have for
the Oriental mind a deep significance.. By
the entreaties of SALAR JUNG he was induced
to pay a visit of state to the Resident—a pro-
ceeding which, with its attendant ceremonies, was
equivalent to committing himself most thoroughly
to our side, and taking the chance of all the
enmity which so open an espousal of our cause
might entail upon him. At this visit the compli-
mentary wreath of roses which it is usual to throw
over the neck of a distinguished visitor, was duly
conferred by the hand of the Resident, but the
Nizam adopting the act in the fullest manner, and
carrying out the ceremony to a much great extent
than was necessary, wore it round his person
during his return to his palace, being all the time
unscreened from popular observation, and ex-
citing every species of comment on the part of
his subjects. However absurd it may seem to us
that a mere theatrical ceremony should involve
considerations of such importance, it is affirmed
by those who have resided in llyderabad all their
lives, and thoroughly know the temper of the
natives, that this proceeding was accomplished at
the risk of his life ; that it was a matter of
wonder that he should reach his o'vn
roof in
safety after so significant a manifestation of
friendship to the Resident and devotion to our
cause ; but, on the other hand, that this Rubicon
being passed, the danger of subsequent disturb-
ance was indefinitely diminished.
Now, our object in relating these facts is to
raise the question whether we really have done
anything to show our sense of such services. As
far as we are at present informed, we apprehend
that we have acted in such a manner as toin-
spire doubts whether we do not intend to, be
positively as well as negatively ungrateful. I re-
viously to the circumstances just related, but sub-
sequently to the first attempt at revolt in Hyder-
abad, an event took place which showed that
even there the seeds of disturbance had not been
all sprinkled in vain. The Rajah of Shorapore,
a feudatory of the Nizam, raised the standard 01
rebellion. He was not without resources, the accu-
mulation of which he owed to British assistance,
and he succeeded so far as to detach himself tein-
porarily from the Nizam's rule. Ile was, of course,
soon overcome when our threes took him in
.hand,
and we have since remained masters of his territory.
Now great apprehension prevails in the do-
minions of the Nizam that we intend to keep this
district for ourselves. We may have the best
intentions, of course ; but the tenor of our con-