The Express.
London, England, 1852-05-04 00:00:00

TnE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 4 1852.

glie Crane's's.

In this choice of chairman, the . _ has got
the benefit of a good name and the government of a
thorough partisan. There is something sonorous in
the mention of a BARING presiding over en inves-
tigation into the state of the government and admi-
mstmtiou of India. It sounds as if all the Ise-
cumulated wisdom and experience of a family
long accustomed to public affairs, remarkable for
commercial success, and enjoying a position equally
distinguished in society, politics, and trade, had been
brought to bear on the inquiry. The selection must
have been Mr. DISRAELI'S ; for he knows, better than
all his colleagues, the virtue of en imposing name.
And, no doubt, Mr. THOMAS BARING has much of the
ability and all the keenness of his ram ; but he also
shares that infirmity of opinion and purpose which
neutralised the public usefulness of the late Lord
ASHBURTON; and he has been unnaturally forced
into the position of a thorough party politician by
the misadventure of his first parliamentary contest,
from the effects of which he has never yet recovered.
Mr. BARING is not, therefore, exactly . the person
to conduct a large and comprehensive inquiry
into the actual condition of British India, into the
form of its government, or into the best means of
develoying the happiness of its people. But, on the
other hand, he is not a bad man to preside over a
survey of India on a more confined scale ; to
talk over little improvements in what already exists,
to ask pertinent questions on the uctual state of
things, and to conclude with a series of sug-
gested alterations, very safe, because very small.
And that is very much what was wanted. When the
report is made, the name of BARING will give it
weight and authority. In renewing, with certain
changes, the present Charter Act, things will be made
pleasant; and sooner or .later, we dare say, Mr.
fliou.sa BARING will himself become a director.
Fur by the time he quits the chairmanship of the
committee, ho will, at all events, know something
about India, and that is more than: can be said when
he goes into it.
Though the subjects of inquiry proposed by the
government were confidentially communicated to the
committee, do what members may to keep them
secret, these things will ooze out; and they have in
this case. The subjects are substantially as follow :
1. The authorities and agencies of government, at home
nil in India.
2 The military and naval establishments.
3. The finances, the territorial and other sources of reve-
vie, and the trade and navigation of India.
4. The judicial establishments, European and native, and
he modes of administering justice, civil and criminal.
5. The measures adopted for the promotion at education.
8. Works of local improvement.
7. Ecclesiastical provision for the diffusion of Christianity.
8. Miscellaneous topics of inquiry.
All these are, of course, very proper points of in-
quiry; and fairly and thoroughly investigated, the
result would no doubt be a large body of invaluable
information buried in unreadable blue books. But
in the list there are three very remarkable omissions.
In the first place, it is not proposed by government
to ascertain, except indeed incidentally, as far as it
may be reached by examination into the financial
and judicial systems, tho material condition of
the 130,000,000 of people who really constitute
India. Now, this is the all-important point to
he ascertained; for by the condition of the
inhabitants, by their well or ill being, by their pro-
gress or decay, by their happiness or misery—ought
the character, the sufficiency, and the fate of the
present system of
.government to be decided.
The next omission is of inquiry into the policies
which have led to such immense additions to our
Indian dominions since 1831—additions which were
never contemplated by the framers of the measure of
that year or by the parliament which enacted it. Itis
the fashion to say, even with a new Burmese war in
band, that our Indian wars arc over. This is the merest
delusion. We have been at Cabul once; and the
same spirit may carry us there again. Cashmere is
as tempting for rounding off our territories as the
Punjoub was. The independence of Nepaul lies
between us and a natural boundary in that direction.
We have crossed the desert to annex Scinde, and
may disregard other deserts in like manner. The
only secunty against other wars and conquests is in
the expression of parliamentary opinion, and that it
seems we are not likely to have.
And lastly, the committee has not to enter into
any inquiry into our relations with native Princes
within the circle of our own territories. The
Indian government has once already announced the
annexation of the Deccan : but into oar relations
with its sovereign, the NIZAM, no investigation is to
take place. Lord Dautousie looks askance at Oude;
threatens to terminate the titular sovereignty of the
Emperor of Det.nt, secured to him by solemn treaty ;
and has actually set aside the right of adoption,
hitherto an established rule, not only of Hindoo suc-
cession, but of Hindoo faith. Yet all these topics of
inquiry arc tahoosd by government; the committee
must not broach one of them.