The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-05 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEPTEMBER 5, 1857.

Very different, and much more sagacious, was the lan-
guage held by the leader of the Conservative Opposition.
" No one," said Mr. Disraeli, " could shut his eyes to the
extreme peril to which, st this moment, our authority is sub-
ject in that country; but I cannot say—little as my confidence
has ever been in the Government of India—that I take
those despairing or desperate views with respect to our
position which, in moments of danger or calamity, are too
often prevalent. I would express my opinion, that the
tenure by which we hold India is not a frail tenure; but
when we consider that that great country is inhabited by
twenty•five nations, different in race, different in religion,
and different in language, I think it is not easy—perhaps
it is not possible—fbr such heterogeneous elements to fuse
into perfect co:nbination. Everything, however, is pos-
sible--every disaster is practicable—if there be an inefficient
or negligent Government."
" Three months," continues the reviewer, " have now
" elapsed since the despatch of that mail, which, Mr.
" Vernon Smith so pleasantly told us, came away a
" day or two too soon to bring the intelligence of the
" recapture of Delhi and the entire suppression of
" the revolt. Each succeeding mail has brought
" tidings only of its extension. The armies of the
" other Presidencies are happily still stanch ; but it
" would be rashness, rather than wisdom, to predict
" for one week the fidelity of any native troops, while
insurrection maintains itself in Bengal. We are
" far enough from despair, but we are more than
" ever impressed with the correctness of Mr. Dis-
" raeli's remark, that any disaster is practicable if
" ' there he a negligent or inefficient Government.'"
The reforms proposed by the reviewer remind us of
the old story of the hare and the soup. It will be
time enough to consider that part of the Indian
question when we have reconquered the rebellious
provinces. At present we have to crush a rebellion
which will shake the empire to its centre if not
speedily subdued. When that is effected, and the
opportunity for reform once more placed within
our reach, then we shall be prepared to dis-
cuss the question and to advocate such measures as
will for the future insure the stability of our rule in
Hindostan, not so much by any improved system of
military organisation as by basing our power upon
measures which shall secure the happiness and
prosperity of the people.
The Dublin affords much varied matter. A clever
critical review of the lire of SL Columba, the founder
of the monastery of lona, and whose life is charac-
terised by the reviewer as " a tissue of supernatural
occurrences," opens the number. The reviewer,
after detailing the early incidents in the life of St.
Columba, who was born in A.D. 521, traces his career
to its close, and gently treats the apparitions, super-
stitions, and miraculous powers of the simple old
Abbot of lona. An article on the British Association
briefly traces the progress of science in modern
times, and gives a rapid summary of the labours of
the association ; and a pleasant biographical sketch
of the Times Crimean correspondent, Mr. Russell,
introduces us to some anecdotes of interest:—
When at Moscow, whither he was despatched by the
Times to report proceedings on the coronation of the
Czar, Mr. Russell was introduced, at the Austrian Ambas•
sador's ball, to Prince Gortschakoff, who, after some com-
plimentary remarks in a very friendly and brusque manner,
said, at last, " Your admirable letters were as agreeable as
they were well written ; my cousin used to send the papers
to me from Warsaw, and 1 read them regularly, but I am
bound to admit that I never received any information
from them, nor learned anything that I hail not known
beforehand?' Mr. Russell Iplied that lie was much
gratified at hearing the Pri,,ee make this declaration, for
he feared he was going to say that he had derived
intelligence as well as satisfaction from the perusal of
the letters in the Times. " Oh, no," he rejoined, " I had
Lien case: des renseignements as to any movement of the
allies through infallible channels ; and with every respect,
let me add, I was little disposed to trust newspapers.'
The Prince expressed himself very much pleased at the
manner in which his retreat was spoken of, and thanked
Mr. Russell for the terms in which he had described it.
Another anecdote of Moscow also shows the value of
our own correspondents in the Crimea :
The Colonel I'rince Von Hesse, an Austrian officer
(son of the Prince Von Hesse of Philipstahl, who so
gallantly defended Gaeta against the French in I 8011),
remarked to Mr. Russell, " It is well for the prestige of
England on the Continent that she had a press to tell the
truth ; otherwise your military reputation would have been
lost with us for ever. NN e should have only heeril the
French version of the war, as they command the universal
language of Europe. By them we were told how you
English were always impeding and counteracting their
superior activity ; bow you were late at the Alma, sur-
prised by the Russians, and saved by the French at
Inkermann, starved in the winter, and clothed and fed
from their superabundant supplies ; how you protracted
the siege, and were at last disgracefully beaten in the two
assaults on the Redan, while the French, single-handed,
took Sebastopol. 1 always supplied myself with Galignani,
and after my officers had read the French statements from
their own papers, I translated for them, as antidotes, the
accounts in the Times and other English journals." The
veteran Marshal Radetzky, who took intense interest in
the campaign, and particularly in the deeds of the British
army, was accustomed to read the Times regularly, and
expressed his opinion to Major Forster, an Englishman, in
the Austrian service, that the articles on the war were of
immense advantage to the allied cause."