The Press.
London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

THE SEI'OY MUTINY IN BENGAL.

THE last few mails from India have from time to
time brought us intelligence of a curious dispute
which had arisen in the Bengal Presidency between
the native troops and the authorities. The men
were suddenly seized with the notion that the Mink.
rifle cartridges newly served out were greased with
hog's fat; then, when that point was satisfactorily
cleared up, they declared that hog's fat was used in
the manufacture of the cartridge paper, and that,
therefore, as Brahmins, if they touched the cartridge
they were defiled by the impurity. The men
refused to do duty. The mutiny first broke out in
the 19th Native Regiment, and soon spread to other
regiments. The 34th was " in league with the 19th,"
and the 2nd Grenadiers " sympathised with the con-
duct of the mutinous regiment."
The Government at length resolved upon the
disbandment of the 19th. But there were in all
some 5,000 troops, including the 19th, in a state
approaching mutiny. In order to prevent any fatal
consequences, and to crush resistance at once, one
entire British regiment, the 84th Foot, and one
wing of the 53rd, were marched to Barrackpore.
A body of cavalry and twelve guns were also moved
up to the cantonments, the whole force being placed
under the command of Major-General Hearsey.
These measures were completed by the 30th of
March; the English at Calcutta waited with some
anxiety for the result. Reports were rife of a molt, and
a number of interior circumstances tended rather to
increase the public feeling. A correspondent writing
from Calcutta on the 9th of April gives the following
description of the affair:—
The colonel commanding at Dumdum received what
appeared to be trustworthy intelligence that the 19th
were marching on the station to seize the artillery.
Dumdum is eight miles from Calcutta. He had only
thirty men, but he called them together, prepared for de-
fence, and ordered all officers' families to quit the station.
They obeyed, and at two o'clock at night, some dozen
frightened women were besieging the houses of their
friends in Calcutta for rest and shelter. The same after-
noon Lieutenant Baugh, Adjutant of the 34th Native
Infantry, was attacked by a drunken or drugged Sepoy at
Barrackpore. He was severely wounded, but the guard
refused to arrest the assassin, and the man strutted up
and down till he was seized by the major-general himself.
The transaction looked as if the regiment were resolved to
die rather than yield.
Shortly after daylight on the morning of the 31st
of March the troops were drawn out on the parade
at Barrackpore. Up to the last moment it was
doubtful whether the men would submit or whether
a yell of defiance would compel General Hearsey to
open fire :

They asked permission to petition. The time, they
were told, had passed, and they mast lay down their arms.
The preparations cowed the men. The old instinctive
terror of the Europeans has not passed away, and they laid
down their arms, the native officers actually weeping with
grief and rage. No humiliation was offered them, they
were allowed to retain their uniforms, and were then
escorted by the cavalry to Chinsurah. Thence they are
gradually dispersing to their homes.
It was believed that this example would have a profound
effect. It has certainly confirmed the wavering, but the
34th are more mutinous than ever. The man who
attempted to assassinate Lieutenant Baugh was con•
demned to death, but, so dangerous was the temper of the
men, that General Hearsey could nct venture to trust
them, and the sentence was carried out yesterday under
the protection of shotted guns and two European regi•
ments. I fear the 34th must be disbanded. Meanwhile
the native regiment at Dinapore is only kept in check by
the presence of her Majesty's 10th. The selected soldiers
at Umballa and Sealkote rifle schools complain that they
should be outcasts if they use the cartridge, and the
commander•in-chief's own escort have excommunicated
their comrades in the school for touching them. Almost
all the regiments of the line sympathise more or less, but,
strange to say, all the Irregulars, all the Sikhs, the
Ghoorkas, and all the cavalry, ridicule the movement.
The Sikhs in the ranks of the 34th are actually leaving the
regiment in utter disgust at its conduct. The fact, if the
affair become more serious, is very important. The line
now form only part of the army, and without officers are
no match for the Irregulars and Sikhs, to say nothing of
the Europeans.

MAY 23, 1857

VratOings in J arliament.

HOUSE OF LORDS—MoNnkr.
INDIAN JUDICIAL COURTS.

Lord CAMPIIELL presented a petition from the in-
habitants of Bombay, complaining of the adminis-
tration of justice by the civil servants of the East
India Company, and praying that a supreme court
might be established at Bombay, to be composed of
English lawyers, together with certain members to
lie appointed by the Governor-General in Council.
ST. JAMES'S PARK IMPROVEMENTS.

Lord GRANVILLE, in reply to the Earl of Malmzs-
bury as to whether the Treasury had authorised the
recent expenditure upon St. James's-park, said there
would be no objection to produce the correspondence
batween the Treasury and the Beard of Works. In
uture there would be a saving of 'JOU a year in the
supply of water, which would be kept at a level of
three feet.

The Earl of EGLISGTON asked if anything would
be done with the water in Hyde-park ?
Earl GRANVILLE could not answer the question at
the moment.

MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL.
MESSAGE FROlf VIE CROWN.

The LORD CHANCELLOR brought up "the following
Message from her Majesty

Victoria R.:
Her Majesty having agreed to a marriage between the
Princess Royal and his Royal Highness Prince Frederick
William of Prussia, has thought fit to communicate the
same to the House of L. ids.

Ifer Majesty is fully persuaded that this alliance cannot
but be acceptable to all her Majesty's faithful subjects, and
the many proofs which the Queen has received ot• the affec•
tionate attachment of this house to her Majesty's person
and family leave her no room to doubt of the ready con•
currence of this house in such measures as will contribute
to the marriage of her eldest daughter, and may be suit-
able to the dignity of the Crown and the honour of the
country.

Earl GRAN-yr= in a few words bore testimony to
the high character of the illustrious persons men-
tioned in her Majesty's Message, and anticipated for
them from such an alliance more than the usual
rneasura of happiness. The noble earl moved the
following Address .

That an humble Address be presented to her Majesty, to
return her Majesty the thanks of this house for the most
gracious communication of the intended marriage between
the Princess Royal and his Royal Highness Prince
Frederick William of Prussia, and to express to her
Majesty the'r satisfaction at the prospect of an alliance
with a prince of so illustrious a family, which they doubt
nut will contribute to the happiness of her Majesty and of
her Royal Highness, as well as prove conducive to the best
interests of the kingdom ; and to assure her Majesty that
she may rely on the cordial concurrence of this house in
such measures as may be necessary for the conclusion of
this marriage, and may demonstrate the zeal, duty, and
affectionate attachment to her Majesty, a ju,t sense of the
virtues and met its of her Royal Highness, ands due regard
to the dignity of the Royal Family and the honour of the
country.

Lille Earl of DERBY said
am sure your lordships will unanimously agree to the
Address which has just been moved by my noble friend
opposite. As I understand him, the Message, as far as
regards the details in connection with that marriage, will
be taken into consideration on a future day. We are now
asked to express our loyal.y, affection, and attachment to
her Majesty, and the satisfaction that the proposed mar-
riage will contribute to her happiness and that of the Royal
Family, which I am sure is felt, not only by every member
of your lordships' house, but by every member of the
community. Unlike ordinary royal marriages, her Majesty's
was one not founded on considerations of policy alone, but
•

on personal acquaintance and attachment. I hope and
believe the same remark may be applied to that marriage
to which your lordships are asked to assent ; and I ant
quite sure your lordships can express no better wish for
the future happiness and welfare of the Princess whose
marriage is about to be celebrated than that, as she enters
upon married life under similar auspices, so in the course
of it her happiness may be as complete and well merited
as that of her illustrious mother. (Cheers.) 1 have great
satisfaction in concurring in the Address.

The motion was agreed to.
PROBATES BILL.

The LORD CHANCELLOR moved the second reading
of the Probates and Letters of Administration Bill.
The measure having been so recently explained when
brought forward in the past session, the noble and
learned lord contented himself with briefly describing
the machinery by which he proposed to supersede
the present testamentary jurisdiction of the Eccle-
siastical Courts. In the first place, he proposed that
the present judge of the Prerogative Court should be
the first judge of the new Court of Probate, with a
working salary of 4,0001. and a retiring salary of
2,0001. a year. As under the new bill all disputed
matters of fact would be tried by a jury in the com-
mon-law courts, the labours of the court would be
much reduced ; he therefore proposed that the judge
of the Court of Probate should be the judge of the
Matrimonial and Divorce Courts, and that ultimately
whenever a vacancy occurred in the Court of Ad.

THE PItESS.

miralty he should be judge in that court also. All
the proceedings before the new Court of Probate
were to be viva voce ; and in cases of wills, where
the property disposed of did not exceed 2001. per.
sonalty, or 3001. realty, the judges of the County
Courts were to have jurisdiction. District registrars,
if the testator died within the limits of the district,
were to have jurisdiction if the property bequeathed
did not exceed 1,500/. The originals of wills proved
in these districts would be kept in the country registry,
hut copies would be sent to the chief registry in
London, and in the Probate-office in London there
would be a department where testators might deposit
their wills so that their relatives might know where
to look for wills supposed to be in existence. The
present bill did not propose to establish a probate for
real property, and the right of appeal would be to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Certain
officials who might be deprived of emoluments by
the bill would he compensated, and the whole busi-
ness of the new Court of Probate would be left in
the hands of the proctors. The noble and learned
lord concluded by moving the second reading of
the bill.

The Bishop of LONDON trusted that the claims of
the existing ecclesiastical registrars and chancellors
would be considered in committee.

Lord CAMPBELL gave his cordial consent to the bill,
especially as all approach to the Court of Chancery
was now avoided. But there were details in the bill
which would be better discussed in committee ; and
a good many of the proposals regarding procedure
would probably require consideration :
There was one point which, as he conceived, touched the
dignity of his brother judges in the common•law courts,
and to which he could not help alluding. It was proposed
that this new judge of the Court of Probate, for whom he
had a most sincere respect, should take precedence imme-
diately atter the Vice Chancellors, and therefore before all
the puisne judges. N3W, ho thought this ought not to be.
The new judge was ultimately to receive 5,0001., the same
salary as the puisne judges, and he did not consider it
would be any disrzagement to him if he took precedence
among the puisne judges according to seniority.
The bill was then read a second time.
Dt•LWICH COLLEGE.

The LORD CHANCELLOR laid on the table a bill for
carrying out the scheme of the Commissioners for

College.
The bill was read a first time.
The house adjourned at seven o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—SIoNDAy.
MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL.

Viscount eALUERSTON appeared at the bar of the
house with the Royal Message, and, having been
called upon by the Speaker, proceeded to read it, all
the members being uncovered.

The Message having been read,
Lord PALMERSTON moved an Address, thanking
her Majesty for the communication, expressing satis-
faction at the proposed alliance, and assuring her
Majesty that the house would immediately proceed
to consider the Message :
It, is impossible (said the noble lord) not to see that
this marriage, independently of the prospect which 1 trust
it holds out of happiness to her Royal Highness, from the
high qualities of the Prince whom she has selected as her
future husband, also holds out to the country political
prospects not undeserving of the attention of this house.
We all know how family alliances tend to mitigate those
asperities which from time to time must be produced by
those diversities of policy which inevitably arise occasionally
between great and independent powers ; and therefore 1
trust that this marriage may also be considered as holding
out an increased prospect of good will and of cordiality
among the great powers of Europe.

Mr. DISRAELI seconded the Address :

All of us (observed the right hon. gentleman) must
join in the fervent hope and the full belief that the alliance
which has been intimated will contribute to the happiness
of her Majesty; and I am sure we shall all be prepared to
consider in a becoming spirit, at the proper opportunity,
the means by which it may be in our power to accomplish
her Majesty's wishes. (Cheers.)
The motion having been agreed to,

Lord PALMERSTON said :
I shall propose that her Majesty's most gracious Message
be taken into consideration on Friday next.

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