The Press.
London, England, 1857-10-24 00:00:00

1857.

with which he has been professionally con-
nected, and which exhibit a series of outrages
upon all rights and a denial of all justice that
is, we should hope, unparalleled in the whole
civilised world. Ho describes the career
of the unfortunate petitioner for redress
bandied about between collector and.
Government till, on the failure of all
attempts to obtain either inquiry or redress,
the miserable victim commits suicide or re-
signs himself to despair. He draws a picture,
indeed, that those he appeals to, and who
are unacquainted with the Indian system,
might almost deem to be incredible, had he
not in the outset disarmed the supposition
by the following unanswerably convincing
words :

If what appears in these pages be assailed as prejudiced
exaggeration, let my credit at least derive whatever
strength is due to it from the fact, that no single state-
ment which I have ever yet put forward, however startling
and incredible, whether it appeared in the exposure of the
administration of justice in Southern India, in the repre-
sentation of the condition of the Madras Presidency, or
in the Torture Report, has been shown to be untrue, or
even incorrect.

Statements so vouched for must command
attention, and we do most earnestly recom-
mend them to the careful perusal of all who
really have the honour of their country and
the good of India at heart. Nay, more, to all
who would maintain the sway of England over
it ; for it is impossible that this can be up-
held, in the face of such universal injustice,
by the mere pressure of military force. India
is not a party question, and we have never
desired to see it made one. It is a question
of which a true and accurate solution concerns
not the men of one political connection only—
it concerns us all. If any one is now endea-
vouring to turn it to party purposes, it is
clearly the people in power ; their object being
to throw dust in the eyes of the nation, in
order to induce it to condone their miscon-
duct antl mistakes. That they can seriously
believe, in the face of the evidence that is
daily accumulating, that their policy has been
either wise or righteous, it is impossible to
suppose ; and it is little to their credit that
they should attempt to brazen the matter out,
instead of frankly coming forward and admit-
ting that they have been wrong, and endea-
vouring by future honesty and devotedness to
atone for what is past. Their conduct is the
more reprehensible as they must know as well
as we do that, sooner or later, it must come to
this. Indeed, we can see surging up a feel-
ing among the masses upon every side that is
likely to prove most dangerous, if the system
of continued trifling with the subject be much
longer maintained. The middle classes of
this country have thoroughly made up their
minds as to the gross misgovernment of India,
if its Ministers have not; and so. too, have all
in India save the mere official class, both na-
tives and whites. Our warnings have been
often given and as often neglected, but we do
not hesitate to warn the Legislature once
more. If the honour of the country is to be
vindicated, if its dominion over India is to be
preserved, and if all those dire disasters are
to be avoided which on the separation of India
from the mother-country would assuredly fol-
low both abroad and at home, then must Par-
liament take up this question in an honest
spirit of determination to do justice irrespec-
tive of party interests, and the past system of
dealing with that unfortunate country must
entirely be changed. As regards the Conser-
vative party generally, there is no need
of giving any warning to them ; for in the
past session, and during the recess, they have
shown that they fully appreciate the crisis,
and are prepared to meet it as it should be
met. But if there be any of them
unconvinced, we would recommend them to
read the book before us, and that of
other independent writers like Mr. Norton,
when they will see how very different is the
real misrule of India from the picture of the
paternal and beneficent government which
the organs of the Ministers and of the Directors
are fur ever presenting to our eyes. And it
may tend still further to increase their confi-
dence in their leaders to see how such men,
writing thousands of miles off, having no
political or personal connection with them
whatever, and havipg pot yet eves WWI OM

1012

sentiments they have given utterance to, ex-
plaining with a clearness that is unrivalled the
true causes of the rebellion in India—those
causes being the very same that Lord Ellen-
borough in the House of Lords and Mr. Dis-
raeli in the House of Commons assigned.
From every part of India letters are pouring
in upon IN testifying to the same purport ;
and if this he not evidence enough to convince
the most sceptical, then we can only say that
on such a one argument and proof must be
alike thrown away.
We have only in conclusion to thank Mr.
Norton fin• this valuable contribution to the
political literature of the country. His work
is one that throws infinitely more light than
many of vastly higher pretensions ou the
past and present condition of our Indian
Empire.