The Press.
London, England, 1857-08-01 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 1,1857.

atone of the new Indian system. The 43rd paragraph of
the minutes is in these words :
During the last autumn the Nawab of the Carnatic very
sudlenly died. As the treaty by which the Musnud of the
Carnatic was conferred on his highness's predecessor was
exclusively a personal one, as the Nawab had left no male heir,
and as both he and his family had disreputably abused the
dignity of their position and the large share of public revenue
which had been allotted to them, the Court of Directors has
been advised to place the title of Nawab in abeyance, granting
fitting pensions to the several members of the Carnatie family.
Very shortly after the death of the Newel) of the earned° the
Rajah of Tanjore deceased. He left no son and no male heir,
direct or indirect, who bore his name. The Hon. Court was
therefore advised to resume the large stipend which the Rajah
had enjoyed as a lapse to the Government, pensions being
granted to the members of the family, as In all similar cases.
The house will see, therefore, with reference to the second
point, how far the Government have disturbed the settle.
ment of property by their conduct with regard to the re-
sumption of lands, by abolishing the principle of adoption,
and by changing into annuities those pensions on condi-
tion of paying which we became lords of the sovereignties.
That, then, is the second great cause which has produced
general discontent throughout India, and has estranged
numerous and powerful classes from that authority which
I think on the whole they were disposed to regard with
deference.

Mr. Disraeli now approached the third head under
which he Ilassed the cause of these mutinies—viz.,
tampering with the religion of the natives. A great
deal had been said about the ill effects of missionary
enterprise, but he should hesitate before he ascribed
this rebellion to the exertions of the missionaries
I think very great error exists as to the assumed pre-
judices of Hindoos with regard to what is called missionary
enterprise. The fact is that the Hindoos, and the Indian
population generally, with the exception of the Mnssul-
mans, are educated in a manner which peculiarly disposes
them to theological inquiry. There are no people who
take such interest in religious discussions as the Hindoos.
They are a most ancient race ; they have a mass of tra-
dition on these subjects ; a complete Indian education is
in a great degree religious ; their laws, their tenure of
land, depend upon religion ; and there is no race in the
world better armed at all points for theological discussion
than they are. Add to this that they can always fall back
upon an educated priesthood, prepared to supply them
with arguments and illustrations when they require such
assistance. So far from the Hindoo looking with sus-
picion upon the missionaries, I am convinced from what I
have read and heard that the Hindoo is at all times ready
to discuss theological questions with the missionary. I
remember reading years ago a history of the Roman
Catholic mission in India, written by an abbe who was a
man of admirable piety, of great knowledge, and of imma-
culate character, who, I believe, had spent the whole of
his life in India; and no man who has read that impartial
and able work can suppose for a moment that missionary
enterprise, whether conducted by Roman Catholics, Pro-
testants, or any denomination of Christians, would ever
cause any serious dissension between the Hindoo popula-
tion and this country. But what the Hindoo does dread
—what he regards with the utmost jealousy—what he looks
upon with undying apprehension—is the union of mis-
sionary enterprise with the power of the Government.
(Hear, hear.) With the idea of Government he associates
power; he associates with power only one idea—violence;
he remembers the missionary enterprise of the Musani-
mans, who bore the Koran in one hand and scimitar in
the other; and, although he is perfectly ready to live upon
the beat terms with the missionary pure and simple, and
to enter into interminable theological arguments with him,
the moment he suspects the missionary is sanctioned by
the Government—that authority anticipates conversion—
the most sensitive feelings of the Hindoo are outraged.
(Hear, hear.) No taxation, however grievous, no injustice,
however glaring, acts so dangerously upon the Hindoo
character as the persuasion that the authority of the Crown
is exercised to induce him to abandon the religion he pro-
fesses. Now, have the Government of India lent a sanc-
tion to that suspicion of the Hindoos? Have the Govern-
ment taken a course which has led the mass of the people
to believe that there was ground for such a suspicion ?
Now, there were recent acts of the Government
which had produced the most evil consequences.
One enacted that no man should lose his property
on account of changing his religion ; the other per-
mitted a Hindoo widow to marry a second husband.
Both these acts had spread the greatest alarm and
disturbance among the Hindoos. It was under
these circumstances, with the great body of princes
alarmed and the most powerful classes of the pro-
prietors smarting under grievances, that the annexa-
tion of Oude took place :
For the first time, the Mahomedan princes felt that they
had an identity of interest with the Hindoo Mahrattas.
From that moment they set aside the sullen pride of former
conquerors, who would not condescend to sympathise with
the victims of Sattara. They saw that from a system
founded upon a violation of Hindoo law they were not to
be exempted. The moment that the throne of Oude was
declared vacant, and English troops were poured into the
territory, the Mahomedan princes understood what would
be their future fate. You will see how the plot thickens.
Yon have the whole of the Indian princes—men of diffe-
rent race and different religion—men between whom there
were traditionary feuds and long and enduring prejudices,
with all the elements to produce segregation—become
united—Hindoos, Mahrattas, and Mabomedans—seeretly
feeling a common interest and a common cause. (Hear,
hear.) The princes and the proprietors are against you
in their hearts. (Hear.) You have an active set spread
all over India, alarming the ryot, the peasant, respeoting

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his religious faith.fiNever mind what were sour intentions ;
the question is what were their thoughts—what were their
inferences ?

In our Bengal regiments there were no fewer than
70,000 natives of Oude, who, in returning to their
villages, found them in the possession of the East
India Company, and that the severe system of our
land revenue was about to be applied :
But the annexation of Oude brought more than that.
The Oude aepoy finds himself subjected to a hard and
novel system of taxation and revenue. He finds ho has
lost political privileges and the territorial position which
he occupied, and, for the first time, the great body of the
Bengal army is disaffected. How does that act? With
the princes, the proprietors, and the religions classes, all
for a long time distrusted and disaffected, the opportunity
occurs, and the only class which can keep them in order
is angry and discontented. Hon. gentlemen opposite will
tell you that I have no evidence that there was any combi-
nation among these classes. It is a sadden impulse, says
the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He may as well have
told you that the income tax was a sudden impulse.
(Laughter.) The annexation of Oude took place early in
1856. rids is only the middle of 1837. Is it true that
there has been no evidence of combination and conspiracy
in India? There may have been evidence which the
Government has not understood. There may have been
symbols which perplexed them. There may have been
conduct, the motives of which they could not penetrate ;
but that there is no evidence of combination for the last
twelve mouths, especially in Bengal, seems to me a posi-
tion which cannot for a moment oo maintained. (Hear,
hear.)
The house has heard of the circulation of myste-
rious cakes in India, or, if not, allow me to tell them what
hss taken place and was taking place in India nearly twelve
months ago. This took place. A messenger comes to
the head man of a village and brings him six pancakes—
chupaitie-s, such as the natives make of wheaten flour, and
he says, " These six pancakes are sent to yon; you will
make six others, and send them on to the next village."
The head man obeys, accepts the six cakes, makes six
others, and sends them on to the head man of the next
village with the same message. How (lid it begin ? It is
a mystery. If we knew the village whence the pancakes
were first circulated, we might get very valuable informa-
tion. Bat in the coarse of four or five months the whole
of Bengal and the great part of the contiguous country
have been subjected to this process of a man going from
village to village, from head man to head man, from police-
station to police-station, leaving six pancakes, with no
other order than that six other pancakes should be made
and circulated. Suppose the Emperor of Russia, noose
territory in extent and character has more resemblance to
our Eastern possessions than the territory of any other
power—suppose the Emperor of Russia were told, " Sire,
there is a very remarkable circumstance going on in your
territory ; from village to village men are passing who
leave the tail of an ermine or a pot of caviare, with a mes-
sage to some one to perform the same ceremony. Strange
to say, this has been going on in some 10,000 villages, and
we cannot make head or tail of it." I think the Emperor
of Russia would say, " I do not know whether you can
make head or tail of it, but I am quite sure there is some-
thing wrong, and we must take some precautions, because,
where the people are not usually indiscreet and trouble-
some, they do not make a secret communication unless it
is opposed to the Government. This is a secret commu-
nication, and therefore a communication dangerous to the
Government." This sending of cakes went on. Ido not
say that the Government could penetrate the secret ; I do
not find fault with them because they did not find it out.
What I want to show is that there were outward and visible
signs of confederacy. There was also an indication of
conspiracy among the military which must have been
known to the Indian Government. I allude to the cir-
cumstance of the lotus flower. A. man came with a lotus
flower and gave it to the chief of a regiment. It was cir-
culated from hand to hand in the regiment, and every
man who took it looked at it and passed it on, saying
nothing. We must understand that every man who passed
it on was acquainted with the plot. When it came to the
last soldier of the regiment, be disappeared, and took it to
the next station. The process was gone through in every
regiment in Bengal. There was not a regiment, not a
station, not an escort to which the lotus flower was not
sent. All these things took place after the annexation of
Oude. (Hear.) An hon. gentleman reminds me that
last year the Bengal regiments refused their furloughs.
That was certainly a significant circumstance. I ventured
to say that I would show a state of society in India which
proved the existence of general discontent, and, difficult as
it might be to prove conspiracy, that I would offer to tho
house facts and circumstances sufficient to convince them
that there was conspiracy. I think I have said enough to
induce the house to pause before they form too precipitate
an opinion upon the causes of the disasters in India. I
think I have said enough to make the house at leant feel
that it is not by saying that we have to deal with a mere
military mutiny that we shall save India. (Hear, bear.)
The truth is, as I have shown, that the people of India
were only waiting for an occasion and a pretext. That
occasion was famished, and that pretext was soon devised.
Now, it was impossible to believe that the Indian
Government could have been ignorant of the state
of the Bengal army. The mind of India during the
war with Russia was known to be disquieted, and
what measures did the Government take upo the
conclusion of peace with Russia to devote all their
energies and resources to the settlement of India ?
The first policy should have been one of profound peace
—a policy suggested by the disitnetude which prevailed,
according to Lord Canning hims elf, during the war between
England and Russia. What was the course .
Was it of a sedative and tranquillising nature ?