The Express.
London, England, 1847-11-27 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 27, 1847.

When the Bank Charter Act came Os be discussed, be should
be curious to knew what was the position of the Bank of
Ragland en the Saturday preceding the WWI of the letter
from the Treasury; for on that day he had his pocket. fall
of Exchequer Bills, and could not 000Tett them
Into cask at any price, although the Chancellor of
the Exchequer mid that good houses found no
difficulty in raising money. If ao, the Exchequer
was not amongst the number, for their bills on the day in
question were not negotiable. (Laughter.) Unless the
house altered the Bank Charter Act under which such •
state of things could happen, they would not, in his humble
opinion, be doing their duty..
Leave was then given to brow in the hill.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then moved
the committee on railway bills of this session, and stated
thatit would be applicable as well to suspended as new bills.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.

Sir J. PAKINOTON rose to bring forward the motion of
which he bad given notice—that, until the Christmas holi-
days, orders of the day shall on every day take precedence of
notices of motion.. He said he had not the slightest Maar
Lion of interfering with those motions of which notice lml
been given, and he brought forward his motion without any
previous communication with the government. If the house
agreed to it be thought it would tend to promote its con-
venience, and was • deviation from the general
practice which was exceedingly desirable. It was
not likely that there could be any notices of motion
by independent members which might not be proposed next
year without inconvenience, and even lithe high crimes and
misdemeanors of the noble lord the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs would bear postponing, he hoped the house would
agree to the motion.
Mr. O. BANKES said the motion was one of great ins-
=, and certainly of • very singular nature. (Hear,
lie could not but think that his hon. friend would
not object at least to postpone it until next week. Many
members were now abroad, and he thought such a propos&
tion ought not to be brought forward but in a full house.
He was prepared to give a decided negative to such an ex-
traordinary motion, which at the outset of the session threw
the whole businees of the house into the hands of the go-
vernment. As to the notices which had been given, it hap-
pened that he had one in the paper which would not
admit at melnemminent, because it related to an appoint-
ment vvrha lid not yet been made, but which might be
made in a dly or twe—he meant the presidency of the poor.
Mer won. He had asked the other day if that ap-
pointment bad been made, and was answered in the nega-
tive. MG Mr. Bankes) intended propose that instead of
4e ads. to
• new t the Lord Privy Seal should hold the office,
he ha at present nothing to do. The two secretaries
might remain, and by this means 2,0001. a year could be
saved. He should certainly meet the motion with a direct
negative.
Mr. HUME strongly objected to the motion, as tending to
prevent members from offering any suggestions to the go-
vernment, and to render null and void the object of her Ma-
fogey's telling parliament together—namely, to give their

_„
and assisiance to the government.
Mr. BROTHERTON said that from the apparent unani-
mity with which on a former evening a suggestion of his,
that the government should be allowed to carry
on the business for which parliament was brought together,
had been met, he should have thought the motion would
have been agreed to. If hon. members treated this as the
beginning of the session, and prevented government from
passing the measures for which they had met, let it be so. He
could only regret that they had been brought together to
sit till Christmas without doing anything.
Mr. SWART did not see any valid reason for this propo-
sition, and he should certainly not assent to it.
Lord J. RUSSELL agreed with the hon. member for
Salford that this motion should not be carried without the
full meat of the house. lithe house thought, for the sake of
public convenience, to make ends an alteration, it was com-
petent to them to do so. An order had been made, on Wed-1
nesday, that notices of motions should have precedence on
Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it was not desirable theta
different arrangement should be made. Perhaps, the Ira.
baronet, after what had passed, would think it best to with-
draw his motion, and not to divide upon it. But as the
question had been raised especially by the hon. member for
Salford, he would put it to hon. members not to press for-
ward their motions on days when the orders of the day
might be proceeded with. The house would see the public
convenience of finishing the business before the house before
Christmas ; for to be obliged on the 24th of next month to
adjourn only for a week would probably be a great inconve-
nience to some members. (" Hear, hear," and a laugh.)
Sir J. PAKINOTON then withdrew his motion.
THE RAJAH OF SATTARA.

Mr. HUME, in moving for certain papers relating to the
ease of the Rajah of Sattara pressed on the government the
justice and propriety of giving that unfortunate prince an
opportunity of having a trial, and urged that the character of
England and the house required th.it that justice should be I
done him. He begged to ask the government whether, after
the publicity of Major Carpenter's declaration of his belief of
the ex-Rajah of Sattara's undoubted innocence of the charges
brought against him, any measures have been adopted by the
Board of Control to allow the ex-rajah to prove hie inno-
cence, which he is able and ready to do, if an opportunity is
afforded him, as stated in the papers before parliament, viz.,
Parliamentary Paper, No. 711, of session 1847, page 6, para-
graph 4 ?
Mr. EWART seconded the motion, and expressed his
firm conviction of the perfect innocence of the dethroned
*eh.
Mr. G. C. LEWIS regretted that the absence from the
present parliament of the right hon. baronet the President
of the Board of Control should have thrown upon him (Mr.
Lewis) the duty of addressing the house on the present
occasion. He had not had a seat in the last puliament, and
the recency of his appointment to the India Board had pre-
vented him from making himself thoroughly acquainted
witk the details of this case. This cause would prevent him
from entering upon its full discussion en the present
occasion, and he trusted that the house for these reasons
would not consider that he treated it with disrespect if
he confined himself to the question asked and to the motion
made. He must, however, enter his protest against the de-
claration of the innocence of the rajah, and deny that Major
Carpenter had the practical means of obtaining information
of what had passed at Benares, when he was stationed up-
wards of 1,000 miles up the country. The despatch of Major
Carpenter was in the bands of Sir John Hobhouse, and he
had the authority of that right hon. baronet now to state
that it was a document which had made no alteration in his
views, as expressed when he last addressed the house on this
question. The answer, therefore, he (Mr. Lewis) had to
give to the question put by the hon. member for Montrose
was, that no step had been taken by the government in con-
sequence of the publicity given to that despatch, and that the
mere circumstance of its publication had not had any influ-
ence upon the decision at which the government:had
arrived. There was no objection to the production of the
papers moved for, but he understood they were contained in
the return already on the table. If that, however, should
not turn out to be the case they should be produced. With I
respect to the letter addressed by the ex.rajah to Sir Henry
Hardinge, it was not yet 'n the pociesaion of the India-house.
A despatch had, however, been sent out for it by the Mail of
the 2nd October last, and u noon as it was received from
India it should be laid on the table.

Mr. G. THOMPSON supported the motion, and went at
some length into the merits of the case, which, for the last
seven years he had made his peculiar study. He had also in
India made personal inquiries, and by the kind per-
mission of the Indian government, had the benefit of
personal communication with the dethroned monarch.
From these circumstances, he hesitated not to declare
his firm conviction of the accuracy and justice of
Major Carpenter's opinion—the innocence of the rajsh ex-
pressed in the despatch moved for. The dethronement of
the rajah was the result of a conspiracy hatched in Bombay,
and without requiring a commission to go out to India, he
(Mr. G. Thompson) was prepared to prove before a com-
mittee of the house that every document produced to condemn
the rajah was a forgery and fabrication; that every witness
against him was perjured ; he could show how much they
got for what they said, and by whom they were hired.
Under these circumstances, he should support the hon. mem-
ber for Montrose in his efforts to obtain a select committee,
and he trusted the house would speedily accede to such a
propo,itiou, and he was sure the committee would, by their
report, decide the case in favour of the Rajah of Setters.
(Hear, hear.)
Sir J. W. HOGG said that when so broad and sweeping
a charge u that of conspiracy had been made against every
individual, native and European, whose duty had compelled
them to deal with this matter, he must beg the house to
bear in mind that at the time of the dethronement Sir Rol*.
Grant was the Governor of Bombay, and that distinguished
man, and every member of his council, agreed, and Mao-
tautly came to the same conclusion as to the rajah's
Two successive governors of Bombay, with their two mow
I sive councils, had come to the same opinion ; so, also, bed
the Governor-Onseral, Lord Auckland. To the same Ile&
Mon the Court of Directors had come, and three eamiesive
India boards joined in the same decision. Looking et
the positloa tithes. different authorities, and their moans of
ehWsg itheordion, their opinions were entitled to at
Meet equal weight with those of Major Carpenter, without
any disparagement to that officer. The matter had also bola
discussed over and over again during the last seven
years, and this house had invariably refused to
disturb the decision of the responsible authorities.
The East India directors had been perfectly astonished at
the communication read to the court of proprietors by the
_ _ _

lean. tanner for the Tower Hamlets, aisebHlTbag dia'aaak.
rare agents had made certain propoundng's the vein to
in him to acknowledge his guilt- laintly • dleggatch
was sent out, making in -ny whether Ind Mean. had
,nes authorised any mai eumminlita as sigma lir Ma
jor Carpenter ; and it tamed *seller sr huh beirtese had
ever been sanctioned by the pwassocS, lir neWs duty
err to watch over the rajah, al miss lie emolierunt u
Iltde Irksome as possible ; mai sees he the tow open an
et
ineef
:Caon the rajah's cue ? lb knew as 11111•111114 Om
naan from the reading oldie Blue Ink Anna
Sir Hudson Lowe have expostalated win*, eS
the day en the cruelty of keeping Napoleon ea SW
rock of Bt. Helens, or a gaoler interred* sent us
behalf of a prisoner. But Major Carpenter, when qw
tioned as to these overtures, declared—" the tone, the 'Odle
the meaning of the alleged conversations thus minutely rte.
corded are so utterly at variance with the numerous consul-
tations I have held with the rajah, on the general state of his
affairs, that I must at once pronounce the poster part of the
conversations stated to have passed between him and me, in
September last, purely imaginary, and to deeare that
the propositions therein detailed were never then, or at any
other period, directly or indirectly made by me to the rajah
of Setters, either on my own responsibility or on the autho-
rity of the governor-general." (Hear.) Could the English
language &ninth terms to give a more unqualified denial ?
Battle iovernor-general (Lord Hardinge), on receiving this
communication, accepted the denial, and censured the con-
duct of Major Carpenter in expressing opinions on the
rajah's case as highly unbecoming. (" Hear, hear," from
Kr. Thompson.) Was this 4 subject for duisire cheers t

What was to be thought of the soundness of judgment, or
the sense of duty of a man, whatever his motives, who ea-
tend into conversations with the person over whom he was
placed in charge, and took upon himself to express opinions
on his guilt and innocence, and on the nature of the evidence
against him ? In answer to the goveruor-general's repri-
mand, the major excused himself, admitted that under ordi-
nary circumstances he aught to have no concern with the
affairs of the dethroned prises, but alleging the peculiarity
of the case. There was no peculiarity at all ; and tee major
had not been able to show that any new futtad arisen.
Originally, this Rajah of Batten had been taken by the Indian
government almost out of the dungeon, his father and
grandfather having been in captivity ; the income of his
petty principality was but 100,0001., and the government
I still allowed him 10,0001. a year.
Mr. ANSTEY expressed his sympathy for the condition
of the inhabitants of India under the government of a com-
pany whose chairman hesitated not to express sentiments so
much at variance with humanity. The hon. baronet was
I not borne out in his statements by the documents he had
read ; for Major Carpenter had given a most natural expla-
nation of the inaccuracies in the statement referred to.
There war no real contradiction between the rajah's statement
and that of Major Carpenter, who gave the result of several
conversations with the rajah. Of the two, the rajah was more
likely to be accurate, having reduced the matter to writing
at the time. In the situation the major held, he wee under
a peculiar obligation, being net only an ambassador of the
Indian government, but also counsellor to the imprisoned
prince.
Mr. WAHLEY thought the hon. baronet (Sir J. Hogg)
had spoken in a way which made him believe that the Rajah
of Statue was an innocent man, and he did not think that
the hon. baronet could put his hand on his heart and say that
he was guilty. It was true the rajah had had a gaoler, but
he had not had a jury. On the contrary, it was now well
known that he had been treated as a guilty man, and most
grievously punished, but had never yet been heard in his
own defence, and had not even seen the evidence which had
been adduced against him. As to Major Carpenter, he
could only say that he had not violated any confidence or
failed to perform any duty which had been committed to
him. He could only add that he was sorry to see the ex-
poor-law commissioner (Mr. Lewis) occupying the 'illation
which he did that night. He was very glad, however, that
there was no board of guardian at Benue+, for, if there
were, the unfortunate rajah would, doubtless, be dieted on
pints of gruel and 18 ounces of bread in the 24 hours. (A
laugh.) Ile hoped, however, that the hon. gentleman
would alter his opinion and come to the conclusion that
the rajah was an injured man, and ought to obtain juitice.
(Hear, hear.)
The motion war then agreed to, and the house adjourned
at nine o'clock.