The Express.
London, England, 1853-03-16 00:00:00

TO CORRESPON DRNTB,

Tile papers brought by the Overland Mail tell us
there is little to communicate to the great British
public this month. "Itis a flat mail," say the Indian
caterers for news; but what seems insufficient to stir
the blood of an Indian, living in a country where all
things take a colossal shape, may be found, upon
examination, to yield a little mild excitement to
quieter mortals, whose scope of vision presents to
them objects of mere ordinary magnitude. The
Eused up " Indian editor may possibly give his
nglish brother a tolerable meal out of the crumbs
which are not highly spiced enough for his own
pampered palate. Let us examine the despised in-
telligence, and see whether we cannot extract
from it something, which, though "flat" to our
Indian friends, may cause us to feel interested. First,
we learn that our troops are in possession of Pegu.
Sad that the valuable columns of a newspaper can
relate nothing more striking than this. A glance,
indeed, at the map of Pegu shows it to be a land of
agricultural capabilities—that it is intersected by
countless branches of the Irrawadi, a first-class
Asiatic river. Travellers, too, say that it was the
granary of the Birman empire—that it contains val-
leys of the highest fertility and beauty, and that it
has numerous elements of natural riches. There are,
in fact, reasons which might almost induce us to
conclude that in any other country but India the
annexation of Pegu might have been considered an
event. Then again, we read that the Aeng Pass,
which, while in the possession of the enemy, cut off
the connexion between our troops in Arracan and
those in Prome, has been taken by our men, although
defended by three thousand of the enemy, in a fort'•
fled position, five thousand feet high. Surely this
is something. Yet it seems, in the eyes of the
Indian journalist, that the fit of the gout, which he
tells us has afflicted Lord Governor FITZ( LARENCE, is
more important.
How are we to account for the general apathy
with respect to events which, if they happened in
any other country in the world, would excite Euro-
pean attention ? How is it that the annexation of half
a kingdom goes for nothing in India, while in any
other part of the world it would create intense inte-
rest? How is it that the ailments, or the removal
from their various poets of worn-out old gentlemen,
arc matters *of greater importance in In-
dia than the destinies of millions of natives, or
the transfer of millions of square miles? The answers
will be found in the system by which India is
governed. With all our civilisation, with all our
professions of philanthropy, in spite of the general
mildness of our Indian Government, it is still a cer-
tain, fact that India is governed not for the benefit
of the 120,000,000 of natives, but for that of the few
hundreds of the subjects of the QUEEN who monopo-
lise the civil and military administration of the
country. Many of the best informed writers
on the subject of India do not scruple to
assert that under the unchecked despotism
of the Mahommedan rulers the condition
of the natives was better than under the mild rule of
Joni: COMPANY. There is such a wide distance be-
tween European and Asiatic modes of thought, be-
twecn the occidental and oi icntal life, that the greater
number of Europeans, who go to India.
PRIVATE BUSINESS. give tip the
task of making any impression on the natives it
Mr. WHALLEY moved, pursuant to notice, for select
connntte to examine tho returns made to the house by tho despair, and simply look upon the cou!ory one it
in
laclJAv.! Canatuitiouers, and the Commis' mcrs of the which they arc to acquire money and distinction, and

6eend Ed!Col ;1;' ■eme
" Gazette," is published every Ttteeday and Friday ei;:ht, in time
for post.
Alsettiseisentsbit:nded tor " The Earross," London Itte...ing rarers
artst be at the ();.^l.:, JO, Bouvecie-etreet, by Two o'eLsek us rho
nay of pabLication.

MGR WATI:ii AT LONDON BRIDOPI.
Tus Dar—Monne& 6h. 49i Afternoon, 6a. 661.
to-nonnow—Morning. 64. Um— Afternoon. 6a. 440.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16.

Mr. SOTHERON admitted the evil which had been
alluded to by the bon. gentleman, but thought the remedy
wu difficult. At present the plan if obtaining members for
select committees was not satisfactory. He believed some-
thing might be done by lessening the numbers appointed to
serve on such committees down to 9 or 7, with the power
of making the number 15 on very important questions;
but he -hoped the house would not again adopt the
plan which had been followed this year in two instances, of
making select committees to consist of 30 and 31 members.
The available number of members to serve on committees
was not too great, for when exemptions on the score of office,
age, and other matters were reckoned, the number available
was not more than 400. This session the pressure of private
busies was very great. The number of election petitions
(of which notice was given) was originally 85, of which in
one way or another about 40 had been disposed of, leaving
between 30 and 40 to be tried, and which would require
some 150 members after the holidays. There were 345
private bills entered, of which some had been disposed, but
upwards of 200 remained, and as there was a resolution of
the other house that no private bills should be read there a
first time after sth July, it left a
very short time for those
bills to pus through all their stages in this house. As the
election petitions would take away 150 members, there
would be very few available for the carrying on of private
business. The hon. gentleman was understood to suggest
that the motion should not be pressed.
Lord J. RUSSELL concurred in the suggestion of the
hon. member who had last spoken, that the motion should
not be now pressed. He thought it would be better if it
were made in rather more general terms, so that the com-
mittee would not be exclusively confined to purposes which
he considered most desirable, but that they might also con-
sider other suggestions with reference to the mode of coo-
ducting the business of the house. He quite agreed with
his hon. friend, that it would be desirable, now that so
many subjects were referred to select committees, that
the number of members on select committees should
be smaller than they were at present ; and he
hoped, at all events, that his hon. friend would
have a small number on his own select committee.
There would be a great advantage likewise in members at-
tending constantly to the subject to which they were ap-
pointed. That v-se a far more difficult question whom it
was expected that the house should name on committees,
and without whose authority perhaps the report of the
committee would not be considered of great value. There
was another point, the practice which now prevailed of ap-
pointing a committee early in the session, the members of
which attended constantly during the greater part of the
session and heard all the evidence, and then, about the
middle of July, when the chairman came to put the resolu-
tions, out of the 15 originally appointed only about seven
attended, and as four of these constituted the majority the
report at last was the opinion of four of the members. He
thought if the committees were obliged to report within a
certain time, or that a certain proportion of the members
should be required to attend to agree to the report, they
might attain considerable advantage.
Mr. RICH bore testimony to the defects of the present
system.
Lord 11. VANE thought it desirable that the number
of members on select committees should be lessened, which
was one mode of decreasing the evil. He approved of the
motion generally, but thought it should not be pressed at
present.
Mr. EVELYN DENISON asked if it was the intention
that members should bo obliged to serve if they were ap-
, pointed on select committees. Then suppose an important
question, such as that of India, were they to take 8 or 9
member..., a majority of whom were to be young members,
and were they to carry the same weight with them which a
committee appointed at present would carry 3'
• Mr. 1.1 WADI said his object in bringing forward the
motion oa, to improve the internal machinery of the house
fir conducting the business; but in accordance with the
I expressed wish of so many members he would withdraw the
t motion.

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