The Express.
London, England, 1858-02-13 00:00:00

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LONDON. SATURRAZ .1FE8R0427 111.

Tag Ministerial scheme forth. future government
of our Indian Empire is now fairly before the coun-
try. Our readers were prepared, by the detailed
statement which we made yesterday, to learn that
the Government measure contemplates the entire
subversion of all those constitutional principles upon
which the safety of that empire has been hitherto
believed to depend; but they were not prepared to
leant the utter incapacity of Government to
make oat even a prima foci, case for destroy-
ing the Double Government at any time, and
much lase for destroying it at a period of great
popular excitement, whilst the country itself is still
not by internal convulsions. It was believed
that the First Minister would endeavour to show
that India had been shamefully misgoverned ; that,
from the weakness or the criminality of the existingl
administrative agencies, have arisen the great
digesters which have filled our homes with mourn-
ing and our hearts with fear ; that the incom-
petence of the existing Government to grapple
with the great crisis is so conspicuous, that
only by the immediate introduction of a new
and eon vigorous system can tranquillity
be restored to our Indian possessions, and the
permanseu of our dominion secured. But the
failure to adduce any argument in favour of either a
present or a prospective change was so conspicuous,
that when Mr. MONCHTON MILSZB, who is com-
monly to be found fighting in the Ministerial ranks,
declared that " he had waited with considerable in-
" tenet to see whether, in the speech of his noble
" friend,a single instance would be brought forward
" to prove, to the satisfaction of any reasonable man,
" that is the progress of events in India,
" seensund under Providence as they had
" bun, that success had been checked or
" limited by the action of the ' Double Govern-
" ment ;' • and, after asking whether any man be-
lieved that, if there had been no Double Government,
there would have been no mutiny, protested that,
in the lamentable absence of all argument con-
demnatory of the existing system, it was
not possible for those who in 1853 had
supported the Government of the Company
to abandon it at this moment,—the House,
recognising the justice of the assertion, received it
with loud cheers. If the Doable Government were
deserving of the confidence of the country in 1853,
and if it has not since forfeited that confidence,
either by mat-administration tending to create the
recent convulsions in India, or by inability to carry
out measures for the suppression of the rebel-
lion, there is not a pretext for disturbing a system of
Government under which has risen into life and
vigour an Empire which is the wonder and the admi-
ration of the world.
In support of a measure which we have already
shown to be pregnant with danger, because subver-
sive of all those constitutional checks which hare
hitherto been the safeguards of our Indian Empire
Lord Pantragrox has nothing better to array than
the merest platitudes and clap-traps. He talks
largely about the advantages of ministerial respon-
sibility. He tells ns that it is desnedit
that instead of an irresponsible Government,
we should have a Government directly
accountable to Parliament. " The Parliament of this
" ooentry," bogeys, " has never had face to face in
" this, or in the other House, men who are directly end
" personally responsible to Parliament for thegovers-
" went of India." And again " We ought to semen-
" bee that we have a gniatduty to fulfil in India. I
"as sure that duty will best be fulfilled if we place
"the performer°. of it in the hands of men who will
"be accountable to Parliament for the manner in
" which it is performed,who shall be bound to acquaint
" Parliament step by step with the course they are tak-
" ing." But is there no such responsibility now? la the
Cabinet Minister, who is officially designated President
of the Board of Commissioners forth. Affairs of India,
and without whose sanction no measure, great or
small, polities' or administrative, can be carried out
in that country, not accountable to Parliament? Is
not that high functionary bound to acquaint Parlia-
ment with the coarse that is being taken in India?
Is he not aided, in the House, by a ParlleagenWy
Secretary, whose duty it is, in the absence ot the
President, to offer any e :planation. which may be
called for by Parliament And if he has not
been called to account, or if he hes aid
accounted for what has been done, doss
the fault lie in the system ; or in the apathy of Pen-
tiainent on one side, and the reticence of the Minister
on the other? It is true that tutsuccesaful efforts
have been made to call the Minister or the Ministers
of the day to account for misdeeds committed in
lode'; but no one ever pretended that these efforts
failed because the Minister was not constitution-
ally 'mountable to Parliament for such misdeeds.
They failed become Parliament wanted the firm-
new lacked the independence to make the
Minister account for what had been done.
The responsibility of the Crown Govern-
ment is as complete at this moment, as it
sae be seder any system which the Legislature can
devise for the future conduct of Indian affairs, All
that is required is that Parliament should under-
stand its power and perform its duty. If it be apa.
irregolute, or trammelled by party, It will
make the responsible Ktoiabot mom
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