The Express.
London, England, 1850-07-26 00:00:00

mature deliberatioa, they arrived at the ormolusion,
(es at least Mr. Ileums alms, sad Lord lons
Roseau does not deny) " that the misnames of '
Lyptala Wallt" hrhoon proved to be genuine;
epee the evidence of the pekes. *tie wrote the pre-
Amadeu and NM hie 'them.% Their report
has hem received, but Let JOHN RUISDLL refuses
tolertesot it to** Hesse of Coltman
It is not so mach with this determination on the
past of Lord lone Rnsseth that we find fault, as
with a principle be oalleidated in defending it. The
commissioners it appears have not yet trammkwels
the evidence, and they premise a more fillopals
We do not, is the eirenuittanews, think this I se&
cleat MUNN for withholding tho report already re-
atived, bat we admit that there is a kind of pietist-
Ibility about it. But Lord Joan went ea to ear that
Captain WATSON still perseveres in his amertion that
Ike signatures said to be Ids art forgeries, and that
with sash esseictieg statements he dthiltil further
:bigotry ought to be made before publicity is given to
theospert. Now, be it observed. the ortafliet is not
between the aseertions of Captain Weeson on the
one side, and the witnesses against Mote the fiber:.
t ie between the assertions of Ca Wig=
the one hand, and the decision of
,great abilities, much legal experience, and an-
interrity, sating as judges. wider a own-
shies from the crown, on the ether. Lord JoliN
might as well pretend to say that any convicted
culprit's pemestatioa of his innoessee is entitled to
equal consideration with the verdict of a jury find-
him guilty, am that the judiment of the cora-
Riesiontrs and the affirmotion of Captain WATSON.
are of equal weight. The position maintained W
Lord Joint Rossuo. goes to throw discredit on all
judicial inquiries and make mere mockeries of them.
What guarantee can the ishabitaata of neylee ere of
any colony have for their rights, if the ripely ade
Timed decision of judges in their favour is in be set
aside oa the simple assevers'ion of the party opposed
to them ?
So much for the jetties of Lord Jones's plus now
for the polity of his eouduot. It is impossible
eionjeetare what hi proposes. to gain by withholding
the report of the oomitn.sconers. Its sulintance is
already known; it has been stated by Mr. BAILLII,
and admitted by Lord JOHN Roseau. Captain
WATSON can gain nothing by its temporary 'opines-
lies; but be may Ices—for conjecture may repredist
leas much more damaginz to him than it is in reality.
Besides, Captain Wersos is not the only person to
be seasidered. HM disclaimer of the sigeaturee was
wrsapt ly sad ostentatiously prod aimed, and upon that
disclaimer the most injurious and most unfounded
aspersions were circulated against the gentleman who
was iestramental in forwarding the proclamations to
England. At the close of the commissioners pro-
ceedings, they indented that they e mild not then
make the result public, but they gave Mr. ELLtorr
(the gentleman to whom we allude) permission to
announce their opinion that nothing dishonest or
dishonourable attached to him and the other gentle-
men concerned in sending copies of the d aputed
documents to England. Ministers were prompt
enough to publish Captain WATSON'S disclaimer:
why are they so reluctant to do jades to Mr.
Eu.IoTT, who was injured by their precipitation?
The honour of a private English gentleman is of
quite as much importance as that of a captain in the
Ceylon Hans.
The only effect thtt can be produced by the cour.e
Lord Joao has wen fit to pursue is to confirm the
impression, to which so many thing+ that have trans-
pined in the course of the inquiry have given arcs-
aka, that government are determined to screen Lord
'llostaiscorom and his colleagues at all htserds and
by any means. This is a suspicion that no statesmen
in this country can incur with impunity ; it is one
fraught with the most perilous consequences to our
colonial empire.
Toe danger is assuredly cot lessened by the lino
which the cimmittee of the House of Commons,
appointed to inquire into the Ceylon affair, has sems
fit to adopt. We publish, in another part of this
day's impression the third report of the committee,
presented to the House of Commons on Wednesday,
and a more lame and impotent conclusion of a two
years' ecrutiny it has not been our lot to witness me
any former toe :Ilion.
The committee have not the courage to pronouns*
any opinion on the transactions they have hese
enquiring into. They allege, in extenuation of this
evasion of their duty, that " they find thentedves
still unable to make a complete report upon sense er
the rarious mailers into which they were directed to
inquire." They do not, and they cannot say, that
these "some" are among. the essential, or even the
meet important of the inquiries referred to them.
And their mystes ions third resolution is plainly an
attempt to insinuate what they lack courage to my
plainly and intelligibly.
Tom emisaittes are of opinion that the serious attention
of her Majesty's government should be called to the eel
dance taken in the court of this inquiry, and they re-
iwomend that a Royal COMMiIidOD should be appointed
le premed to Ceylon to ascertain wh.t changes may be
warm be the better government of that colony, sakes
Mine step shooki forthwith be token be the government
to obviate the necomity of further investigation.
We may be mistaken, but this does read very like
a hint to government that if they renal Lord Toe-
Illeorox, past transactions will be hushed up. The
attention of government, not of parliament, ca in-
voked to the evidence ; a commission is proposed, not
to eollect information bet to recommend changes ;
and a euegestion is thrown out that there is
some one step which, if taken by govern-
ment, may obviate the necessity even of such a com-
mission. Now the public ought to protest in limine
against any compromise in virtue of which upon the
sacrifice of Lord TORRINGToN they are to be deprived
of the instructive information (defective thoueh it
may be) that has been collected by the committee.
Lord TORRINGTON is not the only, and he is by no
imams the worst or mast dangerous, offender impli-
sated in the misgovernment of Ceylon. His removal.
or that of any of his colleagues, without a fall expo-
sure of the reasons why be is removed,would do com-
paratively little good. The facts submitted to the
committee are mainly useful as illustrative of the
general system of colonial misgovernment that bad
prevailed. A suppression of them cannot be tole-
rated in order to keep the profane vulgar from know-
ing to what kind of men the destinies of oar colonies
have been confided. If pirlisment sanction the
shuffling coulee recommended by the Committee they
will inspire all our Colonies with despair of obtaining
justice at their hands in any circumstances.

GERMANY.

PRUSSIA,

We have news' by .telegraph from Berlin, under
date the 24th inst. It had been notified there that
the free city of Lubeck ratified the treaty between
Prussia and Denmark. This explains sufficiently the
oondu2t of the Lubeck authorities in the matter of the
screw steamer Van der Tann, and their anxiety lest
any pretext should be given to the Danes to interfere
against them.
Our own eerNspondest, writing on the 23rd,
states that the royal commissioner at Frankfort is
most probably to be recalled, on account of the breech
between Prussia sad Austria, and the determination
of the former to recognise the pretensions of the latter
as regards the Diet.