Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-08-05 00:00:00

"9ußittes troops in -India, 4iiitll•lbe their expense
thg had tO.pa.y.." 'This discontent,-we :regret
find Uzi, the latest mail, has hurst into active mutiny.
"At Berhampoze they are in open mutiny, have
" entrenched :themselves in.the barracks, and have
" elected officers. The Madras Fusiliers have followed
" the 'example of the Bengal troops." What resist-

ance they may be able to •make, ttnd how far that

disaffection-

which by-the-same mail we4eorn is on

the increase among the late Company!s European

troops—will' break out into active co-operation, we

know is a very serious apprehensionswith,tke present

Government, and does not give muelLencourageMent

to that future of India to which Sir C. WOOD points

He hopes that there may be a diminution of
£2,000,000 in the military charge of India ; but we

can scarcely reconcile this with his statement, that
the present-annual cost of the army is £21,000,000 ;
whereas, before the mutiny, it did not exceed

£12,000,000. If the native army be reduced to a

minimum, the large European force of 80,000 to

100,000 'to be `kept up would not cost much less

Sir CIIARDES WOOD said he should be only deceiving

the House of Commons if he led them to hope for

any considerable reduction in' the ;civil estimates

On the contrary, it would appear than an American
writer, taking the condition of British India from

his point of view, thought an increase of at least an

100 magistrates was necessary for the proper admin-

istration of its affairs. It certainly does appear,
that the civil staff of Europeans is too small for the

vast extent over which` our rule spreads, and to

adjust, the rights of 200,000,000 of subjects. Mr

RICKETTS was of the same opinion as our Transat-

lantic neighbour and friend, and recommended a
division of those large collectorates, which were now
in the hands of men physically and mentally

incompetent to the task imposed upon them. The
results of those inquiries made by Mr. RicKETTs

occupied two years in Collecting,' and make up five

folio volumes, which were yet under the considera-

tion of the Government, and to which we would
refer our readers for more valuable, solid, and

important information. Mr. BRIGHT, in his remarks
upon Sir C. WOOD'S statement, did not confine
himself to the mere financial question before the

House, but made comments, and passed censures,
upon the present administrative Government

of India, many of which we should be inclined to
assent to, although we should be unwilling to sub-

scribe to, all his recommendations. The system of

finance, it aPpears, isbadly executed in India, and it
is proposed to send out from hence a gentleman of
ability and financial knowledge, and one gentleman
already named for the situation is Mr. JAMES WIL-
SON, Vice-President of the Board of Trade. -

In addition to the military reduction in expendi-

ture, Sir C. WOOD proposes to augment the revenue
by an increased tax on opium, by the introduction of
succession, and stamp, and license duty, and by an

addition to the salt duties in Bombay and Madras.
These resources, and the gradual development of the
internal wealth of India by railroads, together with
increased and better cultivation, of ,land, we trust,
will prevent a continued recurrence, year after year,
of loans in this country to meet the expenditure of
India. However, Sir C. WOOD does not hold out

any hope that this five or six millions now to be

negotiated for in this country, will not be asked

for again for the next two or three years. Yet was

there one satisfactory statement in his speech,
namely, that notwithstanding the increased expen-
diture consequent upon the mutiny, the revenue of
India had not diminished, but had rather increased.
In 1856-7 the revenue was £31,700,000 ; in 1857-8
it was exactly the same amount, £31,700,000; in
1858-9, £33,800,000, showing an increase of
£2,100,000. The future of a country which has
passed through such a terrible crisis with ari in-
creasing revenue may, we hope, inspire the capital-
ists of this country with confidence. But the ag-
gregate debt of India, it cannot be concealed.