The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-19 00:00:00

Thousands upon thousands perished around the

walls of Herat—torrents of blood were shed—

want and destitution prevailed, until, at last, the

doomed city fell a prey to thirst, famine, want
of warlike supplies, and overwhelming numbers.
During all this time, Great Britain was an
earnest, anxious, and interested " spectator of the
fight." By the fall of Herat she felt her time for

action was come, inasmuch as "defence is the

first law of self-preservation." Her Indian terri.
tories were to be guarded against the inroads
of the diplomatic designs of Russia„ and his
pliant ally, the Persian ruler.

It was at this juncture that our Administra-
tion took the matter up. In the first instance
there were remongrances, then explanations, then
menaces, and last of all a declaration of hostili-

ies were resorted to. An expedition was
despatched to the Persian Gulf, Bushire was
occupied, and preparations were made for going
into the interior. Here it was that Persia
became alarmed, and lost no time in sending out
FERITK KHAN to negotiate a settlement of the
dispute. The mission was effected in a short
time, but before it could be ratified, another
sanguinary conflict had taken place between the
Persian cavalry and the Indian light horse,
which placed Mohammorah in our hands, and
giving the British forces possession of the whole
coast of the kingdom of Persia from Bushire.

Brilliant as a feat of arms, and dazzling as an
action of renowned heroism though the capture
of Mohammorah may be, it was clouded by the
melancholy deaths of Commodore ETHERSEY and
Brigadier STALKER, who both died by their own
hands. Into the cause of the untimely end of
these brave commanders it is not our produce to
enter; suffice it to say that they were being sub-
jected to much obloquy and odium which we
considered unmerited, but we by no means con-
sider, as some of cur cotemporaries affirm, fell a
prey to the calumnious invectives of journalists.
We look upon the capture of Mohammorah,
notwithstanding the drawback of the deaths
of Commodore ETHERSEY and Brigadier
STALKER, as one of much importance It has
taught the SHAH of Persia to fear and honour the
British lion, and must dispel from the minds of
the Persians any idea that they are competent to
face and fight a British Indian army. Their
celebrated cavalry having been mowed down like
grass, they placed reliance upon the strong walls
and heavily mounted bastions of their city. That,
too, was of no avail. The arms of England
pressed forward, and soon gained an easy but
momentous victory. Mohammorah fell, and
with that fall we obtained possession of vast
quantities of arms and ammunition. Seeing his
only hope of defence cut off, the SHAH listened
to the dictates of reason, and not all the wily
artifices of Russian intrigue nor the war cry of
his own people could induce him to forego a
speedy settlement of the dispute. In thus
speedily negotiating a peace, England has shown
that her desire was not to conquer an extension
of territory. She merely insisted that the SHAH
of Persia shall not despise his alliances nor for-
feit his engagements. We regard the denoue-
ment of this affair a security of peaceful relations
between the two countries, a more intimate
convention between their respective Govern-
'ments, an expansion of trade, and a general
increase of our political and military influence
and reputation throughout Asia. Should this
turn out to be the result of our interference, no
one will have cause to regret the course which
Lord PALMERSTON and his colleagues have taken
in this matter. At the same time we are still of
opinion that in questions of peace and war no
decisive action should be taken until both
Houses of Parliament have been consulted.
This was not done, and hence it is that many
able and strong-minded statesmen object to the
Governor-General of India declaring war against
Persia without the knowledge or sanction of the
Crown.

MR. HOLLAND has paid us another visit to
investigate the grave yard delinquencies of
Liverpool. On Friday and Saturday, he
was engaged in hearing evidence respecting
certain alleged evils arising from the manage-
ment of St. James's cemetery. Prior to
entering upon that enquiry, a somewhat
interesting discussion took place respecting the
future disposal of the Necropolis. We are sorry
to see that there appears a disposition on the part
of Mr. HOLLAND to shield the guilty parties con-
nected with the Necropolis from a criminal pro-
secution, and the certainty of a severe and last-
ing punishment, and instead of acting the part of
a fearless and independent judge, he has been
acting more as their advocate and friend. When
this matter was before him on Friday, our worthy
churchwarden, Mr. WOODRUFF, remarked that
the parties who had committed the abominations
in the Low Hill Cemetery must be brought to
justice in some court of law before the public
were satisfied, and Dr MACLNTYRE reiterated the
same idea, by declaring that " the public would
not be satisfied untir, either with the assistance
of the present trustees, or without their assistance,
the parties actually guilty of the abomination
were brought to justice," This statement,
,we
are told, was hailed with " cheers and applause,''
a pretty significant hint that the people of Liver-
pool have made up their mind not to be trifled
with on a matter of such paramount importance.

How does Mr. HOLLAND notice the strong and
emphatic remarks—and what encouragement does
he hold out, that he, being well aware of the
chicanery, the deceit, and the frauds which have
been practised at the Necropolis, will aid in
bringing the guilty parties to justice, so that
they may receive the punishment due to such
Illegal and heartless tricks, and society at large
have some atonement for the barbarous deeds
practised by those grave-yard officials ? The
Inspector is disposed to " forget and forgive/
and with a mass of facts, detailing in
the most incontrovertible manner the dishonest
and disreputable practices alluded to, he tells all
the parties concerned that, "he was convinced