The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-20 00:00:00

TUESDAY

but which I trust, are as- the smallest sum compered to
what she must yet deilve.—(Beer.) Well, we have done
1 this without interfering with the relgi,m3 feciisgs of the
i., oohs. We have teltsn cßre that those who belong to
the European- race should likewise have spiritual instruc-
tion and enlightenment.—(flee, hear.) We have done
much,
vvhateveransy be the origin of, our power, to jus-
tify ourselves in maintaining our, rule over India. If I
were to compare that rule with that which exists in other
Eastern nations, if I were to cerup-are that rule with that
which exists in Turkey, svitn that which is administered
in Persia,.it is impossible pot to see baseness in the ad-
miinistratien, corruption. fin the offices of- Goverameut,
civil war lind-riebellionesfrone which the people of -India
have in a•-great degree been saved by the rule which we:
have est,blished. And as regards the Act of 1833, al-
though- suggestions may 15.6 imado- for improvement in
particular,rhP:stisB:l9;nothar - remark, closely connected
I•will not say.that no advantages.
House.a re tobe derived from certain changes, yet I believe, in
its great outlines, that A.et will -be preserved in the'
Bill which her Majesty's Ministers will submit to this
weep, I contend that although such a form of pvern-
teieth. g,tilivkeir lother,nt: andof itheria." _uponupm tthneisooenusht.ireuee t,ioiri,k
ad.
meat—the converting a- trading company into the
administration -of an > empire of fif‘tea millions,
and having that control by a Minister of the Sovereign
at home—ls a form of government which theoretically is
liable to much criticism -under
.adverse circumstances;-
yet I must seyaia expite of that, the benefit of expe-
rience shows us that it is a government useful to the
people of India.--(Hear; heat-.)
My Hon. Friend the
Member for Montrose, speaking with the experience and
with the weight whichproperly belongs to him, entirely
approves of the ?node of government established in this
country for the affairs of India, though he says he is
disposed to wish' for some ismendeuent with respect to
laceor war. Now
must say, without reverting to
, , with re-
tephe„optotwoetrnoaft dstiectilaeorit7ng pence
any particular instance, whether that discretion has
been wisely used in that particular instance, I think a
but
ts notmu sttobbee
vcioenrrseiddewreidthernetgiraerlyd
Ministers of the Crown, than
and it is far better, when a
be solved, that it should be
great subject
.ogfutelTttiokni,,nhd
tasolved
ri Toiabnnydteiet4tri
I,fteest ti:
du
vti_
inkc
ei En
odufriotsEpteeo;
that the ultimate discretion should be left with the Etta
India Company.—(Hear.) But 'when I say this, I sin ,
quite of opinion that the - general administratien of the
affmirs of India should emanate,- not as the President
of the Board of Control. seems to me to represent it,
from the Minister of the Crown, but from the directors
of the East India Company—that, with regard to all
matters of finance, all matters of legislation, all matters
of justice, they should give their suggestions and frame
their instructions, . and that only the power ot approba-
-1 tion or objection should rest with the Minister.—(Hear,
With this question,
m too,h a 9 isto connected
solved
hear.) It is evident,- if such is the case, in most instances
' the opinion of the directors will be that which the Board
of Control will be glad to approve, and practically the
' directors will be left unburdenedprb9yb
governmenteh se considerations.of Itllndia,
ia, bu t
question again
t—he(Hqaeaesrhobn'oare.) patronage; and upon that
, hear.) I quite
agree with
the Hon. Member for the University of Ox-
baefatal danger—to
ftwwohehre
di cce:ohnnwni, affectst° iott butustp iooillikpleot perceive
°lt ataehsievitrs:eclttyohhugatiliat country.—(Hear, a:
' .
i—t (s ElO e a r
happened
that
the
Ministers of the Crown should have the
aenvtiererydsiesprioosuasl
of all the revenues of India, so fay as government and
this country.—(Dear, bear.) I
think it most fortunate that a medium should have
ptdtaiaetnrgoecnroa—ngseitti
tamurteilgohnctonhocefevrene,ni,t
perhaps,would
1 cety to the
, safety been found,
,by which rule over India is well pro-
vided, and there is, at the same time
constitution of this country, and safety to that vast
empire under . the sovereignty of the empire of the
United Kingdom, without injury to the working of
our constitutional and Parliamentary interest.—(Cheers.)
I therefore, seeing- all these circumstances. should very
much lament if I thought that the Right Hon. Gentle-
men opposite was about, either himself, or by the means
and agencies ot a Select Committee, to propose any great
change in the Government of India. lam convinced
eoveils ielaVG!ov9eurlnd not be able to alter
for the better.ment
myself that although you might change, you might alter
the withoutpri
n
ca :14 I s outline''rio s
—(Hear, hear.) Indeed, I was happy to collect from the
Right Hon. Gentleman the . President of the Board of
Control such do general were his views, and that good
and beneficial off: ts had . flowed from the Government
of India as thus. administered.-(Hear, hear.) I am
M convinced, under the present ode of government with
respect to, that most important of all pointsenamelY, the
selection of the Governor-General, who must have such
vast poweF, and Must decide many questions before in-
structions can reach him—l euee persuaded, both from
experience and from the natureof things, we have settled
that question in such a manner,- that we do get to India
men of the. greatest eminence and ability.—(Hear,
hoar.) The present Governor-General has shown the
greatest talents in the administration of Indian affairs--
(Hear, hear)--and the. speech of an lion. Gentleman to •
night cannot but remind us that • a near relation of his
conductecli the. governmeut. during trials as severe and
success aalgrrat, as ever occurred in India.—(Hear,
hear.) Seeing that, I rejoice to think the appointment
of this Cobarnittee;:whilo it -affords materials of legisla-
tion to Parliament, while -it may elicit many valuable
suggestions, is. not likely to change the fundamental
principle e of government in that country.—(Cheers.)
. Mr. GOULBURN said if the motion was in any way
to fetter the House as to its future determination, he
would not suoport it. But hie Right Hon. Friend had
clearly laid down the principle in his motion: first, as
to what was the operation of the Act, and next what the
House were to deduce from the information thus ob-
tained to guide them to their judgment as to the new
measure which Government would propose for the ac-
ceptance of the House. With that view he should give
his cordial support to the appointment of a Committee.
He should not have said a word on the question if he
had not noticed in the course of the debate a studied
omission of mention of one branch of the inquiry which
he considered,was essential to ,the main subject. The
matter had been altogether passed over by some Hon.
Members, and hid only beets touched upon by his Hon.
Friend (Sir Robert Inglis). One great branch of the
inquiry he conceived ought to be to ascertain how far
the Act of 1833 bad carried out proper means of reli-
gious instruction for the people of India. The inquiry
ought to ascertain if those means had led to the favour-
able results Calculeted upon evhenthe Act was first intro-
duced, and whether they' had been commensurate to
the extension of the Christian . religion throughout the
large population of ludia. The Noble Lord had told the
House we triad conferred great advantages on India by
having a superior judicial system, and by extending the
.benefits of education. But the Noble Lord, with a can-
(ion he thought it necessary to assume, but which was
nut the feeling of his own mind, forebore to allude to
one subject which he considered it was the duty of the
House to keep constantly in sight. He referred to the
means of giving the people of India religious instruction.
He knew that great alarm was felt on the subject of the
introduction of Christianity into India. It was supposed
that excitement and insurrection would follow if Chris-
tianity were attempted to be introduced, but.circum-
stances had since come to light which had dispelled that
opinion. In one of the oldest charters, that of 1698, it
was specifically enjoined:on the Company, that wherever
they settled or extended their sway they should not
merely introduce a Christian- minister, approved of by
the Archbishop of Canterbur
, y, but that these ministers
should learn the native languages' in order the better to
convert the Gentoos and other inhabitants, and convert
them to a purer faith. The great question was after-
wards put out of sight in consequence of events at home,
but they had seen the importance of extending the bless-
sings we enjoyed to India, and he hoped, therefore, one
of the objects of the Committee would be to suggest
means of extending Christianity to India. It appeared
to him, that if there existed any difficulty on the subject, '
that inquiry would expel It.-erea esear.) As far as inquiry
was concerned, they had'now men- in this country com-
petent to give the ComMittee the very best informa-
tion on every branch of the subject. It had been urged
on former ()cessions that the prejudices of the natives
were such that any attempt to disseminate the principles
of Chrietianity amongst them would be attended with
nothing short. of insurrection. But in the recent go-
vernment of India it had been discovered that, without
the aid of religion, many of those prejudices had been
overcome; and one of the most meritorious of Indian
officers bad bier enabled to induce the natives to forego
the revolting rite of suttee.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr.
Goulhurn) conceived India was not given to this country
for the exercise of . its vanity, not to increase its wealth,
or exhibit the valour of its arms; he believed there was
a duty imposed upon this country—the high, moral duty
of taking such measures as prudence, combined with
zeal, would justify, for the purßase
of extending over
that heathen country the knowledge and the truth of
the Christian religion.—(Heer, hear.) Sir Thotnas
Munro said, `4 There is one great question to which we
'should look in all our arrangemente—aule,y,
i what is to
be the final result of Our Governoient on the character
of the people, and whether that character will be raised
or lowered ?"—(Elear, hear.) He (Mr. Goulburn) as-
serted this country could"not fulfil the wishes and ob-
jects of that great statesman otherwise than by dissemi-
nating the truth of religion; and he trusted the labours
of the present inquiry would prove that exertions were
increased without any of the dangers being incurred
which were heretofore anticipated.—(Hear, hear.)
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY thought they were very
de-
ficient in their informatiou of what passed in India. He,
fur instance, would select finance.
collected They knew very
well that a great revenue
wasa
India—some-
-1
thing from 18,000,0001. to 24,000,0001. ; but it was a
had
melancholy fact that the expensesr_increased in a.
) There was
still greater proportione--(
.11' couldgive •no autho-
rised officer, unfortunately,
who
information
to the House on the subject..ou Thereforeld he thought the
Pre,ident of the Board of Control ah annually make
"originally intended; and
an Indian budget, as wass _ , ,_, who
should also be able ,to i'XPlairiViwhatever
enanges might
take place.—(Hear.) The mutilationdispatches was
another matter that should be
abolished, and which
could not be well accomplished untilthey
had a respon-
sible officer to deal.with.—(Hear.)
Mr. MANGLES could not concur in the observa-
tions of the Right Hon. Genet _ Gentleman the Member fur the
gr. Goulburn) that the University of Cambridge (
ld take part in the Go-
vernment of this country ellen . . reli-
giousfact of their doing so would
affairs, as the • very
view. the
only baffle the object they bad in business of
the Government was to hold the scales_thee,os, evenly, to allow
fair play to the dissemination of tei Pei to protect
troth to have i.ts WaY.—(fies )
the missionary, and allow
aof election deterredable
and thought the present moue
and experienced men on their return from India from
rs, It would be
seeking a place on the Board of Directo
rs, a
great improvement if some means were devised by
which gentlemen could be admitted members of that
board without the degradation of
.a. personal canvass
amongst a miscellaneous body of ind
ividuals. —.ye .
ear.)
The SPEAKERtben pat the question, and the motion
was agreed to.