The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-24 00:00:00

At the beginning of December an attack
was made on the fortress of Dalimkote, which

dition.

was carried after a resolute resistance. The posi-
tion was naturally very strong, and had been

well fortified. Situated at the top of a hill, it
could only be approached by a narrow, winding
road, up which, as the troops advanced, showers
of stones and arrows descended upon them.
The Bhooteas aimed these primitive missiles with
force and skill, and kept up a fire of musketry
throughout the day ; but the worst part of our dis-

asters, like those of the Federal fleet off Wilming.

ton, were due to an unfortunate casualty. A shell,
through some accident, burst in the mouth of one of

he mortars, killing three officers and several men

whereas during the whole struggle only eight men
were killed and only three officers wounded, though
the fight lasted eight hours. Fifty-six men were
disabled, which proves that the weapons of the
Bhooteas were less fatal than they might have been,
notwithstanding the accuracy of their aim. After
many hours of firing a carcass from one of the mor-
tars set fire to some of the buildings,' whereupon a
storming party was formed and the place carried
by assault. The satisfaction of the triumph was
considerably damped by the melancholy accident
which had cost so many valuable lives, but the
fort was gained, and an important step towards the

settlement of the war was achieved. Another fort
remained to be taken in the same quarter, which is
said to be also very strongly defended, but not in
so difficult a position. When the latest intelligence
was received from the right column they were close
to the strongholds of Devangiri, and impatient for
its capture. The other two columns were also ad-
vancing, and happily no cases of the formidable
Dooar fever are as yet reported. In Bombay all is
tranquil, so tranquil as to permit of a census and an
Exhibition being the chief topics of the day. The
census has not given satisfaction, for it is believed
to be incorrect, though why it should not have been
accurately compiled is not very apparent. It was
taken in February last, and returns the population
of the island of Bombay at 816,562 persons—being
530,450 males and 286,112 females. As we have
said, its figures are not relied upon, whether rightly
or wrongly remains to be proved. As for the Ex-
hibition, that is to be a positive fact, and active
steps have been taken towards its promotion. A
company has been formed with a capital of half-a-
million, and application has been made to the
Government for a grant of land for the purpose.
Bombay and its citizens are proverbially liberal, and
the rich Parsees will probably come forward very
readily to support it. It will give a stimulus to the
productive and manufacturing industry of India,
and turn the thoughts of its people into those
pacific channels which are the surest highways to
the wealth and prosperity of a nation. The Indian
quarter of the Great Exhibition of 1851 was by no
means the least attractive, and surely the "gorgeous
East," in its native sphere, can produce something
worth looking at. Such exhibitions have a tendency
to refine and cultivate a people, and our Indian
subjects are not without their need of such elevating
influences. It is to be hoped that the Bombay ex-
periment will prove sufficiently successful to set an
attractive precedent. Perhaps, too, it may do some-
thing towards breaking down the barriers that
exist between the European and native. It is no
secret that the old traditions of Company ex-
clusiveness still linger among the civil and official
class, who for the most part are still disposed to
regard all planters and merchants, &c., with
disfavour. The shrewd, energetic business class,
to whose enterprise and industry we must look for
the future progress 'of India, are regarded as inter-
lopers, while they on their side, no doubt, cherish
no very friendly feeling towards the antagonistic
element of Anglo-Indian society. Most probably
in this, as in most other cases, both sides are to
blame, and unquestionably the old spirit of routine
still lingers, • and quarrels with every step taken out
of the old beaten track. Such as look with suspi-
cion on the new school should
Indiarem wemb:trhethuatttlaelong reign of the Company left
rail-
ways, canals, or public works of any great extent ,
that vast tracts of land, now turned into flourishing
plantations, lay waste and profitless, and that the
revenue of India, though it had of course to be
estimated by the years immediately following the
mutiny, bore no comparison to its present buoyant
and prosperous condition. There is enough for
every
and woAnrkgi:
it
t
anal
a greater unity of though
Anglo-Indian to do in his adopted country,
may, the present generation will
hardly atone for the neglect
aofa
its predecessors, but
sympathy of feeling
must exist between the several
classea of Europeans

as well as between Englishmen and native, if the
social system is to move simply and harmoniously
on the road of progress and civilisation.

Sir ARTHUR BULLER has made a lively and sug-
gestive speech to his constituents, which, if it does
not make much impression, neither is it likely to
confuse or disappoint its hearers. The chief failure

in his discourse was the manner in which he touched

upon the Schleswig-Holstein question. Certainly
that subject has proved to be foolishness and a
stumbling block to many wise and learned members

both in and out of the house, but Sir A. BULLER

seems to have gone out of his way to commit him-
self to absurd opinions, and to make very singular
declarations concerning the matter. Thus he
averred that we had given the " best and most rea-
sonable advice to both sides." Competent judges
have affirmed that we have done exactly the con-

:rary to this, and led the victim into danger, while

we suffered the oppressor to proceed with impunity.
At any rate, there is no good in trying to put the
burden of our errors and shortcomings on the shoul-
ders of others, and there can be no comparison be-

meen our conduct and that of the French on the

occasion referred to. Things have come to a strange

pass, besides, if England can never act alone, but
must be dependent upon the skill displayed and the
spirit exhibited by France and Russia, instead of
standing upon her own merits and judging inde-
pendently as to her course of action. It is not
likely that the hon. baronet will find many to sym-
pathise with him in the " proud satisfaction" that
we have done our best, and may be more proud of
our defeat than others of their success. If he does,

we and they will alike discover that theirs is the pride
that goes before a fall, and awaken to the con-
sciousness of the emptiness and absurdity

of their boastful assertions.

It is really

going too far, and we must protest against

Sir A. BULLER'S assuming that the Ministers have a
consistent policy of peace, and that the country is

satisfied with it. " JOHN BULL is extremely well
satisfied with the manner in which his business has
been conducted." This is a libel upon the discern-
ment and an insult to the spirit of the nation, and

in no respect is it true ; for deep, if not loud, have

been the execrations passed upon the cowardly con

duct and perfidious style of our relations with
Denmark, and it was only the pressure of peculiar
circumstances that prevented the manifestation of
popular indignation from being more strikingly

elicited and strongly expressed. As we proceed
in the perusal of this speech, we find that even the
sanguine spirit of the orator becomes a little de-
pressed, and the rainbow hues of hope that illumine
his horizon are a little overshadowed when he sur-
veys the position of his party. Thus, he says, that
" it is a misfortune certainly that the Liberal majo-
rity is not greater in Parliament ;" but he buoys
himself up with the consoling reflection that
it is better to have a small majority than a large
minority. Why, he does not very clearly explain,
but after all, whether small or large in their majori-
ties, the Liberal Ministers alike pursue their do-
nothing policy. There was a time when it was con-
stantly dinned into our ears that Lord PALMERSTON
had a hundred majority ; but what became of it ?
A series of little attempts and large failures, until
he was ignominiously turned out, and refused a
hearing in the very House he had so proudly called
his own. Unless there are sound principles to fall
back upon members will not do much ; and if there
are, no matter how small the figure, a defeat cannot
take away the dignity of the position or bring a
lasting disgrace. Sir A. BULLER touched upon
the question of Reform, as was naturally to be
e,pectecl ; but he was not very fcrrtuitate in his
allusions to it. He had no right to affirm that " the
Government, and especially Lord J. RUSSELL, were
the most honest movers in the matter." This is
simply a contradiction in terms, for how could any-
thing
have been more politically dishonest than the
course pursued by the noble earl, and more unfaith-
ful to the public trust than the manner in which his
immediate adherents followed suit in the affair. It
is of no use for the followers and supporters of the
Ministry to persist in their efforts to patch up this
very awkward subject ; they had better pass over
that effort sub silentio, for it involves the considera-
tion of a dark passage in the annals of our public
men, and an unworthy episode in the Parliamentary
history of the country. In this sentence of Sir A.
BULLER'S we find the clue to the conduct of many
who opposed the Reform Bill of the Derby Govern-
ment : "He was ready to support that bill which
was brought in by his party." It was considered
in past days that no greater censure could be passed
upon a statesmen than-to declare that he gave up
to party what was meant for mankind, but it can-
not be said that there are none who now deserve
the reproach and merit the implication that their
acceptance or rejection of a measure depends chiefly
upon who brings it in, and not what it is. All that
is stated about the " apathy of the country," and
the difficulties which Lord RUSSELL experienced
in his task, only make it more apparent how egre-
gious was the error committed in refusing the intro-
duction of a measure brought in by those whose op-
position to Reform had been considered for years an
excuse against attempting to carry out anything
of the sort. It was a mean jealousy, and a party
envy that actuated the course of the Opposition,
and the blame of the affair rests with them con-
spicuously. Mr.BRA SSEY, the intended candidate at the
next election, made a few observations which were
well received. He did not enunciate any particular
plans to be pursued, but contented himself with
dwelling upon affairs in general, and made some
wise suggestions relative to the conduct of Govern-
ments. There was much truth in his observation,
that " great innovators " did not do so much service
to a State as those who, by experience and position,
comprehended the requirements of their day, and
thus were able to " grasp the thoughts of their
fellow-men and give them expression in legislation."
Perhaps if this notion prevailed to a greater extent
there might be less of promise, but more of per-
formance, both in the Cabinet and the Parliament.
Mr. BRASSEY considers that we are governed by a
narrow circle of Statesmen, and before long we
must reconstruct parties. He also has arrived at
the satisfactory conclusion that the Liberals should
always have a majority, and that the Conservatives
do very well in the Opposition. This is very kind,
doubtless, and certainly it is more than he can say of
but
ionffia lc gen o.e r on
ne.
nßtthhß eAe
ysmsaEoryset,
his own party, for they do not shine in adversity
precludedi an pa tni oau sm u
sfa
rni
ondn e
txshtt
err los.
strain,
or i n a r y
g
oandminithtihsatdi:werastatbiountsssiairand to wgiaysecbaentdih dsideeneouagastwhurenotnot:
and it might even prove beneficial to the country
to do away with the monopoly of power. Then,
he said, the Opposition will acquire some practical
knowledge of details, and be enabled "to exercise
a constant and beneficial vigilance over the Liberal
Governments." Certainly this last-mentioned
reason is a desideratum, for the incongruous sets
that come into power under that cognomenrequireto
be subjected to close scrutiny and to pass under very
searching ordeals. Mr. BRASSEY, however, gives
the present Government a long tenure of office, for
he wishes them to stay in until the great questions of
civil and religious liberty have been solved. If his
desires are granted, who will Ace the termination of