The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-16 00:00:00

in Parliament, to contrast this conduct with the
somewhat sullen discontent of their Protestant
rivals. Superficial lookers-on might be deceived
but to those who knew the traditionary policy of
Rome, and distrusted the reality of Priestly exer-
tion for popular enlightenment, the drift of their
design became early apparent. It was deeply
planned, well matured, and is now all but suc-
cessfully carried out. The first object was to
widen and perpetuate the breach already existing
between Protestantism and the National Board.
That object was to be gained by a simulated en-
thusiasin in favour of the latter, and by every-
where describing its institution as a concession to
Roman Catholic claims. This accomplished, and
the intended fusion of sects in the National
Scnools having thus failed of success, the
next step was to represent the restric-
tions imposed on Roman Catholic teaching as
needlessly vexatious, and no longer suited to the
altered state of things. "It was very well," they
argued, " while Protestant children attended
these schools, to take securities against our doc-
trines being taught there. But what need of
such restrictions now, when confessedly the same
school is never attended by children of both per-
suasions ? Why not do in name that which you
have done in fact, and hand over the education
of Roman Catholics to their legitimate instruc-
tors ?" Some even go farther. Mr. LUCAS, the
ablest representative of ultramontane Catholicism,
intimated, in a recent debate, his willingness to
accede to a separate grant for Protestant schools,
provided the regulations of the National Board
were modified. Nothing more specious than such
offers—nothing more certainly fatal than their
result. Let the priest once get the school
and the schoolmaster into his hands, and
he has taken security for the spiritual de-
pendence of the next generation. Secular teach-
ing will be discouraged. Science will be prohi-
bited. Legends will replace history : miracles
will be substituted for experiments : the work of
twenty years will be undone : and the youth of
Ireland, on whom depends the future fate of their
country, instead of rising to an English, will sink
to a Neapolitan level.

This is not merely an Irish question. It is
not even an Imperial question. It is a part of
the world-wide contest between ecclesiastical
domination and individual freedom of thought,
which affects the policy of every European Power,
and which, for good or for evil, must be decided
within the next half-century. There is more,
much more, involved in it than a mere quarrel
of sects. It is not, as many think, a
struggle between the paid Protestant Establish-
ment and the unpaid, and therefore discontented,
Catholic priesthood. It is a problem of which the
solution becomes every year more necessary ; for
every year tends to popularise our institutions,
and popular institutions without public spirit--a
democracy following with blind obedience the dic-
tates of a hierarchy—is, under whatever specious
name we may choose to veil it, only a pretext for
the most grinding and irresponsible tyranny that
the world has yet witnessed.

the real direction of the " gratitude of the people
of Scinde" for their Government.

Now, leaving Mr. CUMMING BRUCE alone in his
glory, let us notice another of the arguments re-
cently brought forward on this Indian question.
in opposition to Mr.
Bltßierwllars, s stated,attack I
thkin,
thatthe annexation of the
Punjaub was apparently more costly than in
reality, for though it did not pay all its civil
expenses, it was hoped it would do so in time.
And as to the military expenses, they were only
the regular expenses of troops pushed forward to
an advanced form of a retired frontier ! This last
assertion is not true. The Army of the Punjaub
is a very great one, and eighteen regiments of
irregulars were raised and added to it. And
why is it so great ? Because bad government
bears its natural consequence ; the troops are re-
quired to keep down the population and to resist
the hill tribes, excited to hostility by injustice.
But setting this aside, let us mark the treachery
with which this argument is put forward. The
plea of the troops being only pushed to an ad-
vanced frontier was justly urged against
the false assertions so continually made as
to the expense of Scinde. " The costly annexation
of Scinde," as the Times calls it, knowing right
well that it is not so. For Scinde the troops
were not pushed forward, but for the impending
Punjaub war. For Scinde, new troops were not
raised, if exception be made of two weak Beelooch
battalions, organised as a political experiment.
And, finally, Scinde did not only pay all its civil
expenses, but yielded a large yearly overplus
to the general treasury ! Yet the same persons
who claim for the Punjaub on this false ground
exemption from the expenses of the military
establishment, deny that exemption to Scinde
where the claim is justly founded ! And let this
also be taken into consideration, that Sir C. WOOD,
or some of the stye inmates, have triumphantly
claimed merit for the Company's system, because
it takes, in some parts, it is not said in all, only
two-thirds of the produce by taxation. Sir C.
NAPIER'S Government took only one-third, and
yet furnished a surplus, while the Directors' Go-
vernment is deeply in debt.
Do not all these things show how necessary it
is to put an end to that anomalous and, of
necessity, rapacious and ignorant Government ?
But what can be expected from a House of Com-
mons where no member of any side of the ques-
tion has taken the slightest notice of Sir
CHARLES NAPIER'S Government of Scinde, a
province containing a million of inhabitants ; a
Government which, if the contentment, and happi-
ness, and attachment of the people be a criterion,
was certainly the most successful ever known in
India. Is not that a matter worth notice and
investigation when discussing the propriety of a
new system ? And is it faction, low jealousy, or
ignorance which ties men's tongues ?
But while Sir C. NAPIER'S name and proceed-
ings are so carefully suppressed, there are more
persons than Mr. CUMMING BRUCE ready enough
to appropriate his plans for the credit of the
Directors or of themselves, and amongst those one
of the most assuming is the Vice-Chairman of the
Directors, Sir H. WILLOCK.
It will be in the recollection of many of our
readers that a commercial meeting was held at
Manchester a few months back, where a letter
from Sir HENRY WILLOOX to Mr. TURNER was
read, in which he says :—" The Court of Directors
have sedulously turned their attention to the im-
provement of British commerce with Central Asia,
and have been desirous that the attention, of the
commercial world should be turned to the advanta-
geous position of Kurrachee."
It is not improbable that Mr. CUMMING BRUCE
drew his conclusions from this assumption of zeal
on the part of the Directors, and it will be suffi-
cient for us to refute the first, and expose the
false pretensions of the second by briefly stating
that the present views of the Court of Directors
were those of Sir CHARLES NAPIER and Lord
ELLENBOROUGH nine years ago ! That, the latter
ordered Sir CHARLES to prepare a Serai at
Sukkur (a central commercial point on the Indus)
for the reception of goods, and to establish annual
fairs ; that Sir CHARLES saw that Kurrachee must
eventually become the real mouth of the Indus, and
for this purpose had certain tide channels in the
Delta surveyed, by which an inland steam
communication between the river and that im-
portant seaport was established, alike secure from
all the hazards of a sea voyage and the annual
fluctuations of the river itself. That, having
modelled the government of the newly-conquered
country with his own hands, he proceeded to de-
velop its resources by disarming four of the war
steamers under his orders, which he placed at
the disposal of the merchants between Kur-
rachee and Sukkur ; and it may be added,
that so fast did goods pour in upon this new
line of transit, that the steamers were in-
sufficient for the demand ! That, Sir CHARLES
projected, and partly accomplished the magni-
ficent project of erecting a pier 1,300 yards in
length over the mud flats in the harbour of Kurra-
chee, connecting the town (hitherto unapproach-
able to shipping) with Keemaree point, alongside
which vessels of large burthen can lie in safety ;
that he ordered a pier to be built for the con-
venience of the river steamers at Ghizree, the
river port of Kurrachee ; and, finally, that he
caused levels, plans, and estimates for turning
the Mulleeree river from its course, for the sup-
ply of sweet water to the shipping at those points,
as well as to the troops in cantonments.

These, and many more, were the efforts of Sir
I CHARLES NAPIER to nourish a spirit of commerce
I among a warlike people, and to open a new line
to the enterprise of our merchants at home. But
how were his efforts met ? It was in 1844—and
the Charter had yet ten years to run. The Court
of Directors, therefore, had not THEN "sedulously
turned their attention to the improvement of Bri-
tish commerce in Central Asia;" on the contrary, they
had sedulously opposed it, and the malice of a few
individuals retarded for years the progress of civilisa-
tion in this important quarter. Lord ELLENBOROUGH
was recalled, and funds were withheld for the
building of a Serai at Sukkur. Fairs were not
allowed to be established. Sir CHARLES had not
left Scinde many weeks when the steamers were
withdrawn from the merchants by the Bombay
Government. The grand design of the late Go-
vernor in constructing the pier was abandoned for
years, and commerce by the tide creeks was ob-
structed ; nor to this day have the shipping or
cantonments been supplied with sweet water,
though the estimates for this important work
amounted only to 12,000/. It is true that Mr.
FRERE, the present Commissioner, has struggled
successfully to carry out the views of Scinde's first
and last Governor ; but then Messrs. REID, WIL-
LOUGHBY, and CRAUFURD DO longer occupy seats
in the Council at Bombay.