The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-10 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10,1865

The crisis which for many months threatened
the commercial fortunes of Bengal appears to
have safely passed over. The Bank of Bengal
came forward to assist the Bank of Bombay,
while the general community has rejoiced in the
sudden rise in the price of cotton, which has car-
ried a great number of merchants and others
through the storm. The excessive speculation
which went on for some time was certain to pro-
duce a reaction, and it is only fortunate that it
should have passed over without any worse results.
If we carry into Indian life the enterprise and the
speculative spirit---we must perhaps add the rash-
ness or recklessness of English money makers
must naturally look for the same
risks and convulsions which are common enough
among ourselves. More especially must this be the
case when commercial life in India, as in England,
is hampered by a deficient currency, and embarrassed
by the transition state of the cotton trade. The
fall in the price of cotton last year has, it is said,
considerably lessened the ardour of the planters, so
that the Indian cotton crop this season will not be
so great as last year. It must, of course, be some
time before the Indian trade fairly settles down to
a steady and durable position, since hitherto there has
always been a degree of uncertainty about its pros-
pects which could hardly be otherwise than injuri-
ous. There is, however, no reason why India should
not continue to be one of our chief sources of supply
ince she has every natural requisite for the cultiva-
tion which, when once fairly established, would
prove amply remunerative at the ordinary prices.

By this means England would have great part of her
raw material in her own hands, and need never

again be placed in the humiliating position of being
entirely dependent on a foreign source. The
Americans on both sides reckoned on the assistance
of King Cotton, but while the famine did not pro-
duce the effect anticipated, it has served another
purpose, by awakening our merchants to a sense of
the folly and insecurity of relying wholly on a
foreign source, and putting one of our most impor-
tant manufactures at the mercy of the caprices or
the vicissitudes of another State.
One of the most interesting items of intelligence
which we receive from Bombay is the account of
the grand Durbar held by Sir BARTLE FRERE at
Poona, at which the hereditary chiefs and land-
owners of the Deccan assembled with considerable
state. The Durbar was held on the sth of Sep-
tember, in a line of tents pitched on a great plain.
Sir BARTLE FRERE was attended by a guard of
honour, and the civil and military officials of the
Presidency: All due arrangements were made to
give full effect to this imposing ceremony, of which
the Eastern magnates think not a little. The most
notable feature in the Durbar was, however, the
delivery of his Excellency's address in the vernacular
tongue. It is a suggestive fact that our chief re-
presentative in India should be able thus, as it were,
to meet the people on their own ground. It shows
how much the sense of our obligations and respon-
sibilities has increased, and that we look upon our
vast possessions rather as a great country to be
governed than as a mere field for the display of
superfluous energy, or for the acquisition of wealth
more easily and more quickly than is possible at home.
The native princes can hardly fail to be impressed
by hearing their foreign rulers address them in their
own tongue. It breaks down the barriers between
them, and gives them a common meeting ground.
There will be no longer the great gulf which yawns
betweens the rulers and the ruled, if the wants
and wishes, the sentiments and convictions of
either side can be made known to the other
without the medium of an interpreter. Sir BARTLE
FRERE, in his address, urged strongly upon his
hearers the importance of their studying the Eng-
lish language and, indeed, of education of all kinds.
Travel, he said very truly, is an education in itself,
and he regretted very much that the expensive custom
of taking a large retinue debarred very many of the
chiefs from making the attempt. Some of the native
princes have set an excellent example by breaking
through this old rule, and only taking with

em such attendants as were absolutely

necessary, instead of a long and costly train. It is '
to be hoped that the immense increase of the facili-
ties for travel which has lately taken place in India
will, by degrees, work a beneficial change in this
respect. A wider range of observation would go
far to remove those prejudices which so greatly re-
tard the progress of the native races, and if their
chiefs and Sirdars would set the example the lower
ranks would learn to emerge from their ignorance
and exclusiveness. Sir B. FRERE, in addressing the
assembly of native princes, boldly asked them how
many of them could read the laws of their country
in the language in which they were enacted ; how
many could make themselves acquainted with the
official correspondence respecting themselves and
their rights ; how many could tell a traveller, even
if he spoke their own language, anything of the
history, geography, or politics of any state or
province beyond their immediate neighbourhood.
He pointed out to them the anxiety of the English
Government to secure the assistance of the native
princes in council and government, and asked how
it was that among the Sirdars of the Deccan so few
could be found who possessed enough knowledge to
be trusted even with the government of their own
people ? There was no natural impediment in their
way, nothing but the mere lack of education which
hindered them from rightly discharging the duties
of their station, and occupying that position to which
they are entitled. It was, he assured them, no longer
possible to perform their duties by delegates; and
although a powerful Government now protected the
weakest and the strongest alike, so that no man might
be unjustly despoiled of his possessions, yet there
was an enemy against which they could only pro-
tect themselves. The inevitable course of events
would destroy that power, which was merely sta-
tionary, which did not adapt itself to the require-
ments of the times. Great opportunities and advan-
tages are undoubtedly offered to the native chiefs
under the present system, opportunities which, in
former times, under their own Sovereigns, were
never even dreamt of. They are fortunate, too, in
having at the head of affairs men like Sir JOHN
LAWRENCE and Sir BARTLE FRERE, who are inti-
mately acquainted with their habits, customs, and
history. It only remains for them to avail them-
selves of the chances put before them, and if our
statesmen can succeed in penetrating the thick
gloom of ignorance and exclusiveness which has so
long wrapped the native princes of the hills in a
kind of half savage state, they will be effecting a
great work towards the regeneration of India, and
conferring an incalculable benefit on the rulers
and the ruled.

At the annual meeting of the Dorking Agricu

tural Association on Friday, the Earl of LEICESTER
made a very interesting speech, in which he dis-
cussed the chief topics of importance that now en-
gage attention. The noble lord had no very cheer-
ing details to give, and indeed in some respects the
prospects of those around him were most gloomy.
A very bad wheat crop had been harvested, and
the early frosts in the spring did great damage.
All the changes of the weather this year seem to
have militated against the prosperity of the
agricultural districts. It was hoped that the
root-crops would be good, in consequence
of the wet, which had its drawbacks in
injuring the barley, but: that expectation was not
realised, because there has been such unexampled
drought lately. Under all circumstances, it is evi-
dent that great patience and perseverance will be
required to head up at all against the adverse tide
which has set in, at a period, too, when everything
seemed to promise fair for the national welfare.
Lord LEICESTER adverted to the cattle disease, but
in that part of the country where he spoke the cala-
mity has not been so great,. chiefly owing to the
adoption of that caution which was so unfortu-
nately absent in other places. The prompt and

vigorous measures which were taken to prevent
diseased cattle from infecting the healthy were
truly cited by the noble lord as most important
instruments in warding off the most of the trouble,
and it is to be regretted that in many other quar-
ters similar care was not taken. It is always wise
to endeavour to draw a useful moral, and deduce a

sage reflection from all striking charges, and thus
Lord LEICESTER displayed some judgment in seek-
ing to improve the occasion by pointing to the gain
which might be derived from the losses so
deeply incurred and so widely spread about.
lie said that they had learned something
from this dark epoch which would prove of service
hereafter, and that continued prosperity caused the
energies to be dormant, and in the trials and diffi-
culties they lately had to contend with they had
imbibed some useful knowledge.
Besides these more immediate subjects of in-
terest other important considerations naturally