The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-10 00:00:00

western Provinces the cases tried were 431 to 679 ; 51 per
cent. we re decided by European judges, and 91 by natives;
:27 per cent. of the native judges' decisions were reversed
on appeal. and 79 per cent. of the European judges' deci-
sions. He believed, even if the plan of the Government
succeeded to their utmost desire, that, after all, they would
only still le imitating the policy of a Metternich and a
Radetzky in Lombardy; and that they would find them-
selves in the end ruling over a few handsful of Englishmen
and natives, instead of over a great and united population.
Surely that was not a state of society which it was desir-
able to contemplate. Rather ought it not to be the ob-
ject of the Tritish Government to maintain in India some-
thing like 'teat kind of spirit of competition which diver-
sified our England at home? In the eloquent language of
Colonel Sykes, if the Government plan was carried out,
they would behold in India a government of officials on
the one hand, and a nation of serfs on the other. In 1817
Sir Thomas Monroe, writing from India, had described
the fatal consequences of the system the British Govern-
ment was pursuing in that country. He declared that
ethxetensdtretongtthhof the
e lives and English
property
Go
ovfernitsmlenntdia enabled
nsut toa
degree of protection which was enjoyed by no native
power ; but that all those advantages were purchased
by the sacrifice of national independence of charac-
ter and whatever remained among the people of self-
respect, since the natives of India mieht enjoy the fruits
of their labour and_ pursue their different occupations
in tranquillity, but they could aspire to nothing beyond a
mere animal state, for they could not look forward to any
share in the military or civil government of their country.
(Hoar, hear.)- Now he would ask the house was there an
example within the whole range of conquest in which the
natives of the country were so excluded from power as in
the case of the people of India? (Hear, hear.) The point,
however, which he wished specially to press upon the house
was the manner in which the company had distributed its
patronage, because that was the only subject upon which
they exercised au absolute and unlimited discretion, and
because on the manner iu which they had performed their
duty in this respect they could base their only claim to a
renewal of confidence from the people of England. He
believed, however, that he had shown that the company
had exercised its vast prerogatives in the precise manner
most calculated to benefit their own immediate family con-
nections—(hear, hear)—and in the manner least calculated
either to economise the resources of the country, or to
strengthen the social system of native India. He had
r i
and,b e d
secondly,
eco thatnd
y thereb y shouldth
er
t be systematicme deliberately
byth competitioneexParlia-
ment betrayedsifoor
shown—firstly, by theirabolition of the clause in the charter
ch °hffiateleceetnnartepthoeseydhatini
,wcw) itf:niiteatehrtrinsv.h7
sp.
,e ssfrome,hi
of 1833, and broken the engagement ou which they
had permitted the right hon. member for Edinburgh (Mr.
Macaulay) to ask for a renewal of their last lease of power.
It was said, however, that the privileges of the directors
were to be limited by this bill. But, surely, it was not
enough to withdraw the mere possession of patronage which
had been manifestly so misapplied. Surely, it would be
intolerable that the administration of the humblest village
in India should be left to the discretion of men who had
shown themselves incapable of distributing a few writer-
ships in the course of each year without yielding to a
melancholy and humiliating temptation. (Hear, hear.)
He objected to the bill of the right hon. gentleman, be-
cause it seemed to him most strongly to combine the con-
tradictory disadvantages of precipitation and delay—(hear,
hear)—because it continued a system of double govern-
ment, and multiplied checks, while it neutralised respon-
sibility. But, most of all, he opposed the measure because
it continued the East India Company as the permanent
organ of Government for that country. But still, no
matter whether the share of influence to be retained by
the company was great or small, he was convinced its con-
tinuance could only tend to retard progress, foster nepo-
tism, and impede the elevation of the native race into a
community of which England and Englishmen could have
any reason to be proud. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. T. BARING said that his excuse for rising to tres-
pass upon the attention of the house would be that it was
his wish not to detain them for any long time, for he felt
that he had not the power which the hon. and learned gen-
tleman opposite (Mr. Blackett) seemed to think requisite to
enable one to speak upon such a subject, namely, " to swell
the soul and fire the imagination." As, however, it hap-
pened that he occupied the post of chairman of the com-
mittee which was sitting upon Indian affairs, he felt it
duty to offer some observations to the house. In the first
place, then, he would state that thOugh the very last,
petition presented to that committee prayed that legisla-
tion might be delayed, he himself was most anxious that,
no such hesitation should take place. Ho rejoiced, th4v-
fore, to see the bill introduced, although he must confess
he had doubts as to the policy of some of its provisions ;
those doubts, however, would undergo ,discussion at a
later stage, either to be removed, or to be confirmed and
strengthened. Bat because the committee was still sitting
Parliament was to adjourn its decision upon this question
seemed to him a conclusion wholly unjustified by the cir-
cumstances of the case. He certainly admitted that it
would have been desirable that the committee had bOitt
appointed at an earlier period—(hear, hear)—that it liad
been nominated the year previously ; but still every hon.
gentleman was well aware that the present enactment dealt
only in a limited manner with the question of India, and
that while the house was now called upon to legislate in
regard of the machinery of government, the committee
continued to inquire into all those points which affected
the development of the resources of that country. (He-Kr,
hear.) It seemed to him, therefore, that, not only would
it be unnecessary to delay legislation, but likewise that
the committee had a duty to perform in continuing
their investigation, in order to show the merchants
of England what was the nature of the evidence brought.
before them, and to manifest to the people of India 7
the anxiety of the House of Commons to examine into
their condition and government. He confessed it was
evident to him that if they. wcakened the power of govern-
went in India by postponing the settlement of this ques-
tion for another year--(hear, hear)—by, as it were,
hanging up authority in abeyance—by advertising for a
new government—by calling upon England and India to
agitate alike for the next two or three years—that they
would be inflicting an injury upon India, the effects of
which no good government in after years could rectify.
And let him add, lie knew of no greater curse to a country
than that its inhabitants should know that the foria
of government under which they lived was condemned
even by those who had bestowed it on them. But he
wouldimpress upon the house, and more particularly
upon the gentleman who had just sat down, that there was
3 very great difference in saying that we support the pro-
position of the Government as the one best calculated to
give India a good Government, and that we support it
because it is a plan which is only to last as long as it. will
be found applicable to that country ; because, in fact, the
final settlement is still left within the control of Paths.-

ment. (Hear, hear.) Nothing could be more injurious to
India than to say that they would postpone legislation
until the year the committee gave in their report. Next
year it was stated they were to be occupied with a mea-
sure for the reform of. Parliament ; and, if he was not very
much mistaken, ho had once heard the hon. member for
Manchester allege as a reason for an immediate change in
the whole government of India, that in the year 1853
they would be in the midst of the hurricane of a reform
bill. What would be ' the consequence of delay? Why
neither would stability be given to the reform which con-
fessedly ought to be forthwith introduced—credit at home
would be diminished, and our power and influence abroad
would be weakened. (Hear.) But it was said everything
was tranquil in India, and, therefore, postponement was
eafe ; but he would ask was that a reason why legislation
should be delayed to a more convenient season ? For
himself he believed that such was the disposition of the
200,000,000 inhabitants of India towards rule, and so un-
doubted was the fidelity of those 200,000' soldiers com-
posing our armies there, that there was no danger of any
commotion to be apprehended. (Hear, hear.) But surely,
it was not because their fidelity was unshaken, and be-
cause their attachment to us still persisted, that we should
hesitate to bestow upon them the best government which
was in our power. (Hear.) He would, therefore, cheer-
fully support the introduction of the measure of the Go-
vernment ; firstly, because he felt that Parliament was
bound to proceed with legislation at once, but mainly and
principally because it preserved the double form of go-
vernment. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman who had last
addressed the house had contended against the ides,
that the difficulties which the government had to meet
in legislating properly for India were at all of an ano-
malous character; and he referred to Spain and Portugal,
and pointed to how they had governed large and distant
dependencies. He (Mr. Baring), however, rejoiced to
say that there was this difference in the cases referred to.
In the one the unfortunate native inhabitants were de-
graded, exterminated, and expatriated • while under our
government of India, with all its defects, the people
had every security for their lives and property—they
were saved from all the horrors of internal dissension
and foreign attack. (Loud cries of hear, hear.) Therefore
he maintained, in the first place, that the present form of
government, if its existence could be made compatible with
the good government of India, was the administrative ma-
chiney which they ought to endeavour to support. He had
no wish whatever to see that government in the hands of
the Crown—(hear, hear)—in the hands of the Crown no
longer controlled and independent of any other governing
power ; not in the hands of the Crown as they had seen
the colonies and our distant possessions. He wished to see
the power exercised by a body subservient to the will of
the country, because he could not imagine how the general
policy of India could be separated from that of England.
And he must say, that if they did not maintain an inde-
pendent check upon the acts of the Crown of England, that
they would see that, for some party purpose, for some
ephemeral and momentary party triumph, the security of
India and its government would often be made a secondary
object. (Hear, bear.) He had no wish to retard—on the
contrary, it was his desire to promote by every means, the
education and the advancement, social as well as physical,
of the native population ; but he must say, looking as far
as he could into the mystery of the future, he could see no
sealgvgeres.seßegion,amorint:
each
he
otherpromotion
with
aoifeiattnouiogytt
prospect of the native population administering their OWD,
government with advantage to the security of their country
gseettltyhiemmsperalveetsic,
ailfl7.ceotnhtehye ao:hreer separate,
hadi
from
amongst foreignth e ni
often amounting to hatred—distracted as they were by dif.
from British rule their union against foreign aggression
fe
wouldren ee
bseampeorfn
verning India only through the agency
believed, that if the plan which had been s
been resident in India, were adopted our
in
hear.)tha t country oulasd:
government of India continued as
maintaining its power,
moral control of a body of men
pendent of the influence of th
t in Australia ;
who would be able to defeat
battle-field for
what had occurred I les.
—throughout our bfericoezpletely jeopardised.
nen(Hreulare
itdia he wished to see the
subject,
avas, the company still
hi site, to the great
Nyir *were perfectly inde-
o f
ptelerelseal4eawhott:fikaage-
e minister of the day, and
t. any attempt to make India a
laiindthlevomulldilany
Jamaica,
calmly
s a
yi
,n
regard-
ingour great
distant party struggles, that the government of those
ant dependencies has not been bandied about from side
to side—kept flying like a shuttlecock in the air, as long as
the controversy served any party purpose ! (Loud cries of
hear, hear.) He
had no desire to see the power of the
" English Crown diminish in India, because in his
heart he believed that by extending its influence the glory
of tho British nation and the interests of civilisation and
freedom were advanced all over the world. (Hear, hear.)
But he wenn say give to India that firm of government
which might best serve to protect England from herself—
and that only could keeping India out
be done by of the
t agree with the opinie
-vortex of party politics. He didmoa
broached by the bon. member for Manchester the other
night. He could not conceive a worse form of government
for India than one composed of persons who had been ro.-
sident in that country for some thirty or forty years.
Mr, BRIGHT—The hon, member must -
allow. moo to