The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-17 00:00:00

of rent had to be remitted. Four millions and a
z,cluarter sterling per annum were these poor
ityots assessed more than they could by possibility
pay ! So poor are they, that the seed and imple-
ments have to be -furnished them, or they have to
beorrow money at 501. per cent. to obtain them,
ere they can begin cultivation at all.
Even the largely-increased imports tell but a
poor tale respecting the condition of the natives
when scrutinised. They amount to but is. 3d.
per head per annum. Brazil, on the contrary,
with a population half slaves, consumes of our
produce not less than Bs. Bd. per head. It would
seem as if our Indian freemen were worse off than
Brazilian slaves.

In the department of public works, deplorably
as it is below the necessity of the case, especially
where a Government is the sole landlord, the
tenants miserably poor, and where irrigation, at
least, is necessary to mere existence, more seems
to have been done than has been stated. The
lauded trunk road appears, however, to be fre-
quently impassable, the rate of travelling four or
five miles instead of ten, as Sir C. WOOD told us,
and in place of the security Sir CHARLES WOOD
and Sir JAMES HOGG talked of, Mr. DANBY SEY-
MOUR showed, from Mr. MARSHMAN'S evidence (as
a newspaper editor, an excellent authority on such
a subject), that even in Bengal and near Calcutta
night robbery (dacoity) was so common, and
committed with such impunity, that no man
with 201. or 301. in his pocket could retire
to rest without a prospect of being robbed of it in
the morning ! As to the administration of jus-
tice, we much fear that the worst representations
are the most correct. Mr. MACAULAY'S code still
remains in the East India House, and Mr. PHIL-
LIMORE entirely substantiated the charge, " that
the administration of the civil and criminal law is
in a frightful state." At present all the humbler
judgeships and mag,istracies are in the hands of
the natives, but all the highly-paid- covenanted
service is in the hands of the Company's cousins,
nephews, &c. The consequence is that 95 per
cent. of the work is done by the poor native
judges ; and that of the remaining 5 per cent.
done by the rich covenanted service judges, an
immensely larger proportion of judgments are re-
versed than in the case of appeals from native
judges. It is made quite clear on the best autho-
rity that natives are quite competent, morally and
intellectually, for the higher services, yet Sir
JA.MES HOGG has the hardihood to defend retain-
ling all the two thousands per annum and upwards
for the nephews and cousins ; and leaving the
fifties and the hundreds a-year to the poor natives
It is rather singular that it should have been
so generally overlooked, that if any " Company
of Traders " have now any claim to be considered
a proper constituency to govern India, or elect its
Governors, it must be the various manufacturers
and merchants who now trade so immensely with
India. They certainly have an interest in Indian
prosperity far beyond that of annuitants whose
dividend is a first charge on Indian revenue, who
are secure, therefore, in any case. Indeed, all
our actual traders India have even a far
stronger interest than the Directors, in preventing
those wars which Sir JAMES HOGG deplores.
Commercial men will put up with almost anything
rather than endanger their traffic.

ELECTION COMMITTEES.-(THIS DAY.

LIVERPOOL.

Evidence as to agency was proceeded with at the sii
ting of the committee.

PLYMOUTH.

The evidence before this committee during the morn-
ing bad reference to the appointment of John Smith,
an elector, to a situation in the dockyard. It appeared
that his father and brother, who also were voters, had
plumped for Mr. Mare. They were both called, but
denied that the appointment had anything to do with
their votes, though they greatly prevaricated during
their examination.