The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-14 00:00:00

making laws. As to the criminal code, let this country
try it on itself; it had a code which it approved, let it
try Macaulay's code, and if it gave satisfaction when ap-
plied bodily to this country ; if it succeeded here let it
be applied to India. It was proposed that there should
be a Legislative Council of India, of which the executive
government was to form a part. That was a great im-
provement. He had always advocated the Governor-
General's having a veto. Still, there was an objection,
for it appeared that the Legislative Council was to be
partly composed of gentlemen in the civil service brought
from the other presidencies to Calcutta. What were they
to do with their leisure time ? Legislation would not oc-
cupy them from morning till night ; they could not be
always making and altering laws. Was that council to be
sitting perpetually ? If not, those gentlemen would be
idle for a great part of the year, and the value of their
salaries lost. There was another important alteration.
He had advocated twenty years ago an amalgamation of
the Sudder courts with the Supreme Court. It was said,
however, that in such a combined court the English
lawyers would override those of India, and that should
be looked to. It was said that there was to be a Lieu-
tenant-Governor for Bengal. He wished to know whe-
ther that officer was to be appointed by the Supreme
Government, like the Lieutenant-Governor of Agra, and
whether his tenure of office, like that of the Lieutenant-
Governor of Agra, was to be for life ? All other go-
vernors were appointed for five years—was the Lieute-
nant-Governor of Bengal to remain permanently in office
till he was tired and came home I That point should be
understood and stated. He wished that the appoint-
ment should rest with the Supreme Government and not
with the home government. It would not do for the
Supreme Government to be bearded by a person ap-
pointed at home. With regard to the higher patron-
age, it had been hitherto arranged, that when a Lieute-
nant-Governor of Bengal had been appointed, that that
patronage should be exercised subject to the approval of
the Governor-General. He had always approved of the
appointments made by Mr. Wilberforce Bird; and in no
one instance was it necessary for him to dissent from the
appointments made by that gentleman, and he was glad
to have this opportunity of stating so much with regard
to one of the most respectable Indian servants he ever
met with. There was another alteration which he thought
important with reference to the officer commanding the
Queen's troops, who had hitherto commanded the Indian
army, but which command was now limited to the
Queen's troops (as we understood). He thought that if
the Queen appointed an officer of higher rank to com-
mand her forces [than any Indian officer, he should be
in command,'and cx officio have a seat in the council.
There never was any question of the command of the army
in the field. Ile hoped the Government would consider
this when they came to the details of their measure. There
was another matter on which the plan of the Government
had not been announced. There was still something to
be done with respect to the question of " Furlough." It
was a very interesting subject to Indian officials,
whether civil or military. He thought if an officer was
to be absent from his duty, it was better that he should
be in England ; because if he went to Australia or the
Cape it was more difficult to get him back if he was re-
quired, than if he was in England. But he said now
what he had always said, although it wa,s not popular in
India, that no man should retain any office more than a
year, the duties of which he could net perform, by
reason of his absence. He might be rettored to it, but
he ought not to hold it as a freehold during a long
absence. He was desirous that all appointments of
Members of Council and of the Advocate General should

be approved by the Board of Controt—ife-dili-nOi
question the manner in which members of council

were appointed ; on the contrary, he thpught it was a
part of the exercise of the patronage of the Court of
Directors which would best bear inspection. With re-

gard to the Advocate-General, it was necessary that he
should be appointed by the Crown. lie would suggest
to the noble earl the President of the Caincil, who had
made himself acquainted with this question, that as the
Advocate-General; and the Sudder, and Queen's judges,
were to be members of council, there was no want of

the legal members of the legislative council ; there
council
be
a highly it h-
owuotu
him. He
enough of oufl
d legalknowledge
suggest
judicious addition to the measure, that, with the excep-
tion of the nominations to cadetships' and the appoint-
ment of governors and the Governor• General, the
Court of Directors should not appoint any officer
that it in
would
in India whatever. They had hitherto appointed per-
sons to offices in the civil service which' could not be
consistently held by military officers. Ore unfortunate
case had come to his knowledge : that of an officer in the
Madras army who was appointed to superintend the
cotton operations in one of the districts of India ; he
was afterwards found to be a public defaulter, and had
taken a most improper advantage of his )ffice to traffic
for his own profit ; being at the time in 2partnership
with a gent!eman in the direction uncle, the name of
his son, who was a minor. All these hots had been
sent by him to the Court of Directors fcr their exami-
nation--but they did not think it necessary to divulge
the circumstances under which this geitleman stood,
and the result was that the Court of Proprietors in ig•
norance of the facts elected him a directxr, and there he
is now. He was informed that at the moment of his

election the question was under discussion whether he

should not be dismissed the service, it being contrary to
the regulations that any person should remain in the
service who was engaged in trade. There was another
case, the circumstances of which he was not personally
acquainted with, and for which therefore he would not

vouch—of a person who was appointed to an office
about the mint after his conduct had been twice in-
quired into. He thought it essential to the good go-
vernment of India that all patronage should be exercised
by the Court under the control of the Crown. But
speaking generally he should be trifling with their lord-
ships if he did not declare his fixed opinion, that after
all the character of our Indian' government must de-
pen.l. mainly upon the character of the'Governor-Gene-
ral and the support he obtained from the Government
and Parliament at home. It was the Governor-General

who alone was responsible for all the wts of the Indian

Government. FeW in this country knew even the names
of tho gentlemen who formed his council ; and, if they
were known, no one would look to them as responsible
authorities, Compare his situation with that of the Prime

Minister of the Crown here. His noble friend opposite
(the Earl of Aberdeen) was surrounded by gentlemen, he
would not say of equal ability, but of great ability and
experience, selected by himself, and Laving his entire
confidence, each managing his own lepartment ; and
while questions of great importance were communicated'
and considered between him and then, he was saved
from the investigation of minor matters ; and if subjects
of great difficulty arose, he might, as other ministers
had done before him, throw the responsibility upon Par-
liament. How different was this fron the position of
the Governor-General—he landed without any know-
ledge of the country he was going to govern, except such
as he might have picked up on his voyage or from read-
ing statistics of India ; he knew nothing of the people,
or of those who were in authority, and he was compelled
to commence his government with the ministers of his
predecessor, though he might altogether differ from his
predecessor in his views and his policy. Then the Go-
vernor-General had in his own person to perform all the
duties of the Foreign-office ; he had the disposal of, and
was responsible for, the whole military arrangements.
He was responsible for the whole conduct of war when
we were engaged in war, and for all the details, commis-
sariat, and everything else. All the departments of the
Government were in his own hands, and were to be car-
ried on on his own responsibility ; and from the day he
landed in India until the day when, to his own great sa-
tisfaction, he placed his foot on board ship to return
home, he had not only not one day, but not one hour of
rest or relaxation. (Hear, and a laugh.) Then consider
what was his position in regard to the country he had to
govern. In this country, if his noble friend at the head
of the Government carried out a policy which was for
the public benefit, he had the support of the public, and
of the public press, expressing the public voice—he was
at the head of a strong Government. But in India,
the Governor, however wise and beneficial his
measure, could not hope to have the support of the
public and the press of the country. The press
in India represented, not the public, but the officials ;
it represented a certain number of men, having interests
of their own, which they consulted, and did not repre-
sent the people at large, or the advantage of the general
public. With the knowledge he had of the numerous
difficulties attending the performance of the duties of
Governor-General of that important but perilous em-
pire, it was essential that he should at all times have
the ostensible and cordial support of all the authorities
in England, without which he mild not possibly per-
form those duties to the satisfaction either of the people

of India or of the people of England. He would not
say whether that support had at all times and under all
circumstances been accorded, but unless as a rule the
home authorities acted unitedly with, and gave all the
strength they could to his government, however de-
sirous he might be to act for the benefit of the country
he was sent to govern, he would have occasion to rue
the day when he was appointed to that high position.
The Earl of GRANVILLE bore high testimony to the
intimate knowledge evinced by the noble lord on this sub-
ject, and to his impartiality, and freedom from party
feelings, both in committee and in his speeches in that
house. Having received the opinion of the East India
Company, that delay in legislation for India might be
dangerous, the Government would not incur the respon-
sibility of neglecting it. The defects of the Govern-
ment of India had been very much exaggerated and
uncharitably considered. Although the difficulties of
governing a new country were generally well-known,
India had prospered to a great extent under the most
adverse circumstances, and he was not prepared to ad-
mit that the existing form of Government should be
overturned.
Lord MONTEAGLE contended that the East India
Company had neglected to fulfil the duties enjoined upon
them by the charter of 1833, and that it was unwise to
introduce any measure for the permanent government
of India, until the committees now sitting had made
their report.
The Duke of ARGYLL rejoiced to hear from the
noble earl who introduced the motion, that in the exist-
ing state of our Indian empire, and looking to the posi-
tion of things in the East, it was the duty of the govern-
ment to settle this great question. (Hear, hear.) He
trusted it would be sufficient for the country to be in:
formed that Lord Dalhousie had expressed a strong
opinion against delay, by which the authority of the
English Crown might be endangered. Great expecta-
tions had been raised on the part of the people of
India as to the changes about to be effected, and it
was necessary that the ,measure should be at once
proceeded with. The house and the country were
now fully informed as to the nature of the legislation
which the government proposed, and he hoped that no
unnecessary- opposition would be offered to the progress
of the measure.
,The Marquis of CLANRICARDE deprecated hasty
on'thisimportant question. The only reason
urged against delay was the letter, eternally referred to,
of Lord Dalhousie, but no Minister of the Crown ought