The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-24 00:00:00

floss that h as not a fit man hold the office, but from
an appre nsion that his state of health was not such as
might enable him to discharge his duty to the; public.
(Hear, hear.) The hon. proprietor had spoken of the curt
manner in which the Court of Directors had been treated
by the Ministry of the day. Now, he (the chairman)
had had the honour of a seat in that court for a long
time, and during the last seven years he had been eithos
their deputy-chairman or their chairman. Therefore
he had had frequent communications with the Ministry
of the day, and he denied that any member of any Go-
vernthent ever did-treat the Court of Directors, or ever
attempted to treat that Court, with disrespect or with
contempt, but that, on the contrary, all becoming atten-
tion was readily and courteously shown to every repre-
sentation made by the Court of Directors in regard to
the government of India. The Court of Directors felt
the entire extent of that power and influence-which the

constitution gave them ; and which they, acting on be-
half of the proprietors, were determined to maintain,
and had maintained. (Hear, hear.) The hole. proprie-
tor had said that her Majesty's Government could send
out orders to India without the knowledge of the Court
of Directors. Knowing that the hon. proprietor was
well informed on Indian affairs, he (the chairman) was
astonished to hear that statement. Why, the Govern-
ment could not send out any orders at all themselves.
Everything was initiated by. the Court of Directors. If
her Majesty's Minister fbr Indian Affairs was desirous
to have any communication with India, he could not do
so in the first instance ; but he must obtain a dispatch
framed on a given subject, which subject he must inti-
mate to the Court of Directors, and it rested with the
Court of Directors to prepare the dispatch according to
their views. It was only in the exceptional case of a
dispatch not being prepared by the Court of Directors
in a specified time that the Minister of the Crown could
make any communication with India ; and that excep-
tional case related to the matters specified in the act of
Parliament—namely, those concerning war and peace.
In those cases the Indian Minister, as the leading mem-
ber of the Secret . Committee, could send out orders.
But that was done entirely by a committee constituted
separately and distinctly, . and which had no connexion
whatever with the directors as a body. Everything
relating to the government and to the internal adminis-
tration of India—whether fOr the benefit of the people
as concerning the judicial and financial administration,
the management of the revenue, or as regarded all the
existing relations of the different portions of India—all
those Lthings rested with the Court of Directors, who
prepared the dispatches. It rested certainly with the
Minister to make alterations in those dispatches, but the
Court of Directors had the power to remonstrate. How-
ever, these were questions which he would not enter fur-
ther into now. ,The motion itself he did not think to be ne-
Hces__salm-and he had bestowed a great deal of attention
upon the' 'subject. 'rife present system was One"—
arising out of a very natural usage. The law required
that six directors should go out by rotation every fifth
year, and he put it. to the proprietor, if he wished to act
honestly and independently, whether he would not like
to ask the directors this question,—" As these six gen-
tlemen have been associated with you in the direction,
have they discharged their duty in a manner which you
approve of, and do you think, as far as you are concerned,
that they should, be re-elected ?" The advertisement re-
ferred to told the bon, gentleman that the directors, as
ce-proprietors, did think that those six gentlemen should
be re. elected. It was not done in the way of dictation,
or intended in any way to affect the independence of the
proprietors. He need not say that the influence of the
Court of Directors upon • the Court of Proprietors was
so minute, and so trifling, that he was astonished to hear
the argument of the hon. proprietor on that point. He
would not go back to commercial times—those days were
gone by. The Couit of Proprietors consisted of men
sufficiently, independent to resist any recommendation if
they thought that it in the slightest degree trenched
upon the independent exercise of their rights and pri-
vileges. He did not think anything had fallen from the
hon. proprietor that would induce the Court to be of
opinion that the old course ought to be changed. (Hear.)
Mr. Serjeant GASELEE said it was very well for the
chairman to gat up and say that things were going on
well, but when'they heard the House of Commons and
the House of Lords giving it as their opinion that both
the Court of Directors and the Court of Proprietors
wanted improvement—say what hon. proprietors liked—
praise themselves as they might—public opinion was
against them, and public opinion would make itself
heard. (Hear.) The system of which he complained
was, not that the directors were giving their advice as
individuals as to the qualification of the candidates, but
that 24 gentlemen were acting in combination to recom-
mend six persons all alike—the blind, the halt, and the
aged. There had been occasions when they recom-
mended persons who were in a state of mental and bodily
incapacity, and who, in one or two months after being
elected, paid the debt of nature.
Mr. MILLS (a director) said that many directors had
retired on an intimation being given to them by their
co-directors that they could net, on account of their age
and infirmities, recommend them for re-election. The
recommendation was therefore by no means unreflecting
or indiscriminate. •

Mr. CLARKE and Mr. JONES opposed the motion.
Captain IWGREGOR approved the object of the motion,
but would recommend a new course, which he hoped
would reconcile all parties. The hon and gallant gen-
tleman then moved as an amendment,

" That the Court of Directorp be required to submit to
the proprietary, at each yearly general election, a 'house-
list, corresponding in number with the vacancies by rota-
tion, in which they shall recommend, from all the candi-
dates at the time offering for the direction, those whom
tkey may, on public grounds to be declared, consider • as
the most desirable to be appointed to office."
Captain TUFFTON seconded the amendment.
Mr. TWINING said, if the house-list was alreadyvob-
jectionable, the plan suggested by the hon. and gallant
member would make it still more objectionable, for it
would convert it from a mere recommendation into one
of actual nomination.

After a very lengthened discussion, in which Mr.
Grey, Mr. Cook, Captain M'Gregor, Mr. Serjeant
Gaselee, and other hon. proprietors took part, the
amendment was pat and negatived. The original
motion was then put, when fire hands were held up for
it, and n large majority against it. Both the motion
and the amendment were, therefore, lost.