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

correct him. I quite coincide in his opinion that it would
be impossible to govern India by such a council.
Mr. T. BARING was most happy, then, to find that
bankers and brewers were not quite such bad legislators
after all—(laughter)—and that it was agreed that there
would not be much wisdom in forming any administration
from a particular class—be they lawyers or merchants.
(Hear.) Nor could he assure the hon. member that he
would be disposed to make an exception to the rule even
where the parties were disciples of the Manchester School.
(Laughter.) He believed that the council to be formed
ought to embrace within it men perfectly acquainted with
the state of affairs in England, and all the bearings of
English society, as well as those well versed in the details
of Indian matters. Neither did he believe that the mode
of election was as objectionable as was imagined.
vOana thetage
contrary, he maintained that there was this advantage
attendant upon the present system, that it tended by the
notoriety given to each candidate to upholdtheintegrity
of the Directory. (Hear.) He was not one of those who
pretended that in many respects our
government of India
believed there had
had disappointed expectation. He
been unnecessary delay in providing
a code of law for that
had
country, and that public works been too much re-
tarded. But hon. gentlemen must bear in mind that the
Court of Directors were not always responsible for those
evils. They had had wars in India, and they could not
say that these wars had always been undertaken by the
desire of the company, or that, if their influence with the
government were to be diverted, that these wars would be
of less frequent occurrence. (Hear.) Perhaps it might
happen that there had been individual instances of patron.
age being abused ; but still, on the whole, that patronage
had been exercised in a manner to produce a body of
public servants, of which this or any other country might
be proud. (Hear, hear.) And let him ask the honourable
gentleman opposite (Mr. Blackett) to suppose that some
enlightened natives of India came over, could they not
point to us, and say, " See, your judgments are not
infallible ; for your verdicts are always in accordance
with evidence. (Hear.) Nor do your legal reforms date
from a very ancient period. Behold the anomaly of a con-
stitution which permits a veto that is never used—that
grants a negative power which is never brought to bear."
And yet, though all that was true, were they to be pre-
cluded from introducing changes into the administration
of their affairs. (Hear, hear.) Much as he differed from
the honourable member for Manchester, upon one point at
all events he agreed with him, and that was, that this was
not a question between Manchester and Essex—that it was
no party question to be made the football of contention in
this house. (Hear, hear.) Much as he had learned from
his attendance on the committee of inquiry, one thing in
Particular he had learned, and that was, the great import-
ance of caution in our changes with regard to India—(hear,
hear)—the great necessity of proclaiming that they would
not falter in giving the best "form of government within
their reach to India, but, above all, the necessity—the
imperative necessity of preserving this great question se-
parated from the influence of party strife and the blasting
triumphs of party objects and party discussion. (Loud
cries of hear, hear.)
Sir H. MADDOCK said he was convinced that it would
he more advisable to postpone legislation at least until
next year than to pass such a measure as the right hon.
gentleman had proposed. While he was Pi communication
with the British Association when he win last in India, in
reference to the appointment of a fit person as their agent
in Calcutta to promote their views, he satisfied himself
upon this point—that there was no expectation amongst
the intelligent part of the community that there would be
another act passed for India during the present session.
He would not, however, make any objection to the intro-
duction of the bill proposed, although be entertained some
strong objections to many of its provisions. He was de-
cidedly opposed to the system of a double government. If
it wore the desire of the house to get rid of frequent dis-
cussions upon the question, the proposition of a double
government would no doubt have the effect of attaining
that object. He confessed that so far the measure pro-
posed contained many improvements upon the former
system. Ho did not consider it to be just or proper that
India should continue to be governed in the name of the
East India Company. The witnesses who were examined
before the committee on India were unanimously of
opinion that justice should be hereafter administered di-
rectly in the name of the Crown. It was true that the
military servants of the East India Company received their
commission from the Crown, but this was done only for
the sake of convenience, in order to fix their relative rank,
when serving in the field or at court martial, with the offi-
cers of the Queen's army. Since the institution of the
order of the Bath, only two members of the civil service
were thought worthy of the consideration of the Crown.
The existence of the East India Company was for many
years a mystery to the people of India. But the veil had
been lately removed from their eyes, and they were now to
he told that for the future they were to be held in subjec-
tion by the East India CoMpany. For a period of 70 years
the coin in India was impressed with the name of the King
of Delhi. In 1815, when he went to India, the seal of the
Governor-General had an inscription on it in Hindostanee
language, " Slave of the King. ' That system had long
ceased to be the case. The tables were now turned, and the
King of Delhi was considered at present in the light of a
'There pensioner. He thought it was high time that the
Crown should be directly represented in India. He asked
how could the fidelity of the troops be relied on when they
were told that they owed subjection to a power which was
not really in existence ? He perceived it was proposed to
name a new Legislative Council in Calcutta, and to give a
great number of members to the council. He doubted much
whether there would be sufficient business to occupy much,
of the time of those officers. But perhaps it was in the con-
templation of the right hon. gentleman that many of those
officers should exercise other duties. There was, however,
one omission which he hoped would be supplied by the right
hon. gentleman. There had been no allusion made in the
employment in the Legislative Council of any of the natives
of the country. (Hear.) He could have no hesitation in
saying that, if there was any position in which they could
place the most distinguished of the natives with advantage,
it was one in which they would have to legislate for their
fellow-countrymen.
Mr. DANBY SEYMOUR said he thought it must be
evident to all persons that sufficient care was not taken of
the interests of India by the Government of this country.
He considered that the committee appointed to inquire into
the affaira of India were very partially selected. Of the
39 members who formed that committee, 31 of them were
connected with her Majesty's Government and the East
India Company. There were, therefore, only eight inde-
pendent members upon the cemmittne. They had already
heard what the opinions of the chairman were upon the
subject. It was utterly useless to bring any witnesses
before such a committee. So extraordinary had been the
conduct of the Government in respect to this committee,
that though they had last year finished the question, as far
as the Home Government was concerned, it was this year
re-opened by the right hon. baronet the President of the
Board of Control himself ; notwithstanding which, the
right hon. gentleman proposes to bring in his bill before
the evidence taken by the committee was reported to the
house, and in the hands of hon. members. (Hear.) He
asked whether the commonest railway bill would be treated
with such disrespect? He (Mr. D. S.) had had the advan-
tage of passing some two or three 3 ears in the Russian
Asiatic possessions, both under the old system of govern-
ment and when a new system was introduced by one of
the most able administrators that had ever lived. He
could assure the house that that new system of government
had increased in a great degree Russian influence through-
out the whole of Asia, and had been crowned with the
greatest success. When he was in that country the 50
different nations of the Caucasus were treated nearly in the
same manner as the British, Government had continued to
treat our possessions in India. For some time the whole
possessions of Russia rested upon a volcano, which every
moment threatened to explode and to overwhelm. During
the year before ho had gone to India, there were such con-
spiracies organised that the natives were prepared to assas-
sinate the whole of the Russian authorities. About a
week before the appointed time for the revolt, information
of the existence of such conspiracies had arrived from St.
Petersburgh, and measures were immediately taken to
meet the threatened danger. lie had the great advantage
of seeing the old system completely changed, and the mod
enlightened policy carried out in its stead. That policy
bad proved eminently successful, and he heard the natives
express the greatest satisfaction with it. The natives,
therefore, generally felt that they had more to hope from
Russian policy than English. In the Russian possessions
every one had equal privileges, and at the present time one
of the most distinguished generals upon whom Russia re-
lied with confidence was an Armenian—a man of a nation
that our Government would not permit to hold an ensign's
commission. The Armenian might enter the Russian
civil service, and might aspire to the highest dignity in
the State. There was no difference made in respect to
creed, colour, or caste—everything was thrown open to
the natives, and the utmost satisfaction was felt by
them. Could they doubt that when the time came to
choose between those two nations, which would each go
on extending their boundaries until at last the empires
touched, which would be successful ? He could not con-
ceive at the present time a more important subject than
this. He must say that he had never heard such a conti-
nuation of misrepresentation from beginning to end, as he
had hoard in the speeches of the right hon. gentlemen the
President of the Board of Control and the hon. member for
Huntingdon (Mr. F. Baring). He hoped that the people
would study the subject for themselves, and not permit
themselves to receive the false impressions which those
speeches were so well calculated to convey. The Whig
policy of 1839 was not one which brought success or glory
to this country ' • it was an eminent failure, and yet it ap-
peared that this was the policy that was now to be con-
tinued. In reply to the taunt of the hon. member for
Honiton (Sir J. W. Hogg), that the opponents to the policy
had not examined the papers before Parliament or the evi-
dence given before the committee, he (Mr. S.) would say,
first, that the evidence had been taken before a partial
committee, and was not, therefore, worth anything. The
inquiry was looked upon in India as a mere mockery, and
was designated as such by the Indian papers. He would
quote an extract from the history of the Affghan war, by
Mr. Kaye, for the purpose of showing how those powers
entrusted to the East India Company had been exercised.
Was it not a notorious fact that in the papers which had
' been received from India everything that told against the
case of the East India Company and our Government was
cut out and suppressed ? (Hear, hear.) Why, the whole
' India government was a mystery of iniquity. They all
knew that such a personage had existed as Dost Mahommed.
In his time Russia and England were nearly going to war.
The position of Affghanistan was then considered most im-
Portant. Sir A. Burnes was sent there to arrange differences.
Dost
English Mahommed was disposed to be favourable to the
cabooni.e k'ise, and when the Russian embassy came to
and Sir Ale wasnot well received by it. Does Mahommed's
governmen OderE Burnes's letters were transmitted to the
that told against raid, and in those letters everything
actually cut out. ;Lease of the Indian Government was
would read Mr. Kaye's observations
upon this subject.
covered after Sir Alexawnl's Only
by a letter that was die-
toßeernvheos' swdueatihn,diwghnicahntwaats sent
the
this country by his fatleare
way in which his son had bree treated by the Government,
that the real facts became known. Now here were the
subject—the historian of
observations of Mr. Kayo ontmtheohon
then quoted
the East India Company?
Mr, Kaye's testimony, to the effect that I,ellr39had been
palmed upon the world by the governor of
Court of Directors, who on that occasion bore falserlid the
nem against their neighbours,
(b r. asu4mmedeuardpuetma-Ptinto:
Burnes.] That was the reason he
faith in any of the documents furnished by the East India.
Company and e
the Board of Control. Turning ec, other
misrepresentations of the hon. member for Honiton, in r
gard to the police of India, that hon. member had sneered
at the hon. member for Manchester on the case of Darugo
and the police. He (Mr. S.cymd.caoutriv)
eaogfretedhe
that
te
aof single
•
• case should not be taken as in
1 b
and which hac een gal ; but the petition which had been treated with such
contempt by the Board of Control,
The hon. member for
presented under the auspices of three most respectable
gentlemen, told a different story.
,-21-Honiton had declared that the administration of justice in
perfect. The petition stated 1120 GOtr4ll.