The Sun.
London, England, 1822-09-19 00:00:00

//2

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1822.

EXCHEQUER BILL LOAN OFFICE,
South sea House, August 6, 1822.
IWITEREAS an Act was passed in the pre-
sent Session of Parliament, cap. 86, " To amend two
Acts of the 57th year of his late Majesty, and the Ist year of
his present Majesty, for authorising the issue of Exchequer
Bills, and the advance of Money for carrying on Public Works
and Fisheries, and employment of the Poor ; and to autho-
rise a farther issue of Exchequer Bills for the purposes of the
said Acts ;"

Notice is hereby given, that all APPLICATIONS for
LOANS under the said Acts, by any Body or Bodies Politic
or Corporate, or any Company or Companies of Proprietors,
or Person or Persons engaged in, or desirous of carrying on,
any Works of a public nature, or for the encouragement of
the Fisheries, or• the support of any Collieries or Mines, or
any Trustees of Roads, Railways, or Drainages, or any Per-
son or Persons proposing to undertake any Embankment from
the Sea, in Great Britain, specifying the amount required, the
purposes to which the same is to be applied, and, the security
proposed, are to be addressed, sealed up, to William Holden,
Esq. Secretary to the Commissioners, constituted by the said
Acts, at their Office as above.
The Interest upon all Loans advanced under the Provisions
of the above-mentioned Act will be at and after the rate of
FOUR Pounds per centum per annum.

FOR THE SUN.

STAGE COACHES.

MR.Enrrow-:--The Shocking Accident recorded
in your Paper of yesterday, of the overturning of a Stage Coach
on Blackheath-hill, whereby the whole of the passengers were
dreadfully injured, imperiously requires that something should be
done, to prevent stage coachmen from so frequently subjecting
their passengers to the like. The brutal conduct of some of these
gentry to the fine and valuable hoi•ses under their lash, is too
common and well known to require comment from me. Per-
haps the present melancholy circumstance will justify my cau-
tioning the proprietors of a celebrated coach, running between
London and this city, called the Tally-ho, from suffering that
coach to be driven in the furious and dangerous manner it fre-
quently is, in opposition to another. It is not long since, being an
inside passenger in that coach, that the horses were galloped for
a considerable part of the way between Rochester and Ospringe,
to the great danger and alarm of the passengers ; and it is but
due to the public, and in fair protection of the lives of travel-
lers, that such coaches should be known, that those only may be
employed whose drivers avoid such abominable conduct. On
the occasion to which I allude, the coachman, who was a dash-
ing and daring fellow, (I learnt belonging to Gravesend), on
being remonstrated with. at Ospringe for driving-his horses so
furiously, and exposing the passengers to imminent hazard'
thereby, boldly and flatly denied his having done so, although
myself and two other gentlemen in the coach are ready to prove
the contrary whenever necessary.
You will, Sir, be doing great 'service to the public, if you
can point out the easiest and least expensive mode of legally
punishing these persons, who so wantonly, brutally, and inso-
lently expose travellers to danger, particularly what evidence is
necessary to support the charge, and if the testimony of one
person of character be sufficient to convict, (supposing he is in
the inside of the coach), many travellers, unacquainted with the
law on this subject, being at a loss how to proceed. A mode
at once summary, and not expensive, should be adopted to
punish and regulate these daring gentlemen of the coach-box ;
and, in the next Session of Parliament, I trust that the Guardians
of our ancient city will obtain power to commit offenders of this
sort to trot for two or three months on the new tread-mill,
which, report says, is to be erected in or near St. Augustine's
gaol, and which probably would correct their inclination to
gallop for the future. If the funds be not adequate to the ex-
pence of erecting such a mill, I am of opinion that part of the
county rate, formerly intended to embellish the new gaol at
Maidstone with a 7,0001. portico, might be well appropriated
for so useful and excellent a purpose.
I am, Sir, your humble servant,
Canterbury, Sept. 18, 1822. TROT.

JOHN BULL.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin—l enclose a Copy of a Letter which I
have thought necessary to address to the Editors
of the John Bull Newspaper, and request you
will do me the favor• to insert it in your Paper.
Your obliged, &c.
East-court, near Oakinghain. C. P. PALMER.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE JOHN BULL.
Sits—Your Paper of Sunday last has just been put into
my Hands, and I quote from it the following paragraph, viz.—
" We consider it but just to Mr. Fyshe Palmer, who, it will
be seen, is the only person concerned, and the only person who
has not denied the use of the words imputed him, that to him,
if he requires it, the name of the person shall be given."
I 'grant that I am the person most concerned, and therefore
it was that I would not rest a contradiction upon my own as-
sertion, even against the John Bull newspaper, but left the
falsehood of your statement to be exposed by the impartial tes-
timony of those gentlemen who were actually present at the
time specified. _

There were besides myself six persons only in the room :
five of these have explicitly and decidedly denied that any
such circumstance took place, or that any such expressions
were used, or propositions made, as were stated in the John
Bull newspaper of the 18th of August last.
It is true that one Gentleman stated at the general meet-
ing of the Club, that he heard Mr. Palmer speak about
a venison dinner. This, Gentlemen, is perfectly correct, as
on leaving the rooms I mentioned that I was going to a ve-
nison dinner ; but to show that this dinner could by no pos-
sibility have any reference to Lord Londonderry's death,
it is sufficient to state, that the dinner was given in a private
house, some miles distant from Reading, and by invitations
issued many days antecedent to the event in question ; and
being only a guest myself, it is highly Improbable that I could
presume to invite any persons to a set dinner in a private family.
In short, I wholly deny not only the words, but the sub-
stance, of what you have so slanderously imputed to me, and
every fact and circumstance which you have connected there-
with ; and I most heartily subscribe to the sentiments unani-
mously expressed in the resolutions of the Reading Subscrip-
tion Club—" that the paragraphs in your paper are a disgust-
ing example of gross, wilful, and malicious falsehood."
Now, Sirs, whether the calumnious fabrication and scurrility
are wholly your own or not, is to me a matter of perfect intlif-
ference. You gave publicity to the libel, and you must be re-
sponsible for the consequence.
I am, Sirs, your humble servant,
CHARLES FYSHE PALMER.
East Court, near oa4lsham, Sept. 17,

LITERARY NOTICE.

CONSIDERATIONS on the STATE of BRITISH
INDIA, embracing the subject of Colonization, Illission
aries, the State of the Press, the Civil Government, and Indian
Army. By Lieutenant A. WHITE, of the Bengal Native
Infantry.

These are weighty and important matters for
a Seapoy Lieutenant to discuss.; and to which
we could scarcely expect him to do justice.
Et is natural to suppose that such a person-
age may be very expert in drawing out a
Muster Roll ; that he might succeed in imitat-
ing the style of some celebrated Despatch ; -or
even indite tolerable verses in praise of. some
Hindoo or Mahomedan beauty, who had capti-
vated his fancy ; but that he should step forward
to edify the public on the grave topics which he
has selected was certainly unlooked for. The
improbability that a person in Mr.IVIIITE'S situa-
tion should produce an interesting work upon
these subjects, had almost deterred us from tak-
ing up this publication ; but the recollection that
the Indian army has produced such historians as
Dow, Malcolm, and Wilks—arid Antiquarians
of such eminence as Wilford, Mackenzie, and
Franklin ; besides a number of accomplished
Orientalists, several elegant poets, and skilful
geographers, induced us to pause, and to summon
courage to go through the book. We are glad
that we have done so : the information which it
contains has amply repaid the time spent in our
perusal. The value of Mr. White's book con,
sists in this, that it expresses the independent
opinions of a liberal minded and intelligent in-
dividual on the great public events of the Mar-
quis of HASTINGS'S Administration, without pre-
judice against or partiality towards that eminent
Statesman. He has fearlessly animadverted upon
this Nobleman's conduct, where it appeared in-

jurious to our interests, and incompatible with
the national honour ; but, at the same time, has

manifested his wish to do justice to his ge-
neral policy ; and has seized every opportu-
nity Of exhibiting his personal character in the
most favourable light. The independent tone
_ _

of thinking which characterizes this publica-
tion is extremely rare amongst writers on
East India affairs ; in general they have only
appeared before the public as advocates of a
particular Administration, and have never dared
to whisper the breath of censure. The author
of the present work has acted otherwise, and has
aspired to imitate the political writers of this
more favoured country, in the fairness, freedom,
and impartiality, with which they animadvert
upon the actions of public men. The first chap-
ters of Mr. White's work are occupied with the
discussion of the interesting topics of Coloniza-
tion, Missionaries, the State of the Press, &c.
and display an intimate acquaintance with the
condition of society, and habits and prejudices
of the people of India.
Under the existing system, no person is al-
lowed to .proceed to India without a special
license from the Court of Directors ; and all

British-born subjects are restricted from posse,;s-
ing or cultivating lands, which must effectually
prevent Colonization to any great extent. Mr.
White contends, that if these restrictions were
removed and Europeans allowed to purchase
lands, the agricultural practice of India would

be greatly improved by their superior skill and
industry, which would be quickly communicat-
ed to the natives; and thus the national happi-
ness would be greatly increased. The objection
to this policy, is the dread which is entertained
lest the settlers should emancipate themselves
from British controul.
MISSIONARIES.

On this subject the Author entertains the
opinion, that the direct attempt to introduce the
Christian religion has failed, or very partially
succeeded. Although stationed for two years
within half a mile of the Missionary College,
he had heard of no conversions. He states,
that he had conversed with several learned Ilin-
doos and Mahometans, who had studied the
Christian Scriptures, but still remained stedfast
in their original opinions.
We must here observe that the author displays
more sympathy with•the feelings of the Hindoos
than zeal in the cause of Christianity ; but some
allowance must be made for one who has spent
so great a portion of his life amongst this singu-
lar people. The author regards Colonization
and the formation of schools. for the introduction
of European education, as the most effectual
means of converting the Ilindoos. Indeed, this
appears to be the prevailing opinion with our
countrymen in India, and has been sufficiently
evinced by their actions. Mr. White bestows
due praise on several gentlemen of the civil and
military service, who, in combination with the
Missionaries, have generously devoted their time
to the benefit of the Hindoo community, by
making translations of elementary English books,
into the native languages. It is this excellent
conduct which will purify the national charac-
ter from any stain contracted during the intoxi-
cation of our first successes in India. Mr. White
entertains a more favourable opinion of the Hin-
doo character than the generality of European
writers, and has brought forward some striking,
facts in support of his views. From a paper
read before the Bombay Literary Society by.
Captain Kennedy of that Establishment, it ap-
pears that in India crimes are of rarer occurrence,
and of less magnitude than in England. By
comparing the number of trials and convictions
before the Circuit Courts in Bengal, with a
similar record of the Courts of Assize in Eng-
land for 1815, he finds that in proportion to
their respective population, there are in Bri-
tish India at least 2,293 fewer convictions

than in England. The author is impressed
with a high opinion of the moral charaCter of the
Bengal seapoys,and regards it as superior to that
of the same class of men in the English army. He
mentions one corps, the 2d Battalion 22c1. N. 1.,
in which no Court Martial had occurred foi' two
years. The passage which contrasts the practice
of burning widows, with the European custom
of duelling, appears to us altogether original.