The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-30 00:00:00

siderable, however, as has been the aid afforded to
the establishment, it Ns ill be unhappily too ma-
nifest that that aid has been insufficient
to carry out the intentions of the committee, when
we mention the fact that, until very recently, the
building has only been able to accommodate sixty
patients, and that it now admits merely seventy.
The inadequacy of this accommodation will
be apparent when we bear in recollection that out of
the 45,000 souls annually expiring in London, about
5,000 deaths—" or one-eighth of the total mortality
of the metropolis at all ages "—arise from this ter-
rible malady.

To supply this deficiency in some measure is the
immediate object of the anniversary dinner on Wed-
nesday. Of all eleemosynary institutions in the
neighbourhood of this great city, we know of none so
peculiarly entitled to the benevolent assistance of the
population.

We have davcted a large portion of our columns
to day to a report of the important debate at the India
Home cn the days of Wednesday and Friday last,
on the subject of annexing to the British dominions
in India the territory of Sattara. By this
act the East India Company virtually ex-
tinguish the house of SEVAJEE, the head of the
Mabratta empire. The debate was founded on the
papers recently printed by the House of Commons,
which contain the arguments on either side pro•
pounded by the various members of the Governments
in India, and by the Court of Directors in England.
L is contended by the annexationists that there is
now no heir to the principality, and that it has
legally lapsed to the British Government, as Lord
Paramount in India; firstly, as successors to the
GREAT MOGUL; secondly, as successor to the
Peishwa ; and, thirdly, as grantor of the principality
to the ex Raja, PERTAUB SINGH. On the first ar-
gument one word will suffice. On the seal of the
Marquis of HASTINGS, the Governor-General of India,
affixed to the original treaty of 1819, that British
ruler styles himself " Fidwee Mahomed Padshah
Gliazy," which being interpreted, is "I am the devoted
servant of MABOMED PADSHAn (the Great Mogul), the
defender of the faith of Islam." So far from our
having ever assumed to be Lord Paramount, as suc-
cessor to the MOGUL, we have recognised his vassals,
the Vizier of Oude and the Nizam of the Deccan,
for nearly one hundred years to the present time,
as independent Sovereign Princes, with whom we
have had treaties during the whole of that period.
The title of Lord Paramount, as successor
to the Peishwa, assumes a different shape,
for here it is maintained that, in virtue
of that right, the Raja of Sattara, who was
Lord Paramount of the Peishwa (his Prime
Minister) is our vassal and feudatory ! This argument
is too monstrous and absurd to need any refutation.
With regard to the third argument for annexation,
viz., that as we ceded the territory to the Raja, his
heirs and successors in perpetuity, therefore
we have a right to resume it, because
there is no heir. It happens, however, both the ex-
Raja, the head of the family, and the late Raja, his
younger brother, each adopted a collateral blood
relative as heir. Sir GEORGE CLERK, the late
Governor of Bombay, and Mr. FRERE, the Poli-
tical Resident at Sattara, who must be considered the
best authorities who have dealt with the ques-
tion in India, assert, that both the children were
legally adopted by" the Raja, and that they stand,
according to Hindoo law and practice, in the
relation of legitimate issue. The learning, research,
and acquirements displayed by Mr. FRERE on
this question appear to us perfectly conclu-

sive on the point, and this is the view taken by all
those in England who have dissented from the mea•
sure, and whose names alone furnish a guarantee for
the justice of their decision. The supporters of annex-
ation appear to us throughout their argument tohave
confounded the distinction between principality and
feifs. The title of aLc rd Paramount to decide upon
the occasion of the death of a feudatory, bound to
perform service, is indisputable, and he therefore
possesses a clear right to renew the territorial grant
on such conditions as he deems fit, or to withhold it
altogether; but we think it has been most trium-
phantly demonstrated that the Rajas of Sattara
were absolute Sovereigns, recognised as such
by treaties, and not feudal vassals holding

their fiefs on the tenure of service, whose
successors might or might not be recognised
at the pleasure of the co-contracting party.
By the treaty of 1819, renewed in 1839, the,
territory of Sattara was secured for ever to the'
reigning Raja, his heirs and successors, whether by
direct lineal descent, or by the Ilindoo custom of adop-.
tion. To contend, therefore, that the principle regu-
lating the transmission of a fiefdom is applicable to
the state and sovereignty of Sattara, is plainly
to set at defiance every native usage, and to
place the throne of every existing Prince
at the mercy of the East India Company.
Mr. WlLLocanny in India, and Mr. MANGLES in
England, have been anxious to impress the public
with the belief that the late ex-Raja of Sattara
was, at the time of our successful war with
the Peishwa, an abject prisoner, confined in
a dungeon ; but no assertion can be more contrary to
the fact, whether regard be had to the actual
condition of the Raja, or the position of rank
which he occupied in relation to the Mahratta
people and the Government of the Empire.
The dungeon was neither more nor less than the
whole range of the Castle of Sattara, containing the
Palace of the Raja's ancestors, and embracing an
area larger than the precincts of Windsor Castle,
or the grounds of Buckingham Palace. There
he had his gardens, his space for horse ex-
ercise, a lake full of fish fur sport, exclusive of
the comfort and luxuries obtainable by fifty thousand
rupees a year. The Peishwa, though the de facto
ruler, exercised his authority in the name of his
Royal Master, and would have been deposed by the
Mahratta Chiefs and people in a month, had he ven-
tured to set aside the head of the house of SETAJSE,
and to proclaim himself the sovereign, and not the
servant of the " tenant of a dungeon."
We would commend to all who will to-
morrow deposit their votes on the question
in the ballot-box to consider well the em-
phatic words of the present Governor-General
of India on this subject. His Lordship says :—" The
Government is bound in duty, as well as in policy,
to act on every such occasion with the purest
integrity, and with the most scrupulous observance of
good faith. Where even a shadow of doubt can be
shown, the claim should at once be abandoned."
We could venture, too, to urge one other motive in
favour of a reconsideration of the decision at which
the majority of the Court of Directors have
arrived. No measure is more calculated to
shake the attachment of the people of
India to our rule than that which deprives them
of the ancient, sacred, and cherished right of trans-
mitting their honours and estates by adoption. We,
therefore, think it would be but the exercise of a
sound prudence to give the Directors an opportunity
of recalling their late dispatch, and thereby of
conciliating a great and powerful people like
the Mahrattas, and of quieting the fears of the
millions who would look upon the annexation of Sat •
tare as a prelude to the confiscation of property
hitherto capable of being disposed of according to
the wishes of the possessor, and the religious customs
of the Hindoos—by the rite of adoption.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of Saturday and
yesterday.
The French expedition arrived at Civita Vecchia on
the 26th, and took possession of the town, no resistance
being offered to them.
A telegraphic dispatch was received on Saturday at
half-past three o'clock P.M. by the Government. It is
dated Civita Vecchia, April 26, 11 o'clock A.M., and is as
follows:

" The squadron under my command anchored yesterday at
ten o'clock before Civita Vecchia.
" At twelve o'clock the city was occupied by 1,800 men of
the expeditionary army.
"'This occupation was effected with the consent of the
authorities of the town, and without a blow being struck.
" The whole of the troops have disembarked since this
morning, and I hasten the landing of the military stores.
Signed, the Rear• Admiral commanding the squadron of the
Mediterranean."
A second telegraphic dispatch was also received on
Saturday, at five o'clock P.M., to the following effect:—
" MARSEILLES, Arius, 28, 2 o'CLocx,

" GENERAL OUDINOT TO THE MINISTER AT WAR.
ArmL 25.

We are masters of Civita Vecchia without striking a
blow. The authorities offered no resistance; the inhabitants
anti National Guard received us with acclamation:"
I,rhe NAtiolllll Assembly passed the budget of the