The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-20 00:00:00

AUGUST 20, 1849.

touro n question
murderedan and rash
roafs his
countrymen
guilt.
bravery;
acted
ofthemurierad officers is not quite so apparent; but
y stiihnnegd
uusi3ba. indubitable apibntlode
symptoms
oea
this eircumstance can have little weight in deciding the
t
i disregarding q
wu
aitt
danger which caught the attention of their more wary
attendants, despising their fear, and refusing to employ
even the most ordinary measures of precaution, these
gallant men were intent only on executing to the letter
the business of their commission, and fell victims to their
confidence in the prestige of the British name and au
thority. At this stage of the proceedings we forbear to
speculate on the probable result of the trial; it is im-
possible to conjecture what palliations Moolraj may offer
in his defence; but, unless he can very materially re-
lieve his oonduct of the weight of damaging suspicion at-
tached to it by the evidence for the prosecution, public
feeling and public justice will be satisfied with nothing
less than his elevation to the gallows.
Another cloud is said to be rising on our north-west
frontier. The chances of another war next cold season
stand at high quotations on the political exchange.
Ghoolab Singh, Maharaja of Cashmere, the monarch of
our own creation, to whom Lord Harding° made over
" for a consideration" the pleasant lands that now adjoin
our territory on the north has, it is said, shown his teeth.
A requisition having been made by the Governor-Gene-
ral for the surrender of the heavy artillery that so
bravely adorns his fort at Jummoo, Ghoolah has politely
expressed his own perfect willingness to oblige his friend
Dalhousie by giving them up at once, but regrets at the
same time that the feelings of his people are so vehe-
mently opposed to the measure as to render his c.)mple.
ance impossible. To this it has been urged in reply, that
a monarch who allows his subjects to• control him at.
pleasure is not fit for the post he occupies, and that con-
sequently, the hours of Ghoolab Singh's sovereignty are
numbered. It is proper to add that at present no authentic
confirmation of this intelligence has come to hand, but
we have every reason to rely on its general correctness.
We ought to add that the reason assigned for Lord
Dalhousie's demand is the possession of indisputable
proofs of the Maharaja's complicity in the recent re-
bellion.

Our Indian Court is still at Simla. Sir Charles
Napier and staff reached there on the 16. h ult. After
transacting business with the G )vernor-Gmeral, the
Commander• in-Chief proceeds to Lahore. It will be
seen from our other columns, that it is in contemplation
to present Lord Gough with a public testimonial. A
service of gold plate has been proposed; but it is a
question how far the rules of the service will allow it to
be presented.

lienares has attracted a large share of the public at-
tention during the last month, in consequence of the pro -
cee lings of the directors of its bank. This institution
forms one of the numerous joint-stock banks that have
of late years sprung up in this country, the principal
business of which is confined to loan transactions. The
history of its management, if we may judge from what
has already transpired, bids fair to rival that of the Union
Bank of Calcutta, with this difLrence, psrheps, that the
stopping of the latter institution was productive of con-
sequences far less disastrous than will result from the
overthrow of the Mofussil institution. But the forts et
origo of the mischief is in bah instances identical—
a body of directors enjoying the unlimited con-
fidence of the shareholders, and abusing that
trust by appropriating the funds of the insti
tution committed to their guardianship to servo
the purposes of personal extravagance or private specula-
tion. We need not here enter into the details of the
Benares mismanagement, having before furnished a re-
port of the meeting of shareholders held at Bewares on
the 11th ult., as well as the letters of Dr. Ellin, one of
the shareholders, in which the direction was first openly
inculpated. Four of the directors, all members of the
company's service, Major Debuam, Colonel Pew, Dr.
Butter, and Captain Stewart, have been, it is reported,
ordered t) appear before a court-martial, to answer
charges that will be, preferred against them ; but it has
been properly remarked that a military tribunal is not a
suitable judicature for the investigation of offences of the
nature of those laid against the delinquent directors of
the Benares Bank,_ and that resort would have been had
to the Supreme Court at Calcutta, the proper quarter,
had not the bank itself been afraid of the searching in-
quiries to which it would there hare had to submit. It
has, on the other hand, been asserted that the matter
will bo referred to her Majesty's judges ; but on this
point we are in want of full information. It is much
to be feared that such instances of aggravated defal-
cation as those now under consideration will give an
air of expediency to an intended order which
rumour attributes to the Court of Directors, enforcing
the entire disconnexion of their servants from these
joint-stock institutions. Such an edict, if carried into un-
conditional execution, would no doubt effect very inju•
riously the pecuniary interests of a large class of
John's employ,%c, and we should hope, therefore, that if
any restriction on the speculative liberty of members of
the services is in contemplation, it will extend merely to
prohibiting them from taking part in the mnrragement of
these banks. If pushed to the length of compelling
them to dispose of all interest as shareholders, the order
YdtUnfliil6- Volfiiiielr.Fin a rit s of p tivaly
so pertinent to the subject in hand, that we deem cc
apology necessary for quoting them at -length :—" The
transactions connected with the Benares Bank will 1:0
foand fully to justify the determination of the Court of
Directors to interdict the public servants of Government
from engaging in the management of such establishments.
If that wise and salutary resolution has not been already
passed, the report of these proceedings will show the
necessity of hastening its adoption. It is utterly incom-
patible with the honour of Government that any of its
public functionaries should be mixed up with such equivo-
cal proceedings, or to be permitted to share in the obloquy
of such mismanagement. Some small share of the
censure which this catastrophe entails must be laid at
the door of Government, which has alloWed is months
to pass since the collapse of the Union Bank, without
making any legislative provision for the regulation of
similar companies, for the publication of their accounts,
or foi the prevention of those misappropriations which
have brought discredit on the morality of the metropolis.
Had it been rendered imperative on the directors of all
Mofussil banks, and of all joint-stock companies, to
give the utmost publicity to their accounts, a consider-
able portion of the heavy loss which must now fall on the
shareholders might have been avoided."

GwALloa.—This territory has been thrown into some
little confusion by the insurrectionary attempts of one or
two of the lending chiefs. Notwithstanding the intense
beat of the weather, a force was detached under Liaut.-
Colonel Graves to give an account of the Esurgenti.,
which succeeded in destroying their principal strong-
hold, Bicturwar, and several other forts of minor con-
sequence. The loader, with his adherents, managed
very skilfully to effect his escape, and the troops sent
against him were unfortunately not sufficiently nu-
merous to follow them up successfully. This circum-
stance has been laid hold of as furnishing a strong
argument for the increase of the regular army. In
consequence of the groat demand for troops on the north-
west frontier, the Gwalior territories are obliged to put
up with a force altogether insufficient for their defence;
and thus it happens that when any petty chieftain kicks
up a disturbance, all manner of miserable expedients
must be had recourse to for the purpose of collecting
men suffic'ent to chastise him, and, worse still, as in the
present instance, the rascal is often able to effect an im-
mense amount of mischief before he can be put down.
CALCUTTA—Has been the scene of a partially success-
ful erasion of that least valued of British privileges, the
payment of taxes. The endeavour to bring into opera-
tion the Wheel-tax Act, as it is termed, has for the pre-
sent proved a failure, owing to the passive resistance of
a much contemned but very useful class of the commu-
nity—the Haelcery Wallahs, or cart-drivers of the
metropolis, who have exhibited a disinclination to be
taxed against their consent, and a degree of sagacity
in giving effect to it, worthy of Young Bengal himself,
Lnailiar with the history of ship money and the Stamp
Act. A general " strike " took place on the first
attempt to enforce the tax; the wheels were taken off
the hackerica, and the vehicles quietly put up in
store without the limits of the city. The commerce of
Calcutta was, of course, at once brought to a standstill;
the ships in the river could not part with their freights,
or could not get them on board. Merchants were non-
plused, but the cart-drivers stood firm; not merely re•
fusing to work themselves, but, with an indifference to
the principles of free trade that would have rejoiced the
heart of Disraeli or Bentinck, preventing the ingress of
any who were so inclined. The issue has been in favour of
the rebels, the clause affecting them having been suspended
for three months, during which period their case is to
receive the attention of the Legislature. Their triumph
has sadly scandalized those of our contemporaries who
aro generally found ranged on the side of authority.
The ease of the widows and orphans who have suffered
the loss of their property by the late defalcations of the
Registrar, Sir Thomas Turton, has been taken up ener-
getically by the Trade Association of Calcutta, since the
receipt of the news of the meeting got up in London by
Messrs. Shuttleworth and Alexander. The first step
taken by the association was to memorialise the local
Government to reimburse the victims of the Registrar's
guardianship from the revenues of the Indian Govern-
ment, referring to the case of Mr. Ricketts, at Madras,
as a precedent. Government. in reply, declined to
acknowledge any liability on its part to make goo.'
the Registrar's deficit, promising, however, to for-
ward the memorial for the consideration of the
home authorities; but, as Leadenhall-street has ob-
tained an unfortunate notoriety fur slowness in the dis-
charge of business, the association have intrusted their
petition to the care of Mr. Malcolm Lewis, requesting
him to urge the speedy consideration of the case on the
Court of Proprietors. The question of " Who's to pay ?"
has been argued at considerable length and with great
impartiality and ability by the Calcutta Star. The se-
rious magnitude of the losses sustained renders it impos-
sible to look to any private purse for their repayment; at
the same time, justice forbids the entertainment for one
moment of the idea that the heavy wrong inflicted in
the very halls, supposed by a pardonable fiction to be
unre-
consecrated to the redress of wrongs, should
paired; from whom then is the remedy
l go
to come? be-
comes a question of vital interest towhose only
means of subsistence have been squandered
n away to sup-
portable Registrar. A
the extravagancies of a hio
perusal of the arguments put ffaosrth in the journal just
named will, we take it, convince most that the claim of
the sufferers lies with most consistency and force against
the Company's treasury. We sincerely hope that

Mr. Lewin's efforts may be successful in ob-
taining ;from the India House an acknowledg-
ment •of responsitelity. The condition of the Calcutta
police has of late been attracting much of the attention
of the lieges of the metropolis, and serious insinuations
regarding the integrity ef some of its officers have ap-
peared in the columns of the public prints. Under these
circumstances, much suspicion has been excited by the
fact that Major Birch, the senior magistrate of Calcutta,
has obtained three months' leave of absence from his
duties, it is said with the intention of applying for the
benefit of the Insolvent Act. The examination of the
gallant magistrate's schedule is looked forward to with
curiosity, as likely to afford an insight into the peculiar
nature of the pecuniary transactions entered into by the
Calcutta magistracy. Sir William Gomm, the Com-
mandersin-Cnief expectant, reached Calcutta from the
ue lhtai mg raitne they provided r opveiade d for
t h
o c
does tnoo t
fill
yet
ry
appear;
p e another.arMauritius on the 3d June, but found to his infinite
He has made a claim for compensation, which has been
elb
his
referred to the home Government. How he is to be
successor at the Mauritius, Sir G. Anderson, having
rinmop:Gobeanbelreniti.iati,Shier
arrived and assumed the government, a resumption of his
has
t sentet
the
in his
attentionres i gn aot
fi o nt,h
former appointment is out of the question. As the
Commander-in-Chief of Bombay, Sir Willoughby Cotton,
ite isG notoe
William Gomm _mey be thrust into the vacancy.
HYDERABAD.—Affiira have at last, we are told, nt-
debt under which the Niz .in's Government lies to the
Government of India now eraeunts to 54 lies of rupees,
which Lord Dalhousie has requested his Highness to dis-
charge. The Minister has effered; in reply, to clear the
account by instalments of four lass a year, discharging
the interest monthly; but to these terms the Governor-
General is not willing to accede, demanding immediate
payment or a •cession of. territory to the value of the
debt, The new, Minister, Shums-uel-Orerah, is, we are
glad to hear, gradually but effectually carrying out many
measures of reform, and doing his bessao educe ordsr
out of the political chaos which this unfortunate state
presents. The Hyderabad Darbar has recently lost one
of its most effective members by the death of the Baja
Belapursad, a son of the late celebrated Minister, Maha-
raja Chundoo Lall. The Nizain, it is believed,
cffi .e .
in-
tended
to bestow upon Balapursad the responsible
of Pcishcar, with the view that Shuns-oel-Ouarah might
have the benefit of his assistance in organizing his schemes
for the removal of existing difficulties, and from the repu' a-
tion which the deceased. had acquired for political talent
and general intelligence, expectations were entertained at
Hyderabad that the intended engagements would prove
conducive to the permanent b: neut of the state. His
death, therefore, is deeply regretted by a much wider
circle than that of his immediate friends. The bands of
Rohilla insurgents, which have for two or three months
past been affording occupation to the troops of the con-
tingent, have been nearly if not quite put down by the
energetic gallantry which has been opposed to them.
t)ur last issue contained accounts of the engagements
with the rebels under Brigadiers Onslow and Hampton;
another encounter has since taken place setween a burly
of Bohillas, who had taken up a position near the Guth-
very, and a force under the command of Captain Ho-
worth, of the 3d Niziw Infantry. The Rohillas were
attacked with spirit, utterly routed, and thirty-five of
their number taken prisoners; but we regret to add, that
on returning to cantonments the heat was so intense
that the gallant captain of this little band fell a victim to
apoplexy. The loss on the side of the British was not
very severe, but many of the lives of the sepoys who
died of their wounds, if not also that of Captain Ho
worth himself, might, in all probability, have been saved,
had the surgeon, whose duty it was to be present with
iho troops is the field, not preferred staying in his quar-
ters. It is very rarely that it falls to our lot to report a
lapse of this kind on the part of a British officer, and it
i 3 to be hoped that the inquiry into the case which will,
in all probability, take place, may elicit circumstances
tending to deprive the affair of its present sinister ap-
pearance.

BOMBAY.—The good people of this presidency are
still busily engaged in pushing forward their railway
projects, and shares sra said to be so largely in demand
as actually to be selling at a premium. In the spirit of
speculative enterprise, the ducks, to our discredit be it
confessed, leave the benighted at a very serious distance.
The contrast, perhaps, was never more clearly mnnifest
than in the different reception which the railway enter-
prise has met with in Bombay and Madras. Messrs.
Coanon and NUKenna, the editor and proprietor of the
Gentleman's Gazette, have come off victorious in an
action for libel brought against them by a member of the
llindoo community, who thought himself aspersed under
the character of " a fat IIindoo." It turned out, how-
ever, in the course of trial, that Bombay could boast of
many fat Ilincloos, and that the plaintiff's person did not
justify the application of such an epithet to him, and he
was consequently non suiteq, The defendan!s pleaded
their own cAthe. Another ease of ship-bianinsz lately
occurred in Binnbay Harbaur, already notorion,, for
buch uccurrt DeeS. ThO vessel that was sacrificad en this
occasion was the Lowjce Family, well known in the In-
dian
,r1"0-attkS' &Er ?An elk: ul2l noes/ ‘Fterlimy reerd
iiPi2ll.°l4:tiscars. In spite of the utmost efforts to save
her she was burnt down to the water's edge.
SINDE is perfectly still, the only item of intelligence
connected with that quarter being the fact—which will
rejoice the heart of .Lieutenant-Colonel Burlton—that
the Indian Government has directed the immediate re
duction of the Sinde Camel Corps, the recent theme of
Sir Charles Napier's eulogy. The authorities here do
not estimate the services of the Camel Corps at quite
so high a rate as the Cominander•in Chief. The hest
is complained of as excessive, the thermometer ranging
as far as 116 degrees in tents.

MADRAS.—VG have nothing of interest to note in
connexion with our own presidency. The Railway
Committee have held one meeting only since out last,
when certain resolutions were passed. The question,
" Where is the iron to come from?" naturally arises from
the discussion of railway projects, and has not been
lost sight of by the Indian journals, who are, as a mat-
' ter of course anxious that the construction of railways
in India should, among other benefits, assist in the deve-
lopment of the mineral resources of the country, and
they consequently advocate the employment of native
iron. That vast stores of iron ore are to be found in va-
rious parts of India is a fact not perhaps generally
known, yet unquestionable notwithstanding, but before
it could be applied to railroad purposes a complete
change must be wrought in the mode of its manufac-
ture. As at present worked up it must be confessed to
be next to useless ; but, were European skill and me-
chanical appliances brought to bear upon it, there is
little doubt that an article could be produced of first-
rate quality, acid much cheaper than could be procured
in Great Britain. A local contemporary, writing on
this subject, though in allusion more particularly to
Porto Noro iron, observes very justly that, " the work of
developing the mineral resources of the country has not
only been commenced long since in southern India, but
the heat and burden of the day are over, and nothing we
believe is now wanting but the application of means to
insure the unlimited production of the finest iron in the
world."

Our general orders will show that a change has taken
place in the command of the troops composing the gar-
rison of Fort St. George. Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor
has been appointed to the command of the Madras troops
in the Saugor and Nerbudda territories, and Lieutenant-
Colonel Lawe, of the engineers, to succeed Lieutenant-
Colonel Taylor. This arrangement would appear to
have excited some dissatisfaction, on the ground that the
chief engineer cannot be considered as belonttimtoofahniys
of the corps in garrison, us also that,
_ executed__the d
at
Madras,
be requiring him to report on . works
other stations at a chstacce from adras, M
Palaveram and
be must necessarily- be often /Orient from his command.
Dissentients thus murmur their discontent, and Colonel I
Laws keeps the appointment.
We regret to here to make the announcement that
orders have been received from the Court of Directors
for the abandonment of the experiments in cotton culture
under the superintendence of 1)r. Wight, at Coinalyttore.
What has led to this abrupt termination of an under-
, taking which was generally expected to issue in results
of a very opposite character, is not known; and the cir-
cumstance is the more to be regretted as there were indi•
cations that Dr. Wight's labours were about to meet
with a much higher measure of success than had pre-
viously been awarded to them. We yet indulge the hope
that Dr. Wight's labours in this sphere of enterprise will
not be entirely lost to the commercial world, but that
what the parsimonious policy of Leadenhall-street refuses
to carry out will find a prosperous issue through the
means of private capital and enterprise.
The weather, we are happy to say, is much more en-
durable than last month, Several showers have oppor-
tunely fallen, supplying the earth with much wanted
moisture, and
cooling the burning air.
We are sorry to have to announce the wreck of the
steamer Emma, a vessel, the property of a firm at Bum-
bay, lately started to coast between the ports on the
eastern and western sides of the peninsula. The under-
taking, had the management of it been what it should,
might have proved a great public convenience, and re-
munerative to the speculators; unfortunately, however,
her grounding at Point Devi was only the last of
the Emma's blunders. The accident took place
on
named;-
fortunately night of the 13th: ult., near the point just.,
En
furtunately no lives were lost, but
theu attending
pletf: wreck. Accounts of the
°fromtustances
the disaster have been published, which it appears , vessel is aco
e
tal with the London mail of the
sthuarotdt.he conduct of the commander has been much con-
al Madras until the morning
.)4th of Dias, did nos
of I he
6''tthelininsetranOt,riebnelng, six days overdue. Consider-
able anxiety
was occasioned by this delay, which was
owing to an accident that happened to her machinery on
dherz
hs! outwardsinoe voyageo last,to o f Suez.
BrigadierlN ewrhaalvi
Wallace,
et
,o
f report},Aepha t h et
Rock celebrity; Mr. John liaegstd, of the Madras Civil
Service; and Mr. D. Craigio, Head Master of the St.
Andrew's Grammar(Ertohme
th
eSEcehlo School.
tranquillityl
tGazette,ha that
h June n()
hitherto2s. ) d
Althoughundisturbed by any overt acts continues
feeling
r e
uninterruptedgn e
f
in the country of the Five Rivers,. a strange . of
uneasiness, approaching to a certainty that something of
an unpleasant kind is likely to occur, has taken posses-
sion of the mind of the public, and prevails throughout
these provinces, although we have not heard one single
good reason for the existence of the feeling to which we
allude. It has, nevertheless, been increased by the pre-