The Sun.
London, England, 1825-03-24 00:00:00

PENSION TO SIR JOHN mALcor,m.

The CHAIRMAN begged to inform the Proprietors that this
Colin had been further made Special for the purpose of laying
bstere them, for their approbation, a Resolution of the Court
at' Directors of the sth of January last, granting to Major-Ge-
neral Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B. a pension of 1,0001. per ann.
from Christmas last, in consideration of the eminent services,
bqtli civil and military, which had been rendered by him dur-
*lie a long period of active service. He should content himself
with moving—" That this Court do approve of the Resolution
of the Court of Directors of the sth of January last."
General THORNTON fully approved of this grant, and he
-yes only sorry that, seeing the Gallant General in such a state
of health and vigour, he was no longer in -the service.
Mr. PATTi •oer begged to say a word or two in answer to the
ebeervation which had just been made. When the Gallant
Generel, whose meritorious services every person must acknow-
ledge, returned from India, great hope was entertained by the
Court of Directors that that great officer would soon be again
employed in some public capacity. He had the honour to be
in the Chair on the occasion when the subject was discussed, as
to sending out a mission to Persia; and at that time Sir John
Malcolm evinced the greatest readiness to go upon that Mis-
iiioe ; but this appointment was opposed by the Colonial De-
partment, and therefore nothing was then done. When he left
the Chair, it was upon the pledge, that if their present Hon.
Chairman did not take the matter up, he (Mr. Pattison) should
consider it his duty to pursue it; but the consideration of the
11edrahad papers put a stop to all other business; and pre-
vented him from proceeding as he had intended. It was thought,
however, by many of the Court of Directors, that we ought to
appoint this distinguished officer to one of the Governorships of
India—( Hear !) ;—and, if that had been done, it would have
prevented them from coming to this Court to-day to ask for a
pension. But that attempt had also failed, and the consequence
was, that this eminent person was now put upon the shelf, for
reasons which we could not well understand, but which he dare
softy were very sufficient. Under these circumstances the Court
of-Directors thought that they could not allow this illustrious
officer to go out of their service without some signal mark of
their entire approbation of his conduct during a long series of
splendid services to this Company.
Mr. H u ME said, that he should most cordially vote for the
• motion ; but he wished to state the grounds why he did so.
Although we had had many valuable officers in our service
whose merits were worthy of being rewarded, yet few had en-
joyed the opportunities of rendering such eminent services to
the Company as the Gallant Officer whose name and merits
were now under the consideration of the Court. It happened
that he (Mr. Hume) was in India when Sir John Malcolm was
coming fairly into the seriice, and he could only say, that the
universal feeling towards him, both on the part of the natives
and of Europeans, was that of the highest respect and gratitude.
lie was not aware that any public servant ever, before that pe-
Tsai, he might say nor since then, stood so well in India as Sir
John Malcolm. He mentioned this fact, because lie considered
that if there were any of their servants who deserved more en-
ocouragement than others, they were those who by their conduct
and example taught and encouraged others to endeavour to
make the natives of India look up to us as their friends, their
fathers, and their benefactors, instead of contemplating us as
their masters and their tyrants. —(Hear, hear !)—lt was such
men whom we ought to keep in our service, and ought to
reward. He could not help contrasting the state of India during
the time of Sir J. Malcolm and at the present period. Then all
w as confidence and respect towards the British name—now every
thing was mistrust and doubt. • He saw with considerable regret
. that many of the Directors had not signed theßeport of thisßeso-
lotion. Sure he was that such a feelmg no where else prevailed.
Me would venture to assert, that whatever might have been the
feelings of the officers connected with India during the period
,that :Sir John Malcom was-there, in other respects, they would
all agree in this—that Sir John Malcolm had deserved by his
signal exertions and wise counsels the peculiar gratitude of this
Court ; and he (Mr. Hume) could not therefore but regret that
die Resolution had not been unanimous on the part of the Court
.of Directors, as he was sure it now would be on part of the
Court of Proprietors. As it was his intention when the proper
.simgarrived to bring forward the subject of the present alarm- ,

ing state of affairs in India, he should now prematurely take the
Court by surprise into that question. He would therefore only
say, he was confident that every Hon. Member who gave his
vote to-day would declare, that he whe had entered our service
in the year 1780, and had continued in it for a period of 43
years, and who had fought and acted more than any other man
—( hear !) -- was most eminently deserving of our gratitude. He
alluded more particularly to his diplomatic services; not that
he meant to undervalue the military ones of that eminent man ;
but he conceived his (Sir J. Malcolm's) talents had been much
more splendidly useful to us in the diplomatic and civil depart-
ment than in any other. He hoped therefore the present motion
would be unanimously agreed to.
Mr. BucitrwonAlt said he was happy there was no pros-
pect of an opposition being given to the motion now before the
Court. He should not, after the very full testimony which the
Hon. Member for Aberdeen had given to the great merits of
Sir John Malcolm, have troubled the Court, but that he con-
ceived the services of that eminent man deserved a more parti-
cular notice. Having been in Persia in 1816 it, was a gratify-
ing fact to Englishmen, that almost at every step the name of
Sir John Malcolm was heard used in terms of the greatest re-
spect and gratitude. His name seemed to be adopted in that
country as one sacred to the hearts of the people. This was a
most powerful testimony of the services of that man. Having
himself been unfortunate enough to be in some degree per-
sonally opposed to Sir John Malcolm, he felt it to be more
especially his duty to come forward and add his humble testi-
mony to the splendid talents and the great services of that
eminent man.—(Hear, hear !).
LORD AMHERST'S ADMINISTRATION.

Mr. MIME rose for the purpose of availing himself of the
notice he had given in his former address to the Court. He
begged to state, that he should not have troubled the Court at
all, but that he felt the subject to which he was about to call
their attention of the very utmost importance both to the inte-
rests of this Company and to the empire at large. His expe-
rience of Indian affairs was not inconsiderable, nor had his at-
tention to the progress of events in that great continent been
little ; but he confesed that so extraordinary were the occur-
rences which had lately taken place there, that he was totally at
a loss to account for them. He had an opportunity of wit-
nessing the state of India at a time when almost all .the
Native Princes were at war with us, and yet the whole of
the army, both natives and Europeans, were during that time
in a state of the strictest subordination and attachment to
the Government. The consequence of this good feeling
was, that the greatest results ensued from the services
of those troops, which tended to • consolidate the power
of the British Government in India. We were therefore
called upon in an especial manner to take into considera-
tion the circumstances that had since transpired in that coun-
try, and to see whether they could not have been prevented.
His sentiments with regard to the public press of India were
well known ; it was not his intention therefore to repeat them.
He only alluded to the subject to remind the Court that he had
already declared that the interference of the Government with
the press would, in case of disturbance in that country, prove
most disastrous. He had distinctly stated, and he would now
repeat, that the injudicious interference on the part of the powers
of India to put down the public press were attended with the
most serious consequences ; such had been the case, and would
go on be so until a state of things arrived which it was fearful
to contemplate.
Mr. S. Dixosr rose to order. He did not wish to interrupt the
Hon. Member; but he could not avoid asking him whether, as
he was now entering upon so momentous a subject, it was his
intention to follow up his observations by any motion ? He
really thought that the lion. Gentleman was taking •the Court
by surprise, and that, on matters so important, some previous
notice should be given, so that the proprietors might come with
their minds prepared to speak on them.
Mr. HUME said, if it should be considered as out of order
merely by reminding the Court of what he had previously told
them would result from the conduct they were pursuing, and by
pointing out to them that his predictions had been verified, he
then really could not perceive what was, or what was not, being
in order.

The CHAIRMAN' said, he considered Mr. Hume not out of
order.

- IN ulr. H SIE resumed.—He was about to state to the Court
I that-
those views which he had previously taken of the subject
-
had proved correct, and the observations heisad made on former
occasions as to the inconvenience which would take place in
consequence of the interference with the Press of India had
actually occurred. For what was the situation in which we now
stood ? Events of the greatest importance had transpired, of
which we were totally uninformed. NVe were at this moment
ignorant of what was really the state of India ; for the infor-
mation which had reached us was either partial and suppressed,
or it depended on private communications, which could not
be acted upon. The evils arising from this were these ; that the
Court were in utter ignorance of the actual state of India, and
of the causes which had led to its present condition. When he
had the honour to serve the Company in India, such transac-
tions as had since taken place were unthought of and unknown.
We were, therefore, now called upon by the duty we owe to the
people of India, to this country, and to ourselves, to consider
whether it was sot in our power to put an end to such pro-
ceedings, which tended to the injury of all. It was with this
view that he should submit to the Court a motion, that there
be laid before us an account of the whole of the proceedings
which had led to the present alarming situation of India. For
this purpose he should move for a copy of the Bengal despatch
made by the Marquis of Hastings in 1019 to the secret depart-
ment of the Court of Directors, respecting the organization of
and allowances to the army of India; also for a copy of the
dispatch of the Court of Directors sent to Bengal in 1823, on
that subject; together with a copy of the dispatches from India,
stating how far those orders had been carried into effect ; in
order that we might judge whether the present state of India
he or be not attributable to the orders given in the dispatch
to Bengal. If there should be any Gentleman in the Court
who had any communication with India, he hoped that ,
if he should state any thing incorrect as to the present
situation of that country, the Honourable Proprietor, who-
ever he might be, would immediately put him right. But
the letters which he had received all breathed the same ,
sentiments with regard to the affairs of India : and without 1
troubling the Court by reading those letters, he would lay this
down as a proposition which had dedaced from them all—as
well those from Madras as those from Calcutta—that the white
population as well as the black had lost all confidence in the
Governor-General of India—(hear!)—that they viewed with
the deepest regret what had taken place, and looked forward
with the utmost anxiety to what might ultimately ensue if the
present system be persisted in.; but they declared that they do
not believe these things can go on, and they fervently hope
that the Government of England will send out men of talent
and abilities, and.put an end to such a ruinous course. This,
then, was the sentiment, this the united opinion of military
men, civil officers, private merchants, and of the natives them-
selves, respecting the present state of India. Now, if this
be true, if such were the :feelings of those persons, could
this Court go on without inquiry ? Ought they not to
obtain all the information that they could ? . The Court of
Directors must be informed on the subject, but no other
persons could ; for unfortunately the public press had no
means of gising any information. Every consequence he
had foretold had in tact taken place; we foued that every
thing told here was totally different from what was com-
municated in India—such was the pernicious system new pur-
sued towards the press of that country. As a specimen of the
course adopted there, he would state, that he had a note in
his hand directed to an Editor of one of the papers published
in Bengal, in which it was said that the writer was commanded
to direct the Editor not to publish anything respecting the con-
duct of the 47th Regiment until the official statement of that
occurrence had been made.—( Hear !)—But this was not all ;
for the Editors were not even authorised to publish that official
statement, but were subject to transportation if they did publish
it. He had a letter to shew, that one Editor had been threatened
to have his paper immediately suppressed, if there should ever
occur in it a single paragraph in which the name of Mr. Buck-
ingham should be mentioned. This course, then, he considered
as one of the important causes of the loss of confidence in India.
He would again repeat, that if such a system was allowed to con- '
tinue, the conseuence would be an aggravation of that discon-
tent and want of'faith in the Government. He would ask, then,
had any measure been taken by the Court of Directors to put an
end to this system ? Had they recalled Lord Amherst ? Had they
determined to send out men capable of governing India? If they
had taken any such measures he was glad of it; and if Go-
vernment had refused to send out a man of talent nominated by
them, they were bound to learn the ground of that refusal. In
order to convince the Court of the great mismanagement that
prevailed, he would just state that every one of the persons who
wrote these letters exclaimed, for God's sake don't let my
name be mentioned." What had led to the present state. of
India? Was it one act ? No—it began with the attack on the
Press, and was followed by an act of weakness on the part of
the India Government, in undertaking hostilities against a
power that could not have injured us had a proper policy been
adopted. This undertaking, too, had been at a season when it
was impossible for the troops to march, owing to Vie heavy
rains, and against a country whose climate was the most fatal
both to the native troops and to the Europeans also. Asa proof
of this, out of 8,000 or 9,000 men who had been sent into that
country we had already lost 1,10(1, whose deaths were occa-
sioned by the disease contracted by the climate. The native
troops also had a superstitious notion that the Burmese Empire
was the land of demons, who presided over their destiny. It was
not that the troops were afraid to encounter the enemy, but it was
the climate and these prejudices which alarmed them, and at
this juncture the pay of the Sepoys was reduced. The imbecility
betrayed on this occasion was conspicuous.Nl e ought then to look
at what had taken place,in order to judge of what might take place

hereafter, if thatimbecility were allowed to continue to hold the
reins of Government. We had, as a natural consequefice, found
that a great unwillingness was found on the part of the native
troops in coming forward to meet these difficulties at Barrack-
pore; nor was there any disposition on the part of the Govern-
ment to allay the fears and remove the prejudices of these
troops. He would not altogether blame the Government for
precipitating the war; hut having done so, and when with
these warnings, he would ask, was it too much to expect that
measures should have been taken to conciliate instead of adding
to the excited feelings of the native troops ? What was the
first warning? Why, no less than 2kl men out of 1,000 de-
serted in the space of twenty-four hours ; indeed, there was
scarcely a corps in which this did not happen. The provisions
having been curtailed by the supplies being cut off by the
Burmese, the Bengal Government raised the charge so high,
that the Sepoys complained, and the cattle being bought up by
the Government, the Sepoys found they were deprived of a suf-
ficient number to draw their baggage. The Bengal Go-
vernment had much to answer, when, knowing this
circumstance, they did not take measures to prevent it.
It argued also great imbecility and want of talent-on the part
of the Governor, and made it absolutely imperative that he
should be recalled. The Hon. Member then adverted to the
manner in which the mutiny of the troops had been suppressed,
and declared that great injustice was practised towards the
native commissioned and non-comniisioned officers, who, in-
stead of being praised and rewarded for having stood to their
colours, were included—the innocent with the guilty—and all
were dismissed from the service. \Vas it possible not to notice
the imbecility that was betrayed on this occasion ? Was it'
just or fair that these men should be disgraced and ruined be-
cause others had mutined ? It had been charged against
them, that these men must have known of the discontent
prevailing among the Sepoys. They certainly did know that
there were complaints; but he would pledge his honour, from
the knowledge he had of the native officers, that they did not
—could not—imagine to what extremity those murmurs would
go. But what did the writers of the letters he had mention-
ed say ? They all expressed a hope that the Marquis of
Hastings would be sent back again ; " for God's sake send
hint amongst us again." How unfortunate then was it to see
that this great individual was at this moment disgraced and
degraded, as far as it was possible to do so, by that very
body who were thus appealed to to re-appoint him. If the
Marquis of Hastings had continued Governor-General, none
of the consequences which we now lament would have hap-
pened. He was capable of conducting those affairs much
better than a body of merchants, who knew nothing at all
about the business.—(A laugh.)—The orders which had been
sent out by the Court of Directors, sanctioned by the Board
of Controul, would have been disregarded by the Noble Mar-
quis, and his own wise policy would have preserved India ;
but Lord Amherst had obeyed those orders, and we now
saw the result. It was our duty to ascertain whether the
present state of India was not in consequence of this obedience.
—They had a sacred trust reposed in them to have those facts
fairly unreselled and the truth made known. If when those
facts came to be fully known it should appear that he had un-
fortunately made a charge against Lord Amherst unfounded
by facts, he should be the first man to make amends to that
Nobleman. It was front that feeling that he repressed many
things which it was in his power to state. The Hon. Member
then concluded by moving for the production of the papers lie
had mentioned.

Mr. BITCRINGIIA3I said, before the question was put he
wished to make one observation. It had been stated by the [lnn.
Member—but by the indifference with which that statement
was received he feared no credit was given to the fact—that the
suppression of public opinion in India was in extreme connec-
tion with this before the Court. Gentlemen would remember
that during the Censorship there was a mutiny in Cantac,
which broke out into a rebellion, and which required four years
to put down ; and he would say, that in consequence of the
suppression of the press the very officers did not know on the
preceding night that any complaints existed among the men.
From the moment that the Marquis of Hastings removed the
censorship there was one continued scene of tranquillity reign-
ing throughout India. Now, to show that discontent pre-
vailed among the troops at Barrackpore, he would state,
that more than three weeks before the mutiny broke out the
men had meetings and discussions among themselves. The
reason this was not communicated to the Government, was the
fear, on the part of those who could do it, of being consi-
dered implicated themselves ; they were thus discouraged from
giving information. But if the press were free, these indivi-
duals would have had no objection to make an anonymous
communication to the editor of a paper, and thus the cir-
cumstance would have been brought to the knowledge of the
Government and the
_public. Had the rumours which were
circulated respecting the discontent of the troops been com-
municated through the public press, the mutiny would not
have taken place. All persons :acquainted with Calcutta must
know that there was a considerable trade carried on between it
and Rangoon. Those merchants were better informed of the
climate and of the winds which prevailed than the officers of
the troops could possibly be. Had the press been free he had
no doubt a hundred letters would have been written to editors,
impugning the wisdom of the Governor; but had any one ven_.
tured to do so at present, he was himself a living instance of
what would have been the consequence. But the tact was, that
the information was known in Calcutta. Two European regi-
ments were known to be proceeding to Rangoon, wading through
water almost in an amphibious state, and living upon salt pro-
visions. These two battalions returned soon after, the one re-
duced to 60 and the other to 80 men. Under these circum-
stances he hoped it would be considered whether it might not be
proper that even the censorship should be adopted instead of the
present pernicious system.
Mr. TRANI. thought it necessary to make an observation or
two with regard to the statement of what had occurred at Can-
tac. It happened to him to know that what the lion. Member
had stated was not the fact. For he was himself ordered to go
there a few months before in consequence of the Government not
being satisfied with the conduct of the Revenue Department.—
With regard to persons being discouraged from making infor-
mation to Government, he begged to say he did not conceive
that to be the case. With respect to the motion before the
Court, he did not conceive the production of the papers at all
necessary. lie thought it better to leave the matter in the
hands of the Court of Directors. There was, however, one
point, which he was sorry to be obliged to agree with the lion.
Member for Aberdeen ; he meant as to the entire loss of con-
fidence on the part of the people of India towards the Governor-
General. He was one of those who on the appointment
of Lord Amherst experienced considerable astonishment.—
He had never understood Lord Amherst to be a man of great
talent, and the duties of a Governor-General required one who
possessed the talents of the great man who had just then left that
country. He did not mean to say that Lord Amherst could
have prevented the war; but he would declare, that in his opi-
nion that Nobleman was quite incompetent to conduct it, and
he should never be satisfied until he saw some other person con-
duct our affairs in India.% An impression had been made in that
country which nothing less than such a measure could remove,
and he feared our friends might now be induced to take those
liberties which they would not otherwise have done. lie there-
fore trusted the Court of Directors would lose no time in re-
lieving us from a state of things which had already operated
most prejudicially both in this country and in India.
Sir C. FORBES expressed his concurrence in the sentiments
of his lion. Friend (Mr. Hume), and was surprised that his
motion did not go to the recal of Lord Amherst forthwith.—
It appeared to him that Lord Amherst was an amiable man ;
but it was not an amiable man, but an able man that we wanted
as Governor-General in India. Because he had refused to turn
his back to the Emperor of China, or to kiss his eminence's toe,
was it to be inferred that he was therefore capable of conducting
the affairs of an extensive Empire ? He trusted that the recal
of that Nobleman would be proposed, if not in this House, at
least at another place, at no distant period. He had received
letters containing remarks on the Governor-General's conduct,
all convincing to his mind that such a measure was necessary.
The clialamasr said, he should not at present notice the
observations of the lion. Baronet, but briefly state his reasons
for not agreeing with the motion. On the 30th March, 1824,
the Court came to a Resolution, that this Dispatch should not he
laid before the Proprietors. He was sure the Court would not
consider it expedient to do that now which they did not think
proper to he done then ; because if the agitation of this question
was then inconvenient it would be much more so at the pre-
sent moment. The Hon. Member for Aberdeen had attribut-
ed the whole of those events--unfortunate events he would
call them-7( Hear ! from Mr. Hume)—to the suppression of the
press.—(No, no ! from Mr. Hume and Mr. Buckingham.)—lt
was too much to say at this time of day that this was the cause
of all the misfortunes of India, or that a free press would be the
panacea for all the evils existing there. It was also necessary to
observe, that the Honourable Gentleman had given notice of a
motion in the House of Commons for the production of this
identical paper to-morrow ; he would then have an opportunity
to speak•fully on the subject, and it therefore really was unne-
r cessary for this Court to produce it. It had been stated by an
Honourable Member (Mr. Buckingham) that two regiments
had returned from Rangoon considerably reduced by the disas-
trous of
climate. All that he could say was, that the Court
Directors had received no intelligence of such a circumstancetbhye
and that, in the absence of such, lie had no reason to believe the
honourable Member's statement. The last letters received_
officially communicated he thought he was bound to 7
the Court were up to the end of October, and what haddennot.beln-
formation had been received through private channels (near !)
and although. circumstances had occurred
re-
gretted, he still hoped the results of the measnires. they
would.
now pursuing
would be as satisfactory as he had reason to expect
Mr. IiDMONDSTON observed, that during
two.
the most brilliant
were' to be
and successful 'period Marquis of
press existed.
Hastings' administration, the censorship of of India, even
theunder

If any influence were to be attributed to the press, he thought
it had rather a tendency to insubordination than otherwise. It
had been justly observed, that the Court of Directors was in
possession of information much better than any other persons
could obtain, and much more correct than could possibly be
communicated through the medium of a newspaper; he there-
fore thought the question should be left with them, and that the
papers ought not to be produced.
Mr. WASBROUGH opposed the motion, and said, that the
press of this country was under considerable restrictions, and he
therefore thought it was highly proper the press of India
should be.

Mr. finmE—Yes, but we want the press of India to be on
the same footing with that of England. It is not so now.
Mr. WASHROUGH admitted there was this difference, that
here we were obliged to undergo a trial—(Hear, bear! from Mr.
Hume)—before we could be punished.
Mr. HUME then replied.
Mr. MILLS thought_ Lord Amherst had not been well treated
by Hon. Members, and that they ought to have suspended the
expression of their opinions until better information was before
them. If this Court really sought for talent to conduct their
affairs, he conceived the language which had been recently used
towards the Noble Persons who served them was calculated to
prevent that talent from coming forward.
i%lr. GAIKIN protested against the doctrine of the Hon. Di-
rector (Mr. Mills.) It was impossible that the Proprietors
could wait until the Governor-General came from India to
London before they declared their sentiments regarding his
conduct. He should, however, oppose the motion, as he should
wait the result of the application to be made to the House of
Commons to-morrow.

After a few words from Mr. HUME and Mr. S. DIXON, the
motion was put and negatived. _ . _

„
Mr. Humu then moved for the production of a copy of the
communications from India respecting the mutiny, and of the
proceedings of the Governor-General thereon.

Dlr. TiANT seconded the motion.

Sir CHARLES FORBES read a letter which he had received
from the lady of an officer in the army at Rangoon, in which
she stated that the spirit of discontent was supposed to have
spread itself widely through the native troops, and that the ri-
diculous system of economy so much in vogue:now-a-days would
not do in India.—(Much laughter.)—" The Sepoys were high
caste men, and would not consent to carry their cooking utensils
on their backs like labourers." The Hon. Bart. observed, that
he hoped, from certain expressions he had heard f►ll from a
gentleman connected with Government, that some measure was
in agitation for the recal of Lord Amherst, but he believed they
were a little puzzled who to select for his successor.
Captain MAXFIELD opposed the motion.
111 r. HUMS replied.
The motion was then put and negatived.
General THORNTON gave notice of a motion on the next
Quarterly General Meeting, respecting the suppression of com-
munications by the Officers of Government in India made to
them, to be communicated to the Governor-General in Council.

Mr. Hum E gave notice that he should make the Court Spe-
cial for the purpose of taking into consideration the conduct of
Lord Amherst, as Governor-General of India.

TUE OUDE PAPERS.

Sir C. Fo KBEs asked when the papers relating to the transac-
tions with nude would be laid before the Proprietors ?
Sir G. Ron' NSON said, the papers were now in the hands of
the printers, but he begged to say, that since the discussion on
the Hyderabad papers, he thought the most prudent course
would be to suppress the publication of any other documents.
A considerable discussion then took place between Hume,
Sir Charles Forbes, Col. Millie, 31r. Weeding, and several
other Gentlemen, as to the propriety of rescinding the motion
for the papers, when it was at length weed to let the matter
rest until the friends of the Marquis of Hastings had learned
his Lordship's pleasure upon the subject.
The Court then adjourned.