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

itenbut °"1.111

LONDON, MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1849.

DEMBINSKI has conquered WELDEN es completely
as BINI had already conquered WINDISCHGRATZ.
The Austrian Government can no longer conceal the
adversities which have befallen the Imperialists
through the genius of KOSSUTH and the heroism of
the Hungarians. The victorious patriots are ad-
vancing too closely upon the frontiers of Germany to
admit of any further blinking of the truth by the

Viennese Cabinet. Unless some extraordinary
~ic,•e in th `o tuns, of eloTLt
the roar of the Magyar artiliery would soon give the
lie to the denial cf their advance as conquerors.
An epitome of the acbievemnts of Hungarian pa-
triotism during this memorable arid glorious campaign
will show how far we have been all along justified in
auguring well of the war of independence. After
the advance upon the Danube of the German soldiers
under WINDISCHGRATZ, and of the Croatian irregu-
lars under JELLACHICH, it will be remembered that
the Provisional Government, in obedience to the
recommendation of the illustrious KOSSUTH, with-
drew beyond the marshy barrier of the Theiss into
the almost inaccessible city of Debreczin. There the
plan of the campaign was deliberately organized ;
there the national councils deliberated; there the
executive administration, under the inspiration of the
great statesman who was to Hungary what LAMAR-
TINE has been to France and MAZZINI to

Italy, presided over the destinies of a nascent,
or rather of a reviving nationality—assailed
at the same moment, by the colossal forces of the
Austrian EMPEROR and by the auxiliary troops of
the Russian AUTOCRAT. The spectacle was
sublime and the peril enormous. Every generous
heart beat with hope for the heroic democracy
which was standing at bay before a coalition
of Absolute Governments. The gaze of every Liberal
in Europe was turned with emotion towards the seat
of war, with the view of discerning the nature of
its successive movements. To misrepresent those
movements as much as possible, without running the
risk of immediate detectien,has been the aim of the Court
of Olmutz from the moment the first shots were fired
by the belligerents. So long as concealment of the
truth was practicable it was screened under the mask
of garbled dispatches and distorted bulletins. At
last the triumphs of the Hungarians have been so
brilliant and overwhelming as to preclude the states-
men of Vienna from any further misrepresentations.
And but for the constant warnings which we, among
a very few of the other democratic journals, en.
deavoured from the outset to disseminate, the public
would now have heard with unmingled astonishment
from the official organs of Imperial Austria, that
throughout the whole of the campaign the Hungarians
have proved victorious over their assailants—beating
down the Russians in Transylvania, driving the Ger-
mans across the frontiers of Moldo-Wallachia, and
ultimately compelling the grand army of the Impe-
rialists to retreat with precipitation and dismay, from
city to city, in the direction of the Austrian capital.
From the very first, however, we have exposed the
fabulous accounts furnished to Western Europe by
the Viennese papers, and paraded with a very short-
lived exultation in the reactionary press of England.
Our readers will consequently experience no surprise,
on finding that our statements as to the uninterrupted
success of the llungarians have at length received
confirmation from the official organs of the Austrian
Government. Neither will it be any matter of asto-
nishment to hear one of the most bitter and relentless
opponents of the fellow-patriots of KOSSUTH confess-
ing, at the eleventh hour, that the Polish
Generals opposed to the Russo-Austrian coalition
have shown in their tactics very remarkable ability,
and acknowledging; in so many words, that through-
out the contest the Hungarians have displayed " far
greater military strength and national resources than
the rest of Europe had given them credit for."
Glancing back over the whole of this extraordinary
struggle, the following are the most important of
the various advantages obtained by the captains of
Louts KOSSUTH over the invaders of Hungary :

BEM first of all, by a series of daring manoeuvres,
conquered the whole of Transylvania.
Ile seized Klausenburg, notwithstanding the com-
bined ranks of the Austrians and their Russian
auxiliaries.

He occupied Hermanstadt, the principal place in
:hat principality.
He finally drove his antagonists before him across
;he boundaries of the province, and has subsequently
Followed them himself into Wallachia.

DEMBINSKI has subsequently conducted the centre
of the patriots from the neighbourhood of Debreczin
across the Theirs upon the principal position of the
Imperialists.

He proved victorious in the fight which took place
at Gyongiis.

He has met with similar success at Erlau.
He has driven the right wing of the Austrians with
considerable slaughter across the Danube.

He caused the larger portion of the army of the
Imperialists to fall back hastily upon Rakos.
He triumphed over the two brigades stationed at
Waitzen.

He has forced the Germans to evacuate the double
capital of Buda-Pesth.

He obliged the enemy to make a general move-
ment of retreat by a masterly manamvre, in which he
threatened to turn the left flank of the Imperial army
under WOHLGEMUTIT.

lie raised the siege of Comorn by dispatching
thither GEORGEY at the head of a division of the
Magyars.

He has beaten the Germans back, step by step,
beyond the waters of the Waag.
He has gained a great battle under the walls of
Gran.

He is now pushing forward with such rapidity as
to threaten the dictation of terms within sight of the
Viennese metropolis.
Such have been the glorious achievements which
have consecrated the rights of the Hungarians with
the fame of victory. The Magyars have revealed
throughout a capacity to withstand the domination of
a foreign despot. They have, under the command
of their Polish Generals, worsted the redoubtable
JELLACEICII, the veteran WINDISCHGRATZ, and even
that vaunted proficient in the science of war, General
WELDEN.

Our next Parliament, said Louis KOSSUVIT, shall
meet in the Hungarian capital--the repres,sntatives
shall assemble not at Debreczin but at Pesth !
How nobly is that heroic promise draw-
ing towards the hour of its fulfilment !
Now that the whole of the Hungariaut terri-
tory, from the frontiers of Wallachia to the frontiers
of Moravia, from the Carpathian Mountail3s to the
channel of the Drave, have been conquered .rfom the
legions of Austria by the dauntless patriotism of the
Magyars, now that the illustrious conquerors are
pressing forward in the footsteps of the retreating
Imperialists, and are driving them at the sword's
point upon Presburg, we may look forward vti ith the
ardour of confidence to the happy termination of a
war so bravely commenced and so heroicalily con-
ducted.

On Wednesday next the seventh anniversary
dinner in aid of the Hospital for Consumption, at
Brompton, will be presided over by BEYJAMIN
DISRAELI, Esq., M.P. for the county of Bucking-
hamshire. We understand moreover that the in-
terest of the occasion will be enhanced by the attend-
ance of Monsieur GUIZOT and other distinguished in-
dividuals. In anticipation of Wednesday, we would
earnestly direct the attention of the publi.,c to the
approach of this generous and attractive anniversary
—the attraction and the generosity of which will be
worthily expressed by the Chairman -selected
for 1849, one so gifted in intellect, and in
heart so peculiarly alive to the sufferings an :d the be-
nevolence of humanity.

Knowing the munificence which has already been
evinced by the public in forwarding the wis hes of the
committee of this very noble and beautiful institution,
it appears almost needless to remark upon i tts claims
upon the metropolis for assistance. As, howrever, the
funds accumulated have been far from eqrad to the
necessities of enlargement, we are authoris ed in our
endeavour to bring the circumstance of thee charity
prominently under the general consideration.
The idea out of which the whole of this most
interesting establishment has originated. is one
snfficiently mournful
It to secure fo
this, r
that it the
wl ale sgmpathievery
es
of the multitude. was
other physical calamity had its hospital, the dread
disease of pulmonary consumption, that disease which
is but too truly declared to be " the most frequent
and destructive malady in existence," was- without
any structure in which its more impoverish ed victims
could lock for shelter—the unfortunate pati eats being
refused admission into any other institution, on the
plea of " the lingering nature and alm oat certain
fatality of their disease." To alleviate an affliction
pressing so sorely upon the labouring cl as ses, the
Hospital for Consumption was erected in 13rompton
out of sums raised by voluntary contribution, Con-

siderable, however, as has been the aid afforded to
the eAailisinnorit, it will be unhappily too ma-
in.est that that aid has been insufficient
to carry but 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 devoted a large portion of our columns
to-day to a report of the important debate at the India
House on 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 Englaid.
It 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
Ghazy," which being interpreted, is "I am the devoted
servant of MAHOMED PADSHA H (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 :nee-
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 to have
confounded the distinction between principality and
feifs. The title of a Lord 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 Hindoo 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. WlLLousanßY 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 Cagle 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 for 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 SEVAJEE,
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 •
tara 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 wils effected with the consent of the
authorities of the town, and without a blow being struck
" The whole of the troops have disembarked since 111*
morning,
thaen
Rear-Admiral
elanding
commandingof thethe squadronmilitary Stores.
Signed,
telegraphicB:liageAtdnuietrcselderacryaiedaatnfiy,,
o'clock P.M., to the following effect:—
. MARSEILLES, APRIL 28, 2 o'CLocx,
"4 GENERAL ORDINOT TO. THE MINISTER AT WAR.
." CIVI rA VECCHIA, Aram 25.
We are masters of Civita Vecchia without. striking a
blow. The authorities offered no resistance; the inhabitants
and ational Guard receive us with acclamation.'
The National Assembly passed the budget of the