The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

and desperate conflict—would arise, that could only
terminate in the total destruction of one of the belli-
gerent parties. There could be no peace until either
the invaders were expelled from the Eastern clime, or
they ruled without dispute over a depopulated territory,
the very sources of their wealth and power being in-
volved in the general destruction. They might, indeed,
possibly " make a desert and call it peace," but would
that answer their purposes? Would it meet the
wishes of even the most grasping director ? We be-
lieve not. The process of " absorption" must be
gradual. The resources of the Company, enormous
as they are, would not be adequate to so bold and
unscrupulous a line of policy. And if the interroga-
tions suggested by Ringo° BAroJu be, pressed, the
answers must necessarily be in the negative, and the
supposed intention solemnly and emphatically denied.
But if this should be the case, will it not deprive them
of many opportunities of aggrandizement, and will
it not exhibit their conduct to the unfortunate TRIM..
BUKJEE RAJA in the most invidious light? If they
are prepared to avow their intention of not recognizing
any " act of adoption," the consequences will indeed
be of the most fearful character. If, on the other
hand, they declare their determination to adhere to
treaties, and to acknowledge the hitherto unquestioned
privilege of the native princes and chiefs, how can
they justify their exclusion of TRIMUUSJEE RAJA ?
They are thus tossed on the horns of a very unplea-
sant dilemma, from which they cannot escape under
any circumstances. They must either acknowledge
their past injustice, and repair the grievous wrongs
they have inflicted, or brave results at which even the
boldei.t may shudder. The difficulty is manifest—
palpable even to the meanest capacity. Hence the
indignation at the audacious attempt of the indefa-
tigable Valeeel, which has armed him with a new
weapon which even the most " cunning of fence''
among them can scarcely resist. Hence the attempt
to meet reason and argument with contumely and
reproach, and to silence a formidable opponent
by the combined force of ridicule and of threats. All,
hewever, is in vain ; there is no escape or subterfuge
open, they must submit to one of the alternatives,
and either will be equally distasteful to the potentates
of Leadenhall-street.
We can easily understand the anxiety of the Court
of Directors to cushion all inquiry into the case of
the late Raja of SATTARA. There are, perhaps, no
principles more deeply implanted in English hearts
than the love of equity and justice, the hatred of
tyranny and oppression in any form and under any
pretext whatever. The " trial by jury" is justly
regarded as the palladium of oer liberties. Un
der that glorious institution the humblest citi-
zen cannot be condemned, or in any manner
iajured either in person or in property, without
ha..ing been confronted face to face with his
accusers—without hearing all that could be alleged
against him, and being fully heard in his own
defence. The privilege of which we are so justly
jealous ourselves we should be prepared to accord
to all who u-ay be brought into connexion with
us. The mission of RUNGO BAPOJBE is to implore
—to demand—;hat we should not he forgetful of
the Divine precept, which ordsins teat we should
do unto others as we would they should de unto
us." He has a double duty imposed on him—to vindicate
the memory of the departed, and to reinstate the living
in his unquestionable rights. All he asks for or
would accept is a stringent and searching investiga-
tion before an unprejudiced tribunal. He asserts the
otal groundlessness of the frivolous and absurd
charges that were preferred against his deceased
master; he loudly proclaims the infamous means by
which the trumpery accusations were sustained before
the mock tribunal assembled for the trial of a sove-
reign Prince. He declares the motive by which the
Company were actuated, " that it was for the purpose
of taking the RAJA'S country," and he demurs to
a jurisdiction in which the same persons fill the
somewhat anomalous positions of judges, prosecutors,
and parties to profit by the conviction of the accused.
The British nation will, when the case is fairly
brought before them, acknowledge the justice and
propriety of the demand. The voice of public opinion
will at length be heard in its irresistible force. The
patronage of Leadenhall-street cannot be permitted
to impede the course of national justice, which must
continue clear and unpolluted.
If the Members of the present Parliament remain
insensible to the prayers of the oppressed, their sue•
cessors may happily prove less obdurate. They
must again appeal, and at no distant period, to
their respective constituencies, and questions may be
addressed to them during their canvass and on the
hustings which it will be difficult, indeed, to answer.
The Directors will then learn that their authority,
although great, is not altogether despotic ; that there
is a tribunal which, even in the plenitude of their
power, they must respect; that they are but the trus-
tees of the British nation, and that they must act
with justice and moderation towards all, so as to
consolidate the British strength inlndia, and toregain
the good opinion of the natives which they had for-
merly merited, but which they have greatly impaired,
if not altogether forfeited, by recent transactions,
more especially by their conduct towards the cruelly
persecuted and deeply injured Raja of SATTARA.

Mr. MATTHEW SOULSITY, whose letter appeared
in our impression of Saturday last, along with the
admirable communication of Archdeacon KEATING,
has given a very interesting sketch of the rise and
progress of the savings'-bank system in this country,
and an accurate view of the existing state of the law
on the subject. It is exceedingly desirable that no
mistake should be suffered to exist on a point of such
vital importance to the working classes—that they
should clearly and distinctly understand the nature of
the security on which they are about to invest the
savings of their hardly-earned wages, to form a pro.
vision for their declining years. This knowledge is
he more essential, as it will not only prevent the
lisastrous consequences of any undue panic among
the depositors of the several branch establishments
throughout the kingdom, by which a run might be
occasioned, but will at the same time point out exist.
ing defects, and indicate the nature of the remedy
that must be provided with the least possible delay.
It is true, then, as our esteemed correspondent
states, that depositors possess the security of Govern-
ment in a certain sense, that is to say, for all such
SUMS as may be invested with the Commissioners
for the Reduction of the National Debt, pursuant to
the several statutes in such case made and provided.
Ss all sums lodged in the several branch banks
should be so invested, a small balance only being
retained in hand to answer any unexpected demand,
it is obvious that, so long as the national faith remains
inviolate the great body of the capital of the savings'.
banks, vested in the public funds, must be per-
fectly safe. But the nation is only responsible
for the money actually invested, and is in
no degree liable for any losses that may
be sustained by the fraud or defalcation of any officer
or party connected with the management of the local
establishments ; the only risk incurred by the depo-
sitor is in the transmission of his money from the
clerk of the:savings' bank, to whom he pays it,
through the treasurer and trustees, to the Bank of
England, and also in the application of the sums that
tnay be drawn out of the public funds by the trustees.
If the affairs of each branch be judicieusly conducted,
and that a stringent investigation into the state of the
assets and liabilities should take 'place periodically,
little, if any, danger can arise of loss to the parties
interested. It is only when a blind and implicit
confidence is reposed in some actuary, manager, or
other officer connected with the institution, and the
ordinary precautions are dispensed with, in his
favour, that fraud to any considerable extent can take
place. There must, in fact, be gross and
culpable negligence on the part of the trustees,
and according to every principle of justice
and equity the parties who voluntarily under-
take important duties, in the proper and efficient
discharge of which so large a body of their fellow-
subjects are deeply interested without any intention
of giving themselves any trouble, should be respon-
sible for the untoward results of their own lathes and
want of caution. And such, in fact, was the state of
the law up to the year 1844, when an Act was
brought in by Mr. GOULHURN, the then Chancellor of
the Exchequer (7 and 8 Victoria, c. 83), by which,
among other things, it was provided—

savings' bank
" That no trustee or manager of any
shall be liable to make good any deficiency which may
hereafter arise in the funds of any smings'
bank unless such persons shall have respectively
declared, under their hands, and deposited with

the Commissioners for tee Reduction of the National
Debt, that they are is illing so to be answerable, and it shall
be lawful for each of such persons, or for such perzons
collectively, to limit his or their responsibility to etch
sum as shall be spaified in any such instrument, pro-
vidd always that the trustee and manager of any such
institution shall be, and is hereby declared to be per-
sz.nally responsible, and liable for all moneys actually
received by him, on account of, or to, and for the use of
such institution, and not paid over or disposed of in the
manner directed by the rules of the said institution."
By this most unwise and improvident enactment
every trustee, was freed from all responsibility, except
for such sums as may have actuallly " been received by
himself in person for the use of the institution,"
and not paid over and disposed of according to its
rules; and it is impossible to fasten any trustee with
personal liability, no matter how gross, or how wilful
might be his neglect of duty; nay, although he had
certified under his hand accounts to be true, the most
trifling examination of which must have convinced
him of their inaccuracy. This, then, is the great
danger to be guarded against. The enormous frauds
carried on at Rochdale through a long series of
years—frauds that were never brought to light until
after the death of the delinquent—and also at Kil-
kenny and Tralee, in which latter case the criminal
was most justly convicted and sentenced to trans-
portation for fourteen years, were tke natural results
of the absence of responsibility on the part of the
trustees, and their consequent carelessness.
In case that there should be a swindling
officer the unfortunate depositors are wholly at his
mercy, and they aro dependent on the honour of
be trustees to protect them from the total loss of
he accumulations of their lives.

In the cases that have already occurred in this
country, at St. Albans and Northampton, the
trustees acted in a manner worthy of English gentle-
men, of men of honour and integrity. They made up
the deficiencies from their private funds, and no de,
positor was permitted to lose a single shilling. We
trust that the gentlemen of Rochdale will behave in
a similar manner. Had the trustees adopted the
mere ordinary precauticns that every man would take
with respect to his own private affairs, the frauds

could not have remained so long undiscovered, or have
been carried to so grievous an extent. It is
said that the defAcations amount to no less
than from 45,C00/. to 70,0001. sterling, that
they have been spread over many years, and
that they were concealed by means of a double set of
books, in one of which he entered the sums which he
handed over to the treasurer, and in the other those
which he appropriated to his own private use. How
loose must have been the system of business under
which such a course could have been pursued for at
le'ast ten consecutive years without detection What
comparison of assets and liabilities could have taken
place during that period ? Did any searching
inquiry, of any, and what nature or kind, take
place? The depositors and the public gene.
rally—all who are interested in the confirm
once of the system, are entitled to full and
satisfactory answers. The question nfeut be
evaded, and we doubt not that it will appear that
the trustees are at least moraly liable for the conse-
quences of their own fatal negligence and over-
weening confidence in the integrity of Mr. GEORGE
llANvoirrn. If such be the case, they will of course
act as honest men, and save the innocent depositors
harmless. Under any circumstances, the Act of 1844
must be modified, and trustees of savings' banks mils'
be rendered responsible (as all other men are by law)
for the consequences of their own wilful neglect and
default.