The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-01 00:00:00

trtninff

LONDON, TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1847.

Considerable interest is attached to the dispatches
received from Bombay, from the circumstance of
their containing the announcement of the rumoured
return homewards of Lord HARDINGE in October
next, and the consequent elevation of the hero of
Aleeanee, Sir CHARLES NAPIER, to the Corn-
mander-in-Chiefship on the expiration of Lord
GouGu's term of five years' service, on
the Bth of March, 1848. It is needless
to remark that such an appointment would be most
judicious, and most calculated to enhance the position

of our Oriental forces, and to sustain the distinguished

character already acquired by the regular and Se-
poy troops, both in regard to discipline and bravery•
Besides the changes in anticipation, there are others
that have already taken place, such, for example, as
the departure of Sir JOHN LITTLER from Lahore to

Jullundur. The monetary transactions at Bunnoo
and Tauk appear to have been carried to a satisfac-
tory settlement by the intervention of Lieutenant
EDWARDS, and there is now little prospect of the
recurrence of the involvements formerly prevalent at
Hazereh. While excitement and insubordination
still prevail in the dominions of the Nizam, and
likewise at Lucknow, Goomsoor has happily lapsed
into quiescence.

Various occurrences have, in the midst of the ge-
neral tranquillity', agitated the public mind with ap •

preheniions. Of these, perhaps, the most singular

arose from the descent of the armaments of Candahar
through the Bolan Pass. After pocketing some-
where about thirty-five thousand pounds sterling, by
way of tribute, these formidable visitors retired by
the road taken upon their advent without creating
any disturbances whatever. Another source of
anxiety has been the pillage recently com-
mitted in the Rajpootana states, and the
remaining cause, the systematic plundering effected
by an organized body of promoters of larceny, very
expressively termed the "Bombay Bunder Gang."
Despite these petty reasons for disquietude, however,

it is unquestionable that our Asiatic possessions have
been latterly blessed with an almost unparalleled
duration of peace. From peace, be it also remem-
bered, those possessions can alone hope to secure the
happiness of the population and the full development
of the national resources. Peace is likewise the surety
of the permanence of British influence in the sur-

rounding territories, besides being the readiest means

of ensuring the extension of civilisation among a bar-

barous race, and the ultimate obliteration of an idola-

trous creed by the divine and benign principles incul-
cated by Christianity.

The political catechism last evening, in the
House of Commons, in reference to the present
posture of affairs in Portugal ran to an unusual
length. Nor is this to be wondered at. The
publication in the French papers of the protocol,
signed in London on the 21st ult. by the repre-
sentatives of Great Britain, France, Spain, and
Portugal, and which appeared in the English papers
yesterday, rendered it an imperative duty upon
those who, as far as their own private information
and judgment could lead them, considered our policy
in regard to Portugal to be objectionable, to press
he Government in every way to afford them the 1
earliest opportunity of discussing this most important
question in the House of Commons. Had this pro-
tocol not been published, it would have been open to
our Executive, in accordance with established prece-
dents, to have delayed the production of any official
documents touching the vexata quastio till their views
had been consummated, or pending any negotiations
which were likely to spring afresh from the opera-
tions they had determined upon adopting for termi-
nating the internecine war in Portugal. As a general
rule such a course is entitled to approval, and, ordi-
narily, Parliament has always been contented, at the
were dictum of the Minister that it would be detri-
mevtal to the public service, not to urge prematurely
the production of written or oral communications of
transactions involving the chances of war. Were this
practice not to be suffered to prevail, the energy which
it is oftentimes so necessary to display in the conduc
of international atZairs would be seriously compro.
raised.

There are many matters that would entirely fail
of successful prosecution without the advantage of
temporary secresy, and which can only be main-
tained by confining the conduct of them to a very
limited number of the sworn and responsible advisers
of the Crown. In the case before us the matter is
altogether diLTerent. Lord PAL3IERSTON admits the
protocol, as transmitted to us through the French
journals, to be a faithful translation, and that instru-
ment France, and
junta establishes she :lhe. fact that An armed inter-
vention has
doubt but that, bga : and
been 'concerted between ourselves,
Spain, in order to resist the
1 between the
traordinary a maurn%rthe.
SOVEREIGN by whom
been so insanely infringed, there eaa be little
powers,
virtue of thin united agsTeement
people, who have in .8,3 ex'
their constitutional
the upper hand eve: a
may
involved in
coarnestiatlutional rights have
increased confusion, and, it
history tells
bloodshed.
`When it is borne in mind how muych be, bloodshed. prize the
only realised them for
blessings of liberty, and how our own
sistance to the acts and
Us by a
us that our ancestors o,
it is evident that Z;u,glisb-
stern and patriotic re,
galling sway of despotismt

Little intelligence of importance reaches us by the
Overland Bombay Mail, and that very paucity of
facts is consolatory, inasmuch as it is an assurance
that our Oriental possessions and the adjacent territo-
ries still continue in an unusual state of tranquillity.
As in Europe, the weather in the Asiatic countries is
of remarkable magnificence, and promises not merely
an
.abundant, but a very forward crop. In Sinde an
extraordinary necessity has been rendered apparent
by the propitious character of the climate, namely, it
has been found since our occupation of that splendid
province, that its soil, though naturally most prolific,
is in a great measure unproductive, from the total lack
of irrigation. A necessity of this description, how-
ever, is less calculated to baffle the enterprise of agri-
culturists than any inherent poverty in the land, see-
ing that the application of a comparatively trifling
amount of ingenuity will remove the difficulty which
at present retards vegetation. Much has undoubt-
edly been accomplished already for the purpose of
turning Sinde to our advantage since its original
conquest, but much—very much—of a physical and
of a moral kind remains to be done to direct the
treasures of the land in such a channel as may con-
duct them to the treasury-chests of the Anglo-
Indian Government. In spite of calumny and
misrepresentation,this truth is at length being recog-
nised, and measures are being adopted one after
another to elicit the innate wealth of our newly-ac-
quired possessions. If the same rational course be
pursued for only a reasonable period the conse-
quences must be most beneficial to ourselves, and
must likewise vindicate the judgment and discernment
of Sir CHARLES NAPIER, both as a puissant captain
and as a wise administrator. Among other arrange-
ments recently made for the improvement of Sinde,
we observed that a sum of five thousand pounds has
been appropriated by the Government for the erec-
tion ofa church at Kurrachee ; and besides this a grant
of an additional six hundred pounds, subscribed par •
tially by Government and partially by individual
patrons, is to be collected for the establishment of
seminaries at Hyderabad. Having done thus much
For the moral and intellectual tuition of the inha-
bitants of Sinde, surely it is but reasonable to ex-
pect that something will be done for the irrigation of
the fruitful but parched soil of the fields of Sinde.
Government and individual enterprise must undoubt-
edly be directed in this quarter, considering that
that enterprise would necessarily be mutually pro-
fitable.