The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1841.

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF T E his sway. At last, in the latter end of the year 1835, I known to be too foul, contemptible, and unsubstantial, to
CASE OF THE RAJA OF SATT,',':.I
' years the date of his elevation to the ; he made the subject of a moment's inqpiry on the part
(From the ./3/ /tisk Indian Advocate of Se t. l. teen
one, sixteen troll, signing ✓of the treaty, and four- of those who are sworn to maintain the ilitegrity of her
from the period when he assumed the entire rue- Majesty's doininions, and to brin:; to justice al!, whoen-
It is my object to call your attention to a narrative of nagement of the affairs of his kingdom the Court of soever they may be, who meditate the dismemberment or
facts, connected with the dethronement of an Indian Directors, desirous of bestowing upon him the highest i ruin of her empire.
prince, the confiscation of his property, and the banish- and most gratifying mark of their admiration and respect, I The third and last charge against the Raja is in perfect
msnt of his person to a distance of 800 miles from the resolved that he should be presented with a sword, and keeping with the two I have already exposed. It is set
principality over which he ruled. The case lam about at the same time with ti suitable letter. In the letter, forth that the Raja, with the same design of overthrow-
to. .
.hring before you is important in every aspect in which received the signature of every one of the twenty- ing the English, intrigued with the ex-Raja of Nagpore.
hichit can be viewed. Important—if regard be had four Directors, they complimented the Raja upon the And who, pray, is he? Why, at the time, a wretched
to the person who now complains of unjust and un- exemplary fulfilment of the duties of his elevated situa- fugitive ; subsisting on the bounty of the Raja of Jud-
* English treatment at the hands of the British Indian tion ; they declared that the whole course of his con- pore ; a dethroned Prince, residing in obscurity, with-
Government. That person is a Hindoo of high birth ; duct reflected the highest credit on his character—that out money and without friends ; state prisoner in-
-I!_decendant from one of the most renowned among In- he had won their unqualified approbation—that his closed within a court-yard, twenty feet by twelve. 'Yet.
!thin warriors: therepresentative of the Sevajee, who, liberality in executing, at his own cost, various public with this poor spectre of a pauper Prince, the Raja of
in the middle of the seventeenth century, succeeded in works of great utility, had justly raised his reputation Sattara is charged with conspiracy, for the purpose of
bursting the thraldom of the Mogul power, ami became in [the eyes of the Princes and people of India ; and overthrowing the colossal power of the British in India ;
the founder of the powerful and wide-spread empire of the that, therefore, they had sent him a present of a sword and the overwhelming proof, at once of guilt and danger
Mahrattas. The successor of this great man has recently in estimation of their high admiration and high esteem. is, that the ex-Raja of Nagpore sent the Raja of. Sat-
been hurled from his throne in the sight of all India, and Such was the Raja of Sattara in 1835. The sword and tara a complimentary letter, and that the Raja of Sattara
appeals from the power, and alleged injustice of those letter went out in 1836, but never reached the Prince. sent the ex-Raja of Nagpore a pair of shoes!
who have deposed him, to the people in whose name the Before they arrived he had incurred the displeasure of So much for the charges. Now for the use made of
deed has been done. The case is important—if you con- the Bombay Government, and engines were already at them, by men who are citizens of a State, in which the
nett it with the past history of British India, and view it work to effect his ruin. Unhappily, they succeeded, and meanest person, accused of the most petty of offmce,
as another illustration of the grasping policy of the rulers this exemplary Prince is now—the ex-Raja of Sattara. may not be condemned unheard Did they call on the
of that country ; who, from the condition of lowly mer- We proceed to the story of his downfal—a story reflect- Raja for explanation? No, Did they send him copies
6
chants, soliciting, with bated breath, permission to ex- ing the deepest and most indelible disgrace upon all the of the charges brought against him? No. Did the
change commodities with the subjects of the Mogul, parties concerned in effecting it. tell him who were his accusers, and confront him with
have risen, by the conquest of the sword, to be the lords- The treaty which placed the Raja on the throne, se- them? No. What, then, did they. do? They, made up
paramount of India ; and claim the right of dethroning, cured to him the absolute sovereignty over certain their minds that he was guilty. The evidence was so
at their pleasure, the hereditary occupants of oriental estates, or jagheers, as they are in India called, which, clear, so satisfactory, so complete, so irresistible, that it
thrones. The case of the Baja is but a late act, in a on the death of their then occupants, were to lapse would have been a waste of justice to call up the Raja to
long career of bold and often guilty ambition, stretching to the Raja of Sattara. It may be proper to ob- rebut it, or even to let him know what it was. What
over more than half a century. The case before us is serve, that it is the practice in India to reward services mattered it that he felt himself innocent, if they believed
important, as indicating the fate which awaits the rendered to the State, by the bestowment of jagheers, or him to be guilty! What need of putting the Raja to the
still remaining States of India which, to use the certain portions of territory,
_over which the parties to trouble defending himself, when he is already tried,

words of the- rate Governor of Bombay, who deposed
the Raji, seems doomed, the whole of them, " to
fall, at no distant day, into the vortex of British
power." The case is a most important one, when
viewed in connection with its natural and inevitable
• effects upon the minds of the natives of India. It reveals
• the true source of our present danger—a danger grow-
ing, not out of the designs of foreign foes, but out of
the suspicion, the jealousy, and the hatred, which
are begotten by our continued acts of egression and
usurpation. It is not possible that the enlightened naives
of India can witness our almost daily encroachments upon
territory which we have declared to be sacred to the pos-
session of others, without being reminded of the near ap-
proach of their own doom, and without cherishing a desire,
if possible, to avert it, by inviting the interposition of some
power that shall humble the pride and prostrate the
might of their oppressors, and prove milder in its rule
over th e dominion it may snatch from us. Neither is it
to be e xpected that those whom we have already cast
down, and utterly spoiled both of their ancient preroga-
tives and ancestorial rights, can entertain any other than
hostile feelings, however those feelings may be disguised,
against those by whom they have been subjugated and
bereft. Let those who measure with complacency and
patriotic exultation the length and breadth of our
/astern territory; and swell the number of the Queen's
subjects by adding the hundred millions of India, look
well to the elements of which this mighty mass is com-
posed. Prostrate they may be, and are • but, beneath
the ruins of the empires we have razed, there are smoul-
dering fires of inextinguishable hatred, which some
unlucky wind may blow into a flame which may burn
to our destruction. The present case will be found
important----as exhibiting the true character of the
home Government of India. It will take us to the coun-
cils of the India House and the Board of Control, and
will show us to what extent those who have been wronged
abroad are justified in expecting sympathy and redress
from the authorities at home. And, finally, the case
before us will prove the absolute necessity which exists
for the people of this country becoming better acquainted
wi,`b the stltte of Indian affairs, with their own solemn
and tremendous responsibilities, and with the power,
which they may constitutionally exercise, to check the
progress of ec'il government, and save, from ultimate
ruin or alienation, the empire they have acquired. It
may be proper here to premise, that exclusive of those
portions of India which are considered and denominated
British territory, there are upwards of thirty native
States, the surviving fragments of fallen dynasties, which
ha ve relinquished political relations with one another,
Anti are connected with the British Government by
treaties of various kinds.. Sattara, the state of which I
- • am about to speak this evening, is in alliance with us by
•• a treaty, which guarantees the protection of the British
Government, and gives to that Government the right,
within certain defined limits, of controlling the internal
affairs of the principality. The territory of Sattara; at the
"present time, extends over a surface of about 7,800 square
runes, and yields a revenue of about 180,0001. sterling
per annum. Sattara became the capital of the Mahratta
empire in the year 1698, and has ever since remained
the residence of the Mahratta Princes. The descendants
of Sevajee, the founder of the empire, and a man of in-
feri or religious caste among the Hindoos, continued to
exec rise sovereign sway until 1749, when the Brahmin
minister obtained a deed, empowering him, as Peshwa,
or Pr ime Minister, to exercise the sole power in the
State. In this he was supported by the Mahratta Chiefs,
on cond'ition that a suitable allowance was made for the
descendavta of the Royal house ; and, from that period,
the Peshwk‘s, in regular succession, were considered as
'the actual vilers, while the nominal Princes resided in
the city of Sattara. These Princes, however, were accus-
. tome•d to receive the homage, respect, and reverence of
all clAsses. They were called upon to confirm all suc-
cessions to great offices of State ; nor was any war ever
engage.,l in without the sanction of the Raja.
At th,' commencement of the Mahratta war in 1817,
• the Raja Sattara, recently dethroned, was a state pri-
soner in th ci hands of Bajee Rao, the then Peshwa ; and,
on the conquest of the Mahratta empire, which was
completed on the 20th of February, 1818, the power of
the Peshwa wa s entirely annihilated, and the British
Government prot.‘.`'eded to carry into effect the terms of
a previous procll.,,lation to the Mshratta people and
chieftains, that the Raja, on being released, should be
placed at the head an independent Sovereignty, of
such an extent as my,h,t maintain him and his family in
comfort and dignity. 6s.n the 20th of May the Raja
made his public entry Sattara, escorted by the
British troops and most of dn.' officers, and was formally
placed upon ;he gadi (or throb. e) in full durbar. The
motive avowed by the Governo."-General of India in
thus establishing the Raja on the ti-one of his ancestors,
with a limited territory, was to afford an honourable
maintenance to the representative of the ancient Princes
of the country, and to establish among the blahrattas a
counterpoise to the remaining influence of the former
Brahmin Go% ernment. On the 25th of September,
1819, a treaty a•-as concluded with the Raja' of Sattara,
by which the British Government ceded to hia Highness,
his heirs and suceea3ors, in perpetual sovereignty, certain
districts specified in lti schedule annexed. This territory
was to be held in subo,-clinate co-operation to the British
Government, and the Raja to be guided in all matters by
• the British political agoat or resident at his Highness%
Court.
Having now seen the li'aja placed on his throne--the
throne secured to him by soleinv treaty, ratified, sealed,
and deliVered—let us look back foe a moment to the still
earlier history of this interesting :Prince. His father
. had died in the year 1808, leaving two sons, himself,
then four years old, and his brother, Appa Sahib, now
biz successor, and then an infant in arms. 'Their mother
Wrai a woman of high family, of great spirit, a,ad of con-
siderable natural talent. • She was proud of her olevated
ran.k, devoted to the interests of her children, a hater of
the :3rahmins, who had usurped the power originallY
wieln`ed by the Mahratta Princes, and was bent on giving
her sons an education which should render them, in some
respac,`.s, equal to cope with the monopolized learning of
the prs'esthood. She, besides, carefully instilled into
their minds the dislike which she herself cherished to
to the who.le race ; a:-4d, as will be seen in the sequel,
the ex• Rai, was not slow to profit by her lessons. It
. had been the' policy of the Brahmins to prevent the
Sattara Prince. 4 from being taught to read and write, and
to confine their , accomplishments chiefly to skill in horse-
' manship and the ,iise of the bow. The Dowager, how-
ever, contrived to h aye her sons instructed in letters, after
' midnight, while thei. r attendants slept ; and the result was,
that they were both .tolerably educated before they were
released from the Pe sh:lwa's power. The conduct of the
Raja, when placed on his throne, evinced so much grati-
tude and fidelity to til'e ; so much talent and
aptitude for public business ; eo much enlightened libe-
rality and zeal for the .interests of his people, that, in
three years from the time of his ii:stallation, the entire
management of the principality was placed in his hands,
and the designation of PoLitical Agent,, to whose advice
he had been required to yi ?.1d submission, was changed
to that of Political Resident, whose advice was only to
be enforced, when the Raja's conduct was likely to leadf
to inconvenience or injustice, Or to a positive breach od
the treaty. Left to himself, he ,displayed a laudable, nh ,
in India, extraordinary desire for the education of t e
eople. He was most anxious to 5 t the Mahrattasfor
business, that they might supply the places hitherto
Oiled by the Brahmins. For his oWn connexions, and
the sons of the great officer of his government, he set
Mutat a suite of rooms, in his own palacna, as a college.
On 0.-te occasion, when it was deemed necessary to ascer-
tain what was the state of education in Setara, a town
containing 10,.000 souls, it was found that it contained
no fewer :hanforty schools. He manifested :he deepest
respect for the advice of those who had placed him on his
tkrone, and superin!ended his early administration ; and
I;eigidly fulfilled the parting promise, which he gave to
Captain Grant Duff, the Political Agent, on his quitting
Sattara, for England, in 1823, that he would never depart
irom the laws established for him by that gentleman, and
confirmed by the Hon. Mountstuart Elph;nstone. Such
I',the testimony borne to the virtues and fidelity of this
ks"lee, beore the Court of Proprietors, on the 15th of
s._ t month, Sy Major-General Brig, who immediately
tt`e_ceeded Caiatain Grant Duff, and was for four yL•airs
me Political Resident at the Raja's Court. Nor was c.,!'
on .
Pla the subject of education alone, that the Raja dis-
yed his zeal for the welfare and improvement of his
People, and his fitness to rule over the portion of his an-
cestors, . .
dominions confo'red upon him. He made Sat-
tare,
eefrom__.. being a small a'td insignificant_ place, a hand-
populous town. He planned and. laid out
broad '"a
stveet •
rater s in every direction. lie supplied the want
hies,a,by an aqueduct, brought from the neighbouring
ii" a
wdetistance of two miles ; and with so much skill,
ntexam.l•known civil engineer ir.
as. perfectl workthis country, who saw
Lnetiw tiled the declared that
while in pre,aress,
been disa, - . astonished at the
As the -science which had
knyoediin every part of its constrtiCtion, whether
discovering awaV,ge o,f hydraulics, or the ingenuity in
small streamsr of `eauing to the main trunk, ihe several
and he vearZ,alter which were conducted Into it ;
cement which „.as with him the recipe for forming
also laid out large sums the
bridges, and set aside in in laying the pipes. The
his revenues, forin the formation of roads and
thatether large sums, annually, out of
„Cattara, as he appeared (.12urP"'. Such was the Raja of
4). )(Anted to watch his conduct, in the eyes of the men
1-4 e. ;ved the lavish praises ut.'t• From year to year he
and ties at
to year he the Bombay Government,
authorts ties at home upo was complimented by the
the wisdom and beneficence of

__— ~t territory, over wit.... ......
be rewarded are empowed, during their lives, to collect
the revenue. These jagheers stand in the place of pen-
sions. The sovereignty over several such jagheers was
secured to the Raja of Sattara, by the same treaty which
placed him on the throne. If any power was competent
to deprive him of these jagheers, the same power was
competent to take from him his entire dominion. It be-
came a matter of the utmost importance, therefore, that
the Raja should assert his right in this matter, and claim
the fulfilment of the treaty. He did so, and was evaded.
He offered to submit the point in dispute to Mr. Elphin-
stone, the framer of the treaty, then in England, and
gave his word that he would abide by Mr. Elphinstone's
decision, whatever it might be. This was never done.
He prayed that the matter might be referred home for
the opinion of the Court of Directors. This was
promised, but never performed. The disagreement
about the jagheers took place in 1832 an 1833.
After the promise of the Bombay Government that the
subject should be submitted to the Court of Directors,
the Raja rested for some time contented ; but, at the end
of three years, he discovered that he had been deceived
—that no reference of his ease had_ been made to the
home authorities. He was displeased—he lost his con-
fidence in the Bombay Government—he became dis-
quieted in his mind, and declared he could not take his
food, so deeply had the conduct of the local authorities
affected him. He announced his intention of sending
agents to this country to represent his case, and to
claim the fulfilment of the treaty. This openly avowed
intention of appeal, the Bombay Government construed
into an infraction of the treaty, and, still more, into an
insult to themselves ; and they retaliated, by rejecting
the Raja's customary annual present and letter,. thus
breaking off all amicable relations with him. They also
withheld the sword and the Directors' letter. Let me
here observe, that these alleged infractions of the treaty
on the part of the Company, in the matter of the
jagheers, are now admitted. Mr. Elphinstone, who was
always at hand to be appealed to, and whose word would
have settled the point at once, has never been appealed
to. Lord Clare, the Governor of Bombay at the time of
the dispute, and who was at first inclined to sanction the
resumption of the jagheers, has since confessed that he
was wrong, and the Raja right. The treaty has again
and again been produced in the presence of' the Directors;
and the three successive Residents at the Rajah's Court,
Generals Robertson. Briggs, and Lodwick, have all de-
clared their unqualified opinion in favour of the entire
justice of the Raja's claims. His right to appeal to the
home authorities, by means oC Vakeels or native agents,
has never been disputed in'open Court. The right is
undoubted ; but it suited the purpose of the wholesale
violators of treaties in India, to pervert a re3pectful ap-
plication to the superior authorities in England, into a
breach of treaty. The toss of the favour and good
opinion of the Bombay Government was the signal for
the rising of a host of enemies of the Raja, who found
the local authorities but too willing to listen to every ac-
cusation they could invent. The first charge, gravely
preferred against him, was that of seeking to corrupt two
native officers in the service of the British Government.
But, before I proceed, I must remind you of what I have
already informed you. The Throne of the Raja, who is
a Mahratta, had been raised upon the ruin of the
Peshwa, who was a Brahmin. The Raja had been guided
for years by a policy, which led him to adopt every
legitimate means of destroying the influence of the
Brahmins, and of raising the intellectual standard
and political importance of the Mahrattas. He had,
despite of all opposition and all denunciation, prose-
secuted the work of educating the mass of the people ;
and he had filled up the measure of his offences, in the
eyes of the Hindoo priests, by refusing to appoint to the
office of Prime Minister a talented Brahmin, who, from
the commencement of his reign, and before, had aspired
to that high situation. He had, therefore, many power-
ful, malignant, and unscrupulous foes, who, though awed
and held in fear during the period that the Raja was
the favoured child of the Bombay Government, took
immediate advantage of his quarrel with the British
authorities, and determined to make it subserve the ends
of their baffled ambition, their deep hatred, and their
inextinguishabl revenge. Accordingly, Untagee (one of
the most profligate of Brahmins) accused the Raja of
tampering with the allegiance of two of the native offi-
cers, or soobadars. This charge was first gone into
before a Commission sent up to Sattara, to try the Raja
at his own capital, but behind his back. The Commis-
sion consisted of one of the Secretaries of the Bombay
Government, a Colonel in the British army, and the
Resident at the Raja's Court, General Lodwick. The
last-named gentleman was appointed the president of the
Commission, and I heard him the other day declare in
open Court, that the originator of the plot avowed him-
self actuated by revenge, and to be unworthy of belief ;
that while looking about for the means of revenging him-
self upon the Raja, heaven threw these soobadars in hi:
way. He said, too, that one of these soobadars declared
that, to promote the plot, he took an oath which he had
no intention to keep ; and General Lodwick also openly
stated that the Commissioners, with whom he was asso-
ciated, would not allow these criminators of the Raja to
be cross-examined ; although their oral testimony was
in many important particulars irreconcilable with their
previous depositions.
A second charge was brought forward—that of con-
spiring with Don Manoel de Portugal, the Viceroy of a
petty, poverty-stricken, powerless Portuguese settle-
ment, on the southern confines of the Sattara terri-
tory, some 200 miles below Bombay ; a conspiracy
to raise 30,000 troops in Europe, bring them to India,
and, with this splendid army, to drive the English for
ever out of Hindustan ! The witnesses brought forward
to support this monstrous, wicked, and contemptibly ridi-
culous charge .were almost to a man Brahmins. Several
among them were gang robbers, whom the Bombay
Government pardoned. The precious evidence of a
written character, consisted of a bundle of Mahratta and
Portuguese letters, found in pawn with an obseure in-
habitant of tin obscure village in the Goa territory, and
purporting to have belonged to two Brahmins, who had
died tea months before, and are declared to have been
the agents of the Raja of Sattara ; while it is ad-
mitted that thOe same persons had for years been
in the service of it man who is regarded as the
Pope of the Brahmins, !known by the name of the
Swainee of Sunkeshwar, and a known- enemy of the
Raja. These documents, which have been pronounced
satisfactory evidence of the Raja's guilty intentions, and
which, if genuine, might have made their possessors
rich for ever, were purchased by the British Govern-
ment for the astounding sum of forty pounds sterling.
The Portuguese papers thus found, and affirmed to be
signed by Don Manoal, have been declared by that
nobleman to be utter forgeries, and his alleged corres-
pondence with the Raja a gross fabrication and false-
hood. But you will naturally suppose that the British
authorities, both in India and at home, took the earliest
opportunity of calling upon our ancient ally, the Portu-
guese Government, to explain the conduct of the high
functionary thus directly implicated in a charge of che-
rishing, through twelve years, the design of subverting the
British power in India. How great will be your surprise
when I tell you that, while pretending to hold the proof of the
Viceroy's guilt under his own hand and seal, there has
not been, that I am aware, down to this hour, the
slightest reference made to the subject in any correspon-
dence between the British Government and the Govern-
ment of Portugal. I am equally ignorant if there has
ever been any correspondence on the subject between
any person connected with the Exedutive of the East
India Company and the Viceroy himself. But there has
been between that ex-Viceroy and other parties. A
friend of the Raja proceeded in April last to Lisbon,
where Don Manoel now resides, and fills a high situation
in the household of the reigning Queen. He took with
him a letter from Mr. Hume, who had expressed his de-
termination to bring the matter before Parliament.
Mr. Hume called upon the ex-Viceroy to give hill and
explicit snswers to the questions which he put, relative
to the crime said to have been by him committed. The
high-minded Nobleman went before the British. Consul
in Lisbon, and,, madenavi
at
gh the
receivedfollowing
a voluntarycom m u n andat
ion s, ol e m
dated solemn
declaration ,--
fthe British Parliament, re-
on the Bth instant, from the most illustrious Senhor
Joseph I-lume,
conspiracy
syaidthtaot
havethe contrivedßaj ah of
againstSatta r a , t
ha
et
and affirming that I was aware
.gritish power in In atrhya,t,fodrutrhi
during
sake
e
and pirach)laion3
iparteisnegnttodetthherocilleds ,
d.
of justice my
of the said cons
OP whatsoever, upon political sub-
had any correspOnde,,n7 f Sattara ; and that whatever
jests, with the said raja
honour, to feel it
t declare,necess
o to it, must be considered
whole of the time I governed Portuguese Asia, I never
documents may
entirely false. nand of the British
What is to be thought of the co
appear relating
They
Indian Government in this business? Prince, upon a charge
de-
throned a virtuous and benignant
preliminary
which they never took the most important. have
knowledge of
from the Minister of the British Crown all.
dl alliance
step to substantiate, and at the same time havo concealed
the alleged guilt of a Government in friendly
the' 3,r
Bitish
with us, It is not possible to believe the
• eness of the
wined the most distant idea of the genuineness _ .
Indian authorities, either at home or abroad, ever enter-
tained
would
authentici...y.,.t
as
correspondence which they took out of pawn..
.Anything
approaching to a conviction Pi 4,5
\
have laid them under the most spy M 4 ren)onsiDili Y't
e
loyal subjects, to bring the whole matter. PAP h
Queen's Ministers, that an immediate and rigl4 wiut9r.
might have been made into the facts of the case. Bee
no. The evidence that was considered abundantly suffi-
cient to warrant the dethronement of tbo RaPi was

convicted, and condemned? Sir Robert Grant, one of
the chief actors in this affair, having died, Sir James
Rivet Carnac, at the time a Director, was appointed Go-
vernor of Bombay in his place. On reaching India, be
drew out certain articles and a preamble, with which he
proceeded to Sattara, with a view of winding up the case
of the Raja, and as it has been stated by himself and his
friends, with the benevolent design of saving the Prince
from the consequences of his infatuation and guilty folly.
The preamble to the memorandum, which the Raja was
called upon to sign, contained an admission of his guilt.
The articles required him to pass an act of oblivion with
regard to his accusers—to yield a certain sum from his
treasury for the benefit of his worst enemies—and to put
away from him the persons in whose fidelity he could
alone repose. What reply did this Indian Prince make
to such a string of propositions, submitted -by a British
functionary, with the assurance that, if he agreed to
them, he should remain upon the throne, and be restored
to the confidence of the Government? He made an
answer worthy of the brightest hero of ancient or mo-
dern times ; an answer which places him at a sublime
height above the petty persecutors to whose arts he has
fallen a victim. His answer shall be given in the words
of Sir James Carnac, who has reported at full length his
interview with the Raja. Sir James, speaking of his ad-
dress to the Raja, an address intended to induce him to
agree to the terms of the amnesty, as it has been called,
says:—
" When I had concluded, he (the Raja) stated, that he
regarded me as his friend and well-wisher; asserted that
the accusations against him originated in the intrigues of
his enemies; that as long as the British Government en-
tertained the idea that he had cherished hostile designs
lie could agree to nothing, but this idea being removed,
he would agree to anything I proposed; that he would
consent to anything, except to abandon his religion, or
to acknowledge that lie had been our enemy."
A second and third interview took place with similar
results. The Raja persevered in his refusal to subscribe
to his own guilt, and thus sign away his honour, and put
it in the power of the British Government at any time
to publish him to tho world a self-admitted traitor. He
asked to be heard. He offered to lay aside whatever dig-
nity might stand in the way of an ordinary trial, and to
place himself before any honest tribunal. He offered to
relinquish his person, his government, his kingdom, into
the hands of the British, if they would grant him a fair
trial. A trial was sternly denied. He was already guilty
in the determination of the Bombay authorities, and
must submit to declare himself to be, what they had
undertaken to make him out to be, hether his con-
science accused him or not. But these functionaries had
to deal with a man whom they were incapable alike of
understanding or appreciating. Perhaps they reasoned
that he would do what, in like circumstances, they would
have been willing to do. They thought that, if they
balanced his nice and fastidious ideas of honour and self-
respect against a throne, and the continued protection of
the British Government, he would surely yield the for-
mer to secure the latter. But such views were far from
the mind of this noble man. He said plainly, " Gentle-
men, you mistake me altogether. I can relinquish a
throne, I can go into exile, I can see my kingdom given
to another, or absorbed into your own territory ; but I
cannot forfeit the testimony of my conscience ; I can sa-
crifice every thing but my honour!" What was to be
done? It was secretly determined that the Raja should
be forthwith deposed. He had already expressed his
willingness to remove without a murmur at the bidding
of the Governor. Nay, he bad said, when with the Go-
vernor at the resic'ence of the Political Resident at
Poonah, " I will stay, if you please, here, in this bun-
galow, nor ever enter my capital again, till I have esta-
blished my innocence before an impartial tribunal."
Neither force nor rudeness, therefore, were required.
The Governor had but to say "depart," and the Raja
had passed his word that he would quit his kingdom im-
mediately. But guilt is ever clandestine, timid, and
stealthy.
" This conscience doth make cowards of us all."
At midnight, when the Raja was in his chamber asleep
upon his couch—at midnight, to suit the better the time
to the deed, and cover it with darkness, if possible, black
as itself—at midnight, did two British officers, instructed
by a British Governor, and led on by a traitorous bro-
ther of the noble Raja's, conduct a troop to Sattara, and
surround the palace. The brother showed the way to
the resting-place of the Prince. They seized him—
thrust him hhlf-clothed into a palanquin—thrust into the
same palanquin his faithful cousin Balla Sahib Senna-
puttee—placed the Raja and his family under the charge
of a British Lieutenant and a company of soldiers, and
ordered the escort to march to Benares, a distance of 800
miles. While pursuing their way with all the speed of
guilty fear, the pangs of child-birth overtook the wife of
Balla Sahib. The anxious husband implored a halt,
which was denied. In a few days, Balla Sahib was
brought to the point of death. A halt was again im-
plored. Again it was denied by this man of fleshless
heart ; and, at the close of the day, the devoted cousin
of the Raja,
" Faithful among the faithless found,"
lay a corpse in his palanquin. My friends, I see the
paleness of a speechless horror, mingling with the crim-
son of a burning indignation, on your cheeks. Too deep
your detestation cannot be at this recital of atrocities,
perpetrated in your own name, by your own countrymen,
upon the distant plains of India, in the eyes of a people
whom we have robbed of their country. Give your in-
dignation words. Put it into action. Rouse up at the
great call of nature and of justice, and check the deeds
of those who are covering you with infamy, by the spo-
liations and tragedies they are enacting with the power
you have placed in their hands.
Let us leave the lifeless body of Balla Sahib in the
jungle, and the Raja in his exile, and return to Sattara.
The Raja, out of all his private wealth, carried with him
only the jewels which the women of his household were
able, in the burry of departure, to secure. Immediately
upon the abduction of the Raja, his ruthless persecutors '
made themselves masters of all his papers. But I may
here, once for all, observe, that there is not in the posses-
sien of the British Government a single document, or
fragment of one, in the handwriting of the Raja' afford-
ing the slightest evidence of infidelity to the British.
How triumphant is this fact I An intriguer for twenty
years—a man accustomed to make the most regular mi-
nutes of all his transactions, even the most trivial—ac-
cused by a Government that had offered liberal rewards,
personal indemnity, and honourable distinction, as the
premiums for evidence against him—and yet not a soli-
tary atom of proof, under his own hand, of his ever hav-
ing cherished a thought at variance with his fidelity as a
Prince, or his honour as a man. In a very few days after
the expulsion of the Raja—while the sighs of a travailing
mother, the cries of her new-born babe, and the groans
of the expiring husband and father were disturbing the
stillness of the jungle—Sattara was the scene of the in-
stallation and enthronement of a new Baja. And who is
he ? Surely, some one snore worthy of the throne than
the man who has been hurled at midnight from it, and
chased into exile. The deposers of the ex-Raja have,
surely, found some paragon of perfection, who, by the
lustre of his virtues, shall mitigate the " deep damnation"
of the deed that has been wrought. Who is he, that is
escorted by thousands of British troops to the capital,
attended by the Governor and his staff to the Palace,
and placed, amidst the thundering of cannon, the clangour
of trumpets, and the explosion of fireworks, upon the
throne of Sevagee, and proclaimed RAJA or SATTARA—
the ALLY and FRIEND of the British Government—the
CHOSEN OBJECT of confidence and protection—in the
place of the dethroned, despoiled, and desolated Purtub
Sing ? It is APPA SAHlB—the abandoned profligate—
the companion of courtezans—the corrupt judge—the
man who twice plotted the participation of the princi-
pality—the Judas Iscariot who betrayed his master—the
inhuman brother who led the way to the chamber of the
sleeping Prince, and sold his mother's son into the hands
of his enemies. He is the man, whom the Governor of
Bombay deligliteth to honour. He is now the favourite
of the East India Company, to whem, doubtless, the
sword which has been withheld from the brother, will
be speedily presented, with a new and amended edition
of the Court's complimentary letter of 1835.
Let me observe, also, that the Company have deprived
the ex-Raja of all the private property he left behind
him, consisting of money and jewels, and other valuables,
the savings of the years that he had been upon the
throne, amounting to at least 150,0001. sterling. All
this has been appropriately handed over to the exem-
plary Prince who now sways the sceptre. But I pass
over many deeply interesting features in this history,
that I may describe the conduct of the home authorities.
On the news of the Raja's dethronement arriving in this
country, a few of the friends of justice, Proprietors of
East India Stock, signed a requisition for a Special Court
for the 12th February, 1840,
" To take into consideration a recommendation to the
Court of Directors and Board of Control, to withhold
their sanction to the dethronement of his Highness the
Raja of Sattara, by the Bombay Government, until a
full and fair investigation of the charges preferred against
him shall have been made, according to his Highness's
earnest and repeated request."
The Directors, who are, of course, Proprietors, and,
in consequence of their extensive patronage, most ingu-
ential ones, came down, and, instead of following the
dictates of delicacy, and leaving the Court to decide for
itself, uninfluenced by their votes or dictation, themselves
moyed, and carried by their own votes, an amendment,
i§ 41.01 y inexpedient, and this Court accordingly
Fecknas ttr) TateVfeß With its msponsible Executive, in
the Affain of the la?a of Swam"

No further movement took place until the 23d of June,
when further papers were moved for, and after a sharp
stro;glc iii tiu‘ Court oi' Propri-ior.;, a day was named
1-)r c;,rmicleration 01' their coutents. That day was
; the 14th of July. During a debate of five days which
followed. the case was fully argued. It has been most
truly said, in the paper whiehl hold in my hand, that
" the advocates of the Raja went at once into the merits
of' the question. There was no special pleading—no tor-
turing of words—no twisting. of minutes—no mouthing
.of high names—no begging of the case by quoting mere
opinions—(opinions mostly of men deeply compromised);
but there was an appeal to the evidence produced against
the Raja, though not printed by the Court of Directors
—that evidence was discussed, dissected, put to the test
of probability, weighed with living testimony of unim-
peachable character ; and we fearlessly assert, that the
verdict of any twelve honest men would be the verdict so
emphatically pronounced by General Robertson—that
upon such evidence he woun not hang a dog.' Yet, upon
such evidence, has a Prince—an ornament to his kind—
been hurled, unheard, from his throne. A more wicked,
disgraceful spectacle of lawless power arrayed against
helpless right, the world has never beheld." What was
the result ? The gentlemen who opened the debate
moved for the re-consideration of the Raja's case by the
Court of Directors. Other gentlemen recommended
41*11hictop„,iaLfelt it my duty to give notice of an
amenctnien . -rpribLiteetcitors modestly proposed that the
Court should pass a gain their resolution of the 12th
of February, 1840. Th0'6114411 aaninion was lost by a
majprity of seventeen—the majority being all Directors.
On the Motion of the Directors being put from the Chair,
one experienced - Proprietor., got his amendment before
the Court, which was, hOivever,. lost. The rest were
jockeyed aside in the most shameless manner, and the
Directors carried, by their own votes, their awn resolu-
tion, that there should be no interference with the "re-
sponsible Executive."
I ventured to tell the Honourable the Court of Direc-
tors that they must not lay "the flattering unction to
their souls," that they had placed the question of the
Raja of Sattara at rest. I reminded them, that there
were other and higher tribunals before which this cause
could be tried. That there was a legitimate appeal to
the Imperial Parliament, the source of their power, and
that—to Parliament we would go. I reminded them
that we had upon the throne a benignant Queen, who
would listen to our petition in behalf of a prostrate In-
dian Prince, and that—to the footstool of that Monarch
we would go. I reminded them, finally, that there was
a bar, before which even they might be placed on their
trial, and, peradventure, be found GUILTY: and I pro-
mised them, that no humble efforts should be wanting on
my part, to bring them to that bar, if they should turn a
deaf ear to the pleadings of disinterested compassion, and
obstinately refuse the demands of outraged justice. They
have fulfilled my worst fears. They have resisted evi-
dence, as clear, as cogent, as convincing, as authorita-
tive, as ever was submitted to the judgment and verdictof ie human mind. If, in hot haste, or blind ambition,
or wounded pride, or partial or entire ignorance of the
facts of the case, they drove the Raja from his throne,
and chose a supple villain to supply his place ; time,
ample time, has been given them, to grow cool and
thoughtful—to review and retrace their steps, and though
late, to do something to redeem themselves, and to save
the British name from lasting infamy. If they ever had
a doubt respecting the Raja's innocence, that doubt must
have been a thousand times removed, by the accumulated
proof which has been furnished, that the Prince they
have trampled upon and exiled, has been, from first to
last, the victim of one of the foulest conspiracies ever
hatched by perjured caitiffs for the ruin of an honest and
noble-minded man. From day to day, and from the de-
bate of one year to the debate of another, they have seen
the most upright and distinguished of their own servants
stand forth to declare, after years of the most intimate
knowledge of their Raja, their firm and enlightened con-
viction of his entire innocence. They saw the other day
the evidence,' which they had bought in every market
where falsehood was exposed to sale, dissected, and de-
monstrated to be utterly unworthy of notice, where but
the life of a dog might be concerned. It was proved,
that themselves were the violators of the treaty with the
Raja, when they cast upon the jagheers a look, like that
which Ahab cast upon the vineyard of Naboth, the Jez-
reelite, and felt like him, when the possessor said, " I
will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers." Yet
have they decreed that there shall be no justice done.
The man is proved to be innocent, but they abide by the
award they made in the day they declared him to be
guilty. It is upon record that the sentence under which
the Raja lies, was not pronounced or inflicted because he
was guilty, but for the act—the thrice noble, the. en-
nobling act, of declining to keep his throne at the ex-
pense of his honour. What then remains, but that the
lovers of justice out of doors should espouse the cause of
helpless innocence, now enduring the unjust sentence of
unrelenting power. This, I believe, will be done. Let the
work commence here. To you, as to a part of this great
nation, I appeal. I call upon you to send this cause for
trial to that assembly where your representatives sit,
under the solemn obligationvio restrain the abuse of the
power they have, by act of Parliament, delegated. I call
upon you to demand, through them, an impartial investi-
gation of the merits of this case. We have witnesses at
hand, who have not yet appeared, whose testimony will
carry confusion into the camp of the adversaries of the
Raja. Let the Raja have a fair trial, and I fear not the
issue. I now submit the motion of which I last evening
gave notice. I anticipate your vote with confidence, and,
when it is passed, I shall accept it as the happy herald of
a verdict which shall,- ere long, place the Baja of Sat-
tara on his throne ; vindicate the tarnished honour of
the British name ; and prove to the world that, though
the acts of the East India Company may be cruel, the
heart of the British people is just.

Learned Counsel for the respondents said, " Where are these
I pledges? Show us what authority you have for what you are
asserting," and, unluckily for the other side, they could not pro-
' duce them ; they could not show that any conqueror had este.
blished the immolation of women, and therefore, of course,
they took nothing by their motion; de non apparentibus et de
non existentibus eadem est ratio. The same argument was
used by Dr. Johnson with respect to the authenticity of the
poems of Ossian. Johnson said where are the originals ?
but his opponent had none to give, and there was
an end of the controversy. In like manner he asked
Lord Auckland to procure his authority. The first Charter of
Elizabeth contained no saving clause in favour of idolatry--
subsequent Charters preserved the same silence. The Charter
of William 111. not only did not promote it, but it bound the
Company to use means to teach the native the Christian re-
ligion. The Company were, therefore, pledged to do this in-
stead
of the other thing. He (the Hon Proprietor) had h.
boured long to see whether anything could be made of the ar,
gument of treaties, but he found nothing of the kind. He had
examined the original treaty of Orissa, but it contained no
stipulation wt.atever for the support of heathenism, nor could
he find any such stipulation in any treaty from that one to the
final partition treaty of 1804. If not supported by us, this abomi-
nable system of idolatry would drop of itself. Gentlemen
knew that, but for our support, it would be all at an end. On
,this subject he was struck with a remark of Mr. Grai,t's, in his
invaluable work, published by the House of Commons, with-
out reading which no Hon. Member should legislate for India.
He asked " Are we bound for ever to preserve all
the enormities of the Hindoo system ?—to be the
guardians of every monstrous principle and practice
it contains ? Are we pledged to support it for all
generations, by allying the Government and the whole army
with the miseries which ignorance has so long entailed on the
whole human race? Is this the part a humane and enlightened
people are engaged to act towards their subjeCts? Shall we
become passive spectators of such wickedness?" " Yes" said
Lord Auckland, "if they pay 6.0001. a-year for it." If this
were the case, they were doing themselves the greatest possible
injustice. Of what use were their ecclesiastical and
other religious establishments? His Lordship had been
grossly deceived. Christianity permitted nothing but neutrality
towards existing evils till the grace of God should institute a
better state of things. If such doctrines could be established,
from that moment they would depart from their own faith.
Such powers were not only not conferred upon our rulers, but
no one of them before had ever attempted to exercise it. The
great nen whose statues were above their heads, were quite in-
capable of such things. His attention was first called to this
subject by a sermon he heard delivered by Dr. Buchanan, then
just returned from India. He narrated some of the atrocities
of the system, and he said it was a question at Ca'cutta who
was to blame. Some said the Court of Directors of the East
India Company; but his answer was, that they were not to blame,
they were the executive Government; it was the Court of Proprie-
tors who were to blame. He said the sin lay at their door, and
they must settle it with their consciences, if they had any. He
(the Hon. Proprietor) then said to himself, " Am I a Pro•
prietor, and know nothing of this ?" And he thereupon went
to Andrew Jackson, their great orator, and said to him, " Here
is a statement of things given upon undoubted evidence."
" Well," he said, " what then ?" He replied that he wanted
some one who had the ear of the Court, and who was not only
a great orator, but a shining character. (for he had bur stars)
to broach the matter. Mr. Jackson said he should lose, and
that he did not like to be beat. He would not, therefore, intro-
duce the matter, but would support it, and so he did. He
tried other Hon. Proprietors with a better success, and he de-
termined at last to undertake the matter himself. He had ac-
cordingly came forth, like David, armed only with a sling and
a stone, but he relied upon the blessing of Providence upon his
endeavours, which he had no hesitation in saying he believed
was the secret of all success. Perhaps he should apologhe
to the Court for being so warm upon the matter. Allowances
should he made on both sides.

" Ultro veniam damus, petimusque vicissim."
He could point to many and illustrious men who always warmed
with this subject, and of this Mr. Pitt was a remarkable exam-
ple, who could never speak without violent gesture. The times
were progressive, and the march of mind could not be stopped.
The present Premier was forced to take office upon this princi-
ple. But he (Mr. P.) had no comfort from Lord Ellenbo-
rough's being made President of the Board of Control, after his
declaration on the subject of India in the House of Lords. Lord
Brougham, too, he was sorry to say, had adopted the same
views as Lord Ellenborough, and even the late President of the
Board of Control evinced little anxiety as to the state of religion
in India. He had little to hope for from the Court itself, yet
he was glad to acknowledge that he was received with more de-
corum on the present occasion than he had been on many
former ones. However, nothing should prevent him from doing
what he considered his duty. If lie was wrong he was open to
correction, but he acted upon the information he posses•ed.
Whether this impost had originated in 1793, or at an
after period, he considered it to be void,ab inituf. He concluded
by moving aresolution to the following effect :—" That the Hon.
Court of Directors would take measures to abolish all remaining
processions, ablutions, and other idolatrous practices in India, in
compliance with a minute from the Court itself at the date of
1832, and also that it would investigate into the payment of
6,0001. a year, awarded to the Bengal Government, for the sup-
port of the Temple of Juggernaut, in 1805 (as we understood),
and which had been confirmed by Lord Auckland, and the other
circumstances connected with that annual payment."
Mr. MARRIOTT seconded the motion, and said that while
Christianity continued to be the religion of England, it ougot
never to countenance idolatry in any of its dependencies.
The CIIAIRMA N said that he would take on himself to say
that the East. India Company never derived any pecuniary ad-
vantage from the procession to the Temple.—(Hear, hear.)
And he could say with perfect confidence, that every fair step
would be taken to abolish the practice of idolatry in India.
11 ith regard to the payment made for the support of the Tem-
ple, they were bound by the proclamations made upon their
taking possession of the country, to support it They were
obliged, by the faith of that proclamation, to support the Tem-
ple, when they came into possession of? the country in 1805.
The Hon. Chairman then quoted from the proclamation in
proof of that obligation. They were bound, by every prinei•
ple of honour to support it, and he thought it would give great
dissatisfaction in India if they did not do so. He should
therefore meet the resolution with a direct negative.
Mr. PC/TNT/Ea observed that the support and the actual en-
dowment were distinct things.
Sir J. LUSHINGTON said they were bound to the endowment,
as was proved by the documents between the Company and the
Raja of Beran and the Raja of Carnac,but they did a great deal
notwithstanding, to abolish idolatrous practices in India—a
great deal more than he believed the Hon. and Learned Pro-
prietor himself expected.—( Hear, hear.) They abolished the
pilgramages and other practices. A great deal of ignorance
existed upon the subject in the public mind. The petition from
Birmingham, alluded to two things, which were quite distinct,
the granting of pensions to persons connected with religious
ceremonies, which has been done away with, and the allowance
to the temple. The latter Lord Auckland denlares, in a minute
of the date of 1838, he will fulfil to the letter, because, if
he did not, it would be a breach of faith. These allowances
and rents were made by former sovereigns of the country. But
he hoped the discussions of the Court would do away with the
ignorance and exaggerations that prevailed upon this subject.
He thought the motion was unnecessary, and he would there •
fore vote against it. A short conversation ensued in which
several Proprietors took part ; after 'which the motion was
put from the Chair, and negatived by a large majority.
Mr. WEEDING made a few observations relative to the
library, of which lie thought a catalogue ought to be made out
before now. Two or three years had elapsed since the subject
was brought before the Court. What he complained of was
the delay.

EAST INDIA HOUSE.

COURT OF PROPRIETORS.

A Court of Proprietors of EaSt India Stock was held yes-
terday, at half-past 12 o'clock, at their House in Leadenhall-
street, pursuant to adjournment from the previous day. The
minutes of the proceedings of the previous day having been read,
Mr. POYNDER rose to call the attention of the Court to the
petition which he had presented from Bridlington on the 2d of
June last.
Mr. MARRIOTT rose to order. The prayer of the petition
only had been read ; he thought it would be better that the
whole petition should be read.
Mr. POYNDER had abstained from doing so for the purpose
of saving the time of the tourt. As the subject would most
likely lead to discussion, he had thought it better not to take
up time unnecessarily, but if the Honourable Proprietor wished
it, he would read it at length.
Mr. MARRlOTT—Certainly not.
Mr. POYNDER would at once, then, proceed to discuss the
subject. The petition which was from Bridlington and its
neighbourhood was signed by 209 persons, the most respectable
of the clergy and laity of that neighbourhood, and was ad-
dressed to the Court of Proprietors. Notwithstanding
the abolition of the pilgrim-tax, yet the Com-
pany still derived a considerable revenue from the taxes
imposed on the vain rites and idolatrous worship.
That was one of the facts alluded to in the petition, and the
other was as to the specific money payment of 6,0001. a-year,
which was still paid to the Temple of Juggernaut. He con-
gratulated the Court in having effected the abolition of suttee,
on the remission of the fines, on the offerings in the temples,
on the abolition of the pilgrim-tax, and on that concession so
wisely made of no longer requiring from their officers and ser-
vants the positive homage which they had at one time been
obliged to pay to the Rajas and to the idols which they wor-
shipped, and which had caused no less a man than Sir Pere-
grine Maitland to relinquish all his offices rather than comply
with such sinful requisitions. Such were the men who had
been driven into exile and disgrace by the operation of those
laws which were now happily abrogated ; but still they were
only at the beginning of their progress in the career of im-
provement.—( Hear.) The pilgrim-tax had been abolished,
yet stiil they derived a great revenue from offerings made to
idols, and thus many Christian men and Christian
women still (leaved a profit from these impure sources.
The religious rites in the temples, the religious
ablutions in the Ganges and elsewhere, every prostration,
every genuflection, every salaam, performed with a religious
intention, was the subject of fiscal exaction. Now, the object
of this motion was to effect a greater amendment than had yet
been effected ; they had made a good beginning, but nothing
more. Certainly, the pilgrim-tax had been the source of the
greatest of all evils. It d• ew together multitudes of person', and
famine, sickness, and cholera, were the consequence. A more
horrible source of mischief had never been tolerated or encouraged.
With regard to the second point, the money payment paid to
Juggernaut, he was aware it had been defended by declarations
that the Bengal Government were pledged to the payment of
that money—that it had been guaranteed on the conquest of
the province, and there was now no remedy for it. Such
were the grounds on which this payment had been defended by
Lord Auckland in his despatches in 1838. Now, he thought it
necessary to examine his assertion, which, after all, was not so
much the assertion of Lord Auckland as of certain Anglo-
Indians by whom he was surrounded, and who upheld these and
various other abominations. His 'Lordship began by assert-
ing that when the Temple of 'Juggernaut was founded,
the appointment of three superior priests was provided
for, and a money allowance • was made, independent
of the endowment of the temple. In 1806, by treaty,
yy—tah,l,leo w a n
ce., ,
all the lands and money allowances made to the temple of Jug-
gernaut were absolutely guaranteed. Now, the fact was, this
money payment had, as well as the pilgrim-lax, been origi-
nally set up by the Bengal Government, and he (Mr. Poyn-
der) wished to know what right the Bengal Government had
to set up this money payment. He would not seek to meddle
with any landed endowments of the temple. He was not
touching upon that, but he was attacking the money payment
of 6,0001. a year.
A DIRECTOR—It is in commutation of a land endowment.
Mr. POYNDER—EIie point was thata.,lliyAn
817t903,ththeemfiorsntey moneypay-
payment had been made—then it was that the principle had
been conceded. Now, lie contended thatim imposed
soedugfhotr
t.,neverep pur-
pose
dgiike to ask on what have been conceded at all. The money payment was certainly
no endowment. The present payment had been established in
1806, when the pilgrim tax had been first imposed, and that
taxmpees
nehteabfdemii
nnegeatliglnuga rt probabilityahnisteme de,e
ehbyee
payment.esh should
ur
li
pos-
sible principle could such a
pguarantee d
thheairrewombeeenn.
given, or on what principle couldTe itnowbe
is
sat upheld?pre..
He should like also to [know how the money was [expended,
for they knew, from a certain apocryphal bock, that the offer-
ings of meat and drink, &c., made to a certain idol in former
h Government
pre-
sent te(s
bound
urhdnaddAt
Auckland)
eemke been
aakacedo consumed
this
uis m
money
wentdo
nebne
It was true we
wrested Orissa from the Hindoo Government; but had we
given any guarantee for the support of Juggernaut? The
strongest proof of the truth of what he said was, that for
three years alter we obtained possession of the province by
force of arms, we took no notice of Juggernaut whatever. It
was only when we discovered that the money paid was desir-
able, that we discovered the obligation. Lord Auckland said
a
that the promises were distinct and unconditional, and that
he wouldsked where did the
fulfil themtotheletste prenise
letter. Again,
appear?
(the Hon. Pro-
prietor) ear ?
They must
have the terms of the promise, or they could not fulfil them.
He contended that Lord Auckland had proceeded upon a false
ee Queen
wereeen none. Secondly. if Elizabeth why the
g
assumption—he had reasoned right upon false premises.
His despatches were a petitio principii from beginning to end.
He would meet the question in two ways ; first, ,uy asserting
that no pledges of the nature Lord Auckland supposed could
be found to exist. They were not produced, for the same
reeasnsonwethree
nLeotrdfir Aedla_yobreeaas
there had been, they would have been invalid. If there had
been any pledges, let them be stated. It was stated that the
practice of burning widows had been in like manner guaranteed
on. When Lord William Bentinck abolished that horrid prae-
usisgentehder t
prac-
tice, an appeal was made to her Majesty in Council against its
abolition, qn the ground of these positive pledges. The