The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-23 00:00:00

netted with a trading firm could, as a Director, become
acquainted, which he could turn to his own pri.
vete interest, as a commercial man. He trusted that the
deliberation of the Directors would alwaj s become known
to the public, in ,order that the salutary influence of
public opinion might be brought to bear on them
before the measures they involved were adopted
and became law.(Hear, hear, hear,) He thought
that the reasons for excludinggentlemen.connected with
the trade of India from the office of Director no longer
existed. The sole object of the Directors in submitting
the matter to the consideration of the Court was, that as
the reasons which formerly led to the passing of the law
ceased to exist, it was for the Proprietors to say whether
or not they were willing to alter it. There was no desire
on the part of the Directors to urge the matter on them;
it was merely R suggestion which, if it did not meet with
general approbation, gentlemen on that side of the bar
would, he was certain, be most happy to withdraw.
In Fluswer to an observation of Mr. Weeding,
Tie CHAIRMAN said, that he wished to ascertain what
vmre the views of the Proprietors on the subject. Appli-
cations had been made to him regarding it, and he thought
it would be wise to ex tend the field ofselection of Directors
Mr. LINDSAY thought that if it was the wish of the
Proprietors, the motion ought to be.withdrawn.
Mr. Mims was of opinion that there was great
reason for altering the law, as he believed it to be a
dead letter.
Mr. WIGRAM conceived that it would be better to
withdraw the motion, on the understanding that it be
referred to the Committee of By-laws, to consider the
subject and report thereon, as to whether it was expe-
dient that the law should stand as it at present was.
After a few words from Mr. WEEDING,
The CHAIRMAN said he was entirely in the hands of
the Court. If the Proprietors were of opinion that the
motion should be withdrawn, he was disposed to second
the view taken by Mi. Wigram.
Mr. THOMPSON said they were obliged to the gentle-
men behind the bar for so distinctly stating their views,
because certainly the opportunities of choice that were
given to the Proprietors were few and far between.
Some Hon. Directors were of opinion that the heads of
commercial firms should become Directors. 'He (Mr.
Thompson) differed from that opinion. He thought
they ought not to become Directors. If they
represented large and important firms, let them keep to
those transactions which belonged to those firms. The
Directors formed exclusively a political body. They
ruled over 150,000,000 of human beings, inhabiting a
country 500,000 square miles in extent. They had to
attend to the interests of a vast empire, and they ought,
therefore, to look narrowly to the persons whom they
selected as Directors. The Directors were bound to de-
vote all their time to the affairs and the government of
the East Indies ; and he thought gentlemen would not
deny that, however broad their expanse of mind—nay,
were it even poSsible that their intellects were rendered
larger than they now undoubtedly were, and were it pos-
sible to extend the length of the day for their delibera-
tions—all that increase of intellect, all that extent of
time, would be required for the proper discharge of their
duties. Then why engage in their counsels men whose
time was much occupied in the affairs of commerce ?
One of the members of the Court advocated this propo-
sition out of a regard to India, yet employed arguments
in another place fatal to those he used to-day. The con-
dition of India demanded the whole of the gentlemen
who composed the executive body of this country. The
trading and executive business of India ought,in his
opinion, to be kept quite distinct. He should take the
present opportunity of expressing his thanks to the Com-
mittee of By-laws, for the position they took on this oc-
casion. As the motion was to be withdrawn, he would
not say more than express his thanks to the Court for
bringing it forward.

TWINING begged to say a few words as a
Member of the Committee of By-laws. If the matter
was brought before that Committee he was sure it would
receive every consideration it deserved. In reference to
the cause of the subject at present under discussion, he
was, perhaps, able to say what was the object when it
was first brought forward by men whom he made the
guide of his own conduct, and in proportion as he
followed them he found himself to be proportionably
correct. He believed the By-law was passed to prevent
East India 'Directors from trading in a private capacity
—(Hear, hear)—and if that restraint was not inter-
posed, very serious and extensive evils would follow.
The circumstances, however, had changed, and the at-
tention of the Directors was changed to other objects,
which they executed with great benefit to themselves.
It was a question of much importance how far that
barrier should be removed. If it came before the Com-
mittee of By-laws he could only say for himself and
the other members of that Committee, that the matter
would receive every consideration due to its impott-
ance. He considered the Court of Directors was well
constituted, and the proportion of mercantile men in
it was productive of great benefit ; and that such men
as Sir I. Read and Mr. Martineau were highly valuable
to the Court. He would conclude by again saying, that
the matter would receive every attention from the Com-
mittee of By-laws.—(Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN entirely concurred in what had fallen
from the last speaker, as to the origin of the by-law
under discussion, and he was sure it would receive every
attention from him.
The motion was then withdrawn.

Mr. WEEDING inquired if it was withdrawn without
qualification ?
The CHAIRMAN was understood to answer in the
affirmative.

PERMANENT LAND-TAX.

Mr. M. MARTIN requested the attention of the Court
to the importance of the subject he was about to bring
before them, which had been brought under. the con-
sideration of the Court at various periods during the
last half century, and had been mooted Ly men of the
largest views and most philanthropic feeling—by some
of the most distinguished Governors of India—by some
of the ablest servants that were ever sent to that coun-
try—by men in the present Court, all of whoin con-
curred in his opinion, and had endeavoured, from time
to time, to draw the attention of the Court to this great
and momentous subject, and to bring it to a full and
final decision—he alluded to the fixing of the land-tax
in India. He had, moreover, the opinion of the present
enlightened Prime Minister of the country, that the
great evil of the Court was the leaving unsettled ques-
tions of an important character, or bringing them for-
ward without a prospect of a speedy decision. It was a
question relating to millions of British subjects ; it in-
volved the financial and commercial relations btween
India and this country ; it embraced the elevation of
the people of India in the scale of humanity ; it in-
cluded an enlarged consumption of British manufactures
by India, and the well-being and prosperity of the Bri-
tish empire. Upon the first moment he visited India he
gave his anxious attention to this subject, which he
thought would be mutually beneficial to both countries.
In the year 1828 he entreated investigation
upon the subject. He might have done so at
inconvenient times, and with too much warmth,
but he trusted the observations he should make upon the
present occasion would be delivered with temper and
moderation, and, at least, he hoped the importance of
the subject would not be measured by the weakness of
the advocate.—(Cheers.) But there were many and dis-
tinguished advocates for what he was now contending,
and amongst them was one, once a member of this Court,
one of the ablest, and at the same time most unpretend-
ing men that ever adorned the East India Company—
he alluded to the late Mr. Edmonston.—(Hear, hear.)
He would not require more than acknowledgment of the
principle, for he knew if that was once recognised, the
mode of eartying it out and the time for its adoption
might be fairly left to the Executive Directors of India.
If the principle were adopted, they would soon come to
a final settlement of a fixed land-tax. The proposition
he meant to propose was an abstract one, but it was fre-
quently made the subject of discussion. It was, that the
British Government were not de
.facto or de jure pro-
prietors of the soil in British India; and though it was
opposed by the Hon. Proprietor behind him, and the
Hon. Chairman in 1829, he was happy to find in des-
patches from the Court of Directors to the Court of
Bengal in 1815, the principle for which he was contend-
ing was advocated therein. It was carried out with refer-
ence to 40,000,000 of British subjects so long as forty
years ago. And they had proof of its good effects in
the prosperity of that portion of the country to
which it was applied, the increased security of the public
revenue throughout the Bengal territory. Why, then,
should not the same principle be applied with regard to
the other 60,000,000 of their population 'in India ? If
it was wise, just, humane, and politic, and proved to be
so by the experience of forty years, to adopt such a
principle towards 40,000,000 of their subjects, was it
not expedient to pursue a similar course with regard to
the remaining 60,000,000 ? His views were con-
curred in by the best and wisest statesmen who
ever—vittd -India,- men of large and expanded views.
The Marquis of Wellesley, whose language to you in
one of his despateies was, that it was not desirable for
the interest of India that the Government should act as
tth proprietorsres .excuse There(f thl.)v aesoil,
could
thatn o athnedw
aac
so
doubtlelexc r
expedient
ed
ie
one
nnt
tt fhrteoomsdubei
jltaesyctc..ultTßivhuaet-
language of their own body admitted the principle he
was contending for. It was admitted in a dispatch of
1792, that the principle of taxation between the Sove-
reign and cultivator was not sound. A member of the
Court, who had distinguished himself by writing one of
the ablest works on land taxation, he alluded to General
Briggs, said the right of the Sovereign to the soil never
existed in the Hindoo or Mahomedan Governments. It
was true, from the time of Mahomet to Aurungzebe, the
Sovereign had certain rights of property in the land, hut
not such as are now possessed. When they had such
authority, be thought it was time to give the people of
, Sir Thomas
India a property in the soil which would both benefit the
laetnielsyelavc7uaitgeadinw4h the work-
wllnlodiawaasnidntitml
ine• of the present system
in India, declares it impossible
people Munroe,of
in India impossible
that private land property can exist' so long as
one-third of the gross produce of land was taken away
from the people. And, he would ask, was it desirable
have no it would
to reduce India to a state in which
pri-
vate property? It could not be the interest of any
person that such a state of things should exist. No
state could rise above barbarism as long as any
persons had the power at any time to take away
so large a portion of the
produce of the soil.
ermanent
Under such a system it was impossible that a pat the people
lauded proprietary could ever exist, or day labourers.
could be raised above the condition of
Such had never been the practice in India until we had
adopted this plan, so ruinous to ourselves. If they
ed in the
re-
ferred to their Bibles they would.find recorded
the 41st chapter of Genesis that during the time of the
famine famine in Egypt, when Joseph supplied the Egyptians
with food, he required that they should give the Sove-
reign the whole of their lands, and when they had done
so he restored them their lands again on condition that
they should pay one-fifth part of the produce to the
King, while the remaining four parts were left for then
own' use and for seed. Surely, then, when the Bible
declared that four parts cut of five were necessary for
the purposes of the cultivators of the soil it was not act-
ing the part of Christians to exact one-half. In

dostan, previous to its coming into the possession of the
British, the land tax. actually levied amounted only to
one-sixth of the produce. In the South of India the
land tax at the present moment amounted only to one-
sixth,. In Ceylon it amounted only to . one-tenth.
Menon, the great Hindoo lagislators who flourished
about six hundred and eighty-eight years before Christ,
said that one-sixth was a legitimate portion, but that in
time of war or under special circumstances, one-fourth
might be levied. Colonel Wilkes had shown that when-
ever the Mahometan rules of India had tried to raise a
larger amount of land-tax, famine and rebellion had
been the invariable consequence: Shere Shaw, who had
expelled Humaioon, had levied a land-tax equal to one-
fourth. There was some difference between that and 45

per cent. Arungzebe had only levied one-tenth, and the
Emperor Akbar, in his instructions to the collectors of
his land revenue, had directed that two-fifths of the
amount of produce should be paid to the Government,
and three-fifths shOuld be left for the cultivators. Allum

Dein, who reigned between the years 1194 and 1215,
had attempted to levy a land-tax of the same amount as
that at present levied, and the result had been a famine.
The utmost amount that had ever been levied by the
Mahometan Sovereigns amounted in money to about
one-fourth the produce. In fact, every precedent that
could be brought forward went to show that we had
adopted a system for which there could be no justifica-
tion.--(Hear, hear.) In the Mysore, Hyder Ally
had levied three-tenths as the land-tax, and there

had been two rebellions against Tippoo Sultaun
because he had attempted to buy more than one-third.
When the British Government became possessed of the
Government of India it had been deemed advisable, in

consequence of the diminution of the revenue in Bengal,
and of the destruction of the people by famine, to fix the
amount of the land tax. He had already partly stated
the reasons which had induced those at that time in
authority to adopt such a course—they had wisely de-
termined to co-operate cordially with Lord Cornwallis
for that purpose, and one of the reasons given for fixing
the land-tax was, that it was impossible to give a
country in which there were only two classes, the Go-
vernors and the cultivators, and that in order to do so it
was necessary to raise up a third class—a class of landed
Proprietors, who should stand between the Governors
and the cultivators, and to do that no scheme could be
so efficacious as the establishment of a permanent land-
tax. He trusted he had stated sufficient to prove the
reasonableness of the first portion of his resolution, and
he would therefore proceed to discuss the second portion
of it, which was to the effect that the assessment of the
produce of the land at the sole will of the Government,
tended to defeat the rights of the cultivator of the soil,
and by preventin,, hereditary succession to lands, to ren-
der the British Isles insecure. In support of the prin-
ciple of that portion of his resolution lie would also ap-
peal to their own documents. It was obvious that a fluc-
tuating assessment must deteriorate from the value of
the land. The statement made in a communication, dated.
February, 1841, which he had received from a gentle-
man employed in the revenue department of the Madras
Govalanm., fully bore out the views which he enter-
tained. He, stated, that in one district in which the land-
tax had been lowered, the Ryots were now doing
well, and had, in consequence, applied for more
land ; and that, whereas formerly great difficulty
had existed in getting the assessment collected, the
Ryots, since the assessment had been lowered, came in
of their own accord and paid the money. That fact
proved that, wherever they gave a permanent value to
landed property, the people were impressed with the
improvement which had taken place in their condition
in consequence, and paid the assessment 'cheerfully.
What an advantage it would be if such a system were
extended throughout India. One of the Governors-Ge-
neral had stated that one-third of the territory of British
India was waste land. He (Mr. M. M.) thought he
could produce authority to show that at least one-half of
that territory was waste land. Now, if by giving a per-
manent value to landed property, they could bring
these waste lands into cultivation, how immensely
would they augment their revenue and commerce, and,
more than all, the happiness .and prosperity of the inha-
bitants of that country. Mr. Fullerton, of Madras, had
demonstrated the impossibility, under the present system,
of there being any aristocracy (using the word in its best
sense) to connect the Government with the peo-
ple of the country, and he compared the present
state of India with what might be supposed to be the
condition of this country if the landlords and farmers
were all swept away, and all the population reduced to
one common level. Mr. Thomas, of Madras, had shown
that the natural result of such a course of proceeding as
that adopted by the Government had been to reduce the
people to the lowest possible scale of subsistence, to pro-
duce famines, and to prevent the increase of the revenue,
or of the advantageous subjects of the States. That gen-
tleman had drawn statements shewincr the statistics of
twelve villages in the Presidency of Madras, from 1801 to
1831, in which he had classified the inhabitants with re-
gard to property, ece., and the result of that .statement
went to show, that while from 1816 to 1831 there had
been an increase among the occupiers of small holdings,
chiefly pauper Ryots, the wealthy Ryots had diminished
from 78 to 28—that the majority of the occupiers were
little better than pauper labourers. In these statements
he (Mr. M.) found a remarkable confirmation of his views.
Why had it not been thought adviseable to extend the
permanent settlement to the whole of India? In Bengal,
Bahar, and Orissa, where it was in operation, the tax
upon land amounted to about 2s. 6d. an acre. It was
importance to notice, that when this assessment was first
laid. on, it pressed so heavily, that, before ten years had
expired, the whole,of the estates had passed under the
hammer of the auctioneer ; and the Bengal Government
stated that never, in the history of the country, had such
a change taken place in the distribution of private pro-
perty. At that time one half of Bengal consisted of
waste lands, yet now those waste lands were all taken
into cultivation ; there were fewer sequestrations of pro-
perty throughout that territory than in any other part of
India, and the revenue was more regularly collected, and
more regularly found its way to the public treasury; and
during the fifty years it had been in operation, the cus-
toms, excise, stamp, and post-office revenues had trebled,
and every branch had been equally productive. had
they adopted the same system in other parts of India,
the same results would have followed ; but instead of 2s.
6d. an acre, in some parts of India it was 10s. 6d., and
in the Guzerat it reached to 225. Bd. an acre.

Mr. WARDEN (a Director)—Where is that stated ?
Mr. MARTIN—In the evidence given before a Com-
mittee of the House of Commons.

Mr. WARDEN-7Trobahly it was meant to apply merely
to the sugar lands of Gnierat.

Mr. MARTIN-It had •: been stated by Mr. Rickards
that in the island of Salsette the assessment amounted to
a guinea an acre. The greater part of this tine island
was in consequence waste -land ; and that fine island,
which, from its situation With regard to Bombay, ought
to be one of the largest of our commercial emporiums,
had only very recently had the tigers expelled
from, it, and was lying waste in consequence of the
enormous amount of the land-tax assessment.
He trusted he had not exaggerated any statement re-
garding the land-tax. He thought that where they levied
such a large amount of rate as one million, they would
have no landed proprietors. The land-tax in other
countries was nothing to what was levied in India. In
England it was only ls., and, in fact, in the time of Wil-
liam 111. it was almost nominal. In France it was one-
fifth of the net produce. In Tuscany it was one-fifth of
the net rental. In the Venetian States it was one-tenth,
and in the Verones4States it was one-tenth. In Parma
it was only 9d. an ace. In Bologne the taxes were only
2d. an acre. In Chirai it was one-tenth of the produce,
but so lightly was it lyvied that in parts it was only about
one-fiftieth.—(Hear.) In Peru it was one-tenth ; and
even in the time of the Romans, when they spread their
conquests over the whole world, they only levied a tax
of one-tenth, and according to Levy, in Spain, it was
only one-twentieth. - No nation had ever levied such a
land-tax as that in India.—(Hear.) Until they adopted
a permanent system of revenue, their interests must be-
come deteriorated. Since the year 1829 the land revenue
had decreased five lacs of rupees ; and it would still con-
tinue to diminish unless they fixed the land-tax. It was
to the interest of their revenue to do so.—(Hear.) It
was remarkable how little they derived at the present
time from the present system of taxation. The amount
of taxes in British India only amounted to 2s. 6d. a head,
while in the United Kingdom it was 2/. ; in France,
1/. 4s. ; in Spain, I4s. 6d. ; in America, 15s. ; and so on
in other States. The land tax had been fixed in Ceylon,
and there was alteration in every branch in consequence.
That island was rising with extraordinary celerity, and
they had the means of making India the same. For
seven years the revenue of British India had amounted in
land tax to 70 millions ofrupees, the salt tax to 54 millions,
The Post-office three millions, and the Excise fifty-two
millions. By the present system of the land-tax, they
would injure the whole of these.—(Hear, hear.) He
hoped he had proved, as stated in the second part of his
resolution, that this system impoverished the people, and
he had shown how it deteriorated the revenue.—(Hear,
hear.) „He had the statements before him of the Bengal
Commissioners, by which it appeared that this system
produced famine. It appeared from various sources that
this system was productive of famine, particularly in
Bengal. In 1661 a tax was levied of 50 per cent., and
the result was a famine. Shortly afterwards they came
into possession of Bengal, and adopted the same system
of taxation, and the result was that in 1770 the Governor
stated that famine had destroyed nearly the whole of the
country. Col. R. Dundas, who had been so distinguish-
-ea in the city of Poonali, had stated a very striking
fact, viz. that he found no farmer who was worth 5001.,
out of a population of nearly 13,000,000—n0t a farmer
possessed of 5001. Jir John Monroe, after an expe-
rience of twenty-five years, declared that the
system adopted by the East India Company, with
respect to the land-tax, was reducing the country,
its revenue, and its proprietary.—(Hear, hear.) 'The
third portion of his resolution with which he should
conclude was—" That the occupiers and cultivators of
the soil of British India are entitled to obtain from the
British Government a fixed assessment, and a guarantee
of hereditary occupancy, unmolested by arbitrary de-
mands and periodical claims, either by annual or more
intbmleiteprderGoentobse..o_ennrdn(teHnidii eae naturtpi,to:Nlvil‘e.aaatssrh.le;gi
gro;rlndtitiiienpurgile.ei
ntiseihieijaopwtluel.l easelt
extended leases." He was aware it would be said that
wasb hisut theyfirm
pn something
vsehmo
eu
nl dt
edebe e ti
bmi
in their present system of revenue. He therefore urged
upon them the consideration of the land-tax. He did
not ask them to give up one shilling of their present
revenue, but lie was convinced that in fixing the land-
tax they would be enabled not only to obtain more
readilystheir present revenue, but it would be the means
of augmenting it.—(Cheers.) It was not by crossing
the Indus alone that would demonstrate to the country
a disposition towards their interests, but it was by wisely
governing them and giving stability to the Government,
by placing the happiness of the people in their own pos-
session. He regretted that some individual of longer
'tending in that Court, and of more experience in the
subject, had net taken up this question. There were
men who had devoted their minds to this subject ; he
regretted they had not taken up this subject before ; for
then he should have been content to have followed at

humble distaw:e, for the. purpose of giving them his sup •
-
port. —(Cheers.) •He had brougbt the subject before the •
Court because he felt that it should be no longer delayed.
He did not know any' position of their Government, net
even excepting its Ministry, that had greater claims on
their consideration. He was sure they had the goo 4
wishes of every man in the country. Their was not a
Christian heart that did not beat in their cause.—(Hear.)

—.-
The great good sense of the country was awake to the
subject. This consideration would-conduce to the hap-
piness and prosperity of the people, and continued con-
nection between that country and this kingdom.
Major BRIGGS rose to second the resolution. He was
extremely sorry that some one of more consequence had
not been called upon to do so. The Court of Directors
had assumed that they were the proprietors of the land
in India. He should confine himself to that question

alone. He was of the same opinion as the Hon. Gen-
tleman who had just sat down, that the land-tax, such as
then established in India, was the most pernicious that
could be imagined. The first authority he would re-
fer them to was Mr. Grant. The Hon. Gentleman here
read a long extract from the works of Mr. Grant in 1786
to Prove that the Court of Directors had no right to the

property of the soil in India. The Hon. Gentleman con-
tinued—The Directors had said there was no harm in their
taking the whole surplus profit; and Mr. Mills. in his exa-
mination before the House of Commons in 1832, said that a

country taxed in that way was not ;axed at all, and that
the Board of Directors had a right to do this, as they
were the proprietors of the soil. A similar opinion had
lately been put forth in the Quarterly Review, stating
that the very best mode of taxation was that of taking
the whole surplus profit from the cultivation. Now he
(Major Briggs) begged to ask who was to be the
judge, what was the whole surplus profit? The cultivator
of the land could not be the judge ; therefore it was left
with the Governor to be the judge ; and, assuming that
to be the case, the Governor would, of course, take to
the utmost extent. He would ask them if they kept in
their hands the right of taxing the people in this way,
how many colonies they would have left In Australasia?
Let a proclamation go forth, that the Governor would
not allow any land to be cultivated, without paying, as
taxes, the surplus profit—they would then see how
many ships would leave the river. Thames to be freighted
from those lands.—(Hear, hear.) Who would have
ever heard of the present America, if England had for-
merly said, Give us the surplus profit of the land ?
(Hear, hear.) Australasia would not have been occu-
pied ; they would have had no colonies at all if they
had pursued such a principle as this.—(Hear, hear.)
He was prepared to prove that the Directors had no
right to the soil of India. (The Hon. Gentleman then
proceeded to read a great number of extracts from
various works on India, and also from various dis-
patches from servants of the Company, the ob-
ject of which was to prove that the present oc-
cupiers were the real owners of the soil, and
not the Board of Direction.) He would not go into the
question of how the revenue was collected. He was of
opinion, with the Hon. Mover of the motion, the most
just way to levy the land-tax would be to take a certain
number of years, and then the average of the produce,
and fix the tax at that rate for ever—(Hear, hear)—
leaving out the waste lands for them to cultivate if they
chose, thereby enabling them the better to pay their
taxes. They had tried the present system for half a
century ; they had advanced money for the purpose ;
but still the lands were not cultivated. (The Hon. Gen-
tleman again referred to statistical accounts at some
length.) He entreated them, both for the sake of the
people and the, Government, to look to that question with
European eyes. A short anecdote occurred to him just
then ; while he was in Mysore, an old man, upwards of
seventy years of age, who possessed a small estate, which
yielded him 400 rupees, out of which the Government
received a tenth. In the time of Bulleir, this estate was
taken from him, and the old man said the -curse of Go-
vernment had been on it ever since, for it only yielded
forty rupees. He (Major Briggs) asked him how that
could be, and the old man answered that as the Governor
took one-half of the produce, he could not think of cul-
tivating his land. He thanked them for having listened
to him, and the Hon. Gentleman sat down amidst consi-
derable applause.
The CHAIRMAN then rose, and said he did not think
the abstract question a proper one for that Court. He
deprecated such a course, as it was impossible for them
to enter in that Court into a calm discussion of the
question, so as to enable them to come to a just decision.
He would say that the Court was fully satisfied of the
truth of what had been stated, and that the Direction
had an anxious desire to promote the welfare of the
people of India. He could only say that it was impos-
sible that any one could be more desirious of promoting
the happiness of the people than those he had the honour
to call his colleagues. When anything was brought for-
ward it always received his utmost attention, and had
done for twelve years. But he should deprecate the in-
troduction of such a question into that Court. He con-
cluded by moving the original motion.
Mr. BROWN said he had in his possession reeds that
he had obtained while in India from persons holding
estates, some of which reeds had been in the families
from whom he obtained them, of upwards of 200 years
old, which had been produced on the estates of the par-
ties now occupying the soil. Had there been such a
book as Doomsday Book in India this would have been
proved. These facts were now open to proof, and these
were the persons who were sought to be dispossessed of
the soil.

Mr. WEEDING would go back to the works of Col.
Weeks, from which it appeared that there was no private
property in India ; it was all the property of the State.
So vast was the consideration of this question that he
(Mr. Weeding) should vote for the amendment of the
Chairman.

Mr. SALOMANS said he thought the discussion itself
was useful, because the more the attention of the Court
of Directors was drawn to the subject the better, but he
thought the proposition of the Hon. Mover of the motion'
was most inconvenient, and he therefore should support
the view taken by the Chairman.
After a few words from Colonel SYKES,
An HON. PROPRIETOR moved that the Court should ad-
journ, which being put was lost, and— .
Mr. G. THOMPSON rose and said—He did not think it
became one Hon. Proprietor to tell another that they
could not discuss that question with calmness. Was it
not discussed somewhere out of doors ? He had been
gratified that day with the knowledge that not one asser-
tion that he ever made in reference to the injurious land-
tax of India had been contradicted. For two years and
a-half the land-tax of that country had been his study.
Why not discuss this question with calmness ? If it was a
question to be discussed by Hon. Gentlemen let them
discuss it. 'Were they prejudiced, it was their duty to
remove this prejudice. Had they formed a bad opinion,
let them show that they were wrong. It was a duty
they owed to the people of England and India. Not
discuss it with calmness ! Was there a want of calm-
ness in his Hon. Friend ? It was too much to hear that
when there was any opportunity before them to obtain
evidence on that question that the Chairman deprecated
the introduction of such a subject, because it could not
be discussed in calmness. There was calmness in his
Hon. Friend's face, and in all his actions ; calmness even
to the very end of his very luminous speech. He would
appeal to their judgments and their sense, and ask was
there any want of calmness in the gentleman who sat
below him, who had given the result of his own expe-
rience (Major Briggs) ? and yet they were told that the
Court—the Chairman—deprecated that discussion, and
when any question vitally interested the people of India
it was deprecated. Now this was a question coming
home mot to him (the Chairman)—not to himself—they
were Directors still ; but for the man whose happiness
depended on their government. They had not increased
their revenue in the new found—the newly colonized
country of Australasia. The little port of Stockton-
upon-Tees sent more tonnage than they did to all India.
Now there was a cause for this. His Hon. Friend and
the Gallant Officer who sat beloW him, and who seconded
his Hon. Friend's motion, thought that the cause was to

Y..” 1 . ~,,,
be found in the vicious system of land taxation. He
(Mr. T.) could say it was not in the principle of taxation
only, but also in the mode in which they collected it, by
which they made their servants" instruments of crime
where they would rather be the administrators of justice.
—(Cheers.) This question was introduced. They had
their own Chairman to give information to that Court,
who was in a situation to go to the very fountain-head of
light on this matter, and who had searched all the works
of writers on the subject down to the Hon. Mount-
stewart Elphinstone. The Board came into that Court
as Directors ; they were bound to communicate all that
they knew. They were bound to inform them, and
they asked nothing unreasonable at their hands ; but in-
stead of that, sullen silence was observed, and the original
motion was moved. In eight short months in 1838
60,000 human beings died of famine, and were they not
to discuss that question ? He was prepared to go into the
principle of the land-tax, but all that could be
said, had been said by the gentlemen in the
debate. He put it to themselves and the country.
With a gentleman - had
referedrteospaeicet to
time
otfhferimloaund-r;tabxu,t
he (Mr. Thompson)
would, as he seemed fond of antiquities—(Hear, hear)
—go still further, and take him to the time of Abra-
ham,—he that was an inhabitant of this little Avorld,
and not an undistinguished one. What said the testi-
mony of Abraham on the subject of the land-tax ? He
wanted to buy a burial-place for his wife. How did he
get his ground ? " My Lord, hearken unto me :—the
land is worth 400 shekels of silver. What is that be-
twixt me and thee ? Bury, therefore, thy dead." Let
them show him the shekels they had given for India !
He asked them where were the shekels they had given
for India ? And yet those Gentlemen told them a
fact of their being proprietors 3f the soil—a fact they
would not attempt to support. But he had not done
with Timour.—(A laugh.) What if there were owners
to them ? Let them mark that. He would make the
Gentlemen a present of Timour, and he wished them
joy. " All the lands," said Timoitr, " if there be no
owner to them, should be annexed to the Crown lands ;
but if there be an owner, and he be reduced to distress,,
let him be supplied to retrieve him." 'Who was now
the' proprietor of the soil ? This was a ques-
tion vital to their honour, vital to their interests,
coming home to the poor wretch who lived upon rice, as
who
ad_ Although
t anhogi authority
the
l)oy
well as to those who rolled in the luxury obtained from
his labour.—(Cheers.) When would the question be de-
cided, if not then ? There they were at issue. He would.
quote
insubject,
supplanted that of
the Mahomedan in Bengal, we did not, it is true, adopt
sifrom“ l er
the sanguinary part of their creed ; but from the impure
fountain of their financial system did we, to our shame,
claim the inheritance to a right to seize upon half the gross
produce of the land as a tax; and wherever our arms have
triumphed, we have invariably proclaimed this savage
right, coupling it at the same time with the senseless doe-
trine of the proprietary right to those lands being also
vested in the Sovereign, in virtue of the right of conquest."
They saw it maintained that day. Either they were, or
they were not, the lords of the soil. It could be soon
settled, but it seemed they were not prepared to
settle it after 200 years of trade and 70 or 75 years of
conquest. The sense of justice contained in British
bosoms would settle it for them, and that would settle

that they were not the lords of the soil. Their revenue t
was insignificant compared with the rich commercial
facility of the country. They would think of the paltry
sixteen millions of revenue gathered from 150 millions
of people living on a soil of fertility, and they would ,
compare it with the fifty millions raised from twenty
millions of people in this country, while their land-tax
'made that country of India a desert—a desert. in all but
the wild and teeming luxuriance of the earth. It would
be rich, but they had made it poor. Let him look at
the issue of this. Why were they obliged to discuss
that question of the land-tax in India at public meetings?
It was because they would not discuss it there. They
had other business to attend to, but he denied that they
had more important business to attend to.—(Cheers.)
But they knew the Indian question was a bore. They
knew that the people of this country were only waking,
and that it would be a long time before they were
wide awake, and they thought things would last their
time out. It was time they should consider this ques-
tion. Let them talk not of the previous question. Try
if they could not discuss it with calmness. Was he not
calm ? He intended to be calm. Men belonged to that
Court who filled the sacred office, who were Ministers of
the Gospel. Should they not come there ? They all had
their opinions as to the cause of the discussion, but he
wished them, as had been urged by an Honourable
Proprietor, to look at it with European eyes. Give
the people a fee-simple to the soil—adopt the sacred
principle urged by his Hon. Friend the mover of the
motion—and India would bless them.—(Cheers.) Drive
them not from the soil—drive them not into the wilder-
ness, and from their villages. He would say no mere on
that occasion, but whenever that question was brought
forward again he hoped he should not rise as lie sat down
at nearly six o'clock; but he should,always te prepared,
as was duty, to vote " aye," that they were neither de
facto nor de jure proprietors of the soil of British India.
Mr. STUKEa said he for one of the Directors never
had any objection to go into that subject ; but he could
see no utility in discussing that question now. They
must first getl'arliament to adopt their action. They were
not the authorities that could decide such measures,
The most intelligent men in the country had considered
the subject for years, and none had been more widely
discussed. He had always studied that which was use-
ful, and he could not see that any benefit was to be de-
rived from discussing that question at that time.
Mr. MARTIN said, if he had failed in his object in
bringing forward this subject, and as they did not feel
disposed to discuss the question then, it gave him plea-
sure to think that it might give rise to some salutary
measure being proposed.—(Hear, hear.)
It was then moved that the Court should adjourn to to-
morrow (this day), at half-past twelve o'clock, and the
meeting broke up at a quarter past six.

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.
ORATIONS OF THE SENIOR SCHOLARS.

This highly interesting anniversary took place in the
Great Hall of the Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. At one
o'clock the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress' with Sir
Robert Inglis, the Sheriffs, and several other City func-
tionaries, having quitted Divine Service in the Church,
took their seats at the upper end of the Great Hall.
Nearly 2,500 spectators were present, three-fourths of
whom were ladies. The rostrum from which the Orations
were to be delivered occupied the centre of the room, and
round it were ranged the Clergy, with the Exhibitors of
the day.
Mr. HENRY NEWPORT commenced, and recited-
1. A Latin Oration, on the Benefits of the Royal Hospi-
tals. This prose Oration alluded to the foundation of
Christchurch by the Sixth Edward, and the orator, re-
garding it, therefore, as a religious seminary, spoke of
those times when Popery was dominant in the land, and
the " religio corrupts" prevailed. The Oration was well
delivered, and his pronunciation of the " Romani impe-
rium pontificis abrogatur" was excellent.
2. English Oration, on the same subject. SAMUEL JOHN
PHILLIPS.—This, identifying itself with the preceding,
contrasted the external beauty of structure, and the in-
ward uses of devotion of our present Christian temples,
with the temples of Heathenism, and pictured England
escaping from the deformities of Romanism.
3. French Oration, on the same subject. JOHN ALFRED
AIREY.—The smoothl liquidity of the French tongue
singularly contrasted with the boldness of the Saxon and
Roman that had preceded. Airey's allusion to the.
" noble et brillant architecture" of the great ball in
which the company were seated, was happily in unison
with the scene, while the sunshine poured through the
painted windows, and underneath. its roof female eyes
"rained their sweet influence" upon its talented students.
These three gentlemen above-mentioned, are nc w pro-
ceeding to Cambridge University on the foundation of
the. School, and undoubtedly promise well.
4. Greek Sapphic Ode, on the " Emigrants." PETER
HAMEL HAMMILL.—HaMMiii, with a pleasantly-modu-
lated voice, spoke his Sapphics in a very agreeable
manner, and his delivery was graceful.
5. Latin Altaic Ode, on the " Crusaders." Wn.Luor
HAIG BROWN.—These Alcaics represented the Holy-
Land Knights departing for the Sacred Tomb ; their
emotions on planting foot on holy soil, and the praise of
Lion-hearted Richard.
6. English Ode to the Princess Royal. JOHN SMITH
BEN/FOLD.—This being the most intelligible, and on a
Loyal subject, pleased the audience excessively. The
opening lines were :

ODE TO THE PRINCESS ROYAL.
Hail ! Bud of Promise—Ocean-Child !
Beauty and Grace, thy couch attending,
Smile on thy birth with aspect mild,
Their magic power together blending :
Sweet be thy slumbers I—softly
Angels are o'er thy cot presiding.
Gaze—gaze we on the gladdening scene !
And mark the parent's bosom swelling ;
What rapture fills the Mother-Queen !
What joy within her breast is dwelling !
Trace, too, in Albert's features stealing
High smiles—a father's love revealing.

7: Latin Hexameters on " The Shipwreck." Arcrs-
TUS SPILLEIt HARRISON.—These verses evidently al-
luding to the fate of " the President," commenced in the
strain of Falconer's Shipwreck, by representing . the
turbulence cf sea and air, till the disastrous ve:sel is laid
on her beam-ends, end her masts dismantled. Harrison's
delivery of "lieu periere ornnes !" descriptive of the pe-
rishing passengers, was good and effective, and his sub-
sequent verses on the sorrows which this loss would oc-
casion among relations at home--the " lachrynue ina-
trumque patrumque" were qualified with appropriate
pathos.
8. Greek lambics on "Leonidas." GEORGE EDWIN PAT-
TENDEN.—This was the gem of the series. Pattenden,
with a rotund voice in his favour, spoke it with as much
fervour and heroism as the old Greek warrior himself.
The ode consisted of the address of Leonidas to his
handful of high martyrs at the pass of Therinopyhe.
Pattenden's enunciation of those passages which directlyq
appealed to the Hellenic soldiery—the (rm. E AEU Off oi,
—" Be ye free"—and again, the " 02FEIVE Vp..£lc,"
"Be ye bold," were delivered by this young scholar with
excellent nerve and spirit.
9. Leetin Sapphic Ode, to Prince George of Cambridge.
AnTrzna CHURll.—This ode was addressed to his Royal
Highness on the occasion of his becoming a Governor of
Christ's Hospital.
10. Latin Elegiacs, or " Nathan's Reproof of David."
GEORGE BANASTRE Pzx.—An opening phrase seemed
somewhat unorthodox : David and his Princes were de-
scribed as seated on thrones " vittis ornati," literally,
I adorned with " fillets." Now, from Aaron to Solomon,
Sacred Writ mentions no fillet : priests and Kings wore
"crowns," and.even "bonnets to:beauty and glory :" never-
theless, throwing aside hypercriticism, the allusion to the
" tender lamb" was choicely given ; and though nothing
can equal the plain scripture of " Thou art the man !" it
was fairly rendered by—
" Tu rapuisti agnum, crimen et omne tnum !"
11. English Poem, on "Edward the Sixth." WILLIAM
ROMANIS —ln praise of the Founder of the School, who
was likened to a young star shining in the heavens.
The speeches being concluded, a liberal collection was
made in a glove for the scholars ; and on the departure
of the Lord and Lady Mayoress, clergy, &c., the 800
Christchurch boys, seated in front of the organ, sang
" God save the Queen," and afterwards testified their
hilarity of spirit by using hand, foot, and voice in accla-
mations. Dr. Rich, the very urbane Head Master of the
School, with his coadjutors, have undoubtedly made
their scholars arrive at some " show and standing."

OPENING OF THE LONDON AND
BRIGHTON RAILWAY.
This stupendous undertaking is at length achieved, and the
whole line eras opened throughout to the public on Tuesday .
morning. The difficulties with which the Company have had
to contend have been great, but they have all been surmounted ,
with comparative ease, and the great work—a work charac-
terised by an eminent engineer as almost impracticable—does
honour to the engineers and the Company Its cutting, its
embankments, and its tunnels are immense, exceeding per-
haps any other line in the kingdom in point of magnitude in
the same distance. The most magnificent and imposing ob-
ject on the line is the Ouse viaduct, about 34 miles from
London, which is 1,434 feet long, entirely built of brick, arid
consisting of 37 semi-circular arches, each 30 feet span. From
the surface of a small river the parapet rises about 105 feet,
and the structure, when seen from the bed of the valley, has an
elegant appearance.
At an early hour the bells of St. Nicholas ushered in the
auspicious morn, and, notwithstanding the prevalence of a
heavy fog, numbers of persons were upon the hills in the vici-
nity t.f the terminus to witness tl.e departure of the first up-
train, which left at a quarter before seven.
A special train, which is to run the distance in an hour and
three-quarters, left at half-past eight with some of the Direc-
tors and their friends.
Every Available spot in the vicinity of the terminus com-
manding a view of the road was occupied, and the scene alto-
gether was very imposing. Thousands upon thousands were
scattered in all directions upon tho hills and on the roads in the
vicinity of the terminus—the town literally emptied itself of its
inhabitants. Under the shed at the terminus a host of musi-
cians and vocalists, professional as well as amateurs, had assem-
bled to greet the first arrivals with a triumphal chorus.
The train was expected to arrive at about a quarter after
twelve, and as the time approached every eye was directed as
far as it could reach on the line to catch a first glimpse of the
train. In a short time the rattling of the engine was heard,
and in mother instant the train was whisked over the New
England viaduct, and reached its destination amidst the shouts
of the vast multitude. The band immediately struck up the
national anthem, and was joined in full chorus by a thousand
voices. This train was followed by another in about ten minutes
afterwards, which was also hailed with acclamation.
The course of the line is as follows:—It starts upon the
Greenwich line at London•bridge, on which it runs for one
mile and three quarters. It then takes the Croydon line
until about nine miles and a half from town and one from
Croydon, where it turns off front it to the left, and skirts
the eastern boundary of the town, at which it has a station
better placed, it appears to us, for the accommodation of the
town, than that of the Croydon Company. From this place
it gradually approaches the turnpike-road to Brighton for a
mile and a ball. The line now keeps very close to the east of
the road until a little beyond the " Parsonage," twenty-five
miles and a half by railway from town. At this place it crosses
, and leaves the road sometimes a mile sr more to the east of it,
creasing from Surrey_ to Sussex at twenty-eight miles from
town, and going by Haslic-mill, Pound-hill, Green-trees, and
Cooper-corner, until it re-crosses the road at thirty-four miles