The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-16 00:00:00

EVENING suN

r - _
Mr, Tharitehad ac;cr, :en Tr... L' 1,49 re the
high.6A'Courz in th, 1 t);:' that ac-
eusationlad been th..L • .1 1;+ en de--I
clared. not gniity. Pe _Li) t T iluis
.wouid
wish to have 'anCler . ....LL.O., against
those who had dapoLLicil the Po- ja o'l and -which,
if instituted, ha had: no —doubt Nvonhl ~oniiiiiate in the
same manner. The minute of'the Governor of the'so.l of
May proved the attempt of the litija'tO intrigue ',with the
Govermnent of Goa. " Oh, -hilt," said the flon.Gentlernan,
" that had beri "discovered seven- years ago: Colonel

Briggs had, spoken of ,
Mr. GEORGE bad. not referred to Colonel
Briggs. .r ,
Mr. WEEDING—Then the Hon. Gentleman referred to
some other of the residents at the Raja's Court on
the subject. Sir 'Mines Carnac's remarks on the- cor-
respondence with Goa, set that question at rest; and they
had the uniform consent of witnesses, fifty-one in mem-
ber, with regard to the attempt to correspond with the
Governor of Goa. It might be a silly attempt, but it had
been proved, and had been adverted to by Colonel
Lowrey, to whom he had meant to allude when he men-
tioned the mune of Colonel Briggs. With regard to
the second charge of carrying on a correspondence with
the ex-Raja of Nagpoor, Sir Robert Grant's minute of
the 24th May proved that charge to demonstration, Its
stood upon record that the ex-Raja had attempted to
corrupt the fidelity of the native troops. Now, why
should he (Mr. Weeding) take the opinion of the Hon.
mover of the present question, in preference to the con-
viction of the lion. Court of Directors, of Lord Auck-
land, of Mr. Robertson of Mr. IVilberforce Bird, of Col.
Morrison, of Sird; Canine, of Sir R.G rant, of the members
of the Bombay Government, and against the absolutely
recorded signatureef Col. Lodwick 3 fur Col. Lodwick
had, by his signature' to the Report of the Commission-
ers, testified Ins belief in the guilt of the-Raja, and be-
cause now, three years afterwards, he came for yard and
said that that was ono act of his life which he was sorry
ho had committed, were they to say they would not
take his evidence.? He lamented to see the pamphlet
which that officer bad recently published. The publication
of those papers was a breach of his duty.—(llear, hear.)
All his Sattara correspondence. was confidential, and he
had no right to publish it.-a-(Hear, hear.) If he had
been wronged, thlit.Conat was the tribunal to.which he
should have appealed.-(hear, hear.) Had he done so
he would have beeti heard impartially. He had no right
to commit his employers and himself by the publication
of that correspondenee. It was-. the first instance of the
sort, and he hoped it would be the last on record. But
they were not content :with accusing the authorities of
injustice in deposing the ex-Raja, but they endeavoured
to make it appear,' that the Government had ap-
pointed- as his successor a man not fit to govern.
Let theta read what Colonel Ovans said on that subject
(Hear,
hear)—aud lie Considered him as good an au-
thority ns any peon in that Court.—(Hear, hear.) The
press had been at weak. • The Bombay Gazette had en-
deavoured-to keep alive theseproceedings,and large sums
of money bad been expended by the ex-Raja to give ef-
fect to these endeaaosirs. As a. proof of this he would
refer to page 45 of the papers. section i :
" In a letter dated the 23dultimo, the Resident called
our attention to- a gross libel published in • the Bombay
Gazette of the 20th ultimo, against the present Raja of
&Ultra,' to the effect that, on the day of his installation,
he was so drunk as to require being • carried on a board
to his Palace by four men. We solicit the attention of
your Hon. Committee to this communication, and to the
remarks Of Lieut.-Col. Ovens on this calumnious state-
ment, for which there is not the slightest foundation."
Here was a proof of the length to which persons would
go who had a bad cause to sustain. He was
sorry that a gentleman who usually took their eccle-
siastical affairs under his cognizance was not present,
to express his opinion as to the conduct of the Raja in
the particular to which.he was about to allude. He (Mr.
Weeding) had been the coadjutor of that gentleman in
his endeavours to induce that Courts to put an end to the
practice of suttee. They had been all anxious for it,
and at length it had been accomplished, and the Board
had come to the conclusion that it would tend to sustain
the morality of the British subjects—lndia was not likely
to shake their allegiance. : For testimony to the humane
character of the present Raja, he would refer to page 45,
section 12, of the printed papers : • •
The abolition of suttee within the limits of the Sat-
tarn Sisste, in which heretofore it has been so painfully
prevalent, will be hailed with satisfaction by your Hon.
Committee and by every friend of humanity. We en-
tertain no doubt that the Raja resolved on this measure,
from the knowledge which he possesses of the abhorrence
with which the inhuman rite of suttee is held by the
British Government but it will be- as satisfactory to
your Honourable Committee as it has been to us, to be
Informed that the act was entirely spontaneous on the
Raja's part, and consequently reflects the greater credit
on him. On this subject the Resident reports as fol-
lows justice to the Raja, I deem it incumbent on
trie-to state, that the abolition of the rite of suttee was
entirely voluntary on the part of his Highness. After
stating to me personally, that he was aware of the light
in which this rite was viewed by the British Govern-
ment, and the fruitless attempts hitherto made to sup-
press it here, he declared it to be his intention to follow
ate example of the British. Government in suppressing
it, and this declaration he has now fulfilled by public
proclamation. After witnessing the harrowing scenes
which I have done here, and seeing with my own eyes
these miserable victims led down to Mahowlee to be
sacrificed, and passing the gates of the British Resi-
dency without the power of interfering, I may, I trust,
be permitted to express my.heartfelt gratification at this
eamplete abolition of this horrible rite throughout the
whole of this country; "
Well, if that were the act of a drunkard, he should
have no objection to see more of the native Princes of
India, indulging in a few glasses of wine. Instead of the
guilty wretch he had been.represented to be here, he was
exhibiting the milk of human kindness itself. Now
without any disparagement to other persons, he considered
the testimony of Colonel Ovans on this point to be con-
elusive, and as one example was worth more than all the
speeches in the World, he considered that the present
lqa of Sattara had done more to abolish the suttee,
than the most eloquent orator 'that had ever addressed
that r,ourt, and he for one 'honoured Appa Sahib for
what he bad done. He would take that opportunity of
alluding to those who had called him drunkard. He
believed young men might be found in society who might
sometimes have exceeded the bounds of temperance. but
they were not therefore called drunkards. On the whole,
therefore, he considered that the offence of the ex-Raja
of Sattara amounted to sedition in the first instance, and to
treason in the next, and that Sir J.Carnae had acted wisely
in removing him from his government, as an example to
all who might attempt to revolutionize the country. Let
them consider the great misery which must result from
any attempts of that nature : how of necessity it must
put an end to those merciful institutions which would
ultimately raise India to a state of European civilization,
and to the introduction of that religion which would put
an end to idolatry. Fur these reasons he fully concurred
in all the‘ proceedings which had led to the deposition of
the Raja oe Sattatra.
Mr. S.l.Lo3tors suggested the expediency of adjourn-
ing the debate, but was met with loud cries of " No."
General LODWICH. would not have addressed the Court
on the subject when the qUestion had been so ably treated
by others, had he not. felt it was in his power to offer
them some information, more particularly on one portion
of the subsect. When ho came to, this country he came
with a g-rlevance. Ile. lied written a memorial to the
Court on the subject .before lie left India, and lie had
riven that memorial to Sir Robert Grant before he. sailed,
in order that he might, detain him in India if lie thought
proper.—(hoar, hear.) On, his voyage home he had
written another memoilal on the sehject. Those rae,„
morials had been presented to the Chairman and the
Deputy-Chairman, but they had never taken notice of
them until lung afterwards, and he had been treated with
contempt by all. He had called on the Chairman and
Deputy-Chairman, anti had told them that he could do-
pose to important circumstances in refe,irleo DneeepoLtyh-ecChair
oih:
seission, lie time to tell the troth. i
Dian had treated him occasionally with civility, and oc-
cos-ion:Illy not even with common courtesy. Ills life bad
bin 0p.., of hardships and trials. The Hon. Gen:leman
who'had last spoken had thought proper to impeach his
conduct. He cared not for those imputations, and he
would refer to forty'years' service as an answer to them.
---(hear, hear.) With regard to the publication of the
corresPorsdence, he visited to knoW whether overypaper,
secret or not, on the subject, had not been laid on the
table of the Court ? What had been done the papers' su:
jet him to censure in publishiag. those hs
If this case were to be tried on the principles of justice
the truth ought to be told. New: with respect t
b o this
he
Commission: when the Commission WO assemled
said it was illegal to send suclia Commission into ha adn
•independent Prince's territory, Besides,. themembers
been treated with the greatest disrespect. ,
a that Commission were actuated. by the feelings of the
Bengal Government, and entertained the strongest pre-
jadicea against the Raja. He would appeal to those
present if it had not been the custom for the Residents
to treat the Raja with the greatest respect. But this
esistona was now deviated from, and why ? Because the
lioja was considered as already guilty.. With respect to
this Commission they met and called officers before
them who deposed to facts which seemed to be impos-
sible. There were numerous discrepancies in their tes-
tiniony, and he (General Lodwick) 'insisted on their
being 'submitted to cross-examination:" After some
difficulty he obtained permission that- they should
be cress-examined on the last day, and these
were the facts attending the cross-examination. The
senior Soobadar was brought in and stood before them.
fie (Genera? Lodwick) put a question to him just as he
ishould have put before a. Court-martial. s He had sat on
many Courts-martial, and kneW what were proper gime-
tions to be put, as Well as his colleagues. Both of them,
however, started up and declared that he was bullying
"the evidence. The Soobadar looked confused, and his
countenance sank, but both of the other memboes of the
Commission started up and said there should be no cross.
examination. Another native officer during his exami-
nation sat in his chair with all the appearance of a dead
/pan. It came out that he had kept a journal. This
Saurnal he suggested:should be seized, and it was so, and
brought to the Court, and the discrepancies were very
great between that journal and the evidence he had
given.. The cross-examination of that witness also was
not allowed. He.had taken his notes of the evidence, and
Thad expected that there wukl have been time to sialjbe rate.
fin' coming into 'the Court, however, the next day, issi
found the Report of the • evidence rei:cly prepared. He
thought that •extraordinary, and on bariring the reason,
the excuse given was that the Commissioners preparing
the Report had been obliged to go to Bombay, and would
vaot have time to prepare it. He was astonished at this
irregularity, but • was preSSedto sign it. He agreed to
gu over it, and objected to' certninparts, and when he
teamed it he thought- the examination would last some
tliime,e,diadadwtrttghei:ushosinhl be enabled to protest against it.
time--slie ,aelsnoWledgectitnhg it without protesting at the
he did wrong ;in signing it
without protesting—(Rearathear)-2,-but he' saw that any
impedimeot he might offer'
and he had
signed it to prevent his Ai own Government frora being