The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-23 00:00:00

row 10 j Stt,:t.y precipi-
tancy away, that in the flight no halt is permitted to a
mother in the agonies of child-birth----none to the fa-
ther, even when the pangs and sweat of death are
upon him. Conspiracy, perjury, spoliation, and
death are the stages of this melancholy his-
tory. Sir, I shall presently sit down to make
way for others who may easily evince more ability
than I possess, ter do justice to the cause of this injured
Prince, but cannot feel more zeal or a more intense
anxiety that the decisions of this Court may be such as
.will do credit to the profession which it makes of attach-
ment to the welfare of the natives of India. But ere I retire
I shall venture to make one or two general observations,
suggested by the case before us. Sir, we have, in the
course of this debate, heard much of expediency, and it
would appear that in that one word lay the entire phi-
losophy of your Government. verily believe it to be
so. From the moment that Lord Clive drew the sword
for you at 'Madras, and conquered at Plassey, until now,
judgment
you have regtdatedyour proceedings at home and abroad by
thehavep
to
i)
on
ttchia
asked
lkleienodef
,‘ev xnh poa ert is
ency
to the plummet. You
.-Yon have not laid
right,righteous-
ness
but what is politic. You
have too frequently turned a deaf ear to the demands of
eternal justice, and squared your conduct according to
that principle which has been, from the beginning, the
bane and curse of the world—the principle of political
expediency. Above you is the marble statue of the
greatest (I wish I could add the best) man that ever
swayed the destiny of India. That transcendent man bent
the energies of his almost superhuman mind—not to the
observance of the strict rules of justice, but to the accom-
plishmen t of the plans of a splendid ambition upon princi-
ples of political expediency. As your rule in India com-
menced so has it. continued, even down to the deposal of
the Baja of Sattara, and the amendmei;t of the Chair,
which asserts that it is not expedient to reverse the deci-
sion which has been come to.. Sir, if India is to be saved
to this country, it must be henceforth ruled—not by the
imitators of Lord Clive or Warren Hastings, but by men
who will do justly, and love mercy, and carry the princi-
ples of private honour into public life • Sir, I speak here
to-day less as a mere holder of India stock than as a citi-
zen in common with yourself of this empire, as one jealous
for the honour of the British name and the integrity of
the dependencies of the Crown. We have, I will not say
by what means, got possession of a vast country. It is
populous, it is rich, it is capable of improvement to an in
definite extent. How, I ask, is the honour of which we are
so proud to be preserved unsullied ? How are our
distant possessions to be retained and transmitted ?.
Why, by one way, and by one way only. By acting
upon principles of unbending honour ; by conciliating
and attaching the natives of our territories ; and by
redressing every injury which is brought to your know-
ledge. You may say we are the only tenants at will ; at
all events we occupy under a very short lease, the re-
newal of which is uncertain, and though things may not
.be altogether what they 'ought to be, they will la,st our

to witness the catastrophe which I predicted, and the dis-
comfiture of the Bombay Government, by the execution
on the part of the Raja of that determination which he
repeated to me from the window of his palace as I bade
him farewell :---‘ THAT HE WOULD SURRENDER HIS
TERRITORY RATHER THAN CONCEDE THE SMALLEST
POINT • TILL ms GRIEVANCES HAD BEEN HEARD 'AND
REDRESSED.' "

Was there the influence of any agency at this time,
Sir ? No ; but you have here the • noble dictates of a
noble mind. The only communication I ever made to
the Raja up to the date of his dethronement was this :
" Copy of letter from Captain Cogan to his Highness the
Baja of Sattara, dated the 29th July, 1839.
"May it please your Highness—l have been honoured
by the receipt of your Highness's letter, and feel the high
consideration your Highness has conterred upon me by
this instance of your favour, and by inviting me to visit
your Highness at •Sattara, should the Government of
Bombay not object ; this I'should have had pleasure by
doing, but circumstances render it very inconvenient. I
hope, however, your Highness will keep cheerful. God
will give you protection against intriguers, and his -Ex-
cellency our good Governor, Sir James Carnac, can esti-
mate the high character of Hindoo princes. If I were
permitted, I would say to your Highness, attend in all
respects to the advice of the Governor, and all will be
well.

" Your Highness's obliged and faithful servant,
" R. COGAN."

Now, Sir, is there any thing very treasonable in this ?
—(Cheers.) But, Sir, had I been aware of the intended
conditions of the Bombay Government., I would have ad-
vised him very differently. But, Sir, is it not extraordi-
nary, that whilst evtry topic. of falsehood and fabrication,
too disgusting to be noticed, in the way of intercepted
letters. have been sent to this country, mine is not forth-
coming ? I mention this, Sir, as an extraordinary fact.
—(Bear, hear.) Admitting, for example, that I had
been the paid agent of the Raja, would that have added
to the Baja's guilt ? Or where would have been the im-
propriety in me,nnconnected as I am with your service ?
But I, at the same time wish this Court to understand
that the only money transaction I ever had in my life
with the Baja of Sattara or his agents, until lately, when
I assisted them to get away from this country, Was, that
I lent him nearly two hundred pounds, to keep them from
actual want, when they were left in abSolute destitution,
and their appeals unattended to by the gentlemen on the
other side of the bar.— <Loud cheers.). .1 now beg to
tell this Court, that I was proud to be the bearer
of Mr. Hume's letter to . the , ex-Governor of
Goa, at Lisbon. - I had two interviews with that no-
bleman ; they were brief, but to my mind conclusive as
to the Rajas entire iiiiieeenCe. ' I can only here state
the substance of what took place, but that I will do.—
(Hear, hear.) . On I presenting Mr' Hume's letter, Don
Manoel informed me that he had I.ifcri: ini correspond-
ence with the Raja's Vakeels in Laclon on this stibieet.
That he could not believe that the British authorities