The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-02 00:00:00

Governments, th e inhabitants of Lahore and Umritsur have
nothing to fear f• om the British army.
The Governor- General and the British troops, if the con-
ditions above ix !erred to are fulfilled, and no further hostile
oppcoitien is ofi ered by the Khalsa army, will aid their en-
deavours for th e re-establishment of the Government of the
descendants of Maharajah Runjeet Sing, and for the protec-
tion of its subjects.

The inhabitants of the cities in the Punjau.'o will, in that
case, be perfectly safe, in person and property, from any mo-
lestation by the British troops ; and thy are hereby called
upon to dismiss apprehension, and t., follow their respective
callings with all confide ce.
By order of the Right Ron. the Governor-General of India,
F. CURIE, F-iecretary to the Government of
India, 'Kith the Governor-General.

The official dispa.,ches from the Governor-General and the
Commander-in-0412f of the army in the Punjaub fully con-
firm the favour able accounts which we published yesterday
of the utter `l...efeat and dispersion of the Seikha. The victory
was of the, most decisive character. After the bard-fought
contest at Sabraon, near Hurreekee, where the Seikh chiefs
put fe,rth their whole strength, and many of them sacrificed
their lives, no attempt was made to rally the scattered forces;
And as far as can be judged from the reports of their move-
ments, the greater part of them made the best of their way
to places of safety, or to their own districts. It is rarely
ghat we find, even in the history of Indian wars, sucha shortwith
the
campaign so full of stirring events and so pregnantdestiny
;important results. Indeed it seems to be.
of the Indian Government to go on every year
dominions,
increasing in . strength and extending it
not from any settled design of conquest, or a wish to add one
district more to its territory (with the exception perhaps of
Sinde), but from the force of circumstances,
n the inevitable
necessity imposed upon them of protecting their allies, se-
curing their frontier, and, we may add of rescuing the
oppressed inhabitants from the despotic thraldom of their
native princes. In the interior this has been almost the in-
variable course, and the entire of Hindostan is now quiet,
either as forming a portion of the British dominions, or under
the immediate protection of a people wbo may be reckoned
in numbers as only one to five hundred of the Hindoo and
Mahomedan population. The policy of the Indian Govern-
ment has been for some time not to extend its boundaries.
They put down the Bur:nese, but left the Government, on
giving proper security, to manage the affairs of the country
AS usual. They tri,ated in like manner the Nepaulese, and
according to 6'4 proclamation of tte Governor-General, the
Punjaub is aiill to be left under the dominion of the legiti-
mate sue_ci.ssor of RUNJEET SINGH. With this we find no
fault, but care must be taken at the same time that we have
a dy nasty that can be depended upon, and that will act
cordially, like the Old Lion of Lahore. in aiding us against
invaders from the west. England wants not the territory.
All she wants is security for the rest of her dominions in
India, and a free intercourse for merchandise and traffic
along the whole line of the Indus, and its tributary branches.
These important paints cannot be lost sight of, and
from the prudence, moderation, and firmness, hitherto
displayed by Sir HENRY HARDINQE, we may anticipate
that he will establish a barrier against the Affghans, and all
invaders from the west, and at the same time not forget the
arts of peace, the erAcouragement of trade, the security of
merchants, and the full protection of the inhabitants against
such a ruthless 'oanditti as the Seikhs, and corrupt and im-
becile rulers hie those which have succeeded each other in
rapid succetsien since the death of RUNJEET Smart On a
brief review of this campaign and its important results, it is
impossible to withhold the highest praise to the Governor-
General. He, evidently was not prepared for conquest when
beset out from Calcutta. His objects were to encourage an
amicable, establishment of a stable Government in the Pun-
jaub, and to protect the neighbouring states, under British
dominion. But he was driven from his purpose by the
wanton and unexpected invasion of the Seikh army; be was
compelled to fight at great disadvantage, and to sacrifice a
part of his scattered army to arrest the progress of these
plundering hordes, that threatened to overrun the interior
of Hindostan. This he did in the most effectual
and [salient manner—he kept them at bay till he
had mustered all the forces within his reach, and
then, by one decisive blow, dashed them to
pieces. He has thus obtained the right of complete con-
trol. over the Punjaub, and neither the French nor the
americans, nor any other nation jealous of England, can
'Charge him and his army with the crime of aggression. It
would be difficult to point out a system of policy so fair, so
moderate, and successful ; and so striking has been its effect,
that even his malignant revilers have been compelled to
admit the fact, and, to save themselves from the scorn of
their countrymen, now praise his deeds in the most fulsome
strains.

It might have been a matter of pure accident, that there
were not a sufficient number of Members present to con-
stitute a House for the Commons on Tuesday. We know
it is usually said that the Government ought to be respon-
aible whenever the SPEAKER is forced to adjourn the House
for want of a competent attendance. Be this as it may, we
are satisfied that the country will regard very discontentedly
such remissness on the part of their representatives.
Is it credible, that with the hundreds who have taken
Upon themselves the duty of attending to our national
concerns, not forty Members could be found sufficiently
zealous to repair to their appointed Council Chamber, at a
time when starvation is threatening millions of our country-
men in one direction, and the increase in the crime of mur-
der in another is represented to be so great as to require the
prompt and efficacious concession of extraordinary powers
from the Legislature for its suppression? With the greatest
inflictions pending over us, and the most painful uncertainty
as to their results, Parliament was convened at a very early
period to deliberate upon what was best to be
done. The Minister acknowledges himself to be
perplexed as to which of two measures priority should
be given, such is the urgency with which either is required.
A direful exposition of the state of society in Ireland is
offered by the Secretary of State for the Rome Department,
following up with amplitude, supplied from intervening cir-
cumstances, the kindred statement tendered by his colleague
in the House of Lords : Mr. O'CONNELL at once challenges,
on Monday night, to reply to the Minister, but from the
lateness of the hour, and the length to which his observations
would run, suggests the propriety of an adjournment till the
morrow. The leader of the House readily yield.
to this proposition, conditioning that all other no-
tices for that day should be postponed by
the
different Members; and then, when the country would natu-
rally be looking with anxiety for any arguments by Mr.
O'Cortstzt.t. against the Ministerial scheme for the prevention
of assassination in Ireland—an anxiety emanating from the
delight with which any reasonable demonstration would be
bailed, that the suspension of the ordinary privileges of the
Constitution is not necessary to be resorted to; an anxiety
also, to which is superadded their conviction that the time
to be consumed by the discussion of the Bill sent down
from the Lords is hourly depriving an impo-
verished people from reaping the blessings of cheap
food. and the concomitant benefits involved in the grand
commercial policy of the Government--they are surprised
by the knowledge that of between six and seven hundred
representatives, not more than 31 could be discovered of suffi-
cient patriotism to facilitate, by their presence at four o'clock
in the House of Commons, the progression of these several and
all-absorbing matters of State consideration. This indiffer
ence too, is aggravated by the recollection that the Wednes-
days have been by special arrangement devoted as au
additional day to the relaxation of the Members, thus re-
ducing the number of actually working days to four in the
week, upon the express understanding that there should br
a greater degree of attention given to the ordinary business
of the House on those days. No doubt some notice will be
taken in Parliament of this dereliction of duty. All
we
can say is, that we trust such reprehensible inattention will
nob recur during the present session.

Very naturally indeed the agricultural gentlemen, or
rather the would-be leaders of our agricultural population
have been casting about them for some means of moderating
their supposed downfal by the acceptation of the Corn and
Customs Bill. They will not, or cannot, regard the commercial
change now pending otherwiseadaens
destruction an instrument foi
of the whole
their personal destruction, and the ction
agricultural interest. Hence they have been particularly
earnest in their endeavours to discover some feasibleslcheunrt,,
by the adoption of which their fall may in some measure
be broken. This at least is their ostensible object,i though w'
shrewdly /inspect that their sole intention • s the
temporary
embarrassment of the Government and the negative obstruc'-.
tion of the Ministerial policy. They vainly expect to tamp,
with the operation of free-trade measures by the int tion of some wily proposition partaking somewhat of th:r,
liberal character. 'With this view a public meet-
ing of certain agriculturists from the counties of Kent,
Surrey, and Sussex, was held on Monday in Blackfrian,
for the purpose, so intimated the document by which tin:
meeting had been convened, of facilitating "the total an•'
immediate repeal of the malt-tax." Everything in connexion
with the assembly was in the nif.st symmetrical kect-
ing. There was Sit' CHARLES LAMB, Bait., in the chair .
there was a letter, read by the Secretary, from Eat: STANHOPE, applauding the object of the meeting
there were several significant resolutions proposed and
seconded, condemnatory of that obsolete system of taxation
of which the present impost upon malt was regard d as a
glaring instance. We are far from wishing to squabble with
the individual motives of those who agitate in this move-
ment ; we are only desirous that nothing detrimental to the
interests of the country at large may be promulgated under
a specious and delusive aspect. Of this nature we consider
the proposed abolition of duty upon malt. We conceive that
by the realisation of such a ch4nge the pockets of the inul (Buds
would in no single particular be benefited, while nearly five
rling would be abatracted from the national revenue
—the only good, and undoubtedl
cant source of advantage yit might prove no insigniti-
resultin:.; to the body of agricultural
monopolists. In this maaner,
an amount almost tanta-
mount to the proceeds of the income-tax is derived from the
imposts levied upon malt, by destroyin: which
the benefit resulting from the former extraordinary
tax would be rendered whohy nugatory Nowt
by this alteration would any decrease in the
price of beer (or at least to any recognisable extent) acme
as a recompense to the public ; with a greater demand for the
article the price of hop* would ascend in proportion, by that
means feeding the purses of the hop-growing protection
party at the expene of the population, and at the expense
of the national revenue. Such are our objections to the
scheme of repealing the malt tax, and we conceivp those
objections are based upou solid inference wad( logical