The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-05 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 1846.

The Lorda met at Five o'clock.

Lord BROUGHAM laid on the table certain resolutions on
the subject of railways, which were ordered to be printed.
Earl DALHOUSIE then moved the bringing up the report on
the Railways Dissolution Bill. The Noble Earl moved cer-
tain amendments, the most important of which were the
introduction of a dissentient minority, the right of pre-emp-
tion in a scheme with all the plans, &c., pertaining thereto.
Earl GAILY opposed the bringing up the report. He
thought that those who had embarked in bonc 2 fide projects
ought not to be at the mercy of persons who had overspe-
culated. _ _

-----
The- report as amended was :agreed to, and their Lord-
ships adjourned.

The SPIAKEZ took the Chair at Four o'clock.
Mr. O'CosarELL said he had given a notice to move for
the discharge of Mr. Smith O'Brien, he now begged to say
he should not bring forward that motion, having been re•
quested not to do so by Mr. Smith O'Brien himself.

The House then went into a Committee of the whole
House on her Majesty's Message with respect to Viscount
Hardinge and Lord Gough, in which
Sir R PEEL moved, in an eloquent speech, that a sum of
3,000/. a year should be granted to Viscount Hardinge and
his two next surviving heirs, and 2,0001. to Lord Gough and
his two surviving heirs, but that in case the East India
Company should provide amply for Viscount Hardinge and
Lord Gough, then the Government annuity would not be paid
to them, but their heirs.
Lord F. EGERTON, in seconding the motion, said that the
hero of Aliwall ought to be included.
Lord J. EVSSELL thought that however much Sir H.
SMITH deserved the consideration of his SOVEREIGN, the
House ought not to institute any proceedings with respect to
him, but leave it to the SOVEREIGN, if she thought right to
do so. He admitted that Sir H. SMITH had done great
service.

Mr. ROEDUCK was sorry that no one had been found to
mention the name of Sir CHARLES NAPIER but himself. He
had served his country as long and as well as Viscount BAR•
HINGE and Lord GouGH, and he could not see why he should
not have had an equal reward.
Mr. HOGG said that the proposition of the East India
Company to give pensions to Viscount HARDINGE and
Lord GOUGH were irrespective of the grant of the peerage to
those two Noblemen, of the proposition of the Government
to grant them annuities.
Sir C. NAPIER thought sufficient honours and rewards had
not been given to Sir H. ..S3uTit for the glorious acts he had
achieved.

Sir R. INGLis thought the House ought to grant the pen-
sions proposed to be given to Viscount HARDINGE and Lord
GOUGH, irrespective of any grants that might be made by
the East India Company to them.
Mr HOME supported the grant.
After a discussion, in which Sir De Lacy Evans, Sir John
Harmer, Mr. M. Gore, Mr. Williams, Mr. Morris, and Sir
ft. Peel took part, the motions were agreed to.
On the reading of the order of the day for the House re-
solving itself into Committee on the Corn Importation Bill,
Lord G. BEETINCK r se to oppos2 the SrEAKien leaving
the chair. The Noble Lord addressed the House at
considerable length, repeating the arguments he used oil
former occasions, and contending that there was not only no
necessity for the measure, but that the Government were
not justified in bringing it forward, even on their own ex-
ag Berated statements.
Sir H. PEEL denied that the Government had used any
exaggerated statements for party purposes, and wished to
know, if the Noble Lord thought the statements of the Go-
vernment exaggerated, how he had conic to consent to so
unusual a measure as the suspension of duties on foreign im-
portation into Ireland. Al early and permanent settlement
of the corn-laws was necessary for the benefit of the country,
and such was the object he had in view in proposing this
measure to the House.

Some considerable discussion took ply ca, in which Mr. G.
13.4xKis, Lord J. Itussitu., and Mr. DISRAELI, took part;
the House then went into Committee upon the Bill with-
out a division ; but upon the first clause being put by the
Chairman,
Lord George BENTINcii- moved that he report progress,
which was lost by a majority of 96.
On the question that the blanks in the first clause should
be tilled up,
Mr. LAWSON moved, " That the House d 3 report pro-
gre.,_a, and not sit again," which caused great laughter, and
another division, which produced similar results .to the
former one. _ _

.-.After a short conversation, it was arranged, that the Com-
mittee on the Bill should be proceeded with to-morrow ;
that the report should be brought up on Friday, and the
third reading be appointed for Monday.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and
the Howe adjourned.

The internal affairs of the Punjaub have been settled, as
far as treaties can go, in a much more speedy and satisfac-
tory manner than the public had any reason to anticipate.
On the entrance of the British troops into the country, every
department was in such a state of disorder, without any os-
tensible ruler, who had authority, power, money, or in-
fluence over the lawless Seikhs, that most men were
puzzled to say what policy would be the best
to adopt, or how the confused mass of jarring
interests was to be unravelled. The Governor-General
and his advisers, however, were not long in coming to a de-
termination. They evidently saw that the kingdom of RUN-
JEET SIaGH could no longer be kept together, that the crown
of the Punjaub, after the destruction of the army, had passed
away from his young and helpless successor, and that it
would be impossible to retain political affairs in their former
state but at an enormous expense to the India
Company. They, therefore, resolved to cut the knot,
divide the Punjaub into two portions, nearly
equal, taking all circumstances into account, and establish
a new state, which they have conferred upon GHOOLAB SINGS!
—a man of mature years, considerable wealth, and influence,
especially in the highland districts, with a power of vision
into political and military affairs above the ordinary cast,
and one likely also to show some spirit, and we hope also
gratitude, in governing a state entrusted to him by his new
allies. 'We really can see no other plan more feasible than
that which has been adopted. It may not succeed. The
two states may speeey come into collision, and
the stronger attempt to or ercome and incorporate its
neighbour. British troops must again decide the question,
and the Punjaub in the long run may actually be forced
upon us ; but these are results which* no man can distinctly
foretel—which may, indeed, never be ,Talised—at all events,
we have made every possible arrangement for preventing
such collisions, by binding down both parties to remain
within their respective frontiers, at the peril of incurring the
determined hostility of the British Government. The
treaty in other respects may be regarded as highly
favourable to the power of the India Company in that
quarter. They are to be allowed the right of marching
troops through the Country, whenever they may find it
necessary to repel any invasion from the west. They are
to have the full control of the river Sutlej, with its continua-
tion under a different name to Mithemkote, and thence to
the confines of Beloochistan ; in other words,
we have now the entire comm and of the Indus
from its mouths in the Delta% almost to the
sources in the mountains whence its tributary branches
spring. To insure the completion of s aci.l vast plans the
Seikh army is to be entirely disbanded, reconstructed on a
new principle, and limited in its numbers, .and a British
force is to occupy Lahore till these Pretozian cohorts shall be
deprived of the power of destroying and creating dynasties,
and rendering a fertile country only a scene of desolation
and A terror to all its peaceable neighbours.

The re marks made by Mr. ROEBUCK and Sir C. NAME&
last evening relative to the conquest of Sinde will be cor-
dially responded to by every generous mind throughout the
British domi miins. We have always contended, and, at one
time, almost :ingle-handed, that the conquest of Sinde, next
to the treaty with China, was the most important event of
the age. Tly.e press and the public are now very
generally of %hat opinion, and the new treaties
with Lahore and the Raja GROOLAB Smolt
only confirm tlus fact, and make the iimportance of Sinde
more evident to the most common obser\ 7er. We have now
the command of the Indus from Kurrachiee to Attock, with
that of all its tributary branches from the mountains of
Cashmere and Thibet : commerce is at, full liberty to ply
its industry onn this concourse of waters; military stores
and troops wire carried up the cou stry now in half
the time • 2 ml till lately they wei e not suffered at
all) and at :half the expense of fo.aner periods. We
::ace thereby an impregnable barrier on the west of our
Indian posses; 1t ns, and at the same time xtneans of improving
all the advan i-ages of a vast territory- by the blessings of
trade and the a: its of peace. And to whom does this country
and India ev, re these blessings?—to two men the most
maligned and es dumniated that ever ape.nred as public cha-
racters—Lord ELLENBOROUGII and Sir CIIAP.LES NAPIER,
conquered
hero of
British ] gttanee and Hyderabad. ,Sinde was justly
sk the most trifling expense both in
men and mey is ; it now the most secure and thriving of
conferred up. any!tbssessions in India, and what honours have been
on the gallant soldier who planned the expedition,
commanded I;he small conquering army, am/ Jed the men on

amidst showers of bullets, and other messengers of death,
against an army in one instance seven times, and in another
twenty times more numerous than his own ? We cannot answer
the question. Even a formal vote of thanks was withheld
for more than a twelvemonth, for no just, or honourable, or
indeed feasible reason, while the dispatches, announcing the
hard-fought victories on the Sutlej are scarcely dry before
Sir R. PEEL comes to the House, proposes a vote of thanks
for victories not one-tenth part so valuable ; then he an-
nounces that HARDINGE and Gomm are to be raised to
the peerage ; and, last of all, that they may be
enabled to maintain the dignity of their station,
he proposes, and the proposition is acceded to, that
the one shall have 3,0001. a year and the other 2,0001. for
their lives and their next heirs for two generations. Lord
ELLENBOROUGH, too, was raised a step in the peerage for
the Sinde affair ; he was entitled to it on no other account•
But Sir C. NAPIER, the active agent, the invincible warrior
who finished the game, and established British dominion on
the banks of the Indus, has been passed by or treated at best
as a common soldier. He has not been raised to the peerage
with 3,0001. a year to maintain the dignity of his rank—he
has not even been created a Baronet; he has been made Go-
vernor of Sinde, because he was found most fit for the office;
and even shameless ingratitude had not the face to deprive
him of it ; but in every other respect his treatment reflects
great discredit both on the Government and the East ludia
Company ; and the best thing they can do is to redeem their
character even at the last hour by a bare act of justice and
sound policy. We quote with pleasure, and hope it may not be
without effect, the brief, but true, remark of Mr. ROEBUCK:—
" Without wishing to institute any invidious comparison
of merits, and with no feeling of jealousy or envy at the
distinctions conferred upon others, yet conceiving that there
was a name in every way deserving from the country a meed
not yet bestowed, by long service, and skill, and integrity,
and actual benefit conferred, he did hope that some means
might be taken that it should not appear as if a slur were
about to be cast upon the conqueror of Sinde by passing
over his services."

An unsettled and doubtful state of the lair applicable to
any particular circumstances has ever been regarded as an
evil of no ordinary magnitude, and this is fearfully increased
when, from the nature of the circumstances, a large portion
of the public are deeply interested in the result, whatever it
may be. It is unnecessary for us to say how numerous a
section of that public became involved during the existence
of the late railway mania in proposed lines, either as
provisional committeemen, or applicants for shares. To
each of these classes it is of the deepest importance
that the law should be settled, in order that
they may arrive at some distinct knowledge of their several
liabilities, and thus may be enabled to take the requisite steps
for extricating themselves therefrom, so that they may be
able to resume their ordinary avocations, undisturbed by the
sense of impending ruin into which an unfavourable decision
may plunge them. The state of the law as between the
provisional committeman and the public at large, the cre-
ditors of the companies to which he lent the sanction of his
name, is now tolerably well known; decision after decision
has affirmed his responsibility to answer out of his indivi-
dual means for the entire of the debts contracted during the
period he was connected with the company, or in fact before
he joined it, if it could be shown that he had sanctioned or
approved of the expenditure, or that it was in its nature such
as was necessary for the existence and carrying on of the
concern, or that it came within his knowledge and that he
took no step to disavow his liability. Sso far the matter is
plain encugh, but it is in his relationship with his brother
committeemen and the allottees of shares that the doubts
exist as to the position in which he is placed.
These doubts, coupled with the certainty of his
own liability, and the knowledge that no time
w ill be afforded or indulgence st own, that parties will pro-
ceed, were it merely for the purpose of creating eoAs,
have led to the breaking-up of many an establishment and
household, to the suspension of the business, and consequent
ruin of the prospects of many a talented and rising professional
man, who, seduced by the prospect of large profits, by the
passibility of securing a competence for his family in the
event of his being cut off before he had realised It by the
slow but certain exercise of professional ability and industry,
in a moment of folly, almost madness, had, perhaps without
consideration joined a project by the failure of which he has
become involved in ruin. It is to persons of this class and
character that the applications of the creditors have been
most constant and unceasing; the knowledge that absence
frum home and from their business for any prolonged period
must destroy their professional prospects; that they will
make any sacrifice, pay any compromise within their power,
to avoid so fearful an alternative, induces an unremitting
torture, till too many have abandoned their homes, and the
profession or business in which they had begun to attain
eminence and to acquire an independence. We could, were
it necessary, point out a sad catalogue of many who have
fallen the victims to such a state of things, and who, were
the law to be settled within any reasonable time, either in
one way or the other, that they might know the very worst
of their position, might still be enabled to retrieve them-
selves, again to live happily in the bosoms of their
families—not to remain exiles from their native land, idlers
and drones, wasting their time in light and frivolous pur-
suits amongst our continental neigbours. To such persons
delay is destruction ; better the most unfavourable decision,
if speedily arrived at, than a favourable one, if kept back a
few short months, and it is on their behalf we implore our
judges to expedite the decisions of the two great and leading
cases (we mean WooLmER v. TOBY, and WALSTAB V. SPOT-
TISWOODE) ; the judgments on which, and the judicial
reasons whereon they are founded, may perchance enable
our legal advi. ers to arrive at something like a sound
opinion on the several cases which may be laid before them.
At present we have the authority of the Learned Solictor-
General for asserting that no decision has as yet been given, and
no lawyer would be rash enough to say what the decision
would be. If at present the committeeman returns to his
home and abides the result of the actions sure to be insti-
tuted against him, no matter how solvent he may be in
other respects, how well able to pay his fair proportion of the
debts, liabilities, and expenses he has incurred, if unable to pay
the entire amount (and how few of the class to which we have
alluded will have the ability to do so), there is no resource
for him but bankruptcy or insolvency, with all the disgrace
attached thereto in the eyes of the public, who will never inquire
what is the cause which has led to so lamentable a result ; or, if
he is enabled to pay the entire amount, by what means can
he obtain a rep ayment of even a portion of the sum thus ex-
tracted from him ? The first and most obvious course would be
from the funds of the concern, to be procured by general
contribution of all parties liable; to decide the amount, of
which the first thing necessary to be ascertained is the much
disputed point of the liability of the allottees of shares to
contribute any sum whatsoever to the expenses of an under-
taking, which, like that in WOOLMER. v. TOBY, never went
further than the issue of letters of allotment, or came be-
fore Parliament, or had any considerable portion of deposits
paid up—for where such payments were made of course a
fund exists for the immediate payment of the debts. We
confess that we are amongst those who do not consider that
the allottee of shares is in one case out of one hundred liable
either at law, in equity, or in honour, to pay any contribu-
tion whatsoever, the grounds of which opinion we have
already put forward in commenting on the case of

WooueEa v. TOBY. Vast difficulties will be found to
exist in the way of instituting proceedings in most
of the cases, which will render it impossible
for the suits to be prosecuted with any prospect of suc-
cess, and yet, notwithstanding the distinct avowal of the
Learned Judge before whom that case was tried, that he
had pronounced no opinion, had come to no opinion, but
merely reserved the very important points involved therein
for the decision of a full court, we find that directors and
managers, who have in the first instance sought to de-
lude the public by issuing circulars, stating that the liabi-
lity of allottees was now fully established by the decision
in that case, now deluding themselves, or rather suffer-
ing themselves to be deluded by their lawyers who,
disappointed in obtaining the professional remuneration
which they expected during the progress of their Bill, now
indemnify themselves by advising proceedings by which
heavy costs must be incurred, and which must be paid, no
matter what the result may be.

"If there are quarrels, care not for the cause,
Knowing they must be settled by the laws."

And thus in many instances hundreds of actions have
already been brought, in which, if there is a failure, as in
all human probability there will be, the expenses and
liabilities of the directors and committee will be fearfully
increased and augmented. An early decision of the points re-
served in WooLmEn v. TOBY, although it may not be con-
clusive in every case, will at least put a stop to by far the
greater portion of this enormous mass of litigation, and thus
do good service to the State by preventing the useless ex-
penditure of considerable sums in costs, and by enabling the
parties to decide on what prospect there is of their being en-
abled to compel the allottees to pay up. A want of space pre.
vents us from being enabled to finish our observations on this
very important subject, to which we shall recur at an early
period.

Although, in congratulating the country yesterday upon
the election of Lord LnrcoLx for the Falkirk Burgh, we
especially referred to his independent and uncompromising
adherence to principle, we are induced to comment
subsequently
e of
ef
his ther
erse
ephoretds
us
further upon this behead;
p's straight-
Lordshi
upone so many pre-
the election which
Asalfoirotuv:rudcuabseihunasv.iour
afford additional evidence
had duties paramount to all others oef Crown, Lord Luicour
u Minister po n
of as
upon every opportunity those duties haveapersonal nature, and
been strictly and
cmiscientiously fulfilled. At the Nottinghamshire contest,
when the paternal voice issued from Clumber,
Nt'ble Earl to retire from all opposition to a kin:patll4'g upon the
odf rimonial
nwitoply both in votes and acres, his public
filled with inimitable resolution. lie reco„
d the sut(!t was ful-
filledfact
that a certain proportion of jurisdiction might be maintained
over the whims of his individual nature by his rve
patent, the Duke of NEWCASTLE ; but, at the same time, also
he recognised an equally apparent fact, that no man in
existence could claim any authority whatsoever over his
principles of action, belonging, not so much to himself
as to the country at large, those principles being entrusted
to him during the period of his Ministry by the people, to
whom, as well as to the Sovereign, his allegiance was due.
Feeling the efficacy of these same reflections, Lord Lnicoui
persisted in the contest at Nottinghamshire, and suffered a de-
feat. Feeling the efficacy of -those sound reflections, ho has