The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-26 00:00:00

LETTERS FROM MR. MACAULAY.

The Edinburgh Chronicle publishes the following let-
ters from the Right Hon. Mr. Macaulay: the first being
a reply to Mr. David Greig, on the subject of the mili-
tia ; and the second an answer to a letter from the
Secretary of the Committee fur the liberation of Frost,
Williams, and Jones :
" Albany, London, Jan. 30, 1846.
" Sir,—You quite misunderstand my sentiments about
the elective franchise. I newt. in my life said that you
who have no votes were not interested in the public weal.
God forbid! My rcasor.s for objecting to univers3l:uffrage
are very different. I believe that the non-electors are as
deeply interested as I am in the cecuritv of property and
the maintenance of order ; •but I believe that a very
large portion of them do not understand their own
interest, and might easily be induced, by the -pressure. of
immediate distress, to act in opposition to their own in-
terest. That this is so, I have proof under their own
hands. I refer to the petition which Mr. Dancorebe
presented to the House of Commons in 1842. In that
document some hundreds of thousands of Chartists asked
for the franchise, and told us how th. y meant to use it.
They avowed that their objects were national bank-
ruptcy, confiscation of the soil, of canals, of machinery
—in short, the destruction of all property. I was firmly
convinced, and am firmly convinced, that such measures
would produce indescribable misery to the great majority
of the petitioners themselves. I refused them the
franchise, not from disregard of their interests, but from
the same feeling which would lead me to refuse a razor
to a man N 1 ho told me that he wanted it in order to cut
his throat; and I assure you that I have never inquired
of any inhabitant.of Edinburgh who complained to me
of a grievance whether he was an elector or not. .

" And now to the main subject of your letter. I shall
give my best consideration to the measures which tray be
proposed respecting the militia ; but I must frankly tell
you that my conduct will be guided by principles which
differ widely from yours. I hold defensive war to be
lawful and necessary. I conceive that the State has a
right to call on every citizen to bear a part in prOtecting
his native soil against assailants. That the exertion and
burden ought to be reduce d as much as possible, and
divided as fairly as possible, is quite true. But I sus-
pect that all the inconveniencirs which even a vexatious
enrolment can produce would be small indeed, when
compared with the misery which would be caused by the
appearance of a hostile armament in the Forth.

I cannot at all understand your scruple about joining
a iiirotection society. You pay taxes, I presume, di-
rectly or indirectly. You must be aware that a large
part of those taxes goes to support the regular army
a:.:d .navy. Now, if you may lawfully contribute to
the support of a kind of force which has been, and
may be, employed in offensive war, surely you may,
without any twinge of conscience, contribute to the
support of a force which is, by its nature, strictly
defensive, and which is not likely ever to shed a
drop of blood, unless danger of the most fearful
kind should come near to our own hearths. I
persuade myself that your aversion to the use of
arms does not go to such a height that you would
hold yourself morally bound to see Edinburgh sacks d
by invaders without striking a blow for your home and
family. Now, the militia is meant to be peculiarly a
security against invaders. It is not an instrument of
aggression. You must, therefore, admit it to be, as com-
pared with the regular army, an innocent institution. It,
then, you refuse to pay anything towards the militia,
while you are paying the soldiers and sailors who have
just be, n fighting at Buenos Ayres, I must say that yon
strain at a gnat and sw allow a camel.
" If you have any special hardship to complain of, it
shall-receive my best attention.
"I have the honour to be, Sir, your faithful and
obedient servant,

" T. B. MACAULAY."
" Albany, London, Feb. 16, 1846.
" Sir,—l cannot agree with you in thinking that the
law has, as respects Frost and his accomplices, been
thOroughly satisfied. Consider what they did, and
what they have suffered. They raised a rebellion,
which you admit to have been unjustifiable—led thou-
sands of ignorant labouring men into guilt and danger
—fired on the Queen's troops—wounded a magistrate
in the discharge of his duty—caused . the deaths of
several unhappy creatures—and would, if their at-
tempt had not been stopped in the outset, have caused
such a destruction of life and *and property as has
not been known in England for ages. This is
their offence. What has been their punishment?
Transportation for about five years—a lighter punish-
ment than has been inflicted on many poor lads for
picking pockets. You disclaim very properly all pro-
jects of insurrection. But rely on it that there will be
insurrections enough, if turbulent and designing men
are apprised that the penalty of raising a civil war is
henceforth to be less than the penalty of robbing a hen-
roots. Thinking this, I cannot hold out any hope
that I shall vote for any address in favour of these great
c. iminals.

"I have the honour to be, Sir, your faithful servant,
" T. B. MACAULAY."

THE NEW PALACE AT WEST-

MINSTER.

The following particulars, relative to the building
familiarly known as the New Houses of Parliament, but
which has lately assumed the above appellation, have
been derived from authentic sources, and will probably
prove interesting to the reader, detailing, as they do, the
progress of this great national undertaking. We com-
mence with

The River Front, containing the committee-rooms and
libraries of both Houses, with the Speaker's and other
residences. This is now completed externally, and the
whole of the scaffolding removed. It is also ready in-
ternally for the fixing of the finishings, which are being
proceeded with elsewhere with great rapidity. We next
come to

LITERATURE.

'The House of Lords, a building that for gorgeousness
of appearance will not be surpassed by any edifice to be
found on the Continent. The house is covered in, and
the windows, twelve in number, glazed. The ceiling, a
most magnificent piece of workmanship, is finished, and
the effect is grand in the extreme. We may. venture
to say that there is nothing in London or ever. in Eng-
land equal to it in riehness of design or elaborateness
in ornament. It is composed of panels and emblazon-
ments, the centre of each panel being a shield or crest.
The panels are painted in a variety of rich colours, and
the emblazonments are gilded. The upper part of the
wall will present a stone facing, but the lower part,
reaching to the windows, will be lined with oak wains-
cotting, which we understand has been prepared, and
only awaits more favourable weather to admit of its
being put in its place. The elaborate nature of this oak
panelling is almost beyond the powers of description.
It is entirely covered with carving of the most exquisite
workmanship, the armorial bearings of the different
Peers being introduced iu the numerous panels. The
throne, with its appendage and canopies, all of oak, is
is a state of great forwardness. The carving is of a
most magnificent character, and is equal, in point of
enrichment, to any Gothic screen-work seen abroad.
All this elaborate wood-work and decoration are being
prepared by Messrs. Grissell and Peto, the contractors
for the erection of the New Palace, upon Government
premises at Thames Bank, which have been fitted up
at great cost for the express purpose of expediting the
work. The large windows in the House of Lards, in
each of which there are eight compartments, will be
filled in with stained glass, representing the portraits of
the kings and queens of England and Scotland.
Between each window are niches for the re-
ception of the statues of those barons who
compelled King John to sign Magna Charta in the field
of Runnymed. A model statue, about six feet in
height, representing the celebrated Prelate Langton,
has been fixed in the centre niche on the east side, and
the effect is very fine, and is said to have elicited Prince
Albert's approbation on Friday. Over the throne are
three large panels, most lavishly decorat, d, and which
are intended to be ornamented with frescoes. The back
of the Strangers' Gallery will also be, decorated, it is
believed, with frescoes. From information we have re-
ceived, we have every reason to believe that the House
of Peers, the Peers' and Commons' libraries, and the
committee rooms will be ready for use about the middle
of next session. It should be stated that dui floor of
the house of Peers will be of perforated cast-iron of a
very peculiar character.

SIR ROBERT PEEL AS STATESMAN AND

Victoria Hall is roofed in, and in a state of great for-
wardness. This hall will contain the chief statues of
eminent men that have existed during the last 200 years;
and also fresco paintings of historical subjects. It will
hare a parquette flooring—that is, a flooring composed
of various descriptions of oak, with a very rich border.
This hall will be used as an ante-room to the House of
Lords.

ORA 7 OR.

The Victoria Gallery, the robing, and guard rooms,
the royal landing, the latter having a most exquisitely
grained roof; enriched with bosses, and lighted from
above, are all roofed in, and the access from them, is
nearly cemlete, to,
The Victoria Tower, which- is now 65 feet in height.
Its large and magnificent arches have been completed
some time; and the staircase, from the tower to the royal
gallery, is arched in with stone. The stone carvings of
the gateway are not only numerous but majestic in ap-
pearance, and two lions, in stone, in an upright position,
and fixed on either side of the gateway, have a very
imposing appearance. The next twenty feet of the
tower to be erected will, according to the model prepared
by Mr. Thomas, from designs by Mr. Barry, be one
mass of elaborate carving. In the front, or Abbey side,
will be nine niches, as at present contemplated, contain-
ing the statues of ancient king 3 and queens, the centre
niche, which is directly over the gateway, being occupied
with a statue of the Queen. The frontage, towards
Millbank, will be treated in the same manner; and the
two other sides will be enriched with stone carvings.
Above this height the carving and decoration will be
continued, but not of so lavish or prominent a character.
The House of Commons is nearly ready for the roof,
which is itself in readiness for fixing. The interior fit-
tings of the House will be of °A carved, but not so ela-
borately as the panelling in the House of Peers. The
completion of the House is expected in 1848. The
residences of the S;•eaker and other officers of the House
of Commons are also roofed in, and in a forward state.

This is a reprint of a clever sketch which appeared
some months since in the English Gentleman newspaper,
and its republication at the present moment is well-
timed. The author indignantly repudiates the idea that
Sir Robert Peel is a man of mediocrity, and triumph.
antly asks,
Does mediocrity raise itself to the highest station, in de.
fiance of social obstacles, leaving men of 'genius' dwarfed in
the distance or toiling at the base ? Does mediocrity grapple
ith rampant and powerful prejudices, subduing them to the
rein and whip ? Does it convert the servant into the master?"
He considers Sir Robert to be a statesman of a very
high order, although he admits that „as to the morality
of his system the less said the better." The following
extract conveys, we think, a very correct idea of the
present position and prospects of Sir R. Peel:—
" Since 1840 his public life has been a series of progressive
developments. He began by laying down the principle, that
his duly to the public was superior to any obligations to his
party. He recognised the nation as his only master. To the
nation, in the aggregate, he is proudly humble ; to all sections
of it, humbly proud. He has been gradually making his peace
with the people of England. He has used craft and dissimula-
tion to cloak great designs: his disinterestedness must be the
guarantee of his good faith. If he has been a traitor to his
party, he has made amends to his Sovereign and his country.
After having trained the House of Commons, by every refine-
ment of political and Parliamentary art, to be the obedient
slaves of his will; he has compelled the greatest men of his day
—the greatest warrior and the most distinguished lawyer of
the age—to abandon their most cherished convictions, and to
take from him the laws of their mind. Thus it is that he has
individualised himself and consolidated his power. He can
stand up in the face of Parliament, and defy all the viler in-
sinuations of party spirit—the petty opprobrium heaped on in-
consistency. The proof of his rectitude, of his possession of
that wisdom and that higher morality which supersede the
minor and temporary obligation of consistency, lies in the ne-
cessity his countrymen are under of adopting his policy ; and of
calling on him alone, of all his contemporaries, to carry it out.
He is able to stand up in his place in Parliament, and declare
that he desires not to be Minister—that he even prays to be
relieved from office. But the country calls loudly on him to
remain. He may be hated, despised, undervalued ; but he is
wanted. For near a century, no Minister has held so proudly
independent a position. Abroad, a policy of manly concilia-
tion ; at home, an easy victory over party obstructions to the
attainment of the public good; an united Government and a
prosperous people • attest the ascendancy of his powerful and
well regulated- mind."
As an orator, he does not acc^rd to Sir R. Peel the first
rank ; and although the Right Hon. Baronet's voice is
perhaps one of the most-harmoniously-tuned of speak-
ing instruments, yet it would be almost impossible for
any man of Sir R. Peel's personal appearance (a very
graphic description of which is given in this brocheur)
to become a graceful orator.

ORIGIN OF THE SEIKHS.
(From the Church and State Gazette.)

The origin of this warlike sect " is to be traced back
to the time of the Emperor Baber, when a celebrated
dervish being captivated with the beauty of the son of a
grain-merchant of the Cshatrya caste, by name Nannuk,
brought him to reside in his house, and instructed him
in the sublime doctrines and duties of Islamism. Nan-
nuk aspired beyond the merit of a learner. From theo-
logical writings which be perused, he selected, as he
went on, such doctrines, expressions, and sentiments
as captivated his fancy. At length, his selections ap-
proached to the size of a book ; and being written (it is
said with elegance) in the Punjabee dialect, the language
of the country, were read by various persons, and ad-
mired. The fame of Nannuk's book was diffused. He
gave it a name, Kirrunt ; and by degrees, the votaries
of Kirrunt became a sect. They distinguished them-
elves by a peculiar garb and manners, which resembled
those of the Moslem fakirs. They united so as to live
by themselves apart from the other inhabitants; and
formed villages or communities, call sedangats, in which
some one, as head of the community, always presided
ever the rest. Nannuk was followed by nine successors
in the office of chief or patriarch of the whole sect;
during whose time the Seikhs led peaceable and inoffen-
Ave lives. Teeg Bahadur, the tenth in order, was
perpetually followed by a large multitude of the enthu-
siasts of the sect; and united himself with a mussulman
fakir, who had followers approaching in number to his
own. To subsist so numerous a body of idle religionists,
the IP ighbouring districts were laid under contribution,
And the saints, having tasted the sweets of a life of
plunder and idleness, pushed their depredations, and
became the scourge of the provinces. Aurungzebe,
who was then upon the throne, commanded the Governor
of Lahore to seize the two leaders of the banditti ; to
banish the Alussulman beyond the Indus, and to conduct
the Hindoo to the fort of Gwalior, where he was put to
death. The loss of their patriarch was farfrom sufficient
to extinguish the religious flame of the Seikhs. A son
Teeg Bahadur, whose family name was Govind, was
raised to the vacant supremacy, and was distinguished
by the name of Gooroo Govind ; , Gooroo being the
title bestowed by a Hindoo on his religious instructor.
The fate of his father taught him audacity ; he in-
structed his followers, hitherto unarmed, to provide
themselves with weapons and horses ; divided them into
troops ; placed them under the command of those of
his friends in whose conduct and fidelity he confided ;
and plundered the country by force of arms. He was
not, however, able to withstand the troops of the pro-
vince, which were collected to oppose him ; his two sons
were taken prisoners, and he himself fled among the
Afghans. After a time he came back, disguised as an
Afghan devotee ' • but falling into mental derangement,
was succeeded by Banda, one of his followers, wno as-
sumed the name of Gooroo Govind, and resolved to take
vengeance on the Moslems for the slaughter of the
father and sons of his predecessor. To the robbery and
plunder which bad become the business of the Seiks, he
added cruelty and murder. The Moslem historians of
these events are filled with horror as well as indignation
at the cruelties which he exercised upon the faithful,
(to them alone, it seems, did they extend), and describe
is one of the most sanguinary of of monsters the man
whose actions, had infidels been the sufferers, and a
mussulman the actor, they might not, perhaps, have
thougnt unworthy of applause. It was this Banda
whose enormities Shah Allum hurried from the Deccan
to interrupt and chastise. The rebels (so they were now
denominated) deserted Sirhind upon the approach of the
Emperor, and retired to Daher, a place of strength at
the entrance of the mountains, and the principal resi-
dence of the Gooroo. When Daber was reduced to the
last extremity, Banda, with his principal followers,
retired to the mountains during the night. The pre-
sence of the Emperor suspended, but did not extinguish
the depredations of the Seikhs.
To the narrative given by Mills it is not necessary for
us to add much. We may, however, mention of the
Seikhs what he has omitted, that they are almost exclu-
sively composed ofhusbandmen and saldiers. The doctrines
preached by their founder they still follow, though the
original revelation has not been allowed to exist without
undergoing a few amendments. The Seikh religion now
is a pure Deism, based on the precepts of Brahma, but
rejecling the worship of idols, which Brahma allows.
Fhe Seikhs were a tolerant race till they were exposed
to the tyranny of the Moslems, as briefly alluded to by
Mills. Oppression compelled them to renounce charity;
And Gooroo Govind Singh, their tenth spiritual chief,
persuaded his followers that the pacific maxims of their
founder compromised the very existence of the sect. In
dsedience to him, they accordingly vowed a never-dying
hatred to Moslemism. It is then that we hear of the
first distinctive divisions of the tribe. The warriors
became distinctively Singhs, or " lions;" the Sikhs, or
" followers," were the cultivators of the soil. The latter
name now, however, implies the entire wild soldiery of
the nation, while the Singhs are its royalty and aristo-
cracy, par excellence.
With a slender degree of subjection acknowledged to
the Afghans, the Seikhs maintained a savage sort of in-
dependence within the territory of " the five rivers,"
until a few years ago, when Afghanistan's adversity was
seized upon as the Punjaub's opportunity, and Runjeet
Singh, within the memory of the present generation,
seized upon Lahore and proclaimed himself king. The
state he maintained, the authority he exercised, and the
capacity he displayed, in defiance of the most horrible
debauchery, that would have slain capability in any
brains but those of the "old lion of the Punjaub," are
matters upon which we need not rest further than to
mention them. It was the demise of this monarch that
remotely brought about the late hard-fought field of
Ferozepore, and it is to the explanation of this that we
roust confine ourselves.

Runjeet left, at his death, in 1839, a half id!otic son,
named Karrack, to succeed him. His cause, as the
direct heir, was espoused by the East India Company ;
but Dhyan, the famous and able Minister of the late
qaharujah, saw destruction to the liberty of the Pun-
jaub in acknowledging an idiot, who would be the mere
tool of the Company. He consequently placed himself
at the bead of a great dissident party, and conducted to
the perils and privileges of the Punjaub diadem an
adopted son of one of the dead " lion's " wives,
who became known as the Maharajoh Shere. Karrack
immediately died, suddenly and significantly ; and, a&
there was still an heir in the direct line, in the person
of Karrack's son, Nao-Nehal, one of the happy accidents
of eastern policy speedily removed him to the paradise
of the Seikh founder. He was making his solemn entry
into Lahore, to attend his father's funeral, when, as he
was passing under the principal gate, a heavy beam
accidentally " fell upon his head and killed him on
the spot.
This double murder opened a series which has since
been continued in the Punjaub with frightful rapidity.
the English Government manifested an inclination•to
protect one of the wives of Runjeet, whose condition
promised an heir to Runjeet's glories. The manifesta-
tion was fatal to the object of it ; for Shere, raised to
the throne by the influence of the ex-Minister Dhyan,
murdered bier in her harem, and reigned with nothing
to trouble him but his conscience.

To Dhyan and his brothers, Goolaub (who still exists)
and Soucheyt, the new monarch, in grateful indolence,
abandoned the entire administrative and executive
powers of the Government. They governed in
his name, but for themselves ; till increase of appetite
for Government so grew by what it fed upon, that Shere
found himself a mere magnificent prisoner in the hands
of the wily Dhyan and his brothers. An attempt made
by the unfortunate usurper to put himself under the
protection of the English ensured his doom. Dhyan,
who was the Warwick of the Punjaub, and " king-
maker" to opposing Singhs and Seikhs, under promise
of raising a cousin of Runjeet to the perilous height
yet occupied by Shere, induced the ready instrument,
whose appellation was Ajit, to enter into a conspiracy,
the desired fruits of which he destined for another.
This other was the too-famous boy-king Dhulip, the
adopted son of one of , Runjeet's wives, the
Punjaub Messalina, who resides with him at
Lahore. This child was secretly brought into the capi-
tal ; ant shortly after, as Shere was reviewing his
troops, and was passing before the body of cavalry
commanded by Ajit, the latter advanced, and, under pre-
tence of presenting him with a superb English carbine,
shot him dead on the spot. So far successful, Ajit, with
his followers, galloped to the fort of Lahore. On his
way he encountered a young son of Shere, named Per-
tab, whose throat he cut with his own hand ; and, en-
tering the fort, he massacred the whole of Shere's wives.
The last murder committed was that done on the infant
son of Shere, who was only one day old ; the monsters
dashed it on the ground, and jumped upon it till life
was extinct.

The same day, and the eve succeeding to that day,
witnessed the violent deaths of the old ex-minister and
on
ne
new
his
declaringm on monarch,
that c h,Aje . The latter shot Dhyan dead,
the
boy Dhulip was the rightful
heir to the throne. But Hira, the son of Dhyan, aided
by the whole of the troops under the orders of the
French General Ventura, immediately attacked Ajit in
the citadel, captured him, and slew him, with a vast
number of his adherents.
The boy-king Dhulip, under the management of his
mother, the Ranee, and the governorship of Hire, was
forthwith acknowledged by our Government, whose only
object was to see a tranquil and friendly power established
in the Punjaub. But tranquillity and amity were des-
tined to be strangers to the banks of the five rivers.
The soldiery, who had been bribed by all sides, and
who were gratified in proportion as usurpers increased.
and their services were the more eagerly sought after
and remunerated, grew mutinous for want of occu-
pation. Hira, who would fain have tamed the
monster whose savageness he had encouraged while
it could be useful to him, was their first victim :
he was shot before the eyes of the Icing, while
passing down their ranks on the back of an ele-
phant. From that period
. the wildest anarchy reigned
uncontrolled : the Seikh soldiery exercised the most
licentious military despotism ; and it was when they
could exact nothing more from the exhausted treasury
of the Punjaub that they. began to raise their lances in
the direction of the British frontier on the Sutlej. But
our Government had long been watching the course of
events, and providing for their consequences. The
Seikhs, well-disciplined and led by French officers, have
flung themselves, only to meet destruction, against the
adamantine barrier that opposed them at Ferozepore.
Their last wild " Hurrah !" was the death-song of their
dynasty.

The clock tower and the new Palace-yard front in
connexion with it are at present 60 feet in height.
St. Stephen's Ball and porch, which will form the
main principal entrance to both houses from Abingdon-
street, where the principal entrance to the House of
Commons now is, has just been commenced, and the stone
work is 11 course of fixing, the outside being similar in
appearance to that of Palace•yard.
In concluding this account, it may not be uninteresting
to state that the New Palace will, when completed,
occupy the area of eleven acres. This fact in itself will
show how great must be the labour and responsibility
incurred by Mr. Barry, the architect, and the contractors,
Messrs. Grissell and Peto, whom we should state, employ
nearly 800 men on the works, under the superintend-
ems of Mr. Allen, and 200 more •in the establishment
at Thames 13ank, preparing the internal fittings.

SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY.—lndependently of the
famous '° Beauties" who figure so prominently in the pages
of this lively tale of the Court of Charles 11., the list of per-
sonages of the other sex is equally numerous and at-
tractive. It comprises the Merry Monarch and all his witty
courtiers and boon companions, including Prince Rupert and
the Dukes of York and Monmouth ; but with the reckless
Rochesters and Buckinghams, and the shallow Jermyns and
and Sydney?, there are the more sterling names of Milton,
Dryden, Evelyn, Pepy's, Lely, and Marvel. in short the
story of " Sir Roger de Coverley—himself a personage of sin-
gular interest—seems written with a vew of introducing the
reader to the most remarkable characters of that extremely
L interesting period.

TIIE SUN_LONDON, THURSDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 26, 1846.

FRUITS OF PUSEYISIVI.

The Dublin Evening Post gives the following list of
persons of note who have lately embraced the Roman
Catholic faith :

MINISTERS OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH.
A.D. 1841 AND 1842.

A. D. Wackerbarth, B.A. Received into the Church
at Grace Dieu Manor, Dec. 2, 1841.
Bernard Smith,- M.A., Rector of Leadenham, Lincoln.
shire, and late Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Received at Oscott, Dec. 15, 1842.

A.D. 1843.
George Talbot, M.A., Vicar of Evercreech, and
Chesterblade, Somersetshire. Received at Oscott,
June 10.

Daniel Parsons, M.A. Received at Prior Park,
July 31.

Charles Fe iger, M.A., Formerly Scholar of Worcester
College, Oxford. Author of several works, and As-
stant Hebrew Lecturer. Received at Oscott, Oct. 12.
(Married.) _ _ .