The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-04 00:00:00

SCOTCH JUDGES.

Mr. BRIGHT said the Salaries Committee, in their
report, recommended a diminution in the number of
judges both in Ireland and Scotland, and as one of the
Scotch judges had recently died, he should be glad to
know if it was the intention of the Government to carry
out the recommendation of the Committee with respect
to that vacancy?
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said the recommendation of
the Committee was that Government should inquire
whether such a reduction could be made. They had
accordingly caused the inquiry to be made, and from re-
presentations they had received from Scotland, it was
their opinion that reduction ought not to take place.
Mr. BRIGHT remarked that these representations
came from the legal profession in Scotland.
THE BUDGET.

Mr. HERRIES wished to ask the Right Hon. the
Chancellor of the Exchequer what course he proposed
to take to-morrow with reference to the Budget. Was it
intended to make the statement, and then adjourn the
debate ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
course he proposed tel, take to-morrow was this:—He
should move the House into a Committee of Ways
and Means, and then he proposed to move a resolution
to continue the income tax for a limited period, as he
had done in former years. The Right Hon. Gentleman,
who asked the question, had given notice of his inten-
tion to wove an amendment to this, but he under-
stood that amendment could only be moved
properly in the House itself, and therefore he proposed
to take the vote to-morrow and to adjourn the discussion
till the bringing up of the report on Monday.
Mr. HERRIES had no objection to the course
proposed ; but it must be distinctly understood
that the vote to be taken tomorrow would
be merely pro forma. With that understanding, of
course he could have no objection to the adjourn-
ment, and then the question of the income-tax would be
decided by the House on the amendment which would
be moved on the bringing up of the re-
port. He would, therefore, renew the no•
tico of his amendment for Monday, and perhaps in
doing so he might be allowed to express a hope that
the debate should commence on Monday at the earliest
possible period—the first thing, in fact, on Monday.
Mr. HUME said he had already given notice that
when the proper time arrived for doing so he should
move that the income-tax be continued for one year
only, and he now gave notice that he should make that
motion on the bringing up of the report.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER perfectly
agreed with what had fallen from Mr. Herries, and it
would be distinctly understood that the decision of the
House on the subject of the income-tax would be taken
on the bringing up of the report.
CEYLON.

Mr. HUME wished to ask a question of the Hon.
Member for Inverness-shire. The Hon. Member had
given notice of a motion on the subject of the affairs of
Ceylon, and he should be glad to know when the Hon.
Gentleman intended to bring his motion forward.
Mr. BAILLIE said notwithstanding what had oc-
curred in another place on Tuesday night be should still
persevere in his motion, which he should bring on as
early as possible.
Mr. HUME—Before or after Easter?
Mr. BAILLIE could not get a day before Easter, but
the earliest day after he should take.
MISCELLANEOUS ESTIMATES.
Mr. HUME asked when the Miscellaneous estimates
would be laid on the table of the House ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was
understood to say in two or three days.
CIVIL BILLS, &c. (IRELAND) BILL.
Mr. REYNOLDS asked the Attorney-General for
Ireland to what day he intended to postpone the Civil
Bills, &c. (Ireland) Bill, which was one of the orders on
the paper to-night ?
Mr. HATCHELL said when the Bill was called on
he should be prepared to give an answer to the Hon.
Gentlemen's question.-(A laugh.)
Mr. REYNOLDS—Does the Hon. Gentleman intend
to propose the second reading to-night?
Mr. HATCHELL—That will depend on the state of
the business in the House.—(Lsughter.)
INQUIRY INTO THE MANAGEMENT AND
TERRITORIES OF THE EAST INDIA COM-
PANY.

Mr. ANSTEY rose to move the following resolution :
"An address to her Majesty,, representing that it is
now necessary that the true condition of the territories
under the government and management of the East
India Company, and the real feelings and wishes of our
fellow-subjects inhabiting those territorice, es to such
government or management, should be fully ascertained;
and for that purpose, praying her Majesty to t'ilvi mea-
sures for the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry,
with full powers to take evidence in India as to the
operation and results of the laws now in force, touching
the government and management of the said territories,
and to report such evidence, together with the opinions
of the Commissioners thereon, to her Majesty iu Par-
liament."
The Hon. and Learned Gentleman said that, before the
Act of 1833 should be renewed either in its present
shape or with such amendments as Parliament might
think proper, he considered it necessary that some pre-
liminary inquiry should be instituted, and that such in-
quiry should be conducted on the spot. When Mr.
Grant, in the year 1833, introduced the Bill which now
constituted the Act under which our East India
conduct
terri-
tories were governed, ho distinctly stated that he called
eernmty
upon the House to undertake an experiment of no
rthpan and the
the
ordi-
nary kind; thatis original
oirnpioroal intention,posingan
extension
contrary
to
h
during which e
rteh e
to Ebaes t ad India
intrusted C
with
Board years,
of
Control
the
hiexperiment,oh w ero
necessary
had into
v rieewndeortilytho experiment
those precau-
tionsof w
successful. Upon that ground the House was induced
to agree to his proposition, think. mg that when the
next renewal came before Parliament could
complain that have no reason to compl • the company _
sufficient time bad not
been allowed. That measure was not brought be-
-1 fore the House until the 13th of June, and it then came
on in the shape of a preliminary resolution.
the session At that period of on there were
considerable arrears of public business, end it
was impossible to discuss the matter with that
calmness and deliberation which interests of
such magnitude required. A similar objection ex•
isted to the
proceedings in the years 1781 and 1793, '
when political events prevented an ample consideration
of the question. Sir (Tames Mackintosh, on the 17th I
.June, 1833, foretold what would be the result of intro- 1
i

clueing the question at that late period. He said "A°
question, when it comes, will be taken up in baste, de'
Lied in haste, and we shall crowd the discussion into s
few wee ks, or postpone all discussion until the eve older '
cision." On the 10th July, when the Bill was actually
in Committee, Mr. Charles Wynn quoted those words,
and added, " I regret that Sir James Mackintosh's pro,'
phecy has been so closely fulfilled." Mr. Grant, in lilt
troducing the Bill, declared that the political existences'
the natives would be acknowledged. Now Parliament
had a right to demand in what way the recognition bf
the Bill of the existence of 100,000,000 of men had been
acknowledged by those to whom the trust was consigned;
and the House ought not to hesitate to grant an inquirf
on the spot, conducted by men above the suspicion
of partiality. By the Bill of 1833, the removal of
certain grievances was supposed to be provided for.
The House was bound to ascertain whether those
grievances had been redressed. He asserted that there
was not one grievance in existence at the time which
did not now exist in all its original deformity. Take,
for instance, the question of monopoly. When Mr.
Buckingham brought the question of the land revenues
under the notice of Parliament in the form of a motion,
Mr. Grant said, " that is rather a matter fit for the con-
seleration of the Governor. General and his legislative
council, and I trust he will be able, with the accession of
power we propose to give him, satisfactorily to dispose of
the general question. The particular subject of the
ryotwar rent is a subject for the Law Commission." On
the following day Mr. Grant said, "I am happy to be:
able to assure tne Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Wilbraham)
that the Government, both at home and in India, have
agreed that the taxes on opium and salt shall be removed.":
Now up to this moment the Governor-General had not
legislated on the land tenant question—nothing had been
done by the Law Commission relative to the ryotwar
rent, and the monopolies still existed. At the present
moment the House was only in possession of the evi-
dence of those whose interest it was to stifle inquiry,
and endeavour to obtain the prolongation of their power,
fur no one imagined the East! India Company an angelic
hierarchy, or the Board of Control a community of
archangels.—(A laugh.) He would now draw the
attention of the House to a remarkable document,
which would show that the natives of India were
keenly alive as to their grievances. On the 12th
of February, 1840, an address, signed by no less
than 100,000 of the natives in Madras and its vicinity,
was presented to the then Governor of that Presidench,
in which they said: " We are the people of this country,
inheriting this land for thousands of generations; (rem
our industry its wealth is supplied; by our arms it is
defended from foreign foes; by our loyal obedience to
the established Government its peace and its safety are
maintained." Now, he would ask the House if it wee
just to ignore the existence of such a people? Not only
did the grievances complained of in 1833 still exist, but
'the people were in a worse condition than they were at
that time. He would not trouble the House with any of
the evidence adduced bsfore the Select Committee to ine
quire into the growth of cotton in India, but would con-
fine himself to the language of the report, which bore on
the face of it every mark of compromise. That reports
which was unanimously adopted by the Committee, of
which the .Elonourable Member for Honiton (Sir J. W.
Hogg) was a member, thus describes the condition of the
natives of India now under British rule:—" The very
low and abject condition of the cultivators of the soil, •
the absence of capital, and the extent of the Government '
demand for rent or revenue, circumstances which were
brought prominently under our notice, rendered it ne-
cessary for your Committee to enter at considerable ,
length into an inquiry Into the system of land assess-
ment, and to take the evidence of several officers of the
Indian Government on the subject. It appears from
the testimony of almost every witness, that the condi-
tion of the cultivating population of India is oce of ex-
treme poverty; and this is stated to be the case in every
part of' the country to which the evidence with regard to ;
cotton cultivation specially refers." This was the con-
dition of the people who had enjoyed the blessings of
British rule, under guarantees imposed by the British '
Parliamset in 1833, for a period of seventeen years.
The Committee spoke of the extent of the Government
demand for revenue. Now how was the revenue of India
made up? Of direct taxes, indirect taxes, monopolies,
and wholesale confiscations. The servants of the com-
pany went to India under the pretence of delivering the
people from the tyranny of their Mahommedan and Mah-
ratta conquerorsebut according to the unanimous testimony
of all the witnesses examined, and the documents produced
before every Committee, the company in every case
bad improved even upon the maximum exactions
that existed under either the Mahommedan or Mahratte
rule, for they never claimed the direct sovereignty
of the soil of India. Mr. Carnac Brown being
asked to define his notion of a native cultivator of land
in India, said, " to me he has always appeared to be a
person whose whole province has been to raise revenue 1,
for the East India Company." To raise this one article
of revenue—the rent laid upon the land occupied by the
natives—nine-tenths of them were sold up every year,
unless it should please the collectors to show a little
mercy. These parties had the power to imprison persona
in default; but Mr. Williamson, who was for a long
time connected with the presidency of Bombay, said
" the power of imprisonment has, in most cases, fallen ,
into disuetude, because if the insolvent is in prison he
must be fed." The company must feed him, but the
company did not choose to undergo that expense. It
appeared from the report of the Committee of 1813 that
the power of constraint and sale was a much more vex- .
atiuus and oppressive power, and much more unpopular,
than the power to imprison. Notwithstanding these
enormous exactions, the net revenue never HMOUnted 50
20,000,0001., although, under the comparatively mild sod
equal system which existed in the worst time of their
former conquerors, 13,000,0001. were easily annually
raised. The revenue derived from laud was in no case less
than 45 per cent. un the return. The assessment on which_
this exaction was made, was a one-sided assessuienti
founded, perhaps, on some data in the archives of the coin'
patty, which existed long before the idea of low prices;
and on this data they had proceeded to calculate the
value of the land without consulting the natives. In
districts where the assessment was permanent, the per-
suns who aro subject to it never get it altered or reduced;
and on the other hand, in districts where the assessment
is annuel, the most exorbitant levies were raised, and the
services of the collector were valued iu proportion to the
sums which he succeeded in extorting from the inhabi-
tants. In estimating the amount of the collection the
value of the crops for the year was always taken into
consideration, and the smallest possible pittance upon "
which life could be supported was left to the wretched
population. But these were not the only grievances of .
which the native of India had to complain. He also paid
a house-tax and a trade-tax; and as an instance of the
manner in which the latter tax operated, it might be
stated that a carpenter paid twice the value of the. tools
which he used for licence to carry on his trade. There
was also all through India a tax upon water drawn from
wells, an article especially needed in the warm climate
of India, where it was used by the husbandmen in the
cultivation of their land. And in addition to all these
taxes and confiscations, and indirect taxes levied on im-
ports, and, until a recent period, upon exports also, the
natives had-further to endure monopolies of some of the
great necessaries of life, which the East India Company
retained in their own hands, and which, by a just retri-
bution of Providence, were gradually, but surely, reduce
ing the revenue which those monopolies were originally. .
intended to enhance, besides contributing more and
more every day to the misery of the people. These
monopolies were those of salt, opium tobacco, beeswax,
tuwerie, and other articles. With regard to the mono-
poly of salt, he need not remind the House that salt was
an article of prime necessity to a rice-consuming popu-
lation like that of India. Now, it could be demonstrated
that the price of salt imported into India could not pos-
sibiy exceed one shilling a bushel on the quays of Madras
or Bombay. But, by the internal laws of the country,
salt was made a contraband article, and the natives were
forbidden to import it, or to make it for themselves
either on the coast or in the interior. This prohibition
was enforced by tremendous penalties, in regard to
which it would be sufficient to mention one provision re-
cognised by the courts of law. By this regulation, any
native bringing salt water from the sea, and subjecting it
to evaporation for the purpose of extracting the salt,
was guilty of a violation of the monopoly with respect to
salt, and he might be conveyed before a collector, who
was also a magistrate, and, upon conviction, might be
imprisoned and k, pt to hard labour for a term, of two
months, besides being obliged to pay a fine of some
hundreds of rupees if he was considered able to dis-
charge it. Now, what compensation did the Com-
pany make in return for this monopoly? They had
certain manufactories of salt, one in particular in the
Sunderbued, a district which, under European rule, had .
become a e este of sand and jungle, flooded by the waters
of the Ganges in the wet season, and at all times infested
by tigers. In this spot was the principal manufactory
of salt, where the company compelled a certain troop of
natives, who were bound by tenure to this service, to
week in the manufactory. These natives, living in a
climate too p. stnentiat to admit of a European residing
in it, wete e.iried off in hundreds by disease, they
here con initially swept away by
the winter floods, and
it was ealeulaied that from forty to fifty of them were
annually carded ~ff by the tigers which infested the
apt. Now the salt which might be purchased on the
quays of Boatbay at Is. a bushel could not be bought
in the Sun lerbund cinder Is. 6d. a bushel. After it was 3.
the tnonopoly price
etn.lancabtdaetnhicatetdw,
2shBoatatter)evrr enied to the deptits,of the East India Coma
Pan!, where
was fixed;
itand wasit a washvs) se
ompany.
g: hf
intt be,the
. The
salt was then sent r
ethet
off
l prime
at
the
interior, the
price being further enhanced by the way, so that by the
time it reeched the hands of the consumer, the price often
croilm thheeer costde
deop might
rose to 10 or 12 rupees, or from 20s. to 245. a bushel.
An Hon. Gentleman behind him reminded him that an
alteration had taken place with respect to the salt
monopoly. True ; but what was the nature of that
alteration? From the evidence of the collectors, given
before the Committee on Cotton, in 1848, it appeared
that when, with the) view of conciliating some share of
the public approbation, it was agreed that the tax should
be taken off exports, the East India Company demanded
some equivalent for this concession, and they accordingly.
raised the price of salt, which was now 25 per cent.
higher than it was in the year 1833. It was a remark-
able
circumstance that the appearance in India of the
mysterious and formidable disease known by the name
of cholera, was simultaneous with the creation of the
salt monopoly. They both came into that country at
the same time with the East India Company, and they
have never since disappeared from the soil; and it was
stated by the scientific witnesses before the Committee
already referred to, that the use of vegetables by the
natives without salt, together with the wretched sani-
tary condition to which the country was reduced, formed
together the direct causes of cholera.—(Hear, hear.) f
He would now pass from the salt monopoly to that in
opium—a monopoly which, he need hardly remind the
House, was the cause of a bloody and disgraceful War
with the Empire of China some years ago. Now, be :
found that the East India Company was directly sad
solely responsible for the monopoly of opium. The

native
not c
but t
ranee

Tato o
was fi
lodic
it we
one•6l

F do

sani:

-r-n3-ea

tear.)

lat in
d the

war
r, bo
land

natives k wished to be rid of it, and they would
not cultivate it unler3 they were oblieed to do so,
but the collectors had orders to force them to
cultivate it, and in case a native received an ad
'ranee of money from the company, and refusk d to cnei-
vete opium, he was punished. The cultivation of opium
it
was forbidden to every one, exc- pt those whom the East
Indi e Company employed;' and weer it had been raised,
was purchased by the Company from the grewer at p
one-fifth of' its real legitimate price in the market.
(,
was then breught to the Company's de fors, where an en-
hanced price was it was
put upon it; and finally,
dis-
patched to the coast of Chiuts, where smugglers were
employed for the purpose of rnning it ashore. And
what was the result? The monopoly was the eau e of
sscarcity; scarcity promoted competition; and the Chi-
s e were beginning to grow opium for themselves, in
Spite of their laws, which pronounced its cultivation to
be illegal R,
So that what happened to the salt mono-
poly Was about to happen to the opium monopoly. Nor
Should it be forgotten that both these monopolies of salt
and opium were maintained at present in spite of an ex-
press engagement that they should be abolished. When
it was proposed to introduce into the East India Com-
PimY's Hill of 1833 two claeser which would have had
the eff,:et of . a— 'e • onopolies, Mr.
Charles utsteteeng an en. to t, (se m
Granpt dto the Honourable Member who
mcverl the insertion of the clauses, that the Go-
vernment—boh that at home and in India—bad
Go-
vern to the determination that the taxes on opium and
salt should be removed. That was in 1833; and on the
/11,.b °I. Jul, 1840, Lard Sandon put a question to the_
Control
non.
i Baronet the President of the Board of
liientr°'' which was answered by the Hon. Baronet the
Member for Iloniton (Sir J. W. Hogg), as a director
the East India Com The question was, whether
the directors of that pcaonmy.anyy. had taken any steps too
see Grate to
frompthe manufacture of opit_inleein
India? Th
, --e answer returned was, that there hadb a .
lad' no instructions sent out to India of the nature
thel
d ,
- •°, but that the whole question was under
ittlxi
Why,
ous consideration of the Court of Directors. _
the very reason for extending the term
pur-
Fell 3 charter to twenty years was for the express -.
Pose
of enabling the Company to remove the monopolies;
Ind yet the salt sa. monopoly, the opium monopoly, the to-
bacco tnouopoly—in short, every monopoly continued to
exist to the been Abolished present moment, except those which had
by the inevitable laws of freedom.—
(Rear, hear) The tobacco monopoly was so completely
in the hands of the East India Company, that they were
41310 Year to specify what districts should grow tocacco in a
ni.: and they compelled the unfortunate natives to
1.-- tobacco at price named by themselves. And
after the price hadabeen fixed and enhanced, the to-
,baeco produced so bad that, unless steeped in
to-
liquid am - • was
lel purchase it, except
monis, nobody wou
the natives,soldiers, who
who bad no choice, and the .
bad no With regard to the minor monopolies,
2 money.
par-
chaser, was customary to put them up to sale, and the
chaser, having paidthe stipulated price, was entitled to
collect the police of the district in - which the monopoly
was held, and to perambulate it in quest contraband
of
at the
stores. .He could even enter into private houses_
head of his force, and make a search for bees-wax,
hones, or any of the other articles included in the class
of
of minor monopolies for which he had paid the purchase
the revenue of British
.11104 e y. Such were the sources of
sndi in the raising of which nine tenths of the popula-
tion a
which never exceeded
were annually sold up, and in
amount 20,000,000/e notwithstanding the enormous in•
grease of our territories from time to time. And yet
these territories, when smaller in extent, and not sub-
jected to monopolies and import duties, had yielded un-
der former dynasties a revenue never less than
30,006,000/. per annum. If these things were true,
might they not to be corrected? and if they were not true
What possible objection could the court of directors have
to an inquiry into the whole subject? It was not his in-
tention to enter at length into this question further than:to
make thishmark. In the changes which have taken place
in the machineryfor the collection of taxes since we
became seised of the soil of India, we have the key to
the great decline of that country. For what had been
the secret of those changes ? Had they not all tended
towards transferring the villages, the provinces, and the
states frotn the natives and proprietors themselves to the
hands of foreigners—raw, inexperienced boys—brought
UP ill England, for the most part at an exclusive college,
where they were taught to consider themselves superior,
II," only to the natives whom they were to rule, but even
1,0 the servants of the company under whom they were
'0 act ?
The • Into their hands the whole power was given.
natives were as fit to manage their own affairs as any
thhBr people.
Was any one of them who had ever visited
trtcountry not fit to compete with the Company's ser-
Iti,Va, even in the. highest offices? Yet it was only to
reest effices that the Company ever appointed them.
point' then, should we, without inquiry, without the ap-
iiee,:itirlit of a Commission to visit India (for he be-
dress ~ at no inquiry could ever avail to effect any 7-
for lo . I •
kilt o la grievances without a Commission being
out
authority) the spot and armedwith full Parliamentary,
i
%ion, t4.)—",,..,waseit right, he asked, without investiga-
bat° th -I,'''elmsieri the. Government of India
he wetted 'sands of the East India Company? But
bad alreject confine the Commission to the subjects. he
twee whoe metioned; because,lif there was one gruisebv:
Merl fo.,;U more than another had claims upon Eng t
tice SomeerlNas, it was corrupt administration of jus-
di • ee s a .
gest the 0 Jere appointed to
~ ago a Commission was .
India into °l'
te`a)g elements of what was culledlaw in
had tee a code. The result of that Commission (which
10,000/, arsistance of an eminent lawyer, with a salary of
called a : Yer',r) Was the preparation of certain documents
iestys (Le_imi code; but that collection of papers her Ma
Cotn • . verntnent has laid upon the shelf. A further
nitsston h d
Matteis the law
a also been appointed, for the purpose of
tong
'"° 'SW equal for men of all religions and of every in th , The result of that appointment appeared only
lan ? 'mains of thoue remarkable Acts of Council passed
the Year, but which he was ware had been disallowed
4eigts year by the ,aware Board of Control, called the " Black
ltiore. But the Indian Government had found the
ken decniverlient rode of establishing the equality of
the
in
,?very colour before the law, not by elevating
degrading9ian to the Position of the Englishman, but by
tr th
eteee• • e Engliaman to the level of the Indian.
but oleed that the' Black Acts" had been disallowed;
den, ,was a remarkable fact that nothing had been
after ‘o supply the place of those enactments ; and
th"e frs!venteen years of reform administration in India, Gr 4 'rightful abuses so ably denounced in Sir James
Thu ad masterly speech remained still uuredressed.
by . administration of justice was still a mockery; trial
eauJtiizrY had no existence; and the publicity of the pro. aciarii,ngs of the courts of ustice was denied. One re-
th ,ahle instance of how justice was administered, was
heed -1,4.1i° of a native contractor for the Government who
the ought an action for an enormous amount against
er'433t India Company, but the Company brought, not
contras-action but a criminal prosecution against their
A, iructor in one of their own courts, where no trial by
Eery and no publicity were allowed, for the alleged for-
k casteof docuinents. On this charge the man was now ,
leinedY, and before his own action against the Com-
eo-e, could be brought on, there was little doubt he
el ili'd be convicted and condemned. He (Mr. Anstey)
tia4eaerl to have an inquiry instituted as to what the. na-
Por,- thought of such a system, and whether it was
tteelar in India; fur ho believed that neither the plan-
fora nor the natives of India could be more incompetent
/adilbe administration of government than the East
of his Company had shown themselves. Another head
Govan Proposed inquiry into the system of the Indian
Th„cittlent should be its foreign departmeut.
tinee°llse had a right to know what the natives
Nava et the policy of the Government in this para. ,
rd they thought of such dispatches as that of
try d Dalhousie refusing to be bound by the Company's
or atitate with the native states, or to recognise their laws.
by the institutions regulating the right of succession
les r adoption of an heir where a prince had no rbeg
lite It.,,tieaal descendant. This native custom had een
a-4
i ' d Sattara case, and other flu.
great ll the eceebrate
love; !natences; and he wished to ascertain from the
Lk tlght
th 'cigna of the native states of India what they
1/.
tof their own rights in this matter. Ho should
the-e°,,b, noW from the natives under our rule whether ,
faltV"il continued so much impressed with our good
at th.ccd our scrupulous observance of treaty obligations
blitii,,`Y ,Were in the days of Lord Amherst. The last
ehlee-echo had visited our shores had told us that the
al ih—eurity for attachment to our power in the hearts
lent eMillieof India,their confidence that we at
re us
lisle, sPected justice and the claims of solemn oblige-
,1
taeo-ts But what was the course of the Indian Govern-
'lune' Any act of aggression, however flagrant. or int-
ll it'!na, insured impunity from the Court of Directors
reaohci'lY met this one condition—that it increased the
thatin, ,of The company, and added to its territory
Ale ter: uelped to
thee prop
the dividend of 10i per cent.
oAleZeed to the proprietors of East India Stock.
ar, er branch of the inquiry under the head of the
5404111 department related to those wars, those mon-
-1,,,11e firsteecret, and aggressive wars, which England, for
4.1ie... Utile in her history, had engaged iu since 1833.
ilie .i. ar in Affghanistan was one of these instances; and
le
are. 4of 1833 had an express clause conveying extra-
,
'hi,", s"rY Powers to oho Board of Control on matters of
Nt,;,.attutn• The secret committee of the Coin tof Di-
la '3 had]
Le the lent themselves
`iie ach ofaggressive conquest.
, tee, , erees
ale le eoWever that the price of their subservience to
h % th. ri '■ ! had Inked had never been
~,ali,ed -L,ourt of Directors_
10 (.1 them The expenses of the war had fallen
lietin. their fi ' • they to forty-four mil_
t li 14 i. flanges; amounted
t°tl4t v '4B, and since that date there
id to know
T I ect;• them. New he (Mr. Anstey) wished now
e 4'ga-oil or ow
tran•aetions, and whether
tu Y ere_ nla on th( s!
I tion as redounding
q, 04 r.egarded by the imam popu a
411, uattonal character for honour and probity or nor.
,t,f Nan; "trts disapprovd
of the Company themselves had
from
lie 'r ereee d•
Wade appeared,
,a 0h,,,_, e trigs. Sir George
~ ,_hae
'as, b beepers,'"u to have been in favour of the eine
il ut
One at, , (Mr. Anstey) could show that ho was all
dCirtialtmet it, and would pledge himself to prove his
id 4, ' l'he consitierations to which he (Mr. Anstey)
allteenPt adverted were chiefly those of justice aed
Pere eel' He knew that there were minds which
tt apps o actable of being moved by such eons • iderations
tent' 4ching political subjects. To such he begged
'l4 - lea (alth liaation
t_ ough he was almost ashamed to reduce the
47• kfeotu suck miserable dimensions) to the analysis by
11nta of Dialer), Martin, of the customs. and other cc-
iisgieb it
_a_ Public nature, laid before Parliament, from
114,1848tati denaoustrand in a most masterly manner
hrteriea;ml bad "ever been contradicted, that under the
hie,4,(lof eevciem of administration in India, under the
es': to to 7ntlo alone, 20,423,901/. sterling was annually
liii'leh, if 1 and on the price of only eight commodities,
eacil to es tirCjia °Ol3, had justice done her, would be sup-
Lite see__ frog Only
territories. These eight timid, s
,viti rtirci eitlitton, silk, rum, coffee, tobacco, linseed, and
ties °lit tout had iiad else read to the court of proprietors,
Racal
,401.4,, adtetion, a statement showing that the na-
talsysteu'a, if they were enabled by the Company's
ht atity lb to eonsunet i ,ti per head of the
rqr of grit. , e only one- e ~. .
e Oar tot manfactures consumed by each mem-
td 04 ilegra
giTil K.. - Population in the West Indies, that
. '1" lialltutl explt trade Ad 72 pillions gni-

ing. That was an estimate of the price' which the Bri-
tish people annually paid for not coercing the Government
to do justice to their fellow-subjects in India. By the Act
of 1833 a compromise was effected between the two govern-
ing bodies of India. It gave the Court of Directors absolute
power within the Indian territory, and the Board of
Control was expressly prohibited from meddling with
the internal regulation of India. But the Beard of Con-
trol received such extraordinary powers that Mr. Hope
M'Keezio end Sir Charles Cochrane had retired from it
with disgust. In fact it could not be called a board. lie
called it a commission, the whole of the powers being
virtually absorbed by the president. That was the na-
ture of the compromise effected by the Bill which the
House, in 1833, so hastily and improvidently passed.
The patronage of India was divided between the Presi-
dent of the Board of Control and the secret committee
of the Court of Directors, and, in fact, nobody in the
world exercised such powers as the Hon. Member for
Honiton had done in India, and Lord Broughton had at
home. Well, then, he asked the House whether they
would not institute an inquiry before they renewed such
a compromise? He thought the time had come when
the Government should retain the patronage of India in
its own hands; and they might safely take steps to abo-
lishatie Court of Directors aud the Board of Control. The
East India Company were originally a corporation of
merchants, having exclusive privileges of trading; but
now circumstances had greatly altered, and there existed
no monopolies in the trade with India but one. The
Hon. Member concluded by moving as above.
Mr. SCHOLEFIELD seconded the motion.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought the House was
hardly in a state to enter into a discussion of all the
various measures on which the Hon. and Learned Gen-
tleman had touched, or into the whole question of the
government of India. It appeared to him that the
Hon. Gentleman had mistaken the position of the Go-
vernment and the House on this subject. A Noble
Friend of his had already stated that it was not the in-
tention of the Government to move for a Committee in
the present year to consider this important subject,
adding that every information that could be procured
would be laid before the House previously to the re-
newal of the Act of 1833. His Noble Friend did not
say, and it certainly was not the intention of the Go-
vernment to say, that when that information was ready,
the House, if it thought fit, should not appoint, as on
former occasions, a Select Committee, which might
inquire into the whole of this subject before
the Act was renewed. His Noble Friend said that
the Government had no such alterations as were pro-
posed in 1812 and 1833, of such vast magnitude that
they themselves should think it necessary to appoint a
Committee with the view of considering those altera-
tions; but that if the House, previously to the settlement
of this great question for another term of years, should
think fit not only to have opinions before them, but to
refer those opinions to a Committee, and institute an
etoerstuacinhl iennqou ior
yb j. e c tTi ohne oHn tnh. eGpe anrttl
eomf
at
nh eh
ad Governmentgone
inquiry into the mode of governing India, there would
o
into
yanb
an
immense detail of various measures relating to the
finance, law, and government of India; he had made
many statements and proposals, which on a review of
them would be found to relate, in many cases, to ar-
rangements that had been abandoned and were now ob-
solete, to exclusions that no longer existed, and to re-
forms which had been already carried into execution.—
(Hear, hear.) Of course it was not desirable that there
should be a debate in that House respecting all those
various subjects without more information being laid be-
fore them than they now possessed. But the Hon. Gen-
tleman said that the best mode of obtaining that infor-
mation was to send out a Commission to India, in order
to inquire on the spot into all those topics. Now, he
entirely differed from the Honourable and Learned
Gentleman on that point. He believed that to send out
such a Commission would be the worst step the Crown
could adopt, or which that House could advise the Crown
to adopt, previously to the renewal of the Act of
Charter. With regard to the present Government of
India, the Hon. Gentleman himself bad stated nothing
to show either that Lord Dalhousie was incompetent to
conduct it, or that any measures had been already taken
which the Government considered to be doubtful, or fit
subjects of inquiry. But he was sure that if, setting
aside the authority of the Government of India, they
were to send out a set of Commissioners there, who
were to make inquiry into all these things—who were to
set out with an announcement—for that would be the
effect of it—that the salt monopoly, that the laws re-
lating to opium and tobacco, and in short all branches of
finance, law, and government were about to be changed
owing to the report of those Commissioners—they would
only produce great excitement throuuhout India, and
would for the time destroy all authority in that country.
He owned he thought it would be far better, if the House
should think fit to make inquiries, that they should take
place, as on previous occasions, before a Committee of
that House, and that, at all events, the House should not
assent to the proposal to pray her Majesty to appoint a
Commission to go to India. A question of much less
compass than the present, relating to the growth of cot-
ton in India, was under the consideration of the House
no longer ago than last year. The House did not think
proper to adopt the proposal then made; but if there
were objections even to that proposition, there were ten-
fold greater objections to such a motion as had just been
made. The Hon. Gentleman, in the last place, as an
encouragement to appoint such a Commission, said that
they might govern India without the Cowl of Directors,
without the Court of Proprietors, and without the Board
of Control; he meant, therefore, to propose some en-
tirely new Government for India. Now, he contended
that that was not a question which should be submitted
to any Commission—
Mr. ANSTEY—On the contrary, I did not propose
anything e;f the kind.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL—WeII, that was a question
which they could not now consider, but when it came
duly before the House, and Parliament was called upon
to legislate in respect to the renewal of the Act now ex-
isting, under which India was governed, it would be
competent for the Honourable and Learned Gentleman
to propose a substitute for the present system. As far
as his own belief went, he thought that whatever might
have been the case in former times, the government of
India was now an enlightened government. As far as
he was acquainted with their proceedings, he regarded.
the Court of Directors as a body of very able and expe-
rienced men; and for his part he should not approve that
change in the mode of governing India which the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman proposed. In the present state
of the House it was not fit to adopt such a proposition,
and he certainly could not on the part of the Government
give his assent to it.
Mr. HUME was very much obliged to the Hon. and
Learned Gentleman for bringing forward the subject,
though he did not agree with him on many of the points
touched upon. He should be the last man to propose
to govern India without the Court of Directors, or some
other competent authority. Undoubtedly he should say
that the greatest errors since the last charter bad been
committed by the Board of Control. He was decidedly
of opinion that an inquiry should take place. When
the last renewal was made in 1833 a very important and
extensive inquiry took place into the various depart-
ments of the subject, which were all examined with great
attention, and the evidence of men of the first talents
and experience was taken. By the arrangement then
made the Company ceased to be traders, and on that
ground alone he thought an inquiry was needed, in order
that the consequences of the change should be ascer-
tained. In the courts of justice he believed great im-
provements had been made, but there was room for
more. He should, however, certainly not recommend
a Commission to proceed to,lndia. He believed that
some of the ablest men among the servants of the East
India Company were now in England, and from them
they might obtain information concerning the presi-
dencies of the utmost importance. There was only one
department for information as to which it was necessary
to proceed to India; he meant the relations between the
Company and the native princes., A great number of
treaties regulating those relations existed, and it was of
great importance that we should not lose the character
we had hitherto held in ludia as faithful observers of
compacts; but he was afraid this was gradually happen-
ing. Acts of injustice had been perpetrated which had
made a very bad impression on the natives of ludia. An
instance of this was the deprivation of the right vested
in Indian princes of appointing their own heirs, in de-
fault of relatives, to succeed them. He could not think
it either wise or just in Lord Dalhousie to have made
such an unprincipled regulation, for so he must call it
it being contrary to all treaties, and that merely for the,
purpose of taking possession of Sattara. There were
other points on which the opinion of a committee would
be useful; for instance, whether the practice of allowing
a Governor-General to proceed to the hill country for a
stay of six or eight months in the year, remaining
isolated during all that time, and remote from the
seat of Government, was a wise one or not. He cer-
tainly thought objection could not fairly bo made to
functionaries filling offices of great labour and responsi-
bility availing themselves of an interval of repose in
order to shake off the lassitude induced by the climate
of India and to recruit their energies. But, in the pre-
sent year, he understood that Lord Dalhousie had pro-
ceeded into the mountains, on the way to China—he did
not know how far off—but at an immense distance. Ho
saw by a paper which had been put into his hands that
the very moving of the Governor-General required
eleven thousand coolies, who were brought from eighty
miles distance, in order to provide means of transport.
And for what object ? To remove Lord Dalhousie so
far from the seat of his government. Why, that was a
number sufficient to employ at making a military road
from Kuruaul to the Punjaub, an improvement which
was almost indispensable. It was not on the ground of
expense merely that he objected to this, but because
iiordDalhousie was thereby removed from the neigh-
bourhood
ffices
owith whom he should be in communication.
The Commander-in-Chief, too, was said to be follow-
ing the example. Ile bad great doubt whether it was
wise to allow their officers thus to absent them-
selves from the scene of their duties. There was the Go-
vernor of Bombay, too, who was away for half a year.
In saying this. he did not wish to offer any opinion or
to cast blame, he merely mentioned them as matters de-
serving serious consideration. Many matters enume-
rated by the Hon. Gentleman had not much practical
bearing on present circumstances. There was Mr.
Montgomery Martin's theory, for example, which would
not bear a moments examination. He wanted to know
how far the Board of Control really acted as a check on
the proceedings of the Indian Government, which was
the purpose of its creation? The system which bad
existed was enough to ruin any country. There was the
Affghan war, which had been begun, conducted, and
closed without the knowledge of the Court of Directors,
whowere required to pay 12,000 000/. sterling, though
they knew nothing about it until after all the mischief
had been done. Then there was the Burmese war,
which entailed a debt of 9,000,000/. on the Company,
owing to an improper and incompetent person being
sent out. The secret committee, consisting of three of
the directors, might at any time send Out orders to corn-
mum(' mo'llo4oll nvuld,bocarried WI at 019 MI 0-nd