The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-01 00:00:00

oThomiurt int

6Y
LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1851.

In the House of Lords last night,

A conversation took place on the subject of the Mini-
sterial measure of Chancery reform, in the course of
which both Lord LYNDHURST and Lord BitouGruss
protested against any attempt being' made to deprive
the Lord Chancellor of any portion of his ecclesiastical
patronage.
In the Commons,
Mr. HENRY BERKELEY gave notice that, after Easter,
he should propose a resolution affirming the propriety of
affording to voters the protection of the ballot.
On the motion for going into Committee of Supply on
the Army Estimates,
Mr. ilinlE moved that no further supplies be granted
until after the financial statement shall have been made,
but ultimately withdrew his motion, on receiving the
assurance of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER that
the financial statement should positively be made on
Friday.

On the first vote of 3,521,0701. for tho charge of the
land forces,

Mr. HUME moved a reduction to a sum of 2,000,000/.
on account. This amendment was negatived by a ma-
jority of 144, the numbers being, for the amendment,
31; against it, 175.

AnOther amendment, proposed by Mr. W. WILLIAMS,
to reduce the vote by a sum of 81,1521., was negatived by
a majority of 54 to 18, and the vote was agreed to.
The remaining ♦otes for the Staff, the Public Depart-
ments, the Royal Military College, and the remainder
of the effective services, were agreed to without a
division.

Colonel Arrsott then brought forward the Ordnance
Estimates. He stated thst the gross total of the votes
he intended to ask for presented but a trifling diminution
of 22,5201. on the amount required last year.
As compared with 1848, however, the saving that
had been effected was not less than 580,0001. Pass-
ing in review the various items of expenditure upon
the personnel of the ordnance force, barrack supplies,
commissariat, officers, artillery, small arms, buildings,
surveys, &c., Colonel ANSON explained the alterations
that were exhibited in the balance sheet of the present
year. The charge for works and buildings presented
the only formidable increase, namely 30,0001., arising
from an occasional expenditure, amounting to 64,0001.,
for new erections at different barrack establishments,
more than half of which was counterbalanced by re-
trenchments accomplished elsewhere. Upon the non-
effective services a trifling saving had also been realized;
and the total result offered the reduction he had men-
tioned below the rates of last session.

The several votes were then separately proposed, and
agreed to after a short discussion, and the House re-
sumed.

Mr. BOOKER moved for:returns ofjamounts levied under
the various income-tax schedules, for the purpose of
ascertaining the proportions of the various incomes
arising from real property and from industrial property,
and the fluctuations in the latter.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER opposed the
motion, as it would involve disclosures of private busi-
ness.

The motion was withdrawn, and the House adjourned,

According to promise, Lord TORRINGTON will this
evening bring the inquiry into his conduct as Go-
vernor of Ceylon under the consideration of the
Legislature. It behoves the Parliament consequently,
in an affair of such extraordinary importance, that the
statements of the Noble Viscount may be viewed in
every way dispassionately. Justice demands this not
only on behalf of his ex-Excellency, but also in fur-
therance of the highest and noblest interests of our
Colonial Government. The journalist may therefore
be permitted to suggest the propriety of banishing, as
much as possible, from remembrance whatever has
already been said i❑ reference to the proceedings of
the accused administrator—just as the counsel
beseeches a jury to dismiss from their minds all
that may have been uttered outside the court
to the detriment of the prisoner's character. Judg-
ment should, of course, be pronounced solely and
entirely from the facts submitted upon both sides in
evidence, and not allow itself to be influenced in the
minutest particular by the declamation of partisans
or antagonists. More especially we must insist upon
the necessity of securing ourselves from being affected
either by prejudice or predilection when we take
into account the blunders which have been fallen
into regarding the question from a hasty or petulant
discussion of its merits. Within the last few days a
pamphlet of a rather remarkable kind has been pub-
lished, consisting of a series of glaring
exposures of the misstatements made in a
well-known article in the December number of
the Quarterly.* These misstatements have been
taken by the pamphleteer seriatim, and been refuted
by point blank contradictions. Whereas, for example,
the reviewer asserts that Ceylon is governed by one
council, the reviewer of the reviewer reminds the
public at large that Ceylon is, on the contrary, go-
verned by two councils, the Executive and the Legis-
lative. According to the Quarterly, the established
religion of the Cingalese is that of BUDDUU, the
author of the brochure before us avers that the people
of the island have no established religion whatever.
Similarly striking errors are enumerated and contra-
dicted by the pamphleteer, the number of them amount-
ing to no less than eight-and-twenty altogether.
Among these the purport of the report by
Sir EMERSON TENNENT, as Colonial Secretary of
Ceylon, appears to have been misapprehended and its
very language to have been misquoted by the Quar-
terly Reviewer. Consequently, if such gross fallacies
are allowed to have crept into the elaborately di-
gested argument of one amongst the principal de-
claimers against the policy of Lord TORRINGTON, it
must be acknowledged as only reasonable, under the
circumstances, that the utmost caution should be
shown in estimating the rights of the matter at issue
by any other light than that afforded by the evidence
formally laid before both Houses of the Imperial Par-
liament.

Let it not be forgotten how, upwards of half a century
ago, the evil passions of the multitude were called into
lamentable operation during the trial of one of the
great proconsuls of our Eastern empire. Let it not
be forgotten 'how England discovered, in the end,
that she had permitted her judgment to be warped by
her passion, and had visited her wrath with needless
severities of contumely upon the head of an admi-
nistrator, who, though guilty to a considerable ex-
tent, was guilty only from the excess of his pa.
triotism, and from the loftiness of his ambition to
aggrandize the glory, and the power, and the influ-
ence, and the riches of Great Britain. Not, be it
observed, that we would for a moment attempt to
institute any comparison whatever between the past
aekthe present inquiries ; not that we would venture
to contrast the splendid genius of WARREN HASTINGS
with the mediocre ability of Lord TORRINGTON, or
attach to the cause of the one any needless association
with that of the' other, so as to invest the ex-Governor
of Ceylon with the
interest cast around by the fame
of the great ex-Governor of Hindostan. All that
we would intimate by the reminiscence is the possi-
bility of our falling
n) blun-
der already committed in the instance of the distin-
guished and enterpraisgianigsatastaesnmaatnionw,
hionsteo
incontes-
tabletlie
merits have been eulogised
in
strains of such burning and aboundingl' e
the nation could permit itself to be carriedlPoiciAueeAnaUcwLeAa.ty inlf
the instance of HASTINGS by an excessive and exa g"
gerated indignation, it may, unless due precaution
be
taken, fall into the same error in reference to Ton
RINGTON. Therefore, to say the very least of it, we
maintain that it is advisable for us to display some
sort of leniency in our consideration of the conduct
of the latter, and not wander into unnecessary extra-
vagance by giving too ready credence to his as.
gallants.

Hitherto upon the scantiest evidence, the ex-
Governor of Ceylon has been dealt with by the
majority as though he had already been convicted
upon every charge, and pronounced guilty after the
raaturest consideration. It should assuredly be borne
in mind, that we cherish amongst us a benign and
wholesome maxim, that every man, until shown to be
the contrary, should be regarded as innocent. Under
ordinary circumstances the propriety of so treating
the accused is everywhere recognised. More parti-

---
.*.
"Ceylon, and the Government of Lord Torrington, con-
Reriew for December 1850, entitled
taming a correction of the errors in an article in the Quarterly
Ceylon." " London : James Madden, 1851.
' The Mysteries of
t All aspirants for the education of the multitude by the
publication of the masterpieces of our literature in an acces•
elf i 9 form, will rejoice, with ourselves
'at
ay' s " Essays, " beginning With
by
Messrs.
Longmanngman and Company, ''at the announcement,
Of a' cheap re-issue of
of them all, the one on Warren Hastings.perhaps, the finest
.