The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-15 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY).
(Continued from the Sun of last niyht.)
_TORTURE IN INDIA.
The Duke of ARGYLL said that the Government
fully concurred in every word which had been said by
the noble earl on the subject of torture in India, and he
considered it his duty to say that her Majesty's Govern-
ment looked upon the subject with abhorrence, and
regarded the system of torture as not only injurious
to the best interests of the empire, but opposed
to every consideration of justice and good policy. It was
hardly three years since both houses of Parliament were
engaged in an inquiryrespecting the renewal of the char-
ter to the East India Company. So far as the committee
of that house was concerned, he was not aware that a
single whisper had been heard on the subject of the prac-
tice of torture in India, and he should certainly have ex-
pected that had it been a known fact that either the
British Government or that of the East India Company
practised it, it would have formed one of the most pro-
minent features of the inquiry. There was, therefore, it
would appear, a most remarkable degree of ignorance on
the subject. The practice of torture in India was first die.
cos'ered in consequence of a statement made in another
place, to the effect that torture was practised in Indic.
That statement was denied by hon, members connected
with the East India Company, and by the right hon. bark.
the then President of the Board of Control. Her Majesty's
Government,on thus hearing for the first timeof the cus-
tom of applying torture,appointed a commission to inquire
into the subject, and within ten months from the date of
the issue of that commission the evidence and report on
the subject which was now before their lordships. There
had therefore been no want of energy on the part of the
Government in inquiring into the custom, and it was
most unfair to charge anything like an encouragement of
the system upon the British Government. Neither wa-
it true that the system had originated with the British
Government. On the contrary, it was one which had
been inherited from the empires that had preceded us.
The noble duke referred to the report of the commission-
ers, from which he read several extracts, showing that
the system of torture was one that was ingrained in the
whole social system of India, and was invariably prac-
tised by the inhabitants in every relation of their life.
The great ignorance which existed on the subject of the
existence of torture, notwithstanding its extensive prac-
tice, arose from several causes—among others, the very
large extent of the territory entrusted to the magic
trates, and the fact that nothing of the nature of torture
is ever inflicted in the presence of Europeans. Severe
extracts were read from the report of the commissioner=
in confirmation of this explanation as to the causes of
the existing ignorance on the subject of torture. In for-
mer years it appeared that the subject, had been brought
under the notice of the Board of Directors, and since the
year 1819 there had not been less than ten occasions of
which the courts of justice had issued orders to prevent
the continuance of this practice. With reference to the
junction of police and revenue offices, to which the noble
earl had referred, the commissioners in their report con-
demned the system in the strongest manner. But
when they found that the system was one advocated by
such high authority as Sir Thomas Munroe, it was
hardly fair to make charges against the British Govern-
ment and the East India Company for having adopted
this system of the union of the two offices. The more
important question, however, which the house had to
consider was, what steps ought to be taken in order to
put an end to this abominable system. Lord Harris, the
Governor of Madras, had expressed himself strongly in
favour of adopting some most stringent steps in order
to put a stop to the system, and one of his suggestions
was the employment of a much larger number of Euro.
peen servants abut there existed very great difficulties in
the way of giving this increased employment. He (the
Duke of Argyll) trusted that it would be found possible
to effect a co-operation between the revenue and police
services, and to put an end to the system of the annual
assessment of land, which was found to be productive of
so many evils. He was happy to find from a despatch
laid before the house, that evening, that already the
Court of Directors of the East India Company had di
rected the attention of the civil servants to the necea-
sity of substituting a fixed for an annual assessment
of the land. The whole subject was at present,
under the consideration of her Majesty's Govern.
ment, and as the resolutions proposed by the noble
lord would not be productive of any practical advan-
tage if agreed to, but would on the contrary convey
an erroneous opinion if adopted by the house in the
original shape, be would add a few amendments to
the resolution, the effect of which would be to show that
the system of torture bad not been originated by the
British Government, and that its practice had been de-
clared to be illegal by the British Government. The noble
duke concluded by moving his amendments accordingly.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE agreed with the
noble duke in the opinion expressed by him as to the
ignorance which existed by all the leading statesmen of
the country on the subject of the existence of torture
in India, and believed that had such a system come to
their knowledge, they would have adopted the most
energetic measures for the purpose of putting an end to
the practice of torture. He trusted that effectual mea-
sures would be taken to abolish the system which had
g.) long prevailed, and which had been so justly cen-
ured. (Hear.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said he had been
closely connected with Indian affairs for a period of five
years, and during the whole of that time he never enter-
tained the slightest suspicion that the practice of
torture existed in any part of India, and if he had heard
such a charge made before reading the book on their
lordships' table he should have repudiated it with indig-
nation. But it was now certain that the practice had
constantly existed, in a more or less degree ; a practice
derived from a Mahommedan government, but continued
by our own. (Hear.) We had now held those countries
or more than fifty years, and it was to him a matter of
the greatest surprise and regret that silence should have
been so completely maintained on the part of those who
were cognisant of the facts, and that they should never I
have been brought prominently under the notice of the
head of that Government. (Hear, hear.) He would not
attribute connivance with the practice to the members
of the civil service in India, but he must be permitted
to say that he did not think the officers of that service
had shown the sensitiveness upon the existence of so
dreadful a crime which might have been expected
from the feelings of English gentlemen. (Hear, hear.)
It was most extraordinary that, except in a very few
cases, the punishment for these offences should
have been so strikingly inadequate—(hear)—and that
in so many cases the magistrates should kayo held the
offence to be not proved, and that in others they should
have consented to a compromise between the tortured
man and the person by whom the torture was inflicted.
(Hear, hear.) He looked upon these things with more
than regret, and hoped the Home Government and the
Government in India would make the gentlemen exer-
cising authority under them fully understand that the
administration of British India was hereafter to be con
ducted in a very different spirit from that in which it
appeared to have been conducted. (Hear.)
Lord CONGLETON was satisfied that no beneficial
result could be expected until there was a separation be-
tween the revenue department and the police. Those two
classes had entered into a combination to pillage the
people for their own advantage, and as far as the natives
were concerned, it was a state of lawless barbarism. He
trusted the noble duke and the Government would take
speedy measures for the reparation of the two depart-
ments.
The Earl of ALBEMARLE said it had been re-
emvai rl
evils
re-
marked,
wouldin taking tcht
eed c
tohuarnsethhoeserechoemcmonednedmedn,edg.reaßteer
could hardly conceive worse evils than those he had
mentioned that evening could, under any circumstances,
prevail. (Hear.)
The resolutions as amended were then agreed to,
The house adjourned at 20 minutes before 9.

HO USE OF COMMONS.—(YEsuntDAy.)
SUPPLY.

The following votes were agreed to : --
For the civil establishments on the west coast of Africa,
10,2301.
For the Government of St. Helena, 10,8561.
For Heligoland, 9601.
A vote of 12,0001., to defray the expense of the support
of captured slaves, was agreed to.
On the vote of 167,4981. for consular establishments
abroad,
Mr. WISE said that the subject of consular establish-
ments was one of very great importance. Considerable im-
provements had been made with regard to them in 1831,and
the subject had since been frequently discussed in commit-
tees. In 18',0 a committee was appointed to inquire into
the subject of the diplomatic and consular services. They
made a report on the diplomatic service, and recom-
mended that the subject of our consular establishments
should be inquired into' the following year by a commit-
tee. That committee had, however, never been appointed.
Re trusted that inquiry would be made into the subject.
The duties of our consuls were of the most important and
responsible character. The consuls in the Levant, for in•
stance, had both civil and criminal jurisdiction, and hav-
ing to perform such important duties, it was necessary
that this country should have men of high principle and
independent character for their consuls there. He trusted
the Government would propose a commission to inquire ,
Into the state of •tho consular establishment in the Levant.
He did not mean in any way to cast any reflections on our
consuls in the Levant; there wore many of them men of
the highest abilities and attainments. There was no doubt,
however, that there were many of ourconsuls incapable for
the positions they held. He should do wrong if he omitted
to mention, as instances of men of merit and ability in the
consular service, the names of Mr. Grant and Mr. Calvert,
who, with many othels, bad served the country so well in
the last war, He (lir. Wise) thought that charges for
passports and the like fees ought to be abolished, eiren
-though the salaries of the consuls had consequently pro•
portionately to be increased. The hon. gentleman referred
to passages from the reports of the Times' Commissioner,
the E trl of Carlisle's work, and Dr. Sand with's " Siege of
Kars," to show that the reform of our consular system was
much needed. With respect to the financial part of the
question, the total sum proposed by the Government for
our consular service this year was 167,0001. He did not
object to that amount, but to the way in which it was dis-
tributed. The whole number of persons employed in the
consular department was 533. There were 27 consuls-
general, 119 conuls, 228 English vice-consuls, and the re-
mainder were foreign vice-consuls. Since 1848 there had
been a considerable increase in the number of consuls,
some of that increase having naturally arisen out of the
increase of our trade "with China and elsewhere. But,
p.t the same time, it struck bins that some of our consuls
were Unnecessary and might be removed, altogether. For,
iestatlce, at Constantinople, where our embassy cost us
bti,h
tiOOut.nta-yienara,dhasitsisnw,
which cost u fornonecessitys2,o
ao consularce ornita;:
They had au embassy at litadrid at au expense of 6,000 h

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