The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-22 00:00:00

SIR faiar LATTIZENCE AT GLASGOW,

Yesterday afternoon Sir John Lawrence was pre-
sented with the freedom of the city of Glasgow, in
accordance with a resolution of the Town Council of
that city.
he had been Sir John arrived from lnverarv, where
the guest of the Duke of Argyll for some
days, on Thursday, and stayed with the Rev. Dr.
Itil•Duff. The ceremony of the presentation was per-
formed in the City-hall yesterday, at two o'clock.
The hall was crowded by a large and highly re-
spectable audience, the platform being occiipied b
, .3'
the Lord Provost, magistrates, and Town Council
of the city, and others.
The LORD PROVOST, who was warmly received,
said,—The appearance of so large a meeting of
ladies and gentlemen shows the cordiality with
which the resolution of the Council has been re-
ceived by the citizens of Glasgow, and it cannot
fail to gratify Sir John Lawrence, to whom we now
intend to present the freedom of our city. (Ap_
plause.) Such an honour is not very frequently
bestowed, and only conferred where there is great
merit and worth displayed. The freedom of the
city was given in 1843 to Richard Cobden, the pro-
moter of free trade; in 1845 to Sir Henry Pottin-
ger, the first negotiator of the treaty which ex•
tended our trade with China; to Lord John Rus-
sell and Lord Palmerston, conspicuous leaders in
the Government of the country ; to the Earl of
Elgin, famous for his administration in, Jamaica,
Canada, and China; to Sir Colin Campbell, re-
nowned for his bravery in the Crimea, and for
his noble and energetic conduct in India; and,
lastly, to the distinguished African traveller, Dr.
Livingstone. It is with no ordinary degree of
satisfaction that we add the name of Sir
John Lawrence to this distinguished list; and I
do not hesitate to say that Sir John Lawrence's
claim to the respect and esteem of the citizens of
Glasgow, and the country generally, is equal to any
of the eminent men to whom I have referred.
(Great applause.)
The Town-clerk read the inscription on the bur-
gess ticket, which was then presented to Sir John.
Sir JOHN LAWRENCE then came forward, and
was received with loud and prolonged cheering.
When this had subsided he said—Allow me to offer
you my sincere thanks for the great honour which
you have conferred on me this day—an honour
which, coming from the inhabitants of a great city,
renowned for their public spirit, enterprise, and in-
telligence, cannot be too highly appreciated by me.
It was my signal good fortune not only, to occupy
a prominent position in India during the late
mutiny, but to rule over a prosperous and contented
population, and to be surrounded by many excellent
soldiers and civilians. All these advantages, how-
ever, would have availed little but for the merciful
aid of the Almighty, who, while humbling us almost
to the dust, showed by the event that He did not
mean to destroy us altogether. It has been urged
as a reflection on the administration of the Pun-
jab that a large proportiod of the English troops on
that side of India were cantoned in the province.
This wag doubtless a very great advantage to us,
but the arrangement had nothing whatever to
do with the character of the administration.
The fact was, that in some years previous to
the annexation of the Punjab we had concentrated a
large force in the vicinity of the Sutlej, partly to
observe the Sikh army, which was collected in large
masses round Lahore, and had forsome time evinced
a dangerous spirit, and partly to give our soldiers
the benefit of a hill climate. The experience we
obtained during the two Punjab wars of the war-
like qualities of the Sikh treops, and the great ex-
tent of frontier we had to guard, induced the
Supreme Government in India, after.the annexation
of the Punjab, to occupy the country with a large
portion of our native and European armies, while,

naturally enough, there was a disinclination to give
up the sanatoria w e had formed in the hills. And
thus it was that the rest of the Bengal Presidency
was left with an insufficie„nt number of our own sol-
diers. The obvious remedy, then, was to have
added to their force in India, and to have met the
expense by a proportionate reduction in the native
army; and why so obvious a course was not adopted
it is not for me to say. But, as I have already re-
marked, no additional troops were sent to the Pun-
jab in consequence of the character of the admi-
nistration ; on the contrary, in succeeding years
very considerable reductions in their number were
effected. From the very first, the administration of
the country was organised on a vigorous and econo-
mical basis. The feelings, prejudices, and customs of
the people, so far as practicable, were duly regarded.
Every effort was made to develope the resources and
reduce the pressure of taxation. Trade and industry
had been much depressed, and the taxation on land
was generally excessive. We very soon got rid of all
the customs, transit, and town duties, while by a
small addition to the salt excise and a superior
system of management, we collected a revenue on
that one article fully equal to the former income
from all the taxes which were abolished. The
land-tax was largely reduced and better distributed,
while all the tenures of the land were carefully in-
quired into, adjusted, and recorded. At the time
of the annexation not a road existed in the length
and breadth of the land. Several thousand miles
of communication have since been opened up. One
of the finest canals in thi§ world was at once com-
menced, and shortly after I left the Punjab one
large section was opened. The cost of this canal
scheme will be upwards of a million and a quarter
of money. The whole course of the Administration
was one of progress and improvement. The people
rapidly became better fed, better clothed, and in
every respect more prosperous than they had been
before ; and so it was that when the mutiny broke
out we were not altogether unprepared to meet it.
We were able to detach a large portion of our Eu-
ropean troops into Hindostan,to reinforce them with
a choice portion of the Punjab troops on the frontier;
to control and overcome the numerous regiments of
Hindostanee soldiers in the country, and to raise
thousands of foot soldiers to fight our battles.
From first to last more than 80,000 Punjab soldiers
were ranged on our side during the late struggle.
Again, it has been urged that the annexation of so
many provinces, and in particular that the annexa-
tion of Oude, which took place shortly before the
mutiny, was the cause which led to that calamity,
and the rephtation of one of the greatest men who
ever governed India—l mean the Marquis Dal-
housie—has consequently suffered. I do not well
know who was the author of that annexation, but
I believe that had the advice of that statesmen been
followed, and a proper addition been made at that
time to the English army in India, either we should
havo had no mutiny, or that the mutiny would
have been much more easily suppressed. The an-
nexation of Oude had nothing whatever to do with
the mutiny in the first instance, though that mea-
sure certainly did add to the number of our enemies
after the mutiny commenced. The old Government
of Oude was extremely obnoxious to the mass of
our native soldiers of the regular army who came
from Oude and the adjacent province of Behar,
and with whom the mutiny originated. These men
were the sons and kinsmen of the Hindoo yeomen
of the country, all of whom benefited more or less
by annexation ; while Oude was ruled by a Maho-
medan family, which had never identified itself
with the people, and whose Government was ex-
tremely oppressive to all classes, except its imme-
diate creatures and followers, and to no class so
much as to the great body of the agriculturists.
But when the introduction of the greased cartridge
had excited the native army to revolt; when the
mutineers saw nothing before them short of success
on the one hand or destruction on the other,. theyt
and all who sympathised with them were driven
the most desperate measures. All that could be
in-
fluenced by love or fear rallied round,t hexer;nks. All
All that
had little or nothing to lose joined the
that dangerous class of religious fain intriguers,
fanatics and devo-
tees-who abound in India; a"theP°itical
mischief, swelled
who in peaceful times can
do no
and gave spirit and the numbers of the enemy,
di-
rection to their measures. India is full of races of
men who from time immemorial h aveived by ser-
vice or by plunder, and who are ready to join in
any disturbance which may promise them employ-
ment. (Hear, hear.) Oude was full of disbanded
had time to settle down
soldiers, who had not d
of
. Os thousand
s desperate
gaols furnished men who
society. The cry throughout the
country, as cantonment after cantonment became
the scene of triumphant mutiny, was " the English
rule is at an end; let us plunder and enjoy ourselves."
The industrious classes throughout India were in our
favour, but a long time feared to act. On the one
side they saw the few English in the country shot
down, or flying for their lives ; or, at the best, stand-
ing on the defensive, sorely pressed. On the other
side, they saw summary punishment in the shape
of the plunder and dest •
ruction of their homes,
and even of death itself, dealt out to those who aided
us. Was it, ,then, so wonderful that they refused to
sacrifice all that
was dear to them for our sakes ?
(liear, hear,and
applause.) But when we evinced
signs of vigour—when we began to assume the
offensive, and vindicate our authority, many of
these people came forward and identified them-
selves with our cause. Surely it is mere folly to
suppose that we could ever have weathered the
storm which beset us, had the mass of the people of
the country risen heartily against us. (Cheers.)
One of the great evils of those sad times was the
large numbers who were gradually drawn or forced
into the struggle against us, who, when once com-
mitted, saw no hope of safety except in continuing
the struggle. Then it was that sound policy
dictated the advantage of giving such men a
way to escape, and of dealing tenderly with
them. There is one other subject on which I
will say a few words, and that is on the intro-
duction of the Bible into our schools in
the §epoyfS rcycited, uqt beccomc

anity was taught to the people of India,
required to but because
they believed that the cartridge they
were
use would convey destruction to their bodies and
their souls. This was, in their view, a tremendous
attack on caste and religion. Their ideas on such
matters in no wise accord w ith ours. A Ilindoo
soldier lying wounded on the field of battle has
died rather than drink water cffaed to him by a
man who, in his eyes, was au outcast. A Sikh
soldier in our hospitals at Agra preferred continuing
to suffer for some hours all the anguish arising
from feverish thirst, induced by severe wounds,
rather than receive water from the hands of an
English lady. His words were—" Though no man
see me drink, God will see it." The religion of the
great majority of the people of India consists in
ceremonial observances, and in a fancied personal
freedom from certain contaminating influences.
They are extremely ignorant and proportionatel3r
superstitious. They have certainly a general impres-
sion that we desire their conversion,and that t his will
be accomplished by physical means. Thus stories of
bone dust being mixed with the flour sold in the
Imarket, and the like, are constantly floating at,out
the country. We are never secure from panics
arising from such causes. Does not this, then, in-
culcate the policy of instructing the people, where
they are willing to receive it, as to the real charac-
ter of our religion ?
(Hear.) Sound
tShoeumndtphoelimcyeasurely dictates that we should
comprehending its principles. We cannot teach
them the very elements of our sciences without
showing them the folly of their own faith. Shall
we, then, sap the foundations of their belief with-
out giving them facilities for acquiring true know-
ledge ? Can this be wisdom ? (Cheers.) It is
said that the work should he restricted to the mis-
sionaries. But what can a few missionaries do
among hundreds of millions of people. (Hear.) 1
do not desire to see the Government under-
take the duty of the missionary ; but that when
the parents of children belonging to our schools do not
object, and masters are able and willing to instruct, .
the Bible should not be prohibited. Government,
ias regards the extension of our faith, cannot
really remain neutral. Its influence will either be
for or against its progress. Under the most fa-
vourable auspices, that faith will not spread very
fast ' • the probability rather is that its progress
will be lamentably slow. (Hear, hear.) I myself
believe that sound policy, as well as our duty to
God and to man, demand that we should give
facilities and encouragement to the spread of
Christianity in India, and that the introduction
of the Bible into the Government schools may be
effected in many places with the full consent of
the children and their parents by teachers who
have their heart in the work. (Sir John resumed
his seat amid great cheering.)
The Hon. A. KINNAIRD then moved the thanks
of the meeting to the Provost and Council, which
terminated the proceedings. •