The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-20 00:00:00

PROPOSED ABOLITION OF THE EAST

INDIA COMPANY.

Yesterday evening a public meeting was held at
the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, " to con-
sider the proposed usurpation by an irresponsible
Cabinet of the functions and patronage of the East
India Company.
The chair was taken by Mr. George Crawshay,
late Mayor of Gateshead, and a proprietor of East
India stock. There was a large attendance of the
public, including several of the working classes, and
among them several representatives of the Chartist
community.
The CuAinmaz{ said that the present meeting
was intended by those who had called it to be only
the first of a great series of meetings. It there-
fore became his duty to lay before the meeting what
were the views of the gentlemen who, together with
himself, had determined upon instituting this
national movement. They had a solemn belief
that this country was in danger of destruction—
(laughter, and cries of " Hear, hoar ")—owing to
the delusions which prevailed in the minds of Eng-
lish people. If he could believe that the doctrines
put forward at public meetings and in the press
were the convictions of the people of England, he
could have no hope for England. He would enu-
merate a few of the doctrines which had passed
current in the press, in drawing-rooms, and clubs
during the last six months. It was not long ago
since Ministers of State said it was not possible to
ascertain the cause of the Indian difficulties, and this
apology was accepted by the House of Commons.
They knew well that if in their houses their property
was broken, they would not be told it
ye
it wast h
tpeerfeEcitilgy_
impossible to ascertain the cause, and
lish people were gulled with this nonsense from the
Ministers. What could be expected. of such a
A
people?
(Hear, hear.) An assertion had been
made ix public by Mr. Massey,M that the
cause of the revolution was to be attributed to our
having tolerated the religion of the Hindoo, and
yet no one rose to contradict him. The matter had
now gone to such a length that at the relief fund
meeting it was said we ought not to inquire into
those causes. (C of that night had ri"
"Oh, oh.") The meeting of
been held to show that the revolt in
India was to be attributed to the violation of the
laws of God and man by the English people. If
they inquired who these people were they would
find that the authors of those crimes were among
the men who now wanted to abolish the Company
and throw the power into their own hands. Thi,
was one of the most monstrous proposals ever
made. The Government said there was no means
of ascertaining the cause, and that the only remedy
left was to abolish the East India Company. He
remembered having heard a story of tut English
Minister who declared that if he could not make
the English people believe nonsense, he could do
nothing with them. What had the people of ERAS

land to gain ‘by the abolition *i
Company ? What might.
abolition? (Cries of ",Nothitig.")\
that the East India Company stc.
people and fifty millions of -debt,
be saddled upon the people of
Company were abelished? (fkar,. hear.) The
East India Company had not 121221 the PeOpit-.. of
England one farthing. (Lauglilter.). The Core..
pany had 'obtained an empire in India, had held it
for a century, and the people• had never been
(Lt
the
euagpnhedtoeprhl,
people
asonef c
gi
i.) Het sa
onow
i
was df
t, xRe
idv
eorns e sfh ibl ionogd i
Dt d
no.) Then let the
—" .blood and
owoanantptaonybetlaoxnede. fo(rLit.,(n?Agh,v(fNeoroice;
robblenryd.i'a) obHtaeiled knewl? many crimes were -1 tvirimitt,34-
but who was to blame for them, the Company or
the Government I (Cries of " The Government,"
and confusion.) The Government made the Affghaa
war, the gist India Company knew nothing of
it. (Oh, oh.) He contended th,t the arts of suo-
cessive Governments towards India had been ono
tissue of unmitigated injustice from beginning to
end. (Cheers and uproar.) The people were told
that the Company was to be abolished because there
was a double Government, but if the -Government
proposition were carried; the Company would be
abolished, and the whole of the power would be
c,nter-d in a Secretary of State, or, in fact, in the
Board of Control. Ministers had already too much
power in th,s country—(tvar)—And of later years,
While reforms were talked about, the power of the
Government was daily on the increase, until at
lemtth the House of Commons had become the tool
of the Prime Minister. (Cries of " Yes, yes," and
" No, no.") • How had this been brought about
Why, by centralising power and patronage in the
hands of the Ministry, Did they know that
Government patronage was given to the supporters
of the Government and to no others. (A Voice—

" Give th-e—Goiernment of India to the people of the
country—the working classes.") (Laughter.) Well,
the East India Company had never taken a shilling
from the working classes. (Cries of " Oh, oh,"
and groans.) - Every British soldier who went out
to India was paid out of the revenues of the coun-
try.. (A. voice—" India is quite old enough .to go-
vern itself.") With all the faults of the Company,
and they were many, there were men among them
who understood the people of India.. A. 7 great
charge against the East India Conically was.that it
desired to respect the religion of the Hindoo but
if the natives of India were once persuaded that the
Government intended to force them to beeome
Christians, the country could not be held a month.
India had been won by our ancestors—by greater
and better men than those n.)w living, (Uproar,
and cries of "Out of the chair," " We don't want
you." and great confusion.) He believed that when
the justice of the people of England was appealed
to a cry would be heard of justice to the people of
India. His advice was, rather let India be lost
than justice not be done. (Cheers and uproar.)
Mr. M. LEWIN then moved the first resolution as
fellows:—" That the Court of Directors, by sub-
mitting to the coercion of the English Government,
have brought upon India and upon England the
disasters and the dangers to which both are now
exposed, and that this meeting holds the prevention
of the further aggravation of those disasters and dan-
gers to reside solely in the Court of Directors assert-
ing for the future their administrative independence,
recurring to the rules laid down by the House of
Commons in 1782, and by so doing, obtaining for
themselves the support of the people of England."
After asking for a fair hearing, he said it was
the duty of the East India Company, having
acquired the government of India, not to give it up
at the call if the present corrupt Government,
having at its back a carrupt House of Commons.
That being so, it was for the public to consider
whether they could add to the patronage of a cor-
rupt Government, which had recently introduced
into the Cabinet the Marquis of Clanricarde, and
he was there in consequence of his belief drat to
that no'bleman the destinies of the country were
to be handed over, in consequence of his being the
relative of Lord Canning,. He said all thedisasters
that had taken place iu India were owing to .the
imbecility of Lord Canning. (Hisses.)
Major STEWART ROLLAND having explained the
resolution at considerable length, strongly cen-
sured the conduct of the Imperial Government
from time to time. He commenced with the war
in Affghinistan, which he stigmatised asa piratical
attack Upon a friendly prince. The result of that
war was a loss of 15,000 men, and 20,000,000 of
treasure, all this being done in spite of the protest
of the E tat India directors, who were threatened
with a mandamus to coerce them into submission
to the Orders of the President of the Board of Con-
trol. That was followed by the Scinde war and the
&nide annexation. Tracing the Government of
India down to the present time, he referred to a
epnrVitis public opinion that was attempted to be
brought about, as in that very room, a short time
since, Lord Clanricarde stood up and said, " Do
away with the East India Compony, and transfer
their power to the government of the country."
Within 48 hours of that time he was a Minister of
the Cr( wn. (Hear, hear.)
Mr_ Itrenanns, amid considerable laughter, moved
the following, as a rider to the resolution before the
meeting :—"That the bill about to be brought
into Parliament, as far as its provisions are known,
bears a striking analogy to the India Bill brought
into Parliament by a coalition in 1783, which
George 111. refused to sanction, and dissolved Par-
liament rather than submit to. That all Govern-
ments since 1834 have proved the innate depravity
of human nature by the centralising and tyrannising
measures adopted and carried on by them ; and
that this India Bill is a counterpart of the same
measure, and is identical with those that led to the
assassination of Buckingham, the execution of
Strafford, Archbishop Laud, and Charles I. ; and
that this meeting declares its firm resolve indivi-
dually to resist centralisation as England's worst
enemy, and a retrograde movement to continental
despotism.
This amendment having been seconded,
Mr. HENRY MEAD, late editor of the Friend of
India, moved a second amendment, as follows :
The meeting of that night was a movement in ad-
vance, as for the first time the representatives of
the East India Company were found appealing to
public opinion. They were now in the position of
a condemned criminal, who was asking, through
his friends, a reprieve and respite from his sentence.
So the East India Company now came before the
public in the position of a criminal who had been
tiled and sentenced, and who knew that the Pal-
merston Calcraft was waiting for them. (Laughter
and cheers.) He moved, " That in the opinion
of this meeting it is desirable to obtain a responsible
form of administration for India, instead of the
present double government ; also such a reform of
our representative system as will ensure an effective
parliamentary control of the Indian authorities in
parliament." (Cheers.)
Mr. ERNEST JONES seconded the amendment.

Mr. JOIINFROST then rose to address the meeting
He said that if the power was taken out of the
hands of the East India Company and put into
the bands of the government, it would be to put it
into the hands of worse men (great confusion during
which Mr. Frost was obliged to retire to his seat.)
The CHAIR-M.4N suggested an adjournment, but
Mr. Ernest Jones denounced it, and insisted that
the vote should be taken at once and denounced
the adjournment as a trick. Considerable time was
consumed in the endeavour to proceed with the
discussion, during which Mr. Jones came forward
as one of the people to move the adjournment, but
without the slight( st success.
The amendment moved by Mr. Mead and
seconded by Mr. Ernest Jones
not more was then pat, and
carried
an overwhelming majority, there beingtban a dozen hands held up against it.
Avo te by
of thanks was then passed to the chair-
man, after which the meeting separated.

ENCOUNTER WITH A HIGHWAY ROBBER IN HE EAST
RIDING.—On Thursday night, about eight o'clock,. as
hMorn.inGfer(o)rmgeDer'iaffirkeisdont;a
aorfklietlggeh:'aso violentlywas returning
afrundmathtiesmhpntresde
wtiothbea robbed,hludgen bludgeon, and ad
tmanhe .knocking him
his body, seizing him by the throat, anndjalitEnt pmingtiunpotno
strangle him. They had a violent sou' file, but attempting
Clark-
son having fired four barrels of a revolver at him, the
last took effect about the chest or jaw. The man, shortly
after the lAbt shot was fired, jumped up and ran away
with his clothes on fire, and the remnants of them were
afterwards found in the adjoining field. It is believed
that the man must have been wounded severely, and
also burnt about the chest, neck, head, and hands. He
appeared to be about five feet eight inches high, thin in
the face, and dressed in a white slop and cap. His cap
and a silk neckerchief were left behind, the neckerchief
being burnt.—Leeds ilicreury.
FATAL COLLIERY ACCIDENT.—An accident which in-
volves the loss of four lives occurred at the Clay Cross
Collieries, Derbyshire, on Monday morning, by the
breaking of a rope. It appears that the men left the pit
about 12 o'clock, and returned about half-past from
dinner. They were being let down by fours. About 20
minutes to one, four men, named Edward Johnson, aged
30 ; James Green, 19 ; Joseph Tardy, 20 ; and Edwarl
Stores, 17, got on the cage to be let down the pit. The
cage was lowered, but it had not gone down ten yards
before the wire rope broke, and the four persons were
precipitated to the bottom, a distance of 70 yards, and
killed on the spot. The bodies were got out of the pit
and removed to the New Inn, Clay Cross, to await
sish
?
coroner's inquest. Tue wire rope had only been
about
08,01
about a month since it was new. The rope was also used
i "n out some bind,
tO drawworks t up
a maneoal en.e
d Robert Another
vas
me
o
'-nored. Inquests will,
when a
much crushed an
in an irboonusttog
cwt.pit. The
ell unip
oann
body was very
be held on the bodies •cand killed him. The
on Thursday.

- HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.—
Her MAJESTY the QUEEN has graci-
ously signified her intention of HONOURING with her
PRESENCE a SERIES of FOUR FESTIVAL PERFORM.
ANCES, intended to be presented at the period of the ap-
proaching Nuptials of her Royal Highness the PRINCESS
ROYAL with his Royal Highness the Prince FREDERICK

WILLIAM of PRUSSIA.
The general arrangements are under the direction of Mr.
Mitchell, in co-operation with Mr. Lumley, and favoured by
the assistance of the following Managers of the Metropolitan
Theatres
Mr. Smith Theatre Royal, Drury-lane.
Mr. lisekstone Haymarket Theatre.
Mr. Webster ..... ....... Adelphi Theatre.
Mr. Harrison and Miss Pyne Lyceum Theatre.
Mr. Robson and Mr. Emden Olympic Theatre.
Mr. Phelps Sadler's Wells Theatre.
The programme will comprise the following Entertain-
ments

_
TO-MORROW, THURSDAY, January 21.
Alfe's New Opera,
THE ROSE OF CASTILLE,
731 Miss Pyne, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Weiss, and the Operatic
Company of the Lyceum Theatre ; conductor
Mr. A. Mellon.
With a COMIC AFTERPIECE.

SATURDAY, January 23,
AN ITALIAN OPERA,
By Madlle„ Piccolomini, Signor Giuglini, and the Principal
Artistes of Mr. Lumley's Theatre.
And a FESTIVAL CANTATA composed by
Mr. Howard Glover.