The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-08 00:00:00

able to take this ceportunity of saying that, elihough T dee
net think it goer for enough, yet. undoubtedly, that
eaerepit a considerable mitigation of the pri c aniation.
as originally iesued. Ido not wish to cast the slightest
blame upon L ird Canning, but I cannot say that I ap-
prove the course which he has pursued. Ido net doubt
that Lord Canning pursued it with the best intentions.
I doubt not that, in his own mind, he wished to pre-
serve to himself and to the Government the power of
materially mitigating the severity of that proclamation ;
but your lordships will observe that unfoltunately—l
mean unforiuuately with regard to the effect upon the
people of Oude—the mitigating spirit was not made
kno am to them while the proclamation of wholesale
confiscation was—e circumstance which was calculated
to drive the people to der,peratiore and therefore
iedifleitely to protract the straggle in that coun•
try. My lords, I earnestly hope that Lord Canning
may" have acted in a spirit of generous appre-
elating of the many mitigating circumstances in favour
of the people of Oude ; that be may in practice have re•
laxed--have greatly relaxed—the severity of the original
decree ; and that this practical proof of his intention to
diminish its severity may avert those injurious cense-
euencee with regard to the continuance of war an the
continuance of bad feeling which I cannot but anticipate
are likely to flow from the proclamation in its originalform. (Hear.) Ino not regret that at the present ma.
went this letter shou d have been brought so prom
neatly into notice—that its production should hays
been, perhaps somewhat hastily, promised ; and I am
sure what has passed your lordships will see tie pro.
priety of the course which my noble fi iend has reeeme
mended to-night—that of laying on your lordships' table
only such portions as may be published without causing
serious inconvenience to the public service, and omitting
some passages which, if published in India, might, in
the opinion of her Majesty's Government, produce a
most prejudicial effect. The noble earl (Eel' Granville)
himsilf, as a friend of Lord Canning, has had an oppore
tuoity of seeing the whole despatch. We thought it
right, after his intimation 6M he intended to make
some observations upon this subject, that he should see
the whole despatch and shou!d be made acquainted with
all that had taken place ; and I think that, however
much he may regret that any portion of the despatch
should have been made public, be will concur with me
that we have exercised a scund discretion in laying upon
the table only extracts, omitting certain paragraphs
which I. pointed out to the noble earl. (Hear.)
The Duke of ARGYLL—I shall not be tempted by
the speech of the noble earl to say one word on the
merits of Lord Cunning's proclamation, upon the polioy
of which he has taken this opportunity of expressing a
decided opinion. I beg the house to rec illect that my
noble friend (Earl Granville) most care'ully abstained
from expressing any opinion on that point; and although
there were many observations of the noble earl (the
Earl of Derby) in regard to which it will, when
this subject is debated in a few days, be easily
shown that the noble earl labours under mistaken im-
pressions, yet those matters are not now before the
house, and I will therefore not discuss them. What we
ought to press upon the attention of the Government is
the course of conduct which they have pursued towards
Lord Canning with respect to this proclamation. (hear.)
If one sentiment bas been oftener repeated than another
by noble lords on both sides of this house, and by hon.
gentlemen on both sides of another house, it' has been,
that the government of India must mainly be carried on
in that country ; that is to say, that the government of
India and the welfare of the Indian pe)ple must mainly
depend upon the wisdom and upon the strength of the
Government there. (Hear.) What a comment is it upon

this doctrine, which has received the assent of the Go-
vernment. that on the very first occasion on which the
Governor-General issues a proclamation of which the
borne Government does not entirely approve, they take
tie opportueity of throwing him over—not merely of
expressing disapproval of his conduct, but of throwing
him over in the most offensive manner ! (Cries of " No,
no," wad cheers.) How can you carry on the go-remnant
of India if your relations with the Governor-General are
to be con lucted in such a manner as this ? I observe that
nei.her of the noble earls opposite who have addressed
the house have taken the slightest notice of the report
which was referred to by my noble friend—that although
this famous despatch of the noble earl (the Eatl of Ellen-
borough) has gone through the secret committee, and has
been kept absolutely from the knowledge cf the Court
of Directors—that council with which he is bound to
consult upon great questions of Indian policy—until to-
day, yet it has been in the bands of private members of
Parliament for the course of several weeks. (Hear.)
[The Earl of Derby here made an observation across the
table which did not reach the gallery ] I refer to the
report mentioned by my noble friend. I have not heard
it, but he has, and I think it important that it should
receive some explanation. What was the course taken
in this matter I An honourable member gets up in ano-
ther place, which shall be nameless, and asks whether
the proclamation of the Governor-General has been issued
under instructions from the Government at home.
The Minister of the Crown who represents the noble earl
opposite in that place is represented to have given a very
moderate answer—no doubt somewhat imprudently pro-
mising the production of the despatch, but using very
moderate terms. In reply to another question, how-
ever, a still higher official of the Government gets tip
and announces to the British Parliament that the policy
of the Governor-General has been condemned in every
sense. (Cheers.) Tue noble earl, having concealed this
despatch from the Court of Directors,—and I do not see
that there was any necessity for adopting such a course,
because the most important matters connected with the
annexation of Oude were not transacted through the
secret committee—confined himself, as the report goes,
t) communicating it to independent members of Parlia-
nvint ; and what occurred in the other House of Parlia-
ment has all the appearance of having resulted from an
arrangement between these independent members and
the Government, by which the condemnation of the con-
duct of Lord Canning should he announced to the House
of Commons in the most offensive terms. I ask if any
course has ever been taken by any Government more
likely to bring into contempt the authority cf the Go-
vernor cf India I If you lay down the principle that,
however your home Government may be constituted, it
is to the authorities in India that you must mainly trust
for the maintenance and preservation of your empire,
could you have taken a course more likely to throw con-
tempt upon those authorities and to involve the difficult
and complicated question of the government of Oude in
hopeless confusion than that which you have in this in-
stance pursued 1 (Cheers.)

The ileo 1 f ELLENBOROUGH.—It has been alleged
that thieletter ought to havebeen made known to the Court
of Directors only. My lords, it never would have been
male known to the Court of Directors if the proclamation
had not been made public. That letter referred only to
this proclamation, and only to a particular passage
contained in it. I was in hopes, up to the last moment,
that, yielding to the representations which I believe
were made to him against issuing that proclamation,
Lord Canning never would have issued it in the form in
which it was sent home. If he had yielded to such
representations, the proclamation never having been
issued, this letter would never have been known. It
would have remained perfectly secret, and only years
and years hence might it have been discovered that it
was once the Governor General's intention to publish
such a document. It is next objected that some private
individuals are in possession of tide letter in extenso. The
noble earl himself is in possession of it. (Rear, hear.)
Re requested to have it communicated to him, and he
now complains that that which was sheen as an act of
courtesy towards himself should be shown to others
equally interested with himself in the welfare of India,
though not interested perhaps as much as himself in
Lord Canning. My lords, it is resumed that her Majesty's
Government have not acted fairly towards Lord Canning,
and have not given him their full support. I think it is
not three weeks, unless I am greatly mistaken, since the
noble earl expressed his approbation of the secret letter
which I placed upon the table, and was pleased also to
observe, in expressing that approbation, that that letter
would afford material support to the Governor-General.
My lords, what wore the terms and obj ct of that letter
It dee' tred the hope of her Majesty's Government that
our recent successes would enable the Governer-General
to act in a spirit of clemency as well as of justice towards
the people. Hire is the paragraph :
"To us it appears that whenever open resistance shall
have ceased it would be prudent, in awarding punishment,
rather to follow the practice which prevails after the con-
quest of a country which has defended itself to the last by
desperate war than that which may perhaps be lawfully
adopted after the suppression of mutiny and rebellion, such
acts being excepted from forgiveness or mitigation of
punishment as have exceeded the license of legitimate hos-
tilities."
(enema.) That was the principle which was laid down.
We thought it especially applicable to the position
Oude and to the people of that country. What do we
say in conclusion :
" Acting in this spirit, you may rely upon our sue
qualified support."
And, toy lords, we did not only send that despatch to
India, and keep it in the secret
bY departmentwhich as a thing
ti, be known to Lord Canning alone
he would have received but little support fromin f
we
act,
it ;
made it public here 39 soon as we were enabled to do so,
and conveyed to all India the knowledge of the fact that
her Majesty's Goverurnent were determined to give hii
their unqualified support—their support, be it observed,
in the prosecution
of a system of_ clemency as well as
justice. And what did we receive a few days afterwards
This proclamation ! My. lords,_ no Government would
have deserved to survive 21 hours which had not
k d with its reprobation the confiecatiou under suck
narecircumstances of the proprietary rights of the entire
p°p eof Oude. (Cheers.) I cannot believe, whatever
may be the sentiments of the noble earl and his friends,
that there can exist in this country a feeling which will
not induce all classes to support those who have repro.
bated such a declaration from the Government of India.
(Cbeeis.) I hold that the hostilities which exist in
Oudo bear mere the character of war than of rebellion.
And yet, notwithstanding that fact, the penalty in,
flictel is one which is hardly to be found in the records
of any history that we possess. The noble sail asks
what I desire to do with respect to the Governor-General.
As I understand him, he wishes to know whether I de-
sire that Lord Canning should return to this country.
My lords, if I had desired to force the return of Lord
Canning, I shoul I have made the conclusion of that de-
sea'ce more in keeping with the observations which it
was nece eery to make throughout it. I avoided the
expression ef that opinion. I knew also that there
might exist circumstances when that despatch arrived
which might make it as impolitic suddenly to recall the
proclamation as it was diplomatic ever to issue it ; and
I did not desire to force Lord Canning to the adoption
of that course. But, my lords, I am asked what I de-
sire. I do not desire the return of Lord Canning, but
Ido not fear it. Provision has been made, as the noble
earl perfectly well knows, and the very best provision.
It was suggested by myself, a few days after the change
cf Ministry; and I found it had been already adopted