The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-15 00:00:00

te IpO rc eje eirtg ,asked what
tleman who was the organ of the' Gov' Ciiiiiiiiitl tt d u dab hose '
on Thursday, the 6th of . May: ,n
was the: tenni- of (the de4iatelejef 1.,0rd,' E_Wnh, say
you
.will.
see th4.l.6i)rleitlri:tsfb-tr:
that "of ,-(e-rse that &spate; would be lain ' tbe.
table ?" Is that hon. ge,tlepeeneneteeparteleipator in. the
fact of the publication I -If the ,publ.catem is right, let him
claim the.merit,of it. Herwiii.this., liousk er',! kitow not whet
the Cabinet May bave,. decided', but
,W,:l'eei 'we. hear from a
consider that the Government must ,have -Clecide•O°
Minister that a despatch will led pi6dtteede 'of -course we
it. (Cheers.), Then the honourable .gentleilip.n, went on to
say that the policy of the procla'reatiOn has ' been 'disap-
proved, awl in that very speech.. Theseare matters to mike
every member of this house piick up tiS °ark' 'for it is es
that
much
taeghye
villages
us
with
have
to
v es say
ns tott
troops
the eaaonpfalrei
friend—(loud
ifct.s India, "'You may have
a cruel viceroy, who fills you, provinces with his armies, your
(l `cannon,oildc i e'butrs) -rs-ev vmheomdbi'sl-'
approves of all these proceedings. (Cheers) Wall, sir,
that was the
_fact of the publication. Perhapsitniay be said
that the IdTh le- afeicet -called upon-to-judge of that despatch
into
'''6l.c'nineoh tb'ul-ecl4nl all 'll
-that they have heard the effect of it described as an enemy
of the Government. Hp said, "1 do re,ret that'. this letter •
has been brought so picnuin ntly
that alter what had pissed,
course my noble friend has ,recoeauended-namelee, that.ot
publishing the despatch, omitting eel- passages-wlsieh; if
published in Ind' e might produce a prejleetelal effect;'(. Those
were the words of the Prime Minister, who affirmed,th
. entire, commendationathisthwauts thetiie dveelsypatti
echspastlicohnlw%
of the Board of Control , promised the house `; should be
. laid upon the table (Cheers.) The learned• SolicitorsGe-
ueral made a wiat, which would perhaps have 'mope effect in
the ass_mblies he is in the habit of addressing than-the pre..
rent, when he said that this letter had been handed to-the
lion. member for Birmingham, and that the GOvernment
did well to make a 'virtue 'of necessity and publish • the de-
spatch. But unfortneately the promise was made oil
Thursday, and Earl . Grhuville 'received 'the- despatch on
Friday, and the lion, member for, Biralingham received a
copy at the same time; and that was some 15 or 18 hours
before the despatch was laid nee. •the table. 'First, then, I
say it was most unwise. and mischievous 'to write such a des-
patch iu the terms I have mentioned-terms which were not
necessary, and were totally unbecoming a Minister of Mato ;
secondly, I say it was most -dangerous,for the interests of
India to publish_that despatch, and I further say that the
author of my averment is the heaclOrlierliajesty's Go-
, verninent. I will now proceed to read some other portions
. of the despatch which s ern to me to indicate part of the
policy of her Majesty's Government. lt, has been always
the custom hitherto for a ' Government 'to adopt a course
which has been settled, that .whqu, conquests have
been made, when acquisi ions have resulted to the Crown, 'to
look no longer into the abstract merits of these questions, but
to adopt that which has been done to defewl those acquiii-
tions, and-to -carry-on Government in the only manner in
which the policy of the empire can be carried on with
safety. . Because if the next Government wore to say they
disapproved of the course, for instance, which Lord Dal-
housie had adepted, and another Government had said
that they entirely disapproved of the proceedings in
Seindo ; if, for instance, Mr. Fox, 'in 1806, had con-
demned the policy of Lord Wellesley which resulted
in the acquisition .of Delhi and Seriugapatam -if
that were the case it is evident that the empire would be in a
state of constant perturbation. You would have no peace that
' could be lasting from year to year. You would be entering
into the merits of wars gone by, and 'the justice and wisdom
of wars which you were deeply engaged in, and you would
have no stable policy for an empire.. (Cheers.) This has been
the way in which the government of this great empire has
been hitherto carried on. This is the way in- which a
great empi e has been built -up,- and I may add
that it is the only way in which a great empire
can bo maintained. (Cheers.) If you are to say what this
despatch says, or rather, what is far worse, .what it.insi-
nuates, that your annexation of Gude was unrighteous and
uuprecedeuted, and that therefore you are to consider the
hostiliti,s now going on in Oude as legitimate war, in which
not only her Majesty's troops are invader, and that the
inhabitants of Oude are the only true patriots and defenders
of the right, why, then, don't think that your em-
pire can last. It cam only be shifting and precarious.
Everybody would ask what is likely to become of our Indian
empire if conquests are to be given up and kingdoms re-
stored. There would be a perpetual flow and ebb of war
and conquest and peace. It is for these 'reasons, more es-
pecially, that this despatch is to be condemned; but I think
is to be condemned for other reasons. It is most unjust to
Lord Canning, who deserves support, praise, an.ci admiration,
and not the most severe censure which was dyer passed upon
a great public servant. (Hear.) I think his dangerous to
proclaim in India in these terms, that the head of the
Government there is not to he trusted, and will be dis-
avowed. (Hear, hear.) I' think, above all, it is dan-
gerous to be reverting to the a is of past Governors.
General of India, and past Presidents of t • Board of
Control, and of the Court of Directors of the East India
Company. I believe these things tend to shake, a- d
finally to dissolve, the vast fabric of that empire, which we
and our ancestors have helped to build up. (Hear, hear.) I
see no way for escape from such a result except by censuring
this despatch. The right hon. gentleman the Chancellor
of the Exchequer said—and I admire him for saying it—
that if the colleagues of the Earl of Ellenbbrough had known
of his intentioo to resign they would have hastened
to him and asked him to withdraw the tender of
that resignation ; but the noble .lord (Lord-Stanley) .has
not spoken in that sense .to-night, - thinking that, no
doubt, discretion is the better part of valour, for he
did not express any regret. Whether *the Government
wished to maintain the Earl of Ellenboraugh in office or
not, and whether they wished to have that .man of genius,
and generous temper in the Cabinet, this I say, the Govern-
ment are bound up with his ac s, and for his they are ro
spousibl i for sending the despatch, 'and responsible for its
publication. (Hear, hear.) Let them bear, therefore, the
respougbility of his acts. They may say it is a case of hu-
manity ; but that remains to be seen. (Hear, hear.) If, in-
deed, it be true that the proclamation tends not to prolong
the war in Oude, they will have reason for forming that
judgment ; but if, on the contrary, as I believe, this
open disavowal of the Governor-General's acts will
tend to encourage the enemies of , British rule in
India, and to discourage and dishearten our friends, then I
say, the Government must be held responsible. (Cheers.)
On the motion of Mr. ROEBUCK the debate was ad-
journed

Lord PALMERSTON—Are wo to understand that the de•
bate will be renewed on Monday !
The CHANCELLOR •f the EXCHEQUER—Yes, Monday.
Lord PALMERSTON—The first thing on Monday.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUERYes.
The Ecclesiastical Corp ration Leases Bill was read a second
time.

The Oxford and Cambridga Universiti,s Estates Bill was
also read a second time.

Tho Poor-law Amendment Bill was read a third time and
passed.
The Conso:hlatel Fund Bill (11,000,0001.) passed through
committee; and the Stamp Duties on Passports Bill also passed
through committee; and

The house adjouiued at a quarter past 12 o'clock.

SPORTING INTEILIGENCE.

HARPENDEN RACES.—FRIDAY.
The Eathampstead Stakes.
Nognaan
Lass of Richmond 11111 2
Wild Honey
Butting-5 t', 4on Nogrnan Smith.
The Harpenden Handicap.

S nnerset..
Supple Jack..
Thornhill 3
Betting-6 to 1 a2st Somerset, 10 to 1 each agst
Thornhill and Suppl:: Jack. a.

1