The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-30 00:00:00

great Britain has forfeited no portion of her prcs-
in the East. The once formidable forces have
dwindled down to bands of despairing brigands,
who, without any hope of escaping the impending
croom, arc only solicitous to gain a brief respite.
In every pitched battle they have been completely
defeated, and with terrible loss, not only of the
personnel, but also of the materiel, of war. The
latter was even more important than the former, so
far as the result of the contest was concerned.
They might possibly find men, but they could
not possibly replace the guns and ammunition that
from time to time were captured by the English
troops. India is to all intents and purposes again
our own, and there is nothing to create tb e slightest
apprehension as to the retention and permanency
of our rule.

But it is not merely in India that extraordinary
changes have occurred. The sceptre has been
transferred from the hand of " the Company" to
that of QUEEN VICTORIA. We are now, although
separated by so great an expanse of sea and land,
one people, under one SOVEREIGN. The name of
" VICTORIA" will be recognised as the constitu-
tional ruler of India, as well as of Great Britain,
and it will not now be said that independent
Princes are controlled by the officials of a body of
Merchant Adventurers.

We do not now condemn the extinct Company.
Perhaps, as Lord CLIVE said, " Considering the
temptations to which he was subjected, he only
wondered at his own moderation." It may be
regarded as miraculous that there was not a
greater display of cupidity and self-aggrandise-
ment. They had a rich vein whereon to work ;
and, looking to the opportunities, it could scarcely
have been anticipated that they would have done
less. We are, in fact, so happy to have got rid of
their reign, that we are quite prepared to accede
to the principle--

" De mortuis, nil nisi bonum."

We shall not in any degree impair the lustre of
the recently-erected monument.
The very interesting speech of Lord STANLEY
referred not merely to the past but to the future.
All that was required on the former topic was to
repeat the assurance that it was not in the nature
of a penal proceeding ; not as a condemnation of
the Company's acts or antecedents, " whose cen-
tury of Empire had come to an end." The progress
of events had rendered the change inevitable, and
we believe that the alteration could not have been
more favourably introduced. It is not merely that
Lord STANLEY presides over the Council, and
has already displayed an aptitude for the duty,
acquired not only by indefatigable exertion
combined with extraordinary ability, but also
by distant travel, so that he might be enabled to
observe and form a sound judgment, not only on
the state of the Administration, but also of the
native disposition in the interior of India.

The principles enunciated by the new Secretary
of State are exactly what might have been antici-
pated. He declares that "it is not enough to
regard them" (the Hindoos) " as objects upon whom
our benevolence may be exercised, or as persons
upon whom it is in our power to operate important
changes for good. We must also look upon them
as men with whom, and not against
whom, we have to work—as men with feel-
ings of their own—as men who, although
politically subject to us, have a sense of their own
rights and a respect for their own independence,
and as men who will be apt to be the more tena-
cious of their intellectual independence] and
national customs, because of the political subjection
in which they are held."

This is the true ground on which to maintain our
position, to amalganfate rather than conquer, and
in place of enslaving confer the rights of British
citizens on those who had previously been merely
serfs, whose lives, liberties, and possessions were at
the disposal of a self-willed despot.

' On Tuesday we explained some of the leading
features of the Chinese Treaty of the 26th of June.
There are some, however, well worthy of notice, to
which we may fairly direct attention, and which
show the facilities that will henceforward be
afforded to British travellers, and which may ren-
der China a favourite tour for those who have ex-
hausted all the sights of Europe and the proximate
portions of Asia. We shall, perhaps, ere long be-
hold gentlemen who have acquired all the Celestial
habits and fashions, and who will be unable to live
without soup made of birds' nests—who will prefer
dog to lamb, and chop-sticks to knives and forks.
It is right, at all events, that those gentlemen
should understand the nature of the facilities placed
at their disposal, so that they may be enabled to
avail themselves thereof, if they should think it
expedient to do so.
It is provided that passports, entitling British
subjects to travel for business or pleasure through
all parts of the country, are to be granted by the
British Consuls, and countersigned by the
local authorities. We believe that the system
will be by no means so vexatious or annoy-
ing as that which prevails much nearer home. At
all events, our Consuls will be enabled to take care
that the passports thus given shall be duly re-
spected, so that the civic Britannicus may receive
ample protection, even in the very heart of China.
All monopolies are also to be destroyed. The
British subject may employ Chinese labour at his
pleasure, in any lawful capacity. Boats, too, may

be hired, the bargain being made between the
parties without any intervention of the Chinese
authorities, and all matters in which the rights or
privileges of Englishmen are concerned are to be
decided by the consular authorities.
The remainder of the treaty chiefly relates to
commercial matters. It is, in fact, a treaty of
commerce, the various provisions whereof are
settled with great accuracy. The importance of
such a proceeding may easily be estimated from
the enormous amount of silver bullion absorbed in

the Chinese trade, in consequence of the prevail-
ing restrictions. Heretofore we were obliged to
send hard dollars to pay for our purchases. Hence-
forward we shall send goods which will be accept-
able to the Chinese, and prevent one of the conti-
nuous causes of the perturbations in our monetary
system. Those who have formed any notion of
the effects produced on our domestic currency by
the incessant demand of silver for China to pay for
tea and silk, may reasonably estimate the advant
tages that must inevitably result from the establish-
ment of free trade, and that commercial intercourse
that will eventually follow " unrestricted competi-
tion." Hitherto the demand was for silver, but
that silver had to be purchased with British gold,
and the effect was to disturb not only the English
but all the continental exchanges. The drain was
for a time averted by the Sycee silver paid by
China under the treaty of Nankin. It will now not
only be stopped by the amount of the indemnity to
be satisfied, but far mere so by the demand for
English goods which must inevitably follow.
The indemnity forms the subject of a separate
article. Two millions of taels are to be paid as
compensation to British subjects for losses occa-
sioned by the misconduct of Chinese authorities at
Canton, and a like sum for the expenses of the war,
and the British forces are not to be withdrawn
from Canton until these sums have been duly paid
and satisfied.

Lord ELGIN has unquestionably well discharged
the important duty confided to his charge ; and, as
we have already declared, fully and fairly " earned
his Marquisate." He has already been made a
civil K.C.B. ; but certainly his very valuable
services require a higher reward. We have no

doubt, however, that merit so fully recognised by
all classes of the community and men of all: part:es
will receive its legitimate reward,