The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-21 00:00:00

LORD CANNING' S EXPLANATION.

t_AST INDIA (01:ME PROCLAMATION).
The following are the papers moved for by Lord
Derby in the 'louse of Lords last night :
copy "of Letter of the Secretary of the Chief
CJmmissioner in Oude to the Secretary of the Go-
vernor-General, dated Lucknow, Bth March,lBsB,
with reference to the issue of the Proclamation to
the People of Oude :"

Also, Letter of the Secretary of the Governor-
General to the Secretary of the Chief Commis-
sioner in Oude, dated Allahabad, the 10th March,
on the same subject :''

" Also, Letter of the same to the same, of the 31st
March, on the same subject."

HESItY J. BIILLIE.
India Board, 20th May, 1858.

From George Couper, Esq., Secretary to the Chief
Commissioner of Oude, G. F. Edmonstone, Esq.,
Secretary to the Government of India.
(Political.).
D. Camp, Chitrlut, Bth March, 1858.

Sir,—l am directed to acknowledge the receipt
of your letter, No. 191, dated 3d inst., iaclosing a
Proclamation to be issued to the landholders,
chiefs, and inhabitants of Oude, upon the fall of
the capital. _ _

2. In this proclamation an hereditary title in
their estates is promised to such landholders as
have been steadfast in their allegiance, and with
these exceptions, the proprietary right in the, soil
of the province is confiscated.

3. The Chief Commissioner desires me to observe
that in his belief there are not a dozen landholders
in the province who have not themselves borne
anis against us, or sent a representative to the
Durbar, or assisted the rebel Government with
men or money. The effect' of the proclamation,
therefore, will be to confiscate the entire proprie-
tary right in the soil ; and this being the case, it
is, of course, hopeless to attempt to enlist the land-
holders on the side of order ; on the contrary, it
is the Chief Commissioner's firm conviction that as
soon as the chiefs and talookdars become ac-
quainted with the determination of the Govern-
ment to confiscate their rights, they will betake
themselves at once to their domains, and prepare
for a desperate and prolonged resistance.
4. The Chief Commissioner deems this matter of
such vital importance, that, at the risk of being
deemed importunate, he ventures to submit his
views once more, in the hope that the right honor-
able the Governor-General may yet be induced to
reconsider the subject.
5. lie is of opinion that the landholders were
most unjustly treated under our settlement opera-
ions, and even had they not been so, that it would
Piave required a degree of fidelity on their part
quite foreign to the usual character of an Asiatic to
gave remained faithful to our Government under
the shocks to which it was exposed in Oude. In
bet, it was not till our rule was• virtually at an
end, the whole country overrun, and the capital
in the hands of the rebel soldiery, that the
talookdars, smarting as they were under the
1 iss of their lauds, sided against us. The Chief
Commissioner thinks, therefore, that they ought
hardly to be considered as rebels, but rather
as honourable enemies, to whom terms, such
as they could without loss of dignity accept,
,hould be offered at the termination of the cam-
paign.

If these men be given back their lands they will
At once aid us in restoring order, and a police will
won be organised with their co-operation, which will
render unnecessary the presence of our enormous
at my to re-establish tranquillity and confidence.
But if their life and freedom from imprisonment

nly be Offered, they will resist ; and the Chief
Commissioner foresees that we are only at the com-
mencement of a guerilla war for the extirpation,
root and branch, of this class of men, which will in-
volve the loss of thousands of Europeans by battle,
disease, and exposure. It must be borne in mind
hit th's species of warfare has always been pecu-
liarly harassing to our Indian forces, and will be
far more so at present when we aro without a native
L army.

O. For the above reasons 'the Chief Commissioner
earnestly requests that such landholders and chiefs

s have not been accomplices in the cold-blooded
murder of Europeans miy be enlisted on our side
by the restoration of their ancient possessions, sub•
ject to such restrictions as will protect their depen-
dents from oppression. If his lordship agree to this
proposition, it will not yet be too late to commu-
nicate his assent by electric telegraph before the
fall of the city, which will probably not take place
for some days. Should no such communication be
received, the Chief Commissioner will act upon his
present instructions, satisfied that he has done all
in his power to convince his Lordship that they
will be ineffectual to re-establish our rule on a firm
basis in Oude. I have, Sze.
(Signed) G. COUPER,
Secretary to Chief Commissioner.
Chief Commissioner's Office,
Camp, Chienlut, 8 March.
From G. F. Edmonstone, Esq., Secretary Govern-
ment of India, with the Governor-General, to
Major General Sir J. Outram, G.C.8., Chief
Commissioner, Oude.
Allahabad, 10th March, 1858.
Sir,—Your secretary's letter of the Bth inst. was
delivered to me at an early hour this morning by
Captain F. Birch, and it will receive a detailed
reply in due course.
Meanwhile, I am desired by the Right. Hon.
the Governor-General to subjoin a clause which
may be inserted in the proclamation (forwarded with
my letter, No. 191, of 3d inst.), after the para-
graph which ends with the words, " Justice and
mercy of the British Government."
"To those amongst them who shall promptly
come forward, and give to the Chief Commissioner-
their support in the restoration of peace and order,
this indulgence will bs large, and the Governor-
General will be ready to view liberally the claims
which they may thus acquire to a restitution of

their former rights."
2. This clause will add little or nothing to your
discretionary power, but it may serve to indicate
more clearly to the talookdars the liberal spirit in
which the Governor-General is prepared to review
and reciprocate any advances on their part.
3. It is expected that you will find means to
translate this additional clause into the vernacular
languages, and that yOu will be able to have copies
of the proclamation, so amended, prepared in suf-
ficient numbers, for immediate use. If more
should be required, the magistrate of Cawnpore
will lithograph them on your requisition.
4. It is very important, as you will readily see,
that every copy of the vernacular version of the
Proclamation sent to you, with my letter of the 3d
inst , should be carefully destroyed.
I have, &c.
(Signed) G. F. EDMONSTONE,
Secretary Government of India,
with the Governor-General.
Allahabad, 10 March, 1858.
(No. 467 A.)
From G. F. Edmonstone, Esq., Secretary to the
Government of India, with the Governor-Gene-
ral, to Major-General Sir J. Outram, G.C.8.,
Chief Commissioner of Oude.
Allahabad, March 31, 1858.

Sir,—ln replying at once on the 10th instant to
your secretary's letter of the Bth, in which you
urged reasons against the issue of the Proclamation
to the talookdars and landholders of Oude, which
had been transmitted to you by the Right Hon.
the Governor-General, my answer was confined to
communicating to you the addition which his lord-
ship was willing to make to that proclamation,
without entering into the general questions raised
in your letter. The Governor-General desires me
to express his hope that you will not have supposed
that the arguments adduced by you were net fully
weighed by him, or that your opinion upon a sub-
ject on which you are so well entitled to offer one,
t,as not been received with sincere respect, al-
though be was unable to concur in it.
2. I
am
upon which now directed by his lordship to explain
thegrounds
the course advocated in
your letter, v!z , that such landholders and chiefs
as have not been accomplices in the cold-blooded