The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-12 00:00:00

THE RESIGNATION OF LORD ELLEN•

BORO'IOFI.

( From the Daily News.)

We are no indiscriminate admirers of Lord Ellen-
dbeofreocu,
sgha.s
aWpuebalrice
man—of
painfullyhisi
psueinssi ivbel,e, e
so, f
dliiei s.
tatorial disposition, irascibility, and above all, of
his incapacity to act in concert and addiction to the
melodramatic. These faults are the more annoy
ing, that they almost entirely neutralise the use.
fulness of one who is so richly endowed with pre.
cisely tho-e qualities of the great and true states-
man iu which his living rivals are so glaringly de
fective. Lord Ellenborough is capable of great
conceptions. During his brief tenure of the Gover
nor-Generalship of India he evinced a rare, just,
and delicate tact in discriminating, the talents of
men, and selecting those best qua ified for the pub-
lic service. Wnere he gave his' confidence he gave
it entire—with no half-hearted reserves ; and the
consciousness of being fully trusted. inspired those
whom he employed to out-do thetnselves. His en-
thusiastic impulsiveness endowed him with courage
to act resolutely and promptly. He was a true wan,
with faith in his own convict ons. He was a genial
man—as warmly loved by his friends as he was
hated by those whom his brusque sincerity made
his enemies. Everything about him bad that power
and grace of chivalry so rarely met with in our
timid, censure-fearing, compromising generation.
Differing as wA do on vital points of Indian policy
from Lord Ellenborough, we cannot "my that( we
regret his resi4natton of executive office ; but he
earries with him our unqualified esteem and kindly
feelings, and we sincerely hope that the debates of
the Legislature may long enjoy the benefit of . his
original and far-seeing speculations on public
affairs.
What effect the resignation of Lord Ellenborough
may have on the relative positions of parties in
Parliament it is not for us, who are not, thank God,
in the councils of any of !he contending facion., to
. _

say. But it aft.rds the Legislature an oppor-
tunity of retrieving itself in public estimation.
So long rs Lord Ellenborough remained in offic,,
it was a struggle be weens the Ins and the Outs
whether he or Lord Canning was to be pronounced
in the right. Dispassionate men, unbiassed by
party considerations, could not give their unquali-
fied approbation to To such, Lord Can-
ning'sproclamation appeared a lighted torch the own
into a barrel of gunpowder. On the other hand,
there was no doubt that Lord Canning—who,
though ou some occavions he may have shown him-
self less prompt and far-sighted than could be
wished, has pass-d creditably through a most try-
ing ordeal, and borne the burden and heat of the
day—was entitled to more deference and conside-
ration than was shown him in Lord Elleuhorough's
arrogant (the word is a harsh one, but oitr lan-
gimp affords no other so exactly applicable) and
dictatorial despatch. Add to this, that the publi-
cation of the despatch was unfair to Lard C•nning,
and calculated to have a dangerous effect on the
native mind in India. We do not mean that Lord
Ell-nborough intended to act unfairly ; but his
impalsive and precipitate nature urged him on to
speak and act in a manner which his own genero-
sity will in a calmer mood teach him to condemn.
The collision between the President of the Board
of Control and the. Governor-G. neral roused the
passions of their respective friends, and the oppor-
tunity was too tempting for the journey:nen of fac-
tion to abstain from mingling in the fray. Every
device of party combination was set in motion to
ensure a victory for one or other of the two prin-
cipal antagonists, and the fate of either party was
staked upon that of its champion. In the heat of
the party contes,. the effect which the decision of
the two Houses of Parliament must unavoidably
have on the critical state of affairs in India was
for. otten. With the permanence of our empire
in the East still hanging in the balance, our home
parties had no thought but for their own animosi-
ties. The spectacle reminded the beholders of the
Jews fighting among th.ms-21ves while the batter-
ing-rams of the Romans were bringing down their
walls abort their ears. The relative position of
parties had been ma, erially altered by the retire-
ment of Lord Elleuhorough ; let us hope that the
pause which will be req tired to enabli, parties to
adopt changad tactics for change 1 circumstances
may afford time for r eflecton on the effect which
the sayings and doings of Parliament are likely to
have on the minds of the natives of India.

There can be no benefit, and there is much dan-
ger, in raking up at present the old controversies
about the annexation of Oude. That annexation
is a fait accompli. The decision of Lord Dalhousie
has been confirmed after au appeal to the ordeal of
btt tle. Oude is permanently incorporated with the
British dominions. The question we have now to
consider is how we are to reconcile our new sub-
jects to our sway. And upon our success iu recon-
ciling them to our sway will depend the confirma-
tion of our power over the rest of Indic. Our vic-
tories have not been won by British valour alone ;
we have had the active and efficient aid of the Sikhs
and of theNepaulese, and the influence of Scindia's
and Holkar's loyalty. Our authority in Otele is as
yet but imperfectly conselidated. In the neigh-1
bouring province of Rohilcund 100,000 men are iu
arms against us. The whole of the Mahratta coun-
try is in a feverish and unsetted s ate. In Rajas-
than and SAnde there are many malcontents ; and
along the frontiers of the latter Russian and Per-
sian emissaries are busily fanning the flames of
discontent. Vindictive acts of retaliation have been
perpetrated by the English which are calculated to
provoke repayment in kind. We are walking
among the embers of a conflagration, which any rash
or heedless tread may expose to the atmosphere and
kindle again into flame. Our course is clear if men
will but purge their mental vision of the mists of
party spirit. We must not conceal from ourselves
one iota of the danger to which we are exposed.
Even at the risk of letting enemies see it at the
same time, we must strip it of every glossy cover-
ing. Having ascertained the full extent of our
peril, we must act promptly, fearlessly, but, as far
as it is possible for human nature, without pas-
sion. We must carefully guard against the im-
pulsive instinct recklessly and ruthlessly to trample
down all opposition, which is the besetting sin
of our nation. When we punish it must be to
deter from future crime alone, not to gratify our
vindictive remembrances of the past. A distinc-
tion must be made betw en mutineers and simple
insu-genes, between murderers and soldiers who
h ave encountered us in battle. With specific re-
ference to the people of Oude, ample allo mance
ought to be made for Vie po,sibility of men with
like passions and infilmi.ies to ourselves seeing
things in a diflerent light from what we do. How-
ever imprudent it was in Lord Ellenhorough to re-
argue the question of the annexation of Oude at
present, there is profound truth in the practicil
conclusion at which he arrived. We can only
govern Oude by the exercise of passionless benevo-
lence and impartial justice. Oude must, indeed—
for a time at least—be held with a strong hand, but
it must at the same time be rul d kindly and justly.
Those who continue in rebellion must be put down
by force of arms ; all who submit must consent to
be disarmed ; and all private fort dices must be dis-
mantled. But the natives must be made to feel
that it is for their advantage that Government acts
with a high hand. From the wealthiest Talookdarl
to the poorest villager, they must he ma le to feet
that all their possessions and all their proprietary
rights are sacred in the eyes of the Govern-
ment so long as they obey the law. They must
be made to feel that they are governed, n tin ac-
cordance with the arbitrary will of their rulers,
hut in accordance with definite and well known
laws. By this means even the most powerful chiefs
will in time be led to discover that it is more for
their advantage to cultivate and improve their.
estates under what may at first appear to them a
stern Government, than to aim at wealth and ag-
grandisement by the irregular course they have
hitherto pursued. If Parliament will have debates
upon Indian policy, let those debates relate, not to
the merits or demerits of this or that official, but to
such important considerations as we have here at-
tempted to indicate ; and let the decision of the
Legislature be not a partial verdict on the conduct
of any one individual, which may be liable to
perilous misconstruction in India, but an enuncia-
tion of a just, benevolent, and comprehensive
scheme of policy, which may reaQsure the timid
and reconcile the hostile throughout that region.

"The cultivation of olives," says the Annalee du Com-
merce Exterieur, "and the extraction of oil form one of
the principal branches of industry of the Kabyles, but
their mode of extraction is very imperfect. When the
olives are ripe they beat them down with stick., anc
spread them in the sun until they
are completely
wrinkled ; they then free them from all impurities,
and trample them into a sort of paste ; this paste they
guspend in a xessel in such a way as to cause oil to floc
from it ; af•eraards they place the paste in a trene
utar a rivulet, let water into it, and trample it anov. ;
then they boil it, and skim off the oil which rises to the
surface. Oil obtained in this way is of very indifferent
quality, but it is believed that the French will shortly
teaoh the natives improved means of extraction."