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

tleman who was the organ of the Govern nent in this house,
ou Thursday, the 6th of May, upon being asked what
was the tenor of the despatch of Lord Ellenberangh,"say. .
that "of teem that despatch would. be laid upon -the"
table ?" Is that hon. gentleman not a participator in the
fact of the publication l If the .publication is right, LAMM
claim the merit of it. Here in this house we knew not what = _
tho Cabinet may have decided, but when we hear from a
Minister that a despatch will. be produced, of MTN."
consider that the Government must have decided to publish
u
say
o thatf
to thist veryh ehe people
speech.
lcpehr.
prick
it. (Cheers.) Then the honourable gentleman went on to
say that the policy of the proclamation has been disap.
proved,
fkTlhune6epd makeiaha,iere,,maeaymottu,ersfmae'rtoyithisa7as
m
every o
a cruel viceroy, who fills you provinces with his armies, your
his villages with troops and his cannon, but remember •
that you have
in London a friend—(loud cheers)—who diete
approves of all these proceedings. (Cheers.) Well, sir,
that was the fact of the publication. Perhaps besaid;
that th 3 pubUe are not called upon to judge it may
of that
despatch
—that they have heard the effect of it uescribed as an enemy
of the Government. He said, "1 do regret that this letter
has been brought so promin ntly into action, but I
that after what had passed, you will see the proprietyam sure
of the
course my noble friend has reeommended—na
meithat
of
publishing the despatch, omitting certain passage:Which, if
published in Indic, might produce a prejudicial effect." Those
were the words of the Prime Minister, who affirmed the' 14. •
commendation that the despatch should not be Published
entire, and this was the very despatch which the Secietaxy: • " •
of the Board of Control promised the house should -tee
laid upon the table. (Cheers.) The learnede-SidicibileGe- '
neral made a point, which would perhaps have more effecetze • ' - •
"
the assemblies he is in the habit of addressing than the s'
sent, when he said that this letter had been handedto this; • • ,
hon. member for Birmingham, and that the Government • e.
did well to make a virtue of necessity and publish the- doe '
spatch. But unfortunately the -promise was- made e 7
Thursday, and Earl Granville received the despatch on
Friday, and the hon. member for Birmingham reeklied si,.• e •
copy at the same time, and that was some 15 or 18 hours ..
before the despatch was laid upon the table. First; than,
say it was most unwise and mischievous to write such a-defi-•
patch in the terms I have mentioned—termt which werenOt
necessary, and were totally unbecoming a Minister of :Stott); •
secondly, I say it was most dangerous for the interests of ‘ .
India to publish that despatch, and I further sal' thatthe
author of my averment is the head of her Idiejettyfe!Goee, •
vernment. I will now proceed to read some other` potions
of the despatch which s„ em to me to indieate part .of the
policy of her Majesty's Government. It has been always
the custom hitherto for a Government to adopt a course
which has been settled, that when -.conquests have "
been made, when acquisitions have resulted to the .Crowneto
look no longer into the abstract merits of these qUestions,
to adopt that which has been done to defend thoseacquist--
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 Were to say they
disapproved- of the course, for-instariee, which LOrd Dale
housie bad adopted, and another Government had said
that they entirely disapproved of the proceedings in
Scinde ; if, for instance, Mr. Fox' in 1806, had con- . .
deumed the policy of Lord Wellesley which resulted,
in the acquisition of Delhi- and Seringapatani —if -•-
that were the case it is evident that the empire would be inn
state of constant perturbation. You would have. no peace Met-
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 au empire. (Cheers.). Thilhashoen
the way in which the government of this great empire has
been hitherto carried on. This is the way in which' a T
great empi e has been built up, and I— may add'
that it is the only weer in which a great empire •
can be maintained. (Cheers.) If you are to say what this
despatch says, or rather, what is far worse, what it ink-
nuates, that your annexation of Wide was unrighteous and
unprecedented, 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 invaders, 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 can only be shifting and precarioue.
Everybody would ask what is likely to become of our Indian
empire if conquests are to be given up and kingdoms re-
stored. Th would be a perpetual flow and ebb of war
and conquest and peace. It is for these reasons, more es-
pecially, that •
tl is 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, and admiration,
and not the most severe censure which was ever passed upon
a great public servant. (Hear.) I think i,, is dangerous to
proclaim in India in these terms, that the head of the
Government there is not to be trusted, and will be dis-
evowed. (Hear, hear.) I think, above all, it is dan-
gerous to be reve, tine,. to the a is of pass Governors-
General of 'tulle, and past Presidents of t` o Board of
Control, and of the Court of Directors of the East India
Company. I believe these things tend to shako, 'led
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 Ellenborough had known
of his intention to resign they would have hastened
to him and asked him to withdraw the tender of
that resignation ; bat 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. Weether the Government
wished to maintain the Earl of Ellenborough in office or
not, and wheth a. they wished to have that man of genius
and generous temper in the Cabinet, this I say, the Govern.
uncut are bound up with his ac .s, and for his acts they are re.
spousibl for sending the despatch, and responsible for its
publication. (Hear, hear.) Let them bear, therefore, the
respow ibility 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 coutrery, 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 Goverument must be hold responsible. (Cheers.)
On the motion of Mr. Roeetrce the debate was ad-
journed.
' Lord PALMERSTON—Are we to understand that the do-
' bate will be renewed on Monday !
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Yes, Monday.
Lord PALMERSTON—The first thing on Monday.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Yes.
The Ecclesiastical Corporation Leases Bill was read a second
time.
The Oxford and Cambridge Universities Estates Bill was
also read a second time.
The Poor-law Amendment Bill was read a third time and
passed.
The Consolidated Fund Bill (11,000,0001.) passed through
committee; and the Stamp Duties on Passports Bill also passed
through committee ; and
The house adjourned at a quarter past 12 o'clock.