The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-06 00:00:00

INDIA.

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE QUEEN.
(From the Times.)
By the arrival of the Bombay mail we have re-
ceived our private letters and correspondence from
Bombay to the 9th November :
The following is the letter of our Bombay corre-
spondent :

"BOMBAY, Nov. 9.
" Remarkable events crowd upon us with great
rapidity. While, on the one hand, our attention is
engaged upon the contemplation of intricate mili-
tary movements throughout the vast Continent of
India, our interest is concentrated to an equal de-

gree in the consummation of the last political
changes in the constitution of this empire. We

have had, as usual, victories—not unalloyed by
mishaps—of which I shall presently give you

narrative. But that which claims the first atten-

tion at my hands is the Proclamation by which the
Queen's direct supremacy over India is finally sub-
stituted for the rule of the East India Company. I
anticipate that long before this letter reaches you
her Majesty's Proclamation will have been made
public throughout England. My impression—
which is that of most educated men in this coun-

try, even among those who see the least cause to
rejoice at the change which it creates—is that
this Proclamation is one of the greatest docu-
ments, the weightiest instruments that has ever
, appeared in this country ; that it has a sim-
plicity and a force well calculated to inspire re-
spect and to rivet public attention. It conveys,
with a solemnity worthy the greatness of the
occasion, the principles on which the future policy
of England in India is based. It affixes a stamp of
a Royal guarantee on a course of policy founded on
he experience of the past, It declares, once for all,
that England is sovereign mistress throughout th
length and breadth of these lands. It confirms
treaties, assures toleration, and promises such re-
forms as are consistent with the peculiar form of
the institutions under which this country has been
governed. In so far as lam able to judge of public
feeling in this Presidency there is but one opinion,
—in favour of the new state of things. A few, it is
true, among the Europe ans affect to consider that
the assumption of direct rule in India by Queen
Victoria is a fit occasion for a display of grief at
the departure of the East India Company; but I
should be sorry to think that this sentiment could
be indulged in at the expense of the loyalty which
we all owe to our Sovereign. Those who do not
see the magnitude of the change which has been
effected will learn to appreciate it by its results ;
while, if there be any among whom time does not
efface the painful impression made by the abolition
of the Company, we can only pity their want of
that sentiment which ought to animate the bosom
of every Englishman. As for the natives, apart
from certain carpings at the declarations that her
Majestiy relies on the truth of Christianity, the
experience of the last few days shows that they are
perfectly alive to the greatness of the change just
wrought, and that they consider it a fit subject for
rejoicing.
" The Proclamation was received from Allahabad
by Lord Elphinstone in the last days of October, and
was publicly read on the Ist of November. All
the troops in the garrison, the whole population,
European and native, were convened to meet
in the Town-hall and on the Green before it,
to hear the solemn declaration of Indian rights
and duties read. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon
the Governor and public functionaries assembled
in the Durbar-room. By the side of the brilliant
uniforms of the Staff mingled the snow-white dresses
of the Parsees and the Mussulmen, the gay turbans
and scarves of the Hindoos, and the dark habili-
ments of the clergy, among whom appeared not
only the European ministers of the Protestant and
Roman Catholic faiths, but the dusky forms of
4. native converts, with shaven heads and black scalp
ocks. A procession having been formed, with less
attention to the etiquette of each one's rank than
would have been possible in the days of Ossory and
Charles 11., Lord Elphinstone and the Secretaries of
Government advanced to a platform erected on the
steps of the Town-hall, and proceeded to the busi-
ness of the occasion. The scene presented from the
spot where Mr. Young, the Chief Secretary to
Government, stood, holding in his hand the Royal
Proclamation, was not without its peculiar charac-
teristics. To the right and left of the principal
actors in the scene stood the beauty and fashion'
of Bombay. On the steps below the platform was
a choice assemblage of native gentlemen, and on the
Green, or crowding onwards from the side streets
abuting upon it, waved to and fro a turbaned crowd,
the variegated hues of whose dresses, full of that
harmony peculiar to the East, gave a marked charac-
ter to the scene. The houses, in themselves suffi-
ciently mean, were decorated with flags and prepa-
rations for the coming illuminations. The roofs
were filled with spectators, whose scanty clothing
allowed their long thin limbs to be seen in relief
upon the deep evening sky. The circular road
round the Green was kept by the regiments of the
garrison. A flagstaff stood at the foot of the Town-
hall steps, another erect on the point of the cathe-
dral, awaiting the unfolding of the standard of
England, which was to wave for the first time over
the city of Bombay. In the midst of the deepest
silence Mr. Young read the Proclamation in English,
which was afterwards delivered in Mahratti by the
chief interpreter, Mr. Wassewdeo. The troops
saluted. the bands played God save the Queen,'
and the Royal standards rose simultaneously to the
summit of the flagstaffs hoisted on the cathe-
dral, expanding at once to the breeze and showing
the lions of England. On the lower flagstaff the
Royal standard hung listlessly, and it was not till
the troops had begun to move, after the cheering
and booming of the Royal salute had been heard,
that the emblem of English sovereignty was found
to have been hung upside down. There was a pang
in the breast of the superstitious at that moment,
who consoled themselves, however, with the
thought that a similar accident had not happened
to the flag on the cathedral. Evening was closing
in when the ceremony was completed, and as the
crowd dispersed from the Town-hall the first signs
of the illumination were visible in the increasing
gloom. Triumphal arches had been thrown across
the streets, not only of the Fort, but of the native
city. Thousands upon thouqands of lights gave out
in fire the outlines of colonnades, windows, Curious
gables, and quaint devices. Queen Victoria's name
waseverywhere —as ' Queen of India, Empress of
Hindostan.' There were ' Farewells to the East
India Company,' new hopes for the future of India
emblazoned on more than one edifice. Crystal
chandeliers were hung from house to house amid
festoons of light, and throughout the streets glaring
yellow, blue, and green in the obscurity of a moon-
less night ; crowds of people in every walk of life
flaunted gaily along and enlivened the scene. The
gates of the Fort, the bastions, and ravelines were
embroidered with flame, the ships in the harbour
shone out in the darkness amid the blaze of blue
lights. Bombay had never seen such a cele-
bration, nor had its population, fond 24 Ori-
entals are of glitter and glare, ever enjoyed so
much of it. Of the firew •
or cs exhibited on the oc-
casion I need only say that they were as good as it
was possible to produce with the means at our
command. The results of similar demonstrations
at Madras, Agra, Delhi, Kurrachee, Poonah, d
other presidency towns have already been Le
public here ; none vied with Bombay •in their de-
monstrations and rejoicing.
" The following is the
"PROCLAMATION.
"BY THE QUEEN IN COUNCIL TO THE PRINCES,
CHIEFS, AND PEOPLE OF INDIA.
"Victoria, by the grace of God, of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the
colonies and dependencies thereof in Europe, Asia,
Africa, America, and Australasia, Queen, Defender
of the Faith.
" Whereas, for divers weighty reasons, we have
resolved, by and withthe advice and consent of the
Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in
Parliament assembled to take upon ourselve the
government of the territories in India heretofore
administered in trust for us by the Hon. East In-
dia Company.
"Now, therefore, we do by these presents notify