The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-17 00:00:00

TilE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 17, 18b9.

single exception, according to this well-
qualified and perfectly reliable authority, with the
solitary exception of that fight of the 25th, which,
as we have intimated, he designates as no more than
" a sharp little combat "—"all that has yet taken
place," he observes, " can hardly be said to be more
than skirmishing." And he adds, with a little
show of very natural derision under the circum-
stances, " I have heard one or two persons talking
a five actions in eleven days, and seeming to think
the campaign already begun, but this can be looked
upon only as an exaggeration, especially when we
h ave the great events of the Italian and Crimean
wars still fresh in our memories." Indeed, he adds,
arid with perfect reason in so remarking, " I shall
consider the campaign as fairly commenced only
when we make a decided move from this place ;
when we strike our tents and march for Tetuan or
Tangier." Rumour gives the preference to Tetuan
as the Spanish army's probable destination ; but
here, as elsewhere, O'DONNELL appears to be at-
tempting a ludicrous travesty of his Imperial pro-
totype. As Commander-in Chief of the Spanish
army be affects to be as inscrutable as the late Com-
mander-in-Chief of On allied armies in Lombardy.

estates, estates as large as counties, and a great

part of them gained by fraud and violence. They

had oppressed the poor villagers without mercy,
and cheated the Government as far as they could
or dare. After the annexation they had done their

best to resist the efforts of the British Commissicner

to bring them into financial order, and to ameliorate
the condition of the villagers ; but the then Go-

vernment thwarted too much the . Commissioner's

efforts, and the talookdars contrived to gain the
military power which they used with such fatal effect
in the mutiny. Some thought that these men—the

most powerful of them being the most unprincipled
villains—should have been bribed, not fought with.

Lord CANNING thought that to bribe them to obe-
dience would be a premium on mutiny ; and though
much might be said on the other side, we

mast think that Lerd CANNING showed the true

spirit of an English lord, in determining to conquer
first, and to show leniency afterwards. It was in-
deed a costly policy; but the other might have
been ultimately more costly, and might even have
failed at the time. We might have lost our object

and our dignity too.
Now that the results are before us, and we see the
terms on which the estates are placed in the hands
of the talookdars, it is not easy to deny that these
terms are a vast improvement on the old ones. The
proceeding is a kind of Encumbered Estates Act,
only that it relieves the Government far more than
the estate-holders from a vague tenure capable of
much abuse. The document by which each holds
his property, bases his possession on the confisca-
tion, and on the sovereign rights thus ac-
cruing to the granter of a new title.
It gives the Talookdars full and fair, indeed,
generous possession, we might say, of their old
territories and privileges ; they are still made the
collectors of the revenue, and will have to pay it to
the Government for such vil:ages as are left within
their hands; but they will have to "surrender all
arms, destroy all forts, prevent and- report crime,
render any service they may be called on to per-
form, and to show good faith, loyalty, and zeal to-
wards the British Government." It is also stipu-
lated that they shall, " so far as is in their power,
promote the agricultural prosperity of the estate, and
that all holding under them shall be secured in the
possession of all the subordinate rights they for-
merly enjoyed."
In all this there is nothing approaching the un-
desirable points of the famous, but much condemned
perpetual settlement in Bengal—a settlement by
which the Government debars itself from increasing
the taxes paid by the zemindars, however the land
of the country may increase in value. It is ex-
pressly stipulated that they shall receive the estates
for themselves and their heirs for ever, " subject to
the payment of such annual revenue as may from
timejto time be imposed." Still, after all, the prin-
ciple of a perpetual settlement is the only one under
which much improvement of the country can take
place. Unless the talookdars and their subordinate
tenantry can feel assured of enjoying the fruits of
such improvements as they make, it needs little
knowledge of human nature and of facts to predict
that the improvement of agriculture in Oude will
be but slow. In any revision of what may be
termed their land•tax, they ought to have the
utmost confidence that they shall be by far the
greatest gainers from the bettered condition of their
estates. A land-tax, which is but a screw of the
rack-rent from either proprietary or ryots, will
ever keep the country in a beggarly state of til -
Lige. On the contrary, if the country be encou-
raged to produce largely, it becomes a large ex-
porting and importing country, ani the customs
would soon yield far more than could ever be ob-
tained by perpetually squeezing large proprietors
or poor peasant cultivators.
We are told that all stipulations for the tenantry
of the talookdars are but " philanthropic rubbish."
But is it so ? Is it no advantage for a Govern-
ment, which may receive complaints from the vil-
lagers of extortion and maladministration, to be
able to point, in the very title-deeds of the oppres-
sor's estates, to clauses condemning his own con-
duct, and forming part of the conditions on which
he holds it ? To us, at present, it certainly appears
that such clauses are wise. In proportion as the
Government makes its own power felt, and disables
the military strength of these lawless Indian barons,
in proportion as it introduces efficient and equal
courts of justice, will it be felt that these clauses
will be a valuable protection for the weak against
the Ltrong. We think the Government was right
in including in the new deed of conveyance a
declaration of the rights of those whom it might
have to defend.

--so that as yet all is left to conjecture as to his
future movements. At any rate, until some move-
ment either towards Tangier or Tetuan be actually
aiiventured on, we do certainly concur in the rea-
sonableness of the above opinion, that the campaign
can scarcely be considered to have commenced.

While we write, there comes to us through the
cond edition of our able morning contemporary
t'h&Post, the following sinister intimation from its
Paris Correspondent :—" I hear," writes that
functionary as we may term him, as one among the
r ecognised representatives of the Fonrth Estate.
" I hear from a traveller who has just arrived from
Madrid, one likely to be well informed, that bad
news had reached the QUEEN'S Government from
Morocco. The Moors are increasing their forces
daily and attackin g the Spanish forces." O'DONNELL
will assuredly find reason to be on the alert—
lest he may be unconsciously rushing upon his
doom in this deplorable and in many re-
spects most unjustifiable expedition. It would
be a consummation, if not devoutly to be
-wished for, at any rate most exemplary in its way,
if here again the result were to be another and a
striking example of "vaulting ambition overleaping
itself," of the engineer being "hoist with his own
petard," of an adventurer seeking again " the
bubble reputation even in the cannon's mouth,"
after the ludicrous fashion of the ape, who is repre-
presented in the famous caricature as applying a
match to the touch-hole and at the same time look-
ing round the edge of the muzzle, down the grim
vista of the piece of ordnance, to see what would
come out of it at the instant of explosion !
Calculating for a while the reported results of the
three principal skirmishes and combats that have
already occurred there upon that restricted battle•
field in the vicinity of Ceuta, they can hardly be
regarded. as results in any respect very satisfactory
to the Spanish Government. According to the
Spaniards themselves they lost in the fight of the
25th between 300 and 400 in killed, wounded, and
prisoners. According to the Moors, on the contrary,
we learn that upon that day, while their own
loss (the Moorish loss) did not exceed 100 altoge-
ther, their enemies (the Spaniards) were under-
stood. to have had as many as 2,000 put hors de
combat. The truth, in all human probability, lies as
nearly as possible about midway between the
two extremes. Under any circumstances the
conflict upon the 25th is so far clearly
entitled. to the designation already given
to it (that of "a sharp little combat") by the Times'
Correspondent. And it is significant upon this
point to add that the Post Correspondent, writing
yesterday from Paris, observes,—" As I believe I
informed you some time since the Spanish journals
are not allowed to print any news of the war ex-
cepting that supplied by Government." An ar-
rangement leading every one inevitably to the
instant conclusion, that the accounts so
furnished to the Spanish public have been
what Mr. TOOTS, or somebody very like
him, once suggested should be done with
the raw material—i. e. previously cooked. The
skirmish of the 30th ult., we now learn, cost the
Spanish army some 230 killed and wounded—
while the affair of the 9th inst. involved a loss to,
the Spaniards, according to the second edition of
the Post of this afternoon of '• 750 killed [ob-
viously a misprint for 150 killed] and 290 wounded."
Yet for a little skirmish like this, resulting (to no
good end whatever) in so much death and suffering,
RAILWAYCCI D
ig oftden
we are informed by the Madrid journals of the 12th prevailed iu occurredsef
which
on the
inst. that "as soon as the Queen of Spain Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway, which was
not attended with serious consequences. The 6.25 a.m.
was made acquainted with the affair of the 9th, her
yesterday
A a
s
train from Sheffield to Manchester had arrived close to
Majesty directed the ad interim President of the
the Thirk Y irk Celli near Guide-bridge, about a
quarter past eight, 'before the' driver could perceive a signal
Council to send a telegraphic despatch to th j --:hichl.was protectingne. ii the passage of a coal train across the
General-in-Chief expressive of her satisfaction, an 'icinaena collisione twoopist unableaee to brine; riTsgvihoilsetnrcaeinwtaso anot stand(lis hi
se:
declaring that she was well assured, on appointing
gainsri'° p„a-ses-een otrsdeo:nlinewdere shaken rather severely,
him to the command, that he wculd justify her 1) F,STRUCTIVE FIRE AT MILLWALL,—Last night
confidence." Certainly as soon as we can see en a
until
tttitiki,,pa;bc-niidi
tett
fight,
gtroeoa k
pliispsceofonprotEeertpyr,ealse which 11Lclhonlarsitnegd
end of this last of the little wars the better. No ti).l I%e
%is-viss Howell and Co., patent rope manufacturers to
wonder wars like this were deemed to be among mi.seAnTiliehntt,heSret.;ilsslourattuenaet
commenced
1 lwal l, Poplar.w ere
abTohuetpao-
the world's most poignant calamities, by the clear- filled
i4toh feet
kw iodf3.
aThe various
tco in p anr td-
meats ireheaded, keen-sighted warrior Duke of WEL-. owing to tho highly inflammable natureyof the e goods,er a the
' flames spread so rapidly that in less than 10 minutes the
whole premises were on,fire. The parish engine, as well as
several of the London brigade, under the command of Mr.
Superintendent Braidwood, and Mr. Bridges, the foreman
of the A district, were quickly in attendance, and a good
supply of the East London Company's water having been
procured, the firemen went to work, but they were unable to
make the least impression upon the flames until nearly
midnight, and not before a vast quantity of property was
destroyed, and nearly the whole of the premises, consisting
of winding, wheeling, twisting, and finishing shops, toge-
gather with the machinery therein, were destroyed. Th
origin of the fire could not be ascertained.
DEATH OF A BRIGHTON CELEBRITY.—During
the zenith of the smiles of royalty on Brighton, few persons
obtained so high a position in the estimation of tho nobility
as Madame Michell, the maitresse de dame. Dukes and
duchesses, marquises and marchionesses, earls and coun-
tesses, and every gradation of the peerage, owed the dignity
of their gait to Madame Michau, whose academy, held in the
Assembly Rooms of the Old Ship Hotel, was the focus of
the elite. Then was the time when the equipages of the
nobility exhibited the sterling grandeur of their owners,
and Ship-street was one aristocratic carriage stand. Years
have passed on. Her early patron, George IV., passed
away. William IV. and his royal consort then delighted
in the evolutions of the tiny feet at the Royal Pavilion,
under the watchful guidance of Madame Michau, when
juvenile balls were weekly there in full vigour. They also
passed away. The Pavilion of royalty itself passed away ;
still Madame enjoyed the smiles of the noble of the land.
Age, however, which she sternly warded off, at length set
in, and on Wednesday last—after a short cessation from
her duties—she expired, at the good old age of 76 years.—
Brighton Observer.
CAUTION TO HOTELKEEPERS.—A square built
man of gentlemanly appearance, a Dutchman by birth,
and giving different names at different places, has contrived
to live for some months past upon two hotelkeopers, one at
Leicester and the other at Derby. The doctor—for such he
represents himself to be—has been busily engaged writing
a work upon chemistry, at least that has been his professed
engagement. After luxuriating on good things at Leices-
ter, he suddenly levanted, being indebted to the landlord to
the tune of £52. His next appearance was in an hotel at
Derby, where, for a time, his manners captivated several
gentlemen who he occasionally met in the coffee-room,though
his custom was to spend the greater portion of his time in his
bedroom, engaged—or professedly engaged—with writing
materials. After being at the hotel some time he paid £lO on
account ; it was subsequently discovered that hehad succeeded
in borrowing that amount. As time wore on suspicions
were excited, and on being pressed for the amount he owed
he prevaricated. At length the wily fox was unearthed,
under the following circumstances : —A gentleman happened
on Thursday evening last to arrive at the hotel in Derby,
and on proceeding to the coffee-room saw the Dutchman
enjoying his dinner. He at once gave notice to the land-
lady that the doctor, who went by another name at Leices-
ter, had contrived to swindle Mr. Bowyer, of Leicester. Mr.
lioxyer was written to and made his appearance next morn-
ing, to the great consternation and surprise of the doctor,
, who kept his bed until towards dusk, when ho contrived to,
give the person he was watching. the slip, and he succeeded
in making his escape. He is indebted to the landlady nearly
£3O ; and, to make matters worse, it turns out that the day
before he succeeded in borrowing £lo' from a gentleman,
which would enable.him to journey by rail to some distant
Ida( e. His conversational powers were rood, and he is evi-
dently a man of intelligence. r Van Dunk, though
lie never got drunk, sipped brandy and water daily, and
appeared as nappy as a prince.—berby Reporter.

LIN GTON.

The actual terms on which Lord CANNING has
restored their estates to such of the talookdars as
made a timely submission are now before us—if, in-
deed, we may rely on a letter from a private corre-
spondent. After all the comments which have been
made on the management of the Oude business,
fairness requires that this document should be ad-
mitted as one the terms of which were in the mind
of Lord CANNING when he made his celebrated con-
fiscation proclamation. Our readers well know that
we are not amongst Lord CANNIN G'S admirers. We
never thought him equal to a much higher post
than that of head-clerk, or Cabinet-clerk, to the
Post-office, and our opinion is not altered. He has
exhibited in India the conventional qualities of an
English lord, and but little more. But among these
qualities is the common-sense which told him that
the possessions of avowed rebels are confiscated to the
Crown, and he had the boldness to let the rebels know
it not unaccompanied, however, in issuing
the proclamation, by the intimation that repentance
would be regarded with favour by a Government
notoriously prone to mercy. The party squabbles
over the business it is now time to send amongst
other bygones. There was much right and much
wrong as usual on both sides. But at the time we
were amongst those who called for bold and firm be-
haviour in India, and we were not amongst those
who, as soon as a Governor-General adopted the
policy we demanded, began to find fault with it.
The course actually taken was that that confisca-
tion was made, as it ought to have been, the basis of
. dealing with the talookdars of Oude ; but they were
invited to surrender themselves, their mud forts and
) their arms, and to disband their followers by a fixed

date, if they wished to any benefit from the
lenient disposition of the Government, and from the
final amnesty. Never did a set of subordinate
chieftains, or petty rulers, for such these large pro-
prietors were, more need to be placed on a right
footing with the supreme Government. They had
long been the revenue collectors on their vast

gress.

LATEST NEW.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :

PARIS, DEC. 17.
The Moniteur of to-day contains the following :
The Emperor received yesterday the Papal
Nuncio, who presented to hig Majesty a letter from
the Holy Father.

Yesterday evening the state of Prince Jerome
was still serious. Pleuritic pains in the left side
having set in, necessitated the application of a
fresh blister.

TURIN, DEC. 16.

Count Cavour has been definitively appointed
first Plenipotentiary of Sardinia at the Congress.
General Dabormida does not leave Turin, in
order to be present at the approaching opening of
the Chambers.

There will be no Ministerial change in Sardinia

TURIN, DEC. 17.

General Dabormida has officially communicated
to the French Government that Count Cavour and
the Chevalier Desambrois will be the representa-
tives of Sardinia at the approaching Congress.

VIENNA, DEC. 17.

In the last Cabinet Council, presided over by the
Emperor, it was resolved that in the next budget
a reduction of 38 million of florins shall be made in
the expenses of the war department.

The plans and measurements for the Royal Oak
and the Belvedere, two of the new 91 gun screw
steamers ordered to be built at Chatham dockyard,
have been prepared, under the superintendence of
Admiral Sir B. Walker, K.C.8., Surveyor of the
Navy, from whose designs they will be built. They
will be commenced at Chatham on the first slips
that become vacant, several of the vessels of war
now building at that establishment being in a very
forward state. The Royal Oak and the Belvedere
will be sister-ships to the Atlas, 91, and the Bul-
wark, 91, now being constructed at Chatham.
The Board of Admiralty having decided on con-
siderably enlarging the present barracks for the
Royal Marines at Chatham, in order to afford bar-
rack accommodation for several hundred additional
men, with increased accommodation for a larger
number of officers than can be at present provided
with quarters, the blocks of buildings adjoining the
barracks have been purchased by the Government,
who have allowed a liberal compensation to the oc-
cupiers, in order that they may be pulled down and
the site cleared for the works to be commenced.
The proposed enlargement of the barracks will
necessitate the removal of about 20 houses, with
two hotels, it being the intention of the Admiralty
to extend the barracks as far as Chatham church.
The words will involve an outlay of about £lOO,OOO,
a considerable portion of which has been already
voted by Parliament. The removal of the build-
ings purchased by the Admiralty has commenced,
in order that the proposed extension may be begun
early in the ensuing spring.
The paddlewheel steam vessel Advice, second
master M. C. Raymond, sailed from Plymouth for
Queenstown on Thursday, with seamen belonging
to the screw steamship Hawke, who navigated the
Shamrock to Plymouth.
The screw steamship Revenge, 91, having been
masted at Devonport, was warped on Thursday
from the sheer hulk alongside the dockyard jetty,
to be rigged for the steam reserve.
The screw steamship Con queror,lol,Capt.Wilcox,
was removed from her moorings at Devomport on
Thursday into Keyham steam basin, preparatory
to being docked.
The paddlewheel steam storeship Dee, Thomas
C. Pullen, master commanding, was taken out of
the basin at Keyham, Devonport, on Thursday,
and, having embarked a detachment of marines,
sailed for Portsmouth and Woolwich.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Commander C. H. Wale,
to be Inspecting Commander of the Coastguard,
vice Commander Baker, whose term of service has
expired ; and David T. Waugh, clerk, to be secre-
tary's clerk to the Victory.

It is stated that Austria is about to proceed to a
complete disarmament.

PARIS, DEC. 17.

Prince De Latour d'Auvergne is designated as
;he Second Plenipotentiary of France at the Con-

The Marquis d'Antonini, the Neapolitan Mini-
ster, who had been summoned by the King to
Naples a fortnight ago, returned to Paris yester-
day. He is the bearer of the consent of the Neapo
litan Government to the project of an Italian Con-
federation. M. d'Antonini will be the Second
Plenipotentiary of Naples at the Congress.