The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-18 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

TRIO DAY.—Morning, lh. 28m.—Afternoon, lh. 47m.
To- m onnow. -Morning, 2h. sm.—Afternoon. 2h. 20m.

THE WEATHER.---Sux OFFICZ, SEPTEMBER 17, 1861.
THERMOMETER, I/41 THE SHADE.
69—highest since noon yesterday.
45—lowest this morning and during the night.
57—this day at noon.
BAROMETER-30.20; rising rapidly.
Wnsn—Northerly to N.-E. moderate; with dull,
cloudy Weather. The Western and Irish coast were visited
last week by Equinoctial gales, as we anticipated.

•
11,
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111, • t',"

THE SUN.

ONDON, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18, 1861

The Nil Darpan trial at Calcutta is one of the
chief subjects which fill the India papers; nor is
this much to be wondered at. Vehement party
feeling, harsh and questionable application of law,
the questions of religious persecution and of the
freedom of the press, are all involved in it ; and
the Rev. JAMES LONG, who seems to be a weak-
minded and pious man, and one who, in the
usual course a things, would attract about as
much notice as a useful Smipture-reader here,
becomes all at once the most notable person in
Calcutta. More is heard of about Mr. LONG than
about the Governor-Goner al himself. The .Friend
of India says:—"
tion • The chi 'ef subject of conversa-
tion all circles and of ( press,
during in the
during the last fortnight, has been the sentence
of a t
%taxa
imprisonmenthn rupees fin, 3 and one month's
LONG, of thj'assea on the Rev. JAMES
Missionary Society,

for libelling the editor of the Englisnman
and the whole body of indigo planters in
Lower Bengal. The fine was at once paid in Court
by a native gentleman, and Mr. LONG, now in jail,
receives visits of sympathy from crowds of natives,
from his missionary brethren, and from others. The
Calcutta Missionary Conference has passed a series
of resolutions on the subject which we print else-
where, and the leading natives of Calcutta have
presented an address to Mr. LONG full of sympathy
and admiration of his conduct, in which they also
condemn the uncalled for conduct of Sir MORDAUNT
WELLS, the presiding Judge, who declared of an
address which they presented to Mr. LONG pre-
vious to his trial, that he would have torn it in

pieces."

The chief points of the story are these. • The
indigo planters, and the ryots to whom they have
made advances for the cultivation of indigo, are, as
we have so long heard, in a state of violent excite-
ment against each other. Ryots allege cruelty and
oppression on the part of the planters, the planters
fraud, and non-fulfilment of contract on the part of
the ryots, who have taken their money on the con-
dition of growing the indigo. The covenanted civil
service of India has a standing traditional hatred of
the planters, they are interlopers, who have endan-
gered their monopoly, and " the service" has there-
fore shown a disposition to side with the natives.
The missionaries, as somewhat became them, were
also the natives' advocates, hence the planters had
against them no less than three parties—the natives,
the covenanted civil service, and the missionaries ;
and bitter was the strife and contention.

While all these elements were fermenting, the
natives composed, as is their wont, a drama, in
which the indigo planters are of course made to play
no very honourable part; and the thing was full
of what to natives would seem racy telling hits
on the gentlemen intended to be lampooned.
Such dramas are their customary resort for
popular attack—and are of about as much impor-
tance as an article in an English newspaper, per-
haps, of less. This one in point of literary character
is thus described—" In itself the drama is neither
more nor less filthy than the majority of such pro-
ductions, and must in all respects, except literary
merit, rank with the lowest plays of the time of the
Second CHARLES or the political satires of the days
of the GEORGES. Even had it in all its original
warmth of colouring been translated into English
and published in the ordinary way, it would have
excited no attention. But it appeared at a time
when the controversy between the planters and
the local Government was at its height, and with
a native preface which, while it eulogised the
latter in oriental terms, charged two of the daily
papers with selling themselves, like JUDAS, to the
planters' cause for a thousand rupees."
Mr. LONG meets with this publication in his
visits among the natives, and thought it ought to
be brought to the notice of the English public • as
showing them what was going on in the native
mind. There is no evidence that he was actuated
by any malicious motive against any individual ;
and as to the planters, even if he had been disposed
to enjoy a joke on the body, there does not seem to
have been more in it than in any of the humorous
satires of our friend Punch—though, of course in
the state of native morals, we cannot expect that
the allusions should surpass in purity the plays of
ARISTOPHANUS himself, and those of the period of
English history just referred to. " Satisfied,"
however, we are told, " that the drama was
the production of a native resident in the in-
terior, and looking upon it as an ebullition of
popular feeling, Mr. LONG, with the sanction and
knowledge of Mr. SETON-KARR caused the produc-
tion to be translated by a native, purged it of some
of its filthiest sentences, and added a preface, one
passage of which may certainly bear the meaning
that he vouched for the truth of the statements in
the drama, but the whole tenor of which is against
such a rendering. Had the production appeared in
the usual way, it might still have been treated
with indifference. But the publication was private,
and of the five hundred copies printed four were
sent to journals in Meerut, Lahore, Bombay and
Madras, and about two hundred to leading men
and societies in London."

Mr. SETON-KARR was at the time Secretary
to the Bengal Government, and he sent under the
Government frank fourteen copies of the play to
different parts of India, which seems, however, to
have been repeatedly done before, with translations
of native papers. Those sent to England were
sent to such men as Lords STANLEY and SHAFTES-
BURY, Messrs. BRIGHT and COBDEN, the Hon.
BAPTIST NOEL, and so forth—all of which, to us,
appears like anything but secrecy and conscious-
ness of a malus animus, Neither Mr. SETON•KARR
nor Mr. LONG could have hoped to impose a libel-
lous slander on such gentlemen as these ; and their
statement, therefore, seems every way credible that
they thought a Drama like this an indication of
what was passing in the native mind, with which
persons interested in India would like to be ac-
quainted. We may add, that had the Government
been as well informed in this way of what was
going on prior to the Mutiny, we might have
escaped that dreadful disaster altogether. It would
seem to be good policy to encourage the translation
of everything, were it possible.

The planters, however, thought that they could
find a legal libel in the drama, and it seems they
were right. Unfortunately the law of libel remains
in India in the same state in which it was before
the late Lord CAMPBELL'S reform ; Mr. LONG was
unable therefore to plead a justification ; the
planters determined to proceed by criminal indict-
ment and to try a fall with their antagonists the
missionaries. They had a full legal right as the
law stands in India to do so; though, in England,
they would not, under similar circumstances, and
with our amended law, have had the shadow of a
chance. Probably they thought a civil action would
be hopeless, as the editor of the Englishman, whom
they put forward, could prove no damage to the
circulation of the paper, and actually confessed that
he did receive more than the thousand rupees for
his services to the planters. The indictment was
Ist, for a libel against the editor ; 2d, for one
against the whole body of the planters,
and, strange as it may seem to us, the
jury, which was one, on the whole, likely to lean
to Mr. LONG rather than otherwise, under the di-
rection of the Judge, found on both counts. Under
all the circumstances, the punishment ought cer-
tainly to have been nominal. Before the sentence
was passed, Mr. LONG read a statement which ex-
plained the motives that had actuated him in what
he had done. He regretted that he htd not added
foot-notes to explain some of the passages that had
given offence ; and said that the pamphlet did not
contain his own views on the character of planters
and others, but those entertained by the ryots,
which he had considered it his duty to bring to the
notice of the Government and of gentlemen in high
station in England. And we must say, after read-
ling the report of the trial, that the entire evidence
fully sustained the truth of the rev. gentleman's
remarks.

Mr. LONG'S counsel laid chief stress on the follow-
ing points :—" That the Landholders' Association
had three courses open to them in seeking redress
for libel. They might have instituted a civil action,

or they might have proceeded by criminal informa-
tion ; in both o which cases he would have had an
opportunity of defending himself. But they had
selected the harshest form of procedure known to
English law. That law was found so oppressive
above 16 or 17 years ago in England that a
new Act was passed affording the defendant an
opportunity for justification, but that Act had
not been extended to this country. The
passage in question contained no libel. It merely
imputed that the two editors wrote profes-
sionally and for money in support of a particu-
lar interest, as was done in every civilized country.
That there were four grounds on which the jury
were bound to return a verdict of acquittal. Ist,
the indigo planters of Lower Bengal were an un-
defined body ; 2d, the pamphlet was a dramatic
fiction ; 3d, there was no evidence of libel. 4th I
there was no evidence of malice. 1. In the case of
the clergy of the diocese of certain Jews in
London, there was a unity and identity which the
planters of Bengal could not lay claim to. 2. No
jury would consider a drama as libellous, every
play had an evil genius as part of the dramatis
personce. The character of LEGREE in " Uncle
Tom's Cabin" was a case in point. All slaveholders
were not necessarily LEGREES. 3 and 4. The pub-
lication was not a libel. The freedom of the
press and the discussion of public matters
should not bo restrained. Malice apart,
the greatest latitude was allowed in the
discussion of public questions, and on
topics of general interest a warmth and freedom
are tolerated which would not perhaps be submitted
to in the case of a single person. The drama was
not shown to have been published maliciously. Mr.
LONG was neither the author nor the translator of
the work, nor had he identified himself with the
truth of the matter. If the jury found Mr. LONG
guilty they would be carrying the law of libel
further than it had ever yet been carried, and
striking a serious blow at the freedom of public
discussion in India."
The result would seem to be to make a martyr of
a worthy but rather weak missionary; to give the
indigo planters a legal victory, but to fix on them a
lasting disgrace; and, finally, to render necessary
a change of the libel law in India, which shall assi-
milate it to that of this country. That Mr. LONG
might have stated more clearly that he did not
adopt the charges of the Drama is admitted, but
that he intended to imply or assert their truth it is
absurd to suppose.

Russia, like ourselves, is ruled by a German
family; but how different the result of different
training. Education has made our QUEEN a real
Englishwoman; and though under the degrading
system which rejects all noble English blood as
too ignoble for Royalty, we do our best to keep the
foreign blood pure, we have yet no doubt that our
Prince of WALES will turn out an Englishman
every inch of him. But if our discipline manu-
factures Germans into first rate constitutional
monarchs it can also make of them heart-
less and ruthless despots Tzars, in fact.
Real Tartars European polish, as of old,
serving only as a superficial disguise to
the feline nature beneath. The savage with the
" mild eyes" was succeeded by a son of whom it
was thought that the heart was as mild as the
eyes. But Czar-despots cannot get rid of their
nature ; and we have now too many painful proofs
that the present CZAR is no exception. The tamest
of VAN AMBURGIL'S huge cats could never be trusted
not to kill a man, and the mildest CZAR can never
be trusted not to deceive, torture, and murder in the
interest of Czardom.

ALEXANDER 11. is at this moment but too plain
an exemplification of the sad truth. Czardom is so
holy a cause in his eyes, that to act the venal spy,
and to ensnare the inhabitants of a town into acts
which might afford a miserable pretext for whole-
sale butchery, is holy work. The Poles were
created for his uncle CONSTANTINE to outrage, for
his father NICHOLAS to murder by wholesale when
they resisted his brother's outrages, and for ALEX-
ANDER 11. to decoy into a peaceful procession that
he might shoot them down by drunken Cossacks—
soldiers, if they deserve that name, so drunk, that
they in some cases beat the officials themselves.
The men, doubtless, were not remarkable for ten-
derheartedness ; but it was requisite to intoxicate
even them before they could be trusted to butcher,
without mercy, unarmed women and children. In
the rudest soldier natures, it seems there is some-
thing more human than in the hearts of Germans
educated for Czarship. The soldiers must be made
half mad to do the horrid work which Czars and
their higher officers could order in coil blood.

It is now certain that such has been the delibe-
rate policy of the " mild Czar" this year with
Poland. The frightful massacres of this spring at
Warsaw were beyond all doubt inspired from St.
Petersburg. To tolerate national manifestations,
and to encourage them, was a part of a deliberate
design to extinguish them in blood ; the unhappy
people being so far beguiled as to believe that they
needed nothing but access in some authorised legi-
timate way to the " King of Poland" to insure atten-
tion to their very reasonable requests. Unhappy
men ! Unhappy women and infants !—they little
dreamed that their supposed paternal monarch was
a Tiger watching for their blood, and only remain-
ing quiet for a while, that his spring might be more
sure and fatal.

Lest, however, the Poles should too soon forget
what a CZAR was, the lesson has been repeated at
Wilna. The inhabitants of that town, it was known
at St. Petersburg, could not forget their birth.
They were Poles. And if they had in common with
their nation to bewail a suppressed nationality,
they yet loved to keep in mind that they were not
semi-barbarian Russians. The knowledge of such
a state of mind was a cause of dark perturbation to
the' mild CZAR? What pretext could he find to
satiate his morose hatred of noble patriotic recollec •
tions in blood. The inhabitants of Wilna were
quiet, there was no excuse for bayonets and bullets ;
could not something be done to get up the semblance
of a crowd, a procession, a meeting, some kind of
assembly into which Cossacks could fire, and with-
out being prize shots, be sure to kill and wound ? A
willing tool was easily found, and we shall give
the narrative of the business in the words
of an evidently trustworthy correspondent of the
Daily .Nexs. The letter is dated from Warsaw,
the 10th of this month :

" It is now proved beyond a doubt that the events at
Vilna, of the 18th August, formed part of a preconcerted
plan of the Russian authorities to draw the Poles into a
collision with the soldiery, so as to afford the Government
a pretext for avenging itself on them for the ceremony of
the 12th in memory of the union, which it appears gave
great offence to the Emperor. Secret orders had been sent
to M. NAZIMOFF from St. Petersburg, after his report of
the ceremony had been received there ; and although
their exact nature has not transpired, some words
which the generhl was heard to say leave little doubt as to
their purport :—' I will put a stop to these hymns, these
stupid prayers, these demonstrations; 1 will restore order'
—words which were soon followed by deeds that gave
striking testimony to their significance. No time was lost
in obeying the orders received from head-quarters. The
first step in the disgraceful plot was taken a very few
days after by the Government agents who began
to spread a report announcing the arrival of a
procession. The authorities feigned to believe
the rumour, and sent policemen to every bow, ill the town

to warn the porters against harbouring the pilgrims who
were coming from the kingdom. These were followed by
other policemen, but this time in disguise, who, pretending
to belong to the national party, exhorted the inhabitants to
take the pilgrims into their houses and conceal them so as
to enable them to escape the police. A police functionary,
disguised as a pilgrim, actually entered the church of
Ostrobrama, and announced in terms of the most touching
eloquence to the congregation the approaching arrival of
his companions."

The first improbable reports of the helpless towns-
people having killed the soldiers, is as false as it
was improbable. Not one soldier was killed. An
eye-witness told the writer of the letter that the
atrocities committed by the troops surpassed de-
scription." The massacre was begun by Colonel
WASKLIEFF, by horsewhipping a poor old woman
till she was covered with blood. The Cossacks
charged the people, some with drawn swords,
some with lances, and others with knouts.
At the Pawhoulavka gate, at the square
of the Holy Ghost, and before the church
of St. Ignatius, there were heaps of bodies
that had been trodden down by the horses or
pierced with lances. At the last of these places
ten persons were killed, and many more lives would
have been sacrificed had not the people taken
refuge in the church of the Bernardins. The sol-
diers were so drunk that they did not recognise
friends from foes, and severely beat and otherwise
injured several Russian officials who happened to
be in the crowd. A list, a very incomplete one, of
forty severely wounded was seen by our informant.
M. NAZIMOFF and his complacent CZAR have had
their fill of blood."

What may be in the counsels of Providence for
the Poles, it is not for us to predict ; but the ex-
perience of the present generation points to the
conclusion that love of nationality is not an empty
nor a hopeless sentiment. Greece and Belgium
have regained existence within recent memory, and
Italy is now before us as a nation born in a year,
and already complete, except where the supercilious
vanity of the heartless Frenchman and the sullen
brutality of the Austrian mar the scene. Hungary,
after twelve years of ceaseless efforts to make her
a part of the trumpery Archduchy, is the fine old
Kingdom of Hungary still—and what shall we say
of Poland? The fangs of Russian despotism strike
into her very vitals, and yet she lives—lives more
than ever. In the longest separated parts of the
kingdom of the JAGELLONS, the Polish feeling is
kindling afresh, and all things are preparing for
the opportunity which even this generation may
live to see.

ACCIDENT TO ;HE GREAT EASTERN.

(13Y ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
QUEENSTOWN, SEPT. 17, 5 P.M.
The Great Eastern steamer is in the Offing, dis-
abled. Assistance has been sent to her.
The above steamer sailed from Liverpool on
the 10th of September for New York.

QUEENSTOWN, SEPT. 18, 8.30.

The Great Eastern is being now towed into the
harbour. H.M.S, Advice has also gone to her as.
sistance.

QUEENSTOWN, 9 P.M.

The Great Eastern has been obliged to bring
up.one mile outside the lighthouse, where she will
remain till the morning. She has lost paddle_
wheels, and damaged her rudder and steering gear.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
the General Commanding-in-Chief, returned home last
evening from tisiting the Duchess and Princess Mary of
Cambridge, at Rumpenheim, near Frankfort, and from at-
tending the exercises of the Prussian army before the King
of Prussia.

His Imperial Highness the Duke Nicolas Leich
tenburg, accompanied by Gene' al Rehbinder, has left Cla.
ridge's Hotel for Hamilton Palace.

The. Princess Kotchouby has arrived at Claridge's
Hotel from St. Leonard's.

The Duke of Somerset has been staying at Stover
House, Devon, since his official visit to Pembroke. The
duchesi and family are also staying at Stover. The duke
and duchess are expected at the Admiralty early in the
ensuing month.

The Duke and Duchess of Wellington are at
their seat in Norfolk. A select party are visiting the duke
for the shooting season.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury
arrived in town last evening from Jerveaux Abbey,
Yorkshire, and depart to-day for Tottenham-park, near
Marlborough.,

The Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury and
family have gone to Walmer Castle to pass a few weeks.

The Earl of Warwick and Mr. George Repton
have left St. James's Stable-yard, for Warwick Castle, for
shooting. The countess has left Harrowgate on a visit to
the Earl of Wemyss and March in Scotland.

The Earl of Rosslyn has left Claridge's Hote
for Scotland.

Cotint and Countess Alexander Stroganoff and
family have returned to the Clarendon Hotel from the Isle
of Wight.
Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston are ex-
pectel to arrive in town to-day from Walmer Castle, Kent.
Viscountess Jocelyn has left Tollymore Park,
Dundalk, on a visit to the Marquis and Marchioness of
Abercorn, at Baron's Court, Tyrone.
The marriage of Viscount Clifden and Miss
Seymour, daughter of Lady Augusta Seymour, originally
appointed to take place to-day, has been postponed.
In consequence of the demise of Earl Fortescue
the marriage of Viscount Sandon, nephew of the late earl,
and Lady Mary Cecil, daughter of the Marquis and Mar-
chioness of Exeter, has been deferred for a few days.
The Baron and Baroness Charles de Rothschild
and family have arrived at Thomas's Hotel, Berkeley-

square.
DISCOVERY OF THE RETREAT OF ANCIENT IRISH
KINGS NEAR CLONMACNOISE.—A correspondent of Saun-
ders' News Letter, writing from Ballinasloe, says :—" In
the month of July last I sent you the particulars of some
ancient regal ornaments which htd been found by a coun-
tryman, and purchased from him by the Messrs. Haynes,
of this town. The notice I then wrote attracted general at-
tention throughout the country, and several parties ex-
pressed an anxiety to obtain the ornaments, which were of
pure gold, and consisted of a crown and collar. An intima-
tion was even sent through the authorities, under the regu-
lations of treasure trove, demanding the ornaments, of course
at their proper value. They have since been publicly exhi-
bited in the collection of the Dublin Society, and much ad-
mired by those who reli.h antiquarian researches. The
Messrs. Haynes offered the countryman a handsome douceur
if he would point out where he found the relics, but this the
wily native knowingly declined to do, no doubt expecting
that other articles of value might yet be discovered in the
same locality. He has, however, at length divulged the
particulars. The man resided at a place called Skea, near
the celebrated ruins of Clonmacnoise, on the brink of the
Shannon. In the course of some agricultural operations
he removed a large flag which opened the passage to a
spacious cavern, in which were found the crown and collar,
together with• some ancient bronze weapons and several
utensils used for culinary purposes. The discoverer
of this singular labyrinth kept it concealed from the
knowledge of any one for a considerable length of time,
binudti
vaitduals lengthu nhdee
rhaa spbr
oe
me ni
Bien uf csed ec r
et
co
ys h;
atwn
d it
as t o
hae vi es rya b few
to leave this country for Australia he intends for a consi-
deration to lead the way to this curious subterranean
chamber, evidently the retreat of the ancient monarchs who
reigned in' the locality. A friend of mine, who has been in
the cavern, says that he was so fortunate as to have un-
veiled to his astonished view the intricacies of this hidden
apartment, and many singular vestiges of a defunct race.
It was no doubt, a fortalice and residence. The hard-
pressed chieftains and his followers found in its recesses
the most perfect security and concealment, for if any pur-
suers had the temerity to tread the tortuous windings of
the entrance, certain destruction was sure to reach them
ere they reached the apartments, several feet below the
surface of what appears to be a limestone crag. I forgot to
say that amongst other relics of bygone days are ten ela-
borately ornamented slabs, of an octagonal form, and bear.
ing long inscriptions in the Ogham character. There are
few who will be able to unravel the story which these vene-
rable records display to the eye of the curious. No doubt
they will yet form the subject of study and research to the
antiquary and the learned. The discovery of this wonder-
ful cavern throws much light upon the legends of Bryan
O'Dondghue, and to this retreat from his enemies is no
doubt due the story of his compact with the Evil One, from
the consequences of which the Abbot St. Kierran is said
to have released him. I intend to explore this retreat of
the ancient chieftains of this neighbourhood on an early
day, and to supply you with a description in detail,"

..,-.

r 1 • r' Ai ',
s3l,

~_~ _

NAPLES, SEPT. 17.

During the night between Thursday and Friday
last a band of 100 Bourbon brigands landed in
Calabria between Breizzano and Brancaleone.
They are now surrounded by the troops and the
National Guard.

The Duke de Montebello has had an interview
with General Cialdini.

-.-.__

PARIS, SEPT. 17.

The Pays of this evening announces that the
Viceroy of Egypt left Constantinople on the 15th
inst. to return to Cairo, and that the Marquis de
Lavalette will set out on the 20th inst. for Rome.

FLORENCE, SEPT. 17.

A deputation from the National Guard of Pa-
lermo, which arrived here in order to be present at
the opening of the Exhibition, has been warmly
received by the population.

TURIN, SEPT. 18.

The Nationalitie of to-day states that Messrs.
Robinson and Co., the contractors for the establish-
ment of a mail service for the Adriatic and the
Mediterranean, have withdrawn from their con-
tract with the Italian Government, and forfeited
the caution-money which they had deposited.

VIENNA, SEPT. 18,

Notwithstanding the denial of the Oste-Deutsche
Zeitung, it is now certain that Baron Kemeney,
Aulic Chancellor for Transylvania, has tendered
his resignation, and that it has been accepted by
the Emperor.

CRACOW, SEPT. 18.

The state of things at Warsaw is still gloomy.
Popular excesses continue to take place. The day
before yesterday the shop of a glover in the Neu-
welt quarter of the city was demolished. Yester-
day the plate-glass windows of a Germa❑ confec-
tioner's shop were smashed, and the fixtures and
furniture broken to pieces by the mob, without any
interference on the part of the police, who were
present.

AGRAM, SEPT. 18.

The Agramer Zeitung of today announces that
great resistance is manifested by the Turkish popu-
lation of Bosnia against the calling out of the
Bashi-Bazouks for military service.

THE OUTWARD CALCUTTA AND CHINA
MAILS.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 18,

The Ceylon (from Southampton on the 4th of
September) arrived at Malta at 6 a.m. on the 13th,
and continued her voyage at 9 o'clock the same

evening.

The Valetta (from Marseilles on the 12th)
reached Malta at 6 p.m., and was to leave at 10
p.m. on the 14th inst.