The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-08 00:00:00

AMERICA.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
LIVERPOOL,' TUESDAY MORNING

The steamship City of Washington has arrived
from New Yolk with one clay's later intelligence,

but does not Lring any specie.
A sudden change in the weather had entirely
closed all the canals.

Additional disasters on the great lakes are re-
ported.
The Boston Transcript announces the suspension
of Messrs. Trull and Brothers, liquor dealers, and
largely engaged in the Mediterranean and Smyrna
trade. The suspension was only expected to be

temporary.
The New York Courier and Enquirer reports
that the telegraphic intelligence of the suspension
of the Bank Act had given relief to many firms
there whose correspondents here were under extra-
ordinary liabilities on American account. On the
whole the stock market has been favourably af-
fected, and prices were fully sustained. United
States Six per Cents. of 1868 had advanced 1;
Missouri Sixes, 1i ; Virginia, 2 ; Reading Rail-
road Shares, /, Illinois Central Shares, 4 ; bonds, 1.
The rates of domestic exchange were daily becom-
ing more favourable, with an obvious determination
to prepare for a resumption of specie payments
early in the spring.
The State Banks of Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,
and Ohio do not intend to suspend ; all in New
Orleans and some in Missouri preparing specie.
The 25th being Evacuation-day, business was
restricted in the. New York markets. Cotton, on
the receipt of the Vanderbilt's advices, had been
held for an advance of /c., but at the close
only ,I,c. had been established in a small way.
Flour, under the same influence, and the
certainty of the closing of the Erie Canal,
had advanced 5c., but the business was not
large, holders asking higher terms. Wheat had
fully recovered its tone. Corn firm and buoyant.
Provisions unaffected ant dull. In sugar nothing
doing. No engagements in freights to London
or Liverpool. The downward tendency in trade
generally had been arrested. Sterling exchange
was quoted at 1084 to 1091 for bankers' bills. •
The city of Washington passed the'Royal mail
steamship Africa hence, going into New York.
The steamship Vanderbilt, from Havre and
Southampton, had arrived at New York.

IMP nR,IAL PAR LIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS:--(YEATEP.D i.)
Tile Logo CHANCELLOR too:; his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.
Viscount DUNGANNON presented a petition from
a rural deanery in Buckingham, in favour of an amend-
ment of the Divorce Act. The noble lord also gave
notice that on Thursday he should move for a copy of
any correspondence relative to the transmission of troops
to India.
Lord CAMPBELL moved for a return of the war•
rants, granted under the act ofParliament of last session,
for the prevention of the sale of obscene publications,
and also of the steps that had been taken under the said
act.—The returns were ordered.
CHURCH RATES.
The Earl of MALIVIESBURY asked whether it was
the intention of the G-overnmerft to bring forward, during
the ensuing - session, any measure respecting church
rates ?
Earl GRANVILLE said it would entirely depend
upon circumstances whether any such measure would be
introduced.
HER MAJESTY'S ANSWER TO THE ADDRESS.
The Earl ST. GERMANS brought up her Majesty's
answer to the address of their lordships, in answer to
her Majesty's gracious speech on Thursday last. Her
Majesty's answer was as follows :—" 1 thank you for
your loyal and dutiful address. You may rely on my
conlial co-operation in all measures calculated to pro-
mote the welfare and prosperity of my people in every
part of my dominions."
THE EARL OF DERBY'S ATTACK ON THE

GOVERNMENT.
Earl GRANVILLE said he would take that oppor-
tunity to afford some explanation as to contradictions
which he had given to the noble earl opposite in the
course of the debate on Thursday last. As to the alleged
reprimand administered to Major-Gen. Hearsey by Lord
Canning, the noble earl said that there had been such
reprimand to Gen. Hearsey for having, after an attempt
at mutiny in the 34th, then and there promoted a eepoy,
but what had taken place left no impression on his (Earl
Granville'e•) mind of a reprimand. Oa referring to the
Blue Book he found this account of what had taken
place. Their lordships were aware that certain orders
and regulations existed—whether they were right or
wrong had nothing to do with Lord Canning—as to the
powers of officers commanding troops. The facts were
that Major-Gen. Hearsey did not promote the sepoy on
the spot, because he was not there. He found that Lord
Canning, in reviewing that general order, pointed out to
General Hearsay that he had no authority to make that
promotion without the sanction of the Government ; but
it was added that the man richly deserved promotion,
and that the appointment should be made. - He (Lord
Granville)' had said that he had no recollection of any
reprimand having been given, and he could not conceive
that the Governor-General having pointed Ont the exist-
ing regulations amounted to a reprimand. The noble earl
afterwards raid what he was about to state appeared so
strange that he hardly expected it to be believed, but he
asked her Majesty's Government to contradict it if they
could, and it they did not contradict it he promised that
he would produce irrefragable evidence of the truth of
it. Some considerable time after these arrangements
the President of the Board of Control somewhat sur-
prised the Peninsular and Oriental Company by a letter
which he wrote to them to ask if a scheme might not
be organised for sending troops to India by the com-
pany's ate timers. Now, this had been done for a consi-
derable time both under the authority of her Majesty's
Government and that of the East India Company,
and yet the President of the Board of Control wrote
to ask if it was possible to organise a scheme
for doing so. He asked how, after what he had stated,
the country could trust to the vigour, the energy, the
wisdom of those by whom the government of India was
administered. He (Earl Granville) stated that he believed
that statement to be without foundation, and he had
since made inquiries, and he could now state that his
rigt.t hon. friend, Mr. V. Smith, had never sent any
letter to the Peninsular and Oriental Company ; the
Company had never received such a letter, and did not
reply to it, as the noble lord had misstated, and that no
reply had been received by the right hon. gentleman.

The Earl of DERBY—His noble friend had been good
enough to give him notice, which he had received about
an hour ago, of his intention to give some explanation of
contradictions which he had given to him on Thursday
last, and he (the Earl of Derby) bad endeavoured to
recollect what those contradictions were, but all he could
fix on were two—one to which his noble friend had just
referred ; the other was not in reference to the Presi-
dent of the Board of Control, but his statement that for
a considerable time no step was taken by the Govern-
ment of India to disabuse the minds of the sepoys as
to the intention of the Government to interfere with
their religion. He had assumed that those were the
two points upon which there was to be explanation of
contradictions. To the two points which had been re-
ferred to by his noble friend he would take the liberty to
add a third ; for on that point also he had been con-
tradicted. With regard to the reprimand of Major-
General Hearsey, all he could say was this—that
Major-General Hearsey, having taken upon himself to
promote this sepoy, bad that promotion been disapproved
of by the Government I His noble friend bad charged
him with having taken these facts, not from the blue
book, but from a certain " red pamphlet." He admitted
that be had read that pamphlet, and he strongly urged
their lordships to read it also, for a more able summary
of affairs in India he had seldom seen. But he had not
Made a single statement that he had read there without
verifying it by official documents. The noble earl was
not right in supposing that he had got his facts from that
pamphlet ; but what he had said was this, that Major-
General Hearsey had received a reprimand from Lord
Canning, and he still said that he had. He had done
too much, he was afraid, for he had conceded that the
order contained a statement of approval of what Major.
General Hearsay bad done, for he now found that it did
not. His noble friend would find in the minutes that it
was stated, as to the sepoy who so gallantly defended his
officer against the murderous attack of the mutineer,
that it was not in the power of a major-general in the
army to make this promotion, which could proceed only
from the Governor-General of India, and therefore should
not have appeared in the divisional order without the
sanction of the Government. Now when a governor-
general, without a single comment, announced that a
major-general ought not to have done that which he had
done— (hear, hear)—he said it was, to his mind, ex-
tremely like a reprimand ; it might not be so to the
minds of her Majesty's Government, but it was so to
those of other people. It went on to say, that " un-
doubtedly that promotion which has been announced is
richly deserved, and may be properly confirmed." The
confirmation was accompanied by a reprimand to the
major-general for doing it. The next statement made
was as to the inserting two officers' names in the order,
because, it was said, it should not be for a moment sup.
posed that any other officer would not have acted in the
same way, and because it was thought that it was very
inexpedient that this matter should be made the subject
of more conversation than was necessary. He thought
it should be observed that the divisional order had net
characterised the mutiny as one of religious frenzy, and
he must express his astonishment that the Government
still persisted in saying that it was not a reprimand.
(Hear, bear.) The second point on which the noble
earl had offered contradiction was that he (the Earl of
Derby) had said, that for a considerable period of time
no step had been taken to disabuse the minds of the
sepoys with regard to the intention of the Government
to interfere with their religion. What said his noble
friend 1 Why, that within one month afterwards the
greased cartridges were withdrawn. He knew that, but
that was no authority for saying that it was the deter-
mination of Ihe Government to abstain from every step
that looked like interference with religion. On the 9th
of June, his noble friend (Lord Ellenborough) had asked
the government whether it was not the intention of the
government of India to issue such a proclamation to quiet
the public mind I That was on the 9th of June, and he
was told that it was not the intention of the government
to issue such an order, that it was wholly unnecessary,
and that the government entirely approved of Lord Can-
ning not issuing such an order. What happened at the
very time that the noble earl was denying this I Why
the Governor-General bad actually issued a proclama-
tion which the government here were lauding him for
not issuing ; but the fact was that he had issued it three
months after he ought to have issued it. What he corn•
plained of was delay. As to the third point, he should
be extremely sorry to misrepresent or even exaggerate
the mistakes of the right hon. gentleman the President
of the Board of Control, and he had not been surprised
at being met with an expression of incredulity, because
when the statement was first made to himself, he said
"that is impossible." (Rear.) All he could now say
was, that he was never mole astonished than by the con-
tradiction which he had that :night received, because
the gentleman who had given him the statement, except
that he had used the words "very considerable time,"
and he believed the period was three or four days—the
gentleman who had given him the statement—and he
was sure he would not mislead him—and obtained it
from the managing director of the Peninsular and Orien-
tal Company—a member of parliament, not in England
now, to whom the letter was addressed, and who had
informed his informant that it had been sent. The day
that parliament met he again saw his informant, who
said he was sure be was correct. He said that the man-
aging director was not now in England, but he would
see the other managing director, and he did see him,
and informed him (the Earl of Derby) that what he had
said was correct. He regretted if he had done injustice
to the right hon. gentleman the President of the Board
of Control ; and of course,,if his noble friend had had the
opportunity of giving immediate contradiction, that con-
tradiction would have been made. He was extremely
sorry if he had done injustice. He could not explain
the contradiction that had been given to the circum-
stances that had been brought before him ; but so the
matter must rest. He had no power to make any further
inquiries, and he had stated the authority on which he
had made his statement.
Earl GRANVILLE—With regard to the explana-
tion which he had given as to what the noble lord called
the reprimand to Maj or-General Hearsey, he had nothing
further to add. With regard to the other point, as to
the greased cartridges, he would read an official docu-
ment to them of what steps had been taken to disabuse
the minds of the sepoys'. With regard to the Peninsular
and Oriental Company and the explanation that had
been given, ho would only say that be field in his band
tne correspondence on the subject. It was stated that
everybody connected with the Peninsular and Oriental
Company had been asked, and nobody could imagine on
what ground the statement bad been made. It was
thought that it must be all a mistake ; that they had re-
ceived no letter, public or private, from the Board of

Lows :

Control ; they had first heard from the Court of Direc-
tors on the 7th Sept., and answered on the 19th Sept.
A gentleman in the office of the Board of Control bad
written to ask if he could be borne oat in the statement
that there had boon no correwondence between their
office and the company, and that tLo first communica-
tion was in Sept. from the East India Company. The
answer was that the company had received no direct
correspondence from the Board of Control, and that the
first communication as to the conveyance of troops over-
land was on the 9th Sept., and was from the East India
Company. He thought that every caution ought to be
exercised where public men were attacked in this way.
The noble lord would not deny ttat there was great
similarity between the topics set up by the noble earl
in this house and those set up by another gentleman re-
presenting the noble earl in the other house. He con-
sidered that in these attacks on the President of the
Board of Control in ~ne house, and on the President of
the Board of Trade in the other house, it would have
been better that the noble earl should have made the
attack on the President of the Board of Trade in this
house, and that the attack on Mr. V. Smith should
have been made by the representative of the noble earl
in the other house, where he could have defended him
self.
The Earl of DERBY agreed with the noble earl as to
the great caution which should be exercise 1, when
charges were brought forward against public men ; but
he thought that he could not have better authority than
that which he had stated to the noble earl. With regard
to the similarity of argument which it was said existed
between him and his right hon. friend in the other house,
there was nothing extraordinary in that, for it had gene-
rally been his practice to communicate with his colleagues
in the other house. He did not know why the noble earl
complained of it. He had not made any attack on the
noble lord the President of the Board of Trade when he
alluded to India, and he was really not aware why he
should, but if it was wished he should make an attack
on him. (Laughter.)
Earl GRANVILLE—His right hon. friends bad not
been attacked to their faces, and he did not like that
they should be attacked behind their backs.
The Earl of HARD WICKE said that a gentleman
bad related to him the anecdote as to Mr. V. Smith.
He afterwards visited the Earl of Ellenborough, who
said, "It can't be true." I don't believe it," though it
had been stated upon authority which he (Earl of Hard-
wicke) could not for a moment doubt.
The Earl of ELLEN BOROUGH explained that the
Board of Control would correspond only with the Board
of Directors, and not direct with the Peninsular and
Oriental Company. Any letter, sent to the company
would be a private letter. .
The Duke of ARGYLL—The statement of the noble
earl (Earl of Darby) was that it was a letter from Mr.
V. Smith; but, however, the contradiction referred to
all letters, public and private. He would read a letter
which had been put into his hanks, from (as -was under
stood), Mr. Willcox, who was, or had been, a director of
the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and who would
be sure to know if anything of the kind had taken place.
He said he had read the report of the speech of the Earl
of Derby with great surprise, and after going into the
matter in detail, further said that the statement was
utterly incorrect, and that nothing whatever bad occur.
red in connection with the Peninsular and Oriental
Company which could possibly give rise to such a mis-
conception on the subject. The fact was, that no offer
for the conveyance of troops, via Egypt, had been made
to them, as stated, and it would have been absurd to
attempt so to convey troops during the monsoon months
especially as they must have been conveyed as deck pas-
sengers. It was not until Sept. that, in consequence of
a verbal communication, a detachment of 220 or 240 men
had been sent across the isthmus. If it had been proposed
to convey troops by that route in August, the Govern-
, ment would have been perfectly justified in refusing to
assent to such a proposition. That statement he thought
was as perfect as it could be made.
The Earl of DERBY—That statement was in direct
contradiction to the published report of the Peninsular
and Oriental Company, which had been printed a few
days ago, and which he had in his hands now.
The Duke of ARGYLL—In the City article of the
Times of this morning there was a statement as to the
conveyance of troops by the Peninsular and Oriental
Co , but that statement referred to a later date, about
Nov. 20, he thought.
The Earl of MA.LMESBURY—It was stated in the
printed report that on Oct. 1 the first batch had sailed,
the number being 200 men.
The Earl of DERBY—And that the offer to convey
troops would have been accepted by the East India
Company, but it was refused by the Government.
The matter then dropped.
PROVISION FOR GENERAL HAVELOCK.

Earl GRANVILLE announced a message from the
Crown, which was read by the Lord Chancellor as fol-

- •
" Victoria Regina—Her Majesty being desirous of con-
ferring a signal mark of her favour and approbation on
Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, Bart., K.C.8., for the
eminent and distinguished services rendered by him in
command of a body of British and native troops in India,
and partioularlarly for the gallant and successful operations
undertaken for the relief of the garrison of Lucknow, re-
commends to the House of Lords to concur in enabling her
Majesty to make provision for securing to Major-General
Sir Henry Havelock a provision of 1,0001. per annum far
the term of his natural life." (Cheers.)
On the motion of Earl GRANVILLB it was resolved
that this message should be taken into consideration
this day (Tuesday).
RELIGIOUS WORSHIP ACT AMENDMENT

BILL.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY, noticing their lord-
ships' preoccupation with the affairs of India, said he
thought he should exercise a proper discretion in post-
poning his promised statement on this subject until this
day (Tuesday).

INDIA.,
THE ARMS AND PRESS ACTS.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH rose pursuant to
notice and said—The first motion I have to submit is
that there be laid upon the table of this house the Arms
Act which has been recently passed by the Legislative
Council of India. I believe the circumstances under
which that Act was passed are these :—There had been
a most unusual importation of arms into Calcutta, and
it eYipeared that the purchase of those arms had been
to a great extent made by natives. This naturally very
much alarmed the Europeans, inasmuch as they had be-
fore them the bad use which had been made of arms by
natives in all parts of the country, as there was reason
to suppose that there existed a combination to massacre
all the Europeans in Calcutta, and as moreover there
were present in that place 1,000 or 1,500 persons,
natives of Oude, who were servants of the King of Oude.
Under these circumstances it was very naturally sug-
gested to the Government that it would be desirable to
disarm the natives in Calcutta for e security of the
Europeans, who are few in number, an thd
had but a small
military force for their protection. The Government
declined, but said they would produce an Arms Act,
and that is the act which I wish to see and to have placed
before you. The Act, as I understand, adhering to a
principle very recently attempted to be introduced into
the legislation of India, places the Europeans and the
natives—the persons who abuse arms for the purpose of
destroying us, and the Europeans who wish to have arms
for their protection—on exactly the same footing ; and
it went to this extent, that Europeans were not to be
possessed of arms unless by the consent of a magistrate.
Now, in the Mofussil, that is in the provinces, the magis-
trates being to a great extent natives, the Europeans are
therefore compelled by the Act to go to persons of this
description, many of whom are
suspected of being trai-
tore, and many of whom have really proved themselves
to be traitors, for permission to retain the arms necessary
for their protection. Now, my lords, my apprehension
is (the noble lord on the woolsack will correct me if I am
wrong) that, according to the Bill of Rights, we English,
being Protestant., are permitted to have arms for our
own defence. Why ? Because at that time the Roman
Catholics were suspected of traitorous designs, and there
was a reason why Protestants should for their own safety
bear arms. Now,
is there not a reason for confiding to
Europeans in India a similar privilege, and for excluding
under present circumstances the native population ? Yet
at this moment the Government of India consider it ex-
pedient, in accordance with what they call a principle, to
place both these classes of persons on exactly the same
footing, and to subject Europeans to the disadvantage of
not being allowed to possess arms unless by theconsent of
a native magistrate, if they should happen to live in the
interior of the country. My
lords, that resolution of the.
Legislative Council appears to me to rest upon a total mis-
apprehension not only of our position at the present mo-
ment, but of the position which for years the Europeans
necessarily must bo'd with respect to the natives of India.
Our pos tion in India is like that of the Normans in Saxon
England. We must be armed, or it is impossible for us
to-protect ourselves. Instead of bringing in a measure
subjecting both English and natives to a law of this des-
scriplion, the law of India ought to be, that every
Englishman should be possessed of arms under a
penalty for neglect of the ordinance ; and, if a resident
in India, he should even be compelled to enrol himself in
some corps for occasional discipline and drill. It is
impossible for as to preserve in security the lives and
property of Europeans in India unless we, for a time at
least, assume the appearance of an armed militia. My
lords, it is not surprising that this fatuity on the part of
the Government, acting upon a principle which never
gthis our countrymen who are now fighting for
can be adopted in India (least of all at the present time),
and
rle dsulibvjedso indignity, produced throughout the
wh
Europeancttin population a very strong feeling of dis-
satisfaction and disgust la
Of course there can be no
objection to the production of this Act. But then there
is another Act, of which we have a copy, which was laid
upon the table of the house at a very
late period of the
last session—l believe after I had discontinued attend-
ance here—l mean the Act relating to the Indian press.
We had laid before us at the same time the speech of
the Governor-General in proposing that Act, and also
some minutes of the Legislative Council in order to
explain the circumstances under which it was passed.
Before I say a word regarding this act for the seppres-
goo (for practically it is a suppression) of the English
press in India, I wish your lordships distinctly to under-
stand the difference which exists between the press in
India and the press at home. In this country the
press is emphatically the press of the people of Eng-
land. It advocates their interests ; it is supported by
them.
Different opinions may b expressed by the
editors of different newspapers ; but they endeavour to
impress upon their readers that their object is the
general interest of the people, and if they did not it
would be impossible for them to exist. A newspaper
must pay, and it cannot pay unless it relies for support
upon the masses by whom it is to be purchased and read.
But the press of India i.s in a totally different position.