The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-15 00:00:00

THE KING OF OUDE.

Sir F. KELLY said, before the noble lord proceeded
to answer the question of the right hon. gentleman the
member for the University of Oxford, he wished to put
to him the question respecting the King of Oude of
which he had given notice. From the moment intelli-
gence reached this country of recent events in India, the
Royal family of Oude forbore to urge their case upon
the attention cf Parliament, and were content to await in
patience the moment when they could appeal to the jus-
tice of the Legislature. It was by their wish that he
forbore to revert to their claims. No communication had
reached any one member of the Royal family of Oude in
this country from the King, and they had only learned
through the ordinary channels of information that the
father of one of their number and the son of another had
been conveyed to prison, and was now suffering a harsh
imprisonment, under circumstances which rendered it
impossible for any of them to communicate with him or
for him to receive any communication from them. They
stated their belief from their knowledge of his life that ho
was utterly incapable of having done anything incon-
sistent with the fidelity which he had always shown to
the British Crown, not only when he was King of Oude,
but since his deposition. All that he was permitted to
ask on behalf of the Queen-Mother was that Government
would permit some communication, even subject to their
inspection, between the King of Oude and his family in
this country, and this he asked as an act of kindness, of
charity, and of justice.
Mr. V. SMITH said, as his noble friend at the head
of the Gevernment would have to reply to the ques-
tions that had been raised relative to the Euphrates
Railway and the Dannbian Principalities, the house
would perhaps allow him to answer the questions
whether the King of Oude was still under duresse,
and under what charges he had been arrested. He be-
lieved, from the letters that had arrived by the present
mail, that the King of Oude was still under arrest, and
that the charge upon which he had been arrested was
complicity in the revolt that had taken place at Delhi.
That charge was made by a person who was to be ex-
amined hereafter. No doubt, an investigation into the
facts would take place as shortly as possible, and if it
should appear that the King and Court of Oude had had
nothing to do with the revolt it would be the duty of the
Governor-General to liberate him. But the hon. and
learned gentleman had rather overstated the case when
he said that the King of Oude was undergoing a harsh
imprisonment. The King of Oude was certainly re-
moved from his residence to Fort William, but there
every species of attention that could be paid to a Royal
prisoner was manifested to him. Ho was arrested under
Regulation 3 of the province of Bengal, which set forth :
" Whereas reasons of state, embracing the due,mainte-
nance of the alliances formed by the British Government
with foreign Powers, the preservation of tranquillity in the
territories of native Princes entitled to its protection, and
the security of the British dominions from foreign hostility
and from internal commotion, occasionally render it neces-
sary to place undee personal restraint individuals against
whom there may not be sufficient ground to institute any
judicial proceeding, or when such proceeding may not be
adapted to the nature of the case, or may, for other reasons,
be unadvisable or improper."
That was the authority under whichhis Majesty had been
confined, ,and he would now read the letter which the
GovernorlGeheral wrote to the King of 0 ado upon the
occasion of his arrest :

" Fort William, June 15.
" Sir,—lt is with pain that I find myself compelled to re-
quire that your Majesty's person should for a season be re-
moved to within the precincts of Fort William. The name
of your Majesty and the authority of your Court are used
by persons who seek to excite resistance to the British
Government, and it is necessary that this should cease.
Your Majesty knows that from the day when it pleased
you to fix your residence near Calcutta to the present time,
yourself and those about your Majesty have been entirely
free and uncontrolled. Your Majesty may be assured,
then, that it in not the desire of the Governor-General in
Council to interfere needlessly with your movements and
actions. Your Majesty may be equally certain that the
respect due to your Majesty's high position will never be
forgotten by the Government or its officers, and that every
possible provision will be made for your Majesty's conve-
nience and comfort."

There was no symptom of harshness in this letter. It
was his (Mr. V. Smith's) desire to treat the native
princes with the utmost consideration and courtesy, and
his noble friend the Governor-General was animated by
the same desire. No restraint had been put upon the
King of Oude's family in this country, and it was not
quite correct to say that no communication had taken
place between them, because a communication had been
brought to him from the King of Oude to his relatives
in this country, which he desired should be immediately
forwarded to the Queen of Oude. It was obvious that
as the King of Oude was in confinement at Calcutta for
the purpose of restraining any correspondence in which
he might be engaged with the supposed conspiracy, it
was impossible to allow any communication to take place
between him and his friends. His family in this coun-
try would for the present be cut off from that commu-
nication, but there would be no desire after the trial to
continue that restraint. The arrest of the King of Oude
was a measure of precautionary policy, of which the
house must approve. He trusted that it would turn out
that the King of Oude was perfectly innocent of any im-
plication in the conspiracy ; and he had no doubt that if
his name bad been used without his authority he would
be acquitted. So long, however, as the Governor-Gene
ral had reason to believe that either the King of Oude or
his courtiers were acting in complicity with the revolt
his noble friend would be justified in confining him.
(Hear.)
Sir F. KELLY said it was true that a paper pur-
porting to have come from the King of Oude had been
brought to the Royal Family of Oude, but they did not
know how it bad reached this country. (The hon. and
learned gentleman was stopped in his explanation by
cries of "Order.")

Mr. GRIFFITH should be happy to give his assist.
ance towards carrying out the Euphrates Railway, bat
should consider it unfortunate if other means of com-
munication with the East should be thrown into the
shade, or looked upon with prejudice by Government.
For example, how great an advantage it would be if we
were able to send our large steamers filled with troops
to India through the Red Sea. Concurring with the
noble lord at the head of the Government as to the phy-
sical difficulties which lay in the way of the construction
of the proposed line, he was yet ofopinion that we ought
not to manifest any unreasonable jealousy of the prose-.
cution of the scheme.

Lord PALMERSTON—Sir, the hon. gentleman the
member for Wiltshire, who began this discussion, need
have made no excuse for the course which he has
adopted, because no member of this house, owing to the
part which he has taken in our deliberations, is batter
entitled to draw our attention to any subject with re-
spect to which he may deem it to be his duty to offer ala
opinion. The subjects upon which he has this evening
touched relate to questions which are unquestionably of
very great interest to the country. There can be no
doubt that if railway communication were established
along the route which he has indicated—that is to say,
from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates—then a fur-
ther communication either by-railway or by water, iaterAti