The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-29 00:00:00

rtik SUN,

ing others ; and that, in fact, they were guilty I
of conduct just as bad as that of the man who plays
with marked cards, and has the opportunity- cf
reading his adversaries' hand while they are play-
ing on apparently equal terms. Care should, for
the future be taken to prevent so gross an abuse
of telegraphic facilities, so as to admit of all
parties dealing on the square in their Stock Ex-
change operations.
The news from India is of a neutral character
—neither good nor very bad. It announces that
the mutiny had continued to spread amongst the
troops of the Bengal army—that Delhi still con•
tinned in the hands of the insurgents—that the
ex-King of .017 DE and his Minister had been ar-
rested and imprisoned at Fort William, the Go-
vernment having obtained proof of their com-
plicity in the conspiracy—and that, at Calcutta,
business both in imports and exports was almost
at a stand still. The native troops at Calcutta
and Barrackpore had also been disarmed, a clear
proof that disaffection was at least suspected to be
prevalent in their ranks. This may be consi-
dered the unfavourable side of the balance-sheet.
On the other hand General BARNARD had suc-
ceeded in repulsing several sorties from Delhi,
with heavy loss to the insurgents holding the
command of the open country, with the small
number of troops at his disposal, and only await-
ed the arrival of reinforcements to proceed more
actively against the rebels and the puppet King
that they have set up. Another important feature
in the case was that the native population did not
appear to take part with the mutineers. Hitherto,
at least, the disturbance has bean confined to the
Sepoys, save so far as the King of OUDE may have
compromised himself.
On Monday evening Mr. DISRAELI stated that
there were no less than 70,000 men from Oude
in the Bengal army. It may, then, have been
that the deposition of that Monarch, and the
annexation of his kingdom was the chief cause
that precipitated the outbreak. If this be the
else, it is of the utmost importance that he him-
self, as well as his Minister, should be in the hands
of the Company, and in a place of unquestionable
security. Tint simple fact would go far to
annihilate the hopes of the insurgents, and bring
them to reason when they were made aware that
they could not possibly carry out their intention
of replacing bim on the Musnud, and holding
Oude as an independent kingdom in opposition to
the British power.

Again, we are told, that the native troops at
Calcutta and Barrackpore had been quietly
disarmed. There was no resistance made—no
attempt to emulate the atrocities of the miscreants
at Meerut and Delhi. They are not with us, but
through the salutary precautions adopted, they
cannot be against us. Their neutrality, at all
events, is ensured. At Madras an uneasy feeling
was said to prevail, but, fortunately, the native
troop., both of Madras and Bombay, had not ex-
hibited the sFghtest sign of disaffection.

The only other point worthy of notice is, that
"an act had been passed by the L-Tislature plac-
ing the Indian press under a license system."
We confess that this carries with it an ominous
appearance. We cannot conceive that, save under
fxteeme circumstances, any effort would be made
to fester the liberty of journalism. Our informa-
tion on this point is, however, of the most meagre
description, aud, as we shall have more complete
accounts within a very few days we must bide our
time, as patiently as we can, before we can fully
consider the present state and prospects of the
Indian Empire. As we have shown, good and
had are largely mingled. Perhaps, on the whole,
the best opinion that can at present be given is,
that matters are not by any means worse than might
have been anticipated. There must be a severe
struggle, but with the additional means that will
speedily be at the disposal of the authorities we
have no doubt that an eventual triumph will add
additional honour to the British arms. Delays
in such a case are daogerous, and every
hour increases the risk ; but there has been
no success, however temporary, on the part
of the insurgents. They are still locked up
within the wa'li of the city of which they first
took possession, and do not dare to take the open
field against the comparatively small body by
which they were beleagured.
From China the news is satisfactory. The
Chinese fleet had been destroyed in two severe
engagements. The sailors are said to have fought
their guns with unexampled constancy, aud to
have occasioned a loss of 83 men killed and
wounded in the British squadron. This would at
any other time be considered very important
news ; at present, however, the public anxiety is
absorbed in the accounts from India, and especi-
ally from Delhi and the north-western provinces.

The result of Sir DE L. Evens' motion last
night must be eminently satisfactory to that dis-
tinguished General, and all the friends of military
reform. There may be some difference of opi-
nion as to details, but there is none as to the
great principle that " a higher rank of profes-
sional instruction, and more complete provision
for it, ought to be established for the commissioned
ranks of the Army, but especially for the Staff."
It is but justice to say that the Government ap-
peared to have fully and fairly entered into the
spirit of the resolution, and assumed an advanced
position amongst those who desired to render
officers fully qualified for the ranks they should
respectively hold. They at once gracefully con-
ced -d the point, that recourse should be had to
competitive examination of officers desiring to qua-
fy themselves for the staff, and that encouragement
should be assured for proficiency and general fit-
ness for advancement. The principle of competi-
tion would also be recognised, so far as a portion
of the commissions in the line are concerned, a
certain number of gratuitous commissions in the
line, and all those in the Ordnance Corps, the
Artillery, and Engineers being bestowed on the
best answerers at a public examination in the
branches of what may be properly called a
"suitable military education."
We concur in the opinion that it would not be
right to make every commissioned officer a high
literary man. There are many active and
energetic youths who would greatly distinguish
themselves in the field, but who woul I totady
fail in a competitive examination. We
do not wish to exclude such persons
from the army, where they may be
very valuable and efficient officers. It wi 1
be quite sufficient to prove that they have received
a proper education, and that they are qualified to
discharge the necessary duties imposed on them.
They will understand that their future advance-
retheantti f
natluresr ite sdependanydeficiencyontheir own progress, and
it must be
ments in literary attain-
compensated by unexcep-
tionable conduct and a high standard in other
respects. Besides, we must encourage good sol-
diers to look forward to rising from the ranks ;
,nd if the competitive examination in literary or
scientific subjects were the sole means of obtain-
ing an entrance to the higher ranks, these meri-
torious men would in almost every instance be
excluded.

Tao raeaotlftl3 about to ba token seam the fitting

D 0 N,

preliminaries to the total abolition of the system
of " promotion by purchase." They remove tht
very foundation on which it was based, and we
may now look forward confidently to the total
abatement of the nuisance. Of course, compensa-
tion must be given to officers who have actually paid
large sums of money for the various steps they have
attained, as they gradually retire from the army,
and for that we may be obliged to wait for a
more flourishing state of the national finances,
and a total absence of hostilities in any part of the
globe. But every movement will be in the
right direction, and tending towards the goal
which will speedily be reached. Where
encouragements are assured for proficiency
and general attainments mere money will not
suffice. It may possibly turn the scale, ceteris
paribus, but even wealthy men will soon have to
look to other matters, rather than money for the
promotion to which they aspire, and without
Nhich they would be disposed to vote
the service a " decided bore." From that
state the transition will be easy. Promotion
should not be given for mere seniority without
reference to other qualities. That would be
almost as bad as the present pop-beyond system,
nor should it be given by interest or favour. Job-
bing of every kind must be strenuously discou-
raged. But a variety of tests may be gradually
established, which would ensure promotion to the
really meritorious officer, and prevent the admis-
sion to the higher ranks of any who were not
fully competent for the position. Under these
circumstances we are well contented with what
has fallen from the Government, which we receive
as affording the most auspicious prospects for the
future efficiency of the military establishment of
t'ee United Kingdom. Lord PA LMERSTON has
Clone himself great honour by the frankness of his
speech.

Oxford and Cambridge have been reformed.
Although the measures were not by any means all
that the friends of enlarged and liberal education
could desire, although they did not keep pace with
the spirit of the age or the exigencies of the case,
they were yet movements in the right direction, and
were the more valuable, inasmuch as they should
be regarded as "the introduction of the sharp end
of the wedge," the action whereof might ultimately
produce very beneficial results.
The Senate of the London University are now
seeking for a new charter whereby their powers
may be greatly increased and extended. They
feel that it would be disgraceful to lag behind in
the interesting race—inaction is impossible. They
cannot remain stationary. They must either press
onwards or retrograde, and surely nulls vestigia
refrorsum would be earnestly repeated by every
well-wisher of that valuable institution.
Cinsidering the occasion one of vast conse-
quence not only to the welfare and prosperity cf
the University of London, but still more to the
interests of education throughout the kingdom,
indeed, we may say, throughout the world, we
are induced to reprint a very admirable petition
presented more than twenty years since to the
House of 00111 MODS from the Rev. Dr. EMERTON,
the distinguished Principal of Hanwell College,
Middlesex. Every word whereof appears applica-
ble to the present day, and seems expressly
written to meet the occasion, factunt ad unguem,
if we may so express ourselves. Indeed, since
the principle of competition for employment in
the Indian Civil Service, and many of the leading
public offices has been recognised, since the
students and graduates of the old and of the new
universities must meet the pupils of well con-
ducted private eAlblishment-,, without deriving
any peculiar benefit from the magic initials at-
tached to their respective names, it would be for
the benefit of these universities that additional
facilities should be afforded to really meritorious
applicants to receive their degrees, on showing
themselves to be possessed of the requisite infor-
mation and knowledge. The best men would
thus be a'tracted to their Hall, and the educa-
tional standard materially elevated throughout the
empire.

One of the most important prtions of the late
reforms, was that which extended the privil'ges
of the university to persons elucatel in private
halls. But unfortunately those halls ware re-
quired to be within certain limited distances, and
all beyond the magic circle were excluded from
the boon. This mischievous restriction was pro-
ductive of very injurious consequences. it p
petuated the danger so greatly and justly dreaded
by parents, which has so often proved destructive
to the hopes of high promise, and ruinous to the
interests of the other members of their families,
who were too frequently stinted of comforti, that
a heavy expenditure for one might be encountered.
Nor is the legitimate expenditure all that is to be
avoided. There are unfortunately so many
temptations to extravagance, so many faeliti-s
for running into debt, that the instances aro by no
means rare in which young men have had a life
long struggle with poverty, and have dragged on
a wretched struggling existence in return for the
deleterious indulgences of the few years that they
remained in static pupillari.

Dr. EMERTON, in a very able letter,* which
he addressed to Lotd Joan RUSSELL, when the
Government Bill was introduced for the Regula-
tion of the University of Oxford, and which
will well repay perusal, grapples with this inju-
dicious and pre-eminently mischievous restriction.
Lie pertinently inquires--

"But why should these privileges be confined to
a mile and a half from Carfax ? Why should nut
every graduated member of the University, at least,
be allowed to participate in the boon you are about
to confer ? Why, in fact, should the privileges
and the benefits of a national University be limited
by any other boundary than that of the nation
itself Y Nay, I would go still farther, and be con-
tent with nothing le=s than making each of our
English Universities the University of the World,
and allow no other limits to its influence than the
boundaries of the globe."

He shows that he, himself, would, under the pro-
visions of the Act, be entitled to open a private
Hall in Oxford, and asks, why should his services
not be equally available at Hanwell ? Adding--
" If I could there prepare men for their exami-
nation in the schools, in the densely populaled
streets and back lanes of a crowded city, why may
not the Fame ba accomplished in a spacious man-
sion surrounded with parks and groves, with every
convenience and accommodation that a series of
years have enabled me to procure ? And, if I could
do this, why might not others in the various public
anti private establishments of the country, or even
in their own homes, by training young men for the
degrees the University confers ?
" Were this done, my lord, there would be much
less necessity for interfering with the former en-
dowments of the colleges, or the immediate govern-
ment of the University itself. Wiih the privilege
of obtaining degrees, and the Fellowships thrown
open to public competition, there would be an
honourable emulation excited, not confined to a
few favoured individuals, but extensive as the na-
tion it;elf, which would ba sure to elicit the highest
talent, and reward industry and exertion wherever
they might be found."

The concession, thus powerfully urged, would
bo a real boon to many meritorious and hard
working clergymen, scattered throughout the
length and breadth of the land. It would en-
able them to eke out their scanty incomes, to

* " A Lotter to the Eight lion. Lori John Russell, on
University Reform. By the Rev. J. A. Euaerton, D D.,
Oxr)n, Principal of Hanwell College, Middlesex.. London :
Atna49. Longman, Browo, And Lo'ongtas Qxford:
J. Vincent."