The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-05 00:00:00

OFFICIAL FOLLY.

(From, the Freeman.)
A startling illustration of official folly is afforded by
the following incident. A week or two since we men-
tioned that a massacre had been averted at Monghir by
information communicat-d to the magistrate of the sta-
tion by a native Christian. A letter implicating the de-
puty magistrate and the darogah of the jail, both
Mohamedans, was discovered by the magistrate in the
post-office. In the house of one of them were found three
Pathan', suspected of having taken part in the assassi-
nation of Dr. Lyell at Patna. All were arrested, ex-
amined, pronounced guilty, and sent on to Bhaugulpore
for punishment. The sapient judge there released the
ringleaders, not even taking bail. It now appears that in
doing so, he listened to the representations of the chief
officer of his court, who is part owner of an estate with
the Monghir deputy magistrate, and to the fears of the
officer of the Native Irregular Force stationed at Bhau-
gelpors. The three Pathans were, however, kept in
confinement. And now comes the crowning act of folly
and incapacity. This judge orders the native Christian
to be apprbliended, to be lodged in jail under the daro-
gab, one of the traitors, and sent as a convict to his
native place in Tirhoot. He is most cruelly abused by
the Mussulm An darogah. The missionary interferes, and
offers security, but it is refused, unless the most exorbi
taut bail is given. All the European inhabitantans of
the station unite in protesting against the cruelty of the
act—but no intervention prevails. And this poor man,
for simply giving information which led to the discovery
of a murderous plot, to whom the lives of scores of Euro-
peans—men, women and children—are owing, is treated
by this official as guilty of crime, and is savagely com-
mitted for custody to the tender mercies of one of the
conspirators ! The Company's Government has often
enough rebuked for impertinence the men who have
offered to impart important intelligence, but it remained
to perfect its intolerable haughtiness by punishing an
innocent man for saving the lives of its own servants, as
well as those of interloping Englishmen.

CLIFFORD'S BOAT-LOWERINQ SCHEME.—The fine chip
Transatlantic, arrived the other day at Aberdeen, was
the first ship fitted by Clifford's apparatus
thatver boparortd,.
On her passa,e home from Quebec a man
fell
The
was instantly lowered and the
the sea was running very high at then twunaes,sbauvteda. boat
captain and crew were
_alhlaovfe been lowered in time to
pimniaon that without this
ild apparatus no boat c.e
pick the man up. Mr. Batten, agent for the Clifford
v " ntion at Aberdeen, has received the following letter
invention
the captain of tee Transatlantic :—Dear Sir,—lt
is gratifying to me to. bear testimony to the efficiency of
Clifford's interesting invention for lowering ships' boat+
at
all times, especial in cases of peril ; and knowing how
earnestly you have pressed it on the notice of all sea-
faring men, and how anxiously you await the report
of its success, I have pleasure in handing you the fol•
lowing : On Sunday, the 13th of September, at 6
o'clock a.tn., in lat 54 U 4 N. long. 36'19 W., a seaman,
Daniel Sutherland, after stowing the close-reefed foretop
sail, fell overboard from foretop, striking against the
rigging in his descent. The sea running very high at
the time, ship labouring much, the gale having a little
abated, the lifeboat, which you fitted with Clifford's gear,
was cn the weather quarter ; Mr. Teague, chief officer,
die second mate, and a crew manned the boat, which
was in a minute clear, and succeeded in rescuing the
man from a watery grave. Had the boat been other
shun a fiLst-class lifeboat and so fitted I would not have
risked the lives of the crew.—l am dear Sir, yours
truly„W. EDWARD. To Mr. A. Batten, Aberdeen."