The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1867

The present state of India will be fully dis-
cussed in the House of Commons on Monday
week. It was originally intended that the debat•3
should take place ou Friday next, but it was con-
sidered very desirable to await the intelligence "by
the mail which may be expected at the latter end
of next week. There will of course be a stringent
Inquiry into the causes of the very untoward
events:which have so recently occurred, and that
should take place at the earliest possible momen!..
But it should by no means interfere with the
prompt and vigorous action which is indispensable
under existing circumstances. The primary duty
is to crush the mutiny, to suppress with the
strong arm, the insubordination displayed l 4 tht
Sepoy troops. Then follows the punishment of
the mutineers, which must necessarily be severe,
rime empeoially against those who have imbrued I

-- ,---
,ezir hands in the blood of helpless women and in—
nocent children. Of course justice will be tempered
with mercy, and every reasonable plea for
the remission or mitigation of the merited penalty
will be carefully considered, and the full beneffi
given for every doubt or extenuating circumstance.
Subsequently, when the majesty of the law, and
the prestige belonging to the British name, have
beep fully and completely vindicated, every just
complaint will be thoroughly investigated, and,
if practicable, redressed.
It must, however, be obvious, that nothing
could possibly justify the course adopted by the
disaffected Sepoys. If religious scruples were out-
raged, proper remonstrances would have received
immediate attention. And it should be proved,
beyond the possibility of doubt, that such remon
strances had been made, and been contumeliously
rejected. We believe, however, that the "hogs
lard and cartridge" questions were only specious
pretexts to obtain the cooperation of a few
fanatics ; and possibly b excite some of the neigh-
bouring Princes, who might be glad of a plausible
excuse for casting off the British supremacy. The
real grounds of the outbreak were far more deeply
seated, but there is no reason to suppose that they
may not be traced to their fountain and origin,
and may not be fully and completely removed.
It is more than probable that Muscovite machina-
tions may be at the bottom of all, and that so far
from British interests having been injured by the
prompt and ,energetic action adopted, with refer-
ence to Persiqi it may have been that which in-
sured the safety of our Eastern dominions.
Strictly speaking, there is no war in India at:
this moment ; but what has taken place is far
worse than any that could arise. We have trained
and disciplined, and armed, a powerful body of
natives. They possess sufficient force to repel
any external aggression, but when many of them
have suffered their loyalty to be sapped, when
they are ready to desert their colours and turn their
treasonable weapons against those by whom they
were supplied—that indeed is truly formidable,
and neither honour nor glory can be acquired in
the contest. It is the
" Civil commotion with its vip'rons tooth
That gnaws the bowels of the caurnon weal."
It was in reference to a similar emergency that
the pertinent interrogatory was asked, " Quis
custodiet ipsos custodes ?' Our guardians being
treacherous, there can be no permanent safety
save in putting down the disturbance, and eradi-
cating the noxious seeds from whence it sprung.
Last night two thousand additional sailors for
the Royal Navy, as well as money votes for
their wages, provisions, stores, arc., were sanc-
tioned by the House. 500,0001. was also voted
towards liquidating the moiety of the expenses of
the Persian war, which had been advanced
by the East India Company. In addition
to these and to a sum of 400,0001. for the
Chinese expedition, and the redemption of
the Sound dues—it appeared that there would
still be a surplus of 650,00 W. in the Exchequer,
inasmuch as Sir G. C. LEWIS had miscalculated
to the extent of 2,860,0001., and had supplemental
demands for 2,210,0001., only. Under such
circumstances, we regret that 5,000 additional
seamen, and an extra land force were not de-
manded. Economy is very proper, but it must
be at the right time, and in the right place, and
we believe that nothing can be more injudicious,
under existing circumstances, than a penny wise
and pound foolish policy. India must be saved,
and any deficiency of exertion in the first instance
may lead to a tenfold expenditure, and what is of
infinitely greater consequence, the destruction of
a number of English subjects, whose lives should
not be hazarded for any petty savings, or cheese-
paring economy.

Perfididious Albion ! Can nothing stretch the
British Channel to the width of the Atlantic, and
contract the Atlantic to the dimensions cf the
British Channel ? Great Britain and her daugh-
ter would then soon be linked in closest ties, and
European despots would sleep in peace. England
and her free press, formidable, although in the
language least known in civilised Europe ; London
and itsvast " Dismal Swamps," where the Dreds
of the oppressed population abide in safety, and
where they send forth their disquieting oracles,
would cease to trouble the oppressors. The ty-
rants' millenium would have arrived, and the
Eagles, and the Bears, and the Gallic Cock, and
all the hydras and griffins, and chimeras dire of
Continental Heraldry would lie down together.
ALEXANDER and NAPOLEON would embrace each
other with tears of fraternal sympathy ; FRANCIS
JOSEPH and BOMBA. would kiss each other, and his
too happy Holiness would pronounce the apostolic
benediction. What an ungainly old world it is,
when the Freest Power on Earth, instead of lying
in close proximity tot he great and kindred Trans-
atlantic nation, is obliged to jostle every day with
the enslaved and their mien !

We have, to be sure, been a stepping stone,
more than once, by which tyrants have mounted
their thrones. Not to speak of the list long war,
such was the temper of the Great Northern
Despot, that Louis PRILLIPPE and Louis NAPO-
LEON both owe it to England that they ascended
securely to the elevation they successively attained.
By the grace of England, Europe took the shape
she assumed in 1815 ; and we have done much
more for absolutism than fur liberty ever since ;
and yet we are a very MORDECAI to the HAMANS,
and they would hang us if they could. Collet
WALEWSKI dares not, indeed, snub us as ho does
Belgium, orSardinia. He sets therefore his chained
and, perhaps, duly remunerated editors to writ' at
us. Now the Moniteur, now the Pays, takes
England to task ; now the pens of our journalists,
now. the Police of LAidon, or the Legislature,
whose 'acts the police enforce, come in- for a
warning. Abundantly amusing this to us Eng-
lishmen, " skulking," as a greater NAPOLE)N once
said, " behind our dirty Channel." Resent it we
cannot, but we must be allowed to laugh. Amend-
ment is, we fear, very distant. England will
write still, just as she pleases about France, and
is perfectly willing that France should return the
compliment. In like manner all the " refugees"
from despotism will assuredly be protected here
while we have a ship ora soldier; we shall not allow
them indeed -0 get arms, ammunition, live eagles,
&c., and put them on board a steamer for Bou-
-I,gne, if we know it ; but even if they have been
unlucky iu such jobs, and get back again fifty
times, they wilt, as of old, be welcome here to all
the accommodation they can pay for. We will
never be refugee catchers.
We cannot, indeed, wonder that Louis NAPO-
LEON feels very awkward just now. It is asto-
nishing., the more we think of it, what a marvel-
lous change the late elections have caused in his
no
one esecsuonoddas,alonnot
position. Before, he t oue
in France ; along—the
ep
:17:uasn,
hardly ; no one competitor, certainly. Now, he
stands but one of two. Like Lord PALMERSTON,
lie is iit 'IOW ; but CAVAIGNAC, like Lord
DERBY,
may again be in, in due time. Till the late elec-
tion there was no sign of this. Europe had no
idea that the honest, manly, and able CAVAIGNAC,
the E3IPEROR'S old competitor, was again to be his
competitor ; and this time to beat him —to beat
him, too, in Pali; it6elf, in the mato of all French

,oups d'etat ; in the scene of the bloody coup d'etat

;he 2d of December.

The staggering, the unwelcome fact is, we re-
peat, that the EMPEROR is really beaten by an old
tnd formerly unsuccessful rival. Lours NAPO-
LEON put forth all his strength to keep out
CATAIGNAC, CAVAIGNAC did not put forth all his
to get in, yet CAVAIGNAC was conqueror. Louis
NAPOLEON made the conflict personal, and Louis
NAPOLEON is personally worsted. Had he and
ais instruments made no stir at all ; had they,
vithout saying a word, let Paris take its own
,3ourse, virtual defeat might have been unpleasant,
but the victory of CAVAIGNIC would have been
comparatively unimportant. It was just because
LOUIS NAPOLEON made a political Crimea of
Paris, and concentrated his grand efforts for Im-
oerial defence there, that his defeat has com-
pletely changed his position. Till the election it
was only "the EMPEROR ; " now it is, "Louis
NAPOLEON and CAYAIGNAC."

His organs proclaim, indeed, his five million of
votes against the thousands of opposition votes.
But how well do they know that, even counting
leads, their master is this time but the elect of
ire instead of eight millions . Numerically, his
position is lowered snore than one third, almost
half ; practically he is lowered much more. Com-
pared with Parisian votes, those of the illiterate,
priest-ridden peasantry, are but musketry, and
hardly that-, against artillery. The provinces fol-
low Paris, not Paris the province=. All Europe
knows what is doing in Paris, all Europe acknow-
ledges its intelligence, but what knows Europe of
all the rest of a ♦ast country without one such
town as Manchester or Liverpool, Edinburgh or
Dublin ? It will be much easier for the " in-
structed" press of Paris to drop the whole ques-
tion of their master's position ; certainly t 3 show
no fear of the plots of a few maltreated refugees.
We all know what their professed alarm, aid their
lectures to England mean. The shopkeepers and
frequenters of the Bourse must be frightened
with the cry of danger, when there is none. Bat.

if there really be any, what bubble monarchs
must those be whose Empire can be jeopardised
in the garrets of London. How little should we
care about English refugees hatching mischief in
Paris.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL, and the Liberal Members
who met on Thursday at the King's Arms Hotel,
must already be convinced of the impolicy of the
attempted compromise. The manner in which
his proposition was received, the factious opposi-
tion against it, testified by the repeated motions
for adjournment to which he was ultimately
obliged to yield, must have satisfied him that
there is no possibility of carrying the pro-
posed measure within the present session, " the
days whereof are numbered !" The question
cannot, under any circumstances, receive fair
consideration ! A variety of pretexts will be
found for its postponement. Let them then at
once abandon the useless attempt at conciliation,
and, as we more than hinted, " advise Baron
ROTHSCHILD to came to the table of the House,
claim his right, and so take his seat as one of the
representatives of the City of London ! "

It may be said that the Baron would become
liable to certain penalties by adopting such a
course. We believe, however, that the House
could so far vindicate its own privileges as to pre-
vent any person, however vindictive, from reck-
lessly engaging in a collision, in which he must
necessarily be worsted. It is true that these
privileges have too often been invaded with
i impunity, and. that the same manly spirit
and unflinching determination that diotated the
resolutions adopted more than a century and a-
half since, in con39quence of the proceed-
ings in " ASHBY v. WHITE," has not
always been displayed. But when the popular
branch of the Legislature is thoroughly aroused, we
believe the ancient spirit will again be manifested,
and that they will be prepared again to affirm—
" That whoever shall presume t) commence or
prosecute any action, indictment, or information
which shall bring the right of the electors, or per-
sons elected to serve in Parliament, to the deter-,
mination of any other jurisdiction than that of the
House of Commons (except in cases specially pro-
vided for by Act of Parliament), such person or
persons, and all attorneys, solicitors, counsellors,
and sergeants at law soliciting, prosecuting, or
pleading in any such case shall be deemed guilty
of a high breach of the privilege of this House."

There can be no question that the House is and
ought to be, the sole judge of its own privileges,
the sole expounder of the law, so far as these pri-
vileges are conerned. The Lords put forward,
aye and manfully asserted a similar claim, in re-
ference to Lord WENSLEYDALE and it WAS unequi-
vocally conceded. Why should not the Commons
manifest equal independence ? Why should they
once more truckle to those who contumoliou,dy
rejected the applications put forward by large ma-
jorities in four successive Parliaments? It would
be derogatory to their honour to do so, and mate-
terially lessen the weight that their policy would
possess, when matters were driven, as they will
be, to the last extremity.

Mr. T. DUNCOMBE well remarked that the ques-
tion
has pot as yet been finally brought under the
consideration of the present Parliament. Baron
ROTHSCHILD has never, since his last election,
tendered himself at the table for the purpose of
taking the oaths "in the manner most binding on
his conscience." When he has done so, and been
rejected, it will be time enough to take the next
step. He may be perfectly certain that if
admitted by the House, he will receive
ample protection. He need not dread the conse-
quences when that sevenfold shield is spread. be-
fore him. The case of Alderman SALOMONS was
essentially different. His claim was denied, and
the action against him was for sitting and voting
without having taken the oaths, by which certain
penalties were incurred. We should like to see
the man who would dare to put forward a
claim, the attorney who would conduct
the suit, or the court that would entertain
it in the face of an express resolution of the House
of Commons, that the defendant was entitled to
take his seat. As the Member for Finsbury
declared, the citizens of London ought to have on
the journals of the House a record of the grievance
of which they may justly complain, for they have
sustained a serious injury, in common with their
chosen representative. They have virtually be( ia
partially disfranchised since the commencement
of the session, and. yet there is no official
declaration of the wrong. That mistake should
be remedied, and it can only be so by the appli-
cation of Baron ROTHSCIIILD to take the oaths.
There need be but little delay for that purpose.
The step may be taken at the sitting of the House
on Monday. The Honourable Member is of
course in the hands of his friends, and
has acted in obedience to their sugges-
tions. But the time has arrived when bolder
counsels uhoull prevail. Lord PALMERSTON
has exprf.sssly declared that he cannot give
up a Go vernment day for the discussion of the
subject. It is, therefore, clear, that Lord JOHN
RUSSE
as bill cannot be carried in sufficient time
t
ent it a rea,sonable chance of raoiug ever! the