The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-24 00:00:00

INDIAN I M PEOVEMENTE.

(Prom the Civil Service Gauttc.)
Parliament, when it meets, will -have no la& of
employment. Some of V-e most difficult atal dan-
geroui questions that could possibly be snlynitted to
a legislature for decision willhare to be solveti by it
athcouffpom-rml :sae::
itipidtbot,
eaudrs.. questions
under pressure of ex tr aordinary emergen-
cies, and within a period of time inconveniently cir-
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rwheeivirolelptrree;pntihtttn.3hlaeEtmeas:lvoisetses
otorigthmeimatiltdidt'sh every
dealing reader withoutwit with
it ; :blies
mone-
tary
convulsion at home, its cause and remedy ; how
an empire has been all but lost, and how it can be
recovered and secured ; how the nation has been on
the very of bankruptcy, and how it can be re-
es' ablished in credit and preserve 1 for the ftiture
from such ex! reme p aril. rhese are themain subj, cts
wh'cli will claim immeliate attention, and which
ought to be decid d only a ter calm delibc,!atioir and.
dispassionate- discussion. But there ir f` iosser;and
yet most important, subjects which w I. also hair° to
be taken into consideration witho,ct a moment's
unne.2e-.sary delay. One of these i i fir! establish-
inent of direct communication with India by-steam
and telegraph, and the extension (.1 the sygem
throughout our Eastern-dominions. We havre no
hesitation in saying that of all the q .uttions to be
debated after the repair of our fitiaucill fabric at
home, and the restoration of our i,z7thority iii the
revolted provinces of India, this is t e one !that
demands-the promptest determination of Parlia-
ment. Had the electric telegraph b !wet n Etiamd
and Hindostan been perfected, and, had the direct
lines of railway arid steam-boat c-oarnunication be-
tween us and our Oriental domitiieis---dnes which
have been projected and proved to t e not merely
practicable but peculiarly easy of execation—been
constructed and in working order, what treasures
would have been saved, what precio is lives would
have been spared, what agonies of suspense would
have been prevented, ' what discredit to our raili-
tary organisation and prestige would have :been
avoided ! Every well-wisher of the Crown in India,
‘ every person in England who thinks for a moment
on the subjeA, deplores the want of rapid direct
railway and steamvessel transit, and of unbroken
telegraphic communication between the seat of Im-
pedal government and the region of rebellion as a
dire misfortune, the extent of which it is impossible
to estimate. Let the Btitish public imagine how
different would have been the course of events dur-
ing five mournful and humiliating, and, notWith-
standieg all ourvictories,disastrous months, had we
an electric messenger to fla-h intelligence backward
and forward from day to day, and had the Euphra-
tes Valley and the Scinde and Punjaub railways,
with their connecting links and ramifications, been
in full operation. Time was our greatest enemy ;
to overcome time, not the sepoys, was our chief
difficulty. But we had neglected the arts and left
unwrought the implements by which time is con-
quered and made subservient to empire, and hence
our grievous losses, our sore afflicions, our waste
of wealth, of character, and of human life. The
chances are that had the te'egraph been unbroken,
and the means of rapidly transmitting troops by a
direct roate been in existence, the mint try revolt
which has rendered India desolate and shocking to
humanity would never have been attempted. But
however that be, it must now be impressed on all
thinking men that one of the first works necessary
for the future security and maintenance of our
power in India is the construction of a network of
railways and telegraphs throughout that country,
and the establishment of a direct transit by rail
and steamboat, and of telegraph wires between the
Ganges, the Indus, and the Thames. When we
consider that troops take 24 days, even with forced
mita:hes, to get over the distance that they could
accomplish by rail in 12 or 18 houra,'we can easily
comprehend, what has been over' and over again
asserted by those competent to give an opinion on
the point, that 10,000 soldiers having -the com-
mand of railway transit are fully equal in India
to three times that number with the existing means
of conveyance. Economists should weigh well
that fact, and during the forthcoming discussions
bear in mind that bloodless prevention is better

than sanguinary cure, and that the cost of con-
structing lines of rail and telegraph is small in com-
parison to the annual charge of maintaining
standing armies three times as numerous as need
be. That a well-appointed British army fresh
from England might have been at Lahore a month
ftaoefitl
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The
the
the Euphrates Valley and Scinde been available
rebellion would have been crushed in its infancy
before it had time to grow into formidable propor-
tions, if, indeed, it ever would have dared to. show
its head at all, and it would hs.vo been crushed at
a fifth part of the expense which its suppression will
now entail. But the mi.chief done is past recal ; the
neglect committed is beyond revocation. We have
paid clearly for our disregard of the most obvious
means of multiplying our strength—of imparting
to our power a three-fold force—of wielding our
arms with a five-fold velocity. It is, however,
never too late to mend, and history tells us that it
is the invariable prsctice of the Anoo-Saxon race
out of the nettle " Danger," to pluck the flower
" Safety." We therefore hope and antic pate that
the British Path invent will immediately and ear-
nestly take into consideration the necessity of for-
warding by all legitimate means the cousi ruction of
those lines of rail and telegraph which are wanted
to connect Central Asia with Europe. The reduc-
Von of the route by a thousand miles of actual road
to be traversed, and the establishment cf means of
transporting trool.s, munitions of war, and baggage
without limit, and in a fourth or fifth cf the time
now required, and the perfection of ir.struments
capable of transmitting intelligence and orders al-
mo-t instantaneously, are surely objects of gnat
,national importance which the national represen-
tatives cannot overlook for a single day without
failing in their duty to their consttuents, and with-
out culpable neglect of the dearest interests of
their country.

ROYAL SURREY THEATRE,
Lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and Creswiek.

THIS EVENING, will be performed TM'. WIFE'S RE
ENGE.

After which, INDIA, 1R57. Messrs. Shepherd, Cres.
wick, W. Smith, Vollairs, B. Potter, Widdicomb, Belmore,
Tapping ; Miss M. Eburne, Miss Webster, Miss Chalmers,
Miss Johnstone.

To conclude with UP IN THE WORLD.

CANTERBURY SALL, Westmin3ter-roa,l.
OPEN EVERY EVENING.—The follow-
ng company of Vocalists are engaged for the performance of
elections from all the popular OPERAS, MADRIGALS,
CHORUSES, GLEES, DUETS, &c., viz.:—Miss Russell,
Mrs, Badacy, Madlle. Marietta, Mrs. Palmyre, Miss Bru-
bell, and Madame Marietta; Herr F. Jonghmans, Mr.
Renshaw, R. Grover, T. Farrant, S. Jones, J. Barker,
W. Melling, Senor Antonio, E. L. Rime, and Mr. St.
Aibyn; Messrs. S. Collins, W. T. Critcli field, and E. Mack-
ncy. Pianoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks; harmonium, Master
Williams ; Director, Herr F. Jonghmans. Commence at
Seven o'clock precisely. Suppers, &c., until twelve o'clock.