The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-05 00:00:00

ing, at the earliest opportunity and in-
' peblio manner, my opinion that he is
trust which has been confided to him 1117
ever,
.1 do not fear hat. my il friendshgrill
such test as that, can see nothing
in
Cannieg to justify the charges which have
against him. i shall refer to one case.
much lamented Mr. Colvin, aster showing
and admirable judgment in his administration, h. se
proclamation offering full pardon to those rebels who
should submit at Onus.. Lard Canning immediately
repri-
manded Piet Celyin for this proclamation, and directed
by telegraph that it should be suppreased, at the same
time issuing another of an entirely different tenor. In
more than one,letter privately addressed to me by Lord
°lnnings he has dwelt upon the " serenest; of heart"
those are his very-nebula—excited by the feeling that
retribution has been delayed upon " eevile in human
form." Much stress has been, laid upon a proclamation,
or rather order which has been lately issued. New, I
shall give no opinion of me own as to that proclamation,
as to whether it was judicious in its sulistauce. or as
to the time at which it was issued ; but I ehall venture
to state a few undeniable facts respecting it. The tendency
of that direction or proclamation was that death should
be inflicted upon all the guilty, although in some cases
where there were extenuating circumstances the ultimate
pe.nalty. should not be at once Inflicted ; but the strictest
itohtea
ocrtml
oaruethpo4viteirest.hatli
injunctions were given to spare none except the really
innocent. That order was addres4ed exclusively to
ttbdelyd
hail
bgeivfoeretobutthemmeroenlye
referencegave tlae certain directions diliirteacrytioanusthaosrittowts hv,e.a7tehr'cl.itsei
no
certain
etrhutoisne
lowers which by law teey already possessed. The only
alto.
teubtful cases the civil officers should not act them
elves, but should hand over their.
prisoners to the e
cry authorities to be dealt with by them. I know it
,uay be said, that although this order was 'addressed to
eonl authorities it was calculated indirectly to produce
► discouraging effect upon the military authorities.
this point I shall give no opinion, but I may refer to
one case that has come to my knowledge. I believe there
are no two men is India who more fully deserve the con-
fidence of the public than General Wilson and Sir John
Lawrence. It appears to me that Gen. Wilson, while
showing the greatest boldness and energy its handling his
mops and in maintaining their discipline, is also most
careful not to expose them unnecessarily. I believe,
also, there is no doubt that Sir J. Lawrence combines
the qualities of a soldier and a staaesinan in a greater
degree than perhaps any other man in India; But what
has been the effect of the proclamation upon these. two
men ? It appears that Gen. Wilson wrote to Sir J.
Lewrenchtten, few- days_ before tbia . proclamation was
issued, stating that therWevere ce?Citin Irregular Cavalry
whose mode of mutiny had distinguished teem from their
fellows, and that it would be most expedient and politic
that they 'should be treated with some leniency. Gen.
Wilsou accordingly asked Sir J. Lawrence whether be
himself or whether Sir J. Lawrence would be justified
in exercising any discretion 1 Sir J. Lawrence answered
in the negative, and said he could not give the autho-
rity ; that he did not think General Wilson could exer-
cise any discretion ; but that if General Wilson would
made a representation at head-quarters it would pro-
bably be attended to. Almost immediately after the
despatch of the letter containing this statement Sir J.
Lawrence received the proclamation. He then wrote to
General Wilsou, and said, " Although the proclamation
does not specifically apply to this case, yet its spirit fully
justifies you in following out the dictates of sound
policy." And Sir John Lawrence then went ou in
the most clear and eloquent terms to show, not
merely the humanity, but the sound practical policy
of the proclamation. Ido not give my own opinion on
the subject, although I have termed one ; but 1 do think
that the opinions of two such men as these are worthy
of consideration by the public of this country before they
come to the conclusion that Lord Canning is a pusillanie
mous statesman. There is another point which has been
eery much canvassed in this country, namely, the send-
ing up of Mr. Grant to control the military authorities
and tie liberate the mutineers. It is reported that Mr.
Grant has liberated 15U mutineers. I have no means of
knowing whether that story is true or false, or whether
if that act took place there were any circumstances
which would justify the Governor-General in sanction-
ing or in disapproving it. But this I know as a positive
fact, that the Governor-General sent Mr. Grant not to
control the military authorities or to liberate mutineers
or murderers, but as the Lieutenant-Governor of the
North-Western Provinces was confided in the fort of
Agra, and usable to discharge his civil duties, it was
deemed desirable that a locum towns should be provided,
and on that account Mr. Grant was despatched to the
district. One of the qualifications which Lord Canning
believed that Mr. Grant possessed was, that he was fully
impressed with the importance of not interfering with the
military authorities in the performance of his duties.
There is one other point which has hardly created as
much feeling here as in Scotland—l mean the alleged dif-
ferences between Sir Cohn Campbell and Lord Canning.
I was rejoiced to hear that his Royal Highness has re-
ceived exactly the same information which has reached
me, and that the natural and just indignation of the
people of Scotland at their favourite soldier being
to warted by a civilian, and what they call a red-tapist, is
unfounded. I happen to know that during the few
weeks of Sir Cohn Campbell's residence in Calcutta Lord
Canning bad abundant opportunities of discovering and
appreciating his great qualities as a man and a soldier,and
I know also that Sir C. Campbell during the same period
saw reason to admire the indefatigable industry, energy,
and courage of Lord Canning agGo.vernor-General of India,
and that a solid friendship has been established between
these two men, who entertain feelings of mutual respect
• sad regard. I cannot help mentioning a somewhat
• trivial circumstance, but one which shows how cautious
we should be in believing rumours that occasionally
reach us from India. Sir Patrick Grant when leaving
Calcutta, knowing well the tendency to idle gossip which
prevailed among some of his fellow-countrymen in that
city, particularly when they were excited by any extra-
ordinary alarm, determined that, although it would have
been more convenient for him to travel by the public
steamer, he would make the voyage in a man-of-war.
fie went by a man-of-war; but the cautious tactics
of the old soldier were utterly fruitless, for soon after-
wards there appeared in a portion of the Calcutta press a
listened account of his excursion in the publics steamer,
together with a minute report of his conversations with
his fellow-passengers, ending with the remark attributed
to him, that he never heard a sound so agreeable as the
booming of the guns which announced his departure
from the land of red tape. With regard to the charge of
the want of eneigy, industry, and decision, brought
against Lord Canning, I shall only allude to one or two
facts. You are aware that Lord Canning put restric-
tions upon the press. This is another subject upon
which I must avoid expressing any opinion, but I think
I may say that that resolution of Lord Canning appeared
to meet with general approbation, and was very fairly
treated by the public pressof this country, notwithstand-
ing the esprit de corps which to a certain degree might
be expected to influence that press en such a
subject. Whether right or wrong it was a step
which required great moral courage, and by its adop-
tion Lord Canning exposed himself to much personal
unpopularity and obloquy. We are bound to consider
that some of the most intelligent men now in India—
some of the men most accustomed to wield the pen, and
who have the greatest opportunities of conveying their
sentiments and opinions to the mother country—are
smarting under the very natural feeling that they have
been unjustly treated both as regards their character and
their property. I think, therefore, that some of their
statements should be received with due allowance. There
is one more fact which I shall venture to bring before
you. I think it is one which has not yet been stated,
and which all will be glad to hear. It is generally known
that the King of Delhi made overtures to the besieging
army. Now, it happens that some of the bravest and
most successful military authorities in that part of India
were of opinion that so great were the difficulties of the
siege those overtures should be entertained. It is easy to
say atter the event what was the right thing to be done,
but I submit that at the moment it was creditable to the
decision and the moral courage of Lord Canning that he
sent the most peremptory orders to reject the overtures
made by the King of Delhi. I have done with this sub-
jsct. I think success is not always a test of real merit,
but in this instance Lord Canning has collected more
troops than it was expected he would be able to assemble,
or than it was thought possible by the highest authority
in Parliament he would be able to obtain, and with-
out physical assistance from the home Government he
ha+ " broken the neck" of one of the most formidable
mutinies which have ever occurred in our dominions.
I cannot avoid saying one word as to Lord Elphin-
stone. The peerage of Scotland may be proud that one
of their body has displayed such admirable qualities in
India. I have made these remarks with reference to
the conduct of members of the House of Peers, but
it is impossible to. overstate the heroic exertions of all
classes of the community, whether in the civil or the
military service, during this mutiny, or to over-rate
the spirit with which the people of this country have
met the difficulties of the crisis. (The noble earl con-
cluded by again, returning thanks for the cordial manner
in which the toast had been received.)
The next toast proposed by the LORD MAYOR
"The House of Lords," acknowledged by Lord Cran-
worth.
Several other toasts followed, and the proceedings ter!
minated at a late hour.

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