The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-04 00:00:00

I,IIE
_SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENINGi DE C E 11371?

no mischance had befallen the gallant officer he had I
named ; but, he must say, they would look at the next
acconnts they would receive with trembling ; for the
last left Havelock and Outram in great peril. For seine
tittle, their comeaunications had been altogether cut off,
and they were separated from each other. He did most
earnestly hope that the rebels sent to their succour might
not arrive too late. (Cheers.) Hitherto, India had been
saved by the gallantry of our military officers. With their
stout hearts, their strong right hands, and their 'own
good swords, they had overcome every difficulty,
and he wished that they might all receive that portion
of applause to which they were so justly entitled. (Loud
cheers.) The noble lord the mover of the address bad
deprecated any censure of Lord Canning. That was
hardly necessary, for he (Lord Derby), at least, had no
wish t ) blame the noble lord. On the contrary, he wished
to speak of Lord Canning with every forbearance, not
only on account of the personal respect he entertained
towards him, but because he (Lord Canning) bad been
placed in circumstances of such unparalleled difficulty,
that if he had not been in all respects equal to the sites
lion, there was not one man in ten thousand that would
have been so. Besides, it appeared that, long before
Lord Canning set foot in India, negociations had been
going on, and that the Bengal army had been secret'y
tampered with. His noble friend (Lord Portmari), x'-
verting to some local disturbances, said that a sort of
superstition had prevailed amongst the people that
"their time bad come," and he went on to say that there
might have been a similar superstition among the Se.
poys. He (Lord Derby) believed that that was perfectly
true. He believed th et there had been various prophecies
and old sayings current, to the effect that the British
dominion would shortly come to an end, and that the
natives would regain their sway. But the vary fact teat
such a belief wee known to be entertained, ought surely
t ) have furnished the strongest possible reason why every
precaution should be taken, and why no suspicious cir-
cumstance should be overlooked. The evidence contaired
in the papers which had been laid before their lordships
proved, however, that such had not been the eve.
Lord PORTMAN had not said that the belief in ques-
tion rally prevailed amongst the Sepoye, for he knew
nothing about the fact. He had only suggested-that as
there had been such a popular feeling nn the occas:on
he had referred to, there might have been a similar no-
tion amoegst the native troops.
Lord DERBY had seen it stated in the papers within
the last three or four years that there was a belief cur-
rent to the effect that the British power would last 109
years ; and of course the 100 years, dating it from the
bottle of Plassy would expire at about thh present time.
(Hear, hear.) Now, just let their lordships look calmly
at the facts of the case and see whether the authorities
in India had been sufficiently alive to the magnitude of
the danger. On the 23d of Jely, 1857, Gen. Hearsay
reported that ,there was great uneasiness at Dumdum
about the greased cartridges. On the following day the
telegraph office at Barrack pore was burned down. On
the Bth of February Gen. Hearsey again reported to the
Government that the Sspoys were being tampered with
by the emissaries of the Kings of Oude and Delhi. On
the 9 he paraded the men and explained to them the
circumstances connected with these greased cartridges.
On the 11th he wrote to the Government--" We have
been resting upon a mine which might explode at any
time." Soon after this he wrote and told the Govern-
ment that there was. a formidable conspiracy in the 19th
Native Infantry. On the 24:h and 25th the 19th Regi-
ment were visiting the 34th, and they broke out int
open mutiny ; so much so that Colonel Mitchell was
compelled to temporise with the men. Somehow this
outbreak seemed to have alarmed the Government at
Calcutta, and they sent to Rangoon for the 84th, a
European regitnern. From the beginnitg of February
to the 20:h of March not a single step was taken on the
part of the Government to disabuse the minds of the
native soldiers on the subject of the greased cartridges,
if, indeed, their minds had really been abused. The
Government had ascertained the character of the disaf-
fection which preva led amongst the troops ; but during
the whole of this time they never once thought—nor did
they think at a later period—of the gross folly of whisk
they were guilty in leaving the great and important city
of Delhi, with all the minitious of war it contained,
without a single European soldier in it. (Hear, hear )
On the 19. h of February the 34th broke out in open
mutiny. An officer in front of his rank was cut
down by one of his own Sepoyr, who was half
maddened with drink. This man walked up and
down for some time, and no one attempted to arrest
him till news was brought to General Hearsey. General
Heasley, with the instinct of a soldier and a gen-
tleman, immediately mounted his horse, ro :e up to the
regiment, and ordered the guard to seize the mutineer.
They refused ; and what did Gen. Hearsey do then ?
Did he temporise ? No. -He rushed on the man and
seized him. The Sepoy attempted to fire at him, but
the musket went off in the struggle and wounded the
man himself ; and then Gen. Hearsey, with his own
hand, dragged him from the ranks and placed hint in
arrest. (Hear.) Gen. Hearsey immediately reported
the affair to the Government. He had promoted on the
spot one of the subalterns who had stood by him, and
he requested that two others might be mentionel in a
general order. But what sort of treatment did General
Hearsey receive for this service ? He received thanks
cetttainly—that could scarcely be refused—hat he re-
ceived likewise a reprimand for having taken upon him-
self to promote an officer without consulting the autho-
rities at Calcutta ; and his request with respect to the
other two subalterns,was refused. (Cheers.) On Feb.
19th this regiment broke out in open mutiny ; and on
March 30—six weeks afterwards—the Government de-
termined to inflict upon them a signal punishment. And
what did their lordships think that was t They paid
th3in their wages and disbanded them. The men had
had amongst them emissaries of the King of Oude, who
had promised them, if they would leave the British ser-
vice, an he. ease of pay ; and yet •t t pay them their
swages in full and di-Mod then- —ea the summary pen•
....ea-w.., ‘eipecteu to ttj't an one iu uonilny
(Cheers) Such a step was an act of madness ; and when
the or ler came down to Sir H. Lawrence, at Lucknow,
It t refused to read it. All this time the 34th had been
allowed to do duty, notwithstanding that it had pas-
sively ado wed, and indeed actively assisted, in the murder
of one of its officers. The government in its insanity
allowed this regiment to remain till the end of April ; and
co gr.- at was their infatuation, that they actually ordered
the 84th back to Rangoon, although it was the only
European regiment they had. Fortunately it was at
this junetureehat the mutiny broke out at Lucknow, and
Sir H. Lawrence, like Gen. Heaney, was equal to the
occasion. Helanticipated the mutineers ; he surrounded
thorn by an imposing force ; and although a portion of
the troops by whom the mutin e was repressed consisted
of men in whom there was a mutinous-spirit, he over-
awed them, and the result was they were disbanded. He
(Lord Derby) would not ask whether in the whole course
of these proceedings the advisers of Lord Canning had
shown either foresight or vigour, or any of those quali-
fications which it was so desirable they should have
possessed. Nor did he think that the Government at
horns had exhibited those qualities in any greaterdegree.
They had refused from the first to bel eve in the serious
character of this revolt. His noble friend (the Earl of
Ellenborough) whose knowledge of India entitled his
opinion, to greater weight than those of almost any other
man, and wno seemed by instinct to have at once appre-
hen led the true import of these transactions, had never
ceased to impress upon the Government the neces'imyof
the utmost promptitude and deepetch. Unhappi y, he
was doowel to be the Cassandra of the affair. He was
disregarded ; and the result bad been the sacrifice of
many valuable British lives. On the 19th of May Lord
Ellenborough urged upon the Government the necessity
of sending out reinforcements; and he was told by Lord
Pentium that the state of affairs in India was not of a
character to excite alarm. Oa the 9th of June his noble
friend again called the attention of Government to the
state of India. On the 11th of June the President of
the Board of Control, Mr. V. Smith, said— I hose the
Public will be under no alarm, for the promptitude and
vigour evinced by Lord Canning, and the energtic
demonstration made by Gen. Hearsey, in dishanetieg
the 19th Regiment on the instant, and the excellent end
stirring speech he made on the occasion (which, as a
sample of military eloquence, I would recommend every
one to read), have completely put an end to all disaffec-
tion." On the 23d of June Mr. Smith said—" that the
only troops which had been disbanded was the 19:11
N.I. There was no intention to disband any other, un-
less there should unfortunately arise (which he trusted
and believed would not be the case.), a similar instance
of disaffection." On the 29th of June his (Lord
Darby'e) noble friend, in a most impressive speech,
pressed upon the Government the necessity of sending
out with the utmost speed larger reinforcements, and
suggested that as it would be necessary to strip the
country of its regular forces, it would be desirable im-
mediately to call out the militia. Their lordships would
probably remember with what cool indifference this
suggestion was met. Toe noble lord the President of
the Coursed (Earl Granville) said that the noble sari's
views of the danger were exaggerated, adding, " We do
not believe that the contingency, because wo happen at
the same time to be at war with a part of Mina, and be-
cause this insurrection, however much to be deplored,
has broken out iu one part of our dominions, is to be
regarded with so much alarm as to compare it, for one
instant, with a struggle that might end in entire calamity
and disaster ; and we should be lon ering our.elves in
the eyes of the world if we did so regard it." Thu militia
was, therefore, not called out. On the 25. h au order
in council had been is-ned suspending the codling out of
the militia for the year ; and en the HAI July Lore
Palmerston was asked whether, under the circurnstancee
he intended to revoke that order in council ? The nobb
viscount said, "Oh, no, it is a mere nothing ; it is net
in the least necessary ; what has taken place does not
in the slightest degree alter the views of her Majesty"
Government." In a very short time, however, the mg:
gestiores of the opponents of the Government, as led
often happened, were adopted, bat he (Lord Darter).
could not help thinking that it would have been wes
rtehionsfeo
rsuggestions
dh ad
been e e
sent
oo eutte followed
saulrigt telde ebayrl
his e l
n cbiet
friend, and if they had been despatched by the et or est
route, he (Earl Derby) ventured to say we shouldoot
have had to ermounter 1-10th part of our disasters end
difficulties ; marry lives unnecessarily sacrificed wdi I
have been saved ; and our gallant countrymen wouldnol
have had to exclaim in the bitterness of their hearts viAdt• '
summoning up all their spirit and energy to cuarnu
the strugelo " eve are abandoned by the Governtnell•
On 29:h June Mr. V. Smith made a speech, whits for
utter and hopeless ignerance, he (Lord Derby) notodY
had never heard equalled, but could not believe ever
could be equalled. (Laughter ) He still treated theaffeir
as a matter of small importance. He said that in a
short time 14,000 men would be on their way to lidie
and he hoped that the house would not be led tr exag-
gerate the crisis by the magnitude of the steps Ord wee-
taking. The troops would ie sent out solely as rnr a-
sure of security." (A. laugh.) " Luckily," said tit right
Iron. gentleman, " this outbreak hal taken pace at
Delhi, which the right hon. gentleman (Mr. I-Israeli)
chose to call a great city, and the ancient capita of the