The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-28 00:00:00

E -S VN, N D N, MONDAY KV N

MR. BERNAL OSBORNE, M.P., ON THE

INDIAN CRISIS.

A grand banquet took place at Dover on Thurs-
day evening to celebrate the return of two Liberal
members for that borough in the persons of Mr. R.
B. Osborne and Sir W. Russell, Bart. - It will be
recollected that in the last Parliament Dover was
represented by one Liberal (Mr. E.-R. Rice, who
lately retired from publiclife)and one Conservative
(Lord Chelsea), with whose politicalfortunes, mixed
up as they were with a recent contest in the metro-
politan county, the public are somewhat familiar.
At the last general election, however, the Ministe-
rialists in Dover secured both seats for their own
oandidates, defeating their opponents, Sir G. Clerk
and Mr. G. W. Hope, by large majorities. So sig-
nal a triuniph has not crowned the exertions of the
Liberals of this borough for many years past, the
representation in several previous Parliaments'
having been divided between the Whigs
and the Conservatives. Another source of
exultation to the Liberal interest was fur-
nished by the fact that, though the seat of one of
their members had been challenged on the score of
corruption, and some disposition was at first evinced
to press the charge, yet the authors of the petition
withdrew it at the eleventh hour, thus sparing their
opponents the vexation of a struggle in committee.
Such a victory, therefore, it was thought, ought
not to be allowed to pass without due commemora-
tion. Hence the Liberal demonstration of Thurs-
day. The festival was held in what by a local para-
dox is termed the "New" Town Hall, the remote
antiquity of the structure having given rise to the
somewhat apocryphal tradition that it was the iden-
tical chamber in which the recreant King John
"signed away" his kingdom to the Pope. The
building was tastefully decorated for the occasion,
and the proceedings went off with great spirit. The
party was a very numerous one, between 400 and
600 of the electors sitting down to dinner. A gal-
lery specially fitted up f,r the ladies was also fully
occupied. One of the borough members, Mr. Os-
borne, was able to take part in the ovation, that hon.
gentleman's gallant colleague, Sir W. Russell, who
recently sailed with his regiment for India, having
been called upon to share in sterner engagements,
and, lot us hope, in more splendid triumphs than
any known to the arena of politics. Among the
company present were Mr. Hugessen, M.P. for
Sandwich, Col. Thomson, Capt. Noble, Messrs.
Steriker Finnis (who presided), T. Birch (the
Mayor), S. M. Latham, T. B. Bass, M. Church-
ward, and many other local magnates.
The usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been
duly honoured,
The CHAIRMAN, in highly eulogistic terms, gave
" Tke Health of the Borough Members."
The toast was drunk amid vehement applause.
Mr. R. B. OSBORNE, M.P. on rising to respond,
VMS greeted with enthusiastic Cheers. Having briefly
acknowledged the warm and flattering reception
which the assemblage had accorded him, the hon.
gentleman proceeded to explainthat he would have
gladly met his supporters earlier after the late con-
test to thank them for their generous exertions on
his behalf, but the fact was he had at first stood in
a rather p. culiar position. (A. laugh.) Although
he had been triumphantly returned by the free and
unbought voices of the constituency, without even
the time-honoured formality of a personal canvass,
he was hailed, to his no small surprise, ou his return
to London, with the accusation that he owed his
election to the combined influence of bribery and
intimidation. Such were the calumnious insinua-

tions noised about against him in various circles,
and it was in vain that he indignantly denied them.

People—whether from any knowledge of the pre-
vious character of the borough he knew not-
-(a laugh)—would not believe his disclaimers ; and
he had not been many days in the new House of
Commons before a petition WAS presented charging
him with all the crimes of which a member of Par-
liament only could be guilty. This, he owned,
startled him, because his bank r.'gt book, and the
published account also, would have shown that his
election was singularly free from any taint of suspi-
cion. However, he SO3ll began to smell a rat
—(a laugh) ; for in the course of a week from
the re-assembling of Parliament a communica-
tion was made to him by Sir W. Russell, his re-
spected colleague, to the effect that an offer had
been made to him that if he would consent to retire
at the expiration of the last seEsion the petition
against him should be withdrawn. (A. laugh.) Sir
William, with the manly frankness which belonged
to him, at once consulted him as to his wishes on
the subject. Now, the cost of opposing a petition
was much greater than that of gaining a seat. Par-
liamentary lawyers would not speak in one's favour
for nothing. (A laugh.) But, considering not only
the lib,l cAst upon himself, but the insult offered
to that constituency, he had. advised his gallant
colleague to resist all such ovettures, and tae.xt
them with the c intetrpt they deserved. (Cheers.)
Subsequently this offer was several times re-
peater', and though within three weeks of the
close of the session the petition still stood low
on the list tha committee was at, length nomi-
nated ; Lut no sooner was it, nominated than
the petition was abandoned. He had htd
great difficulty in tracing the real originators
of the petition. He acqui:ted its ostensible au-

thor,, Messrs. Hammond and Clayt otiewhose signa-
tures were a na.re le;a1 fiction like the Obsolete
endorsement of "John Doe and Richard Roe" on
the back of an old writ. At last, however, he
found a solution of the mystery. They had all
Lead d of Mr. Disraeli's sage prognostication about
"the comieg man," whose advent upon the poli-
tical arena was to make all things smooth and
straight. Well, judging from the anxiety dis-
played to obtain a seat for him, he was sure this
coming man could be no other than his discomfited
opponent, Mr. G. W. Hope—(laughter)—who ha. I
canvassed almost every borough in the kingdom,
but without kucio3s. That gentleman had, like
Ulysses, seen many cities but gained no seat. It
was to be hoped, however, that, like his clas,ic pro-
totype, ha had gained wisdom. Yet, if he should
ever be induced to visit Dover again he trusted
that, like his mythological namesake who remained
at tbe.botteireof Pandora's box, Mr. G. W. Hope
would ol.ways be found at the bottom of the poll.
(Cheers,), -,Adverting next to the labours of the
past session, Ur. Qsborne remarked that it
almost required the constitution of Old Parr and
the patience of Job to go, through the higis•
lation of gip dog-clays, and especially of such dog-
days as thelast. Fel*, an official supporter of the
Government there was no rest. He was called upon
in the day to make a house, and in the evening to
keep oae. What with the late hours and the bad
odours, and those universal geniuses who promoted
the one and prolonged the other, who spoke on all
subjects, fatigued all listeni.rs, and impeded all
business, he watayery lucky member of Parlia-
ment who could stind before his constituents at the
end of the se lion-with the hilarity and the physical
atrength.which he how enjoyed. The Conservative
leader in the Commons, in one of those oracular
sentences of his which were more remarkable for
their originality of conception than fur the accu-
racy of their fu'filment, told the country that the
Premier's obje t in the late dissolution was simply
to " waste a year." How would that prediction bear
being tested by the results ? The late session,
theigh it lasted only for three months, saw the
accomplishment of more work than had been
achieved by any former Parliament that ever sat in
Westaniuster. Among the measures which then
passed into law, most of which were far more useful
than showy, were the reform of abuses in the Eccle-
viastical Courts. springing from their testamentary
jurisdiction : next the Fraudulent Trust-es Act,
and the act for the Winding-up of Insolvent Joint-
Stock Companies, both of which were of first rate
importance ta the commercial community ; then
the abolition of Ministers' Money, which, though
it only applied to Ireland, had swept away a more
obnoxious and more irritating injustice than even
church-ra'es • and last int 1
his
ca a ogue—which it
would weary'tl
Divers©
to lengthen further—came the
celebrated
nrcaeszad Matrimonial Causes Bill,
with the wise
provisions, and, let him
add, the great aocialutfmnryxortance of which they
111118 t all be fanaqiar, obstinate and pro-
tracted hostility to which had
on th© not been equalled
since the discussions
•,, Corn-laws. (Bear.)
The hon., gentleman then glancal at the private.)
out
business transacted by the Legislature, singling
for especial reference the East Kent Railway Bill,
in which his constituents were particularly interested.
Arriving at -The all-engrossing topic of Indian
affairs he a4ed—What ear does not tingle, what
cart does'ilat throb at the recital of the cito-1 fate
men killed, not-u defence of their country, but
siassinated in cold blood by those whom they for-
merly led to victory/ What family in this land has
not to mourn the loss of some loved one murdered
in this sad outbreak r -When I rook to nay friend,
your chairman, I cannot fsil to recollect that one
of the fist victims to this revolt—'or it is no
longer a mere mutiny—was Col. Finnis, of the 11th
Bengal Inf,,ntry, who while expostulating with his
Men was suddenly shot down, not, I am happy to
say, by the soldiers of his own corps, but by men
`of the 20th N. 1., who had been instigated to rebel.
But what am I to say of the unheard-of atrocities,
the diaboliCal tortures to which our ill-starred :
countrywomen were subjected ? I cannot tru.t my-
self
to dilate on such horrible scenes. The Sepoy
has grestd himself from all restraint, and, not con-
tent with throwing off his allegiance to his flag, has,
cast aside his affinities to human nature.
" The sole joy the baffled spirit knows
,In his forced flight is murdering as he goes."
.Let us on this occasion, I pray, have no false sen-
timentality—no mawkish, maudlin philanthropy.
Let us have no ?ant about mercy to the miscreants
who have not OJIy imbrued their hands in the blood

of their leaders, but are a satire on their kind. Some
well-meaning men, more remarkable for their pious
Anbecility than their common sense, are now advo-
looting increased subscriptions for-missiona• y efforts
in India. j am not one of those who deride the
labours-4 the missionary, but there is a time for all
things, and I think this the most inopportune of all
Mmes for urging such au appeal. Soldiers are re-
quired, not preachers ; rifles, not tracts. Not only,
have we an empire to preserve, but fiendish out-
f•ages to avenge—outrages perpetrated upon Eng-
1a
ishmen and Englishwomen. (Cheers.) It is a conso-
tion amid this wilderness of crime to turn to those
right spots where the heroism of our countrymen has
een so nobly displayed. Who has not read with
emotion of the deeds of those gallant young officers
iwho' deserted by all, sooner than abandon their
boats and yield up their military stores to the re-
els, put a match the train and blew up their own
inagazines at the cost of their lives ? The poet truly
hays that it is not always the greatest heroism which
is shown in action—
" It is the detail of blank intervals,
i That patient sufferance where no action is
' That proves our nature. Many are who act,
But, oh, how few endure."
he conduct of that young Lieut. Willoughby, of
,ayner, of Forrest, and of the soldier Scully, who
tood by them to the last, equals anything in classic
tory, and makes one proud of the name of English-
man. What shall we say of the deeds of General
Nicholson, who routed the Ssalkote mutineers, and,
I believe, left not a man of them remaining ? What
of that hero-of the day, whose actions give the lie
to the popular notion that old men are unfit for
command, I mean Gen. Havelock—(cheers)—who
in eight days marched 146 miles, and fought four
pitched battles with themost glorious success 7 And
mark you, he had to march in the month of July,
under an Indian sun, the strokes of which were
imore to be feared than the bullets of the enemy.
These are indeed heroes who might' well be placed
in an English Walhalla. What, too, shall we say of
Major Eyre, who with 200 men released six Eng-
Ilishmen shut up with 40 Sikhs in Arrah, and gal-
' lantly holding out against a host of rebels—what

but that they are worthy of their country, and that
having done their duty abroad, something remains
to be done by us at home I I hope there is no man
here who, however he may differ from ns in poll-
' tics, wouldseek at such a moment to make political
capital out of the national misfortune ; yet there
're certain symptoms in the country which I a egret
ito witness. I hear and read great abuseof the right
'hon. gentleman at the head of the Board of Control
,of whom it is thought a very good joke to say that
because he bears the name of Smith he cannot
'be fit for his position. It is new to me
'that among Englishmen who are crying out that
the right man is not in the right place, and that
men descended from the people are not allowed to
'participate in.the direction of the people's affairs,
a man's name should be any objection to him, more
:especially when it is the common and well-honoured
name borne by the right hon. gentleman's uncle,
Sydney Smith, so distinguished for his writings and
'for his love of civil and religious liberty. I know
Mr. Vernon Smith to be a man of great industry
sand great ability, and I regard these attacks upon
him as most ungenerous and unfair. Moreover, if
anybody be to blame for supposed mismanagement
of Indian affairs, that blame ought to attach not
to an individual but to the united Cabinet. Know-
ing Lora Palmerston to Be beyond the reach of the
. Efforts of their ill-will, these critics judiciously se-
lect a less popular Minister as the object of their
animosity. .1 have said that we have duties
to perform, and if we ought to defend a gen-
tleman at the head of a department at home,
how much more incumbent upon us is it to be chary
of the reputation of men who are absent. It is
a sacred obligation upon us not to run down the
character of any man serving his country at a dis-
tance, while imperfectly acquainted with the cir-
cumstances under which he acted, until he is proved
to have been inefficient. Ido not say that there
may not have been inefficient men in India. I be-
lieve that there have been ; but they are awaiting
the award of courts-martial, and until the verdicts

of those tribunals reach this country it is prema-
ture to pass any judgment upon them. And when
speaking of absent men, I think we ought to give
our entire confidence to Lord Canning, who is
placed in a position so difficult and trying, but
whose measures hitherto have been at once ener -
getic and highly judicious. Immediately on the
commencement of this outbreak he sent not only
t r the Cape, but to Aden, the Mauritius, China,
and Ceylon for troops ; and there are now either in
Endia or on their way thither, 55 battalions of in-
f intry, 11 regiments of cavalry, one troop of
Horse Artillery, three field batteries, five compa-
nies of Royal Artillery (a corps that never before
visitedlndia,andfuur companies of Royal Engineers,
making a total, besides marines, of 84,000 men,
avrtro before the month of November will be as-
sembled on the plains of India. Now, you will ask,
what of your own department, the navy ? It so
hspp,-ns that department has nothing to do with
the taking of transports for this war ; that is all
included aud, I am happy to say, paid for—a very
material consideration, as we shall see when the bill
is brought in—by another authority. There have
sailed, however, or are now under orders, not fewer
than 59 transports, and tenders for a great many
wore have been tent in. I hope, therefore, we shall
s -on hear that an end has been put to this mon-
stcous conspiracy. I for one *shall not be satisfied
u7std I hear that Delhi, on which I look a 3 the mo—
dern Gomorrah, has been razed to the ground. The
punishmenie I think, should be commensurate
wi'h the crime. Sure I am that as long as one
stone of that city is lefi; upon another, so long
will the Hindoo and the Mahomedan point to the
spot where Miss Jennings was cut to pieces amid
the fiendish exultation of brutal and bigoted
Asiatics. Being only a subordinate member of ,
the Government, I speak without authority,
but I shrewdly suspect that if you wish to preserve
Incli,v you must be prepared to pay for it. I am
sure you would uct think for a moment of weigh-
.ing pounds, shillings, and pence in the scale aif,ainst
the prestige of the British name and the claims of
outraged humanity. So much for the past. It is
much more difficult to speak of the future, because
aich such horrors ringing in our ears it is impos-
sible to maintain the requisite calmness and mode-
ration. There is a large party in this country who
are desirous of doing away at once with the power
of the East India Company. I have not now the
' evidence that would enable me to discuss that
Tiesrion, but I know that some of thegreatest men
both in civil and mi!itarylif-e !lava been produced un-
(l, r z he auspices of that body, as witness Eiphinstone
and Malcolm, Colvin and the Lawrences, and many
o hers. I wish, however, to say a word or two upon
the Bengal army. I have lung made this sub-
j, ct my study, and so far from feeling any surprise
at what has happened, I am only surprised
that this mu:iuy did net break out before. We
have had frequent warnings as to the sta' e of
that army, but, ales ! though forewarned we have
not been forearmed. We have a population of
180,000,000 in India, from whom we rased ati
army of 300,000 men, made up of Hindoos and Ma-
hemedans, and only one sixth Europeans. With
a force so composed it is apparent we must all
a'ong have been sitting on a barrel of gunpowder.
Tne Bengal army was never asked to march on any
great expedition but it mutinied for double allow-
ance. This was not the exception but the rule.
The double allowance was always conceded, and
then, but not ill then, they marched. With the
origin of the word Sepoy you are, probably, all ac-
quainted ; but, perhaps, you are not aware that we
copied the embodiment of the Sepoy regiments from
the French, who are said always to introduce a
thing first, John Bull afterwards improving upon it.
The improvement in this case, I regret to say, has
rot been very apparent. This system existed under
the Fi ench in 1746 at Cuddalore. Clive adoptedtheir
idea; but in his time the regiments were officered to a
considerable extent by native chiefs and gentlemen,
who, in those days, fought most efficiently. Great
changes have since then been introduced—changes,
unhappily, not for the better. Formerly the Euro-
pean officers were obliged to know the languages of
their men, and wore all selected, not only for their
ability, but also for their acquaintance with Eastern
character. In 1796 more Europeans were allotted
to each native regiment, and the principle of selec-
tion was done away with. So many new officers
were required that commands were given to lads
fresh from school, and totally ignorant of the native
1 ngua,ges. What was the consequence ? That the
native officer who till then had been a leading man
in his regiment, and had conducted himself with
propriety and honour, became disgusted. Gra-
dually your army was altogether deserted by the
native gentlemen—for you must not imagine that a
gentleman is to be found in England only.
---(A
1""g11.) Gentlemen descended from the nobility
that flourished. u
menrldyera the Mahomedan aihmopmnerdtaanntrengilemmeen,
element in
who were formerly
your army, would no longer take service in it.
And it welled Lave been strange if they had ;
'
because no matter how able or distinguished
might have been, immediately
an old native officer
place.
aTnhuemb'eetratfthe batalion and the
a young stripling with a white f
officer
dcl:rggeiveor ace made his ap-
npaetairvaenceofah
mis-
take then was that, while so large
consigned to.° u-
ropean officers were each regiment,
you still retained the native commissioned offic,,re
The old native officer was an educated man, who
could keep the accounts of his regiment ;
whereas
his modern representative is perhaps one of the
mast ignorant men in India, being very seldom
able
to read, and still more seldom able to writ?. Tile
suit is,. he has very little influence over hie men ;
he never gives any iuf irmation, and cannot repress
a mutiny. Mot ever, he knew that if he reached a
c..:rtain period of life in 3 our service, according to

the principle of seniority which obtained in the
Bengal army, he would become an officer at 60.
He would, therefore, remain in his corps till then,
merely to obtain his pension and retire. The great
error, I repeat, was that you ever kept native'
officers at all after the Diropean element-was so
largely infused into the service. This is a point to
which the Government will have to turn its atten-
tion when it comes to deal with the reconstruction
I of the native army. There is another matter well ,
worthy of consideration in connexion with this sub-
ject. I refer to the comparative number of officers
in English and in Sepoy regiments. Let me take
by way of illustration the 25th Regiment, called
" the Borderers." They are 1,000 strong, and
their complement of officers is 36, besides the staff,
including the lieutenant colonel, quarter-master,
surgeon, and field-officers. This number are
generally present with their corps, and always on
service. With the Sepoy regiment, however, the
case is different. There the complement of officers,
including the staff, is 26 for 1,000 men. You may
think this a very fair number, but the fact is that
on an average not more than 15, and those not the
elite, are never present with their regiment, giving
only one officer to 93 men. I ask, in such a state
of things, how can you expect a regiment to be
kept in proper discipline, and to look up to its
leaders ? Every man who is master of the language
and who wishes to distinguish himself regards
regimental duty as irksome, and always looks for
staf employment. Such employment he is sure to
obtain, and the regiment is thus left in the hands of
men of much less ability, who sometimes cannot so
much as give the word of command in anything but
English, who have no knowledge or sympathy with
the feelings of their men, and who unhappily have
the bad taste to call them niggers, and indulge in
those jokes at their expense to which young officers
are prone. This, then, is a defective system, which
ought to be reformed. Again, a vicious rule exiats
in the recruiting of the Bengal army. You are
aware that in India there is such a thing as caste.
Indeed, we have a little of it at home, where people
b sth in the religious and political world look down
upon their neighbours as if they were inferior
beings. Such men are the European Brahmins
(a laugh), but they are not at all to be compared
to the Asiatic Brahmin who belongs to the
priestly order, and to whom everything and
everybody is subservient. For that matter accord-
ing to the Hindoo mythology, instead of the
Brahmins paying court to the Gods, the Gods
are supposed to pay court to the Brahmins. (A
laugh.) Nevertheless, our policy has been to enlist
the Brahmins in the proportion in some cases of as
many as 600 to 1,000. They are indifferent soldiers
but clever intriguers ; they contrive to keep the
other men in subjection to them and subservient
to their interests, and have in a manner established
a code which treats a regimental offence as venial,
and an offence against caste as unpardonable. They
happen to be taller than the other men, and are
marvellously proper in appearance • but they are
not the men who fought your earlier battles in India.
It was not such men who won the victories of Coote
and Clive. Their armies, on the contrary, were
composed of men of mixed caste, including even
Pariahs ; men who did good and faithful service, men
who founded the reputation of the great Duke of
Wellington, and overthrew the hosts of the
fierce Tippoo Sahib. (Cheers) You must there-
fore revise your recruiting system. But this is not
all. It is not _enough to have your native troops
well formed and well officered ; you must take care
that they are not commanded by effete and worn-
out leaders ; and to accomplish this object a com-
pulsory system of superannuation is absolutely ne-
cessary. History shows that almost every great
action has been won by
youne generals. Napoleon
was only 25 when he conducted 6 his great Italian
campaigns, and the illustrious Wellington was only
46 when he concluded his active military career. If
you had had a young officer in command at Meerut
I believe you would have had this insurrection
crushed in the bud, and had Colonel Gillespie, who
promptly cut down the disaffected soldiery at Irel-
lore and saved an empire, been an aged decrepit
officer, I have no doubt that an extensive mutiny
like the present would have broken ont at a much
earlier period. But it is not in the management
of the native army alone that mistakes have been
made. Errors have also been committed in your
mode of governing India. Like true John Bulls
you have been guided solely by your own notions
and ideas without regard to their adaptability to
the Asiatic temperament. You forgot that
those men have as conscientious an objec-
tion to using the fat of the cow as many of my
fiends here have to another animal—(laughter)--
and although, no doubt, the greased cartridge
affair was a mere pretext, still a large body of Sepoys
really supposed that their caste was to be taken
n.-vay, and Christianity to be forced upon them at
the point of the bayonet. The train was laid by
'3l.ahorneclau fraud and ounning, and thud +he.
mingled fanat;cism and ferocity of the Hindoo.
Another mistake was male when, in 1835, a great
Incline statesman gave unlimited freedom to the
native press. I have always entertained a great'
respect for the press. Its conductors are our
masters— beneficent masters, too. If we lose a
good deal on the one hand, •we gain much on the
other, in the shape of public liberty, by their free-
dom from official censorship. But to graft upon
an Asiatic constitution the unrestricted free Rem of
the press was certainly one of the maddest schemes
that ever entered the mind of any ruler. The con-
sequences of that measure were foreseen and
foretold by a great Indian administrator—Sir
Thomas Munro—who, although favourable to
native. participation in',the government, never thelem
put on record a minute in which he warned us that
a native free press would undermine the discipline
and subvert the allegiance of the Sepoy. Another
matter in which we have been going too fast is our
imprudent interference with Hindoo customs. It
would have been a trifling matter for us to abstain
from meddling with a Hindoo woman's inability. to
remarry. Indeed, it is not an uncommon thing for
an English widow to regret her not having lived
there under a similar restriction—(laughter)--and,
therefore, there could have been no great harm in
allowing the Asiatic relict to live in single blessed-
ness upon her happy recollection of her defunct
Hindoo. (Loud laughter.) But we must needs
pass a law opposed to all the cherished prejudices
and prepossessions of Orientals. It was all very
well to put down suttee and other inhuman rites
and orgies. Akhbar himself, one of the greatest of
Mahomedan Sovereigns, was known to be hostile
to the immolation of a woman on her husband's
funeral pile ; but in regard to compulsory
celibacy the game was not worth its cost.
Why persist in a course of petty interference
which can only serve to exasperate and envenom
our subjects? Another custom which the East
India Company swept away was that of adoption ;
and it is said that the atrocities of that miscreant of
miscreants, Nana Sahib, were prompted by per-
sonal resentment for the loss he suffered under the
operation of this change. He was left the adopted
heir of Peishwa, but the Company stepped in and
deprived him of the pension he claimed as inherit-
ing from that prince. The Company left the raa-
cal guns and an embattled fortress, and these very
guns he used against our unfortunate countrymen
at Cawnpore. If they did the thing at all, they
ought to have done it thoroughly. But there is
one policy which, in my opinion, was above all
others most unwise, imprudent, and detrimental to
the interests of this country. I speak of the policy
of annexation. You know that when we first went
to India we went as simple traders. A hundred
years ago all the territory we had ire India was
a few factories on the Malabar and Coroman-
del coasts, and in Bengal, amounting to
sot more than 5,000 square miles. The
great Burke in his reflections on the French Revo-
lution in 1793 gave-a solemn warning in his cele-
brated passage against the ambition of Great Bri-
ta'n. Hresays, "I dread that you should be too
much dreaded," and the remarkable words which
he adds are, " Our empire in India is an awful
thing." I have told you what that empire was in
1757; what was it in 1793 in the time of Lord Corn-
wallis's settlement? It amounted to 200,000 square
miles, with a population of 40 millions. What would
Burke have said had he lived to see that empire in
1857? The 200,000 square miles under the policy of
annexation have swelled to 7 millions, with apopu-
lation of 180 millions. That, indeed, is an awful em-
pire, and ought not to be governed on a narrow
and contracted basis, still less on the principles of
forcing European notions upon Asiatic institutions.
I have said our countrymen have done their duty
nobly ; it remains for us to do ours as nobly. The
sympathy and approbation of his countrymen cheer
the absent soldier, who in the hour of danger en-
courages his comrades by telling them, " They will
talk of us in England this day." We are bound to
render them our best assistance, and when pecuniary
aid is required we should give it, not grudgingly,
but generously, and with an open hand. Let me
now turn to one or two topics of more domestic in-
terest. On the subject of education it bas occurred
to me ;that we are possibly going a little too fast.
The competitive system with regard to entrance into
the public service ought not to be forced on too ra-
pi lly, but should be applied gradually, with due
discrimination, and also, give me leave to say, with
good sense. People often come to me and say that
they want situations as clerks, or as tide-waiters, but
that they are asked to undergo an examination,
through which, if they could successfully pass, they
should feel themselves qualified to fill the office and
et
lc:it:li tskl et
this
tose
opposed
complainttt emoluments
shsehould beis
to
someofa extent Prime
justified. Minister.
? dto a compulsory rate for the education
th© PeOple, which ought, in my opinion, to be sup-
°rted by volunt
ary efforts. At the same time, if .ny
particularly enamoured of an

educational impost I don't know that I should ob-
stinately refuse to_ indulge them on the point. (A
laugh.) Another question, which I have no wish
to blink, is that of a further reform of Parliament.
I first appeared before you as the advocate of buch
a measure, and I am still prepared to advocate it.
But, if we are to have another Reform Bill, I do
regret that there is one eminent public man who,
whatever may have been his political backslidings,
is yet a fine specimen of the Englishman and the
English Liberal, and whose name is indissolubly in-
tertwined with the brightest triumphs of the Liberal
cause—l regret that Lord John Russell—(cheers)--
is not a member of the present Government. He
is far to useful a man to be consigned to the
dreary shade of a back bench. (Hear, hear.)
Lord Derby, with that wit and eloquence which
so pre-eminently distinguish him, once described
the Government of Lord Palmerston as con-
sisting of Lord Palmerston alone. Of course,
the Conservative leader did not condescend
to notice so insignificant an individual as
myself. (A laugh.) I have not the honour of a
seat in the Cabinet—l am not highly enough con-
nected for that—l am not a Brahmin. (Laughter.)
But the noble earl spoke of Lord Palmerston and
his appendages. There may, indeed, be some in-
stances in which appendages are not wholly worth-
less.' The key which winds up the watch is an ap-
pendage. But that is neither here nor there. Lord
Derby wished to ridicule the Ministry, and there-
fore could not take small matters into account. I
maintain, however, that a Government composed
as is the present Government, with that essential
element, community of sentiment and unity of ac-
tion, can be much more safely depended upon at a
crisis than a Cabinet made up of orators. You will
recall,the poet's words—

". Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise :
His pride in reasoning, not in acting, lies."
What has been our experience of former Admini-
strations--Administrations comprising many of the
greatest historic names ? There was'the Cabinet of
" All the talents." That could hardly be called a
Cabinet of appendages. Then there was the Aber-
deen Cabinet, under which I myself first took
office. Was there ever a Cabinet stuffed 50 full of
plums ? (Alaugh.) I speak with the highest respect
for Lord Aberdeen—;a, true and honest Reformer,
who has I believe been much misunderstood—and
I have an equal respect for many of his colleagues.
Nevertheless, they were weak in spite of their
oratorical strength, they were not bound together
by community of sentiment. A lady of distinction
once gave a handsome entertainment to a brilliant
assemblage of ambassadors, historians, poets, and
philosophers, and the affair having gone off very
dully, and proved in fact an utter failure, in her
natural disappointment she next day asked Tom
Moore, who bad been one of her guests, why it was
her party had been so stupid. That gentleman at
once replied, ""Oh I the reason is evident ; you had
too much quince in your apple-pie." (A laugh.)
So with the previous Ministries to which I have
referred---they had too much quince in their Cabinet
.pudding. (Laughter and cheers.) I are convinced,
gentlemen, that it is much better for the interests
of the empire to have a man like Lord Palmerston
at the head of the Government, supported by a
Cabinet of men remarkable at least for industry, if
not so well known to the public as their distin-
guished chief, than it would be to havea Cabinet of
mere rhetoricians. Rhetoricians will not pull you
through an Indian crisis. Energy is the quality
needed to cope with so critical an emergency.
Whether it was a wise thing to move our army
upon Delhi and keep it there, without attempt-
ing to take the place by a coup de main, I
am not sufficiently versed in military strategy
to pronounce. That city is strongly fortified
has a large garrison, and a mixed population of
Hindoos and Mahomedans numbering 150,000
souls, and the success of an attack by so small a
European force as our commanders have yet been
able to collect there might have been very pro-
blematical. But even if it should be deemed ex-
pedient to withdraw our troops now before Delhi
to Agra, the nation must not be discouraged. Wo
ought neither to be elated by partial success nor
disheartened by what may seem to be a temporary
check to our progress. Remember, if we do retreat,
it will only be to get a greater spring. (Hear,
hear.) That we shall finally vanquish, I have no
manner of doubt. (Cheers.). The great Burke,
whom I have already quoted, says, " A man of
pure speculative benevolence may wish the frame
of the society in which he lives to be differently
constituted ; but a good patriot and a good politi-
cian will endeavour to make the best of the exist-
ing materials. The disposition to preserve and the,
ab7bty to improve would be my standard of a wise
and true statesman." Lord Palmerston, in my
opinion, comes up to that definition ; and I think
the nation feels confident that he will bring this
miserable Indian revolt to the happy termi-
isafi.,,, aQ flint to which it was his good fortune to
bring the late war with Russia. [The hon. gentle-
man, after apologising for the great length ai which
he had trespassed on the patience of his audience,
resumed his seat amid vociferous and prolonged
applause.]
The remainder of the proeeediugs was enlivened
by a lively passage of arms between the hon. member
for Sandwich and the Secretary of the Admiralty.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURN&
TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE WEEK.

Maes Receipts.
Qiened• NAME OF RAILWAY.
1867. 1857. 1856
=Tian. X
Aberdeen • . •• •• .• .. ••••• • •• •• • •• •• -
65 Belfast and Ballymena .• .• 1,236 937
17 Belfast and County Do wn •• • • 323 293
32 Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire 2,993 2,584
26% Bolton,Blackburn,and West York -
118 7,536 7,735
Bristol and Exeter • • •• • •
198% Caledonian.......• • • ... ••• • •• 14,572 13,590
94 IA Chester and Holyhead. ••• • • •
614 Cork, Blaekrock, and Passage
20_ Cork and Bandon.. •••• • • • • 289 263
56 Dublin and Belfast J unction• ,143
63 • Dublin and D rogheda. ••••••• • •• • • • • 1.983 7
1 1.67
-40 Dublin and Kingstown •••• • • • 2,016 1,991
i 7 Dundee and A:rbroath •••••• •• ••
31. Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen Junction 1,085 1,172
;?, , Dundalk and Enniakillen ••.. • •
07:b East Anglian.... •••••••• • • • • • • •• 1,0:3 990
93 East Lancashire ••.... • • 7,437 6,879
49 • Eastern Counties and Norfolk.... •• 3 26,347 24,790
142 - Eastern Union.. •••••• • "• • • •.•• ••
Edinburgh and Glasgow •••••-••• •• • . 6,825 6,379
78, Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee...". 3,555 3,816
6 Exeter and Crediton.. • • • • •• • • • • • • •. -
22 Furness Railway •••••• • • • • • •
183%Glasgow, and South-Western 6,956* 6,738
2" , Great Northern.• • ...... " .. 24,655 24 540
203% °rent Southern and Western (Ireland) 7,519 7,414
465 Great Western ••• • • • ••• •••• • • •• .... 31,568 30,281
46% Irish South Eastern •• •• •• •• •• 312 273
90 Lancaster and C arlisle ..... •• • 7,634 7,327
236 Lancashire and Yorkshire...•
- Leeds Northern .. • • .. • • •• • • •• •• •• -
' 161 Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport _
637 London and North Western • 70,101 69,058
5% London and Blackw all ••••• • • • 1,524 1,611
183% London, Brighton, and South Coast 13,637 18,980
28931 London and South V•restern. • •
60 Londonderry and Enniskillen • • 813 690
- Manchester, Boston, and Matlock, &c, -
17.3% Manchester, Shefdeld , and Lincolnshire 11,861 10,043
9 Manchester and South junction....• 1,638 1,000
• 2sl Maryport and Carlisle •• ••• • • • 1,091 89 ;
567 Midland ••• - • • •••••• • • • • • • 35,857 34,012
177 Midland Great Westorn (Irish) 4,279 4,137
52, Monklands ••• • • • ••• • • • ••• • •• 1,432 1,3a6
18 Newcastle and Carlisle.... •• .• 3,485 3,166
149 North British ••..••• • " '• 6,011 5,961
233 - North Staffordshire •••••• •• • • 5,547 7,759
-17. North-Western ••• • • • 1,216 1,016
• SO- Scottish Central .. ••••• • • • • • 3,445 3,260
32% Scottish Midland • • ••••• • • • • • • •
' 39 ' , Shrewsbury and Birmingham 1,853 1,967
43% Shrewsbury and Chester
30 Shropshire Union .. •• • • 898 831
57 South Devon '... • • • •
3013 South Eastern .. • . 24.508 25,024
171 South Wales 7,911 7,640
108% South York., Doncaster, and Goole
63 Taff Vale • • 4,829 4,984
36 Ulster .•••• • • •• ••i••• •• •• 1,483 1,403
77 Waterford End Limerick 1,43 G 1, •99
17 West Cornwall ...• •• •..... ••••• •• 743 609
.•2% •• Whitehaven Junction ••.. • • 433 460
63-1 Yore and Newcastle, and Berwick & •
York and North ldland & Leeds.. -
FOREIGN.
109 Dutch Rhenish ........... ..... 3,583 3,072
344 Lyons and Mediterranean 23,851 29,222
93 hiontereau and Troyes •• • • • •
- Namur and Liege • • - -
446 Northern of France
- Orleans and Central .........
587 Paris and Lyons 39,908 40,970
- • Paris and Rouen. • • .... •• •• •• • • •• ••
666 Paris and Strasburgh
- Horan and Havre.. .
548 West rind North-West of France • •

The .Chairman and Directors of the East India Coin
pany have appointed the Rev. William Garden Cowie,
E.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Curate of
nrulton, Bear Newmarket, to a chaplaincy in the
Bengal Presidency.
[A.=)vsarrismaxr.]—The following is not the least remark.
able 2,..noaff the numerous extraordinary cures without medi-
cine etTected by Du Barry's delicious Health-Restoring Re-
valenta Arabica Food, of Indigestion (Dyspepsia), Flatulency,
Constipation, Nervous, Bilious,and Liver Complaints, Cough,
Asthma, Consumption, and Debility:—Maastricht, Holland,
Aug. 7,1 654.—k1y daughter Virginio had long been consump-
tive, with. dimwit cea and night sweats, and was in July last reduc-
ed to such a state of prostration and exhaustion, that our medi-
cal men agreed the:re was no hope of recovery left, and that
she could riot survive many days.. Upon the recommenda-
tion of adriencl, we tied Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica,
which, to the astonis:innent of all, caused an immediate
change for the better in the symptoms. After the first few
meals she felt less miserable, and in six days the diarrhoea
and nighi sweats had left her. She gained strength gradu-
ally, and in two months time was perfectly well. This excel-
lent reniedy deserves to be more generally known, and
I conai4er I am only ' discharging a most sacred
duty iu recommending it to' all sufferers.—S. ZEGUERS.
Supported by testimonials from the celebrated Professors ot
Cheruis'al , Dr. Andrew Ure ; Dr. Shorland ; Dr. Harvey ;
Dr. Cart ibell ; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Ingram ;
Lord fltr .art de Decies; the Dowager Countess of Castle-
Stuart; 34 .ajor-Gen. Thomas King, and many other respectable
persons ,lvhose health has been restored by it, after all other
means A. cure had failed. Suitably packed with full in.
structic In canisters, llb, 2s. 9d. ; 21b, 4s. 6d. ; 61b,
lls ; 1`.1.70, 225. The 121 b canisters are sent carriage free,
on receipt of Poet-Office order.--Barry Du Barry, dr Co.,
77, Regen t-street, London. IMPORTANT CAUTION against the
fearful the tgers of spurious imitations :—The Vice-Chancel-
lor Sir IN illiam Page Wood granted an Injunction on the
10th Marel ~ 1854, against Alfred Hooper Nevill, for imitating
" Du Barn i'e Revalenta Arabica Food.''