The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-19 00:00:00

SUgl

vernment, whereby the latter was pledged to defend
the Ignext from destruction, receiving as a just
equivalent for so doing a certain stipulated contingent.
In no respect has it ever been pretended that the
amount of this contingent could be regarded
as extortionate. But for the acquiescence of
the councils of Calcutta in this arrangement
the Dekkan must very speedily have been overrun
and parcelled out amongst its conquerors. But for
the sustaining friendship of England the NIzAM must
speedily have been deprived alike of his revenues, his
sceptre, and his dominions. Already the preliminary
bitterness of this partition had been tasted by the Su-
bandar. For it cannot be forgotten by his successor that
after his ignominious defeat at liindlah a quarter of
his territories was ceded to the Mahrattas as the only
means of preserving the rest from absorption. Be-
sides these most dangerous antagonists, the NIZAM
had to maintain a bold front against one yet more
detested and formidable, the great and redoubtable,
the daring and at that time yet unconquered Tiptoe.
Surrounded by this accumulation of perils, he looked
at length to the arms of the victorious Company for
aid against an otherwise unavoidable annihilation.
That aid was furnished. The tide of disasters was
turned northwards. TIPPOO himself was over-
thrown. The power of the terrible Mahrattas
was broken. And year by year the enemies of
the Dekkan were driven back until trail_
quillity (comparatively speaking) has been car-
ried to the northernmost frontiers of the
Punjaub, to the farthest boundaries of Sinde, and the
feet of the Himalayas. During all this period the
Company's Government has had to fight desperate bat-
tles, to pass through the fiery ordeal of many terrible
campaigns, to lavish the gold of their coffers and the
blood of their best and bravest soldiers on a cause
which, while it was their own, was also incontestably
the cause of the nava. Yet throughout the whole
of this momentous interval of fifty years, throughout
the memorable half century which has elapsed
since the treaty of 1800, the treaty pledg-
ing the Company to the defence of the
NIZAM, and requiring the NIZAM, in bis turn, to
furnish a moderato contingent to the Company, the
last mentioned stipulation has been only sparingly
and intermittently performed. During the first and
second war against the Mahrattas, for example, the
number of the troops furnished by the ruler of the
Dekkan was miserably disproportioned to that which
should have been actually forthcoming. Instead of
9,000 horse and 6,000 foot soldiers, as was
originally arranged by the convention, a force
of scarcely 4,000 was furnished as the
Nizases complement. Calculating the omitted
eleven thousand at the rate of 40 rupees per man and
horse per month, it may be recognised very readily
how enormous has been the defalcation of the Dekkan
when its evasion of the contingent has been at once so
large and frequent. To pretend, as the defenders of
the NIzAM do pretend, that he has been exempted
from all necessity of following out the provisions of
the treaty, in consequence of the fact that his do-
minions are no longer endangered by the
contiguity of the llahrattas, of 'lmo° SAM,
or of any other vigorous and unfriendly neigh-
bours, is clearly absurd. So far from that cir-
cumstance furnishing the SOVEREIGN of the Dekkan
with reasons for any such exemption, it does exactly
otherwise. It only renders the fulfilment of the
treaty of 1800 more binding than ever upon the
Nizast—seeing that while he himself has been such a
ohameless and perpetual defaulter, the Company's
Government has been true to the very letter of their
agreement ; while the contingent has been withheld,
the cause of such compensation has only been gra-
dually increasing, the power of England having
driven far from the frontiers of the NizAm's
territory the hostile ranks at one period threatening
its destruction. With all sympathy, therefore, for the
embarrassing position of that Oriental Monarch, we can-
not but feel a deep and abiding indignation at his faith-
lessness to our friendly Government, at his dereliction of
all honourable principles in evading the payment of the
contingent, and at his insane defiance of all economy
in finance, and of all policy in administration, by
keeping up a military force, for ever draining
his exchequer, and for ever acting as the
hotbed for sedition. Carrying on his councils
in this manner, he has brought his revenue to the
very verge of bankruptcy, a revenue at one time
yielding no less than three crores or millions
sterling. He has, in addition to all this, been,
us it were, systematically estranging himself
from the Company's Government. And to
crown the enormous folly of his proceedings, he has
been now, for some time, reposing his confidence not
in the advice of some sagacious Minister, but in the fa-
natical ravings of some holy dervish, supposed to be en-
lightened by the wisdom of celestial or diabolic visions,
deriving his hopes of extrication out of existing diffi-
culties from the suggestions of the ghastly Dives, or
the hint of the gigantic Afrites. Such being the
disastrous fashion after which the affairs of the NIzAM
are conducted, we can only look with increased and
increasing solicitude to the chances of an ultimate
reconciliation between himself and the Company's
Government.

The public attention has recently been strongly
directed to the painful fact that crimes of the most

atrocious character are decidedly on the increase, and
that the time has arrived when some vigorous and

energetic measures must be adopted for its repres
sion. We have always been taught that " prevention
is better than punishment," that it is far better to in-
sure obedience to ,the law than to inflict the most
stringent penalties on those by whom it may be violated.
The murder at Frimley has afforded a melancholy
proof that in various parts of the country there is no
adequate protection for person or property ; and,
also, that persons accustomed to the habitual commis-
sion of petty offences will readily involve themselves
in any further atrocity if obstructed or impeded in their
nefarious proceedings. It has also brought to light
numerous offences that bad previously been passed
sub silentio, or which had at least been but little heard
of beyond the limits of the various localities in which
they bad been perpetrated. We now receive with asto-
nishment the information that in a single district
(Godalming) there had been no less than eighteen
cases of burglary, accompanied with violence, since
March last, and from another locality it is stated that
" last winter as many as 30 houses were entered and
several others attempted within a circumference of 15
miles"—that " not merely plate, watches, but bulky
clocks, carpeting, clothing, and any furniture of mode-
rate portability" were carried off. The neighbourhood
was alarmed, individual precautions were taken in
the way of procuring additional firearms, new bolts
and fastenings to their doors, and alarm bells,
&c., but no combined movement was made,
either for the purpose of arresting the
mischievous desperadoes, or preventing, or even
impeding their future operations. A practical im-
punity was afforded to the offenders, who revelled on
the gains of their infamous practices, and laughed at
the consternation they excited. The ordinary pre-
cautions of their iniquitous trade were dispensed
with ; they openly reconnoitered the scenes of
their intended operations on the very days when
they were to be visited, and made inquiries at
the surrounding cottages. The apathy and su-
pineness of the authorities inspired them with
the fullest confidence, and induced them to pro-
ceed openly, and almost without concealment.
Nothing less than a sanguinary murder could awaken
the dreamers from their tranquil slumbers, or induce
them to take active measures to bring this untoward
state of affairs to a termination. That has unfortu-
nately been committed, and now there is a wide-
spread panic, and a demand for the immediate adop-
tion of the most stringent remedies and the passing
of new ecactments suited to the extent of the emer-

gency.
Various suggestions, well worthy of serious con-
sideration, have already been put forward, and among
others, by an esteemed correspondent (Mr. RIGBY
NVA.,,oN), two of whose admirable letters, to the
Home Secretary, on this important subject have al-
ready appeared in our columns, to which we ear-
nestly invite the attention they so eminently merit.
But we would venture to remind the community
that some time must elapse before a legislative re-
medy can be applied to the disease, and tbat
the long and dreary nights of winter—the
season when such transactions are of most
frequent occurrence—are rapidly approaching. They
must, therefore, for the time being rely upon their
own.exerticins for safety, and make the beat use of the
materials within their reach. It will not be sufficient

to grumble or complain of the negligence of the au-
thorities, "iY they do not strive to excite the vigilance
of the magilltrates and constabulary of the vicinity
and if that i s not practicable, then to co-operate cor-
dially together for mutual protection. "Union is
strength;" and wherever a local association is
formed for the purpose of actively pursuing
and bringing offenders to justice, we venture to
assert that the distrust will be preserved from out-
rage, that the existing law of the land will be found
sufficient if duly and strenuously brought into ope-

ration_
And first, it is of the utmost importance that a
warm reception should in every instance where it is
practicable be given to the intended robbers. A
burglar taken in the fact, or driven from the premises
without accomplishing his purpose, will have a greater
moral effect than if ten were arrested after
the lapse of a few days, when they had es-
caped with their booty. The salutary example
afforded by the faithful servants of Mr. HOLFORD, at
the Regent's-park, was of the most valuable cha-
racter. One was seized red-handed, and another
seriously wounded. These premises will be safe from
further attack even from the most desperate banditti.
There will be no intrusion on the house in which the
trustworthy JAMES PAUL, Or GEORGE BENNETT, or
JOHN HALL—men who showed themselves prepared
to risk their own lives for the protection of their
master's property—are resident. Burglars are essen-
tially cowardly. They are well aware that if a con-
flict should take place, they must fight with " ropes
about their necks," and they will carefully
eschew such dangerous pastime. They will
only visit houses where they hope to instil terror
into tfie inmates, and to enforce a speedy obedience to
their demands. Whenever, therefore, the adult male
inhabitants of a house are sufficiently numerous, they
should be fully prepared with weapons offensive and
defensive, and have their plans fully matured, in case
of any attack, so as to repel the assailants, and at the
same time give warning to the entire neighbourhood.
Organized bodies should also be formed, who, on
hearing the slightest alarm, would hasten
to the scene of danger, and not only afford
the required assistance to their neighbours,
but be ready to assume the offensive in turn'
and to follow up the tracks of the offenders without
a moment's delay. These are the first steps to be
taken, and when they have been completed, it will be
not only advisable, but absolutely necessary, to ex-
amine carefully the means by which every description
of crime can be prevented, and the perpetrators
brought to exemplary punishment. We believe that
this may be done without infringing upon the liberty
of the subject, or regarding mere suspicion as equiva-
lent to proof. Under excitement, such as now pre-
vails, persons are too apt to look only to the danger
they desire to avoid, and are not cautious enough as
to the nature of the precautions to be adopted; thus
the remedy will frequently prove worse than the
disease, and we may find that in " shunning Scylla,
we may fall into Charybdis." This must be avoided,
and the utmost care must be taken in our efforts to
attain this great desideratum.