The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-29 00:00:00

kentn int

LONDON, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 1844.

the Directors, after allowing such a period to
elapse, cannot include this in their catalogue
~f crimes. Neither can they include his bombastic
proclamations, or any new song of triumph, for bit-
terly, in that respect, be has manifested great im-
provement. The public, therefore, must presume—
nay, they have a right to assert—that this sudden re

solve is not grounded on any overt act. But the

most singular circumstance in the whole history of
this affair is, that the Board of Control and the Board
of Directors have taken different sides. Lord
ELLENBOROUGII is recalled against the wishes of the
Government. Of what use then is a Board of Con-
trol ? If the Directors can recal a Governor-Ge-
neral at pleasure, they are in every sense supreme
rulers in India. The office of Lord RIPON should be

at once abolished. We trust, however, that this col-
lision will lead to good, and that Parliament will not
suffer the important results of the last two years to be
neutralised by any selfish or niggardly policy. Eng-
land has entered on a great undertaking in Asia.
She cannot submit to half measures—she must main-

:ain the boundary of the Indus, and put down all op-
,osition to her power in the interior, at every cost.

The annual distribution of prizes in the medical
:pertinent of University College took place on Satur-
;y last in the lecture-room of that noble institution.
Lord BROUGHAM—its original founder—presided on
tlia occasion, and after the prizes had been all dis-
tributed, proceeded to congratulate the meeting on the
tlattrishing state of the funds of the University, on its
excellent system of education, and on the high cha-
racter of its professors. Referring incidentally to a
charge which its enemies have more than once
'orought against it, his Lordship observed;—" They,
the College, had no religious observances. They had
been blamed for this, and told they had too little
religion. He differed from those who held
that opinion. It was because they had so
much religion that they considered it too
sAcred a subject to be lightly dealt with."
There is infinite good sense in this. observe-
Con. Religion is, indeed, far too "sacred a subject"
to be lightly treated ; and the routine system pur-
sued at our Universities in this respect, shows that
people may be in the daily practice of religious ob-
se; %%Dices, without their devotional feelings being in
the slightest degree called forth. Every one who is
familiar either with Cambridge or Oxford, must
e ell aware that it has been the custom there to in-
sst on the attendance of the under-graduates at the
College chapel twice a day. This is the rule, but
as it has been found difficult and inexpedient
to carry it out to the full extent, it has been in some
measure relaxed, and the authorities are now—and
nave been for some years—satisfied with the attend-
ance of the students nine times a week at chapel.
But even this partial relaxation of a mere religious
observance, with which the heart has nothing to do,
has not been found to answer the purpose it was in-
tended to answer. The attendance, we regret
to say, is still regarded too much as a
" bore," and often do the under-graduates rush
out from their wine-parties at the unwelcome
sound of the bell, hurry on their white surplices, and
go through the required forms at chapel, with no
other feelings than those of impatience and vexation.
l'he whole thing is considered to be a cold, formal,
monotonous ceremony—a mere matter of religious
etiquette; and the common sense of the parties en-
gaged in it rather revolts from it than otherwise.
Surely the real interests of religion are not—cannot
be—advanced by such a lifeless, mechanical system
as this ! There is no judicious training or culture of
the mind here—no sowing of such seeds of piety as
shall take root and bring forth fruit in due season.
The whole affair is little better than a hollow
mockery, and we think that the authorities of Uni-
versity College have acted wisely in dispensing with
it. Lord BROUGHAM went on to observe : " When
this Institution was first established, the projectors
did confidently expect that their magnificent esta-
blishment, in which 4 education of the highest order
would be taught at so low a rate, would be crowded
with persons eager to avail themselves of such op-
portunities. At Oxford and Cambridge the same
class arid quality of education, for which they would
only have to pay twenty-five pounds per annum at
University College, would cost from two hundred to
three hundred pounds, yet the citizens did not send
their children to receive the advantage of this econo-
mical arrangement. They preferred (and he could
not sufficiently express the thorough scorn and con-

Much surprise has been expressed in various quar-
ters, and not without reason, at the announcement
made in both Houses of Parliament on Friday, that
Lord ELLENBOROUG H had been recalled by the Di-
rectors of the East India House. Had he been re-
called when he issued his first proclamation, denounc-
ing the policy of his predecessor, or when he published
what the Duke of WELLINGTON called a " song of
triumph," or when he excited universal wonder and
ridicule by his ordinance about the gates of Somnauth,
few would have been surprised ; but after he has
carried into effect with more than ordinary glory,
great plans for the consolidation and protection of our
Indian Empire, and has restored that vast country to
universal peace, all men must wonder that the Court
of Directors should have chosen the present moment to
denounce his policy. On reading his public documents
we did not entertain a high idea of his intellectual
powers, but as words are not acts, and as the Noble
Lord had for a long time paid great attention to
Indian affairs, and moreover was regarded by his
colleagues as a person peculiarly fitted for the office
a Governor-General, we waited patiently to see
whether his deeds corresponded with his words, and
we were not disappointed. It would be difficult,
nay impossible, to point out any man filling that high
and responsible situation who has, in the same period,
produced such important results. There is no in-
stance on record when the bravery and discipline of
the Indian army stood so high as it does at the pre-
sent moment. There is no instance on record when
a handful of men, not exceeding 2,500, chiefly corn-
posed too of Sepoys, defeated an army of
40,000 troops, regarded as the most war-
like in India. The battle of Plassy will
bear no comparison with the battle of Meanee, and all
the conquests of CLIVE, HARRIS, and CORNWALLIS
dwindle into insignificance when compared with the
all but peaceful occupation of the Indus. This great
conquest cost us two battles, and not more men than
were lost often in a partial skirmish in the Peninsula.
The affair of Gwalior was equally honourable, and
probably equally necessary, but on that we do not
presume to give an opinion, further than to say that,
if the aggressions under WELLESLEY were justifiable,
and the Court of Directors considered them justifiable
by their votes and grants to that great statesman
and ruler, the same Court cannot, with any plea of
justice, condemn Lord ELLEN BOROUG IL He put down
body of men that misled and kept in constant tur-
moil the neighbouring districts ; he placed on the throne
the rightful heir, and after arrangements were made
for securing further tranquillity, the British troops
evacuated the country. For what then is h(
cashiered? It cannot be for pounds, shillings, and
pence. Gwalior paid the expenses of its regenera-
tion. The treasures captured at Hyderabad more
than paid the expedition into Sinde, and if there was
any fruitless expedition, it was that to Caubul, in
which the troops under PoLLocx, and NOTT, and
SALE, gloriously avenged the disasters sustained by
ELPIIINSTONE, and established a prestige for British
valour which no money could purchase. We give
Lord ELLENBOROUGII little credit for this expedition,
but still it took place under his government and
with his permission, and if he were to blame