The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-15 00:00:00

THE RED-TAPE SERPENT.

Sir Colin has landed, his forces are banded,
And sworn that no murderous Sepoy shall 'scape,
Bat the first of the foes to encounter his blows

Is the pestilent serpent that's made of Red Tape.

Sleek clerks with white liver " had ventured to differ
With Campbell, our Highlander, touching the shape
He should give the campaign" that's to give us again
The empire they have ruined and lost by Red Tape.
A black-hatted fool is presuming to school
A soldier whose banners are muffled in crape,
Through the folly and crime of " officials" no time
Will ever set free from the strings of Red Tape.
The idiots stood gazing while cities were blazing,
And all they could do was to gibber and gape;
Yet now dare to wrangle, and seek to entangle
The Avenger's bright sword in their links of Red Tape.
Let us hope that Sir C. has resolved to be free,
To launch as he pleases his steel and his grape,
And en route for the slaughter by Jumna's red water
Has mangled the Serpent that's made of Red Tape.

The moral is sound. He has a sharp contest to
fight before he can come face to face with the re-
bels. Unless that monster be destroyed or para-
lysed, he can do comparatively little with the ene-
my. He will not howeverfail before "the watcher
on the threshold." He has the true Highland
spirit and hardihood to command success, and we
earnestly hope, that strengthened and sustained
by the voice of public opinion, he will, ere setting
out for tie scene of his more arduous duties, suc-
ceed in strangling or rendering subservient to his

views
" The pestilent Serpent that's -nada of red tape."

We have but too often to dissent from the politics
and ecclesiastics of the Bishop of 01.70 RD and Mr.
GLADSTONE, it is, therefore, with the greater plea-
sure that we notice their efforts in a right direc-
tion. Both of them are orators of no mean en-
dowments, but both, unfortunately, are ever too
ready to convert ingenuity into sophistry, and to
employ a plausible or a fluent eloquence in the
worse cause. Hence, and hence alone is it, that
the opinion, of both of them is wholly destitute of
weight with the country. There are men whose
powers of utterance are but limited, who have no
resources for garnishing a topic ; for overwhelm-
ing the auditors with a torrent of words, or for
inventing innumerable specious arguments ; their
nature is too truthful to see anything but the
truth, or their judgments too honest to accept
mere plausibilities, even if they occur to them,
There is a truly "momentous question " now and to vend them to others as sterling reasonings.
pending, to which a prompt and decided answer Such men's opinion passes for something. That
must be returned. Is India to be saved by vige- they should think se, is a reason for our studying
rous and energetic action, or is it to be sacrificed their thoughts although not borne to us on the
at the shrine of routine ? This must be deter- surface of a stream of eloquence. Just the re-
mined by the Parliament and people of Great verse is it with our two ecclesiastical and lay ora-
Britain, not by the Governor-General and Council tors. No one thinks their mere opinion worth a
at Calcutta. They have been weighed in the straw. We all know that pure faction, or High-
balsnce and found wanting—have proved them- Church fancies, are most probably the fathers of
selves to be utterly incapable of confronting the half, and more than half their oracles ; and that if
existing danger. That is obvious to every disin- we interpret them fairly, they mean that SAMTEL
terested and unprejudiced person. The inhabi- of OXPoRD has the power of imparting Divine
tants of Calcutta have petitioned for martial law. gifts inherited from the Holy Apostles at Rome,
The application has been peremptorily rejected. and that W. E. GLADSTONE, Esq., is the man
The respectable old ladies of the Council are of who, if England were in its senses, would be now
opinion that they can teach Sir COLIN CAMPBELL Chancellor of the Exchequer, and one day or
leis business, and that consequently he shall be other a notch higher than that. Hence we natu-
prohibited from taking a single step in advance rally run through their speeches as we do those of
without their sanction and approval. Ac- advocates on the wrong side, merely wishing to
cording to their views, the Commander- ascertain whether they have lighted on any inge-
in-Chief, whoever he may be, is to bear an " old nuity or plausibility, which it is worth while to
man of the mountain" perpetually on his shoul- reduce to a common denominator with men's or-
ders, empowered to thwart him in every possible dinary thought and language, that its value may
way, to neutralise his object 4, and paralyse his thus be easily computed by all.
energies. This game was played against Sir But we ought not to write in this strain just
PATRICK GRANT, and unfortunately with too much now. Both gentlemen have been speaking on
success. As a company's officer, he could not India, and speaking at a Church of England mis-
resist their authority. He was therefore debarred sionary meeting ; and, considering the topic and
from seeking distinction, where it could best have the occasion, have spoken on the whole well. The
been obtained, and compelled to remain at head Bishop, as became him, confined himself to our
quarters, as a puppet General under the direction religious, or, rather, our irreligious misdemea-
of the Council. The only Governor-General who nours there. Rightly enough did he denounce
resisted the sinister influence was recalled. The the selfish cowardice of the East India Company,
only General who insiste.l on independence, was I which, out of no regard to religious liberty, but
treated in a similar manner. India for the civil perhaps from regard to rupees, literally humbled
service, an fur the civil service only, was the themselves to their own subjects. If Mahomme-
theory, and every other matter was rendered sub- dans went to one extreme, if they " dared do
eervient to that primary consideration, i more than became a man," by forcing their creed
It is not, however, merely
the English inhabi- on Ilindoos; we dared do less than became men ;
tants, who have remonstrated agaiustthis erroneous for we long excluded the ministers of our
and indefensible system. The agents of other relieion from India—long tolerated by law
governments have perceived the full extent of the the°
evil, and have reported the real state
of affairs disinheritance of natives who adopted
t.) our faith —long broke a native soldier from
0 their employers. The letter of the Paris corres- his rank in the army, if be became a ChriAian—
pouilent of our well-informed contemporary the
Morning Post, which will be found in another
lone paid tribute to au idol-worship in which men
were, literally, immolated beneath the wheels of
part of our impression, correctly indicates the pre- the idol's chariot--and, to the last, by
every go-
valent opinions on the Continent, on this all-im- ' vernmental act, proclaimed that a faith of follies,
I portant topic. " A want of supreme power, and obscenity, and cruelty, was worthy of official
a vigorous and determined will to enforce it, are , homage, and of being placed on a level with our
the reasons why in time of war we do not accom- own ! ! The East India Company—for they are
plish so much as the splendid material of our i the men who thus abased the English nation,
army and navy lead the nation to expect." , flattered and petted where they
ought at most to
tary advice is posh-pooped. The high authorities I have tolerated and pitied. The result is now be-
in India, do not encourage reports, or opinions, fore iv:. We have tried to buy off the opposition
from men who point out
abuses, so that the few iof an ineffably barbarian faith and priesthood, as
really clear-sighted military mer, who have pro- Rome tried to buy off barbarian swords—and
phesied evil have never been popular at head- ; with the same results. We have had indeed all
quarters. A General LLOYD, Who will act on the the humiliation for worse than nothing. We laid