The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-05 00:00:00

TBE RILHOUSIE DELUSION.

A. few years back there appeared in this journal a
series of articlee on Indian affairs, which attrectool con-
siderable attention from individuals in various parts of
the country conversant with such matters—among ethers
the late Sir C. Napier, who said, in his usual emphatic
manner, that a short time would prove the truth of what
was then only prediction. One object of these articles was
to show that the main aim of the then Governor-
General was to bolster up a reputation for himself,
by any means, chiefly through press puffery.,
in which he is a most adroit proficient, and
at the sacrifice of any man who thwarted his egotism.
So industrious and subtle, however, was Lord Dalhousie
in filling the public ear at home with certain versions of
his Oriental exploits—generally mixed with insinuated
contrasts at the expense of others—that people began to
regard him as the real Coming Man ; and indeed as such
he was held out to us by those who were supposed to
speak by the card. Time is beginning to unmask the
machinery by which this delusion was got up. Indian
affairs are about to undergo an ordeal in the ceming ses-
sion they were never before exposed to, because the pub-
lic knowledge of them is much greater than ever ; and
we shall see Lord Dalhousie very speedily reduced to
the category of certain other Eastern personages who
figured as heroes in England even this time twelvemonth,
but are now something very much the reverse.
Meanwhile, as preparatory to a true understanding of
w
his lordship's achievements, we would point to an article
of very great value, in the current number of the New
Quarterly, bearing ample evidence of knowledge of the
whole question ; and the pith of which we purpose laying
before our readers, if only in corroboration of what we
previously said.
It would seem, from this analysis of his administra-
tion, that the appoiettneot of Lord Dalhousie to the
Governor-Generalship was a mistake on the part of the
borne Government, and one, jedging from the cata-
logue of his errors and short-comings, which it will take
long to rectify. His frequent bickerings with his subor-
dinates and with successive commanders-in-chief are
commented upon as incompatible with a minri of the
high class required in one occupying such a position ;
while the regard which he pr d'esses for the welfare
of the people of India is shown to he a barren sentiment,
for of the reality his administration affords no indication.
The state in which he left the country is adduced in
proof of the correctness of this view of his character,
and the Indian Blue-books, his own Minute of February
last, and other documents, are quoted as evidence of the
truthfulness of the reviewer's strictures. The results of
the investigation made at Madras into the police system
of that presidency, and the horrible practice of torture,
not only as a means of extorting confessions of guilt
from accused p• rsons, but as an instrument for enforcing
payment of tie land tax, are held to be conclusive as to
the state of affairs in that quarter ; while Bengal, the
centre of Anglo-Indian rule, is shown to be in a condi-
tion scarcely, if at all, more tolerable. Torture, police
connivance at dacoity, insecurity of life and property,
Zemindar extortion, and constant disputes about land,
arising from the uncertainty of tenure and boundaries,
consequent on the absence of a complete survey and re-
gistration, are among the evils endured by the rural
population of the province in which British rule is of
oldest date. This condition of the Bengal Presidency is
contrasted with that of the Punjaub under the sway of
Runjeet Singh, a contrast which Lord Dalhnusie'e an-
nexation policy renders the more forcible, and the means
of making which have been furnished by the marquis
himself in his first Blue book relating to the then re-
cently annexed north-west territories. In that docu-
ment we are told that, under the rule of the Maharajah,
"justice was dealt out, private properly in land, the re-
lative rights of landholders and cultivators, the corpo-
rate capacities of village communities, were all recog-
nised." •Ruineet Singh had gone to his account when
this was written, and his dominions had already been
absorbed in British India; this testimony to the justice
of his rule (and it is contended by the reviewer that he
affords a fair example of native Sovereigns) is therefore
the more reliable.
But it is chiefly against the financial measures of
the Marquis, and the violence and irnpolicy which
characterised his treatment of native princes, that cen-
sure is most forcibly directed. His civil administration
is acknowledged to have been not unmarked by improve-
ments, though most of the reforms for which be takes
credit are shown to have been the work of others, as the
excellent police of the Punjaub, which was inaugurated
by Sir Charles Napier, and carried out by those whom
that no less great administrator than soldier appointed.
But it is the financial system of a country which deter-
mines its prosperity. Now Lord Dalhousie's would
seem to have been so defective that, while it injured
British credit with native capitalists, it would scarce
have saved the Indian treasury from bankruptcy but for
the largely increased revenue accruing from opiate.
This increase, moreover, has not been due to the mea-
sures of Lord Dalhousie, but to those adopted by Lord
Ellen borough and the conquest of Scinde by Napier, an
acquisition which closed up the only r onaining avenue
by which opium could be conveyed to the seaports with-
out paying toil. How much credit is due to the Marquis
for his management of the finances of India is to be seen
in the Parliamentary accounts, which exhibit, by the
way, a remarkable want of agreement with the figures
given by the late Governor-General in his Minute. The
net revenuelof India for 1846-47, the year preceding
Dalhousie's appointment, was 18,053,0001. ; and in
1853.54, the last year for which the accounts have been
made up, it amounted to 20,328,0001., showing an in-
crease of only 1,678,000/. instead of four millions from
territorial acquisitions, and two millions from opium, as
stated in the Minute. An examination of the expendi-
ture exhibits a similar discrepancy. In 1810-47 the
charges amounted to 19,024,0001., and the deficiency, al-
though that was the year of the Sikh war, did not exceed
971,0001. In 1853-54, India being then at peace, the
'charges' were 2%372,000/o and there was a deficit of
2,044,0001., notwithstanding an addition of 8,351,000/. to
the Indian debt within the period of Lord Dalhousie's oo-
vernment. This was the financial condition of the
country when the man-tele effected. the cenvers'.on of the
5 per cent. debt into one of 4 per cent.—an operation
for which he takes great credit, as having saved 300,000/.
per annum to the company in the fern of difference, of
interest. The reduction was made, it wculd seem, to
give eclat to the last days of his ruie, the prosperity of
which it was made to seem the indication being entirely
fallacious. The accounts for that year having only this
year ('56) been published, the real state of all t.irs was of
course unknown. The conversion was effec:ed, but the
amount thus eared was only as a drop of water to the
Ganges, in comparison with the existing deficiency and
the increasing disproportion between income and expen-
diture, and the baseless fabric of Indian prosperity soon
fell to the ground. Lord Dalhousie was compelled to
contract a new loan at 5 per ceut., and to guarantee the
stockholders against any reduction of interest for four•
teen years, without which it appears doubtful whether
the money could have been raised. A serious blow was
thus given to British credit, the effects of which are
apparent in the difficulty experienced in filling up the
loan now open.

In the examination of Dalhousie's policy with regard
to native rulers and territorial acquisitions, the arguments
of the reviewer lead irresistibly to the cenclusion that,
no more in external relations than in financial measures,
have the interests of India been advanced under his lord-
ship. The conquest of the Ponjaub, which be merely
completed, is shown to be the only one from which any
benefit is likely to accrue, and that only in a military
point of view, there being a deficiency of 59,0001. on
account of that province, although the marquis claims an
addition therefrom of 1,500,0001. to the revenue. Peen
is not ceded to us by treaty, and our future possession
must depend upon tee ability or otherwise of the Bur-
man monarchs to recover it. In the meantime the re- I
venue derived from it only amounts to half the expenses '
exclusive of military and marine charges connected with
our occupation, rendering it a positive loss to the Com-
pany, although Lord Dalhousie's Minute represents a
gain of 220,0001., which is nearly three times the amount
actually collected. The other annexations made under
his rule add nothing to the glory or stability of our In-
dian empire, because the rulers of the territories thus
added to our already overgrown possessions in Asia had
long been mere cipherg, dependent on the company's for-
bearance. On the other hand, while the revenues ob-
tained from them are, far the most part, absorbed is I
the charges incidental to a military occupation, their
annexation has spread discontent and distrust through-
out India, in consequence of the violation of treaties and
disregard of the established laws of succession involved
in them. Of the rationality of these laws, Lord Dal-
house, it is contended, was not to
immemorial
the judge ; suffi-
cient that they existed from time through-
out India, and that repeated assurances had been given
the Hindoos that their ordinances and customs should be
respected. The writer concludes his anatomy of Dal-
housie's eight years' rule by referring to the crowd of
illustrious natives now in London as petitioners against
his injustice and rapacity, and pointing to the fate of the
conquest-founded empires of the past as an indication of
what may take place in India should the same policy be
continued, the English element being to the native but '
as one to five thousand, and the latter yearly progressing
n intelligence and social influence.—:es„rpool A won.

ENORMOUS TGRNTP.—Mr. Taylor, of Showle-court,
has grown a common turnip, of enormous size, on land
manure(' with artificial manure, supplied by Messrs. J.
and T. Robinson, of Gloucester. It weighs 25,1 lbs.,
and measures 3 feet 7 inches by 3 feet 5 inches in cir-
cumference ; the quality is excellent.
A SONG FRO3f THE DOCK.—Caroline Arearthy, a
ticket-of-leave woman, and George Hayman, a marine,
were indicted for stealing a silver watch and guard, the
property of Edward Giles. It appeared that on the 20th
of Dec. last the prosecutor met the prisoner in Granby-
street, Plymouth. She caught him tightly round the
waist and took the watch from his pocket. It was after-
wards discovered that the prisoner Hayman sold the
watch for 31. The jury having returned a verdict of
guilty the recorder in sentencing the prisoners observed
that .11`Carthy had been transported for a similar offence
for seven years, and had obtained a ticket-of-leave, but
it appeared to produce no effectupon her, and he should
therefore
toe sentence her to 14 years' transportation. In
referenc Hayman, he should commit him to prison
for 12 months, hoping he would have time to reflect an
his position, and on his release he would then make a
good member of soFiety. The prisoner M'Carthy, who
was a daring looking woman and of robust form, ex-
tended her arms and said, addressing the recorder,' "I
am very much obliged to you for the sentence you have
passed upon me. I have flow a chance of going abroad,
and I shall have an opportunity of doing better than if
I had stopped at home. Fortune smiles on the bad, and
I am happy I am going out of the country. Many
hundreds I have robbed, and f I should return many
hundreds I shall rob again. She then left the dock
singing very loudly.

Mr. Joyce said a more unfair proposition never was
made, as no such order was made when Mr. Sleigh
opened his case.
Sir R. W. Carden said if such an application had been
made to him on either side he should have felt himself
bound to accede to it at the beginning of this inquiry,
and it was therefore his duty to do so now.
Mr. Joyce said be would not oppose the application,
because his own case would stand upon its own merits,
but in Mr. Sleigh's case he knew it was necessary to
have the witnesses in court.
Mr. Sleigh thought such observations should not be
made, because, had Mr. Joyce applied in the first in-
stance, the witnesses would not have been allowed to be
present.
The witnesses having been ordered out,
Mr. Joyce said he felt this inquiry had been protract.
ed, and a cloud of witnesses had been called in support
of the case against Mr. Barber, but which he would show
was one of the most flimsy character ; and feeling, from
the manner in which this prosecution had been con-
ducted, it was a malicious proceeding on the part of this
self-styled public prosecutor, who would ultimately be
made to pay for the gratuitous, mischievous, and un-
merited attack upon his private character. With regard
to the history of this case, he might mention that Mr.
Potter, without saying a word to any one, went to the
police-court, and, unasked--he was going to say almost
encouraged—made a statement, and afterwards made
use of the criminal law as an engine to crush and defeat
Mr. Barber in the vindication of a just right. When he
sought to relieve himself from the stigma of such a charge,
the course pursued by Mr. Potter had been adopted by
him for the purpose of closing his mouth in another
court and before another tribunal. With reference to the
evidence, it did not show that the persons alleged to have
been defrauded had complained or had any desire to
prosecute, and that fact alone ought to arouse the
magistrates' suspicions. It had been said that Mr.
Potter was a public benefactor, for taking these pro.
ceedings, when, in fact, it was not until an action for
defamation was brought against him for a slanderous
statement made by i i n in the justice room, and from
that moment Mr. Potter had the strongest personal
interest in the course he had taken in this matter, but
Mr. Potter was labouring under a mistake if he thought
a committal by the magistrate would deprive Mr.
Barber of all redress by civil action. With regard to the
testimony of the prosecutors, he would convict them out
of their own mouths, and he was surprised that any one iu
a wealthy place like the City of London should have en-
tertained such a charge, when it was proved that the
poor had been amply provided for by this institution,
until Mr. Potters exposition, to an extent beyond any
other institution of the kind. It had been shown that
1,300 persons had been fed on the Christmas-day, and
he should prove that 1,800 were fed on that day. In
spite of Mr. Potter's vindictive proceedings, he should
show that this was a substantial institution, and if any
one were liable to a prosecution it would be the com-
mittee, who were ready to meet any charge which ma-
lignity might think proper to prefer. This institution
I was founded under the name of the " City Hospice,"
under the auspices of Sir F. Kelly, the then Lord
Mayor, and other influential ,gent'emen in the City.
Mr. Cochrane was most indefatigable in the management
of it until his death, when the institution changed its
name, and underwent certain other a!teratiens. Mr.
Barber was re-appointed under the new system as ma-
nager, and his wife matron, with 1001. a year, rations,
and apartments, which were not unreasonably high
terms. That was the arrangement, and all donors of
a certain sum, by virtue of such gifts, became vice-
presidents. The servants of the establishment received
board, lodging, and wages ; and therefore the beer they
received was only in accordance with their engagements.
No one could suppose that anything in the shape of
donations should be sent for any specific object, when
it was obvious that donations, whether in money or
goods, were forwarded for the general purposes of the
institution. When it was shown, as it would be, that
Mr. Barber had the we;fare of this institution so much
at heart that he hail relinquished hie clai_u for. ea?ary
for the last two years., in order that the destitu-
tion and want of his fellow-creatures might in some
degree be alleviated—(epp!ause) —it was preposterous
for the prosecution to assert that this institution was not
a pubic one, when in fact it was notoriously so, and it
was shown to be so upon the very face of the circulars of
this society. As for the tale of the suet and flour, it
was only reasonable to suppose the servant thought it
Was bad, and therefore sent it away, and although Mrs.
West, the pie-shop proprietor, said it was sweet, it
should be remembered that she sold ihe pies. With
regard to the law of the case, the charge being for ob-
taining goods under false pretences, it should be shown
that the false pretence referred to an alleged existing
fact, whereas in this case tse goods were obtained upon
a promise to do something in the future, which was not
a fah e pretence. •
Sir R. W. Carden recommended Mr. Joyce to confine
himself to the facts.
Mr. Joyce said he wished to draw the magistrates'
atter.Lion to the law, and afterwards he would come to
the facts, for it was upon bath that the magistrates
would have to decide.
Mr. Sleigh said he had proved that these goods were
obtained under certain and divers false pretences.
Mr. Joyce said he was not asking the magistrate to
some to an immediate decision; but he felt it his duty
to neglect no point that would be favourable to his client.
Mr. Martin Said the part relied upon in these charges
was, that the defendant was making collections of money
and food for the purpose of giving the poor a good dinner
on Christmas-lay.
Mr. Joyce said then he would prove that that part of
the case was equally rotten with the rest, as that inten-
tion cn the part of the committee had not been proved to
be untrue. But, as he said before, he did not rely upon
any teehnicil objection, as he world prove beyead a
dou'A that the beer was given to the poor, and that no
part of it was consumed in Mr. Barber's family. He
ei-xt came to the evidence for the prosecution. Cooke,
the first witness, was dismissed for misconduct ; and he
wrote to his late master (lllr. Barbee) threatening
him, if he did not take him again into his employ ;
and after that, of what value was that man's testi-
mony ? In that letter, which had not been read before,
C oee complained of the injury done to him by discharg-
ing him from a situation which he anticipated holding
throughout the season. The next witness, the man
Bright, left with the coat of the institution upon his back,
and having money in his pocket, applied for relief to the
union, for which he was sent to prison for seven days.
This man had avowed himself to be a chest and a liar,
and his only excuse was he was drunk, and knew nothing
about it ; but how much was the evidence of such a man
worth ? The very fact of his being drunk is corrobrative
of the evidence for the defence, as it was for drunkenness
that he was discharged. The boy Flude denied having
received any money for suet ; but that was the only
doubt thrown upon his veracity, for it would be proved
he did have some of it. That, however, being twelve
months ago, may have slipped his memory ; but his
evidence actually assisted the defence, for he swore that
Mrs. Baroer said the suet was bad, and such would be
shown to be the fact, As for the biscuits, it was not
pretended that any were given away ; but they would
be accounted for. Neither :was it pretended that beer
was given away after 4 o'clock, because Mr. Barber
found the servants getting intoxicated, and stopped the
supply at that hour, so that the women who swore they
had no beer, came after that time, and they did not
therefore affect the case at all. He would not question
the veracity of the police, because they might have been
mistaken when their arduous duties and the lapse of
tune were taken into consideration ' • but if the persons
he should call, who actually partook of the beer, denied
that fact, he could only say that they would have com-
mitted grass and deliberate perjury. He next came to
the two girls, with whom it had been alleged Mr. Barber
had been tampering, and, if such was the fact, then Mr.
Barber would be subjett to all the penalties of his act;
but as these girls had told Mr. Horseley they partook of
the beer, he regretted any offer of reward had been
made to those witnesses from the bench for the evidence
they had given, when a more abominable attempt to
calumniate and injure any one was never perpetrated.
Sir R. W. Carden said Mr. Joyce misunderstood him.
He had no intention of giving the girls half a-crown, but
merely to tell them that, if their statements were true,
they would not be the losers of the amount which they
said Mr. Barber had offered to them.
Mr. Joyce said he was very glad to hear that he had
been mistaken. With regard to those witnesses, he
should prove that on those girls leaving the court they
said they had been better paid by Mr. Potter than Mr.
Barber, and one said that her her chap had told her
what to say, and that they expected money for the evi-
dence they gave, and they further remarked that if they
got two shillings each they would take one room between
them, for what purpose must be obvious to a'l in court.
This conversation would be proved by three or four
witnesses, and, further, it would be shown that the girl
Hayes, instead of being three years in the service of
Mrs. acey, who had gone to Australia, no such person
lived at the address given at the time, but the girl's
sistd• did live in the identical house described as Mrs.
Stacey's residence. Mr. Barber's witnesses necessarily
must come from among the class from which the two
girls had been brought, and Mr. Horseley very wisely