The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-12 00:00:00

OUR HUMILIATION.

(From the Examiner.)
"An old maiden gentlewoman," says Addison
in one of his Saturday papers in the Spectator,
" whom I shall conceal under the name of Neme-
sis, is the greatest discoverer of judgments that I
ever met with. She can tell you what sin it was
that set such a man's house on fire, or blew down
his barns. She has a crime for every misfortune
that can befal any of her acquaintance, and when
she hears of a robbery or a murder, enlarges more
on the guilt of the suffering person than on that of
the thief or assassin. In short, she is so good a
Christian, that whatever happens to herself is a
trial, and whatever happens to her neighbours is a
judgment."
The leading domestic event of the week has for-
cibly reminded us of Addison's old maiden gentle-
woman. Last Wednesday might not improperly
be called the day of judgments.
Many eloquent sermons were, of course, deli-
vered, and we could select some good and striking
passages from several of them ; but we must lament
that the majority of the iscourses were ever
preached. It was surely no necessary part of the
solemn occasion that so many rash tongues should
have been unloosed. Was all that hubbub from
the pulpit indispensable to the prostration of the
public heart ? Would not silence have been meeter
homage, where there was so little mature thought
to be clothed in words, and so little discretion to
govern their utterance ? Is prayer impossible
without the sequel of such perilous preaching ? It
would seem to be so settled in the Church of Eng-
land, and what the result is we have now before us
in the effusions of too many of our metropolitan
pastors. Such a Babel of conflicting opinions, such
a wilderness of ill-weaved speculations, such arro-
gant assumption of intimacy with the plans of
Om&ipotence, such daring attempts to lift the cur-
tain that Providence has hung between the present
and the future, such a rushing in of divines where
diviner beings fear to tread—this was our mortifica-
tion upon mortification, and. an aggravation of our
national sins and follies. Were we to take a leaf out
of almost any one of the sermons before us, we should
announce the precise measure of Divine wrath incur-
red by the license of reverend tongues, and so much
abuse of faculties and functions. We might even
be led to count the presumption of spiritual men,
and the vanity of preaching, among the transgres-
sions for which we have been delivered over for a
season in India to the tormentors.

Were the proper authorities to appoint a second
day of humiliation for the country to humble itself
before Heaven for all the cant and extravagance
uttered upon the first, we should not say that it
was ill done. We are not a little disposed, in
truth, to be humiliated by our humiliation, and
are anything but proud of the simultaneous ser-
mons of last Wednesday, either as the speculations
of an intellectual order of men, or as proofs of the
prevalence of rational and sound theology among
our English clergy.
We did not want the pulpits to tell the country
or the Government that the first duty of the crisis
is to suppress the rebellion, and visit with meet
retribution its unheard-of crimes and enormities.
It is satisfactory, no doubt, to find that the clergy
are nearly unanimous on those points ; but they
only echo the public determination. Moreover, we
must observe, that in dwelling to the degree that
many of them dwelt upon the duty of discriminat-
ing justice from vengeance, in deprecating promis-
cuous carnage, and the imitation by our troops of
the nameless cruelties of the Sepoys, these holy
men did the public a wrong, and a wrong also to
our troops in India, for we have not heard such re-
taliatory excesses recommended in any quarter de-
serving of respect ; and we believe our English
soldiery, under the command of Englishmen, inca-
pable of committing them.
The sermon of Dr. Cumming, the eloquent mi-
nister of the Scotch Church in Covent-garden, is
noticeable as being entirely free from maudlin sen-
timent and mistimed pleas for mercy. He spoke
the truth, and spoke it boldly, on this important
point ; upon the whole, we consider Dr. Cum-
ming's sermon the best of all that we have seen re-
ported.
" We had no time or heart to enter on animated discus-
sions, as to how far all this might have been foreseen,
or who are the parties guilty of culpable blindness and
neglect. This is not the time for such inquisition. Nor
have we any disposition to discuss at this crisis what
should be the future government of India. This great
question will come up in due time. It is our present duty
to enlist, on behalf of the powers that be, all the dispos-
able might and resources of the empire, if possible, in
order to enable them to crush this sanguinary insurrec-
tion—this murderous crusade against helpless babes and
unoffending women. We are not demanding vengeance ;
but, surely, just and due retribution is mercy as welt as
justice. We invoke not the sword against a single Hin-
doo or Mahommedan woman or child, but is it unjust to
require that every Sepoy found armed against our Queen
and her authority in India should meet the traitors' and
the murderers' doom? This is not mere justice to the
guilty, it is mercy to the rest of the empire. Here the
highest political expediency and the purest justice are
one."

But with the exception of this, and a few passages
in the same strain, we do not see what useful lesson
the preachers ou the day of humiliation have taught
the public, or those who administer its affairs. If
the Government sanctified Wednesday in the ex.
pectation of being directed by the clergy in the path
It is extremely interesting—unless, indeed, a
of a wise Indian policy, they have been certainly
term expressive of some deeper emotion should he
disappointed. Dr. Croly would raze Delhi to the
employed—to remark the views and proceedings of
ground ; Dr. Trench would suppress the opium
. the manufacturing world at this moment with
trade ; another send out a fresh band of missionaries;
regard to the cotton supply. This plant is now con-
another introduce the Bible, the whole Bible, and
sidered, and with perfect reason, as one of the chief
nothing but the Bible, into the Hindoo schools ; a
elements in the wealth of nations. The mutinies
fifth, in his wisdom and moderation, would put
down all the rites and ceremonies of the Hindoo re- in India set the French journals speculating the
other day on the effects producible in the cotton-
ligion, and including the Mahommedans in the
s time sentence, would found his hopes of a peaceful, market by the interruption of cultivetiou in Behar,
permanent Indian empire upon open war with the the Americans are seriously apprehensive of being
faith of a population of sixty millions of souls thrice overtaken by the excessive demands of Europe,
counted. History is so full of encouraging examples and our own manufacturers have formed associa-
of the conflicts of Governments with creeds ! Chris- tions and established correspondents for the pur-
tianity is so consonant with intolerance of human pose of seeking out this precious material in all
errors ! The policy thus devoutly recommended is Parts of the world. Thera is no delusion or mania
se agreeable to the liberty and genius of the people about all this. What bread is to life cotton is to
of England ! commerce, for raiment comes next in necessity to
The idea that seems to have been uppermost in food. Wool was once the great staple of this coup
the generality of the outpourings of Wednesday is try, but wool now gives place to the produce of the
that England has incurred the wrath of heaven in cotton plant. On this produce depend our manu-
India by sinking her Christianity and neglecting factures, and upon our manufactures depend our
what are called her missionary duties. Nine-tenths inexhaustible resources and our national power.
of the preachers were as confident on this head as The Providential adaptation of the fruits of the
if it had been sent down to them out of the clouds earth to the wants of man is nowhere more maui-
written by the divine finger. Dr. Cumming, how-
fest than in this signal instance. The plant thus
ever, took a different and much juster view of the
universal in its utility is all but universal in it;
matter, which for its singularity alone deserves to growth. If cotton could only be raised, like the
be quoted : rarer descriptions of species, in a single quarter of
"As if providentially meant to enable us to respond to the globe, our position would indeed be alarming ;
this appeal for India, we have had a bounteous harvest, but, as it happens, the plant will flourish within
i
a lightening of taxation, and plenty of employment. As certan latitudes over an immense extent of the
to the causes of this terrible outbreak, I believe they are earth's surface. Asia, Africa, America, and Aus
not owing to the crimes, nor the avarice, or the mis- tralia appear to compete with each other in pro-
government of our country in India—the causes are ductive power, although one country at present
deeper far. It is the maturity of deep-seated and long- has almost a monopoly of supply. Cotton will grow
ripening elements. The Mussulman and the Brahmin with luxuriance in India, and it could be raised
have seen light breaking in every day and dissipating in almost any quantities in Borneo. The French
their respective superstitions—and all kinds of know- are pushing its cultivation in Algeria, and Dr.
ledge secular and sacred have equally this effect—and Livingston assures that Africa is the very territ )ry
dreading the ebb of their deluded victims and the loss for such crops. The capabilities of the West Iniliks
of their own power, they have got up pretended reasons and Guiana in this respect are notorious, Brazil
for combining the masses against Christians in India. I
see in the horizon the circling dawn of light. With all actually sends us considerable supplies, and we
have seen excellent specimens from some parts of
our sins we have been too gigantic a blessing to the
heathen to lose the field for yet greater benefits. Inci Australia. There is no limit, in fact, to the ex-
dents and interpositions obviously providential have oc-
pansion of which cotton planting admits, so far as
curred so often in rapid succession since the first out- the elements of soil and climate are concerned.
burst at Meerut, that I cannot help regarding them as Cotton, in other words, can be grown in quantieies
prophecies of success ; and, taught a lesson from the sufficient to meet all the requisitions of manufac-
past, we may, by God's blessing, commence a course of turers, and since manufacturers can well afford to
policy in India that will sow broadcast on its sunny pay fora commodity so remunerative, why, it may
plains the seeds of golden harvests of religion, social be asked,
do not the operations of supply and de-
order, happiness, and peace." mend result in a natural adjustment on this p-Aut
According to Dr. Cumming, we have not been as give
as others? To this question we think we
such bad Christians among our subjects in India, can give some reply.
but with all our shortcomings " a gigantic blessing Asa matter of fact, it must be premised that this
to them ;" nay, it is to the very extent of our roil-
'adjustment up to a recent period had actually taken
gious influence, imperfect as it is, that he traces place ; indeed, it is but just now that a posi ive
the gathering together and raging of the heathen dearth of cotton is appre ended. About the tine
against us. He considers the rebellion as a rising that our own cotton manufactures made such euor-
against Christianity. We cannot adopt that opi mous strides the United States of America entered
mon • but as far as he dissents from the doc•riue specially upon the work. of supply. This, by their
that liana Sahib was sent by heaven to punish ourt 1 skill,
energy, devotion, capi 4 , and they soon
backwardness as missionaries by the massacre of lised • and for years together COL sumption
our innocent women and children, wb areentirely 'the Atl •
on this side of antic and production on the
of Dr. Cummings way of thinking. muno.po .
other proceeded at a rate of acceleration tolerab'y
Dr. Cumming, however, we are glad to find, is
not alone in bearing witness to the value of our uniform. Even now a good crop and a good liar-
Presence in India, at least as far as civil govern- vest
.dire.
thethe Southern States of the Union set i 1 i
preen. Lancashire mills with almost as muchl
ment is concerned. We find the following con- provender as they required. Lately, however,
current testimonies among the fragments of ser-
the supply
_. .
has threatened to fail in keeping'
mons before us. The preacher at St. Margaret's, pace with the prodigious development of the
Westminster, demand, and a variety of circumstances appear
"Deprecated the presumption which could venture to likely to increase the disproportion time first
pronounce upon the present state of the.land as a Divine created. The American themse!ves are work-
punishment for our misrule in India. With all its hag up a 1 ortion of their own raw mat=rial, and
faults, the British rule in India had conferred greater the manufac ur:rs of the Continent now CclD.e. nito
benefits upon that country t han it had ever enjuyed before. ' tbe cotton-market with more considerable thina:Ali
Irrespective of any other considerations, it was the duty than in times pas'. These weights thrown into
of the British nation to quell the rebellion, in order to
theinev
idtraebaldyi dreadfulthe scale tend, of curse, to the further depress on
save the quiet and peaceful inhabitants of India from
fftneriseirfietsh
the were
earterodceiltiof the b dance, and the Manehes'er people ask what.
is to ba done if America can hardly supply her pi e
whichd
to the theyabsolute
control of the rebel soldiers iveesre wool I
sent customers and is likely enough to h ive more ?
who had shown their real
character by the dreadful, ' The apprehension is felt in America itself, whet e,
and horrid crimes which they
had committed." ' instead of expressing any jealousy, the South ra
Another divine, at the Royal Military Chapel, journals dilate on the expediency of enlarging the
St. James's, spoke much the same lan •
"We have thought more of bringing homeage
:—aid of the Americans in their work of provisioning
of leaving beneficial traces of our footsteps wealth than the world. Accordingly, our manufacturers have
people who have created that wealth and enrictodnugs t,11,..et organized associations for this purpose, and have
providing for the members of our families than of sowing - cat about in all directions for the means of stock-
broadcast the seeds of civilization and education, I .
market
and of mg the more satisfactorily. We have 1) ,en
morality and religion. But still we have done something , favoured with S';Die communications reprtseuting
--God has allowed them this comfort, in poking back 1 the results '
of their labours ; we have also rece:vtd
upon the past centary we have not governed as the r a.. intelligence of our own upon this important sub-
; tive princes did with tyranny, oppression and extoiten
jest, and appears to us that .incidents. our

THE COTTON PLANT.