The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-03 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 3, 1857.

TEE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY AND THE
INDIA QUESTION.

WIMBORNE, FRIDAY.
A public meeting in aid of the India Relief Fund
was held in the New Town-hall, in this town, at
two o'clock to-day. The Right Hon. the Earl of
Shaftesbury, lord-lieutenant of Dorset, who has
just returned from the Continent, presided. There
was a full attendance of the elite of the neighbour-
hood, many of whom were ladies.
-Prayer having been offered by the senior clergy-
man of the Minster, the Rev. H. P. Cookesley,
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY rose to address the
assembly. After the cheering with which his lord
ship was greeted had subsided, the noble earl read
letters of apology for non-attendance from Mr. W.
C. Lambert, enclosing five guineas for the Indian
Relief Fund, and another from Mr. Gerard Sturt,
M.P., also enclosing 51.
The NOBLE EARL then said—Ladies and gentle-
men, we are assembled here to-day upon a serious,
I may almost call it a solemn occasion. We are
here to contribute all we can afford towards that
fund that is now being raised for the relief of our
suffering countrymen and countrywomen. 1 will
not dwell upon this point, because I am sure no ar-
guments will be necessary to excite you to give of
your abundance, according to your means, to the
relief of such direful necessity. But we are also
here to express our sympathy with those who have
suffered unprecedented miseries, resulting, I must
say, from unprecedented crimes; for whetherwe cowl
derthe things that were done, or the persons who have
done them, I do not hesitate to affirm-that history
will not furnish a parallel of atrocity either in the
principle or in the perpetration of the guilt. And
what were the things that were done ? I must confess
that I have been astonished that some persons
should have been found to maintain that there
ought to be a reserve upon the publication of these
enormous crimes ; that the British people should
not be told in plain, forcible, and true language,
what has been endured by their countrymen and
countrywomen in the East Indies. These atroci-
ties ought to be known, as marking a period in the
history of our race, that in the 19th century men
should be found in any nation capable of such
enormous crimes ; and marking a period that, under
the good providence of God, there could, at the
same time, have been found people professing the
Qeristian religion capable of enduring with heroism
pains and insults more grievous than ever were in-
flicted in the early periods of Roman persecutions.
Doubtless, there is a certain reserve that must be
practised in the matter of public writings, because
the cruelties, if recorded, are so vile, disgusting,
offensive to every sense of modesty and shame, so
outrageous, so exceeding human imagination, that
many would recoil from the narrative, and many
would reject it as untrue. Yet surely there are
some things that ought to be brought before the
British public when we are appealing to them
for contributions and for sympathy. Will you
not be told that hundreds of your countrymen
and countrywomen have been massacred, with
circumstances of torture and of cruelty un-
precedented in any age, and not to be found in
any nation ? I pass over things that have oc-
curred elsewhere and in other times, but I do think
that the history of these cruelties presents a series
of events for which you will find no parallel in any
history of mankind. Hundreds and thousands have
been massacred in the onslaught of towns, provinces
have been ravaged, thousands have been put to
death, children have been tossed into the fire in the
momentary excitement of rage and under the influ-
ence of an assault ; but where have you heard of
such cruelties being perpetrated in cold blood ?
Why, I myself Naw the other day a letter from the
highest lady now in India, describing that day by
day ladies were coming into Calcutta, their ears
and their noses cut off, and their eyes put out ; and
I can tell you that children of the tenderest years
have been reserved to be put to death under cir-
cumstances of the most exquisite torture, in cold
blood, not in teoments of excitement, as you may
read when the town of Magdeburg was sacked by
the Imperialists, but reserved to be tortured with
circumstances of the utmost refinement before the
eyes of their parents, who were made to witness the
cruelties inflicted—who were made, in cold blood,
to swallow portions of the flesh cut from the limbs
of their children, and themselves afterwards burned
upon a slow fire, to gratify the malignity and the
hellish temperament of those creatures who bear
the human form. And who were they who perpe-
trated these atrocities? Was this a nation rising
in the sense of its wrongs, writhing under
torture, plunder, oppression, cruelty; under the
violation of every sacred and social right ; ris-
ing to recover their lost liberties ; rising as
one man to assert their independence and the
integrity of their religion ? No such thing. Has
any proclamation been put out by the rebels that
they had a single wrong to complain of ? Have
you found in any one instance a national, or even
the symptom of a national, rising ? Has not the
whole country, with very few exceptions, been per-
fectly tranquil and quiescent? Have not the greater
part of the villages assisted the royal troops, and
attempted to discomfit the mutineers ? Wherever
an exception has occurred it may be traced to the
brigands and deceits, and those wild and lawless
hordes that will always be found in the continent
of India wandering from one village to another ?
The villagers themselves in no instance have risen
against the British power ; they have known that
their security consisted in the vigour and perma-
nence of her Majesty's dominion. From whom,
then, rose this frightful rebellion ? It arose from
a monster of ottr own c elation ; it arose from
an army pampered, flattered, overpaid, and un-
derworked ; it arisod from an army that we
had raised by discipline into the attitude they have
assumed ; and, having given it that discipline and
that knowledge of arms and of the military pro-
fession, by our foolish system, and by our neglect,
we allowed it to acquire a sense of its own import-
ance, a convic' ion that it could act independently
po fabiltes
'
asE uitrowpaesanwarincg toers its
own and that it was as ca-
own hands. We drew these soldiers in all their
take the empire into
barbarism
Kali—votariessmandcorruptionefthe from
grossest, filthiest
the votaries of the
goddess
cruelties that ever disgraced mankind—from a
set of men to whom morality was a dead letter.
Never having been taught it, they never could have
known it. Constituting these men into
giving them discipline, force, and arms,
thaensearmmeyn,
turn round upon us and say, "The power that we
have we will make our own. You are dependent
upon us, and we will make you feel the force of
our authority." But as for grievance, what
grievance was ever put forward ? God knows there
is no such thing to be laid to our charge in our
government of India ; and there is nothing to be
laid to our charge in our rule and institution of
the Sopoy army, except the charge of folly, igno-
rance, flattery, and, I must say, foolish and con-
temptible truckling to their pride and superstition,
as we taught them to believe that they were gods,
and that the religion they professed was at any rate
as good as that which we profess. The retribution
that falls upon their crimes must be equal to the
dusteeoeaaenerrmpnkiunparalleled lordship
rneinsanrtgdlalsambeetonl
better
compensationeoashntt
adj,bh.tgaeedi observed
sureduttrrcdrgywogvoteuo,
nature and extent of the crimes themselves. His
e
evi
dsderaaseuaoilnr:lgtfpnodthi
aohcsurmatoneal
and
sdentnpirtng
isythdrti
eejedeoxboruisenwnaefrsrsavntrbct
ieadoelhdnern,sfeigyalki
tesrhoi
perpetrationftni
onmfooo ffgd rsotitp.epalhutl ehaTrmamreobnhlelfjifeidenrauubeme
mntremst
iiruottolemiuhrrtbrcnyieecaeelathnet,si
alludedtli
ngrant
there, in securing, before the arrival of one man
from this country, the citadel of Delhi, into which,
as into a trap, the mutineers had ensconced them-
selves ; animadverted upon Lord Canning's mani-
festo, saying it should have been preceded by
a declaration of the determination of the Crown
to do justice, and so prevent the growing hatred of
coloured persons which must spring from this catas-
trophe ; paid an eloquent and impassioned tribute
to a free press, the value of which he never prized
so highly as now ; and touchingly dwelt upon the
blessed providence of the time when the outbreak
occurred, after the Crimean and Persian campaigns,
and not ere the telegraph could be prevented from
apprising isolated stations of the threatening at
Meerut. The noble earl urged also the placing of
unlimited power in the hands of Government to put
down the mutinies.
Resolutions were passed sympathising with our
fellow-countrymen in the East, and a subscription
list was then formed.
The meeting closed with prayer.

TEMPLE GARDENS.—The chrysanthemums in the
Temple Gardens now present a most beautiful appear-
ance; and the admirers of the rus i,s urbe will be well
repaid by a visit to this remnant of Old London, the
benchers baying Tiber. Ily granted the public admission.
We have before had occasion to notice this autumn
show, but we think the flowers this year surpass those of
any former season in variety and beauty. A. great deal
of this improvement is doubtless attributable to the par-
tial oupprealion of the awoke nuigauce.

' house about 70 or 80 yards from the fort.
They loop-holed the walls and keptup a harass-
ing fire front them, which rendered our guns
perfectly useless, as we dared not lift our heads
to fire. It was here my poor brother while
covering one of the gunners (Conductor Ahern)
with his rifle, was mortally wounded by a ball in
the head, which killed him a few hours after. Col.
Tucker was killed on the same spot the day after
my brother was wounded, and they were buried
together in ono grave. On the following morning
Mr. Ahern blew away, with a discharge of grape,
some dozen men who were constructing a breast-
work for their riflemen on the woodyard wall, which
place they had reached by means of a covered way
they had erected with jhow and sandbags under the
protection of the fire of their riflemen. They did
not attempt the same again, but procured the as-
sistance of some Sappers and Miners, and cut a hole
through the woodyard wall, and by this means got
into the yard. There was a large store of firewood
and straw in it, so we allowed them to get in and
work away, for they were unable to do us any harm,
and when they had fairly worked for two days we
fired the wood and drove them out baffled. They
commenced a mine and worked two nights, and
early on the third morning they sprung it ; the.ex-
plosion was awful, it shook the whole fort, we all
{thought it was over with us, but an examination
proved that it had blown down only five or six
yards tof the wall, leaving the inner half standing.
The bastion where I was happened to be the next
to that where the explosion took place ; I at once
ran to the spot to see what mischief was done ;
seeing,. however, several of our party engaged in
moving a gurrto the breach, I returned to my own
post, and noticed from 100 to 150 Pathans and
Sepoys congregating below the breach, in order to
attempt an escalade, as soon as the dust and smoke
cleared off. lat once sent notice to the others to
get aid, and in the meantime by pouring the fire of
two double barrels and eight muskets, already
loaded, into them, and discharging them as they
were reloaded by a native, managed to disperse
them before any of my comrades came to my aid.
Somewhat later in the day a second assault was
attempted, which was defeated by Mr. Fisher's
shooting the leader of the party, which caused his
followers to fall back. We this day lost our best
gunner, Mr. Ahern, who was shot through the
head while laying a gun.
The enemy had now brought a gun to bear upon
the bungalow containing the ladies and children.
The shots generally passed over, but two or three
struck the house ; another gun they got to bear
against the gate, and contrived to break a hinge
and knocked several holes through it, but little
harm was done, as we had piled up the archway
with timber, which effectually stopped the shots.
Two of our guns were soon after disabled. The
enemy then commenced another mine close to the
first. The determination thus shown by them, as
also the loss of three of our best men, disheartened
the garrison, already worn out by fatigue and watch-
ing. It was also certain that if the second mine
was completed and fired, the enemy would attack
us by both breaches, which we could not possibly
defend ; our position became desperate ; we began
to look to the boats as our only mode of escape, the
river having risen considerably by the rains. After
due consideration it was determined to evacuate
the fort. No time was lost in getting everything
ready for a start. The ladies and children were
divided into three parties. At midnight they
were got safely into their respective boats ; one of
the party was then sent round to the pickets to call
them in. At about 2 a.m. of the 4th of July we
had all embarked. The guns in the fort had been
spiked, and the little ammunition we had left de-
stroyed. The order was given to let go ;we started
in very good order, but no sooner did we pass the
fort wall than showers of bullets were sent after us,
and a cry raised that the Feringhees were running
away. The Sepoys followed us about a mile, firing
all along, but doing no harm, for we were a long
way out of range.
We had not proceeded far when it was found that
Colonel Goldie's boat was much too large and
heavy for us to manage. It was accordingly deter-
mined to be abandoned, so all the ladies and child-
rea were taken in Colonel Smith's boat. A little
delay was thus caused, which the sepoys took advan-
tage of to bring a gun to bear on the boats; the dig-
tance, however, was too great ; every ball fell
short. As soon as the ladies and children were all
safely on board we started and got down as far as
Singheerampore without accident, although fired
upon by the villagers. Here we stopped a few
minutes to repair the rudder of Colonel
Smith's boat, and one out of tw ) boatmen we had
was killed by a matchlock ball. The rudder
repaired, we started again, Colonel Smith's boat
taking the lead. We had not gone beyond a few
yards when our boat grounded on a soft muddy
sandbank ; the other boats passed on, all hands got
into the water to push her ; but, notwithstanding
all our efforts, we could not manage to move her.
We had not been in this unhappy position half an
hour when two boats, apparently empty, were seen
coming down the stream. They came within 20
yards of us, when we discovered that they carried
Sepoys, who opened a heavy fire, killing and
wounding several. Mr. Churcher, sen., was shot
through the chest ; Mr. Fisher, who was just be-
hind me, was wounded in the thigh. Hearing
him call out, I had scarcely time to turn round
when I felt a smart blow on my right shoulder ; a
bullet had grazed the skin and taken off a little
flesh. Major Robertson was wounded in the face.
The boats were now alongside of us. Some of
the Sepoys had already got iuta our boat.
Major Robertson, seeing no hope, begged the
ladies to come into the water rather than to fall
into their hands. While the ladies were throwing
themselves into the water, I jumped into the boat,
took up a loaded musket, and, going astern, shot a
Sepoy. I loaded again, but finding no cap, was
obliged to retreat, as the enemy were now coming
in iu great numbeis. Lieut. and Mrs. Fitzgerald
were at this time sitting in a corner of the boat with
their child. Lieut. Fitzgerald had a loaded musket,
with the bayonet fixed, in his hand. Mr. Churcher,
sen., still lay weltering in his blood. The others
had all got out of the boat into the water. Major
and Mrs. Robertson, with their child and Miss
Thompson, were standing close to each other be-
side the boat ; Lieut. Simpson and Mr. Churcher,
jun., were near them also ; I all this time lost
sight of Major Philpot, Ensign Eckford, and a few
others. I suppose they were killed. Mr. and Mrs.
Fisher were about 20 yards from the boat ; be had
his child in his arms apparently lifeless. Mes. Fisher
could not stand against the current ; her dress,
which acted like a sail knocked her down, when
she was helped up by Mr. Fisher. I now resolved
to make an escape, if possible, to the leading boat,
which I knew could not have proceeded far, so at
once I struck out into the stream. Mr. and Mrs.
Fisher continued in a distressing position when I
passed them unable to render any assistance.
I saw Mr. Fisher again, alone, floating on his
back, but soon lost sight of him, as it was getting
dark. I continued swimming for about an hour
or more, when at some distance I saw the other
boat. On reaching her I found everything in con-
fusion. Mr. Rohan, the youngest Miss Goldie, a
child, and the only manjee who was on board, were
killed. Lieut. Swettenham, Dr. Maltby, and one
or two others, wore severely wounded opposite
Singheerampore by heavy fire of grape from two
guns planted on the heights by the Sepoys who had
followed us. We repaired the rudder which had
been damaged, and continued our voyage with
heavy hearts all that night. Early the next morning
a voice hailed us from the shore, which we recog-
nised as Mr. Fisher's. He came on board and in-
formed us that his poor wife and child had been
drowned in his arms; his wound was very painful, the
ball having passed through the middle of the left
thigh. We continued our voyage the whole of that
day till we reached a village opposite Koosoom-
khore, in the Oude territories. Here the villagers
offered us assistance and protection. We at first
feared treachery, but soon, convinced they were
friends, accepted their kind offers and put to shore
for the night. We were all hungry, and begged
the villagers to bring us some food, which they soon
did, giving us chupatties and buffalo's milk, which
greatly refreshed us.
My wound had now become very painful, and
my naked back having been exposed to the sun and
rain all day was smarting severely. The boat, now,
as I supposed, was anchored for the night. I deter-
mined to find rest in the village, as I had had none
the two previous nights. I asked one of the that- I
koors if he could accommodate .me with a
charpoy for the night in his village. He at once
took me with him, and gave me plenty to eat and a
charpoy. By this time my back had becomte. so
very sore that I could find no ease in any position.
At night a message came from Col. Smith, saying
that the boat was going to leave. I was too weak,
however, to pay any attention to it. A second and
third came, but I would not go. I had determined
to stand my chance, happen what might. The boat
left. I heard nothing more of it for. several days,
till their manjee who took her down returned and
gave out that Nana Sahib had fired upon them at
Bithoor, and all on board were killed. I remained
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