The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-27 00:00:00

EAST INDIA HOUSE.

A Special General Court, called by requisition, was held
yesterday on the affairs of Sinde. Mr. John Cotton in the chair.
The minutes of the quarterly meeting having been read,
The CHAIRMAN said the Court had been specially called, on
the requisition of nine Proprietors, to consider certain resolu-
tions, relating to the affairs of Sinde. The Directors had, how-
ever, received a letter from Lord Ripon, dated the sth instant,
informing them that the papers which had been promised, would
be laid before the Proprietors immediately after the meeting of
Parliament, and it was for the Court to consider whether,
under these circumstances, it would be advisable to proceed
with the discussion.

A conversation then took place as to the expediency of post.
potting the discussion.

Mr. SULLIVAN said that, having read the papers, he con.
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ceived that he was in a position to judge of the merits of the
few months the public had been startled by the intelligence
that the Ameers of Sinde, who had been previously in amity
with this country, had been dethroned and banished, their
country wrested from them, and their persons imprisoned.
Every man was bound to inquire into the history of the pro-
ceedings, and if they were unjust, to use his best endeavours to
obtain redress. In order rightly to understand the subject, it
was necessary to keep in mind that these unfortunate Ameers had
uniformly evinced the greatest repugnance to entering into
such relations with us as would compel them to receive a body
of British troops and a British resident into their territory,
though they were anxious for our protection, if it could be re-
tained without the sacrifice of their independence. Very dif-
ferent were the feelings of the Governor-General of India; it
was essential to the success of his political plans to establish
a British influence permanently in Sinde. With a view to
carry out British designs, he instructed our political agent at
Lahore to remonstrate with Runjeet Singh against his invasion
of Sinde, and to offer to them our mediation in their quarrel.
They treated the mission which was sent to them
with marked respect. Colonel Pottinger at length
reported that he had brought his negotiations to a successful
issue, and that they had consented to receive a British esta-
blishment at Hyderabad. The Governor- General refused,
however, to carry out one of the conditions, which was
that Runjeet Singh shosld be compelled to evacuate
thse Sinde territory. The Honourable Proprietor then
read the letter from Colonel Pottinger to the Go-
vernor-General, in relation to this agreement ; also a
letter in which he charged the Ameers with having written a
let ter containing insulting expressions towards the British Go-
vernment. As a punislunent for the offences of the Ameers:
Colonel Pottinger, on the 3d of February, 1839, armed with
the full powers of the Governor-General, dictated to them a
treaty containing twenty-three articles, which, in the language
of Gelonel Pottinger himself, fully and finally established British
supremacy in Sinde. This the Governor-General refused to
ratify, and imposed one of a more stringent character, which
reduced the Ameers to a state of abject submission
to the British Government. This was the state to which
in a few short months, we had reduced the Ameers
in Lower Sinde. What was the course pursued in Upper-
Sinde? Sir Alexander Burnes solemnly pledged the
faith of the British Government, that they would never take
an inch of territory ; yet a treaty was imposed, which placed
the whole territory at the disposal of the English power. In
a few short mouths the Ameers were compelled to re-
ceive a Nati ch Resident, and to take British troops
into their pay. A heavy contribution was exacted from
them equal to one..third of their revenue ; they were compelled
to cede their favourite fortress ; and their ancient constitution
was subverted. What had been done to justify such pro-
ceedings ? The A efteers had been goaded en by the
unceasing
accusations of the British Government, and by the
apprehension that they were about to invade their territory.
They were charged with having written a slavish letter to the
King of Persia, with having used insulting language to the
British Government, with having sent a hostile message, and
with general unfriendliness, and it seemed to lie taken for
granted that all the charges made were true. Was that the case
With respect to the letter so the King of Persia, Colonel Pot-
tinger himself attached no importance to it; it was entrusted
had not sufficient to support him on his journey. Was it to a person who afterwards proved to be an impostor, and
pro-
bablewho that the Ameers would entrust a letter of the kind al-
leged to such a person? The charge of treachery was not by
any means clearly proved. But admitting for the sake of ar-
gument that all the charges were proved, what then?
These acts did not originate in hostility to the British
Government, but were to be attributed to the
treaty which we had forced upon them, depriving them of their
political independence. He alluded to the treaty concluded in
June, 1838, between Shah Soojah and Runjeet Singh.
Shikapore, the richest city of the Ameers, was
wrested from them. The Honourable 'Proprietor then
proceeded to speak at length of the tribute imposed on the
Ameers. When Shah Soojah died, the tribute which had been
imposed continued to be levied by the British Government.
The very ground on which the treaty of Hydera-
bad was imposed was, that the territory of Slade
belonged of right to the British Government as the paramount
Power of Ilindostan. But besides the exaction of tribute, we
violated the Sinde territory. He contended that the treatment
which the Ameers had received, justified their applica-
tion to the King of Persia. What would have
been the conduct of a magnanimous Government under
the circumstances? Why, they would have told
the Ameers that they could make allowances for their position ;
that they must have a passage for their troops ; but that they
solemnly pledged their faith that when their operations had ter-
minated, the Ameers should stand in precisely the same posi-
tion as they had done before; that if it was offensive
to them to receive a British Resident he should not
be forced upon them, but that they might rely upon the assist-
ance of the British power whenever they apprehended danger
from other governments. Colonel M'Naughten had given it
as his opinion, that less stringent terms would have been suffi-
cient ; and one of the last acts of Col. Pottinger's official life in
India was an attempt to persuade the Governor-General to
relax somewhat in his demands of tribute. He then
referred at length to the tribute exacted from the Ameers,
in consequence of the alleged treasonable correspon-
dence with Persia, amounting, he said, in all to 83,000
rupees. When information first reached the Ameers,
of the demand which was about to be made upon them, they
determined at once to resist it ; so, though they were com-
pelled to give their consent to it, they accompanied that con-
sent with a solemn warning to Major Outram, that
unless the territory which hail been wrested from them were
restored, it would be utterly impossible for the Ameers to {fir
vent. some of the chieftains from retaliating by hostilities. Un-
fortunately that warning was disregarded, and an attack was
made upon Major Outram's camp, which was followed by the de-
tin onernent and imprisonment of the Ameers, and the partition of
their territories. The case against the Ameers of India was
brought to a point by the Governor-General, in his letter to
Sir Charles Napier, on the 4th of November, 184:1. (The
letter in question was then read.) He then referred at some
length to the charge of treason brought by the British Govern-
ment against Meer Nusseer Khan, the truth of which turned
on the authenticity of a seal. The Hon. Proprietor contended
that there was sufficient evidence that the letter was not written
by the Ameer, to whom it was attributed. It was stated that
the Ameers had two seals, one of which they used for general
purposes, and another for secresy, which was not kuown.
The seal in this case was not the authentic one, and
yet it was concluded that the letters came from
1 that quarter. In fact, it was impossible, according
to this mode of treating the matter, for the Ameers
to prove their innocence.—( Hear, hear.) The Hon. Pros
pieistor read several letters, with a view of showing that the
treasonable correspondence alleged against the Ameers
hail n ever been proved. The Ameers demanded to
see the letters they were accused of writing ; and where could it
be heard without being reprobated, that the Governor-Gene-
ral founded all his proceedings against Sinde upoa letters
which hail not been produced to the accused parties ?—( Hear,
hear.) We now come to the immediate circumstances which
led to the outbreaks. Unfortunately for the Ameers
of Sinde the constitution of their government did not square
with the notion of the Gallant General, Sir Charles Napier.
Instead of a number of petty princes, each ruling over his own
district, it was the opinion of Sir Charles Napier that there
should be one prince, and that all the other Ameers should be
reduced to the position of nobles. An Ameer was selected for
this purpose, the possessions of the others were wrested from
them, and this one was made the sole ruler of Sinde. 'f he
Gallant General was warned beforehand of the conse-
quences of such a step, and the attack which was made on
the British troops VIES just what might have been ex-
pected under the circumstances—it was consistent with
the laws of nature that it should be made. What
law of nations justified the British in the course which
they had pursued? He contended that it was wholly unwar-
ranted. He then referred to a letter from the Governor-
General to the Ameers, stating, amongst other things,
his opinion that there would be no peace till
the Ameers had been made to feel the British power. They
were made to feel it. Nothing which had taken place under the
National Assembly, or the Emperor Napoleon, during the