The Sun.
London, England, 1821-12-20 00:00:00

EAST INDIA. HOUSE.

Yesterday a Quarterly General Court. of Pro-
prietors was held at the East India House) for
the purpose of declaring a Dividend from Mi-
chaelmas to Christmas, and for the dispatch of
other public business.—The minutes of the pro.-
Ceedings at the last Court having been. read,
The CHAIRMAN (Mr. PATTISON) moved, that
the Dividend on the Capital Stock of the Com-
pany, for the half year, commencing July 5, and
ending January 5, 182'2, be 5 per cent.
Mr. RlGuy said, he was -aware that the. pre-
sent motion was usually considered as a mere
motion of course, and that.since the Act of Par-
liament, declaring that a Dividend of.lol.
should be divided among- the Proprietors of
East India Stock, it was deemed to be scarcely
a matter for the consideration of that Coitrt, whe-
ther there should be any or what amount of
Dividend. He contended, however, that a deep
responsibility lay upon the Proprietors, and that
it seas their bounden duty, before coming to a
vote of this nature, to investigate the commer-
cial concerns of the Company, and see whether
their profits would warrant the dividend assigned
to them by the Act of Parliament. He should
Move that an account of the
.net profits of the
commercial establishment of the Company be

immediately laid before the Court.
The CHAinm IN, after a short pause, observed,
that the motion of the Honourable Proprietor
did not-appear to be seconded ; and that it was
irregular to call for the production
.of accounts
without notice.

Mr. S. Dixon doubted whether it was com-
petent to any Member to bring forward a ques-
tion of such importance without notice.
Mr. IlumE took it for granted, that all the
commercial accounts of the Company had been
laid before the Court of Directors, before the
dividend had been declared. He admitted',
however, that it would be extremely inconve-
nient to enter into any examination of theni at
the present moment.
After a few•words from Mr. RIGBY and Mr.
R. JACKSON, the motion was agreed to.
DR. GILCHRIST.

The CHAIRMAN then moved, that this Court approve a
Resolution of the Court of Directors, granting to Dr. John
Borthwick Gilchrist, as Lecturer in the Ilindoostanee language,
the sum of 2001. per annum for a farther term of three years,
together with an allowance of 3001. per annum, to enable him
to piovide a suitable Lecture Room.
Mr. R. JACKSON expressed his participation in the feelings
of gratitude entertained by the Company for the long and suc-
cessful labours of the distinguished individual to whom thepre-
sent grant was appropri,Vtl, Ile could have wished, however,

that in the deScription of that learned person, words of a more
complimentary character had been introduced ; and he should
propose, as an Amendment, the addition of the words, " late
Oriental Professor in the College of Fort William, and now
Professor and Lecturer in the Hindookanee Language in Lon-
don." There was another point to which he wished to call the
attention of the Court ; he meant the limitation of the grant to
a period of three years. He could not but think it a little un-
gracious, that a Gentleman, to whose labours the Company
was so much indebted, and who had contributed so much
towards facilitating a knowledge of the Oriental languages,
should be put, as it were, upon his good behaviour for a term
of three years. One of the necessary effects of this limitation
would be to preclude Dr. Gilchrist from any benefit he might
hereafter derive from the Superannuation Act; and he was sure
that nothing could be further from the intention of the Company
than that the grant should have such an operation. He should
Move, therefore, that the words ":or the term of three years,"
be omitted.
The CHAIRMAN thought the latter part of the Honourable
Proprietor's AmendnienLobjectionable, since it would operate
as an extension of the'ColTipany's grant. It would only be in-
troduced as a substantive motion to be determined upon by two
Courts. The Honourable Proprietor was mistaken in suppos-
ing that the terms of the grant would have the effect ofdepriv-
ing Dr. Gilchrist of the benefit of the Superannuation Act; for
the three years would become a part of the period which would
entitle him to the benefit of that Act.
Mr. R. JACKSON. contended that the Amendment would
rat:•er diminish them enlarge the operation of the grant. As the
terms of the grant at present stood, Dr. Gilchrist was to serve
for three years, coute qui cottte: whereas, if he were to serve only
quamdiu se bene gesserit,fie stood upon his good behaviour,
and might be discarded and sent out to starve at the expiration
of six months. The effect of his Amendment, therefore, would
be to diminish the grant, since it lowered that which was posi-
tive to that which was only conditional.
Mr. T WIN ING asked whether the other alteration proposed
by the Honourable Proprietor, as to the designation of Dr. Gil-
christ, could be made without being previously %reed to by
two Courts ?

• The,CRAIRMAN said, that this was merely a verbal alte
ration, and did not affect the money grant.
Mr. HUME said, that the alteration was desired by Dr. Gil
christ rather as a point of honour, than from any other motive.
The CHAIRMAN observed, that the appointment of Orien-
tal Professor had been made by the Marquess Wellesley, and
subsequently disapproved of by that Court. It would be for
the Court, therefore, to consider whether it would not be some-
what inconvenient to give a title to Dr. Gilchrist, which had
not been recognized by the Company.
Mr. HUME remarked that the title was vox et prmterea nihil.
Ile could not help thinking that Dr. Gilchrist had been hardly
treated. It was usual for the Company not to consider the re-
tired allowance of their servants as a part of their allowance for
present services, but that practice had been departed front in the
case of Dr. Gilchrist. Other Professors, Professor Stuart, for
example, received a salary of 5001. per annum, independent
of his salary. Dr. Gilchrist received 1821. retired pay as a surgeon,
a pension of 2001 for his literary labours in India,, 2001. salary
for his professorship, and 1501. a year for a lecture room, mak-
ing in the whole b 521. Now if he were placed on the same
footing as the other Professors, he would receive 5001. salary,
and 1821. retired pay, so that if every mark of degradation were
removed, the difference -to the Company would only amount to
a sum of 301. a year. He trusted the Court would not refuse
this trifling gratification to a meritorious servant.
The CHAIRMAN said, that as there was something like a
recognition on the records of Dr. Gilchrist's title of Oriental
Professor in Fort William; lie should not oppose the motion.
As. the Hon. Proprietoi who had just sat down, however, had
hinted at an increase of salary, he begged to observe, that
though he was willing to grant the words, he had no inclina-
tion to concede the substance.
Mr. R. JACKSON begged to advert to what he conceived to
, be not the least meritorious part of Dr. Gilchrist's character.
He was entitled to a fee of three guineas from every young sur-
geon whom he taught, which fee, however, he had uniformly
refused ; fur he observed, that he knew what it was to be a
young Scotch sorkon himself, and he couH not bear to take
money- from a young man in that.situation—(a laugh.)
The CHAIIIMAN suggested the omission of the words
Professor' of Hindoostanee in London, since profeSsorships
belonged only to collegiate establishments, and that Court had
no power to dub a professor.
AIi:HUME said he should oppose the whole Amendment, if
this term were objected to. The Court could not in justice and
gratitude do less than give the same tide to Dr. Gilchrist which
he had possessed in India.
The CHAIRMAN said, that if the Honourable Proprietor
persisted in what he could not but consider as a most extrava-
gant proposition, he should be .under the necessity of opposing
the Resolution.
- Mr. TRANT bore testimony to the useful labours of Dr. •
Gilchrist, anti thought the Court would only be doing justice
to that Gentleman if they stretched a point for the sake of con-
ferring upon him an honorary distinction. •
Mr. HUME asked whether the Professor at Addiscomb had
not been so nominated by that Court ? •
The CIMIRMAN said that this_ was under the authority of
an Act of Parliament.
Mr.- ELY NSTONE said that any gentleman in that Court
was of course at liberty to call Dr. Gilchrist a Professor, if. he
thought.fit, but it was -utterly out of the power of the Court to
make bun one. lie confessed, for I,;s part, that he should have
had more respect for Dr. Gilchrist, if he had not seen his name
-so frequently upon late occasions in the newspapers. Ile knew
not whether the conspicuous part which the Doctor had taken
on. the occasions to which he alluded, was to be ascribed to
vanity or a worse motive.
Mr. S. DI NON recommended to the Honourable Proprietor
(Mr. .Hume), to withdraw his Amendment, since, if it were,
negatived, it would have the effect of casting a censure upon
Dr. Gilchrist.
Mr. OLDHAM said, the Court had certainly no power to
confer a distinction, which was applicable only to Collegiate
Establishments. It was true that there was no lack of soi-disaut
professors. There were professors of dancing, professors of
veterinary medicine, and .professors of music, but surely it
would be rather a reproach than an honour to confer upon Dr.
Gilchrist a mock title of this description.
- • After some farther discussiola 1I r. Iltrnie, in order to save
the time of the Court, consented to withdraw hi!; Amendment,
and the Resolution was agreed to unanimously.
The Cirai nara N infOrtned the Court, that in consequence of.
what had passed at the last Quarterly Court, relative to the al-
leged difference in the mode of instruction in the Oriental lan-•
guages pursued in the Colleges of the Hon. Company, and in
the Colleges in India, the Court had called upon Dr. Wilkins,
Visitor to the Oriental Colleges, and the several professors and
sub-professors, to investigate -that subject, and ascertain whether
the alleeations were correct.
. Seseral letters from Dr. Wilkins, and the Professors and
Sub-Professors in the. Oriental Colleges, were read, in which it
was stated, that there was no material difil!rence in the systems
pursued-in India, and in the Colleges at Hailebury and Addia-
comb. •
Me...11U31E objected to the partial manner in which the in,
veStigationhad been conducted : he moved, that the papers now
laid before the- Conit be printed. •
Mr. R. JACKSON- moved; that there be laid before the
Cimet. all the:Reports of the College at Calcutta, as well as all
_Reports from Bombay and Madras, as to the proficiency of pu-
pils in the Oriental languages, distinguishing those who had
been isreviously educated at Hailebury anti Addiscomb, and
how loig they had been subsequently instructed in India.
After, a few-words from Mr. HUME and Mr. S. DIXON,
the motion was agreed to.
-GRANT To MIL J. 11. PELLEY;
The CHAIRMAN next moved that a Resolution of the
Court of, Directors be confirmed, granling a suns of 2,0001. to
John Ilinde-Pelley,-of the Bombay Civil EstablishMent,va the
grounds therein stated. a- i‘
Mr:. HUME opposed the motion, on the groun t r.
Pelley had failed' to fulfil the terms of a contract which he had
made to furnish die Company With ropes for the washing Of cot-
ton bales. It was true that he had ultimately furnished the
whole amount- of lashings contracted for, and be bJieved' also
that.be might have lost considerably by. the contract; last as he
had failed' to furnish them within the_ tune specified in• the con-
-tract, he was not entitled to compensation.
Mr. S. DIXON opposed ,he grant.
Mr. CHALMERS and Mr. AlONEY'supported. it.
. After a few words from Mr. -Aladdin, Mr. Hallett, Mr.
Money, and Mr. Trant,
Mr. HUME, on behalf of himself and -eight refer Proprie-
tors, demanded a ballot, which- was fixed:for that day three
weeks.
After some other business, relative to the by-laws of the
Court, had been disposed of, the Court adjourned:

PRICE SEVENPENCE.

MEHEMET ALI PACHA,
VICEROY OF EGYPT.

It is not generally knoWn that thelriccnoY
of EGYPT, who performs such an important part
in the transactions of the present day, was born
a Frenchman. The following facts appear au-
thentic ; and though the Christian name of this
Mussulman Prince is still concealed, we'can only
ascribe it to reasons of expediency and.policy,

which will be easily felt :
Mehemet Ali, and his sister Mine, since Sul-
taness Val.:di!, were born at Martinique about the
years 1763 and 1764, in one of the handsomest
houses in that Colony. Their father 'Was an Of-
ficer of high rank in the militia, .and Was distin-
guished for . his bra Very. The Marquess de
Bonnie, who bad been a witness of his honourable
services, submitted' his conduct to thi..c6nsidera-
tion. of 'the Government, . who 'bestowed on -him
the Cross of St. Louis, appointed hii' daughter
to a place at Saint-Cyr, and gave his son a Sub-
Lieutenant's commission in the regiment of Bouil-

lon, then in garrison at Marseilles.
The brother and sister embarked on board a.
merchant ship belonging to that port; but they
were taken in the Mediterranean by a privateer,
and Nold with the crew at Algiers. Mehemet,

rather than be a slave, requested leave to serve
under the orders of the Algerine. captain ; he
was then only fifteen years old, and Aline not
yet fourteen. The latter was taken to Smyrna
by an Armenian, and there declined the'offer of
M. L'Amouroux, the French Consul, to pay her
ransom ; an old negress having predicted'Ao her
that she would one day be raised to the rank of
a Princess. The Armenian sold her to Isaac
Aga, son of Ibrahim, the Grand Custom House
Officer at Constantinople, and the latter made a
present of her to Abdul Humeri, who in 1773
ascended the imperial throne of the Ottomans.
Aline entered the Seraglio as an Odalisque, but
her uncommon beauty soon elevated her to the
rank of favourite Sultaness.
The first wish of the Sultaness was to find her
brother, and she succeeded in discovering bins
among the Guards of the Dey of Algiers, whose
notice he had attracted by his courage and ad-
dress. The Dey thought himself very happy in

ceding him to the Grand Signior.
Mehemet, on his arrival at Constantinople,
was placed in the Seraglio at the College of the
icoglans, Aline was brought to bed, in 3784, of
Mahmoud, the present Sultan ; but her influence
and favour ceased at the death of Abdul Harped.
During the reigns of Selim and Mustapha., Aline
in the retirement of the Seraglio occupied her-
self solely with the education of her sett. As
for Mehemet, he made his liNt.campaigns, in
quality of Aga, against the French iu Egypt.—
He there owed his life to M. Lyon; a Captain of
Cavalry in the Regiment of Colonel Lasalle.—
Mehemet was made prisoner, but obtained his
liberty through the good offices of Capt.. Lyon,
and returned to Constantinople. lle was there
at the time of the famous revolution of Mustapha-
liaraictar, and the death of Seltat: Selim. lie
seconded powerfully Ramir-Effendi, when the
latter blew up Baraictar in the tower where he
had entrenched himself with his women and trea-
sures. It was Mahomet who, in concert with
Ramir-Effendi, and at the head of '2,000 Alba-
nians, caused Mahmoud to be proclaimed Sultan
by a fetfa of the Grand Mufti. Aline then
quitted the old seraglio, and became Sultaness
Valid 6.
When all these troubles were appeased by the
death of the Sultan Mustapha IV., Alahmoud
confided the pacification of Egypt to his uncle
Mehemet, who set out for his Government in
1808, reduced the chiefs of the Mamelukes, and
was shortly afterwards declared Pacha-Viceroy
by a tirman of the Grand Signior. Aline died
in 1817.
The following anecdote proves that the virtue
of gratitude is not a stranger to the heart of Me-
hemet. Captain Lyon, on his return from Egypt,
quitted the French service and engaged in the
commercial concerns of his father at Marseilles.
In one of his maritime speculations he went, with
a cargo of corn, into -the port of Cavalla. Mehe-
met who commanded in the country, as Beglier-
bey, recognized his former benefactor, and ren-
dered him many important services. He. would
have made his fortune, if Capt. Lyon had not died
prematurely. M. Lascaris, Egyptian Consul at
Marseilles, received, soon after that unfortunate
event took place, an order to pay 10,000 francs
(5001.) to the sister of M. Lyon.
Mehemet governs Egypt with wisdom and
humanity. Ilis son, Ibrahim Pacha, has reduced
the Wechabites, retaken the tomb of the pro-
phet, and discovered Oasis, where the ancient
temple of Jupiter Ammon is situated. The Vice-
roy has caused-the canal of Alexandria, about
twenty-two leagues long, to be cut; he has en-
couraged the cultivation of the sugar-cane, the
first plants of which he imported from Martini-
que ; he has. created a•Government and a Mer-
cbant Navy, and has put an end 19 the oppres-
sions under which European commerce at Cairo
groaned.
iVlehemet is said to be eXgremely attached to
the F.kench, and purchases all4he principal mo-
dern French publications, particularly those
which treat on the. sciences and useful arts.
The details we have just givgn.Nare extracted
from a 'nonuscript communicated by a French
emigrant, who was a long time employed by the
English' Legation at Constantinople; he means to
publish soon a-complete History of Mehemet and
Aline, •frcm.aulibentic documents in his posses-
sion : a work which is likely to be very interest-
ing, and is calculated to excite the curiosity of
the Public.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

•
~first act of:the new
'inistry has nobly contradicted and reduced to
'the silence of shame all the calumnious
WhiChmen endeavou'red*to disseminate who
(I,.:3ired a change, li.eCauSe'they always expect to
giitia something by one, btit who noW see clearly
that the alteration has not been rna6 so as to
cOatribote to their advantage. V. hat advances
the affairs of the worthy part of the community
Jou.st always make theirs retrograde.—As soon as
the nomination of the new Ministers was known,
wasit
F announced in certain coteries that hence-
forward the right side of the Chamber, which
• had just made such a strong opposition to the
Law of the CeiisorshiP demanded by the falling
Ministry, was disposed to grant every thing to
that which was rising : so true is it, that by these
persons questions of prinCiple were decided upon
from the names of a few men.lt was added,
'that M. de Vatiblanc was about to alter' his Re-
port; of* which the negative conclusion and
several remarkable passages were.already known.
ndou btedly, if the Ministry had not so
:pro:nptly taken," the *resolution which does
it honour, it would • have been ; necessary for
M. de VaublanC to alter his speech, since the
additors to whom he particularly addressed him
pelf had quitted tii.e.i)la'ce.—The -Ministers have
saved him this trouble. They wished to signa-
ii,ze their entrance, into office by marking the
,ground on which they were determined to take
their stand ; it is that which we have under all
..,circumstances so warmly recommended to the
Royalists not, to abandon, it is the ground of
:public on which they can best de-
fend the rights and prerogatives of the Crown,
which are the best guarantees of those liberties.
The Ministers of the King have felt that it was
due to their dignity to renounce that interdictory
language which an indolent confidence made use
of-for several years to demand arbitrary power,
and which may be reduced to these terms :
." Gentlemen, it is evident, it is admitted that it is impossible
to niake a law repressive of the abuses of the press. 'What ap-
pears impossible to us who are speaking to you is impossible to
very body ; the impossibility of this law is so clear to us, that
.we have not even taken the trouble to think about it. Yet as
the Journals cannot remain without we prefer, what is short
and convenient, to demand the continuation of the Censorship
for only five years. Q. E. D."
• It is a very expeditious mode of reasoning to
assume as a fact that which is a question--" It
is impossible to make a law repressive of the
liberties of the press." Such is not the opinion
of the enlightened minds who have considered
this matter, and have looked at the question in
its true points of view. It was not the disposi-
tions of the law which presented obstacles to
them; it is easy to render them clear and posi-
tive; but the more important, as well as more
difficult point, is to insure the execution of the
law. They agree generally in thinking, that to
obtain from the law the salutary effects which it
should produce, the execution of it must be en-
trusted, with a certain latitude as to the propor-
tion of punishment,• to. enlightened Magistrates,
indulgent towards faults committed through in-
advertency and with good faith, but inexorable
towards insults on the holiness•or the Attar and
the Majesty :of the Throne ;, towards attacks,
perfidiously calculated, on the principles of so-
cial order and public morals ; towards the pro-
pagators of poisonous doctrines which corrupt
and destroy youth. Let
,writers guilty of such
crimes be subjected to so severe a punishment,
as to take away from them, as it were, even the
power of relapsing. With such a law, thus exe-
cuted, a strong Ministry will not need a Censor-
ship ; arid it is known that it will always be the
Censorship of a feeble Ministry.
We will not engage-in the scholastic niceties

of which the words repress and prevent have been
the subjects; certain grammarians of the Tribune
have wished these two words to be synonimous.
We will only say, that some striking examples of
a rigorous justice in repressing the offences com-
mitted by seditious or impious writers, would
assuredly prevent those which others might be
tempted to commit.
It is to be remarked, that the sincere friends
of the liberty ofthe press repelled it with horror,
if it was presented to them freed from those
severe laws which alone can ensure its exercise
and. Ward off its dangers.
We have more than once declared, and we will
not cease repeatin- We should prefer abso-
lute-despotism. to indefinite and unlimited li-
berty ;" but between these two extremes there is
a just aid reasonable medium, a wise liberty,
regulated by powerful laws. This is the pro-
blem to be solved, and the Ministry will easily
find the solution, since they look for it with
-good faith. They may :.reckon on the assistance
of ill just minds,. of all those generous hearts
which love liberty and hate licentiousness, its
most mortal enerny.=--(Drapeau Blanc.)
MAnato; DEC. 6.—( Extract of a Private Let-
ter).-The. volcano threatens an eruption, all the
symptoms announce themselves in a terrific way ;.
the- conduct of the- inhabitants of Cadiz, Seville,
and COrtinna haS found imitators ;. the party of
the Corninuneros directed and forwarded the exe-
cution:of the fainous plot; almost, all the officerS
of, *the. army are wen rOier to it, together with
a party of the provincial militia,: and nobody
now affects.to conceal it.. ody or to-morrow,
it is Said. that this faction will avow itself openly,
knowing that .this.is precisely the •period when
the' Permanent- Deputation of the 'Cortes is to
render to .ithe Cortes >itself an account-of the
actual- stateof the 'nation, while proposing the
measures:necessary to remedy its evils. The regu-
lar troops and
,the.militia are like. to -be under
arms.,..and this,-therefore„ is the 'moment that has
.been-chosen for the decisive blow. The result of
this Sitting beitfg to 'prove . Malt 'interest-
ing, the:populace, are expected • to 'repair, in
crowds to the Palace of the Legislature; which
cannot fail, as is Wished, to increase the tumult.
It is during this Sitting ,that ..eXplanation
will be-:.required,of the motives for-the -appear-
ance of a General .and;his star at' Ba'Onne. The
faction-or party of the.-Cononuneros,. which has
also its- patrons in- Ot'6 Cortes; and of which
Messieurs. Romeo AlPtiente and Dioz del Morales
(now joint Editors and Proprietors of The Re-
guktteur)are. the leaders, will explain themselves