The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-23 00:00:00

EAST INDIA HOUSE-.

QUARTERLY GENERAL COURT.
A Quarterly General Court of the Proprietors of East
India Company's Stock was held yesterday at twelve
o'clock, at the East India House, in Leadenhall-street.
Sir JAMES LAW LUSHINGTON, Chairman of the Court
of Directors, in the Chair.
The minutes of the proceedings of the last Court were
read.

Mr. TWINING brought up the Report of the Bye-laws
Committee, and the Members of that Committee were
re-appointed for the ensuing year.
THE TARIFF.
The SECRETARY, by direction of the Chairman,
then read a letter from Mr. W. B. Baring, of the
Board of Control, inclosing a communication from Mr.
M'Gregor, in reply to a communication addressed by
the Court of Directors to Lord Fitzgerald', on the sue-
ject of the tariff. In this communication, after stating
the reasons which had induced the Government to adopt
the various alterations proposed to he made in the duties
on Indian produce by the new tariff, Mr. M'Gregor
proceeded, on the part of the Board of Trade, to repu-
diate the principle laid down by the Directors of the
East India Company, that the duties impoeed on Indian
manufactures imported into the United Kingdom should
always be the same as the duty imposed upon British ma-
nufactures of a similar nature by the East India Company
on their importation into India, inasmuch as, if such a
principle were acted on with regard to all our colonies,
the greatest possible injury would result to the revenue.
With regard to the desire expressed by the Court of Di-
rectors, that Mysore should, for all commercial pur-
poses, he considered as an integral part of the British
dominions, Mr. M'Gregor stated that our reciprocity
treaties with foreign countries, formed an insuperable
bar to the adoption of such a suggestion.
HILL COOLIES.
The CHAIRMAN then announced that in conformity
with the resolution of the 23d of March, the papers re-
lating to the subject of the emigration of the natives of
India to the Mauritius had been printed, and were now
in the hands of the Proprietors ; and that, in conformity
with the Standing Orders of the Court, that would be
the first subject to which they would have to direct their
attention.
Mr. WEEDING said that as he was the person who had
moved that the papers be printed, the Court would not be
surprised that he should now proceed to direct the at-
tention of the Court to the subject. It appeared to be
the wish of the Government to facilitate the emigration-
of labourers from India to the Mauritius, because, they
said, they were bound to look to the interest of the pro-
prietors of that island. It might be all very well to
encourage this emigration if they had a superabundant
population to spare for India—(Hear, hear)—but he
denied that they bad a superabundant population. It
was the duty of the Company to uphold the prosperity
and resoinces of the Indian empire, and profitable em-
ployment might be found for the whole of the population
of that empire at home, in the increased production of
the fruits of her own soil, the commerce in which was
so beneficial to the mother country. He was opposed
to the removal of these labourers to the Mauritius, to
assist in the production of an article which
was one of the staple productions of India, and
which was afterwards ten be brought into competi-
tion with the India article in the market.
Ile had the highest respect for the Noble Lord at the
head of the Colonial Department,' but he thought that
Noble Lord was not doing his duty by encouraging by
an expediture of public money this emigration from In-
dia to the Mauritius. That emigration should be left to
the operation of natural motives, instead of being forced
forward by these impolitic encouragements. It was the
duty of the Company at once boldly to say that they
would not lend their sanction to this experiment—an ex-
periment at variance with the prosperity of • the
Indian empire, and at variance with everything that
would conduce to the honour or benefit of the human race.
He should be sorry to see the Company debase itself so
far as to give countenance to such a measure as this,
because he was convinced that it would take away the
sinews of that strength which consisted in. population.
For his own part he would sooner pay 2d. a pound
more for his sugar and coffee than that such
a system should be established.—(Hear, hear.) In order
to show his opinion on the subject he should move—
" That after due consideration of the papers laid before
the Court, the Court views, with regret and concern, the
present measure of her Majesty's Ministers, to authorise
the emigration of the labouring population of India
to the Mauritius, for the purpose of cultivating
sugar. That the Court, considering its first duty to
be to take care of the welfare of the people of
India, recommends the Court of Directors to refrain
from sanctioning the measure of her Majesty's Ministers."
Mr. BROWN seconded the motion.
Mr. FIELDER supported the motion. It was painful to
him to object to any of the measures of her Majesty's
Government. but in the name of humanity and religion,
he must protest against the Government measure.
He drew a striking contrast between the misery and des-
titution of the inhabitants of India, and the great and
paternal care taken by the Government of China, to
provide food for the people ; the granaries of Canton
and other Chinese towns were among the most splendid
of their buildings. He could wish that more corn and
less opium was grown in India, for that drug had
been a great curse to the people of China. He
drew attention to the condition of the labourers taken to
to the Mauritius, and asked whether those who had
looked up to them for protection, ought to be seduced
from his native country, to be transported to a place
where they must fall into vagrancy, and profligate
habits. The education they received in the Mauritius
was a disgrace to the moral and Christian character of
England. lie hoped that the Court woald come to • the
determination not to suffer India to lose hezebeat,eytip-F-
-those who would cultivate her soil. lie should tipt
gret she twenty millions that had been paid to theiXest4;
Indies, if they held out no encourapement to this,
tr,
gration of labour from Bidia.
General ROBERTSON corrected some statement atler
the amount of sugar grown in India, which haditeiVia
overstated by the lion. Proprietor.
!tt
The CHAIRMAN said the simple question before then
was whether there should be any law alltiwing the -JIM
Coolies to leave their native laud for the Mauritius, fur
the purpose of bettering their condition. The whole
tenour of the lion. Mover's proposition Went to a total
prohibition, and he would ask what sort of liberty was
that ?—(Hear, hear.) By the British Constitution, every
man was allowed to make the most of his labour for the
purpose of bettering his condition, and to deny it, as it was
denied by this resolution, if carried, would he both 'op-
pression and tyranny. lie explained that means had
been taken to prevent the abuses that had prevailed, and.,
gave a direct contradiction to the assertion that the iudi-
victuals were sent out as slaves. Many had returned
Kith what in India would be considered * fortune:
He must meet the proposition by a direct negative. He
concluded by reading an extract from the following
despatch, sent by the Court of Directors to the Indian
Executive on this subject—it was dated the 22d of
March :—" We have only further to desire that .ou will
carefully watch the operation of any law which you
nay deem proper to pass under the authority now con-
veyed to you for permitting the emigration of labourers
from India to the Mauritius ; and that you will without
delay repeal or modify it, in the event of its being
proved by experience that its provisions are not effectual
in affording in all respects the intended security for the
comfort and welfare of the emigrants: He possessed
every confidence in the present Governor-General of
India, and was convinced he would take every care that
regulations should be made for the safety and welfare of
the persons going to the Mauritius, to better their condi-
tion. lie must give the proposal every opposition,
Mr. MONTGOMERY MARTIN -regretted that the
Chairman had met the proposition with a direct nega-
tive. The question involved great principles in refer-
enee to the position they held as the Government of
India ; and in reference to the freedom of the indivi-
duals acting under what had been termed the
spirit of British constitutional freedom, as well
as in reference to the inquiry, whether it was
a fair and just conclusion of Lord Stanley, that the
poverty, iniaery, famine, and desolation to which the
people of India were subjected, justified the deportation
of the Hill Coolies to what was iu effect a. slave
colony, Could the Mauritius afford the relief those peo-
ple required Theisland was already more densely peopled
than 'two-thirds of British India ; one-half of the island
was mounutitrous and barren, and the other half had a
population of 130 to the square mile, before the extensive
deportation from India had taken place. The
population of England was 288 to the squire mile,
and considering that half the island was barren and un-
cultivatcable, its population was as dense as that of Eng-
land.—(Bear, hear.) Of the large numbers of Coolies
shipped to British Guiana, not a dozen were now existing.
anti would it be liar the benefit of their character or
morals that they should be allowed to go to British
Australia ? He contended that other parts of the con-
tinent of Asia were open to the planters of time Mauri-
tius it' they wanted labourers—such as China and the
Burmese empire, where the natives were always wanting
employment. If they permitted this deportation, the
most valuable export from India would become human
labour. This question showed that the natives of India
were at present totally inadequate to govern themselves.
The Court would be acting unwisely ii; adopting the
pernicious doctrines of the present day, they sanctioned,
though only tacitly, an absurd, abominable, and cruel
principle. He implored the Directors to let the people
of India see that they might look with certainty for pro-
tection to this country.
General BRIGGS saw no reason why they should in-
terfere to prevent the Coolies carrying their labour
wherever they pleased. But he would put this question
on a larger basis. The people of this country
having prevented immigration, by means of slavery,
into our tropical colonies, experience had shown that the
land in those colonies could be cailtivated only by
labourers, natives of the tropics. Europeans could not
cultivate that land, and unless labourers suited to the
climate, were suffered to immigrate, the owners of estates
in the colonies would be obliged to sell their estates, as
they could not get them cultivated. With respect to
what had been said relative to the excess of population -
in the Mauritius, he must observe that a short time
ago, when he was there, the population only amounted to
60,000 persons, or about 150 to the square mile. That
Wand, therefore, could not be considered as over-popu-
lated. Among that population there were very tow
females, and it was thus clear that the labouring classes,
unless recruited from time to titne by immigration, would
die oft: As for the circumstances under which the de-
portation of Coolies took place, he thought that in the
despatch of the 22d of Marcie referred to by, the
Chairman, every provision was made for the purpose
of effecting that persons going from India. should be
perfectly free.

Sir JOSEPH LEPAGNE said he had tint lately returned
from an extensive tour in America and the West Indies.
He had given great attention to the subject of immigra-
tion from Africa to the West Indies ; and he was
astonished to find it proposed that the immigration of
the Coolies from India to the Mauritius, should be