The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-01 00:00:00

, ••••

you confine me to prison, I will beg in company svi th
your sentries. If such be your pleasure I am now, in
your bungalow, and would not =turn:back.
li, ut
" Sir JAMES—Your Highness should not do so,
listen to what I propose, otherwise I shall be obliged Ito
make some new arrangement. ..
" His HIGHNESS—You may make any arrangement
that you like. You propose that, without trial, I shouhl.
plead guilty of a thing which I have not done. To this
I cannot agree."
Sir, this is what I call 'true nobility—conduct worthy
of a Prince.—(Hear.) How does Sir Janies Carnac
himself report the termination of another interview?
Hear him :—" When I had concluded, he (the Raja)
stated that he regarded me as his friend and well-wisher ;
asserted that the accusations against him originated in
the intrigues of his enemies ; that as long as the Itritish
Government entertained the idea that he had cherished
hostile designs he could agree to nothing, but this idea
being removed, he would agree to anything I propoi ; r ,
that he would consent to anything exept to abandon hi,
religion, or to acknowledge that he had been our enemy.. .
I will not, however, dismiss this part of the subject with-
out bringing to the recollection of the Court two or three
other testimonies to the character of the Sovereign whom
you have deposed.. I have already referred to the
encomiums passed upon his Highness's character by those
who watched hia conduct on the spot, down to the retire-
ment of Captain Grant Duff., I have also quoted from
your dispatches. Let we remind you that on the floor of
this house, on the 13th of February, 1840, the following
was the language of Major-General Briggs :—" I have
no hesitation in saying that I received a letter from one
of the Governors of Bombay, who stated that he was a
pattern for native Princes ; and, during the whole time I
was Resident at his Court, the Raja's conduct was most
exemplary, and worthy of a Prince." A year and a
half later, my Gallant Friend, when standing by my side'
in this place, said—" He had looked to the whole of the a
correspondence and the papers - he had heard. all that
had been said in favour of the Raja ; he had .heard
all that had been said against the Raja ; and his' firm
conviction, as far as the papers went, was, that the 11491
of Sattara was an innocent man." During the debate °X
Feb.l2,the Hon. and Gallant Director, Generalßobertscaff
said—l discharge only a bare act of justice to the Raja of
Sattara in declaring that, during the period of nearly
five years that I was Resident at his Court, I never say/
any disposition, on his part, to think lightly of his en-
gagements with the Company, or to evince ought but
1 gratitude for the advantages which had been conferred
upon him ; and I may safely say that nothing occurred,
whilst I was there, which gave rise to any dissatisfac-
tion, either on my part, or that of the Raja." I need
scarcely quote the emphatic declaration of the same Gal-
lant Gentleman during the debate of July last year, that
" the evidence on which the Raja had been condemne.;l,,
was such as would not justify the hanging of a dog ;
or the testimony, equally emphatic, and so truly honour-
able to the character of the Raja, that " he would, from
the experience he had had of his character, sooner take
his simple denial than all the evidence that had been
raked together."—Add to the testimony of General Bo-
bertson, the testimony of another Gallant General, his
immediate successor at the Court of Sattara—l mean
General Lodwick :—" During the three years of Lord
Clare's government, the Raja returned my attention
to his interests and rights with even friendshiP•
I respected him for his good government, his libe-
rality, and attention to the happiness of his people.
I can positively declare that, during this period, i never
expressed a wish to the Raja that was not readily at-
tended to. Roads were constructed, the condition of his
jagheerdars was ameliorated ; in fact, he was liberal ili
every respect, generous to his servants, of the best do-
mestic character, and evincing the possession of a kind-
ness springing from the happy temperament of mind and
body. The Raja collected the whole of his revenue!
and without oppression, and ridiculed our loss of revenue. ,
Indulge me with permission to quote the account 01 I;
General Robertson of his parting with the Raja after
~,.
his resignation of the Residency:—" On my taking lea" :',
of his Highness at Maholee, he expressed his gratitude .
f',
and attachment to the British power in terms of sin-
cerity that cannot be questioned ; and after I had bidden
him adieu, he recalled me to repeat them, and to im-
press them more strongly on my memory, as well to
request that I would not only assure the Right Honour-
able the Governor in Council of his feelings, but also
state them to the Honourable Mr. Elphinstone in Eng'
land ; and his last words were—' I have no friend but
the English Government, and my sole reliance is on it.
I have many enemies—this you know—but no friends
but the English.' " Most fervently do I trust that the
Raja will yet prove that the English are his friends--;
that though injustice may triumph for a time, it cannot
be withheld when the British people are informed. It is for
the information of the British people, as well as to leave
this Court without excuse, that I bring these testimonies
forward. Here then, Sir, is an overwhelming mass of or
deuce in favour of the character of the Raja of Seam?
'Look at it. Weigh its value. You know the witnesses—the!r
station—their standing—their disinterestedness—their
opportunities—their intelligence. You will at once cm:"
cede that they are men utterly incapable of speaking At
which they,do nit feel—which They do not believe. .11:
all events, you cannot reject the evidence of your o
minutes and recorded _ letters. You surely cannotr be.
prepared to falsify yinir own reiterated assertions) °or to
confess to the belief :that you were imposed uponilat volt. •
make the still more humiliating confession ~'tlie
acted the part of. hypoerites ? What is the jud broughtg
*a ' " untie, ' the evidence have
world gill unegrgapi _ deuce I
before ypg?Ais--eth.lt ,t4t is morally i mposstdt_hbfLet the
sammiatt.ifti.x.vlioni,thErtetate.s,titnonies apply
man. heteattear,fikesetribeditt. the evidence acCLIM elated
~ , _
4teidiroy him. liproins ettidpuce.oi tile highest possible ta
:Clittrattiroitwhich ;Pumas, deaireaupapagat'that which I „, v'
?Mehtijr reiceivt6 Atu'fht.rovidence. of liSritisb officers ~ A"'
13F
` itiit9MVAmistx-fotsesuccessive 1./residents-- .a l'
a '
:.
se 1 Governors:7-a' iiii'thie` whoie Court of Directrirs: , .4."
sa,) ;-
This. evidence exta mid. a period of nineteen years'
It db4cirillsAlte-14104Wieen by a British officer for
the
Ilte.frrgtaimd* tito4ol,gf, battle, as firm, courageous,
Allgnified„,i§prUinetreii ,-, ea, yielding implicitly to
victoodui4s,9prlysativisers—assiliting them in their ar-;
rangemennider the• settlement of his Principality, an
a
- iinprovirrg,,,thk condition of his subjects ; displaylP g
good sense‘, sound judgment, and respectable acqunT
• merits; making Most honourable mention of all !I, 3. . .
English friends ; by you especially behind the bar (. nu
Directors), as remarkable among the Princes of Indiss
eminently gifted with the capacity to govern; full of
public spirit and liberality ; scrupulously attentive tilv
the most minute affairs of business; frugal,
careful.,
(yet most liberal), free from debt, and of the best do-
mestic character ; a pattern of veracity ; devoted to
the prosperity of his dominion; deeply interested in the
happiness of his people; firmly attached to the
British Government; sincerely grateful for their
. kindness, and, above all, in love with the English.
Such is the character of the dethroned Raja of Sattara-
Against the authorities I have adduced we have to Pend
Appa Sahib, Ballajee Punt Nathoo, Seegolam Sing,
Goolja Misour, the menial and slipper-bearer Koosits
Maloo, the gang-robber Balkober Kelkur, the Brahmin
Untajee, and his nephew, the perfumer and brothel'
keeper Pureshram. Certain it is, if you believe these'
you must abandon your previous opinions of the Me'
and send him a halter instead of a sword. However
painful the conviction, you must believe that the Raja
was a monster of ingratitude, an incarnation of byir"
crisy, the basest of dissemblers, and the demon of nip'
chief—yon must believe that his life was spent in weaving
webs of intrigue—that he was incapable of one generous
feeling—in fact, that the world has not produced a ma°
more skilled in the arts of deception—more lost to every
sense of honour—or more resolutely bent on effecting
his own ruin in the prosecution of his wicked and
traitorous designs. Sir (said Mr. Thompson, indig-
nantly), you laugh while I thus speak. Would that the
eyes of the people of India—of the hundred millions,
whom the fortune of war have made your subjects, could
be fixed on the proceedings of this Court, and the con-
duct of those whom I now address. Would that these
millions could mark the impatience, and ridicule, and
scorn, with which a man is treated in this house, when
he pleads the cause of those millions, or of one of their
most Illustrious Princes, whom you have unrighteouslY
deposed.--(Hear, hear.) But your demeanour during
discussions like the present, will open the eyes of the
world, and hasten the period when the tremendous
power which you so grossly abuse, will be either effec-
tually controlled, or altogether taken out of your
hands. Be assured, however, that no derision '
shall prevent me from proceeding straitforward in the
discharge of my duty. I repeat what I have said, l'
is impossible to believe that the Raja of Sattara—the
man who, down to the time when these testimonies end,
and the machinations of his enemies begin to take effect:
commenced, was the confederate of the abandoned
.aretches who bore testimony against him. I would 0
soon believe that the heavens could fall as that the MO
who had displayed, throuateatnhisno attributed,emt nineteen ne creatures
aetcauorrsue,
could
hwseuh virtuesdode,nnlif
;which,keto youhis
ycoouurnseclivlsesthhe
biried to plot his ruin.—(Hear.) I now proceed to ac
most important part of the subject.—(Loud cries 0'
" Question, question.") Gentlemen may call, "Question,
question," but I givo them due notice that they whistle
to the winds. If you want. your dinners, by 014
means go and get them—take your time ; eat the in
digest them, and come hither again, and you will fin
me still upon my legs.—(Confusion.) Yes, Gentlemen,'
I can assure you it will be so. Those who use the hee
of their boots arid their umbrellas to annoy me exert
themselves in vain. I will be heard, and I will
be heard in silence too. Here I stand for Ps'
tice. Call me factious if you please ; my 00",
science accuses me not. It is not to serve the ends or
faction, that through three sleepless nights I have de-
voted myself to the patient investigation of your own
papers. It is not to gratify the love of faction that
have come here to-day in a state of health the most
weak and disqualifying. It is not to annoy you that r
continue standing in your presence with scarcely enougl!
of physical strength to sustain me. Perish faction
Let justice be done. But, though you should do no jus-
tice to the Raja you shall do justice to me, in spite of
yourselves. You may call me rude and ungentlemanly;
be it so. Let the world judge between us. Let me
now call your attention to the Commission sent to Sat*
tarn to investigate and report upon a conspiracy alleged
to have been formed at Sattara and other places
the view of seducing the native troops from their alle-
giance, and ultimately of subverting the British power
in India (p. 64). The sixth paragraph purports to give
a general outline of the case. On the 11th of July, 1a36,
a Soobadar of the 23d N. 1., named Seegoolam Sing, is
accosted in Sattara by—whom ? The Brahrnin Untajee.
Here is the first scene, and the first actors in this event-
with
ful drama. In the streets of Sattara two men meet--
strangers to each other—a native soldier, a pardesee (a
stranger), and Untajee, of whom I shall say no mom
at present, than that he is described by the Cornmsision-
ers in page 72 to be a man of the most worthless
and unprincipled character; that on his examination he,
was guilty of the grossest Prevarication and deceit; aria'
in page 76 the Commissioners say that -No Pu"' 1
ment could exceed the measure of his guilt." `What
happens ? The Bramin binds his new found friend 1#