The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

BY THE REV. A. P. IRWINZ.

Nanac, the great prophet or reformer of the Punjaub,
was born in 1469, and his reformation was nearly con.
temporary with that of Luther in Europe. He did not
pretend to work miracles ; and it was said by him, that a
holy teacher needed no more defence than the purity of
his doctrines. His followers were called Sikhs, or dis-
ciples, and for more than a hundred years increased in
number without exciting the jealousy of their Mabometan
rulers.

About 1606, Argunmal, who was priest of the Sikhs,
improv eir sacred books, and first gave a form and
union sect. He fell a victim to the revenge of the
governm t. Under his son, Har Govind, the Sikhs took
up arms to revenge the death of their revered ruler, and
from that time an irreconcileable hatred sprung up between
the followers of Nanac and Mahomet.

In the government of Guru Govind, the grandson of
Har Govind, the Sikhs took the form of a nation, and
materially altered the fundamental doctrines of their re-
ligion. The object of Nanac had been to purify the re-
ligion of Brame, which he united with his own, and
treated with the greatest respect; but Guru Govind broke
all terms with the Hindoos, abolished caste, and made the
equality of all men the basis of his doctrine. He required
every individual to devote himself to arms, and always to
have about him steel in one shape or other. He gave the
nation the name of Sinah, or lion, a name of distinction
assumed by the first military class of the Hindoos.
Guru Govind was, after a long contest, overwhelmed by
the arms of Aurungzchi, and the Sikhs were long perse-
cuted most cruelly by the Mahometans. They recovered
their liberty at the death of Nadia Shah, in 1747, and re-
torted the cruelties they had suffered. The Mahometans
now, in turn, appear to be highly pleased at their severe
chastisement by the English. As early as 1814 they were
supposed to be able to send 100,000 horse into the field ;
since then their resources have been developed and hus-
banded, their power consolidated, and their discipline
perfected, (through the means of French officers,) by
Runjeet Singh, the firm ally of England.
From the time of his death they have resembled the
Praetorian Cohorts in the old age of the Roman empire,
and established a purely military government, which, from
its nature, could not long refrain from aggression upon its
neighbours. They have now been taught that there are
generals more skilful, and soldiers more restless than
themselves; who, while they condemn and avoid injustice
and aggression, are ready and able to punish them. They
have yet to learn what is the religion of those forbearing
but resistless masters. It is just, pure, and merciful ; so,
in an infinitely inferior degree, is that of Nanac their
prophet.
The creed of the Sikhs, says Colonel Malcolm, is pure
Deism. They admit no images : their worship is simple
and spiritual. Mr. Wilkins relates that he visited one of
their places of worship; when he asked permission to
enter, he was told that it was open to all mankind ; but
he was desired, in token of respect, to take off his shoes.
In the chancel there was an altar, covered with a gold
cloth, upon which was laid a sword, covered by a round
black shield. On a desk, near the altar, was placed a
large book. An old man, with a reverend silver beard,
kneeling before the desk, (attended by a person with a
drum, and two or three others with cymbals,) opened the
book, and chaunted to the tune given them. At the con-
clusion of every verse, the congregation joined in a
response. It was a hymn in praise of the Deity. A
young man next stood forward, and pronounced, with a
loud voice and distinct accent, a kind of litany, in which,
at certain periods, all the people joined in a general re-
sponse of "Wa Gooroo." They prayed against tempta-
tion, for grace to do good, for the general good of man-
kind, and for an especial blessing on the Sikhs. .k short
benediction from the old man, and an invitation to a
friendly feast, concluded the ceremony.
Nanac taught the omnipr, since of God, and that He
dwells not more particularly in one place than another,
(more enlightened in this than some Christians, who still
imagine that "the Most High dwelleth in temples made
with hands;" and especially in a particular part of the
building, which they frequently bow to!) Nanac was
reproached by the Mahometans for lying with his feet
toward the house of God. " Turn them," said he, "if
you can, " where the house of God is not."
He taught his followers three things especially—first, to
worship the name of God ; second, charity ; third, ablu-
tion ; and that they must not seclude themselves from the
world, nor do ill to any being, for that into all the breath
of God is infused. He said that he himself was directed
to put on armour that would harm no one; that his coat
of mail was to be that of the understanding; that he was
to convert all his enemies into friends; that he was to
fight with valour, but with no other weapon than the word
of God.

It is evident that this high-minded, bold-thinking peo-
ple, with their freedom from idolatry and from caste, and
with a religion imperfect, indeed, and authoritative, yet
comparatively pure and benevolent, are, humanly speak-
ing, the most promising subjects among the Eastern na-
tions for the operation of the religion of their conquerors,
agreeing with their own in many points, and transcending
it in all.

Thirty years ago, the attention of the Church Mission-
ary Society was called to the Sikhs, but the nearest
approach that the society has yet been able to make them,
so far as I am aware, is the Himalaya mission at Kotghur,
established two or three years ago, on the extreme north-
western boundary of the present British territory, and on
the high road from the plains of India to Tartary.
Now is the time for the friends of that noble society to
try and enable it at once to throw forward its peculiar
army, the soldiers of the cross, to save ►ife, not to kill.
The moment the treaty with China was concluded, Popish
priests stepped forward, we are told, from amid the
attendants on the British envoy, and claimed the empire
in the name of the Pope. Let not British Protestants be
always last. Let us enable the Church Missionary Society
at once to send the heralds of the pure Gospel to a nation
which has no idols, and will have none until Rome sends
them.

LORD MORPETII'S FREEDOM FROM PRIDE.—Lord
Morpeth contrasts favourably with other Whig noblemen
in either house of parliament, in being, to all appearance,
wholly free from the pride of rank or class. In the as-
sertion of those views and principles which are popular
with the middle and lower classes, he has gone further
than any of his colleagues; and his evident sincerity of
disposition compels us to believe that he feels all he ut-
ters. He not only entertains popular opinions, but, what
is infinitely more captivating with the multitude, he ex-
presses them popularly. There is a frankness, a warmth,
a courtesy, unaccompanied by insulting condescension,
that attaches to him men of all shades of opinion. In this
respect, the young nobleman who most resembles him is
Lord John Manners. Starting from wholly opposite
points in their political arena, their course seems to run
thus far, that they think the time is come for social, more
than for political concession on the part of men of rank
and station, to those who, in the singular changes this
age has seen, have secured to them so much of the real
power of the country.—Fraser's Magazine.
CANNING'S DUEL WITH CASTLEREAGII.—The par-
ties met on the 21st of September, near the Telegraph on
Putney Heath, Lord Castlereagh attended by Lord Yar-
mouth, (afterwards Marquis of Hertford,) and Mr. Can-
ning by Mr. Charles Ellis, (afterwards Lord Seaford.)
Having taken their ground (in sight of the windows of the
house where Pitt died ! they fired by signal and missed.
The seconds endeavoured to effect an accommodation,
but failed, and they then declared that, after a second
shot, they would retire from the field. The principals
again fired, and Lord Castlereagh's ball entered Mr.
Canning's thigh, on the outer side of the bone. Accord-
ing to some accounts of the meeting they were placed to
fire again, when the seconds, seeing the blood streaming
from Mr. Canning's wound, interfered, and so the affair
ended. Mr. Canning afterwards published an account of
the whole transaction, which was rendered necessary by
certain statements published by Lord Camden. Lord
Castlereagh's secretary also issued a " detail," as he de-
scribed it, " of the original cause of the animosity,"
which was answered by a " statement " from Mr. Can-
ning. Mr. Canning's wound was fortunately slight, and
after a short confinement at his house, Gloucester Lodge,
in Brompton. he was sufficiently recovered to attend the
levee on the 11th of October, and resign the seals of the
Foreign office into the hands of his Majesty. Mr. Ft us-
kisson resigned with him, nobly sacrificing his ambition
to his friendship. The infirm Duke of Portland, sh,t-
tered and wrecked by these disasters, went into retire-
ment and died. The administration was at an end.—
Bell's Life of Canning
THE GARDENS OF CHATSWORTIL—Chatsworth is one
of the great places of the day, of which it may be said that
its proprietor is a prince and its gardener a man of title.
As a whole, its extent and general grandeur is unsur-
passed by any English garden that we know; every de-
partment is constructed on a vast and broad scale. We
could point out other gardens where some one department
is carried out with equal or even greater success than it is
at Chatsworth ; but if we take it in all its parts, it has no
rival. If we refer to its scenery, it is grand and highly
picturesque, with thousands of acres advantageously seen
bearing the astect of boundless woods and park-like
ground, through the midst of which runs the meandering,
gurgling, but pure and limpid trout-stream, the Derwent.
Then there are its acres of Italian gardens ; its terrace
walls, and raised, straight, and broad terrace walks; its
gushing waterfalls and fountains, sending forth their per-
pendicular liquid columns to the height of several hun-
dred feet; and the piles of rockwork which have to be
passed between the house and the conservatory, which, as
a work of art, is most prodigious. Next, is the conserva-
tory, which in magnitude greatly surpasses all other con-
servatories which have been built; by our mode of step-
ping, we made the length to be about 280 feet, and the
width 120; the height we do not now remember, but it is
a few feet over or under 50. It is surrounded by a gal-
lery, or pathway, at the height of 25 feet. overlooking the
centre compartment of the house. The floor of the house
is traversed by a boundary walk near the glass ; a straight
walk also passes through the centre from the extreme ends,
and this is again crossed by another at the middle of the
house. The remainder is formed into earth-beds, in which
the plants are growing. The temperature is kept up by
hot-water pipes surrounding the house just within the
outer wall ; and two underground trenches, each contain-
ing a series of pipes running parallel to each other the
whole length of the house. It will convey some idea of
the magnitude of this erection, when we mention, that
along one s'cle for a short distance, is planted a hedge of
Agave Americana, or American aloes ; in another part,
and contiguous to the latter, is a grove of Mandarin
oranges; in another there is an immense mass of rock-
work, upon which is constructed a pathway of rude steps,
by which the gallery, or balcony, 25 feet in height, is
reached ; again, in another, a lake, a pool, or aquarium, is
constructed for gold fish, and the growth of water plants;
then a grove of plantains, or musas, and in another a na-
tural group of palms, amaryllidese, &c. planted in the
border. Amongst the palms, we noticed an old acquaint-
ance, and one of the finest plants in the house, cocoa
plumosa, now nearly 30 feet high.—United Gardeners and
Laud ,Sfiewardi Journal.