The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-04-23 00:00:00

SLAVERY IN INDIA.

We beg to call the attention of our readers to the following
interesting extract of a letter from a gentleman stationed at
"Camp Ellichapoor," (India,) to his uncle in Edinburgh,
dated the "'24th October, 1832," and received the 9th April,
1833 :

"No people in the world, I imagine, live upon less or lighter
food than the inhabitants of this part of the country, but this
does not save them from the sharp sufferings of famine_ and a
smaller quantity of rain than usually falls during the Monsoon
will frequently produce great misery. Along the coast on the
south-west of Calcutta, it is said many have died from want of
food, and the scarcity is so great all around the country where
I am situated, that the commandinc, officer issued an order
lately, ` prohibiting people from purchasinge children, however
anxious their parents might be to dispose of them as slaves.
Slavery. is not unknown in this country. Generally speaking,
a slave is a favoured domestic of his master; but they are often
bought and kept by bands of dancing girls ; and slaves belong
ing to these people are very young females, who are trained
and matured in every vicious practice.'
" We were surprised by a proclamation about two weeks ago
from the Mahratta Rajah of Gwalier, setting free of all slaves,
and denouncing slavery
" I dare say you have heard of Mr. Wolf, the Jewish Mis-
sionary, who, after being robbed in Persia, made his appearance
in the north-west of India, and issued congratulatory and fare-
well addresses to us all. He has turned his course towards
the mountains of Thibet, but consoled us with the assurance
that the Millenium will commence in 1848.
"Thus it appears that free servants in India may be beaten
at pleasure, and even to the death ; for there is no law to pre-
vent it or to punish offenders ! Slaves, on the other hand, who
are of some value—representing at least the purchase-money
that was given for them—are, on this account, as well as from
motives of humanity and attachment (to which-the writer of the
letter evidently attributes it), likely to be a more favoured class
of domestics with their masters. What do our over-sensitive
East Indians, connected with the Anti-slavery Society, say to
this ? or with what consistency can they reprobate a state of
things in the West, which exists also in the East—however ig-
norant they may be of the fact, or however loth to confess it—
and that, too, accompanied with crimes of the deepest die, even
murder itself, which no law has been framed to prevent ? Will
it be denied that in India multitudes of the natives are con-
stantly hired and employed on the Lord's
,day, just as they are
on other days of the week, to labour at the public works, under
the superintendence of British officers? The most intelligent
of them have acknowledged it to be a common practice, and,
what is more, have attempted to defend it. And on what prin-
ciple ? Why, that the natives are Heathens—strangers to
Christianity and its institutions—that Sunday is no holiday
with them—that their own religion prescribes the observance
of so many holidays—that if the Christian Sabbath were super-
added to them, they could not earn a subsistence, and must
starve ;—that for these reasons, it would be the height of inhu-
manity and cruelty to insist on their observance of this divine
institution, until they shall have become Christians ! Leaving
this argument as we found it, we would simply ask, how would
the man be treated by our Anti-slavery demagogues, who
should dare to apply any part of it to the 170,000 out of the
entire slave population of Jamaica, who are still Heathens, and
who, because they are Heathens, choose to work their grounds
for the sake of profit on the Lord's day ? But we beg pardon:
with certain persons of fastidious tastes, " sauce for the goose
is nu longer sauce for the gander."

STEAM-BOAT PADDLES.—We have been highly gratified
during the week by the inspection of a model of improved
steam-boat paddles, invented by Mr. 'l'. Grant, the originator
of the application of steam, and of the machinery now in use,
in the biscuit-baking
.department of the Victualling Establish-
ment at Weovil. It is well-known to all who have ever given
a thought to the subject of steam navigation, that, from the
peculiar manner in which the floats enter and emerge from the
water, according to the common construction, a very large pro-
portion of the whole power of the engine is neutralized and
consumed in raisin and depressing the vessel, the remainder
only being available in impelling the vessel forward. Thus,
the float on entering the water, presents a flat surface, its angle
varying between that point until it arrives at its deepest im-
mersion. Now, it must be quite clear that, when the float
enters, its whole force is employed in lifting the vessel out of
the water, and it only becomes available in gibing the required
impulse to the vessel, in exact proportion as the float approaches
a vertical position, at which precise point, and then only, does
each float in its turn employ its whore force in impelling the
vessel. Having passed the point of lowest immersion, the
action of the float is the reverse of the foregoing, its available
force decreasing in exact proportion as the float approaches a
horizontal position, at which point its whole force is employed
in depressing the vessel into the water. It is clear, therefore,
from the foregoing, that each float, both on entering and
emerging from the water, impedes, instead of assisting, the
progress of the vessel, and that, while it only exerts its whole
force in giving a horizontal impulse to the vessel once in every
revolution, its whole force is employed in giving a disadvantage-
ous
impulse to it twice during the same time, and we believe we
are keeping within bounds when we estimate the actual amount
of force lost in this manner at one-third of the whole power of the
engine at least Under these circumstances it is not to be
wondered at that the efforts of the mechanic should have been
directed particularly to this point, and that various means
should have been suggested and tried for the purpose of remedy-
ing so great a defect. Iu these attempts the inventors have
all, more or less, adopted the same general principle as the
foundation of their experiments, namely, that of causing the
floats to maintain a vertical position during the whole revolu-
tion. Various contrivances have been resorted to for the
accomplishment of this desirable object, some of which we haVe
already noticed in the Herald; but the great objection which
we have felt to these modifications has been, that the machinery
introduced has been in some cases extremely complicated,
while in others it has been attended with a vast increase of
weight and friction, so that the advantage professed to be
gained has been neutralized by a disadvantage, nearly, if not
entirely, of equal magnitude. We would particularly have it
understood that this is merely our own opinion, and by no
means to be taken as law. The invention of Mr. Grant, to
which we alluded in the commencement of this article, is so
simple in its construction and operation, that a single view,
without any explanation, is sufficient to raise a conviction of its
efficiency. It consists of two three-throw crank-shafts, project-
ing horizontally from the side of the vessel, about five feet
above the surface of the water, and which are driven by a wheel
and pinion, or by a centre and two spur wheels. The paddles
or floats are suspended from the foremast crank-shaft, one from
each crank, and the floats are kept in a vertical position, during
the whole revolution, by being attached to rods which connect
them to the other crank-shaft. Independently of the advantage
which is thus derived from the uniform position of the float-
boards, there are other advantages which arise from this con-
struction, such as the facility of disengaging the paddles when
the vessel is making a fair-wind passage, and the non-necessity
of the present paddle box, which would enable a vessel of war,
thus fitted, to fight her guns at any angle, over all, without
interfering at all with the machinery or the paddles. The
model which we have seen is made to a scale, and the three
floats present a surface of thirty stiperficial feet ou each side of
the vessel, and, from the time of their taking the water to the
time of their leaving it, they each describe a semicircle of four
feet diameter. The velocity proposed to be given to the paddles
is from sixty to eighty revolutions per minute, the speed of
course to be determined by circumstances. The machinery
altogether is as strong, and as simple, less cumbrous, and more
compact, than any now in use (which has come under our
observation,) and we need hardly add, after what we have
already said,lar more effective. We think highly of the inven-
. tion altogether, and hope sincerely that a trial will shortly be
given to it—Portsmouth Herald.
DISCOVERY OF A ROMAN RELlC.—Monday, as the workmen
were engaged in removing some old buildings in the Mint-yard,
York (where it is intended io form the new street from Blake-
street to Bootham-bar), they came to a flat stone about three
feet long and two feet broad, which, on removing, displayed on
the under side a Roman inscription, every letter of which was
perfect, and surrounded by curious carving in equal preserva-
tion : DEO SANCTO SERAPI TEMPLVM ASO LO FECIT CL HERONY-
MIANVS LEG LEG VI VICT. The inscription may be thus trans-
lated—" This temple, sacred to the God Serapis, was erected
(a Solo) from the ground by Claudius Hieronypianus, legate
or Lieutenant of the Sixth Conquering Legion." ' This curious
piece of ancient sculpture is supposed, from the inscription, to
be nearly 1,700 years old. It is at present deposited in one of
the rooms at the Guildhall.—York Paper.
A MovE AMONG " THE MEMBERS."—It was noticed that
when Mr. Romilly brought forward his " Payment of Debts'
Bill" on Friday evening* in the House, several members be-
trayed an instinctive dislike to listen to any act bearing so
ominous and disagreeable a title. Amongst those who moved
f St. Stephen's on the occasion, the Agitator's " tail"
• a body—Fergus O'Connor leading the van, and the
-ober for Cork in the rear, evidently desirous to get
xay of being obliged to listen to sounds " so faini-
io unpleasant to his ear. Really, Mr. Romilly should
some consideration for the Hon. Gentlemen, and have
iota " Parliamentary" name to his measnre.—Auu.