The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-06-27
British Annexation in India.

| AmluSt tue SURFING accounts OF European Wdrs
and revolutions, little attention has been paid to
the progress of events in Asia No sensation has
been excited-hardly a word of comment INDUCED,
upon the. British Annexation, to their East Indian
possessions, of the whole Punjaub. 1t has passed
| by as paragraph of Insignificant news-ke the
finding of some large stone, or the unearthlng OF
some buried hieroglyphc. Yet it is matter of no
| small consequence, even among the transfers OF
provinces, and Kingdoms which have been the ordi-
| nary business for many years of the British au-
| thorities in the East The Punjaub acquisition is
of no less than vast territory of hundred thou
sand square miles, bringing the frontier of British
India up to the Indus-a population of three and
halfmillions of new subjects, and revenue COM
puted at million sterling per annum The late
Rajah is pensioned off with an income Of 100000
per annum but good mode of indemnity for this
outlay is provided in the bargain The property of
all who have borne arms against the British is " to
be forfeited" 1t will go hard with those who
traffic in empires, and have armies with which to
enforce their view of contracts, if enough cannot
be made out Of this clause not only to pay all the
expenses of the purchase, but 10 indemnify the
invader for all the preliminary wars which led to.
the acquisition. The Punjaub will be made TO pay
for itself.
The usual reasons assigned in Justification of
this Wholesale appropriation-ior appropriation it
is, although there are the forms of agreement and
The ceremonies of contract. The Punjaub was a
troublesome neighborhood. 1t was always plotting,
or favorng plois for the disturbance Of lis powerful
neighbor. II was comparatively weak, and being
weak, it was of course, like all weak governments
flied with dissentons The rival parties and
chiefs called in the counsel of the strong neighbor
the line, and from being adviser or friend it
became too ntimate-a patron or an enemy alter
nately. The patron made exactions which were
refused-interfered too much, or at the wrong time
or in the wrong manner-and then came quarrels
and wars Finally, there was resource but abb
sOlute conquest or else, British peace would be
constantly disturbed. The whole province must
be governed by the British besides, it was neces-
safy round off frontier, that the other British
dominions, obtained mostly by the same process,
could be better defended against enemies. We say
nothing of the subtle arts OF diplomacy,
reckless interpUson, by which these troubles and
disseniions might be fomenled or created, With the
view of creating necessity for occupation. The
history of British India is full of such specimens of
craft and aggression. A few more such strokes of
policy and power, and the whole peninsula of Hin
dostan will be subject to British sway and all,
not from ambition avarice-of course not-but
because annexation continually of every weak
neighbor is an imperative State necessity.
We desire simply to direct attention for a mo-
ment to the contrast between the cool assumption
of State necessity with which this absorption of
three millions of East Indians is justified as a Just
and indispensable act of British State policy and
the violence of invective with which the same par
ties treated the annexation of Tsxas-an independ-
ent State-by voluntary action of all its constituted
authorities, tile United States equal sharer
in its system of government. We would contrast it
with the coarseness of British assault upon the
honor, humanity and good faith of this country,
when, after successful war with Mexico, and
that unfortunate country at mercy, we
took portion of her territory an indemnity for
all our of complaint, and paid her full es-
timaed equivalent The border reasons which
made the Punjaub indispensable to British quiet
existed with in triple degree as respects Texas
and Mexico. In both cases we exercised national
rights for clear cause and gave equivalents for all
we received yet the world rang with British out
cries against American rapacity and injustice, from
lips that only speak of the conquest of provinces
and Kingdoms in India proofs of the glorious ex-
pansiveness of British power and happy means for
extending Lnristlanlty ana clVii1Zauon. Inc con-
quered millions in India have'ho voice in the de-
cison of this question of mastership over them and
would probably express very different estimate
of the blessings of British domination. Into that
however, we will not enter. Probably we might |
be brought to the conclusion that after all the |
wrongs which India has suffered-the punderings |
extortions and expressions of which she has been |
made the subject, from British ascendancy-the |
ultimate effect will be beneficial TO her in future
generations, in the works Of Providence good is |
brought out Of the evil which nations do in this |
thirst for conquest and gain. But the resulting |
benefit worked out by agencies beyond the power
and above the contemplation of the Rulers Of the |
day, will not redeem them from the fearful respon- |
sibility to the public opinion of mankind for the
crimes they commit, and the hypocrisy with which |
they justify their worst acts.
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