Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1857-09-26

ty of others want the office which he cares nothing
for
THE INDIAN MUTINY
The narrowing details of the Indian mutiny have
been placed before the public with mnuteness so
dreadful that outraged humanity shrinks from the
contemplation Of them, and we have no desire to
dwell upon the shocking story of rapine and muroer
of which nothing in the Inferno presents any Paral
lei. We recur to the subject this morning 0,y "
consider one or two points of the case wh'ch have
given rise to good deal Of speculation WIN '.e
American press and upon which opinion seems u "
much divided
We sec protests entered in many quarters against
the barbarity of the modes resortcd to oy the Eng
fish in dispatching the mutinous Sepoys VINO nave
fallen into their hands These wretches, II Is h1o"n,
have been bound with cords to the muz|ies oi neiu
pieces ard blown to atoms by their discharge. 10
said that this treatment of persons condemned TO
death is unworthy of christian people who ought
to remember mercy in the administration OF the
direst punishment There is a wide diversity Oh
judgement as to the most mercitul method OF putting
men to death. The Spaniards contend that the ga.
rote slowly Tightening iron collar placed arounI
the neck to strange the victim, is the least palniu!
means of execution. In some of the Cantons OF
Switzerland criminals are executed by blow OF the
sword administered across the throat The french
guillotine is refinement upon this, and certainly
makes short work of its unfortunate martyrs there
I
twinklng of an eye the head falls in The basket ana
all is over Our own method, derived from England,
of hanging, may may not be a cruel expedieht.
When dexterously performed, there seems to be put
a swift instant of suffering, but there have been IN
stances of prolonged torture too horrible to oe de
scribed. Now it may be doubted whether the Sc
poys could be dispatched in any way with as little
real pain to themselves being blown to fragments
in the manner we have mentioned II human ma
ture revolts from the contemplation of bodies torn
limb from limb and scattered far and wide upon the
plain, it should be remembered that this was the
verv feeling which the British officers naturally
wished to inspire and if they could strike terror in
to the savage natures of their foes Of the jungle by
the employment of a mode of administering death
which in itself could not be considered cruel surely
they might be pardoned for doing so. Magnan'm'ty
is a virtue which cannot always be practsed IN vlew
of atrocities dabolical as those committed by the
Indian mutineers and it is very certain that peo-
pie i'll afford to be magnanmous when their con-
duct has chance of being appreciated Inc Sc
poys would not be apt to attach proper merit to en''
encv shown to them by the British troops But
apart from all this, had even slow torture been re-
sorted to- and the miserable fanatics OF bloody su-
perSt,ion been subjected to such treatment as that
exhibited by Marshal Bugreaud towards the Bedou-
ins of the desert, We should recoect the weakness
Of poor, fral human nature, and, considering TINS
fearful provocaton to vengeance be not over nasty
to condemn.
struggle in india reddenng the waters OF the Junna
and the Ganges with the mingled blood OF H'ndoo
and Englishman? Men are already beginning to
speculate on the probable loss to England oi the
whole Indian empire, loss beyond all questen great
err, should it occur than that Of the American colo
nies III the reign Of George the Third England has
long since realized the truth of the prophecy OF Mr..
Burke who declared that America would be worth
ten times as much to England an independent
nation than she could ever be in state OF colonial
dependency in the friendly intercourse and prosper
Gus trade that would be carried on between the two
countries But ii is easy to see that il India Is ev-
er relinquished all communication between it and
Great Britain must he forever afterwards cut OIL
There would be not only no farther supplies of the
fatal but profitable juice Of the poppy to be carried
vet farther and exchanged for the teas and silks
of the cnervated Chinese, but no more ShaSls jew
els lacquer, koh--noors, no more rich ma
hobs coming back, as Macauay says with bad liv.
ers and worse hearts" to dazzle the West End with
their ostentatious display of wealth !; the India
House might wind up its affairs, and the last volume
of the History of British India supplementary to the
work of MIR. Mill would be placed upon the
shelves of the British Museum. AS for the Hindos-
tanese themselves they would soon relapse into their
native barbarsm and the relies Of European civilZa
ton built upon the quays OF Calcutta ard Madras
would be speedily converted into the temples of
Brahminical or Mohammedan worship.
But surely this is not to be. No man who has ev-
considered the immense resources an the indom.
table genius of the British nation can suppose for
a moment that they will ever give up their hold up
on the gorgeous East" The pride of the people is
fairly aroused, and recruits will come forward
to fill the ranks of the Anglo-Indian army-in spite
of the burning cline around the convex globe to
which they must go-as they never did come for
ward to join the allied army before the Notifications
of Sebastopol A vast amount Of blood and trea-
sure must be poured out before the Hindoos can be
entirely put down, but these will net be withheld
The last number of Punch which has reached us re-
presents the popular feeling of England by large
picture, entitled " the British Lions Vengeance on
the Bengal Tiger" in which lion is seen springing
in awful fury upon tiger which crouches over the
dead bodies of mother and her child Such will
be the spring of the Infatuated Saxon upon the bru-
tai East Indian, and though in his final subsection,
England never wholly recover her original Sta
ts in Hndostan, it cannot be doubted that she will
re establish Ter authority there firmly and forever.
Bait. american.
The tottering of the power of England in India
does not call forth much sympathy from the French
if we may judge by an article which we find in the
Paris Union wherein it said
"All conjectures with regard to the probable con-
sequence of events in British India superfsous,
for one result has already manifested sefthe tot
tering of the power of England. Now, we ask, can
England after her policy Of the last century, aspire
to single expression of sympathy from Europe !?
For the last hundred years England has devoted her
energies to shaking and overthrowing States. That