New-York daily tribune., 1859-05-24

which he had maintained in the runjauo, that tue
fall of Delhi, the suppression Of the mutiny ana
the salvation Of British rule in India were due
Had the rebels been triumphant at Delhi. aud so
throughout the lower peninsula, Sir John Lawrence
would have been ground to powder as between the
upper and neither millstones.
The feeling seems to have been altogether
unanimous in India that it is to Sir John Law
rer &c that England owes her continued supremacy
over that splendid dependency. And when he lett
the country he received addresses Of the most en-
thusiastc description from hundreds Of the Civil
Servants of the Company military officers, clergy
men. and many persons Of no public character. 1t
was supposed that he would be raised TO the Peer
age as an expression of the Royal sense of his ser
vices 10 the Crown. But the Crown, or its ad-
visers, thought such reward too great to be be-
slowed on mere civilian, and one. too, only IN
the East India Compsny's service. There was no
precedent for any thing of the kind. and when IN
terpeIations were made to the ministers in the
House of Commons on the subject the answers
plainly intiuated that in their opinion baronetcy,
the Grand Cross Of the Bath Of toe Civil Division
and seat at the new India Board, with salary OF
fI 900 in addition to pension of the same amount,
made up a remuneration entirely commensurate
with bis merits But baronetcy being distinc-
ton bestowed as Of course on Lord Mayors who
hsppen to be in office at an Accession, or at the
birth of Prince of Wales, and for services OF
similar magnitude and danger, and the Red Ribbon
being an almost inevitable incident in the public
life Of every diplomatic character who has held on
long enough to it, and the seat at the India Board
being shared with sundry substantial citizens of
credit, doubtless like John Gilpin but not OF re-
pown. like Sir John Lawrence, this dispensation
of regal fayors hardly seems to his admirers sufi-
cienty discrimiuative And the general British
public appears to be emphatically of the same way
of thinking.
We see in this instance proof that the old aris
tocratic prejudice against bestowing the highest
public rewards for public services performed in any
but military, naval or political directions has not
entirely died out. A banker, however, has at last
reached the House of Lords in the person OF Lord
Overstone without having had to undergo long pur-
gatorial probation of landed gentlemanhood and Po-
litical partsanship like Lord Ashburton. Cotton,
too, has proved its prerogatiye OF kingshlP by
making Mr. Strut Lord Belper out of a cotton
spinner And even literature has placed solid
coronet instead Of an empty wreath on the head ct
Lord Macaulsy. So John Bull has no reason to
despair of getting his due for Sir John Lawrence
vet, though he did earn it in the service OF John
Company. Give himself the victor of Plassey
and the founder Of the British Empire in India,
only had an Irish barony given to him, at the very
time when Bubb Doddington, the Sir Pertinax
McSycopbant of his day, had "bo0ed and booed"
himself into the English peersge as Lord Mel
combe. The resolute determination of the people
out of Downing street compelled those in 1t to re-
copnze and reward the services Of Sir John McNiell
and Col TulOch in exposing the Crimean mis-
managements, very much against the grain
map therefore who has deserved so much more OF
the country "a Sir John Lawrence has done
whose sagacity in the choice of agents, faculty of
inspiring others with the energy and courage of
his own character, frmness in action, and concilia-
toriness in manner, have made those deservings so
emlnently personal to hmself--can hardly be
showed forever aside By official arrogance from the
distinctions that be has justly won. The new Min
istry that must before long replace that of Lord
Derby will doubtless see that the most sensible and
the most popular thing they can do to inaugurate
their administration, will be to raise Sir John
Lawrence to the peerage, and call him to the Priyy
Council Should this take place, it will be clear
case of peerage bestowed by the people. And
this is fair enough-for, though the Crown be the
Fountain Of Honor, the people supply the head
which enables it to play.