East India House.
The Times, 1824-07-10T00:00:00

Yesterday a special Court of Propietors was held} Sor &tbF*'u--r of takingiritoconsiderationthestate of the 'puaWic prers inIndift, the regulations that are now in force respectfigl tt tl4e seteraLPre; sidencies in India, analso theproce ingi .ichlliare *ienaed the suppression of the Calcutta Jurzaul,z end.the badishment of lr.r Buckiagham and Mfr. Aenot, two of its editors The CHLAzitmAw having taken his seat, Mr. D. Kz2.qAIZD rose tobringunder the notice ofibe Court the subject which they had been brought together to consider. The hon. gentleman commenced with observing, that that sub3ect w:as one of such Vast importance, and of each great extent in all its bearins, that it could noL be satisfactorily disposed Df antil after repeated dis. cussions. He thoaght that the conduct whichthe Marquis of Hustinss had ptrsued with regard to the press in India waa deserving of the highest praise. The noble marquis had peraeived the impolicr of the systemu of a centorship of the press, which had been established by t ie MarquifY Wellesley, and determined to remove it. 'he cen. sorshipof the pre% s imsposed upon the Government of India an odious and responsibledduty, and was at the same time DiTgSOrY; fOuit was an undoubted fact that the same articles which had beeu publisded under the censorship had been complained of as offxsive to the GOA vermnent upon therr republication after the cmrnval of the censor.. shtip. The Mtarquis of Hastings, therefore, hbd aeted wisely it abolishing that eystem. Ile knew that he should be iod ?hattwheu the MIarquis of Haestings removed the censorsbip. he satitituted other regulations which were more severe thr,n the ceasorsbiitielf Thelate PresidentoftheBoardof Control (Mr. Canning)hsadilludel to thoseregulations in the HlouseofCommons, and had saidthat ifbe weretheeditoorofa newspaperin India,he would raeherbavethecentor. ship than the reguistions. To be sure he would, and so woieid he (Mr. Kinnaird), if the reglulations alluded to hud the force of law; but that the rigbt hon. Secretary for ForeignAfralrs Well knewnot to be the case. The fact was, that-the Maroauir of Hastings had mteely framed those regulatioas to satisfy thsprijudices of'the cvil gervrntt - who ignorantly antidpated thst dr,ngerwould arise from the remova of restrictions on the pre s: he threw them out as a tub to the whale-a rattle for children to play with. They had no legia foree whatever, and that Lord Hastlngi well knew. The Tod object of the Marquis of Hastings wae to. establish the tinontrolled freedom of the press in India, being convinced aiat withoat that the Government of India coulid not be carried on with advantage to those who were subjected to it. MVr; Adlam, however, who wvas by some cutrious aecident raised to fill fiur a thoit period tb.e office of Governor-General, was actuatsd by totally diferent feel. inge. I-e imtnediately framed a set of regulatfons for the sngit.ge. mneht of the press, which were mere transcripts of those which had been promulgated by the Mlarquis of H.astings. Ir. Adain however, was not content with sending those regulations forth to the public. Ie pmocured themn to be passed throngh theSupreme Court, by which they becamc laws operating over the whole of India. The hon. Prprietor then entered into a history ofthe disputes which oc. curred between the Indian Government and Mr. Buckingham, oni account of the articles which appeared in the Calcitta Jozirnal and which ended in the banishment of Mlr. Buckinghaw fromn india. Ia hs comments on these proceedings, the hon. Proprietor censured in very strong terms the coniduct of Mr. A and eon. terded that Mr. Buckingham Itad done nothtnS te warran the harsh treatment which lie liad received. Y hen the hnn Proprictor camne to the last charge which had been made by dlr. Adant against hlr. Buckingham, he inveighed 6trongly against that tratusaction. That charge was fouded on sn artick written by the latter gentleman, in ridicule of the appoinunear of the Rev. Alr. Bryce, a Presbyterisn cldrgyman, to the ituation of Clerk to the Commissioners of Stationery. In conseqttence of the remarks made by Mir. Buckingham on that occasion, he received a; letter from the Secretary of the Government, ordering lVr. Buck- ingham immediately to leave the settlement and to proceed to Eu- rope; as if the sa&rty of India were endangered because Mr. Bnclk- ingham, ina good-bhumoured article, laughed at theextraordinary ap- pointment ot Alr. Bryce-nan appointmnent which bad createddigust n Scotland, and which he beleved had occasioned a good deal of animadversion in the G}eaeral Assembly there. But evesr this was little compared with the conduct of Lord Amherst, who, he under. stood, bad disggsted his own srcretary, so far did hi go beyond Mr. Aldam. Air. S. Dsxow spoke to order. Lord Amherses conduct had nothin to do with this discussion. Afr. D. KINAID said, the subject was the pres of India, and Lord Asmherst had reFnoved from that country Mlr. Arnot, an individual connmected with the Culcutta Jousrnal. If the han. gentlemaLn would look at the requisition, be would find Mr. Arnot's name mondieaed in it. rhiS was a worse act than even that committed by Mr. Adam * but Lord Amherst had the wisdom not to put it on paper. Mr. Arnot was nor the editor of the Caklaut Journal, but an assistant in the office. The situation of editor was filled, after Dlr. Bucking. ham left India, by Mr. Sandys, a Hindoo.Briton, or half-cat, who, being a native, could not be removed. Lord Amherst knew this and, as he could not molest Air. Sandys,ihe liLid hold of Mr. Arnot who was an Englishman, and ordered him home. That isdividu went to the French settlement of Serampore. There, however he was given up. He was shipped on board a v-sel going rouad by way of' Benceolen, and not direct to England; and in tbeunwhole. Dor0e climateoi Bencoolen he was obliged to remain for some tiine. On this purt of the subject the ionourable proprietor dwelt with great force, observinF, it was quite evidest that MIr. Arnot was selected as a victim to deter any other European from acting in behalf of Ms. Buckinghba. He then adverted o the great loss which Mr. Buckingham had sustained by the persecutios be had undergone, and having called on the Direc- tors boldly to perform the duty with which the Lislature had intrusted them, by effectually correcting the present system, he concluded by moving for "copies of aUl minutes correspondence, and proceedings, in and between te Counnel of Nilcutta and the Court ef Directors, or any of their committees and also the Board of Control, relating to the press in Endia, since the commencementof the year 1818." - -. reCOuuee tne mouon. Mr. IsEEY strenuonly defended the conduct of Mr. Adam, in ordering the return of Mr. Buckingham to Europe, thast indivitual havtng;3fter repeated warrings, broken the regnlation&laid4own bv the supreme Government for the regulation of the press. Ai. Adam had only done that which the law entitled him to do. By a clause in the 53d of the late King, the Governor-General in coundl was authorized to order away sny European who disobeyed the re- gulations of Government. With respect to Mr. Arnot's case, it was premature to censure Lord Amherst until the arrival of lMr. Arnot. lVhen his account of the transaction, Andthe defence of Lord Amherst, were known, and not til then. gentlemen would be enabled to form a corract judgment. The learned gentleman then entered at great length into the policy of allowing a free press in India. He denied that a free press had ever existed there, or that Lord Eastings had, in the remotest degree, contemiplaed the esta- blishment of such an engine, which, he contended, if once intro. duced, would produce incalculable evils to our Indian empire. olr. S. DamON considered a free press as the most danferous en- gine that could be introduced into the Company's dommiona. if once established, it would hazard the safety of Indis. Sir J. MALCOLM panegyrized most warmly the character of Ar. Adam. He had known thatgendeman for 30 years, and he could bear the mostdecided testimony to his worth. He never knew a man witli more modoation of temper, more coolness of judgment, or one wh4se mind was more deeply imbued with feelings and sentimnentS of honour. H ewould be as much averse from doing a harsh act eas the hon. mover himself, unless urged to it by a sense of duty. This Tuesrion ought not to be argued as a matter between Mr. Arnot and fr. Buckfagham but as a question intimately connected with the British policy in india; and no person could consider it properly, whIo did nottake a view of the state of society there. In this country there was a public, and therefore a free pres was a great benefit. Wben he spoke ot a public, he did not allude to the higher or the lower orders, but to the middle elas. Was there any such class in India? ? Certainly not. The Europeens there were either civil or military servants, merchants or persons carrying on trade. Now he could not conceive tbat it would be advisable for the two firbt classas to have the control of a free press, through the miedlum of which they might deal out strictures on those by whom they were employed; and as to the latter classes, he was sure they would much rather be emnployed in their respecrive callingK He thought very great aischief woald re- oult from the establiahnment of a firee press, although he didtno; think it could lead to the subversion of their Indian empire. Sir C. FoRRES was not favonrabletoa perfectly unrestricted press in India. The population there were not ripe enough for the esta- blishment of such an institution. But he must at the same time s ay, that the restrictions at present in existence were useless and absurd. Und& them an editor did not know what he was safe in publishing. Whatever imprudence MIr. Buckingbam mnight have been guilty of, and he believed, and so he told lir. Buckdiigham, that he had acted imprudently, still he did not think bit conduct had been such as to deserve the harsh and severe measares that were put in force against him. His property ought to have ben respt ed and no unhecessary severity should have been used. .ilr. HUatE proposed, as it was now so very late (sin o'clesk) that the debate should be adjourned to Friday next. The psoposidon was met by a pretty general cry of " Go on." Mlr. TRANT then proceeded to defend the conduct of Mr. Adam, and argued, thatwhatever Mr. Buckingbam had bulfere4 he haa brought on himselt, by pursuing a cou.se against which he had been -frequently warned, The question for the adjournment was tien put from the chair, and Thabe CH{AIRLMANY was about to put the main question for the pro. duction of papers-when Alr. D. KINtAIRD said, that it would not avail to get rid of the discussion in that tmanner. If the question were now generally ad. journed, he had a requisidos in his pocket, signed by nine propri- tors, for assembling another general court, for the purpose of consi- deting the same subject, whc'h should be inmediately presented. It was well known thas many gentlemen who intended to have spoiex on:this question had left the Court. . The liRMAN said, there were now about 100 prprietors prp sent; of these, 90 were for dseciding the question at onoe, and 10 appeared to wish tor an adjournment; and ie really did not tinmk it was fair to expect that this point ahould be conceded to 10 eOir~ w/hen it waas onposed by 90. The original motion wias then put, and negatived.._Adjoiind cS a Quarter before reven. I AST IBNDI 4OUSt-