The Sun. — 1858-06-04 (London, England)

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY AND LORD CANNING'S PROCLAMATION.  Yesterday was issued, as a return to Parliament, the following copy of a letter from the Court of Directors of the East India Company to the Governor-General in Council, dated the 11th day of May  Political Department, 18'.11 of May (No 20), 1858.  Our Governor-General of India in Council.  Paragraph 1. The Secret Committee has communicated to us the Governor-General's secret letter, dated sth March (No. 9), 1858, with its enclosures, consisting of a letter addressed to the Chief Commissioner of ()ode, dated 31 of March, and of the proclamation re ferred to therein, which was to be issued by Sir James Outram to the chiefs and inhabitants of Oude as soon as the British troops should have possession or command of the City of Lucknow. 2. We have also received communication of the letter addressed to your Government by the Secret Committee, under date the 19th of April last, on the subject of the draft of proclamation. 3. Our political letter of the 5,h of May has apprised you of our string sense of the distinction which ought to be mAatained between the revolted sepoya and the chiefs and pe-ple of Oude, atd the comparative indulgence with which, equally from justice and policy, the hour gents of that country (other than sepoys) ought to be regarded. In accordance with these views, we entirely approve the guarantee of life and honour given by the proposed proclamation to all talockdars, chiefs, and landholders, with their follower, who should make immediate submission, surrender their arms, and obey the orders of the British Government, provided they have not participated in the murder cf Englishmen or Englishwomen."  4. We are prepared to learn that in publicly declaring that, with the cxciption of the lands of six persons who HO been steedlast in the allegiance, the proprietary right in the sod of the province was confiscated to the Briti h Government, the Governor-General intended ne :wire than to reserve to himself entire liberty of action, and to give the character of mercy to the confirmation of all rights not prejudicial to the public welfare, the owners of which might not, by the'r conduct, have exc'uded themselves from indulgent considerat'on. 5. His lordship must have been well aware that the words of the proclamation, without the comment on it which we trust was speedily afforded by your actions, must have produced the expectation of much more gene-. ral and indiscriminate dispossession than could have teen consistent with justice or with policy. We shall doubtless be it formed, in due course, of the reasons which induced the Governor General to employ those terms, and of the means which, we presume, have beer, taken of making known in Oude the merciful character which we assume must still belong to your views. Le the meantime, it is due to the Governor-General that we should express our entire reliance that on this as on former occasions it has been his firm resolution to show to all whose crimes are not too great for any indulgence the utmost degree of leniency consistent with the early restoration and firm maintenance of lawful authority. Wo ace oelingly have to inform you that, on receiving communication of the papers now acknowledged, the Court of Directors passed the following resolution : " Resolved—That in reference to the despatch from the secret committee to the Governor-General cf India, the 1911 ult., with the documents therein alluded to, and this day laid before the Court of Directors, this coon desires to express its continued confidence in the Governor-General, Lord Canning, and its conviction that his measures for the pacification of Oude and the other disturbed districts in India, will be characterised by a generous policy, and by the utmost clemency that is found to be consistent with the satisfactory accomplishment of that important object."—We are, &c., (Signed) F.