11 DECEMBER 1858, Page 12

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t.tegin wra, one in which In a Apt° to our

the promises of t ie nip piRF amatiqn,„ naives have among 'them a.linbit of propagating information chid acC4tance, directly to the native mind. It is endorsed by the nSuncement that he is marching t•lirettgli!Oude with full power for the purpose of hearing suchstateinents- read. The proclama- tiOn. Of the Queen will thus address itself, with more or less Go-Vernor-General, and. it is followed up ,bV Lord. Clyde's an- 16 overbear any resistance, but with,CIenieney and ptoteetion for d-a:Ma-lion- is one part, appears to be well coMbined, as it is well btelkencompletely, and, has always existed. in ferias that indc:red suggestion by written statements; and they are wont to assemble

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,■ILina has in recent years grown to Isitritsted. tlie- r3Eilp,riVatnation is perhaps the 'Very' best !.lirrol.o.f"reaelling the

Jaunt from circumstances peculiar to Alie coitntry. Per-- tercourse between European and. Asiatic is iu wally cases

submit. Su far, the strategy' of which the Loyal pro- un the native side at least, dOuliViwhile the 'Wotd,o,f, inert:ase the streii tfypire. Tu.

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timed.

The most interesting portion of- the proclamation, however, in oti"eye, is scarcely the simple 'extension of the Queen's power, the'malutenance of existing treaties, or the direct proMises of etenieney ,• fat more hopeful are those passages which point to a substantial and thorough change in the spirit as well as form of the Indian Government. It is not much to disclaim territorial aggression in'India. There has, throughout Indian history, been plenty of conquest, insomuch that the Indians of every race have been accustomed to it. It is m far larger assurance that the Crown will respect the rights, dignity, and honour of native Princes' as its own. "No hold ourselves," says the proclamation, "bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the Same obligations of duty which bind us to all our other subjects ; and those obligations, by the blessing of Almighty God, we shall faithfully and conscientiously fulfil . . . "And it is our further will that.,, so far as may be, our subjects, of what- ever race or creed, be freely and impartially admitted to offices in our ser- vice, the duties of which they may be qualified, by their education, ability, and integrity, duly to discharge. • .

• The Queen orders that in framing and administering thela* in future due regard be paid to the ancient rites, usages, and customs of India ; and while firmly relying on the truth and solaces of Christianity, the British Sovereign disclaims "alike the right and the desire to impose her convictions on any of her sub- jects." In these passages the present Minister for India, with the concurrence of the passages, undoubtedly proclaims that spirit of government which would for the first time consummate the true conquest of India. It is true that precisely the same promises have been made be- fore. Equality for the natives was held out at the lag adjust- ment of the East India Company's tenure ; employment for natives was amongst the reforms to be introduced in the last period under that honourable monarch corporate ; but how have those promises been carried out in the past ? This proclamation, like some that have preceded it, disclaims the desire for extension of territory ; and in the interval we have had eases of the most flagrant appro- priation—cases such as that of the Nizam in 1852-3, when the faithful vassal of the East India Company was first of all bur- dened with a force to be maintained for the Company, then ac- cused of having suffered his contingent to fall into arrears, and then compelled, against every species of promise, against the ex- press terms of Lord Dalhousie's own written avowal, to give up a portion of his inherited territory. One of the latest witnesses to the abiding loyalty amongst the Natives towards the British Govern- ment, is that Hindoo gentleman whose letter was published by the Daily News ; and he repeats to us, what we have long known, that the word of England, once considered equal to a bond, has now sank to the level of a Mexican bond. Appointments have been promised to natives in the civil service ; but they find that whatever may be their actual rank, they can rise only to the sub- ordinate posts ; while Europeans, however contemptible in birth, education, natural attainments, and character, may pass over their heads as a matter of course. Take the case of the Post Office in the Bombay district, as an example indeed, which applies to the whole of India. On the judicial bench we have at once degraded the Native magistracy, and increased their powers; we have disallowed their usages of arbitration and other aids of justice, while attempting to force upon them British methods of transacting business for which they are not adapted by nature or native training. At the same time we have excluded natives from the higher seats on the bench; so that ambition itself is shorn ofits motives, or its motives are reversed and made to adapt themselves to the very lowest kind of success, attained through sycophancy and corruption. The revolt undoubtedly owed its origin to the same combination of exasperating neglect and blind trust towards the native army. We constructed an im- mense Asiatic force in Bengal, overcrowding it with British offi- cers; but instead of mortising the body thus constructed of two races by placing Europeans amongst the subordinate ranks, or permitting the natives to rise to the higher commissions, we made an order of British officers and an order of native soldiers, with

iieintonspnisei between ' the two that was iaot.•;:tainterh byj ealousr_

andiesityteparatina of interest,' ; ,,ilif)11,C01111, , ! -Bact.theretlion was a grandrieiporieneepiliad the menioryiet it doesieerartainfuse into,this nadi1ile eirparaiiises something more like, realit3r. ,It -caw sea/Feely be Ahab rimehaveould, inock tiwY dik-liirpromisesat, Such amorlienti..) 9rfi JIicr v,flnala -fti&i-mposaible -tor escape, from the bine, a:stadia fruleoat 'rail ge varnnigida ihraileat you will administer the( affaids;of atsubj dot:people. by Slteer !Waked, iftireejt•witkiitt..a iliicahtreadhet{ and , ieori- • rtiption,,,yoitimast govern that race throughfitCowirnsitives,,,An, India,' lye have uttemptedJa compromise as iderogatory teiusiasit is niTenSive ,tertlibmatives ! wehave Orientaliaed-cua °Wit, morals, while attenipting 'to force British images irpoin therm • We I have', tints parted with otinown,stringth, andatimulated theirs. with the intoiicatiOnof passion. The proclamation, at :allevents, ioins the'opportimity for a new 'regime' in whichtleso!oonditionscan. be reverse::1u 'Wri I can restore OilrBritialreharketer, guiding-our ounucondiiett tby,bur own ■ moral , precept,,, while; leaving to the natives, their flanges in localiandindigenbus /Sitters,: and govern-. ing them thhoug h Ahemselles and their, in born/ matives.,1 ,Aiready, they show the-greatiest aptitade for assimilating themselves to the British .eonnection, so that they are permitted, to do it frobintarily., . The strortgest ;barriers of taste haVe not prevented,intelligent men of- Bengal. or Bombay from. entering British Society; make:of the Mithratta race f have 7 shown, itheniselms,,eagerotollobtain British honour:II—and (knead ./aeolthas•abutidantlyipresedil sottonly the practicability, but the extreme , ease of Creating abut:dist ;form,: with native officers' '.animater thy every Spirit-Jot loyalty.f,12}ere is no ,reaSon why this peoces,s.: should nOtilbesiiirried out fully. Why should not the Council-hi India offer pestsfef elistinetiounnd senatorial utility to natives;, why shouldoxf Ilie:way.le: opined, for Hindoos to arrive at poste of still higher-rankiandunpartance in the-metropolis of the empire itself, London'? • Thereis-ho,freti- soniwhy -the 7Hituloo - blind Should nothe,trained toidentify itself, its. success,: its.prometion, dignity, and arlytintage With the main- tenance of- ,that.poWer which has upon been least noxious in India---Ttlie,British. It.,ía Aotheeessaty:toi aeon/phi:di. - all these things by a coup d'etat ; on the contrary, itis easy to take such course of action as shall show that-the proclamation is not simply a tissue,of fair premises,, to be forgette;a:iike the old ones, but is a.programme of intentions to be carried ;out in deeds, . .