2 NOVEMBER 1872, Page 2

The papers are full of stories of English cruelty and

oppression. We give the worst of them all, the confession of Dr. J. Murray, a front place in our paper to-day ; but Mr. E. Jenkins (" Gimes Baby ") relates another which, though less horrifying, suggests long-continued oppression. It appears that the coolies on three estatetin Demerara—natives of India, generally from the valley of the Nerbudda—were informed bythe Protector of Immigrants that they were not bound by law to work more than a certain number of hours. As they were, it is presumed, worked for a longer period, they grew sullen, and at last rescued a comrade under punishment and threatened the overseer with clubs, the constant weapon of the Indian ryots. Twenty armed policemen were sent to rescue him, the- Riot Act was read, and the police were ordered to charge. Accident- ally, however, a policeman's rifle went off, his comrades immediately poured in a volley, and the coolies fled, leaving eleven of their number on the field, five of them quite dead. Of coarse the coolies resumed their work, much ashamed. of their disgraceful conduct. The plain English of all that story is, that the coolies were overworked ; that they submitted as long as they thought overwork legal ; that finding it was not, they threatened the overseer, and that they were then shot down till they went to work again. We must add that, according to the local journalist, the coolies, armed only with sticks, attacked twenty policemen armed with Sniders, a statement we find it impossible to credit. If it were possible, we could not govern India, or for that matter Ireland either, for a week.