Matto nut Vrarthings Ili

PRINCIPAL B1781E1888 OF THE WEEK.

House or Loans. Monday, June 6. The War in Burmah ; Question and Answer. Tuesday, June 7. Earldom of Perth Bill, read a second time. House or Loans. Monday, June 6. The War in Burmah ; Question and Answer. Tuesday, June 7. Earldom of Perth Bill, read a second time.

Thursday, June 9. Hackney Carriages Bill, read a second time—Income-tax Bill, read a first time.

Friday, June 10. Government of Ireland; Debate on Mr. Keogh—Hackney Carriages Bill, committed—Earldom of Perth Bill, read a third time.

HOUSE OF COMMONS. Monday, June 6. Irish Resignations; Question and Answer —Income-tax Bill, passed—Government of India; adjourned debate—Savings-Banks ; Preliminary Resolutions agreed to.

Tuesday, June 7. No House.

Wednesday, June 8. Mr. Cobden's Complaint on the "No House "—Courts of Common Law (Ireland), in Committee.

Thursday, June 9. Government of India Bill; debate concluded, and Bill read a first time—Customs-duties ; Resolutions agreed to—Excise-duty on Spirits Bill, in Committee—Customs-duties on Spirits Bill, in Committee—New Writ for Clare.

Friday, June 10. Customs, &c. Acts ; Resolutions agreed to, Bill ordered—Suc- cession Duties Bill, read a second time—Excise-duties on Spirits Bill, committed- Customs-duties on Spirits Bill, committed.

TIME - TABLE.

THE INDIAN DEBATE.

_In our Postscript last week, we were, of course, unable to enter at large upon the'speeches of Sir Charles Wood and Mr. Bright : we now supply some of the more important details. Sir Citsini.Le WOOD set out with the statement that any delay of legis- lation was quite unnecessary on the ground of want of information ; be- 'cause on the immediate subjects of legislation, the relations of the Board of Contrawith the Court of Directors, and the reform or abolition of the we in England are the best judges ; and with respect to irrigation, land-tenure, and-the-like, these are subjeehi for

The Lords.

Hour of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment.

Monday 511 . . 6h 10m Tuesday Sir 61115m

Wednesday No sitting. Thursday 5h . . 5h Om

Friday 411 .... 811 Om Sittings this Week, 4; Time, 1311 bm — this Session. 81; — 181h 9m

The Commons.

Hour of Hour of

Meeting. Adjournment.

Monday 4h .(m) 111 Om Tuesday No House.

Wednesday Noon 511 50m Thursday 4k .(m) 12h 30m Friday 411 1111 Out

Sittings this Week, 4; Time. 3011 20m — this Session. 104; — 70311 58m

Indian legislation, and not subjects which can possibly be settled by legislation in Parliament. Therefore, as there is no need to wait for fresh evidence from India, Ministers are prepared to exhibit "the plan of Government which, in their judgment, is best calculated to promote the welfare and benefit of this country as inseparably connected with the Welfare and prosperity of India." Besides, Lord Dalhousie said, "By all means conclude your legislation at once, and do not delay. Delay is a source of weakness and danger." Having so far opened the subject, Sir Charles went into a long review of the past, in order to show, that judging Indian progress, not by an English but an Indian standard, although there have been many sins of omission, rather than of commission, much has already been done, and more would have been done but for the expensive wars which put a stop to the means of further improvement.

Sir Charles divided his review into three heads,—the administration of justice, the want of public works, and the tenure of land,—heads of com- plaint in the petitions presented to the Committee. Of law. The proceedings of the Commission appointed in 1833 have not equalled expectation. The Penal Code, principally prepared under Mr. Mac- aulay, and the first complete result of its labours, had been sent from Calcutta to England, and from England to Calcutta, until Mr. Macaulay returned ;

when another Legislative Commissioner, Mr. Bethune, revised the code : but he dying, it had to be revised by a third Commissioner, ignorant of Hindoo

habits and customs ; and as yet no actual result has been attained, except that the subsequent acts of the Legislative Council have been passed in the spirit of the recommendations of the Commission. With regard to the complaint of the technicalities of English law, and generally of the administration of justice, our own progress in reforming the Court of Chancery scarcely war- rants us in making the former complaint ; and it would not be difficult to imitate Mr. Norton, and string together cases quite as absurd as those he has strung together from the records of the Indian Courts. His book is no con- clusive proof of the defective administration of justice. In considering this subject, we ought especially to make allowance for the depravity of the Na- tives, who rarely speak the truth in court; as is testified by Dr. Duff, a Christian missionary, and by Sir James Mackintosh. It is not true that raw youths from England are made judges of appeals. Sir George Clerk says that the youngest on the bench in Bengal has been twenty-two years in the ser- vice. Then as to the integrity of English judges, Mr. Marman, Mr. Hal- liday, and Mr. Beillie say, that with one or two exceptions the English judges are absolutely incorruptible ; and that generally the Natives, with their ab- stract opinion that all judges are dishonest, yet look upon the integrity of English judges as something quite by itself. Then with regard to the com- petency of the judges, tested by the manner their decisions are dealt with in this country, they would be found to be affirmed in the proportion of one- third (10) to more than two-thirds (26) reversed for the Queen's Judges, and of two-thirds (62) affirmed to one-third (28) reversed for the Company's Judges. Therefore it cannot be said that these judges are incompetent. It was different with the Native judges ; but they have greatly im- proved. They decide a large proportion of civil cases, and aro largely em- ployed. Indeed, Lord Dalhousie had taken the unprecedented step of appoint- ing a high caste Hindoo a Stipendary Magistrate for Calcutta ; but the Hin- doo complained of the bitterness of his position, and the envy of his country- men.

Of public works. During the last fifteen years the sums devoted to pub- lic works have been, in the first five 250,0001., in the second five years 240,0001., in the third five years 400,0001. With respect to roads, it must be confessed that in' many parts of India the means of communication are defi- cient; but more has been done than Members are aware of. " The great

trunk-road in Bengal is macadamized, and is as smooth as a bowling-green."

" Travelling is at the rate of ten miles an hour" ; " leases by robbery, nil; by theft, 4d. in every 1001." " Open from Calcutta to Burnell], 78 miles beyond Delhi, in all 965 miles. In two years will be completed to Pesha- vrur 1423 miles." In Madras there are good roads in some parts, but in others they are bad ; and district roads are wanting generally. Inl3cinde great attention is paid to the construction of roads and canals. The Go- vernor-General's final report on railways is expected by the next mail ; and, said Sir Charles, " on receiving it I can declare on the part of the Court of

Directors and myself, that no time shall be lost in carrying the railroads

through with as much rapidity as the means at our disposal will allow of."

;3jacarts6 the total amount of acres which will be benefited by, irrigation in and Bengal will be 14,000,000 or 16,000,000, " or rather more than the whole cultivateable area of Ireland." " Only the other day, a despatch was sent to India, giving instructions that the whole system of public works

should be upon a better and more general system ; that en annual estimate should be prepared for each public work in each Presidency ; and ordering that a considerable proportion of the revenue should be annually expended in a systematic manner on the most important of public works."

Of land-tenure. Sir Charles described the systems now obtaining—the zemindar, the ryotwar, and the village settlement systems ; and he seemed

to conclude that it would be undesirable if not impossible materially to alter

either system : great injustice has been committed in past times in attempt- ing to force on different parts of India a system to which the habits and cus- toms of the Natives are opposed ; "and at last we have come to this, that we

must in each case endeavour to adapt our system to the customs and habits of the Natives." With respect to cotton, it is now abundantly established that

the soil and climate of India are favourable to its production ; and some

Englishmen have gone out to establish cotton-plantations. The Govern- ment had established cotton-farms, but they turned out ill; and after they

were given up, the Government bought the cotton of the ryots at fixed prices : "but now the fact that American cotton can be grown in Madras having been satisfactorily established, I think the interference of Govern- ment ought to cease at once." [Sir Charles read a letter from a Native, Manookjee Cursetjee, showing that if the gentlemen desirous of deriving supplies of cotton from India are in earnest, nothing will hindertheir acting independently of the Government; forming an association, and supplying capital—that being all that is required.]

Of revenue. Sir Charles dealt very briefly with this topic. The revenue is derived from the land-tax—properly a portion of the rent of the land ; the tax on salt—of which 12 pounds per head at three farthings per pound duty is consumed ; opium—yielding 3,500,0001. per annum; and some few other articles, yielding under 1,000,0001. The whole revenue of India he estimated at 27,000,0001. a year.

After his reply, to the complaints of the petitions, Sir Charles described in general terms the great improvements effected under British rule. Within

the last twenty years we have abolished "suttee," infanticide, and slavery ;

and discovered and put down the monstrous system of " thuggee." As a contrast, Sir Charles read a passage from the History of Hindostan of Go-

lawn Hoosein Khan, quoted by Mr. Bjiimstjetna, to the effect that under the dominion of the Great Moguls the bloodiest despotism prevailed ; heightened under Nadir Shah, and continued under his successor Shah Ab-

dale, and afterwards by the Mahrattas. Then he read an extract from a Na- tive paper published at Delhi, full of praises of English rule and bitter con- demnation of the old Native rule. He quoted the evidence of Sir George

Clerk and Sir H. Elliot to the same effect. Taking extracts from the Indian '

journals, he described the insecurity of life and property in the Native states, to which we are told our own subjects are flying for refuge ; and he

was at a loss to account for the assertion so recklessly made, that " we are disgracefully neglecting our duty in regard to India." " But we have still more convincing proofs, not only of the increased power of production, but of the increased power of consumption of the people of India, in the returns of their imports and exports. I see, for instance, that the average importation of their sugar and molasses into this country in the ten years ending 1842 was about 444,000 hundredweight, while the average importation in the last ten years has been 1,369,000 hundredweight. The importation of rum in gallons has risen during the same period from 233,000 to 600,000, and has thus been more than doubled. The importation of coffee has risen from 2,358,000 pounds to 3,256,000 pounds. The importation of cotton- wool had increased from 68,000,000 pounds to 80,000,000 pounds. So much for their powers of production. Now for their powers of con- sumption. The value of the cotton piece-goods imported into Calcutta in 1833-34 (which will be a little comfort to the manufacturers of this country) was 700,000/. ; while in 1851 it was about 2,950,0001. Surely that shows a power of consumption which proves most completely that the condition of the people must be improved of late years? Well, but taking now the whole exports and the whole imports of India, the case is still more remarkable. The value of the whole imports in 1834-35 was 7,993,0001., while in 1849-50 it was 17,313,0001., being an increase of no less than 140 per cent. The ex- ports in the same time have increased from 4,261,0001. to 10,300,0001., being an increase of 112 per cent. With all our boasted trade at home, the value of our exports in the same time has increased, not 112, but only 66 per cent. While the improvement in production in India, as measured by the exports, has thus increased in nearly double the ratio, compared with the increase of production in this country. Can anybody believe, after these figures, that the condition of the people of India can have deteriorated in the course of this period ? and must it not be apparent, on the contrary, that alike in their powers of production, in their industry, and in their means of purchasing the quantity of goods which they actually did purchase, a greater proof can- not be afforded of the vast improvement in the condition of the people in India ? "

In addition, he mentioned the trigonometrical survey, and the esta- blishment of the electric telegraph ; the establishment of dispensaries, and schools, and other modes of improving the condition of the people, left to the charity of individuals in other countries, but taken up by the Government of India. He concluded this part of his speech with a quo- tation from the work of Lieutenant Kaye ; who said that more has been done since 1833 than during the previous two centuries and a half of British connexion with the East. Fully admitting that the Government is not the best that could be devised, Sir Charles contended, that, tested by results, there is no ground for condemning it as " inefficacious and in- efficient."

The latter part of his speech consisted of a description of the present form of government ; reasons for concluding against the " single govern- ment" proposed by the Reformers ; and the statement of the measure which we have already succinctly described. Mr. Balmer severely criticized the measure, and contested the facts of Sir Charles Wood's speech. The speech, he said, was not consistent with the measure; for if the speech was a faithful account of the condition of India, then it would be a fault to alter the Government ; but if the ac- count was untrue, the measure would be altogether insufficient. In the course of a long reply, Mr. Bright made light of the opinion of Lord Dalhousie as to the necessity of instant legislation ; and he argued for a de- lay of two years. The present Indian Government is one of secrecy and irresponsibility, not to be tolerated in a country like this • and, without imputing any blame to persons, it is impossible that two bodies constituted like the Board of Control and the Court of Directors can carry on the govern- ment of India wisely.

He maintained that the peasantry are in a most wretched condition ; cul- tivators obliged to part with their personal ornaments and borrow money to put seed into the ground ; the roads so bad, even the grand trunk, that in- stead of travelling being at the rate of ten miles an hour it is at most but five; works of irrigation recommended in 1792 not yet completed ; the European population in absolute terror of coming into the Company's Courts.

He cited from the Friend of India a case illustrative of the inefficiency of the police. "The affair itself is sufficiently. uninteresting. A Native zemm-

dar had, or fancied he had, some paper rights over certain lands occupied by an European planter and, as a necessary consequence, sent a body of armed retainers to attack his factory. The European resisted in the same fashion by calling out his retainers. There was a pitched battle, and several persons were wounded, if not slain; while the Darogah, the appointed guardian of the peace, sat on the roof of a neighbouring but and looked on, with an in- terest the keenness of which was probably not diminished by the fact of his own immunity from the pains and perils of the conflict. There has been a judicial investigation, and somebody will probably be punished, if not by ac- tual sentence, by the necessary disbursement of fees and douceurs ; but the evil will not be thereby suppressed or even abated. The incident, trifling as it may appear—and the fact that it is trifling is no slight evidence of a dis- organized state of society—is an epitome in small type of our Bengal police history." Speaking of the increase of exports, Mr. Bright showed that their increase is no marvel, since they started from nothing at all. He contrasted British exports to India with British exports to Brazil ; showing that while India takes only at the rate of ls. 3d. a head, Brazil takes 8s. 8d. He charged the Government with not employing the Natives, declared eligible by the act of 1833; with discouraging education, expending only 25,000/. out of a revenue of from 20,000,0001. to 30,000,000/. on education ; he characterized that revenue as the heaviest paid by any people with the same means of paying it ; and he predicted a financial crisis as a consequence of the con- tinually accumulating deficit. Referring back to the measure, he treated it with ridicule, as a half-mea- sure, under which the old hocus-pocus would be carried on. He objected to the bill because, as Sir Charles Wood admitted, it maintains a double Go- vernment. In the unstatesmanlike course Sir Charles is pursuing, he would, no doubt, be especially backed by the noble Lord the Member for London. Mr. Bright only wished that some of the younger blood in the Cabinet might have had their way upon this question. Nothing could induce him to be- lieve, after the evidence before the public, that this measure had the appro- bation of an united Cabinet ; it is not possible that thirteen sensible gentle- men, with any pretensions to form a Cabinet, could agree to a measure of this nature. (Cheers and laughter.) He was more anxious than he could express

that Parliament should legislate rightly in this matter. Let us aot so at this juncture that it may be said of us hereafter, that whatever crimes England originally committed in conquering India, she at least made the beat of her position by governing the country as wisely as possible, and left the records and traces of a humane and liberal sway. Alluding to Lord Palmerston's celebrated " Civic &menus sum," in the Greek debate, Mr. Bright desired that we should not resemble the Romans merely in our national privileges

and personal security. The Romans were great conquerors, but where they conquered they governed wisely. The nations they conquered were im- pressed so indelibly with the intellectual character of their masters, that, after fourteen centuries of decadence, the traces of their civilization are still distinguishable. Why should not we act a similar part in India ? There never was a more docile people—never a more tractable nation. The oppor- tunity is present and the power is not wanting. Let us abandon the policy of aggression, and confine ourselves to a territory ten times the size of France, with a population four times as numerous as that of the United Kingdom. Educate the people of India, and govern them wisely, and gra- dually the distinctions of caste will disappear, and they will look upon us rather as benefactors than as conquerors. If we desire to see Christianity, in some form, professed in that country, we shall sooner attain our object by setting the example of a high-toned Christian morality than by any other means we can employ. (Much cheering.) The debate was resumed on Monday night ; but only two Members spoke—Mr. J. G. Phillimore and Sir James Weir Hogg.

Mr. PHILLINIORE met Sir Charles Wood on the issue he proposed—the practical advantage of the present Government to the Natives.

In the first place, then, by the act of 1833 it was declared that neither colour, descent, nor religion, should incapacitate any native from holding office in India : but the Government of the Company had not placed a single Native in office who might not have held office before the passing of that act. Nothing had been done to codify the law ; and the administration of the civil and criminal law is in a frightful state. Mr. Phillimore quoted from Mr. Lewin's evidence and Mr. Norton's pamphlet cases of gross oppres- sion on the part of judges, or arising from the general state of the law. Cases were heard many times ; judgment was passed without the accused being heard ; somejudges were young and incompetent, and unacquainted with the language of the country. He denied that any parallel to this state of things could be found in England ; but one might be found in the ora- tions of Cicero when he described the administration of justice in Sicily under Vence. As a consequence of the ignorance of the judges, perjury and corruption are general ; and yet the remedy of employing the Natives has not been tried. It is " libellous, impious, and blasphemous " to assert that the people of India are not fit to hold office in their native land. Sir George Clerk describes the high caste Hindoos as exceedingly moral, and fitted for the higher offices even of government. It was all very well for Sir Charles Wood to go back to the time of Akbar for a picture of Native government ; he might as well have gone to the days of Attila for an account of the Augustan wra. If a Hindoo were to apply the same arguments to us, might he not turn to the seventeenth century, and, misled by the councils of the men who invariably slandered those whose dominions they attempted to confiscate, ask if we had ever heard of Louis, of Catherine of Russia, of Frederick of Prus- sia, of the incestuous Court of Dresden, of the kidnappings of men from one end of Europe to the other ; of their cruel punishments if they fled ; or (coming to later times) of the sack of Warsaw, of the partition of Poland, of the crimes which occasioned and the terrors which attended the first French revolution ? And, if another Genghis Khan or Tamerlane were to sweep over Europe once more, what would they think if he _ Designed these events as reasons for not allowing the natives to hold any offices in their own country ? He condemned the zernindary and the ryotwary system. The House might judge how the administration of the Company works by the single fact, that from 1834 to 1850 60,000,0001. of arrears of rent had been re- mitted.

Sir JAMES WEIR Henn made a long speech in defence of the Com- pany; against whom a frightful bill of indictment had been preferred— every charge raked up, and backed by clamour and agitation out of doors. Of this he did not complain; he was glad of an opportunity of giving a reply to the calumnies circulated abroad.

He began by depreciating the value of Mr. Bright's speech,—o speech " of shreds and patches, of bits from old pamphlets, magazines, and news- papers," of extracts from the evidence of witnesses before the old Cotton Com- mittee, scraps of old reports anterior to 1833, and in one instance from a re- port made in 1792. Instead of quoting from the evidence of Mr. Marshman, Mr. Bright quoted from the Friend of India a report of a row between two indigo-planters, and asked the House to conclude from that row the usual state of the province of Bengal,—as if the condition of England could be inferred solely from two or three of the police reports in the Tuners! His numerous knot of friends applied the scissors to anything they found any- where abusive of the East India Company, and sent it to Mr. Bright ; and all these cuttings strung together made the " hocus-pocus" speech of Friday evening.

With respect to delay, Sir James urged the House to do something, to do it at once, and above all things not to " hand over India to agitation." He believed in his conscience that delay would " induce feelings of apprehen- sion as to the future, and force into mischievous activity the worst elements which could agitate India."

Opening the main discussion after these remarks, Sir James contended at great length in favour of the " double Government" ; insisting that it takes a real and not a sham part in the administration of India,—as in the case of the recall of Lord Ellenborough ; and quoting his opinion of the Court of Directors "having within itself merchants of the first eminence " and " other influential members of various classes," in answer to those who say that it is composed of "bankers, brewers, and people of that kind." Sir James de- fended the distribution of patronage ; nearly one-third of which since 1833 has been distributed among the sons of civil and military servants of the Company. As to the result of its government since 1833, 167,013 square miles have been added to our territory ; the revenue has increased from 18,699,6771. in 1834 to 27,625,360/. in 1851, and this with a reduction of taxation—while, since 1833, the land-revenue has increased 2,960,0601., opium 2,305,6011., salt 85,3781., and customs 206,4281.—a total of 5,557,474/. Is not this an answer to the declamation about the poverty of the country ? The imports have risen from 6,154,1291. in 1834-'a to 13,696,690/. in 1849-'50; and the exports from 8,188,161!. in the former year to 18,283,5431. in the latter year. From 1814 to 1849-'50, imported British cotton manufactures had risen from 100;487/. to 4,421,920/. Since the duties on sugar and rum were equalized, exports from India to Great Britain have risen also. The shipping has increased from 220 vessels of 187,870 tonnage in 1834-'5 to 425 vessels of 252,153 tonnage in 1849250. Then as to the debt, notwithstanding all the wars, the increase of the re- venue has been much greater than the increase of the debt. The whole amount of that debt, what is it ?—only 53,380,0001.—not two years' revenue. He denied that the Court of Directors have had to borrow to pay their dividends. The dividend is a first charge on the territorial revenues , how then could the Directors be said to have borrowed the money to pay the dividends ? Respecting the land-tenure he said, the ryots and cultivators have a fixed rent, and as long as it is paid they cannot be removed : they do not pay on uncultivated land. He defended the establishment of the several systems, as being what the Government then thought best ; but "it is

man to err." The peasantry of Bengal are not in a wretched condition; they are surrounded by a "sluttish plenty," and the cry of want or famine is not heard.

It is erroneous to state that the consumption of salt has decreased at all beyond the fluctuations of trade. As to opium, no doubt the legalization of the cultivation of that drug in China would have a considerable effect on the finances of India. Generally, Sir James contended that under the rule of the Company much good has been effected : he particularized the aboli- tion of suttee, infanticide, and slavery, and the reclamation of savage tribes, by Colonel Dixon, Colonel Ontram, Colonel Ovens, Major M'Pherson, and Colonel Campbell—some of them from the practice of offering human sacrifices. He declared that he had no apprehension respecting the employ- ment of Natives ; that the Company has done much to .promote education and religion ; and that the Directors, animated by affection for India, care little, as regards themselves, what may be the determination of Parliament, but their prayer to the Disposer of Events is that Parliament may be di- rected to select that form of government and those instruments best calcd- lated to advance the happiness of the people of India and the honour and glory of this great country. (Cheers.)

At the end of this speech, the debate was adjourned till Thursday.

On Thursday, the first speaker was Mr. BraCzzrr. His speech was

mainly in reply to Sir James Hogg, and to that part of Sir Charles Wood's speech which defended the past. He showed, first, that the East India Company had not given all publicity to documents relating to In- dian affairs ; and, referring to documents, proved that the statement of the cost of the Indian home establishment was obscure and confused, that columns of figures were not added up, and that the financial information was scattered. In reference to the arguments against inquiry and delay, he made out that on similar and previous occasions the amplest inquiry had taken place, even while we were at war ; and now that there is peace we are told to avoid delay because it is attended with danger ! Mr. Blackett gave a picture of the revenue different from that of Sir James Hogg : ho showed that the balance derived from the territories added since 1834 is very small ; that the salt-duties have greatly decreased ; that the imports have declined during the same period ; that the cost of collecting 19,576,089/. in 1850 was 5,810,664/. or 25 per cent of the net total. Of the revenue derived from the added territory, he showed that not more than 200,0001. could be set down to good management. Then how was it that the arrears of land-tax from 1834 to 1849 inclusive were set down as 60,191,167/. ? Surely this was the result of some tre- mendous blunder; yet Sir James Hogg had not noticed it. Mr. Blackett gave a history of the transit-duties and their abolition ; showing that the Company had passed by recommendations unheeded, and had not abolished the duties until they were forced to do so by Lord Ellenborough. With respect to patronage, he showed that the appoint- ments to writerships by competition was a part of the measure of 1833 ; but that the Directors had deliberately violated the clause for four years, and that in 1837 a bill to suspend it was smuggled through Parliament. In the same way they had disregarded that other clause providing that colour, race, or religion, should be no bar to the highest offices. But then the Natives were made inferior judges ! Quoting statistics, Mr. Blackett showed that the native judges decided the greater part of the cases ; and that only 16 per cent of their decisions were reversed, to 74 per cent of the decisions of Europeans. Mr. Cameron had said that the way the Charter Act had been carried out was a mockery to the Natives. The Duke of Wellington and Sir Charles Napier were not afraid to employ Natives even in military posts ; and Colonel Sykes and Sir Thomas Munro both pointed out the danger of excluding the Natives. The Directors had used their patronage for the benefit of their family connexions ; and they had broken the engagement in this respect upon which Mr. Macaulay had been permitted to ask for the renewal of their last lease of power. He objected to the bill, because it proposes to continue the double Government, cripple the Executive, neutralize responsibility, and continue the East India Company as a permanent organ of administration.

Mr. THOMAS Beam} did not approve of all the proposals of the mea-

sure; but he supported the government of India by means of the Com- pany, because it had insured internal tranquillity, saved India from the Colonial system, and prevented it from being made the battle-ground of English parties. This last argument he repeated several times. He com- plained of the delay in granting a code ; but he approved of the distribu- tion of patronage.

Sir HERBERT MADDOCK concisely advocated the postponement of legis-

lation; direct government by the Crown; - the employment of Natives ; and respect for their religious feelings. At the same time, he admitted that the Government plan is in several respects an improvement on the existing system.

Mr. DANBY SEYMOUR made a long speech, after the lead of Mr. Bright and Mr. Blackett;, opening with a contrast which the Russian rule in Asia presents to our own, and auguring bad consequences to us in the event of Russian invasion. Referring extensively to documents, from descriptions of India in 1763 to Kaye's History of Afghanistan and the Parliamentary reports, he insisted, that what was damaging to the East India Company has always been suppressed ; and he could place no faith in documents emanating either from the Company or the Board of Con- trol. He complained that the Indian Committee was unfairly consti- tuted; and that witnesses, known to be adverse to the Company, have not been examined. He supported Mr. Bright's police quotation from the Friend of India by a quotation from the evidence of Mr. Marshman, stating that, two or three years ago, robberies (" dacedies ") were of nightly occurrence around Calcutta. Mr. Seymour said that he has been in every district and country from this island to Central Asia, and he knew no district where life and property were so insecure as in Bengal. Mr. Has= (of Paisley) said, the East India Company had been abused ; all its doings had been decried ; but before it was destroyed had not Members better suggest something in its place ? Mr. HUME defended the Company at the expense of the Board of Con-

trol. Ever since the year 1838 there would have been a surplus revenue had not the Board of Control ruined the country by wars. The Court of Directors manage affairs in an admirable manner, without expense : yet this system is to be swept away without mercy. The Secret Committee and the Board of Control have caused all the evils, and they are to be re- tained. Secrecy has been the bane of India. He did not want secrecy. He protested against the bill as premature and unstatesmanlike :

"No wise man would is such a measure ; and if it be, as I believe it is, a mad act, then it Is the act of a madman." (Laughter.) In the course of his speech, Mr. Denby Seymour had accused the Globe and Horning Chronicle of receiving pay in return for the solitary approval they give the Government measure. At the conclusion of Mr. Hume's speech, Mr. Bzeczerr stated that he was authorized by Mr. Seymour to say, that when he made the accusation " ho did so in the heat and en- thusiasm of debate." (" Hear, hear ! " and laughter.) Leave was given to bring in the bill. Later in the evening the bill was brought in by Sir CHARLES WOOD, read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Thursday the 23d.

THE WAR IN BURMAH.

The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH, in asking for further papers, entered into a critical analysis of the conduct of the war in Burmab, and condemned the military tactics adopted by General Godwin. He strongly oppose the occupation of the left bank of the Irrawaddy, whore we have no natural frontier ; insisting. that we should retain only the right bank. Already six European regiments are employed in Ave ; and that force cannot be detached without impairing our strength in India. Earl GmixviLLE said, there were no further papers in possession of the Government; but as soon as there were they should be laid on the table. The Earl of ALBEMARLE also pressed the abandonment of Pegu.

THE IRISH RESIGNATIONS.

Mr. GEORGE HENRY Moonz interrogated Lord John Russell on the subject of the reported Irish resignations, on Monday. After referring to the correspondence in the newspapers ,of that morning, and reciting its purport, he remarked that the report in the Times differed materially from that of the Horning Chronicle. In the Times, Lord Aberdeen was made to say that the sentiments expressed by Lord John Russell in the debate on the Church in Ireland were not shared by him nor by " any " of his col- leagues : in the Horning Chronicle the word was " many." Mr. Moore continued—

"Now, Sir, I wish to ask the noble Lord, first, whether the report of the

Earl of Aberdeen's letter contained in the Times or that in the Morning Chronicle is the correct one • that is to say, whether it is by the whole or only by the majority of the Government that the opinions expressed by the noble Lord on Tuesday night are repudiated, and, secondly, if the latter is the case, which are the members of the Government who repudiate the noble Lord ? '(Great laughter.) I wish to ask also, whether the House is to under- stand generally that it is only the votes given by the noble Lord which have the sanction of his colleagues, while the reasons he may express in the House of Commons may be repudiated by the whole or by the majority of the mem- bers of the Government ?" (" Oh, oh!" and laughter.)

Lord Joffie Russia', replied, with a smiling countenance-

" With respect to the first question which the honourable gentleman has asked me, I have to state that I have been informed by my noble friend Lord Aberdeen that there is an important misprint in the letter which is given in the Times ; that that misprint consists in stating that certain reasons I

gave in this House on Tuesday last are not concurred in by any ' instead of

by 'many' of my colleagues ; and that the report in the Morning_ Chronicle is the correct report. ("Hear, hear !") That is the first question which the honourable gentleman asks me. As to which members of the Cabinet they are who share my opinions and who do not share those opinions, I am totally unable to answer the question of the honourable gentleman. (" Hear!" and laughter.) But I can say further, in answer to the last question which the honourable Member puts to me, that Lord Melbourne elsewhere used to say—and I think it was a very sensible opinion of his— that it was quite sufficient that members of the Government should agree in the course they pursue, and that it was not at all necessary they should agree in all the reasons which induce them to adopt that course." (Cheers and laughter.) " No HOUSE."

There was " no House " made on Tuesday. Only thirty-three Mem- bers—mainly Radicals, with two or three gentlemen from Ireland, and two Tories—were present at prayers ; and the House did not sit accord- • 1 .

Next day, Mr. COBDEN brought under the notice of the Speaker what he said looked like a trick on the part of the doorkeepers. Himself and several other Members were early in the lobby ; they were told the Speaker was at prayers ; then, after the Chaplain went out, the door was again closed.

" There I stood," said Mr. Cobden, " among several other innocent and

unconscious Members—(Laughter)—looking up at the clock, and wondering at the extraordinary piety of the House and of the Speaker, that prayers should be so unusually long; for the door was still closed, the doorkeepers meanwhile hearing all I and my friends were saying, and evidently enjoy- ing our innocent ignorance. I again looked up at the clock, and saw that it wanted but one minute of the time for making the House ; upon which I observed, Surely prayers must be over now, or else they are having more than the usual quantity of service.' Well, the door was opened at four o'clock, and then they heard the traditional announcement—'Who goes home ? '" (Laughter.)

Government are not bound to make a House on Tuesdays; but it was scarcely fair or decent for members of the Government to exert them- selves, as they did, to prevent independent Members from making a House on the only day in the week on which motions can be made. Mr. Pinwale gave a different account of the lobby scene. Prayers were over at five minutes to four ; the doorkeepers announced the fact ; then "the door swung to of itself."

Lord DUDLEY Smarr repeated Mr. Cobden's complaint, and named the Earl of Mulgrave as one of the Ministers who urged a Member not to go into the House.

"I should not be at all surprised if the noble Lord the leader of the House, if appealed to, would say that those subordinates acted upon their own au- thority and had not the sanction of the Government." He should not be at all surprised at that being the course taken, seeing what was the practice

of the Government of the present day. Finding that they had a Prime Minister publicly disavowing the leader of the House of Commons, it would be no matter of surprise if the leader of the House of Commons were in his turn to disavow the course taken by his subordinates. (Cheers and laughter

from the Opposition.)

Mr. AGLIONBY thought they were making too much of the matter. They could always have a House if they would not allow themselves to be " whipped out." Mr. PErze:rr and Mr. Bagramtrox exonerated the doorkeepers. The SPEAKER said, it is the duty of the doorkeepers to keep the door shut during prayers. He had never known any case of their obstructing the entrance of Members.

PASSING OF THE INCOME-TAX Bum.

On the motion for the third reading of the Income-tax Bill, opposition of the old kind betrayed itself ; but in a feeble way. At the outset, pre- ceded by Irish complaints, a division was taken ; but it resulted in the carrying of the third reading, by 189 to 55.

Sir FrrzeoT KELLY moved the addition of two clauses- ( To reduce the tax upon incomes between 1001. and 2001. a year from 7d. to 3fd. in the pound, and upon incomes between 2001. a year and 3001. a year to 51d. in the pound. 2. To deduct 5 per cent from the amount of the tax paid upon all incomes under 4001. a year in respect of each child of the party paying born in wedlock, under twenty-one years of age, and unmarried. Mr. GLADSTONE objected to the introduction of the principle of gradua- tions. On a division, the first clause was rejected by 144 to 31, and the second was negatived without a division. Sir A. CAMPBELL moved the addition of a clause similar to one pre- viously moved by Mr. Lockhart—that deductions should be made in re- spect of poor-rates, county-rates, and assessments charged upon land in Scotland.. Mr. GLADSTONE objected to the clause; and it was rejected, by 98 to 54.

Some amendments were then made, and the bill passed without further opposition. Savrtios-BaNxs.

The House of Commons, in Committee, having agreed to a resolution declaring in general terms the expediency of charging deficiencies in savings-banks on the Consolidated Fund, a bill was brought in on Thurs- day, and read a first time, " to consolidate and amend the laws relating to savings-banks, and in certain cases to give the guarantee of the Govern- ment to the depositors for the repayment of the sums legally deposited in such savings-banks."

Another bill, to grant additional facilities in relation to the purchase of Government annuities through the savings-banks, was also read a first time.

THE EARLDOM OF PERTH.

The Loan CHANCELLOR moved the second reading of " Drummond's (Duke of Melfort's) Restitution Bill." The object of the bill is to reverse that attainder which issued against the Earls of Perth, as having been implicated in the rebellions of 1715 and 1745. The earldom was given to a member of the Drummond family, by James the First ; to whose line the family remained faithful. The last Earl was attainted by a Scotch decree in 1745 ; he went to France, and was there made Duke of Melfort. The present claimant, George Duke of Melfort, was un- questionably the representative of the Earls of Perth. Some time ago, he presented a petition praying that the dignity might be restored to him, on the ground that by the Scotch law attainder only bars the person actually condemned, and not his descendants. The case was investigated; and all their Lordships agreed that the attainder was as complete a bar in Scot- land as in England. The matter has been since revived; and the Queen has given her consent that the attainder should be reversed, so that the claimant might be enabled to enjoy the honours of the earldom of Perth. Lord LYNDHURST heard this with great satisfaction. He made a short speech highly eulogizing the family of the Drummonds for their chivalrous loyalty ; and speaking so warmly on behalf of the Stuarts, that Lord Caaresissz declared he could not allow it to pass "without protesting against it as the speech of a Jacobite." Lord BROUGHAM entirely ap- proved of the bill. The Earl of ABERDEEN said that the present claimant had served her Majesty for many years with great credit to himself, and had thus given a practical proof of his personal fidelity in addition to that traditional loyalty which has been s:seribed to his family.

The bill was read a second time.

ELECTION ComaurrEas.

Little interest now attaches to the sitting Election Committees, as the great feasts of corruption seem to be exhausted. The Liverpool inquiry has dwindled down to almost nothing, and no very damning disclosures have yet been made. It seems clear that letters from Cardwell and Ewart's committee, were taken by the postmen to Mackenzie and Tur- ner's committee ; but bow long kept there, and what done with, does not appear. Neither is the evidence as to the rosettes at all strong.

The.inquiry into the allegations of the petition against Lord Adolphus Vane for _Durham showed that direct bribery was practised. John Nicholson Atkinson said that one Jameson had asked him to vote for Vane, and had put down a five-pound note, which he would neither give nor lend to him. Atkinson took it. He afterwards met Blagden, a re- puted agent of Lord Adolphus Vane, and Blagden gave him five pounds; he and another man went to the poll with Atkinson, when he voted for Fenwick. The sovereigns and the note were kept by Atkinson's brother, and produced. Under cross-examination this story was not shaken; but the witness damaged his own character—he had once run a race to lose it! Another witness, Marshall, stated that he went to Lord Adolphus Vane's committee-room; Lord Adolphus, Blagden, and Jerrems were there; while Lord Adolphus walked to the other end of the room, Jer- rems offered Marshall ten pounds for his vote ; but Marshall refused it. The Committee decided that Lord Adolphus Vane was not duly elected; that he was, by his agents, guilty of bribery ; and that the election was void.

The Bury St. Edmunds Committee have found that Mr. Oakes was duly elected.

Mr. Whalley has been unseated for Peterborough, on the ground of treating. He paid the wine-bill of an election-dinner given after the election.

Mr:Townely has been unseated for Sligo ; bribery and treating by his agents proved. The report condemned the conduct of the Roman Catholic priests at the election ; and when it was read in the House, on Monday, a burst of cheering followed.

The Clar_e Committee have decided that Sir John Forster Fitzgerald and Mr. Cornelius O'Brien were not duly elected; that "a system of inti- midation was organized at the late Clare election, which resulted in a riot at Six-mile Bridge, deterring voters from th • exercising their franchise"; • • that Father Burke and Father Clime excited the people, the former taking part in the riot ; that generally the Roman Catholic priests did not unduly interfere ; and that Sir John Fitzgerald and Mr. O'Brien did not encourage and were not cognizant of the riotous proceedings.