ENGLISH OUTRAGE IN INDIA. (FROM THE "EXAMINER.")

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1977, 17 November 1863, Page 5

ENGLISH OUTRAGE IN INDIA. (FROM THE "EXAMINER.")

There is a paragraph iv the lask news which is of too grave a character to pass unuoticed. It is to the effect that two officers nro being tried on a charge of violation, brought against them by native women. The prisoneiE belong respectively to two of Tier Majesty a regiments of foot, mid as neither is above the rank ofensign, they may be supposed to be very young men. The statement made on tbo part of the proseeutiou is, that these two young offioers wero encamped oue afternoon at Gonda, in Oude, and wandered out with their guns with the unsportsmanlike object of shooting pariah dogs. Not far from their tent they came to a village, and entering the enclosure of a hut, which they had a righb to do, they found two women, an old and a young one, seared at the door. On seeing the strangers, the girl ran to hide herself in the house, while her elder companion raised a ciy of alarm at the intrusion. The officers, however, soon silenced her, and sent her out of the enclosure, and then ono of them went into the hut after the girl, the other keeping watch outside witli hi* gun, pointing it at the villagers and threatening to shoot them if they interfered. Among the number assembled was tho husband of the giil, a poor boatman whom the alarm raised had brought fioin his ferry. He was kept at bay with the rest until the gallant sentry's companion c.ime out of the hut, when ho was admitted only to find his young wife weeping and ten ing her hair. The officers gofc clear off, and— it seems almost increc\\l(\e — repeated the offence at tjie n,evt villftge they came to, with the difference tli.it the accessory in the former case was the principal in tho latter. Once more, by .sheer foice of audacity, these ornaments to Her Majesty's service escaped without being torn to pieces by the exasperated villagers ) who however, gave in,finm,.itt<m to tho police, and caused the matter to be investigated. But then came a series of not only unnccessaiy, lint unjustifiable delays. First, theie was a difficulty in finding out the names of the culprits, which there need scarcely have been, cousideiing that they were inarol)in,g qh duty, and wore probably tjip only Europeans ou^ th.Q lqad. This point having been a.scei taincd, there was an inquiry in the Deputy-Commissioner's Court ; and the proceedings being handed to tho Chief Commissioner, were by him referred to the Govei nor-General ; who, in his turn, referred them to the Advocate Geneial, to dcteimine whether tl)p culprits were ainenablo to the High Oquit or only tq a qqi|] £ niarttnl. Tljo "4-dvoqate-Gjeneral decided that neither the one nor the other tribunal need be troublod iv tho matter, which might bo tried by any criminal couit in the piovince ; but he added, that as the charge was of so grave a chaiacter, it would be advisable for the Judicial Commissioner to take it up himself Tho correspon.dc.nop wa.s th,en, forwarded to the Glpef Gn.m.misslo.ner, who at onco pqinted q\\t tl}e fact that the Advocate-Gcneial had fallen into "an error, as his {the Judicial Commissionefs) cou.it had no original jtuisdiction, standing, as it does, merely in the position of the high anpelate courts of the regulation provinces. The sub ject was then leferred back to the Advocate-Oene-ral, who by this time was away on leave. His locum tremins gracefully acknowledged th,a error, \yldoh had been cotritrjit^eil j hut advised, under all circumbtan'ces, that the affair shquld be settled by a genoral court-martial. A* !•»!>*. therefore, after an interval of ten months, it was found that theie was really a tribunal coinpotent to prevent an ensign from committing this ciime with impunity. The case is still unsettled, but iv tho meantime there lias arisen a. difficulty, which is the exact difficulty fliat nuidifc have been expected, The oase for tho proseoution res^s a.s fay as the ntoie sei iou.s offenco is coneei nod, entirely on the testimony of the young women themselves J and the other witnesses have, cniiously enough, managed to forget everything thab passed in their presence. In ono ca<-e, the chaige has alieadv been reduced to adultery ; and in the other thei'a js a probability that it will not I<q brought iiome. Now, we do not pigment to 6ay that the prisoners aie guilty oi the more seuous charge, but we do say that the very worst means have been ladopted for pioving them either innocent or guilty, by the delay which was allowed to take place, and the nrvtm'Q of the tribunal eventually selected That they were guilty of a srqss on.tr i&o, is beyond a doubt. Tb appears, indeed, that besides interfering— tn use the mildest possible terms — with the women of the village, they insulted the religion of the villagers by spitting into their brass di inking lothas— articles which may not be even touched by any person oijt of the owner's qasfce, Thjs m itsulf is qhimeful enough, and meritt seveue punishment, It is by coarse and brutal conduct suoh as this that ill feeling between natives and Euiopeans is sttll kept alive in India, anil until the authorities show themselves detei mined to punish suoh conduct m the most exemplary manner, it will never be believed thab our couifcs administer i\\\paitial justice.