India.

Colonist, Issue 18, 22 December 1857, Page 4

India.

THE INDIAN MUTINY: ITS

CAUSES AND REMEDIES.^ iA Letter to the Right Hon. Viscount Palnierston, K.G., &c. By R. J. R. Campbell, Esq., M.Pi for Weymouth. The author of this pamphlet has a local claim upon us, being a native of our riorth- '. era district. He is a son of Mr. Campbell of Reay Bank, Ardersier, and he was him self Bomin Fort-George. Hehad, it appears, in a. personal interview with the Premier, made certain suggestions' regarding the present crisis in India, and the reception given to them by Lord;Palmerston has induced hini to come forward with this letter embodying his views on the future government and security of our Indian empire. He conceives that the grand source of the serious mischief England has now to deplore has been the centralisation of power, even to the adjustment of military detail, in the hands of the Governor-General. This lowers and, weakens the authority of tha Commander-in-Chief and officers in the eyes- of the Sepoys and others. Another eaiise'has been- the abolition of corppral punishment' in the native army,, and the, concessions made -to the Sepoy .-in reference. to allowances and indulgences. . But, more injurious than:all/^asr;:been;ithe^y,stem: r p| t empt6/sfng the European officers ift'staEorL civil political seWiceV so' that they1 looked■ upon .their regimental duties as ah irksome probation, and carefully abstained from identifying themselves in any manner with the Sepoys. Mr. Campbell blames Lord Elleriborbugh for contributing to this result. "He taught the officers to look to extraregimental employment as their true mission, and numbers were withdrawn by him to fill police and other appointments. This was during the furor of his gratitude for the success of the army in Afghanistan." The first, suggestion which our author makes is the total disbandment of the Bengal Native Regiments have mnv pretty well disbanded themselves! Those Sepoys,who have continued stedfast in their loyalty should be relisted upon precisely the same terms as European soldiers; and an addition, of thirty or forty thousand should be made to tha European troops. The Indian army, ! thus should be placed in the hands of the Crown, the Commander-in-Chief m Inclia beiiig supreme* excepting in his responsibility to the Commander-m-Chief in England. Our author says— ; "I attribute much of the evil condition of our native army to the humiliating position of; the Commander-in-Chief as a mere instrument of a Governor-General's will. All the good which Sir Charles Napier might nave wrought was checked by the interference of the Marquis of Dalhousie, who* in his turn, was little else than a puppet hi tlie hands of the Military-Secretary to the (government of India. In like manner Lord Combermere was thwarted by Lord Amherst; Sir Edward Banies by Lord Wi Bentick, Jand Sir H. Fane by Lord Aucfclanp—raiid from the same causes—the influence of a local Military-Secretary of the Company's army constitutionally jealous of the royal service, and of the power vested in th,e royal Commander-in-Chief. In fact, the situation of the Commander-in-Chief; and. army in India has been analogous to that of a Commander-in-Chief and army in England under the orders and discipline of the House of Commons. Your lordship may conceive what would come of such a system."' .'.".' ■■ ' .■' ■"■■■•; Sir Charles Napier, it will be recollected, held this opinion. One simple code of regulations would, under tho arrangement here-proposed, suffice for the whole army of iprfat Britain, wherever it might be placed. We add one more short quotation \~r '"[ " The transfer of the control of the Indian army; to the authority of the Crown : naturally raises the question as ; to whether | it is desirable to continue the civil administion of the country in the hands in which it j has hitherto been placed. On this impor* tant point I will, with your lordship's permission, again address you. The practical results arising from the adoption of these suggestions would be strength, security, and economy, which, taken in connection with the charges equally necessary in the civil government of India, should be pro-r ductive of a considerable annual surplus, instead of a deficiency as at present, and this, I think, I shall have no difficulty in establishing in my next letter. In the meanwhile, suffer me to implore you riot to J allow your consideration ;oi the military] phase of the cjuestion to be'biassed by the, tiphiioiis 'of professionally inter-,. re§!e"cl parties;? who'haye results of the fsysteni;which they hay<| ad^ ministered, 'their incapacity to deal with-! the momentous question at issue, and the false estimate they have, formed of the character of the natives of India. - 1

"It is far from my wish to cast discredit upon the officers of the Indian army, who have been the unwilling instruments of a dangerous course of military administration. Among them there are and have been men greatly distinguished by their bravery,1 sagacity, and ability, and it will only be just that in any changes the British Government may deem advisable, their vested interests should be respected. In my humble endeavours to trace the course of the mutinies and to suggest a corrective and a preventive, I trust your lordship and the gentlemen of the East India Company's Service will believe that I am solely influenced by a strong sense of public duty." 1 Mr. Campbell, we believe, was loitg a merchant in Bengal, and he therefore speaks oh Indian affairs as one possessing knowledge and experience of the country. His parn-^ phlet is clearly and ably written.— Scotch Paper.

Captain Grey, son and heir of the Home Secretary, had again embarked; for active service in India; with his corps, the second battalion of the; Rifles. And all the'mem-

bers of tHe Cbmpatiy*s: service, absent on leave in England, had returned to the East.

■T « WHAT IS INDIA WORTH ? A, Writer in the' Times, signing himself "Anglo Bengalee," enters into calculations to' show the money value of India :-^— " There is, to begin with, a little item of something under £4,000,000 a-year remitted tb England on 'Home account.' OF-this sum about £1,000,000 is paid for stores, and may be considered as a matter of trade. The remainder, or £3,000,000 a-year, consists of pensions, furlough pay, soldiers' wages, salaries, allowances, interest on debts and on proprietors'stock, and some other items. To this amount must be added an equal one, or £3,000,000 more (to speak precisely, £2,850,000), paid to England for family remittances. This sum is given to England for no' quid pro quo in coals or candles, and is much a portion of the great Indian tribute as the Directors' salaries. It is ay direct addition to that wealth which falls; under the shears of the Commissioners of the Income-tax,, and represents wealth amounting, even at five pgr cent., to £120,000,000 sterling. India, besides tjais tribute which it pays annually, to England, hasja; trades- That trade, exclusive of the Singapore branch, amounts to £55j000,000 -sterling a-year. What is y its:,mdney value \ I 1 wjll estimate it at only twp years' j>urchajse, and then we .will have: still another ■£1j00,000,00,0, ; tp* add to '$£''. preyioc# Os.-OJrd. We ,are,.,?tliier|r '|or^ tend ta spend £200,000,000 b^fbre, we! give up India,"* ' ••• vy a : The Writer then calculates the probable cost of the present mutiny:— y j ""\fhat will be the actual cash loss*of this rebellion protracted for a cl ear six months ? First and foremost; we may lose the entire revenue of the North-West,or say, for the half, £2,225,000. Then we also lose the expenses of moving-troops, replacing slain Europeans, &c.; or say :£2,000j000 more; add£l,ooo,ooo lost to Government in actual plunder (though we way regain much Of that); add £5,000,000 for the expense of remforcements, and we have an outlay of some £10,000,000 sterling—about five or six: times the cost of the last Burmese war. Double that sum fpr : the expenses of rehabilitating our military system, and we have the enormous^and, as I believe, preposterous—sum of £20,000,000 sterling to pay for # this re^ bellion. Wait a moment. There is a little per contta. The pension of the crowned ragamuffin in Delhi is gone, and that-is 16 lakhs; ditto the allowances of the King of Oude; ditto, if my letters may be trusted, of the Nawab of Moor shedabad. That is, 44 lakhs, or £44,000 a-year in all. That sum at 5 per cent, represents £8,850,000 sterling. To this add for six months the pay o£ 50 line regiments revolted or deserted, and we have a further sum of at least £1,000,000; .sterling. There remains but one moiety of the gigantic outlay to be provided for. Is.that beyond.Jthe,means of India to provide? Is it absolutely impos-sible-to screw another Half-million a-year out bf !the expenditure without a general bankruptcy drain ?; Why, J have myself knswii=the Indian opium revenue to fluctuate to double that extent, and not ten mcii in India'ever heard of or noticed, the fact. The money can arid will be fb^nd, 'and .1, for one; believe that while it-is r the duty.of England, as a simple matter of .business, |o expend £200,000,000 rather than lose India, its preservation will in the end not cost the English tax-payer that number of ! farthings." .