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ygu . - ^-— avoid that furthe r THE LEAD...
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THE DEAD-HOUSH. A ba.ni> of Irish member...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Bengal Mutiny. I Ik Our Last Paper O...
thorities . The partial explanation adopted , as we understand , by the Indian community , S- ^^& % &^^ - ^^ S enjoying themselves m the Hills * at the period of the disturbance breaking out . If § £ were really the case , ^™™ ^™™ evidence could be adduced of the fact that the Indian Government was , in spite ot all ^ ss ^^^ psssr i ^ is ^ i ^ p ^ his post , in the first moments of contusion ? and it is perhaps to this unhappy circumstance that the want ^ of energy or consistent purpose may be attributed which so plainly marks all subsequent proceedings takL against the mutineers on the evening of that fatal Sunday , the 10 th of May . The European troops of all arms , infantry , artillery , and dragoons , though numerically superior to the rebels , were so slow in'turning out , that all chance of saving lives and property was sacrificed by their unseasonable aelay . But the . opportunity for striking a vigorous blow was not yet wholly lost . ± ne insurgents had evacuated the blazing cantonment , and it was certain they would take the road to Delhi . To pursue , and if possible , disperse them , was an obvious duty . The attempt was accordingly made : but made after such a feeble fashion that no results ensued . On the contrary , it is quite clear that the Meeriit mutineers must have reached Delhi cantonment in the full flush of triumph . Common instinct would otherwise have interfered to prevent the Delhi regiments from fraternizing with a band of dispirited and disorganised fugitives . Once arrived at Delhi , the insurgents had everything their own way . Again and again has the Indian Government been warned that some great disaster was ever liable to ensue , from the very fact of the titular successor of the Moguls being allowed to retain his state in the midst of a turbulent population unawed by the presence of European troops . Again and again has wise counsel fallen on deaf ears—and behold the upshot . A puppet-monarch on the throne of Timour , and raised to that bad eminence by the rabble voice of a rebellious soldiery . There are thoBe , we near , who fancy the poor King of Delhi to be implicated iu this deplorable mummery . Nothing can be further from the reality . The case is simply this . An officer of the East India Company ' s Service holds the appointment of ' Commandant of Palace Guards at Delhi , ' and has quarters furnished to him within the palace . These ' guards ' have no existence as an independent body . They are merely detailed , week by week , from the neighbouring cantonment . Hence the mutineers without had merel y to request admission of the mutineers within ; and all that remains of the throne of Delhi was straightway at their mercy . " We are happy to believe that his Majesty not only received the overtures made to him with scorn , but was himself the first person to transmit to our Iiieutenant-Governor at Agra a faithful account of all that took place in the other imperial city . The next Indian Mail will no doubt bring us intelligence that Delhi has been recaptured . It is , indeed , utterly beyond the power of the rebel garrison to offer apy effective resistance ; and , in all probability , they will have made their escape in twos and threes ere the place can be closely invested . But ? With roforonoo to a Letter which appeared in tho Times of yosterday , we bavo no doairo of prematurely acoaaing General Hcwcft . Tho Hill station of Muasoorio lips within Moorut Division . If Government allowed officers to bo absent from their posts , at such a juncture , wo simply infer that the Government was ill advised , and ill informed .
^ cannot apprehending evil tidings must at the same time be looked for since it is clear that the Mutiny is universal throughout the Presidency of Bengal and its dependencies . We do not believe that the faith of any single native infantry regiment-can be safely relied on . Witness the extraordinary circumstance of the 9 th Reg iment , both at Allyghur and Etawah displaying the most marked devotion and loyalty up to a certain date . Tet , within a few days , we learn that the Allyghur wing has mutinied , burned down the station , and plundered the public Treasury . And that a like result will have ensued at Etawah is almost morally certain . " We are sorry to note that in some circles the misconduct of the Sepoys is commented upon in a style and tone unhealthy and mischievous , as , for example : " Oh , you see it wasn't so bad , after all ! They didn't murder the women and children : 'twas the rascally bazar people . Indeed , they rather seem to have protected their officers than otherwise , " & c . & c . Mutiny , then , is nothing ! plunder of the Revenue , vi et armis , a mere eccentricity ! fire-raising , a playful joke ! Away with sickly sentimentality . Public security demands that no mercy be extended to armed conspirators against law and order . Let us rather hope that as few as possible may escape the doom iu which so many hapless beings have been involved through their criimnality . We cannot fail to observe that there exists in more than one quarter an evident desire to misrepresent the causes of this mutinous explosion , and to throw the burden upon other shoulders than those where it should justly rest . It is alleged that the discontent of the Army is not peculiar to that body ; but that the population of India at large is equally discontented , and that the Sepoys represent public feeling . The next Mail will answer that ^ objection , or we are much deceived . It is hinted , that the officers ( besides being in all other respects of indifferent quality ) neglected and misused their men . This is already disproved by fact . The Sepoys had indeed been educated , by the Government they served to disregard the officer ( as such ) , but , with rare exceptions , it has not appeared that they disliked the man . Had it been otherwise , no officer of a native regiment would have escaped , either at Meerut or Delhi . We have full confidence that all these matters will ere long be satisfactorily cleared up . In the meantime , the best good that can come out of evil will be the just reward of all who shall appear to have done their duty in the late lamentable passages , and the no less just censure of those who were found wanting in the hour of trial .
Ygu . - ^-— Avoid That Furthe R The Lead...
ygu . - ^ - — avoid that furthe r THE LEADER . fNo . 380 , Jtoy 4 , 1857 . ; ^^ tffc ^^ . . _ ^ " ^_^ __ j ^ i———n———^^—i ' - ^ -zrrzzz === ^ si = n i r n r T Tnm > T ~ f ? TTnmrTT delivered a daraasinp-Lobd John Russell delivered a damaging
The Dead-Housh. A Ba.Ni> Of Irish Member...
THE DEAD-HOUSH . A ba . ni > of Irish members once brayed and hooted during the speech of a noble Lord . They then began to laugh , and the noble Lord observed , " I rejoice to hear you laugh , for it shows that you have one human facility . " Tho new House of Commons has at least one parliamentary faculty . It votes . But on a political question it has nothing to say . There are debates on parishes and medical monopolies , on six-inch surveys and the removal of Irish paupers ; but Parliament is not supposed to meddle with politics . The debate on the Ballot was an exemplification of tho inanity that has seized upon tho body of Liberal members . They vote when they must , but they are as dumb as French deputies . The history of Tuesday evening was this : — Mr . Bebkkt / e y made his annual harangue ; Sir John Shelley seconded him | the Government , for tho sake of form , spoke in the mythological language of Sir Oobnewall Lewis ; Mr . G-BEisB gallantly put in a remark j and
speech . Whereupon , nobody getting up to wrestle with that Whig , Mr . Bebkele y explained , and the House thronged into the lobbies . This may have been a very proper course of proceedings , but among the speechless voters we find the names of gentlemen who were expected to do better service . Among the new ( or revived ) and popular there were : AYBTON , CoNINGHAM , COX , ELTON , GlJ . PIN , Hackblock , Kinglake , Locke , Neate , Roupell , Thompson-, Tbelawny , ami Watkins . Some may have had good reasons for abstaining ; but surely not all . They suffered themselves to be beaten without the least effort to strengthen their cause . They voted , of course . But we think thirteen of the King of Oude ' s peculiar institutions would have done as much . If ' ayes' only are wanted , why , the Liberal constituencies have only to fix upon such ineu as will counteract by their votes the votes of the voiceless Whigs and Tories . Taking alphabetically the list of those we have named , the result is not very creditable . Ayrton ' s ' ay' was an equivalent to Boldebo ' s ' no ; ' Coninqham ' s to Cabnac ' s ; Cox ' Clinton ' s ; Elton ' s to Cxivk ' s ; Gtilpin ' s to G-oddabd ' s ; Hackblock ' s to Hennikeb ' s ; Kinglake ' s to Habbisox ' s ; Locke ' s to Lisbubne ' s ; ] N " eate ' s to KkwxVBk ' s ; Roupell ' s to Rushout ' s ; Thompson ' s to Tbefusis' ; Tbelawny ' s to Tkollope ' s ; Watkins ' s to Wynne ' s . The member for Penrhyn Castle and quarries was exactly as distinguished as the member for the greatest borough . There seemed to be some-shame in thejlouse that Lord John Russell ' s plausibilities should remain unanswered , and a call was raised for Mr . Roebuck . But the Incorruptible and the Fearless kept quiet . He might have gained some votes for the Ballot by tearing up the tissue of Whig sophistication ; but he modestly bushelled the light of Sheffield and adhered to the instructions of his patrons , or his conscience , as the truth may be . Certain it is , however , that his position in the House of Commons is beginning to be uncomfortable . When he presented a petition referring to a grievance before the Ballot debate came on , and said « he did not intend to do anything , ' the House laughed , ' of course not . Nothing is ever done by the patriotic member for Sheffield . ' useless to review tne discus
It is perfectly - sion that took place . The question , as a question of reason and necessity , is settled . The arguments of Lord John Russell and the Ohanoellob op the Exohequeb rn ight have been blown to shreds had the Liberal party commanded the facilities of a single orator . The morality of Parliament has been debauched by one influence or another ; the Reform party is dead ; a majority of tho individuals who went in as Reformers at tho general election are too indolent , too cowardly , or too insincere even to raise a vigorous debate upon an important political motion . The consequence is , that two or three Whigs almost monopolize the attention of the House , that time-serving journalists pour out their tepid sophisms in a stylo of audacious facility , and that the question is gibed and jeered into liinbo . But while the Liberal party is drifted into sections , tho Whigs unite . The star that twinkles over Woburn Abbey begins to molt its beams in the sunliglit of Tiverton . " When Lord John Russell rose on Tuesday , some members expected a great Parliamentiuy bid and a declaration for the Ballot . It was not impossible . Russell had formerly threntened to bonnet the coercion landlords with the Ballot-Box . But , instead of this , he spoke to the heart of Toryism . The territorial iu-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 4, 1857, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04071857/page/12/
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