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Koi 425, Max 15, 1858.J , THE LEABER, 47...
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DIVORCES. Thk new Divorce Act is severin...
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THE COW ON THE RAILS. Ik America, a, sim...
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The Orqan Question in Scoxi^and.—After c...
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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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Russia And Our North-West, Frontier. Whe...
saraes attibassadorj terms less favourable to ourselvesthan those rejected by us at Constantinople— - haya ^ -ifaenhastily closed the war without receiviug 1 one farthing indemnity—having evacuated Persia without retaining any territorial lien—having acceded to so much : —what , we repeat , is the present state of our relations in regard to Persia and Central Asia ? Persia , may have been humiliated , "but only into hatred of us . Ferookh Khan . has returned
to Teheran with thirty French officers-in . his . train . TJrer . temtory . of Herat is still held by the Persians * evea irtthe face of ' a . mission deputed by us to ascertain the truth of its evacuation . Persian influence , F-cman documents are found at Delhi , _ inciting our own subjects to rebellion . And Russia is pressing onward more persistently , snore permanently than evcr > along the entire northern boundaries of Persia from tlie Caucasus to the Desert of Merve .
Now it . is far from being our intention to irritate by > suspicion ,. or to encourage unnecessary apprehension by exaggerated , statements of danger . But it is-, at , the same time , impossible to hide from oursalves that this question of Central Asian policy , and , above all , the question of * Russian influence hi Asia g enerally ; assumes every year , to every politician of intelligence , a more and more serious aspect . Before the Crimean campaign-we readily accepted the assertion that the power of Russia would be exerted . not in Asia , but in Europe . Russia has now tried Europe , and , l ) y a happy mischance , has failed . Asia is still open , to , her .-. The combinations that foiled her in Europe would not recur in Asia . And in Asia she
possesses , moreover , an undisturbed fulcrum both of territory and material , whence , gradually , and almost without any chance of unexpected reverse , ske may hope to move and sway the whole continent : So long as serfdom continued unshaken in Russia , we clung- tenaciously , though somewhat doubtfully , to the assurance that , though omnipotent at home , she - ^ -asv powerless for havoc abroad . But serfdom is now shaken , and is likely to pass away at no very remote period . We know , from long and bitter experience , now impracticable it is , for a great civilized power to remain stationary in Asia civilized power to remain stationary an Asia
, , even when honestly desirous of so doing . We knb-w from observation , from the accounts of travellers , from the records of our Foreign-office , and from numerous independent private sources , that Russia is at this very time striving by every possible means—among others by means of Ihiglish capital—to increase and permanently maintain military lines of communication towards the'banks of the Arras find the north-western provinces of Persia ; that Russia has already occupied the Caspian Sea with her steamers ; that her irregular troops , her forts , and her wells are to be found at
convenient distances from the eastern shore of the Caspian to the Aral , and at Khiva ; that Russian agents ixvg at Herat and at Kandahar ; that Russian emissaries have been found in India , and have compelled us into the adoption of a passport systean ; and finally , that in Tartary , even to the extreme eastern coast of Asia , Russia is pressing southward upon China . We gather from sources equally independent , and almost equally numerous , that" a common impression—an impression which among half-civilized tribes ominously tends to fulfil its ovm prophecy—prevails in Central Asia that an invasion , of British India will be
undertaken , and that in that invasion they wilL partake . Our own officers on the frontier speak oil Russian outposts being advanced so near to the Indian frontier its Khokan , and of the friendly tribes exterior to our frontier speaking openly of coming disturbance , expressing astonishment at our aupiiicncsa , and admitting that they arc not able to remain neutral . Wo find from a work * recently pitblished ; that the oldest arid most-distinguished military comirmndcr on our north-west frontier has from the first been emphatically of opinion that the Persian expedition was a Great , error : thai ; its effects
"At . present , all . that is required to be done is to ensure the certainty of success and security on our own frontier . ...... I have long-past thought over the subject of the arrangements proper to secure our north-western frontier . "There are * . brut : two great roads into our Indian Empire from the-north-west—but two roads , in fact , by which it ; i » . possible for a modem army . to march . "One of ; these ,. the Bolaa ^ . lies through , an entirely friendly country . The- Khelat territory extends to Beekeea , forty miles-beyond the head of the pass , in the table-laud o £ Adfghanistait , and is inha / bitedby Belooch and Brahooge trihes , who are of aa entirely different race from the AffghanSk
" The road through the Bolari is , even at pr « seni , generally good , and sufficiently easy for an army to proceed by itj with all . itB arbillory , stores * & c . This road is also the- shortest ; from Herat to British India , and is the natural outlet to the- ocean of the commerce of a very larg © . p © rtion : of Central Asia . " Prom the foot- of the Bolan , one continuous- and almost dead level plain extends for nearly six hundred miles through . Kulchee aatl Sind to the sea . " Th « ' only other great-road , the Khyber , is very differently circumstanced . The people are unfriendly and
barbarous ,. the country is far more difficult ; and the * distance- greater ; -while there is already a strong division of our army at Pesbawur , so . . that-we aTe tolerably -well secured in that quarter—quite sufficiently secured , indeed , under the arrangements contemplated by me , because from Quetta we could operate on . the flank and real : of any army attempting to proceed . towards the Khyber Pass ; so that , with a British force at : Quetta , the- other road -would be shut to an invader , inasmuch as we could reach Herat itself before an : invadiDg army could even aarrive at CabexvL
Such a position would form the bastion of the fron attacked , and nothing could , with hope of success , be attempted * against' us until this salient-were disposed of . "We may , I think , then , leave the Khyber without further discussion of the statistics of this road at present , and confine our attention to the Bolan . " The more the matter is considered in all its bearings ^ relations , and consequences , the more certain it will appear that there should be a good British force at Quetta , a good made- road from tbat place through the Bolan Pass to Dadur , and tlieace continued through Kutchee to the British frontier , to connect with the lines of road in Sind . The portion of this road from . Dadur to the sea must , I think , eventually become a railway , but probably not till a very long period has passed by . "
These paragraphs , "with their appended summary of arrangements , contain the pith of the Central Asian question , in so far as it at present concerns us . And we acknowledge , that if the sum expended in the Persian Gulf , principall y for the enrichment of the enemy , had been applied to this permanent defence of our own frontier , we should have been far better prepared when , our mutiny broke out , and should now be in a condition of comparative security from external insult . We do not desire to complicate our Eastern difficulties by raising tip ghosts to terrify . But we cannot forget how suddenly we were overtaken by Indian internal disorders , when our highest authorities were assuring us that India was " profoundly tranquil . " Wo remember , also , that the same experienced soldier who , long prior to the revolt ,-warned us of its
approach , and characterized , at tbe hazard of his own commission , the then , condition , of the Bengal arnvy as being our greatest source of danger , now warns us , and has any time these two years been warning us , that our neglect of the north-western frontier of India is " commensurate - \ yith that" of our Indian Empire . " If , " he adds , " we remain idly looking on from the valley of the Indus at llussia ' s Central Asiatic game , the consequences to us will be such as no statesman would wish to contemplate . " Again we say , -we distrust no one , and we deprecate all aggression on our side . But' we warn England against being once more found sleeping on an Asiatic mine . Forewarned should tins time be forearmed ; and , for ourselves , we shall at least continue to raise our voice against all odicial aud public indifference to this most serious question .
would be momentary only , would be enormously expensive , autl would leave matters on our frontier of India as regards security from threat , insult , or real attack exactly a * before . We find that General Jacob had iurlhcr , and wholly unknown to us , before the commencement of the Persian wur , stroiMv deprecated the invasion , and as strongly advocated and oxphiincd the defensive " arrangements alonnthe frontier requisite for placing our Indian Empire m , 1 state of permanent and increasing security and Tcpose . " Those proposed arrangements have our cordial and unqualified support . Wo shall quote the General ' s own words : —
Vicwa Jind Opinions " of ' l ) ~ rig « dier-Cieiitina ' ¦ « y « " crti ) , n , 'S' } TX n ^ cdilC ( l h Y Unptniu Lewis Polly , nuthorof " Our North-West Frontier ' J
Koi 425, Max 15, 1858.J , The Leaber, 47...
Koi 425 , Max 15 , 1858 . J , THE LEABER , 471
Divorces. Thk New Divorce Act Is Severin...
DIVORCES . Thk new Divorce Act is severing marriages with a smoothness and rapidity that may alarm men of the old school . There have been alxmt « , dozen dissolutions of marriage already , But after looking carefully into the facts of all the cases , as rcport . eH in i . ho papers , wo can sco no grounds for supposing that the divorces will be worse scuaukila tliau the illegitimate estviingeincntB they sueoeecl . There isonly one case in which we notice a dangerous characteristic of 1 . lie working of 1 ho new law . A husband petitioned for divorce on account of the adultery of his wife ; the divorce was granted , and it was prnyed that the adulterer should ' be mtulc liable
for the costs . The judge refused , because evidence was nat ; giVeat . that the adulterer knew that the woman "was a "wife . No"w \ , it seems to us that the onus of exculpatory evidence to this effect should be thrown pa the actual adulterer . The adultery is in itself a bad thing done by the man , and he should he . called , to prove , that , he had not the evilj intention of corrupting a wife .. If you do not establish a rigid rule of this kind , you open , a door to collusions for what is there to deter men . from allowing themselves to be-represented as adulterers ^ and . so serving the ends of a discordant and licentious couple , by offering , apparent grotmds for their- divorce ? The more you punish tbe adulterer , the more you make adultery rare ajid collusion , impracticable .
The Cow On The Rails. Ik America, A, Sim...
THE COW ON THE RAILS . Ik America , a , simple nia . cb . ine called ; a . Cow-catcher precludes such an accident as occurred on our Trent Valley line this week . As the locomotive rushes along its single rail , passing- through -whole counties of pasture , or diving through a narrow lane in wMe forests , it is . liable every hour to find cows , with , their ; stupid , honest faces staring at the advancing , engine- The cow-catcher nearly touching the gro-und , lifts the cow off its legs on a kind
of platform , and , by another turn , the platform capsizes the cow off" the road . The Americans h & , ve also secured communication between guard and driver ; have established a through , passage for ticket-takers and . guards from end to end of the train , and by giving you a ticket ^ guarantee you your luggage at the end of the journey . Are we too proud to take these hints from the Yankees , or is it that tbe money that mi g ht be spent in lifesaving mechanical inventions is squandered in feepaying parhamentary . dodges ?
The Orqan Question In Scoxi^And.—After C...
The Orqan Question in Scoxi ^ and . —After considerable debating , the Synod of the Presbyterian Church , sitting at Edinburgh , has decided against permitting organs to be used in churches . The question was settled in the same sense in 1856 , but las been again agitated ' with no better success . The Synod consisted of about one thousand members , three-fourths o > f whom voted for the prohibition . The organ , however , has- recently been introduced into some of the Independent chapels , aud among the Presbyterians there is a growing feeling in favour of it .
CoiiOKSL Wavgh . —Some allusion to the runaway Colonel , formerly of Catnden House , is made in a letter by the -wife of " a deceived and ruined shareholder , " an extract from which is printed in the Maidstone Journal . According to this lady , Colonel and Mrs . "Waugh are residing at Cadiz . They are living in great luxury , with several servants , carriages , & c . ; and the -writer of the letter observes that it is impossible that Mrs » "Waugh's 6001 . a year could pay for it , and that they are said to be living on the plunder of the banlc .
Popish Riot at Walsall ,. —A . person going by the name of liaron de Camhi has been recently distinguishing himself at Wa ' . sall by giving a series of lectures on Popery at the Guildhall Assembly-room of that town . A few evenings ago , he was about to deliver one of them , when , a mob of low Irishmen , collected outside , the- hall , aud , having forced open the outer duorj rushed up-stairs to the lecture-room . The " Baron" was then engaged taking tlie money , but , upon seeing the mob enter the building , lie raised an alarm , and , while a portion of the audience closed and barricaded the door of the room , the
lecturor and bis -wife escaped by a private entrance at the back of the premises , communicating -with tlie Dragon Hotel . No sooner had they disappeared , than a body of men inside tins hall , -who -were evidently accomplices of the mob outside , made a signal to the latter ,, upon winch they proceeded to the hotel whore Mi Cnmiu and his wife had taken refuge , and vented theirwrath in destroying the boards on which the bills announcing the lecture had been displayed . Though the police were called out , they could do nothing towards quelling the disturbance ; but the Irishmen at length dispersed , on the exhortation of one of their own priests .
Emsction Expenses in Victoria . —According , to the 'Victoria Electoral Proceedings Regulation Act , every candidate is compelled to advertise the amount expended by him in his election . The following i . s the account published lry Mr . Iioard , tho member recently returned ( though not elected , there having been no opposition , for Occlong ) : "Election Proceedings Regulation Act , 1856 . —February , 1858 . —Election Expenses , George Board , Esq . To D . Harrison aud Co ., advertisement , 4 s . ; paid by election ageiit , Is . —James Duncan , Election Auditor . —GJeclong , March 5 , 1868- ' * Australian and JVhfw Zealand Gazette .
Hicitn JoAoniM . —This celebrated artiste will perform Bach ' s Chaconnc for the Violin , at the Concert of The Vocal Association , to take place ut St . J / ttnoa ' H Hall , on Friday evening next , May 21 st . Tho Vocal Association , of j ) 0 0 voices , will also perform some of their most popular Part-Songs and Madrigals .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 15, 1858, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_15051858/page/15/
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