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No. 417, Malch 20, 1858.1 THE LEADER. 26...
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: | THE REFUGEE QUESTION. OFFICIAL CORRE...
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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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Imperial Parliament. Monday, Marcji 15th...
ment inflicted should bo proportioned to the offences . Mr . Baillie said that , with respect to the manner in which martial law had been carried out , the proper authority to execute that law is the Commander-in-Chief , and Sir Colin Campbell is fully aware of the views of the Governor-General . He ( Mr . Baillie ) thought that few of the excesses to which Mr . Rich referred had been committed . With regard to the papers moved for by the hon . gentleman , he found that there was a despatch in reference to Maun Singh , to the effect that he had at first shown himself in favour of the British Government ; but , he was "sorry to say , he believed that he afterwards changed his opinions and marched with a large force to assist the mutineers at Lucknow . He would consent to the publication of this despatch , and would give every other information in his power . —Mr . Vansittart hoped the House would not be led away b } ' the false sympathy with the mutineers shown by the hon . member who made the motion . Political necessity requires that their punishment should be severe ; and he found fault with Lord Canning for his clemency to those who had violated women , and had sacrificed all Europeans who fell into their power , with the most devilish tortures . —Mr . Boxton thought that Lord Canning deserved their support , not for sparing the guilty , but in restraining' those who were excited in the pursuit of vengeance . The provocation had been great ; but the House ought to set an example of Christian mercy . He disapproved of the immense extent to which men were being hanged for simple disaffection . What would they think if all persons disaffected towards the Austrian rule were put to death ? He hoped that this country would emphatically declare that the scenes of butchery which are now taking place in India should cease , and that our rule should not be stained with innocent blood . " Could it be that we Englishmen , who had felt so warmly for every people that had risen to . dash aside a foreign tyranny—could it be that we , who took such delight in a spirit of independence , who loved freedom so dearly , who paid so tender a reverence to human life—could it be that we , at this day , were encumbering the reputation of our country with memories bloody and terrible as the memories of Taunton and of Culloden ? ( Loud cheers . " ) Yes , that was so . That was literally and absolutely so . At this very day , we are laying waste village after village with lire and sword , and are hanging multitudes in cold blood , on the sole ground that they have set aside their allegiance . " Mr . Mangi . es stated his opinion that the conduct of Lord Canning in the most trying emergencies was desm-vine-of the crreatest annlause . and he reerretted the
— ' — — - — — ~ g ^ — — — — ^ 71 A A t *— ' accusations tliat had been brought against him without cause . He disbelieved the stories ( hat had been told of the . nameless atrocities committed on women and children by the mutineers . Most of them had read the letters v . liich appeared in the newspapers signed " Judex . " That writer stated that , when he was at Delhi , he heard that certain atrocities had been committed at Cawnpore , and when at Cawnpore he heard that the atrocities were committed at Delhi . ( Hear , hear . ') He ( Jlr . Mangles ) heard the other day , from excellent authority , that the inscriptions said to have been written on the walls at CawnDore were not there on the first dav the troons
arrived , and must therefore have been written subsequently . ( Hear , hear . ) Me was satisfied that , the more the subject was inquired into , the more certain it would appeal * that the annexation of Otide had not caused the mutiny ; that the peoplo of Oude were not fighting for what would be called a national cause ; and thut the greased cartridges had nothing to do with the origin of the outbreak . —Captain Scott mentioned an instance of Sepoy atrocity to justify hid opinion that tho mutineers ought to bo dealt with in flirt rrn-icf t * inrr » vnii « mnnnr » r T \ fr AllATVfS fllrtllfll t flint . fe * # ltMlkVI AflM **&¦ ¦
| I 4 V 4 * A # Ww V * ' ^ a ^ m V * » J V *• * - ^ H ^» 'r ^ w - *^ »*^^ V w m m H mm justice had not been done to tho English ofliccrs fighting in India . It was hard that nil the apologies heard in that House should bo for the Sepoys , and none for our own countrymen . ( Jfear , hear . ) lie was glnd to find that tliu Sepoy atrocities were not quite so bad as at first supposed ; but tho charges against our own nrmy rested on tho vaguest foundation . The mon assembled nt Liuknow arc not men lighting for tho indoniMidonco of their country ; they arc traitors who have broken tho allegiance they owed to us . —Colonel Sviuca denied tho truth of an assertion mndo by the member for Guildforil ( Mr . Mangles ) , to tho effect that the natives of India arc incapable of self-government . Two thousand years ago , tho citi / . una elected their own magistrates ; under thu ancient Hindoo system , remnants of which still exist , every village was a little republic in itself ; nnd several of tho largest priueipalition , nt this day , elect their own princes . — Mr . 1 'ktuii O'Uiukn said it-would bo u statesmanlike course to . show that we have Y \ ll iilnn nf ni'niwtliinir nil n-v f i \ i » ii 11 11 n t i M IT will * in Illilill . — . *!¦¦ 4 111 IIIMIIf % ivttl f llllim
— m ~* hi * * 4 * mmg \ t m I " * *^ ^ ¦ ¦ ' £ ^ V' ** WV ^ p * ¦*¦ ^ Sir Hicnicy Rawi . inson thought that they owed a debt ' or # T' « tttmnF"firenfi 5 riT " me ^ ovll of excessive severity could bo bout donlt with by eliciting tho opinion of that House . He thought that aoiiKioftho letters from India , in which it was ututed that no quarter was given , must bo exaggerated ; but our policy ahould now bo to leave a door of reconciliation open to India . — 'Mr . Hioii then withdrew his motion , and flaitf ho ahould bo satisfied with tho despatch to Maun Singh .
KOYAL BRITISH BANK . Mr . Braj ) Y moved for a return of the expenses attendant on the Royal British Bank trials . —Mr Hamilton said , at present the materials were not in existence from which the return could be made , but , as soon as the information was in the possession of the Treasury , it should be presented to the House . —After a brief and desultory discussion , the motion was withdrawn . The Mutin y ' Bill passed through committee , and the House adjourned at half past twelve o ' clock .
No. 417, Malch 20, 1858.1 The Leader. 26...
No . , Malch 20 , 1858 . 1 THE LEADER . 269
: | The Refugee Question. Official Corre...
: | THE REFUGEE QUESTION . OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE . The subjoined correspondence respecting foreign refugees in England was laid on the table of both Houses of Parliament on Monday night : — " No . 1 . " EARL COWr . F . V TO TII 1 I EARL OF CLAREXDOX . ( Received February 24 . ) " Paris , February 23 , 1858 . "My Lord , —Count Walewski is very desirous that I should express to your Lordship his astonishment and regret at the interpretation put during the late discussion in the House of Commons upon certain phrases in his despatch to Count Persigny of the 20 th ult . —astonishment that his meaning could have been misunderstood , and regret that he should be believed , with his knowledge of England , capable of applying as a generality an imputation which the context of his despatch ought , he thinks , to have proved could only have been intended for a definite class of strangers . "I must , in justice to Count Walewski , add that in the numerous conversations which I have had with him during the last month his language has been in entire couformitv with the assurances which I have thus the ' honour to convey to j-our Lordship on his part . Moreover , his Excellency has evinced so much , concern that the deplorable events which have occurred should not interrupt the friendly relations which exist between the two countries , that it is not to be supposed he would intentionally have said aught that could be construed into an attack upon the liberties of the British nation . —I have , & c , " COWLKY . " " No . 2 . " THE EARL OF MALMESBCRY TO LORD COWL 12 Y . : " Foreign Office , March 4 , 1858 . " My Lord , —You will take the earliest opportunity of . assuring Count Walewski that her Majesty ' s advisers , on ' their accession to olnce desirous oi main
I lewski that his Excellency , in stating that the attempt which has just providentially failed , ' like others which have preceded it , was devised in England , ' —in speaking with reference to the ' adeptes de la demagogie' established in England , —of ' assassination elevated to doctrine , preached openly , practised in repeated attempts , ' — and in asking ( whether the right of asylum should protect such a state of things , or contribute to favour their designs and their plans , '—has not unnaturally been understood to imply imputations , not only that the offences enumerated are not recognized as such by the English law , and may be committed with impunity , but that the spirit of English legislation is such as designedly to shelter and screen the offender from , punishment . " Her Majesty ' s Government are persuaded that , had Count Walewski known , when his Excellency held with your Lordship the conversation to which 1 have adverted above , that such construction ' was put upon certain portions of his despatch of January 20 th , he would have had no difficulty in adding to the assurance then given the further assurance that nothing could have been further from his intention than to convej' an imputation injurious alike to the morality and the honour of the British nation . All the offences which his Excellency enumerates , on being proved to the satisfaction of a jury , subject the person convicted to the infliction of penalties more or less severe ; and , if cases have been brought to the notice of the Government of his Imperial Majesty which may appear to have been overlooked by her Majesty ' Government , it is not to be doubted that the advisers of her Majesty , in abstaining to prosecute , have been influenced by motives of discretion quite consistent with an earnest desire to repress such offences . " Subsequently , however , to the late atrocious attempt ,, proceedings have been instituted in two cases—one for complicity in the late murderous attempt ; another for a publication ' elevating assassination to doctrine ; ' and another similar case is now under the consideration of the law officers of the Crown . " It is hoped that these considerations will satisfy Count Walewski that either his expressions have been greatly misunderstood , or that they have been , made under an erroneous apprehension of the state of the law in this country ; and that in either case his Excellency will not hesitate , with that frankness which has characterized his conduct , to offer an explanation which cannot fail to remove any existing misconception . " Your Lordship will read this despatch to Count Walewski , and leave a copy with his Excellency . — [ am , . & c , ' lVfAI ^ MESBrTRY . "
, are earnestly - taining in their integrity those close and friendly relations which , since the restoration of the Empire , have marked the alliance between France and Great Britain , to the great benefit of both countries . " Convinced that these sentiments are shared by the Government of his Imperial Majesty , and that both Governments will concur jn the opinion that such friendly relations are best maintained by frank and unreserved intercourse , her Majesty ' s Government appeal with confidence to that of his Imperial Majesty to aid them in t . lii'ir fiiidflfivoiirs to romove some causes of
misannrehen" 2 s o . 3 . " EARL COWLEY TO THE EARL OF MALBIESIJinRY . ( Received March 9 . ) " Paris , March 8 . " My Lord , —I waited upon Count Walewski this afternoon , by appointment , and read to him your Lordship ' s despatch of the 4 th inst ., and , in compliance with the instructions contained in it , I left a copy with his Excellency . " Count Walewski said that he received with great pleasure the assurances conveved in it , that the
Governsion which , it cannot be denied , have produced , and if suffered to remain unexplained must continue to produce , painful effects upon the public mind of England . " Your Lordship will assure Count Walewski that her Mnjesty's Government entertnin the fullest conviction that his Excellency , in his despatch of the 20 th of January , written at a moment when the just indignation of Franco and of the world had been excited by the late atrocious and cowardly attempt upon tho life of his Imperial Majesty , and under the impression that the laws r \ C ~ l ?* trrl n » n 1 n * nrn in iiiiITir » ion t frt niYif in * t Ilia T 111 ndrill 1
ment of which your Lordship is a member are earnestly desirous of maintaining in their integrity those close and friendly relations which , since the restoration of the Empire , have ma iked the alliance between France and Great Britain ; that he recognized , in common with your Lordship , the great benefit of a good understanding , between the two countries , und that you would always liud him disposed to aid in maintaining it . " With regard to the rest of the despatch , Count Walewski said that ho would return an answer to it in a dav or two through tho Emneror ' s Ambassador in
Mnjcsty against a repetition of such attempts upon the part of foreign refugees resident in Great Britain , had no other intention than that of pointing out to her Majesty ' s Government what appeared to be n . source of danger to France , mid inviting their attention to tho supposed delect . " Jf such has been tho first hope of her Majesty's Government , that hope has boon completely realized by thu full and frank assurances which Count Walewski linn ttpontiiiieoualy given , us reported in your despatch of tho 23 rd of February , of his astonishment and regret at tho interpretation put upon certain phrases in his despatches to Count 1 ' cTsiguy of the 20 th of January , ' astonishment that his moaning could have been misunderstood , and regret Unit ho should bo believed , with his knowledge of England , capable of applying , as a generality , an imputation which tho context of his despatch ought , ha thinks , to have proved could only have beuii intended for a ilellnite class of strangers , ' ' t I llSMItrlt 11 it i » IVfillnuftr ' iJ f ! ftl > iit * Ullimit It itiri-i f *** i » -k- » 4 lu- >
London ; but that ho had no hesitation in stating at once that nothing could have been further from his intention than to convoy , in his despatch of the 20 th of January to Count Porsigny , any imputation whatever on the morality or honour of the British nation . Nay , he would go further , and assure me that that despatch waa written with no other object than to signalize acta and proceedings dangerous , to tho tranquillity of France , which thq Imperial Government had reason to believe were carrying on within the British territories . His Excellency admitted that ho had used strong language , but it hud boon solely with reference to thoao acts and proceedings . Ho had novor pointed out , or intended to point out , a remedy for them . It was for tho English Government and tho English nation alono to determine in what lnunuor and in what measure a remedy could bo applied . —I have , & c , " Cowley . " " Xo . 4 . " tiii . ' l . viur oi . ' MAi . MKHHlfltY TO ICAItL COWLBY .
. firtit . entertained tho belief that an oitoiicouh coimtruc" ¦ fi 3 n lnnrbociv purai ~ co ^ receive with the highest . satisfaction tho voluntary rupuilhition , so honourable to hi « Excellency , of tho moaning which lie believes ( . o lmvo boon attributed to him ; and in tho sumo spirit of candour they dasiro to call liia attention to tlxmo exprcemious which really have produced an unfavourable impression on the public opinion of this country . " Your 'Lordship will therefore remark to Count
Wa" Forcigu-ofllce , March 9 . ' ^ TyTJoni ^ inVavo i ccfirv ^~ y 6 TiFEx ^ 611 oTfcy'r'dO = """ spateh of thu 8 th inst ., reporting tho language of Count Wulowski on receiving from you a copy of my despatch of tha lih inst . j and I have to acquaint your Excollenoy that her Majority ' h tioverninont havo observed witli groat satisfaction tho friendly Hjiirit which porvadod liia Excellency ' rt remarks , nnd thoy fool tfuro that all tho misconception which hun prevailed respecting tho purport of hid previous despatch of tho 20 th of January will be
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 20, 1858, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20031858/page/5/
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