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ported , changes the principles upon which Russia has hitherto conducted her preparations for war . If we cast a glance at the present distribution of the Russian army according to its great groups , we shall find these to he the Peistwujutschaja Armia , or active army , consisting of four i n fan try corps , united in a compact camp , in Poland , Lithuania , Vblhynia . and Podolia . Between this and Petersburg stands the Grenadier Corps , at Novgorod , and at Petersburg itself the Guard . In the south-west stands the 5 th army corps , with its most advanced garrison on the Pruth . The 6 th army corps is in Moscow and its neighbourhood . Supposing a war to threaten from the west , we may assume that the active army would not move until Poland bad been occupied either by the 5 th or 6 th infantry
corps or the guards from Novgorod and Petersburg . Hitherto this operation must have consumed months . 33 ut let the railroad from Petersburg to Warsaw be finished , and a week will suffice for the purpose . Before the first rail of the line is laid down , the future military use has been a matter of study , and with especial reference to the transport of large masses of troops . Thousands of military transport wagons are already made or making , and their construction is truly artistic . The packing or suspending of arms , knapsacks , cavalry saddles , and all the appurtenances of a battalion , is abundantly cared for . In three days the half , or in a week the whole , guard and grenadier corps , may stand in Poland , while the reserves are coming up to St . Petersburg , by the Moscow and Petersburg
Railway , followed , if necessary , by the 6 th infantry corps . Whether the 5 th corps would move westward would depend mainly upon the state of relations with Turkey . In any case the compact mass of the active army would be emancipated from the immobility it has hitherto suffered , and could be brought immediately into play . The whole political significance of the new railways lies in the fact that the guard and grenadier corps may in future be brought to Poland in a week instead of in months . Let that great artery be connected with Odessa , and with a railroad from Moscow to Warsaw , as well as with another from Warsaw to Odessa , and it cannot then be denied that Russia will have effected a revolution in her military relations to Europe . "
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Letters from Constantinople of the 14 th announce that on the proceeding day Prince Menschikoff had his first audience of the Sultan , and that all passed off in the most friendly manner . Lord Stratford left Vienna for Constantinople on the 24 th . The Caradoc was on the 22 nd still waiting at Marseilles for despatches from the English Government .
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ELECTION MATTERS . Blackburn . —The nomination of a member to occupy the place in the House of Commons from , which Mr . Kccles has just been ejected by a decision of a committee of the House of Commons , took place on Tuesday morning , at nine o ' clock , on hustings erected in front of the Market-house , before a large concourse of people , estimated at from 18 , 000 to 20 , 000 . The greatest excitement prevailed in the town , and it was feared that the event would not pass off without serious disturbances ; but the arrangements had been so well made by the police , by means of rails and posts , which divided the two parties , that the anticipated riot did not occur , although there was enough , in the banners and other electioneering paraphernalia , to excite a sharp conflict . The Mayor , Mr . Hopwood , opened the proceedings in a very brief manner . Mr . James Pilkington , M . I ' ., proposed Mr . Montagu Feilden as : i fit and proper person to represent the borough in Parliament , the nomination being seconded by Mr . Ecelcs , the unseated member . Mr . Joseph Feilden nominated Mr . W . IT . Hornby , the late mayor ; Mr . 1 ) . ThwaiteK seconded the nominal ion . Air . Feilden was frank and liberal .
In a inosI ' , especial niiinuer he ; placed himself before them as a supporter of one of the most essential topics of the present , day -the vote by ballot . ( Cheers . ) He would ask them even those who wen ; opposed to him wore they in favour of vote by ballot ? and if they answered in the iiflirmativc , he claimed their support on that ground . He was in favour of extension of the suffrage , and on that ground he asked their support , being mi earnest advocate for ji wry considerable extrusion ; a :: d he trusted Lbat the new Reform Hill , which would be brought into Parliament next session , would embrace that subject , and that he should be there himself to give bin vole in favour of that measure .
( Cheers . ) Mr . Hornby nnide a personal question of it , and relied on his services to Uio borough . An neither ho nor liin opponent had been in Parliament , they were ho Car on nn equal footing , and I lie . electors hud only ( o look back to the acts of ( inch individual uh they hud transpired in this populous borough . . If they did ho calmly , lie hat ! no doubt of tlie result , of their decision ; he bad no doubt they would decide Unit Mio works over which he hud bud tho honour to preside bad rendered moro
bone-... - t . .... mil lit to the working clauses in twelve months than Int . fl boon done by bis opponent up to the present time . Could bin opponent , boast , of any hucIi advantages p Could ho put bin linger to one tiling bo had done in the town P Could lie point , to any individual who was benelitod by him P 1 le should iki | , jiro to ( lie Mouse of ConimoiiH as a member ol any party ; be should not , go to seek either phieo or pension ; but be should go carefully to watch ovor those interests which they did him tho honour to place in hi « liuiitlu . ( Cheers . )
The show of hands was considered in favour of Mr . Hornby . Rioting and kidnapping went to great lengths at Blackburn . Men were dragged from their beds with violence , on Wednesday night , and carried off . Wednesday opened with such serious fighting , that the military were sent for , and the riot act read . The Hornby party had imported all the scamps they could find from the adjacent districts . The official declaration of the poll gave Feilden 631 ; Hornby , 574 j so that the rioters were defeated .
Bridgenoeth . —Mr . Whitmore has not returned either his footman or his butler ; but a banker , Pritchard by name , a " Conservative in every sense of the word / ' aud before whom all rivals fled , was quietly elected , on Tuesday . Chatham . —A meeting of the Liberal electors of this borough has been held , when it was determined to support Admiral Sir J . Stirling as a candidate for the representation of the borough , in the room of Siv F . Smith . A resolution was also carried to the effect
" That it is the opinion of this meeting , that the only remedy for the present corrupt system of electing members of Parliament is voting by ballot , and very earnestly request Sir J . Stirling , when elected our representative , to record his vote in the House of Commons for that measure . " Maldok . —Mr . Thomas Barrett Lennard , who sat for this borough in the late Parliament , and was defeated at the general election by the gentleman who has since been unseated , has announced himself a candidate for the honour of again representing it . He states that his political principles are not changed , and that he is still an advocate of safe progress . It is understood that Mr . Q . Dick will also come forward with a view of renewing his Parliamentary connexion with the borough .
Eye . —Two candidates have appeared to contest the representation of this town , viz ., Mr . W . A . Mackinnon , the father of the late member , who was unseated by the recent committee of the House of Commons , and Mr . Pomfret , the unsuccessful candidate at the general election .
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MANCHESTER ON INDIAN GOVERNMENT . Obeying a requisition of some of the influential gentlemen of the town , Mr . Barnes , mayor of Manchester , called a public meeting " to consider what suggestions " that " community ought to make to the Government , or to Parliament , for the better development of the resources of British India , and the consequent amelioration in the condition of the people . " Accordingly there was a gathering on Tuesday , in the Town Hall . Mr . Barnes briefly stated the purpose of the meeting in an opening speech , and then Mr . Thomas Bazley , President of the Chamber of Commerce , seconded by Mr . Aspinall Turner , President of the Commercial Association , moved the adoption of the following petition , containing the suggestions , and forming , in fact , an abstract of tho speaking so far : — " That her Majesty ' s Ministers having announced an intention to submit to Parliament , during the present session , some measure for the future government of India , your petitioners are anxious to record their dissatisfaction with the limited extent of our commerce with that country , and their regrol ; that ho little progress has been inado m the development , of its rich and varied resources . " That your petitioners are of opinion that , in any enactment for ' the future Government of India , the * following suggestions should be udopted : —
"Istly . That it be regarded as the imperative duty ol ' the Government of India to promote the cultivation of tho soil , and to remove all obstacles which impede the progress of industry . ' 2 ndly . That beyond making useful experiments , the Govorriinont should not be permitted to become cultivators , manufacturers , or traders . -. 'Irdly . That in conducting their financial operations , tho Government should be forbidden to become purchasers of any kind of produce on their own account , or to receive by hypothecation produce purchuHcd by any other party . 4 lhly . That Mm (« ovci'iinicnt bo compelled to expend a portion of the revenues collected in India in the development of the resources ol the country , as well as to afford every facility for its
profitable occupation ; that with this view such public works should be promoted as ant calculated to facilitate intercourse with or improve the physical condition of the population , to itim'HHo ( lift production of cotton and other valuable raw materials , oh also to encourage a system of genoral industry . - -fithly . That , ten percent , of tho revenues of India be applied to the public ; works above alluded to , such as the construction of trunk lines of railways , tlio furmation and improvement , of roads and bridges , the deepening and other improvement of rivers , the formation and care of reservoirs and canals , the erection of piers , and
oonstruetion of harbours , breakwaters , lighthouses , and all other engineering agencies required in a civilized and oomniercial country . ( Sthly . That tho application of the portion of revenue allotted to useful public ! works bo under the control of a ' Hoard of Works , ' established and condueled in India , the members of which should have full , extensive , but defined powers , and be nominated jointly by the imperial 4 ' Jovcrniucnt and the Indian Executive . — 7 thly . That tho Government should give eved-y facilit y for the permanent occupation of land , by removing the objeotioiitf so often urged to a Jluctuating land-tax . —by
encouraging the purchase , for cultivation , of the waste and other lands of India—and by giving Buch certainty of tenure as will insure the safe application of capital to the universal cultivation of the soil . —8 thly . That prompt attention be paid to the removal of evils now existing in India , consequent upon the uncertainty of the due administration ot justice and the prevailing ignorance of the people . —wenfy . That an annual detailed report on all East India attain * should , as was formerly done , be laid before Parliament by a Minister of the Crown . —Your petitioners commend Vie foregoing propositions to tho favourable attention ot your
honourable House , and humDiy ana ew" < = » "v , t "* y "T " the same may have statutory effect in any legislation lor the future government of India . " Mr . Ashworth , of Bolton , seconded by Mr . Malcolm Ross , moved that the various commercial bodies be requested to send deputies to London for the purpose of waiting on Sir Charles Wood . Then came Mr . John Bright , and as he held himself not bound , as the commercial men were , by the strict terms of the requisition , and as he pointed out that no one had said anything about the political
government of India , he proceeded to turn his attention to that . He held that no good could be done in India unless there was an honest motive-power set up . " We have had bad government in Ireland , —and it has often been said , with some truth , I think , that India is twenty Irelands put together ; but in Ireland you have roads , and you have a great deal done that is never done or thought of in India . In fact , the smallest , the commonest , the most indispensable things that every Government , however tyrannical , has elsewhere thought it necessary to do for the country over which it rules , appear to have been studiously and pertinaciously
neglected by the Government of India . I believe the whole thing springs from the imperfection of the governing machine . I don't charge the East India Company for a moment with being intentionally a cruel , or oppressive , or tyrannical Government . I know a good many of the directors , and I have not the least reason to believe , speaking of them generally , that they would give their consent , knowingly , to what was cruel or tyrannical in India ; but then they are a machine so constituted that it cannot work . " In fact , it is the most complex and clumsy that the * && ' nuity of man ever devised ; and , continued Mr . Bright , " I don't believeit possible that anyman couldnow sit down and
form a system of government so totally unfit for the work for which it was originally designed . " Then , turning to the constitution of the East India Company , he went on : " It has been stated , I believe , before the committee now sitting , that the dirt of the kennel through which men have to crawl to get to the dirty dignity of an East India director is such , that many respectable , and some of the most eminent and nble men , shrink from it , and won't be contaminated with it at all . The result is , that one-third of your East India directors have never been in India ; merchants , bankers , and various people in London , wlio find it very convenient to have a position like that , and find tho patronage of great use to them in one way or
other , are elected—twenty-four of them . Six go out and six come in each year . Thirty of them make the roll of the corporation . Well , their whole business , or nearly so , is the distribution of patronage . They get 4 O 01 . a year each as salary , but they each have patronage , the value of which , according to the account of a man most compotenfc to give an opinion , would , if it could be sold , be worth 8000 Z . to 10 , 000 * . a-year . To this Government is committed the whole collection of the revenue in India , every matter which affects tho affairs which wo have been discussing this morning . The groat political questions of India are disposed of by tho Board of Control , which is » innf . h «» r hodv . the President of which is always a Cabinet
Minister . Tho President of tho Board of Control is generally a person who has never been in India , is often a person who has never paid any attention to India subjects more than any poison in this room . Then , these two Governments , ' somehow or other , are expected to carry on a system of administration advantageously for 100 , 000 , 000 of people somo thousands of miles away . It is one continued jangle and wrangle bo < ween theso two boards from January to December . Why , if you ask a question in tho J louse ' of Commons of the President , of the Board of Controlho mumbles something aerosn tho table which
, refers you to lioudonhall-streot , and suggests that you should make application to tlio Court of Directors . If you move for a return of any kind of statistics from India , you got it , in about two years - ( laughter )—when the thing for which you wanted to use it has entirely gone by ; and then it comes in hucIi a shape , that 1 defy any man to mnko the slightest use of it . I do state , with perfect sincerity , that I noliove tho whole of that in ( lone in order to confuse the public , to mystify the House , and to make it impossible that you nliould'got . at anything connected with the Indian Government ; . And the diflioulUeH that have arisen aro « o
extraordinary , that no man in the House of Commons who has the slightest regard for his own ease , or almost for his own reputation , will attempt to touch anything connected with the Indian Government . He is as certain to bo baflled as over ho touches it , ; and all the force which thin great , corporation can bring against him ; the love of ease , which I have found the prevailing quality with Presidents of the Hoard of Control ; the indisposition of tho Government to bo bothered about India ; and the JTouho of Commons' hate of the subject , —all is brought to bear on every limn who meddles with Indian subjects ; and every man who does ho is drawn baelc by the very hopelessness of the task which ho undertakes . " ( Applause . ) lVetty nenrly at the close of his speech ho wet forth his idea of what Government should do : — Unless they are prepared , during this session , to bring in a bill involving a total change in tho government ol
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292 THE LEADER . [ Satom > at , _
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Leader (1850-1860), March 26, 1853, page 292, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1979/page/4/
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