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Leader (1850-1860), 20th August 1859, Edition 2 of 2, Page 10, There is a rumour that, if Monsieur do P...

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      German Y. August 17th, 1859.—A Series Of...

      abolish it , in spite , it is said , of the remonstrances of Prussia and the other States . Xetters from Vienna represent a change of ¦ ministry and considerable reforms as being in prospect . Important edicts will be issued on the 18 th instant—the 29 th birthday of the Emperor . It is permitted to be stated by the papers that a separate and popular constitution will be granted to Hungary , and that upon this subject the Emperor is in daily conference with Count Apponzi . It is -worthy of note that the Vienna Gazette has lately adopted a tone of defiance towards France , and -vents its opinions regarding the Emperor of the " ^ French and his nation with the same freedom as it did just prior to and during the war . has taken lace

      At Frankfurt some severefighting p "between the Prussian and Austrian Federal troops in . garrison there . It is singular that while the citizens -of all other States of Germany are in favour of Prussia , the military are decidedly against her ; and I have heard Hanoverian officers openly , express their readiness to fight against Prussia , rather than against France- —possibly a mere . transitory ebullition of anger at her neutrality during the war . Advices from St . Petersburg announce the laying -down of the telegraph line between Moscow and 2 flicolajewsk at th e inouth of the Amur . A part of the wire reaching to the borders of Asia is already complete . The line is to be prolonged to the coast of America by way of Southern : Kamtschatka and -the- Aleutian islands . ' ¦ .

      958 The Leader. [No. 491. Aug. 20, 1859,

      958 THE LEADER . [ No . 491 . Aug . 20 , 1859 ,

      M. Louis Blanc On The Amnesty. M. Lotxis...

      M . LOUIS BLANC ON THE AMNESTY . M . Lotxis Blanc has published some observations on the amnesty just declared by the French Emperor . He says : — "I will not stop here to inquire , whether it be fit that the offender should be the forgiver ; that '* crimes' should be remitted which never were committed ; and that those should be pardoned who were so cruelly ¦ wTOnged , having been , although guiltless , driven out of their country , torn from their families and their friends , consigned to absolute ruin , and , in ¦ fee t , bereft of all they held dear on earth . Speaking in my own name alone , and judging from a mere practical point of view , I owri candidly that , situated as he is , Louis Bonaparte could now hardly do more for us than he has just done . But it is not -the less true that those whose hearts have been for years made to bleed from innumerable wounds have a claim to something better than a contemptuous and perhaps unsafe favour . What was due to them in the shape of justice cannot he paid in the shape of pardon . " Let freedom be wholly and sincerely restored to France : I , for one , am prepared to applaud . Our wrongs we might forget : may we be indifferent to the wrongs of our country ?

      "We are permitted to return to France . So long as she is kept in bondage why should we go ? To complete the victory of might over right—to render Imperial despotism still more absolutely unopposed —to extinguish the few last beacons which , fed by French hands , yet loom in the distance before the ^ yes of our unhappy country—in one word , to be slaves among slaves . Better stay in the land of unfetterred thought and free speech ; better lire where to be an exile is to remain a man .

      . "It is recorded that in the Kevolution of 1789 , at the first celebrated fete , du Champ de Mars , some fifty Englishmen were seen wearing on their chest . a . medal on "which these words were inscribed : — * tr Ubi Liberlets , ibi Patria . " Without presuming to sit in judgment upon such of my countrymen as anay take a different view of the case , I venture to say that this should be the motto of every man feelingly alivo to the dignity of his own nature . ' Not that I consider xny bolpvod country less entitled to claim our devotion , because temporarily shackled . No . The very' state of intellectual debaeemont and moral agony in which France is now plunged endears her the niore to us , as wo know it originates in a fatal combination of uncontrollable circumstances , and is maintained' by brute force alone . That Prance will , sooner or later , be warmed into life and be herself again , is a creed which I fondly cherish , and to which I cling with unshakable convictions . But so long as she is forced into silence and darkness , I take it to be necessary Chat some at least of her most faithful sons should , ' by living abroad , retain the power of representing true genius , of making known her sorrows , denouncing her wrongs , invoking her most glorious recollections , vindicating her stifled aspirations Alter freedom , and championing in her name the eternal principles of justice and the rights of aeason . " ,

      There Is A Rumour That, If Monsieur Do P...

      There is a rumour that , if Monsieur do Peraigny m iGwUca , the Duko . do Gxaramont will succeed Wm to m » diplomatic duties . The duchess is an WBUahwoman , daughter of , A . MacklnnonJSsq ., M . P

      Ik Pi A, And : ' ¦ Indian Peogress.

      IK PI A , AND : ' ¦ INDIAN PEOGRESS .

      Colonisation Of British India. To The Ed...

      COLONISATION OF BRITISH INDIA . TO THE EDITOR OF '' THE LEADER . " 42 , Basinghall-street , Aug . 11 , 1859 . Sir , —I beg to communicate to you the following extract from the last despatch from Darjeeling , dated 31 st May , as it is of great interest to intending settlers , who may address ' Frederick Brine , Esc [ ., Hope Town , Darjeeling . —I am , Sir , & c , Hyde Clarke . Agent for the British Settlers'in Darjeeling . " Our memorial to the Bengal and Supreme Governments was forwarded three or four days ago to Mr . O'Donnell . I send you a copy of it . It contained the signatures of nearly all Darjeeling , including that of the Maharajah of Burdwan , and will be signed in Calcutta by all those who are interested in land , in Darjeeling . Copies of our former memorial , and of Lord Stanley ' s reply ,, and of your letter to Lord Stanley , have been forwarded with the present memorials . The Darjeeling Land rules are out , and I send you a copy of them . Land can now be purchased in fee simple for ten rupees per acre , payable in ten years at one rupee per annum . Capitalists who wish to come out from England and invest in land should lose no time , as large applications are coming in from Calcutta . I shall be happy to supply information to intending emigrants , and I shall be able to recommend capitalists who come out , respectable and trustworthy assistants , experienced in the language and customs of the country . Such assistance will be in requisition . My residence , uninterrupted , of twentyeight years in India , has made me acquainted with a large circle of practical honest men ; and I know many who would be glad of obtaining appointments in the hills for the sake . of the climate . ( Signed ') Frederick Bbiste , Hon . Sec .

      The Islands In The Bay Of Bengal. It Is ...

      THE ISLANDS IN THE BAY OF BENGAL . It is upwards of a year since we drew attention to the Andaman islands as the spot selected for . the penal settlement of the captured refuse mutineers of the rebellion . The report of the committee appointed to examine the shores of these islands , and to fix upon a site , has just been published , and reads like a volume of Captain Cook . The islands , of which a detailed account is given , are the Andamans , the Nicbbars , Barren Island , and the Cocos . Beginning with the Great Nicpbar , to the north-west of Sumatra , they stretch iii a direction parallel with the coast of Tavoy , from the seventh to the fourteenth degree of northern latitude for a distance of 500 iniles , ending in the Great Coco . Between the Nicobars and the Little Andaman , there is a distance of seventy miles , and this is the one consider rable gap in the long wall of coral reefs , among wliich only native craft can move with freedom , and which have so often been the scene of the wrecks of

      our richest merchantmen . If the Bay of Bengal is as much an English sea as the Channel , with its great marts of commerce on either coast , stretching from Singapore past Mal a cca , Moulmein , Rangoon , Akyab , and the mouths of the Ganges , to Madras , then these islands have a new interest in our eyes , and are , if not essential to the existence of our Eastern empire , necessary for its external peace , for the security and extension of its trade , and for the spread of that civilisation for the sake of wliieh it has been established and still exists . At present they are the abode of savages who are , of all human beings , next to the beasts in

      the scale of humanity—of men who , if not cannibals , have all the ferocity of such , and Svho , since the ships of Europe have visited their seas , or the junks of China and the Archipelago have attempted to touch at their coasts , have proclaimed war against all outside of their own tribe , and revelled in the work of wrecking , brutality , and death . Such savages are a . blot on the map of our Eastern possessions j and if , as hitherto , they reject every attempt at friendly intercourse , every overture oi kindness , they must yield to the operation of that law wliich , in spite of" all fostering care , is sweeping their milder brethren out of Australia—they must

      disappear . It will be well if in their case , as with almost all our colonies , the introduction of convict labour is the beginning . of progress . The object of the Government of India and the policy of Dr . Walker , in founding and organising the penal settlement at Port Blair , have been to make it finally a free native colony . The sepoys On their arrival are put in a position analogous to that of convicts of the third class in the Straits Settlements , degradation to the lowest class and the imposition of irons being reserved for the refractory . Every step is taken to raise in their breasts some sort of self-respect , of self-reliance , of hope . They are grouped into gangs of twenty-five each , under a section gangsman oi

      Rules for the Grant of Waste Lands in the Darjeeling Territory . I . Grants of waste lands in the Darjeeling territory shall be sold by auction , at an upset price of ten rupees , an acre . II . Sales of grants of waste lands shall be made from time to time at the office of the Superintendent of Darjeeling , on application for that purpose by intending purchasers , in such manner , and under such ruleB , as may be laid down for that purpose by the Board of Revenue—full and sufficient notice of the day of sale and other needful particulars being given to the public . Should it in any case be deemed inexpedient ; to grant the land applied for , the Superintendent shall refer such case , with his reasons for deeming the grant inexpedient , for the orders of the Board . Iir . Every grant proposed to bo sold shall first ; have its boundary cleared , and its area determined by an officer appointed for that purpose by the Superintendent . . xV . No grant shall be of less than fifty acres . V . A purohascr at auction of such grant or grants shall make a deposit at the time of purchase of 10 per cent , on the amount of purchaso money . VI . Thd balance of the purchaso money shall bo paid in annual instalments of 10 per cent , on the amount of purchase monoy , and in default of such payment the sale shall be considered void , the deposit and any prior payments of instalments being forfeited to Government , and tho Government shall bo at liberty to re-sell the land on its own account . VII . The Government rosorvos to itself the right of making and constructing such roads and bridges as may bo necessary for public purposes in all lands purchased as abovo , and also of such indigonous timber , stono , and othor materials , as may be required for making and keeping tho said roads and bridges in repair . Land takon for these purposes shall bo paid for at the rates at which it was purchased by rolund of the money paid for it , and compensation shall bo granted when claimed for any damage done to tho plantation in the construction of tho works . VIII . Tho sale shall convey a tltlo to all ralnos and minerals within tho limits of the grant sold j but a tax , not exceeding 10 por cent , of tho gross produce of such minos and minerals shall bo leviable by tho Government , in such manner , and under such rules , as may heroaftor from time to timo bo determined on . IX . Existing grants may bo commuted under those rules nt tho option of the grantoes .

      their own body ; four of these constitute a sub-division under a convict head , and a free overseer accompanied by a native doctor . To each division , consisting of four of these hundreds , a shop managed by themselves is attached . The shopkeeper procures his goods from the sottlemenfc stores , and sells them at a profit of about three per cent . ; making weekly remittances to account . Ench man is allowed two annas a day , out of which ho supplies himself with every necessary , medicine alone being free of cost . The industrious may easily earn three annas , and even more , when employed in clearing jungle , and felling forest trees at contract rntos . Whon in hospital they aro allowed one and a half annaa day , but their section may give them tho full share of its earnings . Idlers arc tried by their follow sectioners , who form themselves into a

      punchayetor jury , and their wages are roduqod according to their deserts . Section gangsmen have u commission of ono por cent , ; sub-division gangsmen four rupoes a month and ono-half | per cent , on tho earnings of their respective di visions . This commission is paid by Government when the earnings denote average industry . Thus aro tho habits ot economy and solf-managoment taught . The formation of tho colony doponds , however , on what is called tho family emigration scheme . With difficulty twenty-five of tho convicts wero inducod to sond for their families . Tlioy aro promisod porinission to reclaim and cultivate land ireo of root dxiring their own and wife ' s lifotimo . During tho first three years , when tho produce of the land must nocossarlly bo scanty , four , three , and two rupeos a month successively aro allowed to oaoh mantwo % wi-w

      , M « VMVM MHWVWMM 4 r V *^ -yt *^ ^••\ # l »^« t * •» - — r . . . rupooe to oaoh woman , and ono for each child , otm farther to lay socuroly tho foundation of a future colony , Di \ Walker askod foi- a company of native inflintiy , composed of Sikhs and Ghoorkns , or oi Madrasseos , accompanied by thoir families . Ihoeo men would rocoivo assignments of lands and become fiwo settlors , or , if it wore impossiblo to induce a company of soldiers of tho lino to bring tnoir families to tho Islands , a local corps might bo raisou

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 20, 1859, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20081859/page/10/