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    b&10000000?at the leastlQdL inbers which...

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    THE WINTER A^D ITS SOCIAL CLOUDS. Scarce...

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    Silt WILLIAM GORE OUSELEY'S MISSION. Lob...

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    Payment Of The Indian Damages. Amongst T...

    b & y 10 , 000 , 000 ? . at the very least—lQdL in the pound , of Income-tax . "Who is to pay ? Thia . is a question that has already "worried some of our country men , and suggestions have been made for shifting off the tourden upon any shoulders rather than our own . The first idea naturally is , that those who have created the disturbance should be made to pay the damages ; just as the man who isconvicted . under an indictment should pay the costs of the action . But here an unfortunate difficulty arises . Tire defendant himself i » insolvent - Kot only have the 70 , 000 mutineers been , disbanded and turned out of

    eniployment—a very unlucty preliminary towards any payments of 10 , 000 , 000 J . or so ; but in most eases they have been deprived of some property besides . ISTo small portion of the force consisted of small landholders , or the relatives , of small landowners , and the total roui and ruin to which the whole body has been put must have dissipated the resources of the men , and in some cases of their families . It may be justice to make them pay ; but by what court could damages be enforced on , such a defendant ?

    The next idea was to make the disturbed districts pay—holding the community answerable for its disorderly characters . This is an Anglo-Saxon notion , and it is perfectly applicable to Anglo-Saxon communities . Nay , in . effect it applies to all communities ; for even in India the mutineers have drawn ruin , carnage ^ and destruction upon their country .

    But we are talking' of justice , we are talking of deliberate proceedings in the name of equity .. ; and since we may consider that the greater part of the traitors and their immediate connexions are unable to pay towards the penal tribute , the expense must fall / precisely upon those who are not guilty . Independently of j usti . ee , where is the policy of such a course ? "Where is the wisdom of

    tellnig the Hindoo , by one of the most practical arguments which can reach the Hindoo mind——for the race is clever at accountsthat it may be dangerous to play the traitor , but that the man who is loyal shall pay the fine ? Shall faith in allegiance to the British Queen , bring no adequate advantage to the Native ? The next idea was still based upon the notion of making India pay , and inauspicious hints have been , levelled at the ' rich Baboos .

    This also ia a European idea . It has been chiefly illustrated in this country by the Norman Things , who distributed their taxation according to the combined proportion of riches and helplessness in the tax-payer . The Babooa at whom the hint is principally levelled , axe not the armed Eajahs and Zemindars , who might have something to say upon the subject , but the commercial gentry living in Calcutta , and especially in Bombay . Now this iB peculiarly preposterous . If it prove

    difficult ; to levy money from the districts that have been disloyal , which certainly it would do ; and if the Government in its wisdom should think fit to reward the Native Princes , Rajahs ,, and Zemindars who have be « n loyal to us , which also they talk of doing ; arid if there , are suspicions that some of the loyal Makraita chiefs may be reinstated in something like independence , —where would be the justice , the policy , or the common sense of

    imposing , a fine for armed treachery in Oude and Agra , upon merchants and civilians in Bombay ,, who have had as little to do with the outbreak as the gentlemen transacting business , in Broad-street or Xiombard-atreet ? In fact ,, the . notion of making India pay , in the . sense of imposing upon the community the mnalty for , its defaulters , does not hold good ., "We have taken from India the power of government , and have thus deprived the coinnuuadty of . that control overita own .

    members which , is the coinplemenlj to the responsibility for the behaviour of the in . dividu . ala . If any people ia answerable for the default of the Indian mutineers , it is ourselvesthe English people—who have taken from them : the power of government , and , to our detriment and theirs , have reposed it in the hands of incompetent men , or of officers ill organized for the purpose ; If we should have to pay for the cost of the Indian war , the penalty would unquestionably fall upon the right defaulters .

    But there ia another mode in wbich India might be made to pay for its own mutiny , and one which would be equally consistent with policy and justice . The whole question of India has been thrown open by this failure alike on the part of its people and its Government . The last revision of the Company ' s Chtintro

    arer duced great improvements , or rather diminished enormous abuses ; butit still leftthelargestaudmost practicaliniprovements as questions of the future . The condition of the people has , in many respects , been bettered , and the progress is still going on ; but much is yet to be done before the people of India can make out of . the soil of India all

    that it will yield . Here again we are responsible , inasmuch as we hold the power of government in our hands ; and the penalty imposed upon us for the failure of our administration through the Indian mutiny is a proper penalty for neglecting our duty both to the Indians and to ourselves . The expense of the war must be paid by India , but it must be thr ^ ygk a-better government , by processes which will compensate the loyal Hindoos as well as ourselves . It is the

    business of the House of Commons to call upon Ministers to snow how they intend to begin this process of repayment , and why it should not be carried out with speed .

    B&10000000?At The Leastlqdl Inbers Which...

    "I S THE Ii ^ APER . [ ISq . . 400-, NavBMBffla 21 , 18 S 7

    The Winter A^D Its Social Clouds. Scarce...

    THE WINTER A ^ D ITS SOCIAL CLOUDS . Scarcely a day has passed during the week without adding to the list of important bankruptcies and suspensions . The amounts involved range from a few thousand pounds up to millions . The difficulty of realizing assets , consequent particularly on the state of monetary affairs in America , is the leading cause of these embarrassments ; and , unfortunately , there is every prospect that , for some time to come , this lamentable state of things will go on : among the most notable of those who

    have recently suspended payment , are houses like thab of Messrs . Fitch and Skeet , liabilities about 55 , 0001 . ; Dhaper , Pietrotti , and Co ., trading chiefly with Italy and Hussia , liabilities estimated at 3 OO , 0 OOZ . ; Sievekin g and So : n , in the Swedish trade , liabilities upwards of 40 O , 000 A ; Gorrisen-, Hut-FEii , and Co ., 60 O , O 0 O £ . ; Messrs * Bkockiyeslby : and Wessels , liabilities something under 100 , 000 ? . ; and others whom it would infringe the law of libel to mention , though their condition is notorious .

    But if trade stops , manufactures must do the like ; and some have already been dreadfully pressed by the high prioe of the raw material . Accordingly the state of trade in the manufacturing towns , though not such aa to warrant present alarm , is decidedly bad . Manchester and Birmingham , in the almost total absence of foreign trade , aro kept from

    standstill by homo orders . The worst accounts come from Coventry , Nottingham , Leeds , and Halifax , whenco we hear of mills working short time , half time , or , worst of all , no time at all—wholly stopping . In Ireland , manufacturing distress is beginning to bo severely felt , and some cases of riot have occurred in consequence of the closing of mills . But we cannot take a bettor example than that of Preston . IVom tho number of operatives partially

    deprivedof work , the : Board of Guardians has found great difficulty in providing empWuaent for those who claim relief In tlL workhouse otthe parish there were , last week one thousand and six inmates , and . four thou ' sand five hundred persons were receiving out door relief . And worse is yet to be apprehended . Several mills , employing in the aggregate a large number of hands , have been working nearly full time , and now they are daily expected to adopt short time . i > om an early hour in the afternoon , crowds of able workmen are seen wandering listlessl ;

    y about the town . Should some fortunat e change of circumstances not soon take place the soup-kitchen and tho scanty out-door relief of the Board of Guardians aro the only resources which these thousands will have to depend on for existence . There is , however , a brighter trait in the present state of the town ; one of the largest mills , that of Messrs . KoRiiocKSES , Milieu , and Co ., employing over 3000 hands , has begun to work forty hours per week . It is to be hoped that this amelioration has been the result of causes

    which may beneficially affect other large millowners , and enable them to increase their hours of work . But partial reaction scarcel y justifies the hope of general improvement . It is well known that the series of bankruptcies cannot stopwhere it is ; America may have done her worst , but she has not yet done her all ; and embarrassment must spread .

    The rich have obliged Government to suspend the laws , in order that tliey may Jiare ' accommodation , ' and not give up their large fortunes and fine houses , although they are "bankrupt . The able-bodied poor thrown out of work are distinctly told that they must nofe break the law , but must try to help themselves ; their ability to do so being tried by the lawful ' tests . ' But some really

    intelligent and humaue persons have struck out a solace for the unemployed during the tedious , dreary hours of forced and hungry idleness this winter . The late Duke of INobeolk used to be roasted for recommending to the hungry labourers of the rural districts , as a , stay and comfort , curry-powder . In accordance with tho march of intellect the philanthropists of the town have struck out thoir new comfort for the hungry— ' lectures !'

    Silt William Gore Ouseley's Mission. Lob...

    Silt WILLIAM GORE OUSELEY'S MISSION . Lobd Napieh ' s idea of co-operation with America is being developed into a polity . Sir William Gore Oitseltjy goes to Central America almost as the virtual representative of the two Governments . That is to say , he understands and respects the motives of both . And since liis instructions are written in this spirit , it ; ia scarcely to be doubted that Great Britain and the United

    States will agree upon tho principles oi a common diplomacy to be adopted in the important central provinces of the New "World continent . Sir William Ousele y ' s duties , as defined for him by the Cabinet at home , are special ; but ho is probably charged , in a more general sense , to return , if poasiblej with the aunouncemont that thei'c ia no Central American question remaining . After tho failures we have witnessed room must be left for an unfortunate contingoncv ,

    especially as the New Granada Government has hitherto evinced a disposition to be contumelious . But there are circumstances nttonding the Ousoley Mission which point to the probabilities of its succoatk Tho Envoy is intimate with the American people and President . Me takes with him no Old Dominion prido ; he is person ally trusted by Mr . Buchanan ; he has family relations with the United States ; and , before- proceeding to Contrnl America , ho will uiako a stay at Washington . Thence , it may be assumed , he

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 21, 1857, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21111857/page/14/