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    support of the ballo t , objecting to the camp at Aldershot as at present constituted , and denouncing the new Houses of Parliament and the projected buildings for the Governmental departments , Sir Charles passed on to the Indian question , and observed that the natives have a right to endeavour to get back India to themselves , but are not justified in resorting to such acts of atrocious cruelty as they have committed . A gallant relative of his was the only person who had foreseen the danger , and warned the Government . " The question remained —Had we done all that we could do to suppress this mutiny ? The news of it first reached this country in the latter end of May , and he ( Sir Charles Napier ) then urged the Government not to lose one single moment in sending an adequate force out to India . He was told , much to his surprise , that vessels under sail would accomplish the voyage to India just as soon as steamships . He did not believe that , but there were people in the House of Commons who did , and he did not know what , in the name of God , some of them were made of . (^ 1 Imig 7 t . ) When he insisted that they wbo made that assertion were wrong , he was pooh-poohed ; but the truth was that he could furnish such people with arguments , but not with brains . ( A laugh . ) The time when the first troops sailed from this country for India was ' in the beginning of July . There was thus a loss of time of live or six weeks ; and he verily believed , if those troops could have been sent off immediately after the news of the rebellion reached this ' country , " it was possible that the massacre at Cawnpore might have been prevented . { Hear , hear . ") He would , however , say one thing for the Government . Since the time when they began to send troops out , they had used the most extraordinary exertions . ( 7 / eaf , hear . ) He did not believe there was another nation in the world who could have sent troops to such a distance with anything like the same celerity as we had done to India . He meant , after the Government had recovered their senses and had once begun to do the work . " ¦

    Mr . Locke subsequently addressed the meeting in favour of reform , and in condemnation of Lord Canning ' s interference with the military in the punishment of the Indian mutineers . * On the motion of Mr . John Vickers , seconded by Mr . Marcus Sharpe , a resolution was carried expressive of the opinion of the meeting that Sir Charles Napier and Mr . Locke had faithfully fulfilled the pledges given by them on their election ; that the time had arrived for the adoption of the ballot , the extension of the franchise , and the abolition of church-rates , and for placing the whole government of India on a more satisfactory footing .

    THE INDIAN CRISIS . The Earl of Shaftesbury presided yesterday week at a meeting in aid of the Indian sufferers held at the New Town Hall , Witnborne . He dilated at considerable length on the unparalleled atrocities committed by the mutineers ; denied that they had received any provocation to rise against us , asserting , on the contrary , that they had been pampered and underworked ; pointed to the fact that the native population has not joined in the outbreak ; maintained that we are bound to execute stern justice on the rebels , though at the same time suggesting that Lord Canning , in his recent proclamation , may have only desired to check an } ' undue tendency towards ' wild justice ; ' and urged the necessity of instituting certain Indian reforms , and of henceforth boldly declaring ourselves a Christian race in the East as well as at home , while forbearing from any coercion of tho faiths of the natives . Speaking of the causes of the mutiny , the Earl said : — "Nothing so noble has animated the breasts of the Sepoys as tho love of their own false religion . It does not iippear that in one single instance they have put it forward as the plua for this rebellion . But , when the opportunity came , they murdered their officers and plundered tho treasury . ' Money is the root of all evil . ' These ' noble fellows , ' whom we are asked to believe rebelled for their religion—these precious fellows , having begun by murdering their olHcers , have invariably proceeded to ' loot ' the treasury . That was the beginning and end of all their operations . Don ' t let us believe that anything so generous as adherence to their vile faith led them to these

    enormous crimes . It was the love of blood and the love of money . " H 1 U 13 ICNJAMIN HALL AT ABHUGAVKNNV . The First Commissioner of Workn presided a few days ago nt the annual meeting and dinner of the Abergavenny Agricultural Association , .-uirt , in addressing tho company , gave them smnu good advicu on the subject , of agriculture and the advisability of allowing sheep to CJit turniph , their tendency to do which was for a long time disputed by the Welsh fanners till they wore convinced of

    their error by tho present , baronet's father . Ho also related an amusing anecdote showing that Welshmen nmy bo persuaded , but not forced : —" I happened to make a rond through n part of my estate at Abcrcftnie , and I found there a remarkably line bi « ech-tr « 'c lint its silvery bavk luid proved too strong a temptation to the knivcH of tho idlers , who had inscribed their names and their rude love-songa upon tho tree . It was perfectly covered with all kinds of hieroglyphics , which offended my eye . Aa to putting im a notice that mnntrana or spring guna wore laid to prevent Welshmen

    from cutting the tree , I knew that would be useless ; so I put up this notice , written both in Welsh and English : — 'None but fools will inscribe their names upon this tree . ' ( A laugh . ) Thus appealing to their good sense , and they not wishing to be included in the category of fools , my tree now remains unmolested by every gentle swain , and no rustic Vilikins has since attempted to address his Dinah by writing upon it . " MR . DISEAELI AMD MR . DU PBE IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE . The Amersham and Chesham Agricultural Association eat its annual dinner on Tuesday in the Town Hall of the former place , when the two county members addressed the company . Mr . Disraeli adverted to the importance of Agricultural Associations , which , he said , had at one time been derided ; comj ) limented the county on the progress it is making in the scientific cultivation of the earth ; and defended the practice of giving deserving labourers fifty shillings for fifty years' faithful servitude , on the ground that the money is bestowed simply as a testimony , and not as a payment , in the same way that the Indian hero Havelock has been rewarded with the good service pension of 100 / . a

    yearan honour which all officers covet , as a proof of high distinction . Mr . Du Tre briefly alluded to the Indian revolt , and expressed his belief that " England is unanimous as to the punishment of the mutineers , though there had been some quibbling about words . There had been an attempt to distinguish between justice and vengeance ; but , in England , all men mean the same thing . No one wishes the perpetrators of these horrible enormities to escape the just -punishment due to their crimes—noliody would be unwilling , where there are extenuating circumstances , that mercy should be shown z , but , while a terrible example is required , he expressed the liope that no British soldier will be so forgetful of the uniform he wears and the country to which lie belongs as to treat \ vith insult or injury any woman or child . "

    JIR . LINDSAY AT TYNEMOUTII . Mr . Lindsay , M . P ., addressed his Tynemouth constituents on Monday night . lie referred to the commercial disasters in America , and spoke more especially of the shipping interest , winch he thought will be prosperous before long , as at present there is little shipbuilding going on either in this country ox in America , while at the same time the trade of the world is increasing . He then alluded to the Great Eastern steamship : — " If tliat ship answered , it became a question how they would stand with their small vessels . It was a matter of great interest to all , but particularly to those directly or indirectly interested in shipping , whether the ship was likely to answer commercially or not . He had strong opinions on the subject commercially ; but first let him say she would be a great triumph of mechanical art . He believed no finer or stronger ship was ever put together . With regard to speed , he doubted whether she would attain to what had been stated , though lie fully believed that she would attain a greater speed than any ship ever yet launched in the waters . Ouv nation had reason to be proud of such a great triumph of mechanical skill . (/ Tear , hear . ) But , commercially , it was to them a most important question , because , if such a ship as that answered commercially , then all their property in shipping must in a short time go to the wall . ( Hear , hear . ) His experience , however , —and he believed it would coincide with theirs—was that they had found they had , in fact , been building their ships too large . ( Jlear , hear . ) The Americans , who are a far-sighted people , had discovered this fact . They say that a 3000 tons ship is too large for the ordinary purposes of commerce , and it has been found that a ship of from 800 to 1200 tons for the East India trade i . s the most profitable description of ship , while from 1500 to 1800 tons is about the limit . " So , also , with the transport of troops : it is better to send them out in batches of four or six hundred in separate vessels , than to despatch ten thousand at a time in one large vessel , the risk in case of accident being ; so much tho less in the former case . Coming to the consideration of tlie Indian revolt , Mr . Lindsay said he thought there waa no doubt that

    we hud governed India better than tho Mahometan princes , who were as much interloper !) as we ; but it was doubtful whether we had governed better than the original Hindoo princes , because traces still exist of works of irrigation , roads , &c , constructed by those monarch ? , which have been suffered to fall into decay . We had not done all we might have done for India . " Though we had been drawing large amounts of revenue from tho people , avc had been neglecting public works ; w ^ had not been opening canals or adding to the facilities of communication as wo ought to have done . We had done much , but we hnd also loft much undone which wo ought to have done . ( Applause . ) When he looked at the enormous revenue derived from India , he asked how much was spent in public works ; and , taking Glasgow or Manchester , he found that one of these , large citiesnamely , Manchester—had spent more in a year in in-Htitution . s for the benefit and elevation of tho people than the Court of Directors of the East India llouso had done for the whole of India in the same period . ( Hear , hear . ) A sort of fatality teemed to follow this course cf aggrandizement—grasping vast extents of territory without taking the means to govern well tho territory wo had already . It would have been , much wiaer if we

    had limited our territory and governed it better . We were told we had been driven by necessity to increase our territory ; but he doubted tliat very much . We had taken possession of more territory in India than we could govern well : if we had had less of territory , we should have governed it better . " With respect to the East India Company , Mr . Lindsay spoke highly of several of its members , and . said that , when he wrote a letter to the board , he got a prompt , business-like answer , which , he added , is more than can be said of the

    Government departments . Still , he objec ted to the system j and thought some plan should be carried out by which the Government of India should be in India itself , and that at home there should be a Secretary of State for India , so that the administration of that great empire should be under the control of the House of Commons . Martial law should have been proclaimed in the disaffected districts at . the commencement of the revolt , which would then probably have teen put down sooner . Our only course now is to show no mercy to the Sepoys , but to spare the women and children .

    In answer to questions by an elector , Mr . Lindsay said he believed it was the intention of Mr . Lowe to introduce next session a bill to abolish passing tolls . He doubted whether . Lord Palmerston is the best man to frame a Reform Bill , and feared that Indian matters would interfere with the promised measure . LORD SANDON , 3 I . F ., ' ON THE EDUCATION QUESTION . A few days ago , Viscount Sandon , M . P ., presided at the annual distribution of prizes given by the Association for the Advancement of Education in the Mining and Manufacturing Districts of North Staffordshire , which took place at Stoke-upon-Trent . There was a gathering of the juvenile population of the neighbourhood on the occasion and a considerable number of the

    clergy and gentry , lord Sandon , in addressing the meeting , alluded to the obstacle to the education of the working classes which is presented by the early age at which the children of humble parents are taken away from school , to assist in the general income of the family . This seemed natural at first sight ; but , if parents considered a little , they would find that the labour of their children would be far more profitable if they allowed them to remain a little longer under tuition , for the educated workman always commands a higher price than the uneducated . ¦ " Think of what a child gains by going through such training . In the first place , he is taught to respect others ; and when a child has learnt to do that he is sure to-respect liimself : therefore , that is

    one of the most , valuable lessons which he could receive in life . What does does respect for others mean ? It means politeness , which to some might appear a slight thing , but it is really only another name for unselfishness . ( Cheers . ) A boy under good training at school learns respect for his comrades , and submission to those placed in authority over him , which is a very excellent thing when not carried too far . It is a serviceable lesson for all ranks of society , and no one can hope to get on in life unless he submits to the discipline which his rightful superiors exercise over him . ( Hear , hear . ) Then , as far as intellectual acquirements are concerned , this training is very valuable . To the children of mechanics , artisans , and labourers , reading , writing , and

    arithmetic are of the greatest service ; but though , to a certain extent , instruction in other things is highly desirable , he should be sorry to see an attempt made to introduce a knowledge of the abstruse branches of science , or of modern languages , into the schools of thegreat mass of the people . All he wanted to see was that such instruments are , so to speak , placed in the children's hands that , by being good readers , good writers , and good arithmeticians , they might be able , if they pleased , to pursue any . particular branch of knowledge after they had left school . " ( Hear , hear . ) His Lordship also

    glanced at the common assertion that tho educated among the working classes are too apt to look down upon their work , as if it were beneath their notice . This he attributed to the fact of education as yet being only partial . When all men are educated , no one will look upon himself us being above his fellows . Lord Sandon concluded by exhorting all to consider tho vastnesa of our empire , and the necessity imposed on us of being the foremost among the people of tho world , in order that wo may support worthily the immense responsibilities which rest on our actions .

    SIU GEORGE GREY AX MORI'KTIt . The Secretary of State far the Home Department paid a visit to his constituents at Morpeth on Wednesday week , and took part in the proceedings at a public meeting held at Mcdliugton , an outlying part of the borough , to promote tho rebuilding of a school , with , the aid of a grant of money from the Government . Sir George addressed the meeting on the subject of education , and said thai , in a freo country like this , voluntary efforts , aided by the Government , are tho Lest moans of instructing the people , and that compulsion would not bo endured .

    utui ) iuiiii : < sham at i . kisds asp livkiu'Ooi ,. Lord ISroiighutn prcsidud on Tutwday evening at the soin ' c of the Leeds Mechanics ' Institution and Literary Society . In addicting tlio company , ho regretted that iu . stitiition . s . such as tho on a to which ho was then speaking should have boon diverted from their original pur-

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    3 STo . 398 , yovttMBER 7 , 1857 . ] T H E L E A D E R . 1061

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 7, 1857, page 1061, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2216/page/5/