English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 510, 23 September 1857, Page 4

English and Foreign.

ENGLISH NEWS TO JULY 16.

' By the Canterbury we are in possession of the European mail of July, with dates from London to July 16. The English news contained therein is not very important.

(Prom the Some News -July 16)

The intelligence of the mutiny at JVleerut and the massacre at Delhi has excited in England an universal feeling of profound anxiety. The magnitude of the crisis is not to be concealed or evaded. We do not yet know enough ■of the secret springs of this lamentable outbreak to be enabled to form a safe judgment as 'to the measures which should be pursued to avert -similar, incidents hereafter, and to arrest the spread of the feeling of delusion, under which the native regiment have revolted. But the duty of the present hour is obvious, and has 'bean nobly performed both in India and England. Tlie determination of the Government to •support the local authorities in their efforts to suppress the insubordination, and punish the offenders, has been as marked in its expression as it was promptly adopted. Not an hour was lost when the painful intelligence arrived in choosing the line of action that was worthy of a great and powerful country. Within a few hours of the receipt of the news by telegraph on . the 4fc!i of July, the Court of Directors met especially to consider the best course to be adopted, and at once determined that all officers ■(including the mudical establishment) at home on furlough, and thoss on sick certificate, absent from duty 12 months, be directed to rejoin their regiments forthwith ; and the list of officers permitted to rejoin shows that the call was eagerly re-ponde:l to. Nor did the precautions of the Govei'nment rest here. In addition to the large bodies of troops despatched by steamers, as rapidly as vessels and the men could be got ready, a considerable force was kept in reserve to follow them immediately upon the receipt of the ensuing mail, should its intelligence be of a nature to demand further assistance. On the 11th of Juljr, the morning after the despatch of the mail from London, a telegraphic despatch reached the Foreign Office, conveying news of the death of General Anson, the appointment of Sir Patrick Grant to the provisional command, .and the spread of the mutiny. Upon the receipt this news, Lord Palmerston at once called a Cabinet Council, after which Sir Colin Campbell visited the Commander-in-Chief at the Horse Guards, and accepted the appointment of Commander in-Chief of the troops in India, vacant by the death of General Anson; and when asked when he would be ready, the veteran soldier replied, " To-morrow morning ! Stop the MarReilles boat, and I'll catch her, and I can get all I want in Calcutta as well as in London." In accordance with this arrangement, a telegraphic message was sent to Marseilles to stop the Indian mail, and on the evening of the 12th of July Sir Colin Campbell left London by the train en route for Marseilles. The gallant ■veteran is therefore off to the scene of former triumphs, where, under Sir C. Napier, in command of a brigade, he took part in that immortal Scinde campaign; one of'the most brilliant achie-vements of our Indian military history.

Letters received from India leave little doubt of. the eventful issue of the struggle. That the Sepoys, already broken down in Delhi, must ultimately succumb to the superior power of European discipline and intelligence, may be looked forward to, almost with certainty. But the course that lies before us in India, and the means by which our vast Eastern Empire, shaken by this disastrous rebellion, is to be hereafter preserved, suggest grave matter of

•consideration, not unmixed with apprehension. The proceedings in Parliament during the Jast month embrace two or three points of striking interest. The Oaths Bill, for the admission of the Jews, has had a strong but successful passage through the Commons. The only alteration engrafted on it, if alteration it can be called, • which merely gave definite expression to the intention of the framers of the measure, was. a clause to provide that the Jews should not be eligible to certain high offices in the state, such as Lord Chancellor, &c. Lord Palmerston being ■of opinion that there was no risk of such a con.tingency ever arising had not considered it necessary to provide against it; but when the •suggestion was put into a substantive form, he at once gave it his support. Mr. Newdegate, who is seldom guilty of a joke, said a good •Ailing.on this occasion. Alluding to the introduction of this new. clause, he taunted the Government with inconsistency in first brin^inc forward a bill to enable Jews to make the laws', and then adding a condition that they shall not 'be permitted to administer them. The conduct ■of the Catholics on this occasion has produced a very general feeling of surprise and regret. That they should refuse the admission of "the Jews, because tliey desire-to obtain an alteration in the oath—through which they are themselves admitted—has made au. extremely unfavourable impression as to their notions of civil freedom ■ -and-religious toleration. The Government, who have .really no objection whatever to grant what 4h« Outholies -crave for themselves, very properly refused-to mix up the two questions,.as saeh a sounse >wouid inevitably peril the success of the measure. The argument of the amounts in- plain words to this—" If you do not; gives us what we want for ourselves, we will p.ufc into motion all our influence to keep out the Jews." The-.valet in the farce who is kicked by his master, and then revenges himself apau the page, has a-better excuse for* his ab«ur4 injustice* ' "¥he discussion on the bill in - the House of jLoxis sfodoied aothing new in the way ,ef

argument but developed unexpected strength on the part of the opposition. Without including any accession from the Catholic lords, none of whom voted against the bill while some voted for it, or from the spiritual Lords, seven of whom voted in its favour, the measure was rejected by a majority of 34, being an advance of 2 upon the majority by which it was thrown out last year. This decision of the Lords has occasioned much discussion and the liberal members of the House of Commons have called a special meeting to consider what course should next be adopted. In the meanwhile Lord John Russell has given notice of a motion for leave to bring in a bill to remove doubts concerning the validity of certain oaths, which will, in effect, re-open the whole question. On the 2nd July, Mr. Labouchere moved for the appointment of a select committee^ to inquire into the expediency of guaranteeing by Act of Parliament the liquidation of a loan to be contracted in pursuance of an Act passed by the Legislature of New Zealand, for defraying the'debt of the Colony to the New Zealand Company, towards extinguishing the native title to lands in certain portions of the colony, and for other purposes. —Agreed to. A frightful accident occurred on the North Kent Eaihvav, on the night of Sunday the 28th of June, by which the lives of 12 persons were sacrificed, and nearly 40 other persons were more or less seriously injured. It appeared that an up train from Strood, wnich reached Blackheath in safety at 10.32 p.m., 15 minutes after time, on arriving at Lewisham, was. there brought to a stand by the danger signal, about 200 yards from the Lewisham station. Suddenly the shrill whistle of the up train from the Beclcenham branch line was heard. The guard of the Lewisham train, who had got out on the bank, ran down towards the coming train, waving his lantern, and shouted. He was seen, but it was too late —the train passed him "at 20 miles an hour." The choked whistle and the grating sound of the breaks were heard by the affrighted passengers of the Lewisham train, who leaped rig-lit and left out of the windows; in another instant the last carriages were dashed into with frightful violence, and crushed up like hat-boxes.

An amalgamation of the Royal West India Mail and the European and Australian Mail Companies, has been announced; of course, subject to the approval of the respective shareholders. The terras and conditions proposed to be carried out are stated to be as follows :— The capital stock of the two companies is to be fixed at £2,000,000. Half of this is to be represented by 15,000 Eoyal Mail shares, at £b'(3 13s. 4d. each, which are to be rewarded as fully paid up. The '.remaining £1,000,000, is to be represented by 9,000 European and Australian shares at £66 13s. 4d M which would amount to £600,000, and unissued stock at £400,000., On the European and Austi-alian shares £200,000 has yet to be paid, which will be called for by four instalments. These shares are not to receive an}' dividends for a year, reckoning from the Ist of July, 18-57, it being provided that any profits of the Australian service, together with the sarplus profits from the Royal Mail Company after the latter have paid the usual dividend on their shares, shall be carried during that period to a united service fund. Afterwards both sets of shares will rank alike. The conditions are of course subject to the approval of the shareholders of the respective companies, and also to a proviso for an extension of two years of their existing contracts being obtained from the Government. The union,' if it be i-atified by the proprietors, may perhaps prove the forerunner of a Panama route, in addition to that at present adopted for the transmission of the mails, and thus give to the colonies and the mothercountry the advantages of a fortnightly interchange of news. The "Home News" says, the colonists who have so long urged the importance of the Panama route will be gratified b3 T the establishment of their favourite scheme, and which won d also afford immense benefit to the New Zealand colonies by placing them first as regards the receipt of news from England and the last for home correspondence. The two routes being thus worked together would solve the question of el igibility. ■

The important prosecution instituted by the Bank of London against Lawson and another for a conspiracy to injure the credit of the establishment and extort money, has resulted in the parties being sentenced respectively to a year's imprisonment. The 'Times' observes that the punishment is extremely severe, but an example had become necessary. There is no more easy way of spreading ruin than that of attacking the credit of a bank, and nothing that requires greater courage for its repression. About one o'clock on the morning of the 20th of June, a singularly violent storm of rain, thunder and . lightning, burst over London. The thunder crashed over the roofs of the town with a sharp roll like that of artillery mixed with a fusilade of smaller arms; and the light\s£ came in great sheets of violet-coloured radiance. The rain, though not lasting long, seemed literally like a rushing deluge. In Chancery-lane, nearly opposite the Law Institution, the sewer gave way about 4 o'clock, carrying with it the water and gas mains, besides doing other injuries. Many of the houses south of the bridges were completely jnundated, especially in the neighbourhood of Waterloo-road and Webber-street, Blackfriars-road ; and the roofs of several of the houses have not only fallen in, but scarcely any of the rooms are now tenantable of manj 7 of the small houses occupied by,poor people at tjie back of'the South-Western Railway. The lightning struck the chimney of the German Lutheran church in the Savoy, but the damage done was not serious. In the suburbs much .damage has been done to the

young shrubs and plants in market gardens and nursery grounds, and the surface of macadamised roads is in some places completely washed away. The nurseries in the northern districts have suffered severely, several thousand squares of glass in hotbeds and greenhouses having been broken by the violence of the hail. The storm passed away about 3 o'clock, but rain continued at intervals until after 6 o'clock.

A scene of deep and absorbing national interest took place on the morning of June 26, in Hyde Park. Her Majesty presented the Victoria Cross to several officers and non-commis-sioned officers, on account of acts of bravery performed by them during the late war, in the midst of thousands of her loving subjects, and surrounded by some of her bravest troops, among whom were — Horse Artillery, Life Guards, Dragoons, Royal Engineers, Foot Guards, Eoyal Marines, 79th Highlanders, Kifle Brigade, Artillery, and Military Train. Her Majesty was accompanied to the Park by Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, Prince Frederick William of Prussia, and a brilliant circle. Her Majesty entered an elegant pavilion in the centre of the ground, marked out for the purposes of the ceremonial. The officers and men, who had taken up a position near the pavilion, passed along its front, and each handed a card containing his naive to the Adjutant General. Her Majesty then presented to them in succession the Victoria Cross; after which they formed into a line opposite the Queen. The whole of the troops then marched past in slow and quick time, and thus terminated this imposing ceremonial. The spectacle passed off in a most gratifying manner, and her Majesty left the ground amidst the cheers of the assembled multitude.