English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 606, 28 August 1858, Page 3

English and Foreign.

A considerable portion of the ; generalnews immediately following was published in an ■' Extraordinary' sheet of,the.' Lyttelton Times' on Thursday; last, in 'anticipation of- this day's regular issue. ■ , ' ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL. At^EK a most interim of; 60 days since .the-receipt o£the;ilurqpean mails, we have now to record the arrival of the; mail for May, and extraneous ■: news up .to the: dates; given elseIvhere. For this boon we have no thanks to bestow on any parties concerned with the regular transmission of mails either from England or the Australian Colonies. The enterprising Mr. McAndrew of Otago,,during his recent trip to Australia, has purchased, the fine steamer which has thus brought the mails on her first trip^ and we cannot but heartily wish- the utmost success to attend his speculation. The vessel is a beautiful iron screw clipper of 75 horse-power and 250 tons burthen, although she registers! only 131 tons, and is only five years old, haying been built at Glasgow in 1853. She has two engines, and steams ten, knots, an hour without the aid of canvas. The, spirited owner, who is a passenger, informs us that he intends to run her as-a regular steam-packet between Qtago and the Australian Colonies, and would willingly include Lyttelton in his , route, if .sufficient inducement were offered by this Province. Her arrival, however, has induced us to fulfil bur promise of yesterday to issue an 'Extraordinary' sheet of the general intelligence received. A private letter has been received from Mr. Fitz Gerald, as late as the 11th May. He speaks highly of Mr. Sewell's services to the colony, with reference to the loan of £500,000 — and the steam service he has organised. Mr. Fitz Gerald mentions having been on board the smaller boats, and that they seem exactly suited for the colony. It appears that the attacks made on Mr. Sewell by the Auckland and Wellington press, as to his statements before Parliament in the matter of the loan, had attracted the attention of some members of the House of Commons. Sir J. Trelawney had brought the question onin the House on the night of the 10th May. It is stated that he " got nothing at all by it, and that Mr. SewelL came off first rate."

■Mr; \Fitz Gerald's health was improving, but he still suffers at times from having too much work to do. :

Dr. Evan3 has been deputed by the Melbourne Cabinet to come on to New Zealand in connexion, with, the proposed steam service between that port and Wellington, and arrived there as passenger bjrthe Queen. The delay in the arrival of the Victoria (says the: Argus), may be attributed, it seems, solely to the. inefficiency. of her machinery, and her general want of power to* grapple with such a voyage. We have received statements of the most unfavorable character with reference to the Victoria's passage" to Suez—statements that apply to everything'about her, and to everyone connected with her. She was stopped, it is said, •upwards of thirty times, for the repair of her machinery, whilst the annoyance occasioned by these perpetual hindrances was aggravated by incivility, by bad provisions, by a failure to maintain the necessary discipline of the ship, and by almost every circumstance that can add to the discomfort of a sea voyage. The natural result was a feeling of deep resentment on the part of the passengers, by whom a series of resolutions on the subject, and more generally on the whole question of mail communication by the present system, had been prepared. India monopolizes the chief attention of parties at home, and Ministers have had a narrow escape from a severe parliamentary defeat. The publication of a despatch issued by Lord Ellenborough through the medium of the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, was the cause of the imbroglio. The despatch reflected ,upon a proclamation by Lord Canning, addressed to the Oude insurgents, in which his lordship announced, the intention of the Indian Government to confiscate the estates of the native landowners, as the penalty of their rebellion. Resolutions convey - ing a want of confidence in the ministry were moved by the Earl of Sliaftesbury in the Lords, and by Mr. Cardwell in the Commons. In the Upper House the ministry obtained a majority of nine; and although the general expectation at the commencement of the debate in the House of Commons was, that the Cabinet would be defeated, the timely production of some correspondence between Lord Canning and Sir James Outram, in which explanations were given of the policy of the former towards the Oude insurgents, caused such a reaction in favor of the Government, that Mr. Cardwell was induced to withdraw his motion. Lord Ellenborough had previously resigned his seat in the Cabinet. The government is now considered safe until February. ' . . . The new Oaths Bill having been amended in the Lords to an extent that would make it quite ineffective for the purpose proposed by it, a Select Committee of the Commons was appointed to draw up a statement of the reasons why the House objected to the Lords' amendment; Baron ■Bpthschild, significantly enough, is on the Committee. • - ■'."'■

Sir Colin Campbell was to be raised to the peerage. He has already been promoted to the rank of general in the army. The obituary includes the Duchess of Orleans and Mr. John O'Connell.

Covent Garden Theatre was opened on the 15th of May vfith " Les Huguenots," Grisi, Mario, and Formes, respectively appearing as Valentine, Ruoul, and Marcel. Tho house was crowded to the ceiling.

The principal news of importance .from India ia the taking of the town of Calpee by storm on the 23rd of May, the defeat of the Ilohileund insurgents by the Coiunuvndcr-in-Chiof at Shah-

jehanpore, and the capture of Gwalior by a rebel army, either commanded by or under the direct influence of Nana Saheb. The news generally is by no means satisfactory. The enemy were regaining many towns and fortresses from which they had been driven. They retreated wherever the British forces showed themselves, but rallied immediately the military power was withdrawn. The policy of Lord Canning had failed to consolidate a feeling of public confidence in the wisdom or effectiveness of his administration.

The rumours that reached us by the Alice Maude, of the pacification of China, prove to have been unfounded. The progress of negotiations was slow and unsatisfactory, and fresh collisions between the natives and English forces are narrated. Lord Elgin, with the British fleet, has arrived pt the mouth of the river Peiho, about 110 miles from the Chinese capital; and, the belief was, that in the event of the emperor's reply to the representatives of the British envoys being unfavourable, his Excellency would at once declare war, and advance upon Pekin.

The Mail Service.—The London correspondent of the ' Argus' says—You will be concerned to learn that there is a great probability that the contract for the Australian steam service will be abandoned, the losses incurred by the. company which first obtained the privilege having proved very serious ; while the shareholders of the Royal Mail Company, at a recent 'meeting, have resolved not to proceed with so unprofitable an adventure. In this position of affairs, the mercantile community here are trembling lest any lapse of facilities should ensue from a derangement of the service. It has not transpired at present what steps are likely to be taken in this awkward emergency by the European and Australian Mail Company. GOVERNMENT CENSURE ON LORD CANNING. The following is the despatch containing the censure of the Government on Lord Canning for his Oude proclamation. It will be seen that five paragraphs are omitted. The despatch bears date April 19, and has been sent through the secret committee to the Governor-General.

" Our letter of the 24th of March, 1858, will have put you in possession of our general views with respect to the treatment of the people in the event of the evacuation of Lucknow by the enemy.

" 2. On the 12th instant we received from you a copy of the letter dated the 3rd March, addressed by your Secretary to the Secretary to the Chief Commissioner in Oude, which letter enclosed a copy of the Proclamation to be issued by the Chief Commissioner as soon as the British troops should have command of the city of Lucknow, and conveyed instructions as to the manner in which he was to act with respect to different classes of persons, in execution of the views of the Governor-General.

"3. The people of Oude will see only the Proclamation.

"4. That authoritative expression of the will of the Government informs the people that six persons, who are named as having been steadfast in their allegiance, are Henceforward the sole hereditary proprietors of the lands they held when Oude came under British rule, subject only to such moderate assessment as may be imposed upon them; that others in whose favor like claims may be established will have conferred upon them a proportionate measure of reward and honor; and that with these exceptions the proprietary right in the soil of the province is confiscated to the British Government.

" 5. We cannot but express to you our apprehension that this decree, pronouncing the dispersion of a people, will throw difficulties almost insurmountable in the way of the re-establish-ment of peace. ... .

" 6. "We are under the impression that the war in Oude has derived much of its popular character from the rigorous manner in which, without regard to what the chief landholders had become accustomed to consider as their rights, the summary settlement had, in a large portion of the province, been carried out by your officers. "7. The landholders of India are as much attached to the soil occupied by their ancestors, and are as sensitive with respect to the rights in the soil they deem themselves to possess, as the occupiers of land in any country of which we have a knowledge. " 8. Whatever may be your ultimate and undisclosed intentions, your Proclamation will appear to deprive the great body of the people of all hope upon the subject most dear to them as individuals, while the substitution of our rule for that of their native Sovereign has naturally ' excited against us whatever they may have of natural feeling. * ■ # * * * " 14. "We must admit that, under these circumstances, the hostilities which have been carried on in Oude have rather the character of legitimate war than that of rebellion, and that the people of Oude should rather be regarded with indulgent consideration than made the objects of a penalty exceeding in extent and in severity, almost any which has been recorded in history as inflicted upon a subdued nation. " 15. Other conquerors, when they have succeeded in overcoming resistance, have excepted a few persons as still deserving of punishment, but- have, with a generous policy, extended their clemency to the great body of the pQople. " 16. Yoii have acted upon a different principle. You have reserved a few as deserving of special favour, and you have struck with what they will feel as the severest of punishment the mass of the inhabitants of the country. " 17. We cannot but think that the precedents from which you have departed will appear to have been conceived in a spirit of wisdom superior to that which appears in the precedent you have made. " 18. We desire that you will mitigate in practice the stringent severity of the decree of confiscation you have issued against the landholders of Oude. " 12. We desire to see British authority .in India rest upon the willing obedience of a contented people ; there cannot be contentment where there is a general confiscation. "20. Government cannot long be maintained by any force in a country where the whole people is rendered hostile by a sense of wrong ; and if

it were possible so to maintain it, it would not be a consummation to be desired."

TUB VOTE OF CENSUEE. (From the ' Times.') Of course this is rather a lame conclusion, but in the present state of the House of Commons every conclusion must be lame. If it is not a finale, at all events, it's the most comfortable. A dissolution and a general election would be no joke, whether to newspaper folks, or members, or anybody else. Even a change of ministry, with the prospect of another change before long, would have afforded us but a qualified gratification. As for ministers, we can only say they are very lucky dogs.. They have escaped drowning—we trust not for-a. worse fate.. Let them profit by the warning. India is the only point now in question! and were it much in question we might insist much on the assurances given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the most cordial and sincere assurances of sympatliy and support had been sent out to the GovernorGeneral. We might hail this as something in the way of positive gain, rescued from the scramble of the week. We might, too, express our gratification at the improved tone of all sides with regard •to Lord Canning's proclamation. Everybody admits that it has not been a mere ebullition, as some would have it, or a weak deference to civilians greedy of rent and pay. A dozen members, one after another, pleaded that it was ridiculous to proceed, as if upon imperfect information, when they had before them a statement which it would take weeks to master. Whatever the success of Mr. Card well's motion could have done for Lord Canning, he has it more in another way. All this we might take as compensation for bad sport—for this long hunt without, killing^our fox. But, as we have repeatedly said before, changes of Government, new Parliaments, debates, resolutions, new masters at the Board of Control, fluctuations of public opinion, and we verily believe a revolution, if we had one, make no difference in India. The Government out' there pursues the even tenor of | its way, checked by an occasional rebellion or war, but always pressing onwards, conquering, annexing, and what- not, without caring much for instructions from home, except when they are quite to its taste. It matters not for India, we repeat, which side is in. The Roman consuls changed every year, but small difference did that make with the great work always in hand, and steadily advancing 50, 500,. 1,000 miles from the capital. Yet there are such things as false steps to be retraced; bad compromises to be mended with a little gentle violence; treaties "more honored in • the breach, than in the observance;" classes treated with an indulgence that only makes them more susceptible of subsequent harness; specious grants of independence that may lead, to mistakes. Indeed, most of our Indian crimes have begun in weakness. The end is always the same, and it must be always the same, so long as we deal with a people who set their cunning and faithlessness against their own ability and truth. Considering, then, that Oude will cer - tainly be ours—-that her princes will be brought, soon or late, not, only to obedience, but to a sense of their obligations to us; considering that

we shall one day tax the land there as freely for the public service' as we do the soil of British Isles, we should be sorry to hear that concessions had been made which will have to be revoked. • That is Lord Canning's feeling, and it

is one that entitles him to the warm acknowledgments which he has again received from all sides of the House.