pore, and by its aid described the manner in which they had been surrounded by the Body Guards, the Royals, and by his ma

liam, which was only twelve miles from the spot where they were required, and where they might have been applied to the necessary purposes of the government.jesty's forty-seventh regiment, and entered Indeed, the government ultimately appeared to be satisfied that the demand which the men had made was reasonable, since they actually issued money to enable them to purchase or to hire cattle for their service. The manner in which that issue was made, or rather a statement which accompanied it, seemed to him to prove, in the clearest mannre, that the Commander-in-chief, sir Edward Paget, could not have informed the general government of the necessity of furnishing the troops with cattle, since their own order for the issue of money, which was dated on the 4th of November, distinctly stated, that as soon as they were informed of the necessity of furnishing cattle to the troops, they had issued money to the men for the purpose of procuring them. The issue of money, however, under the circumstances to which he had already alluded, was not the best course that could have been pursued; since, even if the sum issued had been four times as great as it was, the troops could not, without the assistance of the government, have procured the cattle they required. The issue of money, therefore, was but adding insult to the previous denial. On the Monday morning the troops declared, that unless the grievances of which they complained were redressed, they must decline to march, and they expected that justice would be done them: They demanded either to have the cattle furnished to them, or to have inquiry to ascertain how far their complaints were well grounded. He contended that troops had never before been ordered to march under such circumstances.

into a detail of the circumstances under which the massacre took place. He then contended that, if sir Edward Paget had informed the mutinous troops of his determination to enforce obedience, and of the means he possessed to do so, they would instantly have obeyed him, and this dreadful destruction of life might have been avoided. These troops had only ten minutes given them to decide whether they would march or not; and then, without being informed of the force that could instantly be employed against them-without having shown the slightest disposition to resist-without having loaded one musket, they were treated in the severest manner, and were, at the end of the assigned time, shot down by a fire opened by the artillery, and supported by the Royals; and, when their battalion broke, they were charged by the cavalry. None of those means which common humanity would have dictated were employed. The men were kept in ignorance of the force under the command of sir Edward Paget. The troops under his orders and the artillery were kept in ambuscade, until the work of destruction began, when these unhappy persons were hunted down in such a manner, that not one of them was afterwards to be found. The loss on this occasion had been computed at four or five hundred men-some said six hundred; but he should be content to put it at the moderate estimate of three hundred men. There was a great deal of uncertainty regarding the details of this unhappy affair, because the press of India was shackled, and the only information that could be obtained was through On the 1st of November, sir Edward the statements of private persons. The Paget, the Commander-in-chief, thinking press of India, besides its general restraint, it necessary to put down at once any symp- was in this instance put under a special toms of insubordination, went down to interdiction. A circular was sent from the Barrackpore, having previously ordered government to the papers, forbidding the thither a large body of English and mention of this circumstance until the native troops, and several pieces of artil- official statement of it should have aplery. Now, he admitted, that whenever a peared. All the details, therefore, were supcorps was in a state of insubordination, pressed; for no persons would dare to pubtheir mutiny ought to be put down; and lish them, since they knew that such a he did not quarrel with the measures that publication would have been attended with had been adopted for that purpose, but the same punishment and the same ruin with the mode which had been pursued. that had before been inflicted on others The hon. member here produced a plan of who had ventured to disobey such comthe place, where the forty-seventh Native mands. From private information, howregiment had been assembled at Barrack-ever, there was sufficient evidence to shew

don their design, had left them to their misguided judgments, and had notwithstanding been dismissed the service, and involved in indiscriminate disgrace.

Such had been the effect of this violent course upon the native army in India, that had not affairs taken a favourable turn both in the east and west of our possessions, the consequences might have been most fatal. If one point more than another demanded investigation, it was the reasons that could be assigned for this

the real nature of the transaction.-The hon. member here referred to a letter which he stated to have been written by one field-officer to another. It was dated from Fort William, and spoke in strong terms of the melancholy occurrence which had then taken place. The writer, however, stated, that he was not present on the occasion of the firing on the native troops. The men who fled to the river were sniped and shot in the water; and so indiscriminate was the slaughter, that he believed he was correct instating, thatanum-sweeping act of power, which confounded ber of country people, in no way connected with the disturbance, were destroyed in the fury of the pursuit. Such had been the progress and result of this unfortunate mutiny. Courts martial were held first upon forty, who were found guilty, and six of whom were executed. On the 8th of November, twenty more were tried and convicted, four of whom were hanged; and on a subsequent day, forty-two men of the forty-seventh Native regiment were brought to trial; the charge was proved against them, and they were sentenced; but he did not believe that, in the whole, more than twelve of the mutineers had been hanged. They were hanged on the parade; and, what he believed had never occurred before, one of the offenders long remained exposed in chains, to keep up the memory of this melancholy affair, which the House was now told ought to be allowed to sleep without further disturbance. He thought he was warranted in asserting-whether by order of the government, or by the instrumentality of sir Edward Paget, he knew not-that to this moment the country was in ignorance of the real causes which had occasioned such disastrous consequences, excepting by means of private information. On the 4th November, a general order had been issued from Fort William, which stated that the mutiny could not have occurred without the previous knowledge of the native officers; it therefore directed that the forty-seventh regiment, including commissioned and non-commissioned officers, should be disgraced, and the officers discharged, and declared unworthy of the confidence of government. In the issuing of such a hasty order, culpability rested somewhere, and it was for the House to ascertain whether any and what portion of it was attributable to sir Edward Paget. The fact was, that the officers having failed in persuading the mutineers to aban

the innocent with the guilty. The loss of life, the squandering of human blood, was another question which he was satisfied the House would not be disposed to treat with indifference. He well knew that military law, to be efficient, must be arbitrary; but every man who wielded a power so enormous ought to be held responsible, and to be prepared with good reasons for its application on every occacasion. He thought he was in a situation to establish, that the proceedings of sir Edward Paget had not met with the approbation of individuals in authority. Many of the officers and Brahmins would infinitely rather have been shot than condemned to labour in chains like ordinary felons. He was not aware whether any orders had been sent out to India to liberate them, and discharge them from a punishment so onerous and degrading.-He now begged to state why he thought that the Commander-in-chief was principally answerable for what had occurred. At first it had been his opinion that lord Amherst had given the orders; but a letter from captain Amherst, of which he had received a copy from India, went far to satisfy him that the Governor-general was not implicated. It stated, that the Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry had not been sent to England sooner, out of delicacy to sir Edward Paget. He (Mr. Hume) therefore concluded, that lord Amherst considered himself free from responsibility, and was unwilling to furnish evidence against the party who was really culpable. The Commission of Inquiry commenced its labours in November, and continued them until January; but the Report did not reach this country until the July following, seven or eight months after the period when information ought to have been obtained. In order to obtain the fullest and most accurate information regarding

transaction which had spread terror and

dismay through all India, that commission had been very properly appointed, consisting of a colonel and two lieutenant-colonels. One of his objects was, that their Report should be laid upon the table, in order that the House might be able to judge how far the corps had been driven to these acts of desperation by inattention or mismanagement. He wished to discover whether the mutiny was a wanton violation of the respect the soldier ought to pay to his allegiance; whether it was a voluntary act on the part of the troops; or whether they were, in fact, driven to it by the conduct of their superiors. The Report would also shew whether those conciliatory measures had been adopted in the first instance, in this case, which in many others had succeeded in allaying a spirit of disobedience, and in saving an effusion of blood. Had the same course been taken which was pursued in 1807, when a native regiment had been disarmed and sent down into the country, which was afterwards restored by general St. Leger to the service, and an opportunity thus afforded of distinguishing itself, perhaps the evils now so deeply to be deplored might have been avoided. If the men loudly complained, in God's name let some symptom be shewn of a disposition to inquire and redress. At Bhurtpore, not long since, the officer in command having heard of some discontents, plainly asked the men what they wanted; and he satisfied them immediately, by telling them, that the matter should be investigated, and a remedy, if required, applied. But, supposing the conduct of the corps had been as flagrant as that of a regiment at Ava, which fired upon its officers-justice was more easily satisfied; and, although the regiment was disgraced, it was afterwards, to a certain degree, brought back into the service. Some years ago, in this very metropolis, harmony had been restored by similar means of remonstrance and conciliation; and, if a similar course had been adopted at Barrackpore, the result might have been far different, and less distressing.

He had stated fairly and candidly what impression had been produced on his own mind by these events; and if the fault lay not with the Governor-general in council, but with the commander-in-chief, sir E. Paget, who, with the best disposition and intentions, might have been misled, it was fit that he should sustain the responsibility.

The evidence with which he had been furnished, had produced a strong impression upon his mind, that the official information he required was necessary for the purpose of placing the Bengal government and sir Edward Paget in that situation of commanding respect, which both ought to occupy, for the general advantage and security of our Indian empire. True it was that not one of the innocent men, if they were innocent, could be recovered: life had been destroyed and could not be restored; but to shew the natives of India that there was a disposition on the part of the government at home to inquire, and redress, as far as redress was possible, would have the effect not only of conciliating, but of securing even confidence and affection.-One word as to the objection which would probably be urged to his motion, and he had done. He begged to recall the recollection of the House to what had passed in it on the discussion of the freedom of the press in India. The advocates of its liberty were then told, that a free press in India might do harm to an extent that was beyond calculation; but that, while the press was unshackled in England, the whole object would be answered, and inquiries could not be stopped into the conduct of any government in India which had afforded just ground of complaint. This reasoning would strongly apply to the case now before the House. In this country discussion was unfettered, and he hoped that parliament would not refuse to interfere, whether the parties requiring its interposition were Christians, Mussulmen or Hindoos, and whether they were the subjects of the Crown on our own shores, or separated by half the globe. He would move "That there be laid before the House, a Copy of the Report from sir Edward Paget, the Commander-in-chief, to the Governor General in Council at Calcutta, respecting the Mutiny at Barrackpore, and the measures adopted to suppress it."

Mr. Wynn said, he felt bound to do justice to the moderation of the statement of the hon. member, although he held it inconsistent with the good of the service, and with the prosperity of our government in India, to grant the documents required. The hon. gentleman had introduced no inflammatory matter, and no needless exaggerations; and if he was inaccurate in some of the details he had presented to the House, no blame for mis-information

embark them, whether they were or were not willing to go; that promotions in the regiment had not been regularly conducted, and that old officers had been superseded.

receive double pay or be allowed to depart to their homes, and that the Zemindar and Hamildar should be given up to them to be put to death. The hon. gentleman had said, that the mutiny was one of the mildest character; that the men refused to march, and that was all: but was he not aware that the men had carried off their colours by violence: that the twenty-sixth regiment presented their bayonets at the breast of major-general Dalzel; that they had forced their officers off the parade; and that they were afterwards joined by detachments from other regiments? Could such a state of things be allowed to continue with any thing like security? The hon. gentleman was ready to allow, that the commander-in-chief had acted with that promptitude, zeal, and activity, which had always distinguished him, and had collected a very superior force in an incredibly short time; but he contended, that this force had not been displayed to the disaffected in due time. Now, he was prepared to show, that every means had been used to convince the men that they had no chance of success. Colonel Stuart, commanding one of the regi

could fairly be imputed to him. All that had been advanced might be separated into three questions. First, whether every thing reasonable had been done by the Indian government and by the commander-The demands were, that they should either in-chief, to supply the men with necessary comforts? Secondly, whether proper steps had been taken for the supression of the mutiny, and whether there had not been a needless effusion of blood? And Thirdly, whether it had been fit to commute the sentences of many, and to employ them in irons upon the public roads? As to the origin of the mutiny among the native troops, he believed that it originated very much in a persuasion, that the Burmese possessed more than mortal power, and that they dealt in magic and enchantment, and that the industrious circulation of this notion promoted the calamity. The right hon. gentleman then adverted to the circumstances attending the order for embarkation, and stated that 4,000l. had been advanced to each regiment, for the purchase of animals to carry the baggage. It was a fact which he had mentioned to the hon. member for Aberdeen, but of which he had taken no notice, that a hundred bullocks, or ten bullocks to each company, were actually in the line of the refractory regiment for this purpose. If he were asked, at what time these animals were furnished, he should reply, that it was certainly before the order for embark-ments, had gone among the men the night ation. But the main ground on which the hon. gentleman seemed to rely was, that proper measures had not been taken to suppress the turbulent spirit of the native troops-that the officers ought to have gone among the men, in order to inquire into their grievances; and his position was, that if an investigation had been promised, no mutiny would have occurred. Was the hon. gentleman ignorant that that very course had been pursued? Did he not know, that the very day before the mutiny the men were called upon to send two soldiers from each company to state their grounds of complaint, and that a court of inquiry was ordered? It was asked, how could the rest of the men be assured that their two comrades would be sent back? The answer was, that colonel Cartwright himself had offered to remain a hostage for their safe return. All these means had been taken; but the men refused to state their reasons. The complaint was not, in truth, the want of cattle, but that the men knew that it was intended to

before, and represented to them how vain would be their efforts against a force so superior. Some of the delegates were also purposely carried through the lines, in order to convince them that they would not be able to accomplish any thing by resistance. It ought to be recollected, that there existed a general disinclination to the war; and if such a mutiny was allowed to continue, he would not say for days, but for hours, the consequences might have been dangerous to our empire in India. As to the conduct of sir Edward Paget on this anxious and perilous occasion, he would only refer the House to a case which came before lord Mansfield, where the question was, whether a captain in the navy, during a storm, was justified in abandoning his ship. Sir Charles Douglas, an officer of the most distinguished bravery, was asked by the judge, if he would have acted like the captain; and the reply was, that if called upon to decide on a calm day in the sun-shine, he should say no; but if placed in the same