Chapter LXI: {victoria. 1849} (2)

The Duke of Wellington defended the governor-general from, the implied suspicion of a want of attention to the merits of the Indian army, entered into some technical explanations as to the treaty, and suggested that the subject should be left in the hands of the government at home, and the governor-general in India, to settle the question of booty (there being immovable as well as removable property involved, which could not, strictly speaking, come under the designation of booty), who were most anxious to do full justice to the Indian army.

_State of India after the Annexation of the Punjaub_.—The peace of India was not entirely secured by the termination of the Punjaub war; the hill tribes in the neighbourhood of Peshawur gave uneasiness, more or less, throughout the year. The enemies of Gholab Singh continued their intrigues, and in considerable numbers had recourse to amis. It was supposed that the English would not again interfere on his behalf, as he had acted more like the ally of Chuttur and Shere Singh, and the other sirdars, previous to the battle of Goojerat, than as the ally of the British. Gholab had, however, the address to engage the Company’s civil servants, and the military men acting in that capacity, on his side; and he managed to hold up the English name _in terrorem_ to his refractory subjects, so as to keep them from maturing, or at all events effectuating, a decided revolt. The Affghans were also troublesome on the Scinde frontier, and by their agents sought to stir up the Beloochees to predatory and desultory warfare.

_Troubles in the Gwalior Territory_.—The withdrawal of troops for service elsewhere left Gwalior with but few military detachments, this circumstance encouraged the disaffected there, and a partial insurrection took place. Two leading chiefs were implicated. Lieutenant-colonel Graves collected troops, and successively stormed a series of forts, thus putting an end to the power of the insurgents.

The arrival of Sir Charles Napier was hailed with satisfaction, as the prestige of his name had spread all over India. Lord Gough’s departure was, however, a subject of regret, for the venerable and glorious old general had by his heroism, urbanity, and goodness, won every heart. Enemies respected and esteemed him; his soldiers, and all connected with the government of India, respected and loved him. During the autumn long conferences were held at Simla, between the governor-general, the commander-in-chief, and the ex-commander-in-chief. Sir Charles Napier there imbibed impressions unfavourable to the government of India in many respects, and previous prejudices, which he was known to entertain, were strengthened. His views of the constitution and management of the Bengal army, and of the way in which the armies of all the presidencies were officered, were such as to excite in his mind alarm for the fidelity of the Bengal Sepoys, and the safety of our Indian possessions. He subsequently left Simla on a tour of inspection through the Punjaub to Peshawur; various suggestions were made by him which were not attended to; the reforms which his subtle mind saw to be necessary, and his vigorous habits required to be immediately put in force, were obstructed by both military and civil authorities; and it soon became obvious that he could not long co-operate with the authorities of India, either there or at home. He had hardly assumed the command-in-chief when prognostications were indulged concerning his early resignation, which were, unfortunately for India and for England, fulfilled.

In the Madras presidency, disturbances were occasioned by Mohammedan fanatics. Wherever in India Mohammedans resided, they were disloyal. No kindness conciliated them; and in some places, such as Delhi, where they were numerous, an unarmed European was always in danger. In the Bengal and Madras presidencies, the army was to a great extent recruited from that sect, and in the former provinces much to the hazard of the government, for that soldiery united to the fanaticism of Mohammedanism all the pride of caste characteristic of the heathens, and these united peculiarities fostered a deadly enmity to the government whose salt they eat and whose arms they bore. In the Madras presidency, a sect of Mohammedans existed known as Moplahs. It was the custom of these Moplahs to gather together and perpetrate some sanguinary outrage, and then shut themselves up in a strong place, and sell their lives as dearly as possible. By this course they hoped to kill as many Giaours as possible, and obtain a large reward in the paradise of the prophet. During the month of August a body of these fanatics pursued a course of violence and depredation, but were pursued by the police. The fugitives shut themselves up in a temple, a very strong place, from which the police either could not or would not dislodge them. Captain Whyte, at the head of a detachment of the 43rd native infantry, was sent to perform this service; but his men, after firing a volley, fled as if panic-struck, leaving the captain and a few other men, Europeans and Hindoos, to the will of the Moplahs. Their “tender mercies were cruelty,” for they cut the captain and his few brave followers to pieces. The conduct of the native troops was treated as unaccountable—a sudden fear for which they could give no reason; the fact being that they sympathised with the assassins whom they were sent to assail. Afterwards a detachment of the 94th European regiment attacked the temple, and, after some severe fighting, were repulsed; a second onset was more successful, and the murderers who made it their garrison were put to the bayonet.

There were many trials for India during the year 1849. Cholera raged fearfully, sweeping away a large proportion of the population of many villages and large towns, and also laying its cold hand upon many a European.

At a great heathen festival at Trichinopoly, during an outburst of fanaticism, four hundred persons were trampled to death, and a vast number injured. These mad assemblages for idolatrous purposes not only received too much tolerance from the government, but sometimes were favoured with encouragement.

During the rainy season, the country was deluged, and the region of the five rivers, the theatre of such sanguinary war, especially suffered. The floods were so overwhelming, that they were said to have rushed up the rivers at the rate of seventy miles a day, until the whole country was inundated. The torrents which poured along the course of the Chenab swept away the great fortress of Mooltan, so long the prize of conflicting armies. The Sikh nation was exposed to much suffering, as well as signal defeat, and their humiliation was only beginning, for the native princes were on every occasion reminded, at Calcutta, of their fallen fortunes. This may be exemplified in an extract from the “American Merchant Abroad,” by G. F. Train, who attended a ball at Government House, Calcutta, long after the conquest of the Punjaub, just before Lord Dalhousie retired; he thus records his impression of the scene:—“There, too, were the brave Sikhs of the mountain dens, Shere Singh and Chuttur Singh, who held their passes, those bold chieftains who fought like tigers in their country during that memorable campaign of 1848–9, and finally, overpowered by the superior force brought against them, after going through the celebrated battles of Chillianwallah and Goojerat, were brought to bay at Raweel Pindee, where, after the most obstinate war, they surrendered their sabres to Sir Walter Gilbert, the able general, who was made a G.C.B. and a baronet for his bravery and judgment on that occasion. It was pitiful to see brave warriors so painfully humiliated, for they moved about the room in their stockinged feet like so many automatons, shrinking and cringing before their conquerors, evincing the greatest pleasure in receiving the least attention from the civilians in the room. Their appearance without shoes is by order of the governor-general, to remind them of their disgrace, and to show proper respect to those that hold the sway: this, I am told, is the custom of the land. This last tax upon their pride might at least have been passed over, for why strike them while they are down? These princes, it will be remembered, were the chieftains of the Punjaub, and their surrender was the signal of annexing that great kingdom to the British empire. The ameers of Scinde, I believe, are also among the dark faces opposite. Other warriors as brave as they have been unfortunate—the captives, or rather the victims, of Sir Charles Napier.”

The ameers were of course subjected to similar indignities: these things could but inspire hatred among the native princes, which broke out malignantly soon after Lord Canning’s Indian career commenced.

CHINA.

The governor and garrison of Hong-Kong were startled by a deed of atrocity and perfidy on the part of the Chinese. On the 22nd of August the governor of Macao, who had acted more firmly towards the commissioner at Canton than his predecessors, was waylaid and assassinated. Proofs arose that the Chinese authorities were concerned in the outrage, and a conflict of a serious nature ensued between the Chinese and the Portuguese troops. The British, French, and American naval officers on the station brought up their war-ships to protect the residents at Macao who belonged to their respective countries, and to render such assistance as might be possible to the Portuguese authorities. But for this, the Europeans resident at Macao would probably have all been massacred.

At the same time, the chief commissioner of his Chinese majesty at Canton issued very stringent edicts against smuggling, and the English merchants and marine were subjected to repeated insults. No conflict, however, occurred; but the seeds were sowing for future contest. After laborious negotiations, and many minor outrages, a peace between the Portuguese of Macao and the Chinese was ultimately arranged. The Portuguese themselves were as little to be trusted or respected as the Chinese; probably, where religion was concerned, less bigotry was exhibited by the Pagan Chinamen. An instance in proof of this occurred at the very juncture when Englishmen were offering their assistance to the Portuguese authorities, and preserving the lives of Portuguese subjects, which their own government had not force sufficient to do. On the 25th of August, Mr. Summers, an English missionary, was cast into prison because he did not take off his hat to the procession of _Corpus Christi_ in the street. The Englishman excused himself by a declaration that his conscience would not allow him to do any act of religious reverence in such a case; but that he meant no disrespect, and regretted that he did not think of passing into some other street, thereby avoiding the procession. These reasonable explanations and polite statements did not mollify the Portuguese civil and ecclesiastical authorities; and an English Protestant subject was incarcerated for not performing an act of Roman Catholic worship in the public streets of a city which English arms were saving from pillage and massacre! Captain Keppel, of her majesty’s ship _Meander_, however, demanded Mr. Summers’s release, which was refused, when he gallantly landed a party of marines, and took him out of prison. The Portuguese resisted with fierce fanaticism, and some loss of life ensued; but the English officer accomplished his purpose, and inflicted humiliation upon the bigots whose tyranny compelled his prompt and manly act.

BORNEO.

Sir James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak, whose heroic efforts to suppress piracy in the Indian Seas have been noticed on a former page, continued his exertions in clearing those seas of the pirates, and in building up settlements on the coasts of Borneo. July was generally the expeditionary season for the pirate chiefs, and Sir James resolved this year to prepare for their severe chastisement, and, if possible, for their extirpation. Accordingly, Commander Farquhar, in command of her majesty’s brigs _Albatross_ and _Royalist_, the celebrated steamer _Nemesis_, belonging to the East India Company, and the steam-tender _Ranee_, were joined by the rajah himself in command of a native flotilla. The squadron entered the mouth of the Sarrebas river, as the rajah had certain information that the pirates intended to inflict pillage and massacre upon the people of that neighbourhood. On the evening of the 30th, tidings reached Sir James that the pirates were attacking a place called Palo. The next day one of the look-out boats brought in tidings that the pirates were advancing in full force. The _Nemesis_ first put to sea; and being seen by the pirates, they made for the Kaluka river. The boats under the command of Lieutenants Wilmshurst and Everest, with the native boats under Sir James, intercepted the pirate flotilla, the men-of-war’s boats opening a sure and destructive fire upon them. The night had already fallen, and the naval officers were anxious lest they should fire into the rajah’s boats instead of those of the enemy. A pass-word had been agreed upon to avert this danger—the word “rajah;” but the occupants of the native boats never ceased screaming this word, rendering it difficult for the naval officers to determine in what quarter there was an enemy, in which a friend also was not in danger of their fire. This state of hesitation favoured an effort to escape on the part of the piratical prahus, two of which made sail seaward. The steam-tender pursued, but the larger prahu made again for the river, was run down by the _Nemesis_, and her crew, sixty in number, were destroyed. The other prahu kept seaward, pursued by the tender, who fired into her a large congreve-rocket, by which she was destroyed. The boats of the squadron then rowed up the Sarrebas river, and destroyed a few prahus, some pirate villages, and a town which seemed to be the head-quarters of the pirates in that direction. The flotilla next proceeded up the Rejanz river, and severely handled the natives indiscriminately; for it was known that such as were not pirates themselves aided them in every practicable way. Several hostages and prisoners were taken; among others a little child, very fair, and apparently having belonged to European parents who were murdered by the Dyaks. It was found that, during the night conflict, a very extensive destruction had been inflicted upon the prahus and their crews. Dead bodies lay in great numbers washed upon the shores, with shattered boats, presenting a scene of wreck and slaughter terrible to contemplate. Of one hundred and twenty prahus which constituted the force of the piratical expedition, eighty were destroyed; about twelve hundred men of their crews perished. Most painful scenes were presented to the British in the course of their proceedings, horribly verifying all that had been heard of the cruelty of the natives of these regions. They had taken many captives, and before putting to sea decapitated them, and gashed their bodies with knives: many who had been thus treated were women. When the news of these proceedings reached England, there was a great public outcry; Mr. Hume, Mr. Cobden, and many members of the Peace Society, alleging that Rajah Brooke had instigated these measures for his personal interests; that the inhabitants of these coasts were not pirates; that their armed prahus were their fleets, by which they desired to protect themselves from the rajah’s aggressions; and that England was dishonoured by the sanguinary destruction of harmless and unoffending natives. Evidence was adduced, on the other hand, to show that the persons destroyed were not inoffensive seafarers, but bloodthirsty barbarians and pirates. This evidence failed to convince those who raised and sustained the outcry, and ultimately the rajah had to return to England and defend, himself. He satisfied the government and the general public; but the party which had attacked him conceded little or nothing, and continued to denounce the proceedings of Sir James, in Borneo, as unjust and aggressive, with the ostensible object of abolishing the piracy alleged to be so prevalent on those coasts.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

An event occurred which disturbed the loyalty of this colony. The home government felt considerable difficulty in dealing with its convicts, and, among other places, the Cape of Good Hope was selected for experiment in the establishment of convict colonisation. The inhabitants resisted with the greatest determination; and the haughty manner in which Earl Grey, the colonial minister, bore himself, exasperated the colonists, and inflamed their animosity against the proposed measure. Public meetings were called, in which the ministers of religion took a very prominent part; and it was resolved neither to sell to the government nor the convicts. The ship having arrived which bore the unwelcome freight, every form of opposition previously determined upon was put into execution, and the government was at last compelled to give up its purpose, and the convict-ship was ordered away to Van Diemen’s Land. The Colonial-office had long projected making the Cape a penal colony, and it was supposed that political convicts would not be objected to. The colonists believed that this was merely the plan of insinuating the thin edge of the wedge, which would ensure the whole being driven home. John Mitchell was among the convicts; that gentleman having suffered at Bermuda from the climate, the government desired in mercy to place him in one more salubrious for persons afflicted with pulmonary disease. The colonists of the Cape were willing to receive him as a settler, but not as a convict, and expressed themselves concerning him in terms of sympathy and respect. The plan of the government to make it a place for political prisoners, was as unsuccessful as the project of making it a general penal settlement: and in the end the people of the Cape obtained, by their obstinacy and energy, a complete victory over the Colonial-office.

The contest in the parent country between the principles of protection and free-trade affected the political and social condition of the West Indies. Jamaica, being the principal colony, its example had a beneficial or baneful influence upon all the other West-Indian colonies. The Governor of Jamaica, Sir Charles Grey, was very unpopular, and his instructions from the Colonial-office were neither wise nor conciliatory. Those instructions, however, being necessarily made in the free-trade spirit then ascendant in the British legislature, would hardly have pleased the planters, however well intended or judiciously ordered. In that particular, the _suaviter in modo_ would never have compensated for the _fortiter in re_. The new Assembly was hostile to the governor, and its votes showed its hostility, especially in reference to the supplies. Throughout the year, this state of things continued. The negro population sympathised with the government, and boasted of their willingness to turn out and fight for the queen. The parish of St. Ann elected a black representative. Agitation of almost every kind that could afflict a West-Indian colony prevailed in Jamaica. The other colonies in that region were generally discontented, although in most the crop of sugar was good; in some however it failed, increasing the dissatisfaction which the prevalence of free-trade opinions in England created. At Antigua and St. Kitts the chief cause of complaint was the want of rain. In Demerara, the political aspect of affairs was more favourable to the government—the combined Court, which had refused the taxes, having, by a small majority, retraced their steps, and effected an understanding with the governor, which facilitated his administration.

CANADA.—POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT.—OPPOSITION AND INSOLENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH PARTY.

The state of Canada during 1849 was most unhappy, and the policy of the English ministry most unjust. The discontent existed chiefly in Upper or Western Canada, and amongst the population, which was British, or of British origin. In 1837–8, when nearly all Lower or Eastern Canada was in open rebellion, only partial insurrection existed in the Western province, where people armed in behalf of the government. During the rule of Lord Metcalfe, a bill of indemnity passed the Canadian legislature, on behalf of the loyalists of Western Canada, who had suffered loss of property in consequence of their loyalty. As soon as Lord Elgin became governor-general, claims were set up for the loyalists who had incurred losses in Lower Canada. This seemed to be reasonable and just; but the portions of that province which had suffered at all had been the foci of rebellion, and the sufferers were those who had perilled life and property in opposition to the government; it was therefore a trick on the part of the Lower Canadians, who had been the rebels, to reimburse themselves at the expense of the loyal population. The proposal therefore excited in Upper Canada, in portions even of Lower Canada, and in Great Britain, warm indignation, and a formidable opposition was organised. During the Canadian session of 1848, the colonial ministry was obliged to resign in consequence of a vote of want of confidence; that ministry had belonged to the British party, but the vote constrained the governor to choose his ministers from the Lower Canadian, or French party. This ministry was of course favourable to the scheme of their own party, and encouraged those whose rebellion had caused their losses, to prosecute the demand, which practically amounted to a tax upon the loyal, for the especial advantage of the disloyal. In consequence of the opposition, by the English party, the bill actually brought in provided that no person who had been guilty of treason after the 1st of November, 1837, should be allowed to claim under the act of indemnification. This concession, which appeared to comprehend all that was necessary, and to place the measure on an equitable basis, did not satisfy the British party, who declared they had no confidence in the ministry, whose sympathies were wholly French, and who would find pretexts for indemnifying their own party by ignoring the proofs of their treason. The bill, however, passed through the Canadian parliament, after a fierce struggle from the opposition. The British party still remained quiet, in the hope, faintly entertained, that the queen’s representative would refuse the royal assent, dissolve parliament, and take the sense of the colony on the question. The governor, either on his own judgment, or by the directions of the Colonial-office, instead of taking that course, which under such circumstances would have been the most just and constitutional, gave his sanction to the measure, as well as to some other bills which were not palatable to the Western settlers. The ministry had, at the same time, exasperated the Protestant and British Canadians, by various acts which savoured of hostility to them, and of partiality to the French and Roman Catholic Canadians. After the governor-general gave the royal assent, his carriage was stoned by a mob consisting mainly of gentlemen, and the parliament house itself was broken open while the members were in debate, the building fired and destroyed, the members being permitted to retire unmolested. The governor, Lord Elgin, in his despatch to Earl Grey, described the population of Montreal as numbering fifty thousand inhabitants, of whom he gave on the whole an indifferent character, as belonging to secret societies, and “having other agencies of mischief,” with only two policemen in the service of government, and seventy in the service of the corporation. If, however, no complaints of the disloyalty or disorder of Montreal had been customary, and a few police were sufficient to maintain peace, it is presumptive proof that his lordship was influenced more in using this language by the feelings excited in his own mind, from the opposition and indignation of the most loyal and respectable citizens of the place, than by any demerits on the part of the Montreal citizens. The parliament met in the Market Hall, and by a large majority voted an address of confidence to the governor-general. The citizens met in the open air, in the Champs de Mars, and voted with acclamation an address to the queen, begging her to refuse her assent to the Indemnity Bill, which they indignantly designated “an insult and a robbery to every man who, in the time of trial stood forth to defend her majesty’s crown and dignity.” The memorial also prayed, in very earnest terms, for the recall of the Earl of Elgin.

On the 31st of May, the governor-general prorogued the parliament, but the governor took no measures to soothe the English settlers, while his ministry, proud of their triumph, offered them many gratuitous affronts. The British party, on the other hand, conducted itself with much arrogance and violence, to which it was moved as much by the free-trade measures of the imperial parliament as by any grievance it felt in connection with the Lower Canada Indemnity Bill, or the ascendancy of the French party in the local government. An assembly had been convened from all parts of Canada, and other portions of the North American colonies, which called itself the “British League;” this body was ostensibly formed to consider the interests of the country, which it was assumed were neglected by the parliament and government. The League assembled on the 25th of July, and broke up after six days’ deliberations, on the day when parliament was prorogued. It was the intention of those who formed it to alarm the government by an impression that a movement would be made for annexation with the United States, and many were really in favour of such a measure. There were objections which, however, weighed against such a step in the minds of the British party generally. One was the antipathy felt to negro slavery under any circumstances, but more especially as tolerated in the United States. Another was the hostility generally entertained in the latter to the principle of an Established Church, whereas nearly all the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists of the party were in favour of state establishments of religion, which had been one of the most fertile sources of party dispute in both the Canadas. It was generally supposed that the United States’ policy would be more in favour of the protective system than Great Britain; and that Canada could form stipulations on that basis which would render her annexation a mutual advantage. This, however, was denied strongly by many of the party, and doubted by more. Before the League closed its labours, it issued a manifesto to all the colonies of Great Britain in America, and passed the following resolution, which sufficiently sets forth the spirit of the manifesto itself:—“Resolved—That a president, six vice-presidents, secretaries, a treasurer, and an executive committee of ten, be appointed by the convention for the purpose of conducting at the seat of government the general business of the league. Every township, village, town, and city in the province will have its branch; and in each district the presidents and vice-presidents of its Branch Leagues will form an executive body for district business; and all these officers, together with those first named as the general executive, will constitute the Central League. Protection to home industry, with the view of encouraging the establishment of domestic manufactures; retrenchment in the expenditure of the government, or the better apportionment of that expenditure to the existing means of the province, and an extension of our home market, and the consolidation of British interest, by the union of the colonies—these present specific objects worthy the employment of our highest efforts for their attainment.”

This was the last act of the convention. The demonstration was on the whole loyal, contrary to the expectation of both its promoters and government. That the general public of British birth or extraction did not meditate rebellion at this juncture was evinced by the following record in a Montreal journal, of an occurrence which took place on the very day that the parliament was prorogued, and the British League adjourned its sittings:—“A public meeting of the citizens of Montreal was held on the 31st ult., at which it was all but unanimously agreed to lend the credit of the city to the extent of five hundred thousand dollars to the completion of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway, which will connect Montreal with Portland (Maine), and open out the splendid intermediate county. This, with two hundred thousand dollars from other sources, it is expected will execute one-half the work, and then the guarantee of the legislature under a general act comes in; and an expectation is entertained that the other half may be borrowed in England, on the joint security of the railroad and the province.”

A very large party, however, contemplated the peaceable separation of the Canadas from the mother country; others supposed that Great Britain would consent to the union of all the North American provinces, and, after a time, recognise the independence of the new province thus formed. These agitations showed how deeply laid, and how extensively prevalent was the discontent among the most industrious, enterprising, and respectable colonists. Religious animosities amongst the colonists themselves embittered the social condition of the country. At a place called Bytown, during the autumn, there were repeated conflicts between Protestants and Roman Catholics, which left lasting acrimony and dissatisfaction among the former, from the fact that Lord Elgin’s government appeared to favour the latter party. This circumstance renewed the desire for annexation, and a petition containing twelve hundred signatures of persons of respectability, of British birth or lineage, was got up for presentation to the queen. This petition would have been far more numerously signed, but for the impression that it could not be received, being unconstitutional. At the close of the year the division of parties, especially “Annexationists” and “Anti-annexationists,” ran high, and a new element of discord was introduced by the projected removal of the seat of government from Montreal to Toronto or Kingston. This subject was discussed with heated temper, even by those who were for separating the Canadas altogether from the mother country, and who might be supposed without interest in the question.

At home a certain party in the commons and the country favoured the views of those who would separate the colony from the crown. The speeches of these gentlemen encouraged dissatisfaction in Canada, and contributed largely to the elements of disturbance there. The Irish Roman Catholic members of parliament, and the newspaper organs of that party, were singularly inconsistent; they argued for the separation of the colony, yet they denounced the disloyalty of the party in Canada which promoted it, because that party was chiefly formed of Protestants, and were adverse to the French and Catholic sections of the colonists. The influence of the Irish newspaper articles, and of the speeches of those who partook of the opinions, expressed by them, were mischievous in Canada, where even’ expression of opinion pronounced at home was watched and reproduced. Some of the disloyal papers in Ireland, while abusing the Canadian Protestants with bitterness, expressed their hope that they would settle the dispute by an appeal to arms, forcibly severing the colony from the sceptre of Victoria. These treasonable wishes were published with impunity. The year 1849 closed sadly in Canada: blood had been shed, incendiarism had been perpetrated, disloyalty had spread; and the main causes of this state of things were the infatuation of the colonists in favour of commercial protection, and the inability of the governor-general of the Canadas, and of the ministry at home, to descry the policy which was most calculated to serve the interests of the mother country and the colony together.

AUSTRALIA.—DISCONTENTS CREATED BY THE TRANSPORTATION QUESTION.

The Australian colonies were generally prosperous in 1849; few new incidents of any kind occurred, and none to make the year peculiar in history. The convict question, however, caused uneasiness. In Van Diemen’s Land horrible outrages were committed by “ticket-of-leave men,” and some parts of the island resembled pandemonium.

At New South Wales, much discontent was created by the English Colonial-office violating an existing compact with that colony, to send them no more convicts, and the Assembly passed the following resolutions—“1. That, considering the arbitrary and faithless manner in which this colony has been treated by the Right Honourable Earl Grey, this meeting most humbly prays her majesty to remove that nobleman from her majesty’s councils.—2. That it is indispensable to the well-being of this colony, and to the satisfactory conduct of its affairs, that its government should no longer be administered by the remote, ill-informed, and irresponsible Colonial-office, but by ministers chosen from, and responsible to, the colonists themselves, in accordance with the principles of the British constitution.—3. That this meeting, having unanimously agreed to the preceding two resolutions, the following humble address to her most excellent majesty the queen, embodying them, be adopted, and that such address be signed by the chairman on behalf of the meeting. [The address was a mere transcription of the resolutions, placed in the ordinary form.]—4. That, considering the discourtesy shown by his excellency the governor to the former meeting, and to its deputation, this meeting abstains from appointing a deputation to wait upon his excellency with the preceding resolutions and address; but requests the chairman to transmit them to him, with a written request that his excellency will be pleased to forward it to her majesty the queen for her gracious consideration.”

With reference to the arrival of convicts which had just taken place, the _Sydney Morning Herald_ had the following:—“All the convicts will be removed from the ship this morning. They have all been engaged. In addition to those previously mentioned, a large draft was sent to Paramatta on Saturday. The forty-five sent to Moreton Bay were forwarded at the expense of the government, not being under any engagement, but merely sent to the district in order that the settlers may have the opportunity of hiring them. All the rest have been taken from the ship at the expense of the employers. We believe that the only restrictions are that the men shall not be landed in Sydney, and that they shall not be employed in the county of Cumberland.”

The policy of Earl Grey was, for the time being, carried out.

CEPHALONIA.

The disturbances which prevailed in 1848 were continued in 1849, and revived again and again, fitfully, when they seemed to have been suppressed. An attempt was made to assassinate the governor of the island, and a soldier was shot by his side, and several others near him were wounded. Murder and incendiarism prevailed everywhere, and open revolt where there was any chance of even temporary success. The same cause which existed in 1848—the desire for annexation to Greece—produced these proceedings; but certain banditti chiefs took advantage of the feeling, in order to promote their own predatory designs. The musket and the gallows suppressed these outrages. The public trials of the chief offenders betrayed a state of dishonesty, treachery, treason, and bloodthirstiness among the population generally, disgraceful to the Greek race.

The colonial history of the British empire during this year involved no other incidents that were remarkable—in general it was discontented and disturbed; but the energy of the military and civil officers, and the fidelity and valour of the troops, subjugated all opposition, or held adverse interests at bay, and kept down disaffection, until future opportunities allowed of more signal success. India was the scene of more striking events, which had their full share of peril and glory.

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION UNDER SIR J. ROSS.

Perhaps no subject engaged the mind of the British people more sympathetically and powerfully than the fate of the brave men who formed the great Arctic expedition. Sir John Franklin was popular, and eminently deserved to be so; and the public desired that every effort should be made, and every risk incurred, for his deliverance—or, at all events, a satisfactory solution of the doubts which prevailed concerning his existence. For this purpose an expedition was sent out under Sir James Ross, with specific instructions to prosecute the search in a certain direction, which would not interfere with efforts elsewhere, so as to determine, at all events in one great field of exploration, if he yet survived. Sir James and his gallant crews arrived off Scarborough on the 3rd of November, and on the 5th the gallant officer presented his report at the Admiralty. The following account of that report, from official authority, will afford sufficiently full information of the result:—

“It is Sir James Ross’s confident opinion that neither Sir John Franklin, nor any of his brave companions, are eastward of any navigable point in the Arctic regions; and if there be any chance of their existence, it is in the supposition that he proceeded in a westerly direction, and in such case we can only expect to hear from the missing adventurers by the Mackenzie detachment, or by her majesty’s ship Plover, Commander Moore, by way of Russia.

“Sir James traversed at least two hundred and thirty miles on the ice, the bergs of which were frightful, much more so than any of the experienced Arctic voyagers had seen before. Sir James and his party penetrated as far as the wreck of the _Fury_, where he found the old tent standing, and everything about it in a state of the best preservation. At this point Sir James deposited a large quantity of provisions, and also the screw-launch of the _Enterprise_. The march of Sir James across the boundless regions of ice is truly stated as a most unparalleled feat in exploration. We are sorry to find, however, that it was in no way successful. The captain, officers, and ship’s company have worked together most harmoniously—a spirit of emulation having animated every one in the great philanthropic task of endeavouring to cany help and succour to their long lost friends. In the whole courses of his researches it is said Sir James Ross never met with a single Esquimaux.

“Sir James speaks most highly of all those who have been connected and associated with him. He is fully satisfied that all is done that could be done by the Admiralty, in the appropriation of the vessel, the selection of the crew, and the extensive equipment of each vessel, in stores, provisions, &c.”

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

A glance at the state of Continental Europe is necessary for a clear view of the relation of England to other states. The revolutionary spirit of 1848 had not passed away, yet already symptoms of reaction appeared in several of the continental states. The daring and dissolute doctrines of French, German, and Italian socialists created universal alarm, among all who regarded, with any sacredness, the ties of family and the rights of property. It was seen that, however hateful despotic monarchy, and the ascendancy of a bigoted and superstitious church, these oppressions were far preferable to the levelling and loathsome tyranny of socialism, in any of the forms in which it presented itself in England, France, or Germany. Whatever was abhorrent to the natural sense of justice, and the dear claims of kindred, was propagated by socialism; and which the socialists, whether called Owenites, St. Simonians, or red republicans, were ready by force to establish. Enlightened men were therefore in doubt, during the early part of 1849, what part to take; their aspirations were for liberty; but the multitude preferred license, and, without the multitude, nothing could be enforced upon despotic governments and ecclesiastical systems. It was now hoped that governments had been warned; that kings would never again venture to violate political promises to their people; that constitutions would never again be revoked by princes; and that, consequently, little was to be apprehended from the governing powers: whereas, everything dear to social order, happiness, and sacredness, was to be feared from the social and political fanatics that to so great an extent guided the peoples,—exciting false hopes, stimulating violent action, propounding doctrines destructive of social order, and menacing a tyranny more formidable than had ever before been witnessed in the world. With these feelings, the good and true rallied round the centres of ordinary government and order—but, alas! they were deceived; they did not take the Scripture warning, “Put not your trust in princes.” Pledges and promises were made by the foreign despots and their ministers, more profusely than even during the war of 1812; but all this was only destined to exemplify the necessity for the warning given by Him who best understood human nature—“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils.” The friends of order, peace, and rational liberty believed the protestations of potentates, and used their influence, and armed on the side of governments in the conflicts of 1849. The result was, they unconsciously abetted a reaction by which the old chains were riveted upon the people, and new ones forged still further to fetter them.

The state of France most interested England, because all great changes in that country influence the whole of Continental Europe, and, in fact, affect more or less the whole civilised world. France, throughout the year, was rent by the violence of party. Three royal factions, the Buonapartists, the Orleanists, and the Bourbons, _par excellence_, were sowing broadcast the seeds of social dissension. The two great-republican parties—that of the socialists (or “reds”), and that of a philosophic and rational republicanism, led by Cavaignac and Lamartine—were ardent in their appeals for popular support. The party of the church watched all the others, ready to exert its influence wherever it could serve itself, by preventing any political sect from settling into power, except under such conditions as, in its own interest, the church should prescribe. The party of the president (the Buonapartists) gradually and steadily gained over all the others; the soldiery and the peasantry were Napoleonist; the church saw this, and threw its weight into the presidential scale. The union of peasant proprietary, the army, the church, the Buonapartists proper, and the friends of order, who believed in the oath of the prince-president, constituted the will of France;—the policy of Napoleon was accepted by many because it was his: it was his, because he knew it would be acceptable to many as the only safeguard against anarchy, and the only form of absolutism that could be substituted for liberty, or impose upon its friends.

While revolution raged everywhere, Rome was in arms, the pope was a fugitive, and a provisional government ruled the estates of Romagna, Bologna, and Ferrara, in the name of freedom. The Romans conducted themselves justly and heroically, but the Austrian government, whose successes in Italy and Hungary, as well as in the duchy of Austria, gave her confidence, was anxious to restore the pope and enforce his government by the bayonet. This was not acceptable to either the governments of England or France. The latter resolved to interfere, and the question arose and was anxiously mooted in England, what, under such circumstances, was the true policy of Britain? Lord Palmerston, who was strongly opposed to Austrian ascendancy in Italy, was favourable to French intervention; and there were persons who asserted that the idea itself originated not at the Tuileries, but in the English Foreign-office. At all events, no opposition was offered, and a French expedition to Rome resulted. The Romans fought in a way worthy of Romans, but, borne down by the superior power of France, their proud city yielded to the invader, and the pope, under joint French and Austrian protection, returned to rule his reluctant people at the Vatican. It then became necessary for France to modify and restrain the fiery persecution which the restored pontiff visited upon his temporal subjects, at the instigation of Austria and Naples. In this, however, the French were not as zealous as in restoring the pontifical tyranny; and, as in the misrule of Louis Philippe, his chief agent of corruption and wrong was a protestant, M. Guizot, so in the agency of French despotism at Rome, a protestant general, D’Hilliers, was the most active instrument.

Meanwhile the socialists, under Ledru Rollin, attempted to upset the presidential government, but were beaten by General Changarnier, at the head of the troops and national guards, Ledru Rollin becoming a fugitive. The president of the French republic worked his will.

The general condition of Europe was well described by M. Mauguin in the French Assembly, as under arms from the line of the Ural to the Atlantic. The attitude, however, which the president resolved to maintain, was one of peace with foreign powers, and, except in the instance of Rome, of non-interference. This exception he justified on the grounds of the necessity of counteracting the ascendancy of Austria in Italy, and of the Catholic feeling of the French nation, which forbid the deposition of the head of the church.

One of the most remarkable incidents in French history during the year, and that in which the English people undoubtedly took most interest, was the assemblage of a Peace Congress of all nations at Paris. Deputations from England and America were the most conspicuous persons in the assembly, which met on the 22nd of August, in the Salle St. Cécille, a music-hall in the Chaussée d’Antin, M. Victor Hugo in the chair. The vice-presidents were Messrs. Cobden, Vesschères, Coquerel, Degnore, and Durkee. The secretaries were Messrs. Joseph Gamier, Alochin, Elihu Burrit, the celebrated American blacksmith, editor of the _Olive Leaf_, and Henry Richards, secretary to the English Peace Society. The two principal speakers were the Reverend John Bennet, a congregational minister, residing at Camberwell, near London, a very eloquent orator, and Victor Hugo, who said he believed the object they had at heart was a religious one, and not only desirable, but practicable and realisable:— “Four centuries ago, the different provinces of France made war against one another; and he expected to see the day arrive when that which took place with respect to the provinces of one country would mark the whole of Europe; and that, as Normandy and other provinces formed one France, at peace with itself, so the different nations of Europe could dwell in harmony as one country. Then would be no longer war, but civilisation; and cannon would only be seen as curiosities shut up in museums.” M. Hugo proceeded to descant on the vast expense of keeping up standing armies, and the great advantages that would arise if such money were thrown into the channels of labour, by which commerce would be promoted and intelligence advanced. M. Hugo concluded by announcing that 500 francs would be given for a peace essay, and 500 francs for the best collection of facts showing the horrors of war. The Archbishop of Paris gave his adhesion to the objects of the assembly. The president of the republic looked coldly upon the gathering, having no cordial feeling to the chairman. The meeting was got up by the English peace party, and chiefly under the auspices of Mr. Cobden. They regarded it as peculiarly well-timed, whereas it is almost inconceivable how any number of men of ability could suppose the occasion suitable, or that the state of Europe offered the smallest hope of producing any influence by such a convention. The resolutions submitted to the congress show how impracticable they were at that juncture, and events in Europe have since proved how uninfluential was the congress itself, and the opinions it expressed. Tire resolutions proposed were adopted, and were as follow:—

“1. As peace alone can secure the moral and material interests of nations, it is the duty of all governments to submit to arbitration all differences that arise among them, and to respect the decisions of the arbitrators whom they may choose.

“2. It is advisable to call the attention of governments to the necessity of entering, by a general and simultaneous measure, upon a system of disarmament, for the purpose of reducing national expenditure, and of removing, at the same time, a permanent cause of disquietude and irritation from among the nations.

“8. The congress recommends all the friends of peace to prepare public opinion, in their respective countries, for the formation of a congress of nations, whose sole object should be to frame a code of international laws, and to constitute a supreme court, to which should be submitted all questions relating to the rights and reciprocal duties of nations.

“4. The congress condemns all loans and taxes intended to aid the prosecution of wars of conquest and ambition.

“5. The congress recommends all its members to endeavour to eradicate from the minds of all in their respective countries, both by means of a better education of youth, and by other methods, those political prejudices and hereditary hatreds which have so often been the cause of disastrous wars.

“6. The congress addresses the same invitation to all ministers of religion, whose sacred mission it is to encourage feelings of goodwill among men; as well as to the various organs of the press, which exercise so powerful an influence over the development of civilisation.

“7. The congress earnestly hopes for the improvement of the means of international communication; for the extension of postal reform; for the universal adoption of the same standard of weights, measures, and coinage; and for the multiplication of peace societies, which shall keep up a correspondence with each other.

“8. The congress decides that the committee be instructed to draw up an address to all nations embodying the resolutions of the congress; and that this address shall be presented to the various governments of Europe and America, and particularly to the president of the French republic.”

There was one political effect produced by the assemblage; the fact that the French government allowed it, and that the Archbishop of Paris patronised it, led to a general impression in Europe that the policy of Louis Napoleon would be peaceful. It is probable that in giving his permission for the convention he calculated upon such an effect, which suited the purpose of the hour, and comported with the necessities of his _régime_. The policy of the French president towards Great Britain was peaceful and friendly. In various minor matters he endeavoured to gain the confidence of the English government. He had implicit faith in the honesty and goodwill of the English foreign minister, who believed Napoleon to be a necessity, and counselled his cabinet to maintain amity with him. The British ambassador to the French republic was treated with more marked respect than the minister of any other power delegated to it, and citizens of the United Kingdom were treated with the most marked consideration in France whenever the emperor found opportunity of showing it. As a proof of his goodwill, a _souvenir_ of his residence in London, and the courtesies which, when an exile, he had received there from the Army and Navy Club, he presented that body with a superb piece of Gobelins tapestry, and a letter couched at once in the most respectful and cordial terms. In greater matters, he appeared anxious to secure the sympathy of Great Britain: difficulties arose in the East, which engaged the attention of English politicians very much, and the English Foreign-office was officially led to consider that reliance might be placed upon the co-operation of France. Events, in a few years, brought this feeling more thoroughly and practically to the test.

STATE OF GERMANY.

The condition of Germany much interested the English government and people. The contests between the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark threatened to call for the interference of Germany on the one hand and Russia on the other, and to involve England in embarrassing questions. The attempt of the German democracies, triumphant in 1848, to fuse the powers of Germany into a whole, a new Germanic empire, also involved questions of great intricacy, and which, however England might desire to keep aloof, tended to affect treaties in which she was concerned. The union of all Germany as one authority would introduce a new element into European relations, disturbing the balance of power. Russia and France had much to apprehend from such a union; England but little, so long as the united German power abstained from invading the territory or independence of the Scandinavian nations. United Germany, possessing popular liberty, would be a natural ally of England, and a counterpoise to France, whose ambitions England had had so often to check, and a counterpoise to Russia also, whose aggrandising policy was so menacing to England and to Europe.

The disagreements of the German people as to the respective merits of monarchy and republicanism, but more especially on social questions, rendered the union of Germany politically impossible. The jealousies of Austria and Prussia were equally fatal to such a project. The houses of Hapsburg and Hohenzollern were competitors for the prize of German empire; and this, rather than the welfare or union of Germany, engaged their subtlety and energy. An Austrian archduke became vicar of the German unity, and, unless so far as there appeared any probability of his securing the supreme authority for the royal family of Austria, his object was to humour the German parliament at Frankfort, and gradually to wear it out, restoring things to their original condition. When the royal houses of Austria and Prussia found that neither could obtain a permanent supremacy, they concerted together for the purpose of breaking up the parliament, and in the meantime, of practically preventing any invasion of the independence or separate prerogative of the individual states and their governments by the central representative power which the revolution had set up. Accordingly, on the last day of September a convention was signed at Vienna, by Austria and Prussia, for the establishment of a provisional central power for Germany. This was shortly after ratified by both courts. The first article was for the purpose of giving the archduke vicar an opportunity of resigning his authority to the provisional central power.