ייזי f nd ( es Οι atives of rank and influence, who are not have even assisted us materially in our een among the principal irritating and r dispose the minds of multitudes of all e: causes soon came to be mingled and blended ev to have had but little weight in the prohe army, compared with the intense desire rule altogether, and exchange it for native. this view may be too deeply coloured. It s that persons wholly disconnected with a rent in a country in which they are even for at, draw an impression of its character less. ist; much as it happens on the other hand, irectly participate in any system, look with a shortcomings with which they are associated. ly be doubted that this view of our Indian system ion in fact. e en that some of the defects which D. Duff alleges y process of reparation; and it will be oticed that that the policy of Lord Canning in Oude towards rs, is in effect the prosecution, in a very mitigated e policy which has been long pursued with great ider class 5, he alludes to the alienation of zeminfrom the ancient feudal families for arrears of revenue,' is of course the widest difference between a theoretic a for treason, and a practical confiscation for debt to If the latter be the practice of our Courts of Justice Lord Canning, with such a usage before his eyes, may claim to having acted with extraordinary moderation. ff's objections to the system pursued by this country in olve themselves into this-that political centralization ding too rapidly-that social intercourse between the and the subject race is too restricted-that secrecy is 1 observed in the affairs of Government-that the native ers are gradually disappearing under the pressure of (a statement which requires further evidence)-that our system is neither cheap, rapid, nor just. All these are of eminent importance, and which we shall do well if we ler at a future time. after the suppression of the mutiny, the point of greatest t is the consolidation, as we have said, of the home ment. To whatever point the discussion on this subject ive reached when these pages appear, there can be no doubt e Resolutions have been from the first of much too flimsy and Our Indian Legislation. 225 abstract a character to form a real basis of legislation. Had they been introduced by Lord John Russell, who originally proposed this policy, they would undoubtedly have been of a more fixed and practical character. As they stand, they are contested because they do not fail to convey a certain meaning (which is often regarded as objectionable), and they are nevertheless more frequently carried because they mean so little that the majority (who reserve the right of ulterior discussion) do not care to reject them. Whenever opposition arises, Mr. Disraeli immediately explains that the acceptance of each resolution does not involve this, and that it does not involve that, until at last he eliminates its whole meaning, and virtually declares that it does not involve anything! The resolution is thus mechanically accepted, for it seems, after this process of exhaustion, scarcely to convey any distinct idea. We have already said that the hope of our legislating for India during the present session-and of rescuing parliamentary government from being a theme for merriment with all the bureaucrats of Continental Europe-depends on our reverting to the Indian Bill No. 1, which has already received the sanction of the House of Commons by a majority of 145. With one single exception we know of no proposition advanced in that Bill from which the House has subsequently dissented. It is true that some other measures are being now carried through Parliament. The Property Qualification Bill, the County Franchise Bill, and the Oaths Bill, are likely to pass into law. But these are not the measures of the Government, but the measures of the Opposition. What the country now pre-eminently needs, is a Government that shall harmonize and lead public opinion and public policy: not a Government, like that of Mr. Disraeli, without convictions, without ideas, and which says 'yes' or 'no' as 'yes' or 'no' may be expected to comport with a continuance of its power. The distinct issue immediately before Parliament is the adoption or rejection of India Bill No. 3; and, as the necessary consequence of its rejection, the adoption of the India Bill No. 1 in its place. We have to choose between a Council, compact in point of number, deriving its direct authority from the Crown, and simple in its machinery, as provided in the Bill No. 1-and, on the other hand, a Council too large for the transaction of business, appointed partly by self-election, and bound down by the trammels of an interminable routine, as prescribed in the Indian Bill No. 3. It is with these points of intrinsic inferiority that the new measure has to compete with the original India Bill, which the House of Commons adopted in February last by so large a majority. NO. LV. In the meanwhile, we do not withdraw our protest against the political immorality of those Liberals who seem well pleased to carry liberal measures, by squeezing them from the grasp of an illiberal Government. We know of no schooling so likely to train the mind of this country unto that contempt of its rulers, and that ultimate loathing of them, from which the worst possible mischiefs may be expected, as the course which the men who should have been the guardians of the pure political feeling of the country have been pursuing for some months past. OUR EPILOGUE ON AFFAIRS. THE confusion worse confounded at St. Stephen's continues. The damaged men and the damaged parties have not retrieved themselves. The great 1688 confederation are at length reaping as they have sown. That confederation has done good service in its time-it would have been well had it been a little less conscious of having so done. But the parties who have lowered that party have lowered themselves still more. Our ultra-Liberals have been content to become shoe-black brigade to the Tories, if they might only spite the Whigs; and our Tories have been content to buy the services of the said brigade, from the same amiable feeling. The country, however, is fast ceasing to have faith in men who can thus belie the principle of the past to gratify the selfish feeling of the present. John Bull has often muttered-A plague on both your Houses;' he is now ready to say -a plague upon you altogether. But France presumed to dictate. Rebuke was needed. Yes, and who so fit to beard a nation with more than half a million of armed men close upon our shore as Mr. Milner Gibson and Mr. John Bright— gentlemen who have done so much to keep our armaments on a thorough war footing, who have shown themselves so sensitive on the side of our national honour, and who have braved so much in its defence. It is well known, moreover, that Lord Palmerston, veteran as he is, can be somewhat jaunty in his manner; and who could censure his lordship for a want of seriousness and earnestness with a better grace than that very serious, that very earnest gentleman, Mr. Gibson? His lordship, too, genial as he can be upon occasions, is apt, it seems, to be a little impatient, and fond of his own way,-and who so proper to administer reproof for such infirmities as the mild, patient, and inoffensive Mr. Roebuck? And as to a want of suavity and courtesy, if there is to be admonition on that score, who could so well take upon him the office of censor as Mr. Bright-a politician so remarkable on all occasions for his considerativeness and candour, for the mildness of his bearing and the softness of his utterances ? Oh yes we are all consistent, proper men-very-the world must prosper in such hands. OUR EPILOGUE ON BOOKS. LITERATURE. The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. 3 vols. Routledge. This is a work which reminds us of better days-of days when books were not produced so commonly as commodities for the season as at present; when men could separate themselves with more strength of will to years of obscure research and severe thought, in the hope of producing something which years may prepare men to appreciate rather than forget. As a rule, it is fitting that what is to live long should be long in coming into life. The world is not so impatient in these matters as some people seem to suppose. It can afford to wait until the work we purpose to do for its benefit is well done. The name of the author of these volumes is a new name in literature. Could Mr. Motley have been content to put his name to something much less thorough and elaborate than the work before us, he might, no doubt, have made himself creditably known long since. But he has known how to protract the season of retired and unobserved toil, until the thing done should realize his own ideal as to how it should be done. The subject he has chosen is a noble one. He has felt its interest and grandeur. He has approached it with a becoming reverence. His theme brings before us some of the deepest and strongest developments of humanity; and there is something in keeping with this in the severe task he has imposed upon himself, both in collecting his materials, and in making the best possible use of them when brought together. His preface indicates the paths of original investigation in which he has laboured, and the pages which follow show that the claim to credit on this ground has been honestly made. In respect to style, Mr. Motley has known how to couple much of the fulness of Livy, with much of the condensed force, and the stern, strong feeling of Tacitus. On the whole, it is of the latter writer more than of the former that we are reminded in reading these pages. We have said enough, we hope, to dispose every lover of historical literature to give these volumes a place in his library. They are volumes to be placed beside such works as those of Prescott and Grote. Poets and Poetry of Germany. By Madame L. DAVESIES DE PONTES. 2 vols. Chapman and Hall.-These volumes consist of biographical and critical notices concerning the poets and poetry of Germany in the past. Madame Pontès does not meddle with living |