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Aware as the writer of the foregoing extract from the Oriental Quarterly' undoubtedly is, of the fact of its being notorious that he is most intimately concerned in the John Bull,' to what can we attribute the measureless vanity and assurance of the man, thus inordinately to bepraise his own handwork, without any disguise? Surely he must be possessed of some extraordinary idiosyncrasy, peculiar to himself, for no other man on the face of the earth could be found to laud his own writings in this way. What he hints in the above, he asserts in a former part of the article, viz., that the Bull' is more extensively circulated than any other daily publication in India-this we flatly and decidedly deny, and conscientiously believe that this, as well as many others, are wilful misrepresentations. It is owing to such productions as the one we have been noticing, that Indian literature has never flourished: we have made a slight effort to rescue it from the dominion of a principle, which has withered all its energies, and converted it into a miserable tool of party and personal malice.*

OPINIONS IN INDIA ON THE LATE COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

In September last the reports of the proceedings in Parliament, appointing a Committee to inquire into the facts alleged in Mr. Buckingham's petition, respecting the destruction of his property in the Calcutta Journal,' reached Bengal. If the editors there had conformed strictly to the odious restrictions still existing in that Presidency, they would have been unable to have published the debates on this subject in their columns. But, notwithstanding the recent letter of Mr. Secretary Lushington, addressed to the proprietor of the Bengal Chronicle,' the 'Hurkaru' first published the Parliamentary Report, and this was repeated afterwards by the Chronicle,' with bold and vigorous comments. It is right that the Members of the Board of Control and the Court of Directors -who will read every line contained in these pages, though the comments in the Bengal papers might, perhaps, escape themshould know what is thought of their knowledge and their conduct by persons in India, who are not merely competent to form accurate opinions on this subject, but who are bold enough to put them forth, and challenge the most scrupulous investigation of those to whom every part of the case is most familiar. The Bengal editor says-and we especially recommend his strictures to the notice of Mr. Wynn and his colleagues:

The debates in the House of Commons on the 9th and 11th May on Mr. Buckingham's case, will be found amongst our Europeon selections, and to these we have added a list of the Committee, appointed to investigate it, distinguishing the members originally selected, from those added on the 11th, in conformity to Mr. Wynn's motion.

"The original Members of the Committee appear to have been fairly enough selected, but in regard to those added on the 11th May, on the motion of Mr. Wynn, the President of the Board of Control, the reader has only to turn to their names to be satisfied that Lord Milton's complaint of the gross partiality observed in the selection of them was well founded: the very first name is Mr. Stuart, formerly Member of Council, and known to be hostile to Mr. Buckingham and the Press: the next, Colonel Baillie of the same party, and who has been lately severely handled in the Herald,' in an examination of the Oude Papers; then we have Mr. Peel, a Cabinet Minister; and Sir Ed

ward Hyde East, who, independent of his known hostility to the liberty of the Press and the subject, may be almost considered the personal enemy of Mr. Buckingham. We need not recall the events on which this opinion is founded; but to us it is astonishing how this ex-Indian Judge could consent to be a Member of such a Committee to investigate the case of an individual towards whom it is not in human nature that he should be capable of acting with impartiality. With regard to the Members of the Board of Control who have approved of every measure adopted against Mr. Buckingham and his property, being selected as Members of the Committee, on this occasion, we presume it is in conformity to custom; but if it be, we must confess that we should regard it as one more honoured in the breach then the observance,' for if the Company have been wrong and have injured Mr. Buckingham by sanctioning the measures adopted against him, the Members of the Board of Control are participes criminis, and are therefore appointed to sit in judgment upon their own offences; the other names are those of ministerial members, to one of whom, in particular, Lord Somerset, Lord Milton very strongly objected, and with great reason, for he is the brother of Lord Charles, who has been justly held up to public reprobation in the Oriental Herald,' for his arbitrary proceedings at the Cape of Good Hope. Is it likely that such a man can act impartially towards Mr. Buckingham? As much so as that the Ethiopian will change his skin or the leopard his spots.

We observe, in the list of the Committee originally appointed, the name of Mr. Trant, who has, in his public conduct, displayed such rare integrity,such a total disregard of all selfish views, as justly entitle him to the admiration of every honourable mind of whatever party. We feel the less reluctance in offering this humble tribute of our admiration to this individual, because he is not a party man and rather leans towards power, though if ever there was an individual in this world who acted from the purest motives, and from sincere conviction, instead of personal feeling or party bias, we believe that man to be Mr. Trant. His views, however, of Indian policy,-his honest views incline him, if the impression on our mind be right, rather to oppose the cause in which Mr. Buckingham suffered. Yet what a noble example of disinterestedness and impartiality has he not set in this case! At the very time when he was a candidate for the Direction he has supported the claims of this individual for redress, because, he believes him to be an injured man, even though the act gives the death-blow to his hopes of becoming a Director. How nobly do his language and conduct contrast with that of Sir Edward Hyde East and others, who have quietly suffered themselves to be enrolled as Members of a Committee for the investigation of a case they have already prejudged. Mr. Trant said he scorned the imputation of going into the Committee with any bias-he was open to conviction.

'A contemporary paper seems to think, that the appointment of the Committee insures Mr. Buckingham some compensation; but we must confess that on looking at all the names that compose it, we are not so sanguine of his success. Out of the twenty-five appointed, fifteen may be considered hostile to the appellant.

'We have not time for comment on the speeches of the Members who took part in these debates on Mr. Buckingham's case, but we cannot resist the temptation we feel to say a few words on that of Mr. Wynne, the President of the Board of Control. The line of argument adopted by the Honourable Member, has, we own, fairly astonished us. He addressed himself entirely to the question of the Indian Press, and maintained that as it never had been, and ought not to be free, but had been all along subjected to restrictions, Mr. Buckingham had been justly punished for asserting its freedom, and repeatedly violating the restrictions upon it. Now really, with all submission to the honourable Gentleman's wisdom, this was not the whole or only question before the House, for even if it could have been proved that punishment of some kind had been merited, it would still have remained to be considered whether in degree it had not gone far beyond what the offence called for. Besides which, the motion of Lord John Russell did not involve any decision on the

merits of the case, but merely called for inquiry into them. If the line of argument pursued by the honourable Member, however, be remarkable, the extraordinary inaccuracy displayed by him, as to the facts of it, is still more so; it is true, indeed, that this observation applies in a greater or lesser degree to all the speakers: but the President of the Board of Control ought, at least, to be quite familiar with every circumstance of a case on which he has before been called to decide, yet he concludes with a remark, that if on Mr. Buckingham's departure, a license had been continued to the same Proprietors, it would have rendered nugatory all the former proceedings of Government.' Thus then it would appear, that the President of the Board of Control, who would resist all inquiry into Mr. Buckingham's case, is himself ignorant of some of the most important facts of it: that he is not aware that the licensing law was not passed or even thought of until that individual had left India, and that after it was passed, a license was actually granted, (not conlinued) to the very same proprietors, under which the paper was actually published nearly nine months, when it was suppressed by authority. Now, if we suppose that Mr. Wynn's speech is truly reported, it is clear that few need the aid of inquiry on the subject more than himself. One of the arguments of Mr. Buckingham's friends is, that his property was destroyed by an ex post facto law, and yet Mr. Wynn has decided against him, apparently under the impression that his paper had all along been published under the sanction of that very law, of the existence of which he had scarcely heard when he learned that his paper had been suppressed in virtue of it. Surely this is of the highest importance; for if that law had passed while Mr. Buckingham was in the country, he might instantly have sold his paper, and thus have relieved the Company of one ground of appeal against the acts of their servants.'

PROGRESS OF THE Governor-GENERAL IN HIS TOUR.

To pass to other subjects: we observe that the progress of the Governor-General through the Upper Provinces left him at Benares on the 12th of October. The following are the details of his voyage and progress, given in the Calcutta Government Gazette' of October 26, and therefore under the sanction of authority:—

'We have received at a late hour, on Monday evening, letters of the 17th instant, from Benares, from which we have been enabled to gather the following particulars of the visit of the Governor-General to that station :

The fleet arrived at Benares on the 12th instant. In the evening, the Governor-General and Lady Amherst landed in state at Raj Ghat, where they were received by the principal Civil Officers of the station, and proceeded thence to the house prepared for their accommodation at Secrole, being escorted by a troop of the body guard. At their residence, Brigadier-General - Price and staff, with a detachment of the troops, saluted them with the usual military honours. Lord and Lady Amherst were the guests of Mr. Brooke, during their stay at Benares.

'On the day following, a levee was held in the morning, and a drawingroom in the evening, which were attended by all the Civil and Military Members of the society of Benares. A durbar was held on the 15th. The Members of the Royal Family, residing in the city, the sons of the late Mirza Khorrem Bukht and Mirza Shegofteh Bukht, and the Raja of Benares, were admitted to a private interview, preceding the public presentation of the principal Native gentlemen, the zemindars and merchants of the city and the vicinity, who were severally introduced to the Governor-General, by Mr. Brooke and Mr. Stirling, to the number of fifty or sixty. Honorary dresses were conferred on the Raja of Benares, ou Raja Jayprakas Sinh, Zemindar of Bhojpur, Baboo Siv Narayan Sinb, Jagirdar of Sayidpur, Gopai Surun Sinh of Shadabad, and Baboo Ram Das of Benares, on the son of Raja Kalisankar Gosal,

and on the Dewan of the Raja of Benares. A Khelat was also sent in the usual manner, to the widow of the late Biswembher Pundit.

During his stay at Benares, the Governor-General visited the Government Hindu College, the Temple of Visweswara, the Minaret Mosque, the Hindu Observatory, and other remarkable objects in the city. On the evening of the 16th, his Lordship and Lady Amherst partook of a dinner at the house of the Collector, Sir Frederick Hamilton.

On the morning of the 17th, the Governor-General returned on board his boats, and the fleet passing the whole length of the city with a favourable but gentle breeze, the party had an opportunity of seeing the place to the greatest advantage. Few places in Gangetic India offer a more picturesque or imposing appearance than Benares from the river. The bank is lined with an uninterrupted range of spacious ghats, and crowned with an infinite number of small temples of most elaborate workmanship, which present themselves to view in rapid and varied succession. Structures of more bulk and greater extent, the dwellings of opulent individuals or the domiciles of religious orders, occupy the intervals between these lighter edifices, and the back ground is filled with a series of lofty buildings, rising tier above tier, and topped with every possible variety of pinnacle and minaret. The whole is of grey or red stone, diversified by the variegated tints which time has given to their hue. The picture is perfect, without the addition of human figures, but when, as on the present occasion, the ghats and surmounting edifices are covered with a dense population, dressed in the greatest possible variety of colour and costume, a scene occurs, to which it would be difficult for the pencil, and still more so for description, to render justice.

After passing the city, the fleet came to at Ramnagar, on the opposite bank, at the palace of the Raja. Lord and Lady Amherst having accepted an invitation to an entertainment to be given there in the evening, with all the splendour and display worthy of the occasion, and for which the Rajah of Benares is celebrated. The fleet was to resume its progress on the morning of the 18th, and, it was expected, would reach Allahabad in ten or twelve days. Thence the journey proceeds by land, and the tents were ordered to be in readiness by the 25th.

'We are happy to learn, that both Lord and Lady Amherst have much improved in health and strength, and suffered no sensible inconvenience from the public ceremonies at Benares, or the excursions made whilst at the station. We understand, they expressed themselves highly pleased with their reception, and much gratified by the interesting objects to which their attention was directed.'

ADMISSION OF NATIVES TO SIT ON JURIES IN INDIA.

The act of Parliament admitting Natives of India to sit on juries. in the Supreme Courts of Justice in India had reached that country in October; and the following announcement of the fact, with the observations of the editor on it, are given in the Government Gazette:

The Chief Justice addressed a charge to the jury, for a report of which we are indebted to Tuesday's Hurkaru.' From this report, it appears that the Act relating to the administration of Natives to sit on juries has been received; but the consequences to which it is there said to lead, upon the authority of the Chief Justice, are very inaccurately reported. We hope to be able to furnish a correct statement in our next.

The admission of Natives as petty jurors must continue for a long period at least, to be wholly inoperative. The acquirement of the English language to a sufficient extent for such a purpose, is confined to the principal inembers of the Native community, and they certainly will think it neither an honour nor a pleasure to be placed in a jury-box, even with European

tradesmen. Individuals of any other description are wholly out of the question, as neither in knowledge, nor in character, are they competent to sit in judgment upon offences against morality or law. We are disposed to think that a great mistake has been committed in the construction of this law as applicable to the Natives, and that to have rendered their services beneficially available, they should have been rendered eligible to the Grand Jury especially in that situation, their knowledge of their own language, and what is still more valuable, their knowledge of their countrymen, would be of invaluable assistance to their English asscociates, and their co-operation with a number of persons of the first respectability, would convert the duty into an honour, of which they would be fully sensible, and would be the most powerful incentive that could be offered to their feeling and maintaining a proportionate degree of moral and intellectual elevation. The omission, we trust, will be rectified as soon as an opportunity may occur, as till then, the law is a dead letter as far as the Natives of India are affected by its provisions.'

There is, no doubt, some truth in these observations, especially as they apply to the general ignorance of the English language, (in which all the proceedings of the English courts at the Presidencies are conducted,) except among the principal members of the Native community. In point of fact, there are not perhaps in all Calcutta-one of the largest cities of the East-as many as fifty Natives who know sufficient of the English to be able to read the newspapers of the day with profit, pleasure, or interest. And yet, when the mischiefs of a free press in India were to be exaggerated, what an outcry was raised about the danger of inflaming the minds of the Natives-as if every Hindoo and Musulman in the country were competent to read and discuss the comments of the English editors! It was very appositely said by a London Editor (when this subject was first agitated in England) that there was just as much danger of inflaming the Native Indians by an English press at Calcutta, conducted with the utmost degree of imaginable freedom, as there would be of subverting the English Government, by publishing in the city of London a journal written in Gaelic, Irish, Chinese, or any other tongue equally unknown to the multitude. Now, however, when it suits another purpose, the Natives are represented (and certainly with more truth) as being in general so ignorant of English, that it will be a very long period before a sufficient number of them can be found to form the portion admitted by law to sit upon a petit jury. The supplement to the same Gazette contains the following paragraphs:

Having been put in possession of the Report to which we referred in our regular publication of this morning, we have thought it adviseable not to delay its publication until Monday. The following may be depended upon as a correct representation of what was said to the Grand Jury, on Monday last, by the Chief Justice, respecting the statute of the 7th of the King, c. xxxvII. entitled An Act to regulate the appointment of Juries in the East Indies.'

'I do not think I ought to omit to mention to you, that I received last night the Act of Parliament, which has recently made a material alteration as to the juries of the Court. It is very short, and provides only that, whereas, hitherto British subjects only have sat on juries, hereafter, under regulations to be made by the Court, all good and sufficient persons resident in