LORDS COMMISSIONERS' SPEECH— REPORT OF THE ADDRESS. (Hansard, 4 February 1857)

§ MR. HADFIELD
said, he would take the opportunity of objecting to the present form of communication between the Crown and the House. In the Royal Message recently addressed to Parliament there was not a single piece of information with which the public were not previously acquainted, neither was there the slightest indication of the intentions of the Government in respect to matters which were deeply agitating the public mind. His chief objection, however, was, that in the last, as in most other communications of that description, there was not the slightest expression of sympathy towards our colonial fellow-subjects. The apathy of the Government in respect of our immense colonial possessions was astonishing especially when it was remembered that for the supply of cotton—a matter of vital interest to this country—we were almost entirely dependent upon the United States, while in India we possessed territories with an immense population, where that article could be most extensively grown if the Government would only devote some little attention to the subject. He need not remind the House that the consumption of cotton in this country had enormously increased. Last year the consumption was 193 at the rate of 43,000 bales per week, and at the close of the year the whole stock in hand in Liverpool was only 251,000 bales, or about six weeks' consumption. Every year showed an increased demand. The failure of the crop in the United States would be attended with consequences fearful to contemplate, and, besides, the supply might be stopped from other causes. The American manufacturers, who rivalled the manufacturers of this country, would be the first to be supplied; and should the slave trade be determined there would be less certainty in the quantity of cotton produced. Was it doing justice to India to give the whole advantage of our purchases to the Americans, or was the Government of India showing its wisdom in neglecting this source, when it had been obliged to enforce the collection of revenue even by torture? But the fact was, that British capital would not flow to India because Government would not render the tenure of land secure by granting it in fee simple. He did not ask the Government to grow cotton or silk. He only made this reasonable request, that they should open a field in which the capital and skill of English manufacturers might be advantageously employed. The hon. Gentleman was then understood to refer to certain charges against the Government in India made by certain missionaries there, and to urge on the President of the Board of Control the propriety of making inquiry by a Commission.

§ ADMIRAL WALCOTT
did not wish either to raise objections to the Address, or to comment upon the wars with Persia or China. He understood the noble Lord at the head of the Government to say, that he would lay the papers bearing reference to Persia before the House at the earliest moment possible, but do do so immediately would be unwise, as negotiations were pending between the Persian Envoy and the English Minister at Paris; but with respect to China, the papers should be forthcoming. It was proper, therefore, to await their production. Viewing the subject simply with a professional eye, he had to perform the grateful duty of awarding praise to the Government of Bombay for the celerity, caution, and efficiency which had been displayed by them in fitting out the Expedition to the Persian Gulf; and likewise at the same time giving a tribute of commendation to the officers in command of the land and sea forces employed on that service. As far as he had means of 194 information it seemed that greater gallantry and ability had never been exhibited in the execution of duties of that kind. He must regret, however, that the flag of the Admiral was not hoisted on board of one of Her Majesty's ships; and he noticed, among the many signal instances of similar injustice, where officers deserving of the highest consideration were removed prematurely from the Active List, that the name of Admiral Leeke appeared on the Reserved List. In the case of the occurrences in China, he was pained to believe that the retribution inflicted went beyond the aggression received. That matter, however, he would not at present pursue. He would confine himself to two observations:—one was, the expression of sincere sorrow to read that in the operations carried on by Admiral Seymour and the officers and men under his command, women and children had strewn the path of war, although no doubt rested on his mind that the Admiral had exercised every forbearance consistent with his instructions. The other observation he would offer was, regret that gallantry so great had been displayed in the presence of an enemy so mean that the fight was not with men in armour proof, but with men of straw, and that the sledge-hammer to which we had been compelled to resort had been used in crushing flies.

SIR JOHN FITZGERALD
hoped the Board of Control would seriously consider the subject to which the hon. Member for Sheffield had referred, and he would urge upon the Government the expediency of improving the roads in India, and increasing the means of communication, in order to facilitate the transmission of cotton from one point to another, particularly in the Presidency of Bombay.

MR. VERNON SMITH
said, that the question of the cultivation of cotton in India, to which the hon. Member for Sheffield had called the attention of the House, was one of great importance, and as such had not escaped the consideration of the Government. He should be extremely sorry to show indifference, even in appearance, but he did not know how he could add anything to what he said last night. He did not exactly see what it was his hon. Friend wished to have done. If his hon. Friend would make a specific Motion, he should be ready to meet it. The accusation was general, that the Government of India had completely neglected the growth, of cotton. That statement was unfounded. 195 A Select Committee had reported favourably of the efforts of the Government to introduce the cultivation of cotton into India, and since that time those efforts had not been relaxed. He supposed the hon. Member, as a free trader, would not have the cultivation of cotton made compulsory, and in the way of encouragement nothing had been left undone. Experiments as to the growth of American cotton in India had generally resulted in failure, and it was his belief that the indigenous plant ought to be cultivated in preference. The hon. and gallant Gentleman (Sir J. Fitzgerald) who had just spoken, had alluded to the want of roads in India for facilitating the traffic in cotton, and he (Mr. Vernon Smith) believed that a great deficiency existed in that respect. The subject was one, however, which had not been neglected either by the Board of Control or by the East India Company, and he was happy to be able to add that for the last few years the system of constructing roads in India had undergone considerable improvement. The Government had also directed their attention to the promotion of railways in India, and the construction of such works would no doubt tend greatly to facilitate the object which the hon. and gallant Gentleman had in view; especially when it was taken into consideration that a scheme of making branch roads to communicate with the railway had for some time been set on foot. It could not, however, be denied that the making of roads in India was, owing to the nature of the soil, a work of great difficulty. Another very important subject to which the hon. Member for Sheffield (Mr. Hadfield) had alluded was the system of land tenure which prevailed in our possessions in the East. There was in India no means of obtaining the fee simple of property, inasmuch as it must be taken subject to certain liabilities, which might be regarded as in the nature of a rent-charge. Now, the great evil of the system was that such rent-charge was not of a uniform but of a variable character, and to provide a remedy for that evil was no doubt a subject which was well deserving of the consideration of the Government. The hon. Member had also brought under their notice the statement of abuses existing in India, which had been made by the missionaries residing in that country, and the hon. Member for Devonport (Sir E. Perry) was, he understood, about to move for a Commission to inquire into the matter. Now upon 196 that point he would merely say, that he thought to allow the missionaries to act for themselves, and to procure and bring forward such information as they would be enabled to obtain by their own exertions, was a course preferable to the issue of a commission of inquiry.

§ MR. KINNAIRD
said, he was sorry to perceive that the right hon. Gentleman seemed to have made up his mind as to the inexpediency of issuing a commission, inasmuch as it seemed to him desirable that the right hon. Gentleman should suspend his judgment until a petition, which was signed by many influential persons, well-affected towards the Company, which was now on its way from India, was laid upon the table of the House.