HC Deb 16 July 1857 vol 146 c1568
MR. W. VANSITTART

said, he would beg to inquire whether it is true, as reported in the Indian newspapers just received, that the Lieutenant Governor of the North Western Provinces of India has issued a proclamation, in which he offers an amnesty to all the mutineers who will lay down their arms; and that on the Governor General of India expressing his severe displeasure at that proclamation, and issuing an order for its immediate withdrawal, the Lieutenant Governor tendered his resignation.

MR. VERNON SMITH

said, he believed it was substantially correct that the Lieutenant Governor of the North Western Provinces did issue such a proclamation. The Governor General of India, with that promptitude and vigour of mind which distinguished him, immediately disapproved it, and issued an order, withdrawing it, except for the interval between the issue of the order and the proclamation, which exception was necessary for the maintenance of good faith. He had not heard that the Lieutenant Governor had resigned in consequence, and he saw no grounds for his resignation. The Lieutenant Governor's conduct had generally, except in this single instance, been marked by judgment and decision, and he trusted that the report of his resignation was not true.