§ MR. LAYARDsaid, that he had put a notice of two questions upon the paper, namely, to ask the Secretary of State for India, Whether, notwithstanding the Minute of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal upon the Report of the Indigo Commission dated 17th December last, a Bill has been introduced into the Legislative Council of India to enforce contracts for the delivery of agricultural produce; and if so, whether such measure has been introduced with the sanction of the Government of India? And whether he will lay upon the Table of the House Copies of that Report and Minute, and of the Act XI. of 1860 of the Indian Legislature, together with the Correspondence thereon between the Governor General of India, the Lieutenant Governor; of Bengal, and the Indigo Planters' Association, and other documents and papers relating to the cultivation of Indigo in Bengal? He had, however, been requested by the right hon. Gentleman to postpone them, as he (Sir Charles Wood) was unable to be in his place through indisposition. He greatly regretted the circumstance, because, he was sorry to say, there was no other right hon. Gentleman able to give him the information he sought. The House could have no idea of the importance of the subject; it was really no exaggeration to say that there were millions of persons looking for some expression of opinion in that House; and he had given the notice so long ago as Monday last, in order that the mail which left on 508 the 10th might take out the information that the subject was going to he mooted in Parliament. He hoped, therefore, that the right hon. Baronet would be in his place on the earliest opportunity. The statement which he (Mr. Layard) should have to make would be almost without precedent, such a picture should he have to draw of lawless violence on the part, he was sorry to say, of European subjects of Her Majesty, on the one hand, and of suffering and wrongs endured by the natives on the other. His letters from India were of a most alarming character. He would only refer to a minute of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, in which he stated that he had steamed for fourteen hours down two rivers in Lower Bengal, on both banks of which, like the two sides of a street, were gathered crowds of men, women, and children, imploring justice. Mr. Grant added very significantly, that there was an organization about them which led him to apprehend that if that justice were not granted it would be taken. His (Mr. Layard's) accounts were no less alarming, for they had led him to fear that justice would be refused; and, therefore, he was glad to learn that a despatch had been sent out by the last mail to support Mr. Grant. If that were true, he could only say that the right hon. Gentleman (Sir Charles Wood) should have all the humble support that he (Mr. Layard) could give him. The right hon. Gentlemen had authorized him to move for that despatch as an unopposed return on Monday next; and he (Mr. Layard) would seize the first opportunity of making his statement; if no earlier occasion presented itself, he would do so on that day week, on the Motion for the Adjournment of the House.
§ MR. KINNAIRDexpressed his regret at the unavoidable delay which had occurred with reference to his hon. Friend's Motion, because he considered the present position of the Government of India as entirely indefensible. Contrary to the pledge given to the House last Session by the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for India, that the Act passed there last year was to be only temporary in its duration; and contrary to the promises to the same effect made to the cultivators of indigo, a similar act under another name had been introduced into the Legislative Council, which might, if carried, endanger the peace of Bengal, in the face of the earnest remonstrances and warnings of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, in opposition to the spirit of Her 509 Majesty's Proclamation, and enacting the greatest injustice. If it were passed, he should hold the Government of India and the Government at home responsible for all the evils that might very probably be the result, and it would be a matter for the very gravest consideration what steps could be taken to prevent the re-enactment of such iniquitous laws. He trusted his hon. Friend would be allowed the earliest possible opportunity of bringing forward his Motion.