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one regiment, then another, declared their loyalty; and Scindiah prepared to do battle with the rebels.

The military zeal of the young Maharajah had now scope for exercise in something better than playing at soldiers. And the rebels could not but regard with admiration the spirit displayed by their master. They had planted their batteries against the palace and against the city-but he moved out at the head of his Thakoor force, personally superintending all its operations with the care of a veteran officer. His resolution appears to have daunted the rebels; they wavered and lost heart, some of them going over to his standard. He had gained everything by gaining time-for news soon came of the fall of Delhi, and then at once his position was changed. The rebels gave up all hope of seeing the Maharajah place himself at their head; and when at last he suffered them to depart for Cawnpore, it was with the certainty that Colonel Greathed's column would reach that place before them, and with the consent of the British agent.

It is not necessary to trace the further movements of the Gwalior rebels. It is enough that, on their way, denouncing Scindiah as their enemy and their betrayer, they ravaged his country everywhere with savage exultation. The Maharajah invited the British agent to return to Gwalior as soon as there was any guarantee for his safety; but he told him that there was no such guarantee but the presence of a British force. The later history of our connection with him need not be here recorded. We have said enough to prove how deeply we are indebted to him.

And what has been his reward? A munificent promise. The Governor-General has pledged himself to bestow upon Scindiah additional territory of the annual value of three lakhs of rupees, and all arrears due by him to the British Government, on account of the assigned districts, were remitted. Moreover, there was accorded to him the cherished privilege of entertaining a larger body of troops than he had before been permitted to hold in his service.

This was announced to him in full Durbar by the Governor-General at Agra; and at the same time honour was done to the Dewan, Dinkur Rao, and a confiscated estate of the annual value of five thousand rupees conferred on him and his heirs in perpetuity.

What the territory to be granted to Scindiah may be it is out of our power to report. The first design of the Indian Government appears to have been to appropriate to that purpose the confiscated principality of Dhar-a bad selection, under any circumstances, viewed with reference merely to local considerations-but disallowed, on moral grounds, by the Court of Directors of the East India Company, and we trust forbidden by the Secretary of State for India. There could be nothing to justify the confiscation on the grounds of the revolt of the mercenary army of Dhar.

We cannot afford to enter, at the same length, into the case of the Maharajah Holkar of Indore. There is an impression that, on the first outbreak of rebellion at his capital, he did not exhibit in the same resolute manner, as was displayed by Scindiah, his fidelity to the British Government. It is possible, however, that, when history comes to take account of the actions and intentions of the two men, it will be found, with all due allowance for circumstance and character, that there was very little difference between them. He was wholly unable to control his troops, and even those in whom he most trusted, and who were posted at the Residency for its defence, fired upon it, and clamoured for the blood of the Christian people who were assembled there. Holkar had some time before warned the British authorities of the probability of an outbreak at Indore; but it is alleged against him, that when the Residency was attacked, he allowed nearly two hours to pass without making any communication to the agent to the effect that the attack had been made without his instructions, or otherwise assuring the representatives of our Government of his fidelity. That he may at first have been somewhat bewildered and confused-and perhaps

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minions; and we may assume, therefore, that ere long the Maharajah of Nepaul will have recovered a large portion of the territory ceded by that state in 1815, and in the following year sold to the Newaub Wuzeer of Oudh for a crore of rupees, or a million sterling of English money.

Were time and space at our command we might extend this list of good services done, and fitting rewards conferred, but we are compelled to hurry to a conclusion. The great chiefs of Rajpootana-representatives of ancient houses-did well, and deserved well at our hands, and have not been without their reward. We would fain speak of the gallantry and fidelity of the Mohammedan chief of Tonk, successor of that great freebooter Ameer Khan; of the good conduct of the Jyepore chief; of Oudeypore, Jaudhpore, and other Rajpoot states; and of the excellent service rendered by the Bikaneer chief; but we can merely indicate our sense of their deserts. A chapter full of incident, and full of interest, might be written on Rajpootana alone.

It is obvious, from all we have written, that the British Government have, in the main, evinced a becoming sense of gratitude towards the native princes and chiefs who aided them in the recent crisis. They have given largely-liberally-in the manner most acceptable to the recipients, who, although it was in the nature of such men to cherish inordinate expectations, are, on the whole, satisfied with the rewards they have received. We confess that, after so long a reign of taking and keeping, there is something pleasant in the contemplation of all this free-giving and bestowing. And not merely because so many worthy deeds have received so many fitting rewards, but because we hope -nay, we believe, that we see in this exaltation of the native princes the inauguration of a new policy. It has

been for many years our system to curtail the dominion and to depress the influence of the princes and chiefs of India. The aristocracy of the country have gone down beneath the chariot wheels of the great Juggernauth which we have driven over them. Not only have we annexed and absorbed all the territory on which we could, by any pretext, lay an appropriating hand, but after annexation and absorption, we have gone ruthlessly to work to destroy the local nobility. Our whole system has tended to this result. It has found favour in the eyes, too, of so many able and good men, that it is not very easy to persuade the world that it was a great mistake. It certainly was a mistake; but there was something not only so plausible, but really so well-intentioned in it, that we are not surprised that it should have found so many supporters and admirers. It was based upon the presumption that the few had usurped the rights of the many, and that, by instituting a new order of things, we should restore alienated rights, and secure the greatest happiness of the greatest number. But it is not of our internal policy after annexation that we are now writing. We purposed merely to say that we rejoice in the restoration of a policy-the policy of the Malcolms, the Elphinstones, and the Metcalfes-which seeks to establish our own security by imparting a sense of security to others. We have nothing to fear from the strength of the native princes of India. Let them be strong; their strength will be our strength, if we are just and generous towards them. They have been eager in their expressions of loyalty to the Crown of England, and, we believe, were never in a better frame of mind than now to adhere faithfully to their English alliances, convinced that the best guarantee for the maintenance of their rights is the maintenance of our supremacy.

PARLIAMENTARY DUELLING.

THE four great questions which have in the last month been discussed in the House of Commons, have been curiously intertwined. The Reform Bill was connected with the Budget by the certainty that any considerable disturbance of the present franchise must have a serious influence on the future financial policy of the country. The question of the Budget most naturally involved the subject of the French Treaty; and the commercial Treaty could not be regarded by itself, but necessarily led to remarks on the French annexation of Savoy and the position of Napoleon in Europe. Topics which, on the surface, had very little connection, were worked into the pudding of debate; and perhaps there never was a series of discussions in Parliament in which the speakers were so often accused of introducing irrelevant matter into their addresses, and in which the accusation was deserving of so little weight. It was, indeed, the object of the Government to coerce the House of Commons in detail; and we must make bold to say that, in the attempts which were repeatedly made to limit the freedom of debate, there was exhibited a good deal of that bullying and loss of temper for which the first administration of Lord Palmerston earned an unenviable celebrity. Everybody will recollect the manner in which the Premier, on the short debate preliminary to the discussion of the Budget, replied to Mr Horsman whom he immediately followed. It was a reply intended to be an extinguisher, but really doing more harm to the speaker than to his victim. It was a complete misrepresentation of Mr Horsman's speech, and the endeavour to raise a laugh by saying that the very able, and to the Government most galling address to which the House of Commons had been listening with marked attention, was a speech which the honourable member had prepared for a different occasion, was a stale trick unworthy the leader of the House of Commons. There was a similar exhibition of temper in Lord

Palmerston's reply to Mr Disraeli, immediately before the division on the Budget. Nothing could be more feeble than the reply, and the only apparent point that was made in it, was the statement that his eloquent adversary had made a speech, which was utterly irrelevant, inasmuch as the question before the House had nothing to do with the finances of the Russian war, or the nervous system of the right honourable gentleman. Any man of sense must have seen that such a mode of getting rid of the dignified though damaging speech delivered by the leader of Opposition, was worthy only of the frothy orators who indulge in beer, baccy, and blarney in the Discussion Forum. Mr Gladstone's observations on Sir John Pakington, and, on the first great night of debate, his reply to Mr Disraeli, were equally open to criticism. It no doubt suits the Chancellor of the Exchequer to press his Budget in detail upon the House. Our objections to any one item of his remarkable scheme are easily overcome. It is their united sum that appears to be so dangerous, and Sir John Pakington was perfectly justified in complaining of the shortsightedness of the several interests which are content to be broken in detail, when, by timely union, they might offer successful resistance to a scheme which is well enough in parts, but, as a whole, deserves only the condemnation that sooner or later must fall upon it. The grand fact against the Government is, not simply that this or that detail of their policy is objectionable, but that in their entire policy, in their Reform Bill, in their Budget, in their Treaty, and in their conduct with regard to Italian affairs, they have sold themselves to the Manchester party-they have practically preached universal suffrage-they have made gain the measure of loyalty, and they have made quakerism the law of the Foreign Office.

Mr Gladstone is the most prominent figure, and the most voluble speaker in these discussions; and the position which he has assumed in the House of Commons is the most inter

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esting political fact of the day. For a
long time past two questions have
frequently been mooted-What is to
become of Mr Gladstone? and who
is to be the future leader of the Libe-
ral party? It seems as if one and the
same answer is now to be given to
both of these questions. Mr Glad-
stone is bidding for the lead of the
Whigs; and were it not that his cha-
racter is wanting in stability, one
might predict with some certainty,
that in future he will be found
leading the hosts in array against
his ancient allies. Although it is
generally supposed to be an in-
sult to attribute his conduct to any
but the most sublime motives, it
is not uncharitable to say that
even the best of men sometimes
contrive to make their principles
square with their desires. On the
death of Sir Robert Peel, the leader-
ship of the Conservatives in the
House of Commons would in the na-
tural course of things have devolved
on Mr Gladstone.

We all know

how it came to pass that instead of
devolving on him it fell to the lot
of that statesman who had most
distinguished himself for opposition
to Peel. Who can wonder that the
favourite disciple of the great Tory
chief should be little satisfied with
the turn which events had taken?
All his sympathies are on the Con-
servative side of the House, but it
was to be expected neither that he
should serve under Mr Disraeli who
had robbed him of his crown, nor
that Mr Disraeli, who had with great
ability and self-denial led the Con-
servatives in the days of their ad-
versity, should be dethroned to make
way for him. Mr Gladstone long
vacillated, but every day made it
clearer that there was a place for
him on the other side of the House,
for the Liberals were in want of a
parliamentary leader. Lord Palmer-
ston is an old man, and must soon
give way.
Lord John Russell is
never again likely to lead the House
of Commons, and may ere long seek
for a dignified retirement amid the
gildings of the House of Lords.
Who is to succeed these renowned
leaders? Not Cobden, nor yet Bright.
There is certainly an opening for an
aspiring politician, and Mr Glad-
stone has bid higher for the post than

any other statesman, Of great elo-
quence, of considerable experience,
he is probably more fit for the work
than any other public man that could
be named; and while his Conservative
reputation is sure to conciliate the
confidence of the moderate Whigs,
his eager acceptance of Manchester
theories has inspired the enthusiasm
of advanced Radicals. He now sits
on the Treasury bench virtually
though not nominally leading the
House of Commons; on his left
hand sit that noble pair of Whigs
whom he has honoured with his
protection, and whom he sustains
in office; on his right hand are
Mr Milner Gibson who lies on his
bosom, and lower down below the
gangway, the Member for Birming-
ham, on whom, in all the ardour
of a first love, he spends much
billing and cooing. Mr Gladstone
has such a talent for casuistry, and
such a celebrity for straining at a
gnat when swallowing a camel, that
one must not forget how irksome it
will be for a man of his peculiar
tastes to keep on terms with his pre-
sent party in a Parliament elected by
the six-pound householders (and cer-
tainly he will not lead that party long
as the representative of Oxford Uni-
versity); but even thus admitting
the possibility of his return to his
ancient friends, for the present he
seems to have settled down for ever
into the Whig-Radical ranks-the
envy of the Whigs, the admiration
of Manchester, a mystery to the
Tories.

He is a mystery to more than the
Tories. Nine men in ten throughout
the country, if they expressed their
real opinion of him, would say frankly
that the secret of his power in Par-
liament is quite incomprehensible to
them, and that, especially, they do
not understand how the man who
makes such wordy and wire-drawn
speeches should be described as the
most eloquent man in the House of
Commons. His speeches, certainly,
are not very readable; they are over-
loaded with ifs and buts-they are
a perfect wilderness of hypothetical
statements, parenthetical clauses, and
interminable involutions; and if they
have the merit of lucidity, that lucid-
ity is, to a careful reader at least,
sadly marred by an extraordinary

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