the members of the court are the best judges of their own powers; and that, had no authority existed for the demand in question, they would not have resorted to it. But this argument might have been used with reference to the celebrated writs of habeas corpus, which have given the court at this presidency so much notoriety, or any other act of judicial usurpation, as well as upon the present occasion. Besides, where their own powers are concerned, the judges may reasonably be supposed subject to the same infirmities as other individuals under similar circumstances; and the only very available means which exist for preventing them from carrying these powers beyond the proper bounds, is to ascertain and define their exact, limits. This, we think, may easily be accomplished, as far as regards the point in question, by an examination how far the act of directing the expenditure of public money is consistent with the exercise of judicial authority. And here, the first thing which must strike any one who gives the subject a moment's consideration, is the unfitness of an individual who, who in one capacity sanctions a measure, to decide impartially on its merits when brought before him in another capacity; yet the demand of the judges, were it to be complied with, would at once invest them with these anomalous powers, so contrary to the spirit of English law. It would also throw the whole independent authority of the magistrates into their hands. No expenditure, however small; no improvement, however trifling; not even the appointment of officers and servants, could take place without being submitted to the Supreme Court for its approval. This surely never could have been contemplated by the legislature in framing the Act under which the assessment is collected; for the powers of the magistrates might as well at once have been vested in the judges, and the latter made executive as well judicial officers. They might at the same time, with full as much propriety, have received the power of inquiring into the expenditure of government, and checking the disbursements for the public service, generally, as to be allowed to check them in any one respect. In short, there is no description of power with which they might not as consistently bave been invested as with that they are attempting to secure. What the result of the proceedings between them and the magistrates will be, time alone of course can tell. But we may observe, in the meanwhile, that the measures taken for lighting the streets are still persevered in ; and that it is rumoured no answer will be given to the requisition of the court. If so, the whole affair will assume a rather ludicrous appearance, and we should not be very much surprised were it to be heard of no more.-Bomb. Cour., Nov. 9. DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PARSEES. Since the appearance of Mr. Wilson's Lecture on the Bendi dád Sádé, a very spirited discussion has been conducted, be tween several Parsees and him, in the Jami Jomshed newspaper. The followers of Zoroaster make out a very wretched case for themselves, and we earnestly hope that some of them are opening their eyes to the delusions under which they have so long laboured. It is melancholy to think, that such an enterprising people as the Parsees should have so long continued the slaves of a foolish superstition.-Oriental Christian Spectator for Nov. RAJAS OF UNEARA AND BHOOndee. A dispute is said to have arisen between the rajahs of Uneara and Bhoondhee, both of whom are making active prepara tions to decide the difference by the sword. GOOZRATHEE NEWSPAPER. The Hulkaru and Vurtman announces that on the 5th November, a paper will issue entirely in the Goozrathee language, called Chabook,' which will be published every Tuesday morning, intended solely for the correction of abuses and irregularities which have crept into the punchayets and other institutions of the natives." PROMOTION OF A SUBADAH MAJOR. A few weeks ago, the subadar major of the 5th regiment was nominated to an appointment in the Concan. He had been in the regiment 53 years, had served 40, as sepoy, naique, havildar, havildar major, jamedar, native adjutant, subadar, and subadar major; each of these situations he filled with honour and credit to himself, and the entire admiration of all above and below him. Thus much for him as a soldier, and now as a man. They, who think ungenerously of native soldiers, will imagine that he simply packed up his kit and went off to enter on the receipt of 150 rupees a-month; but he did no such thing. First, be took leave of his European officers; in the presence of those he had long known, his feelings denied him utterance. On his latest parade, where, in front of the regiment, he received the compliment from his commanding officer which he so well deserved, tears ran plentifully down the old man's face. On his departure the whole regiment, men, women, and children, followed him a long distance, calling blessings on his name. Well worthy of notice is his conduct on that day; for he dressed himself in full uniform, then repaired to the quarterguard, arm in arm with another subadar, his old friend. Here they drew their swords, and after saluting the colours in comme-il-faut style, Ramjee made many devout salaams to those ensigns under which he had so long and faithfully served; they were to him dear and beloved objects. When this was ended, he turned to his children, as he named the crowd outside, and gave them good advice. I will not weary you and your readers with further details of a really affecting scene. There was no acting in it; the old man had not a spark of the theatrical in him, but was an honest, upright, single-hearted fellow as you shall desire to see. "Go," said he to the crowd that followed him upwards of a mile; "Go, my children; I cannot hear it any more." Bombay Courier, Nov. 2. DEARTH AND DISTRESS. During the last week or ten days, the prices of grain, ghee, oil, &c., have been considerably raised by the dealers in the market, to the surprise of most and regret of all classes. The rise, we understand, is owing to the small importations of those articles this year, from the places whence a large portion of the consumption of this island has been usually supplied; and the receipt of unfavourable reports from Guzerat, which state that, in most parts of that province, the grain-fields have yielded no crop. The hopes that were so confidently entertained, founded on the change which took place in the monsoon towards its close, have been destroyed by a hot and parching wind, which continued to blow for more than a fortnight, and dried up the fields before they had begun to put forth ears of corn. In some places a scanty crop has been obtained; but in general, every species of cultivation, except that raised by means of artificial irrigation, and cotton has, more or less, failed. This sudden reverse has again plunged the country into distress, which, it is apprehended, will be in no small degree aggravated by the excesses of the coolies, and other lawless tribes, who are too apt to give a loose to their predatory habits during periods of scarcity and want. Applications, we understand, have been made by the local authorities to government for authority to strengthen the police force, for the preservation of tranquillity, and the protection of the peaceable portion of the community, which we doubt not will be complied with. To mitigate the evils with which the country is threatened, government have benevolently authorized the expenditure of thirty or forty thousand rupees, in employing the inhabitants to sink wells; a mode of relief which will be doubly beneficial by procuring supplies of water, at the same time that it provides the people with the means of purchasing the food for which they were dependent on their fields.-Bomb. Durpun, Nov. 8. Asiat.Jour. N. S.VOL. 14, No.53. THE BOMBAY EUROPEAN REGIMENT. On the 8th October, at Poona, the Earl of Clare presented new colours to the Bomin his address, passed the following elobay European regiment. His lordship, quent eulogium upon this distinguished old regiment: "I believe I am quite correct in stating, that I address the oldest regiment in the service of the Hon. Company. Its origin may be dated from certain independent companies, sent out to this country by King Charles II., about the middle of the seventeenth century, to garrison the fort and island of Bombay, then ceded to us by the King of Portugal. At what period these companies were embodied into one corps, does not exactly appear; but the honours you have gained since that time, at the glorious siege of Seringapatam, on the victorious field of Kirkee, and against the Arabs in the Persian Gulph at Benni-boo- Alli, are too remarkable for me to pass by in silence. Who has not heard of Serjeant Graham of the Bombay European regiment, who first planted the British Union on the ramparts of Seringapatam? What soldier is there, whose heart does not beat high, when he reflects on the renown which that brave man shed on his corps, who met his fate in the moment of victory, and almost with his last breath-shouted, 'Hurrah! Lieutenant Graham!'-I am no soldier, but, as an Englishman, I should be really ashamed to confess, that I did not feel exultation when I call to mind his gallant conduct. To you all I say it, and I say it with perfect truth, there are at this moment many Serjeant Grahams in the Bombay European regiment. "In alluding to the capture of Seringapatam, which the hero of that glorious day, the late lamented Sir David Baird, and the gallant force serving under him, received the well-deserved thanks of a British parliament, and of the Court of Directors, I feel confident it cannot fail, also, to be a source of gratification to the regiment, that, it there served in company with the Duke of Wellington-with that unrivalled captain, in whose praise no tongue is silent-who has wreathed about the sword of England, laurels as unfading as those which encircled her trident." "From these subjects of exultation to the regiment at the close of the last century, I turn to your glorious achievements at the battle of Kirkee. The circumstances of that memorable day are too fresh in the recollection of every one to make it necessary for me particularly to allude to them. On that hill, stood the faithless ally, the perfidious prince, who, confident in his vain gods and in the number of his undisciplined troops, there witnessed the (C) downfall of his empire, and the triumph of the British army. Well and bravely did the Bombay European regiment on that day earn for itself the additional honour it has since borne, for at no former period was the devoted gallantry of the British army, and the incorruptible fidelity of our brave sepoys more conspicuous. I pass onward from the general pacification of this country in 1818, to the year 1821, when the Bombay European regiment was again employed in active service, under the orders of Sir Lionel Smith, against the Arabs in the Persian Gulph, when you entered their capital in triumph, and by your prowess added to your former honours. In whatever quarter you have been engaged, I find the gallantry and good conduct of the Bombay regiment equally remarkable. Wherever you have been present, I find you have invariably increased your reputation. Bear witness Seringapatam; bear witness the field of Kirkee; bear witness Benni-boo-Alli on your colours, and let me assure you, that I feel confident in the event of another war you will add to all these honours." MANNERS AND CHARACTER OF HINDOO Mrs. Farrar thus relates one of her visits to a principal family at Nassuck : "A Brahmin promised he would one day introduce me to his wife. He invited me to meet her and a number of Brahmin ladies, who assembled at his house to perform some ceremony in honour of Parvati, the wife of Siva. I did not approve of the occasion of the meeting: but idolatrous ceremonies are thus interwoven in all their intercourse. I told my Brahmin host, in presence of his friends, that, though I was come by his invitation to visit his wife, I hoped it was understood that I paid no respect to the idolatrous ceremony; because I did not believe in their gods. He said that was fully understood. "But I was disappointed in the object of my visit: the women all kept aloof from me, as from a being of another species. I claimed the Brahmin's promise, to introduce me to his wife, and beckoned to her, but she disliked to approach me. I rose to meet her; when the Brahmin exclaimed, Oh, mind you do not touch her!' She drew her garment over her face; and, perceiving they were all afraid of pollution, I expressed a hope that another day we might have an opportunity of becoming better acquainted, and withdrew. "We had again an invitation from our friend the Brahmin. Mrs. Mitchell and I went. The Brahmin assured us, that the only reason why the ladies would not converse with us was, that they were not accustomed to do so with strangers in pre sence of the master of the house. I therefore, as politely as I could, requested him either to withdraw, or to allow us to go with the ladies into another apartment. He kindly consented to leave us alone with them; and I was much gratified to find them then ready to converse freely. They asked me many questions; one of the first was, Why we wore no ornaments? I said it was not our custom; and that our Shaster taught us that a woman should be adorned with good works, rather than with gold or silver. A great deal of the conversation turned upon ornaments, a favourite subject among Mahratta ladies. They asked also, if, among us, widows were permitted to marry again. The Brahminees seem more intelligent than other women; and it is far easier to converse with them than with the other castes, as they use the same kind of expressions which we learn from the pundit and from books. "The Hindoo females are immoderately fond of outward adorning, of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold; and this taste seems to be instilled into them from their earliest years. I asked a little girl who was reading to me about the hare, why it had long ears? She unhesitatingly replied, To wear plenty of ear-rings.' The pundit remarked, that, were the nethermillstone a gem, the females of his nation would hang it about their necks. But personal cleanliness seldom seems to enter into their idea of beauty: plenty of gold and silver bangles, with pearls and gems, is the height of their ambition and admiration ! "A painful circumstance has occurred in the school. We had a very interesting girl about sixteen years old: she is clever, and had learned to read before any of the others. I was in hopes she might soon be useful in the school, and thus have an opportunity of gaining a comfortable and honest maintenance. I had held out this prospect to her; but a few days ago, I found that the wretched girl had been married to an idol; that is, dedicated to the service of the temple, and devoted to prostitution. I sent for the mother and daughter, and implored them not to throw away their own souls. I offered to take the girl into our service, and to maintain her ; the poor child seemed willing to comply, but the mother was inexorable. It had cost her, she said, 500 rupees to devote this victim to the gods: she is now their property, and the wages of her iniquity support the family. I said How can you, her mother, bear to give up your own child to shame and everlasting contempt?' She answered, She has been married to the gods: among us, there is no shame attached to the practice.'”—Miss. Reg., March. SIR JOHN MALCOLM. The Bombay Courier contains a sketch of the character of the late Sir John Malcolm, from which we extract some passages : Educated as he had been for so many years in a camp, his manner was characterized by openness and frankness, with a perfect freedom from haughtiness or affectation. He was accessible at all times, however occupied by business, both to Europeans and natives, and uniformly received them in the most friendly and unconstrained manner, and without any unnecessary etiquette. He possessed a most excellent temper, which almost nothing could ruffle, or, if it did, it was only for a moment; a generous warm-hearted disposition; and an uncommon buoyancy of spirits: always cheerful and happy him self, and delighting to see every one happy around him. His conversation was always animated, frequently eloquent, and abounded in endless anecdotes, equally amusing and instructive, which he related with great humour and effect. "Having been removed from school at the early age of twelve, his education was necessarily imperfect and it is not one of the least of the merits of this distinguished officer, that, by subsequent reading and study, and by habitual application and industry, assisted by a most capacious and retentive memory, he triumphed over this early disadvantage, and, amid the numerous avocations of a most active life, found leisure for the acquisition of that varied and extensive knowledge for which he was so pre-eminent. He shewed remarkable readiness in the acquisition of languages: and although, he never claimed the title of a philologist, he possessed a considerable knowledge of Latin, Greek, French, Persian, Hindoostanee, and Jelingay. The three latter, especially Persian, he spoke with almost as much fluency as English. Himself an occasional wooer of the muses, he had a great fondness for poetry, espe cially for the standard poetry of the English Augustan age, comprising the works of Milton, Pope, Dryden, and Goldsmith; and among the poets of later times, Burns was his favourite author. Of all the orators and statesmen of modern times, he professed the greatest admiration of the talents and principles of Burke, whose published speeches and writings he considered not only as master-pieces of the highest order of eloquence, but as the most perfect models of sound practical statesmanship. “His distinguished gallantry and mili tary skill were equalled, if not surpassed, by the sagacity which he displayed as a diplomatist and statesman. His political *"He never left home, even for a few days, without carrying with him Burns'. Poems, Burke's Maxims, and the Book of Common Prayer." life may be said to have commenced when he was sent as an ambassador to Persia in 1799, and since that period he has negotiated treaties with almost every native power in India. In his intercourse with foreign states, he was conciliating but firm: and uniformly sought to further the true interests of the government he represented, by an open and straightforward course, without countenancing, or practising, any of those intrigues which are too often had recourse to, both by statesmen, and diplomatists. By steadily pursing this course, although he might occasionally lose a temporary advantage, this was far more than counterbalanced by the confidence he inspired. 6 "Amid all the bustle of an active life, so many years of which; were spent in the field, Sir John Malcolm found leisure to establish a distinguished reputation as an author. Engaged as he had been in the most important transactions, military and political, which have occurred in India during nearly half a century, and conver sant, as he was, beyond most other men, with the character, habits and customs of that country, his published works convey a greater mass of information on these subjects, than is to be found in the writings of any other author; and no works upon Indian subjects have been more generally read in England, with the exception of Bishop Heber's admirable Journal. His History' and his Sketches' of Persia, also, are full of interest and information. His style is characterized by sound masculine sense, clothed in strong nervous language. Its principal fault is its occasional diffuseness and his sentences are sometimes intricate and involved. This partly arose from the rapidity with which he ge nerally composed. No man we have ever met with possessed, in a more remarkable degree, the talent of applying all the resources of his mind at pleasure to writing or study on any subject, and of transferring with the utmost readiness his attention might be the press of public business, he from one subject to another. However great preserved his mind perfectly calin and unruffled: no noise, no confusion, disturbed or annoyed him, "His hours of relaxation from business were uniformly spent in active amusements, into which he entered with all the playfulness and spirit of a boy, and with all the ardour with which he engaged in more important pursuits. He was passionately fond of horses, and had always a large and well selected stud; he entered with great enthusiasm into all the sports of the field, hunting, coursing, and shooting; he excelled in several gymnastic exercises; he was a good billiard-player, and was a great proficient in the different games of cards. Although bred in camps, and ma tured amid the intrigues of diplomacy, Sir John was peculiarly susceptible of the enjoyments of domestic life. He was most warmly attached to his family; kind and generous to all his relations. To his servants he was ever kind and indulgent: all' of them were strongly attached to him, and some had served him for a period of twenty or even thirty years. He was singularly fond of children, and would frequently romp with them, for an hour or two in the evening, with a boyish playfulness of manner that never failed to win their attachment. "The character of Sir John Malcolm, as we have thus imperfectly sketched it, presents a rare union of high intellectual attainment with sound moral worth. The only fault with which it was chargeable, was an excess of vanity-not that species of vanity, be it remarked, whose tendency is to generate pride, but rather that modification of the passion, which proceeds from a desire of approbation, and inordinate love of fame. On this part of our subject we are satisfied to remark; 'how perfect must have been the worth, in which no greater fault could be discovered!' "It only remains to say a few words regarding his personal appearance. He was upwards of six feet one in height; his figure was erect, and well proportioned; and he had a very commanding soldierlike carriage. His countenance was open and animated, and the features strongly marked, and expressive of benevolence, as well as of firmness and decision. But the most striking feature in his appearance was his finely-formed head. The upper part of it was wonderfully capacious, shewing a very marked development of the organs of firmness, veneration, benevolence, and love of approbation, with a somewhat defective development of the organ of form :-all of which indications corresponded, very strikingly, with the manifestation of his character." CIVIL WAR IN SINDE. By letters from the northward, it appears that Sinde is likely to become the scene of an obstinate civil war, now that the elder and principal ameer is dead. The son of this man, Noor Mahomed, has lately been raised to the vacant musnud, in opposition to three other candidates; but it is thought that he will hardly be able to maintain himself in it, as each of his opponents is arming his followers and preparing for a struggle. It is said, also, that Shooja-oo! Moolk, the deposed king of Caubul, is determined to assert his claims to the sovereignty of Sinde, and, as he has a large force with him, that his chances of success are considered good. Should be obtain possession of the country, there can be little doubt that he would adopt a more liberal policy towards foreigners than his predecessors have done, and as far as British interests are concerned, therefore, his success is a matter of some importance.-Bomb. Cour., Dec. 7. Ceylon. NEW COUNCILS. Government Notification.-The right hon. the Governor, having received his Majesty's commission, revoking so much of the letters patent granted on the 23d of April 1831 as relates to the council of government thereby established, and further declaring his Majesty's most gracious pleasure that there shall be two separate councils, viz. one to be called the legislative council, and another the executive council, to be constituted in such manner as is directed by instructions given to the governor, or according to future instructions, his Excellency is pleased to notify that the undermentioned public officers are appointed to be ex officio members of the legislative council, vix. The chief justice of the Supreme Court; the senior officer in command of his Majesty's land forces, and not being in the administration of the government; the colonial secretary; the auditor general; the colonial treasurer; the government agents for the western central provinces; the surveyor general; the collector of customs. And the executive council will consist of the several persons following, viz. the senior officer in command of his Majesty's land forces and not being in the administration of the government; the colonial secretary; the king's advocate; the colonial treasurer; the government agent for the central province. STEAM COMMUNICATION. At a meeting held at the King's House, on the 2d Oct., to take into consideration matters connected with a steam communi cation between England and India; the Governor in the Chair; a letter, addressed to the secretary of the Colombo meeting by the secretary of the Steam Committee at Bombay, in reply to the question contained in the 5th resolution of the Colombo meeting of the 11th July last, was read, stating that "with regard to the information you require as to the liability of subscribers, for shares in the steamfund, in the event of loss, beyond the amount of the shares, the committee regret to say, that they cannot afford it as satisfactorily as they could wish; but as they have not the smallest intention of proceed ing, in the experiment of opening a steam communication with Europe, to such an extent as to incur any risk of loss beyond what the means placed at their disposal will easily cover, they trust that no appre |