cenotaph in honour of the most noble the Marquis of Hastings, held this day at the Town Hall, present, The Hon. Sir C. E. Grey, T. A. Prinsep, Esq., Capt. Caldwell, The Hon. Sir Charles Grey having been requested to take the chair, stated, that his engagements in Court would prevent him from remaining during the proceedings of the Committee, when the Hon. W. B. Bayley was solicited, and agreed to act as Chairman. The following Resolutions were then moved, and unanimously adopted: '1. That an application be made by the Committee to Government for a suitable piece of ground, in some public and conspicuous situation, on which to erect the proposed building. 2. That application be made in the meantime, by the secretary, in the name of the Committee, to gentlemen residing in the country, soliciting their support and subscriptions; both from the Europeans and Natives, and that the principal authority at each station be requested to remit the amount to the treasurers. 3. That Government be respectfully requested to give permission for the proceedings of the general meeting and Committee being forwarded free of postage to the principal civil and military officers at each station in the interior. 4. That the Committee will be thankful to any gentlemen who may be pleased to favour them with plans, &c. of the proposed monument; and they request such gentlemen to communicate on the subject with either of the secretaries. 5. That Captain Caldwell be requested to act as a joint secretary, and to open a correspondence with gentlemen resident in the country. 6. That the proceedings and resolutions be translated into Persian, Bengallee, and Hindoostanee, for the purpose of general circulation among the Native inhabitants under this Presidency. 7. That the next meeting of the Committee shall take place at the Town Hall on the first Monday of November. 8. That the proceedings of this meeting be published for general information. 'The amount subscribed at the close of this meeting was 12,571 rupees, or about 1250l. sterling.' The Bombay Papers are as barren as usual of interesting information. The most remarkable thing we find in them is the following document put forth by a certain member of the Parsees, named therein, as to some religious dispute, which is eminently curious. It is as follows: The undersigned members of the Committee of the Shersayan branch of Parsees, feel great reluctance in trespassing on the time of the public, but they feel that reluctance in a more powerful degree as it respects the valuable time of those honourable public functionaries to whom the subject will have a reference. The subject has already been before the Indian public in the Native newspapers and other Native publications, and so far as regarded the faith and interest of those whom it particularly concerned, it perhaps might be excuseable. The subject of the dispute arose from the circumstance of a Dustoor having privately communicated his design of publishing a book relating to the Kubbeesa. An editorial and public remark in the Bombay Summachar compelled him to compile the work: however it was candidly and respectfully urged to the advocates of the other side to withhold the refutation of the work above alluded to, through periodical papers, and it was pointed out to them that such a proceeding would have the effect of stirring up the feelings of the Parsee nation. They, however, heard in vain, and instead of a temperate and sincere discussion to enlighten the people and arrive at the truth through the medium of every person's own understanding, the main points in dispute were overlooked, and a violent and irrational style of writing adopted in the newspapers. Subsequently, they invited and excited (with the malevolent design of taking advantage thereof ultimately) those who were entirely inclined to withhold discussions of a religious nature, which affect the feelings of thousands. The original language of an old book was misinterpreted in such a manner has the subject of contention been handled, whenever the progress of truth has made an impression in favour of the Shersayans proved as that truth has been from ancient authorities the natural course of histories, and particularly by the admission of the fact by the opposite party. It was then that the chief advocate of the Churiguryans upon the slightest pretence declined discussing any more in the public papers, and even refused to show the books which he cited as his own evidence, and which he previously offered to the public to lend for their perusal and satisfaction even to a distance of 2000 MILES. It is painful to the Shersayans to remember these things, but the notice of the Churiguryans, in the shape of an advertisement, in 'The Bombay Courier' of the 7th of July last,* has much sur prised and shocked the religious feelings of the Parsec nation. What, are the Churiguryans unable to maintain their opinion by the force of reason and understanding? Are they not yet satisfied by the very documents which have been produced in the evidence of their own allegations? Will it be believed, in the ancient provinces of Persia, that the Churiguryans are obliged to submit their holy differences to arbitration? Or, can a man of common sense for a moment believe that the holy and religious difference is to be determined by an arbitrator? The Shersayans are entirely fearless as to whose hands the matter shall be submitted; but upon the heads of the Churiguryans, and of their children to the very latest generation, let such a submission rest! Let them reflect what they are about; let them also, at the same time, submit to arbitration the truth of our holy and ancient religion! Where is the difference between one submission and the other? But such an offer of submission is easily seen through; the Churiguryans, 700 in number, are opposed by the Shersayans, 40,000 in number! Such a majority would have its due weight with men of learning and philosophers. Amongst all sensible nations and people, the majority constitute the law. The Shersayans do not fear the result of any inquiry, as the numbers of authorities on both sides have strengthened them to argue and elucidate the truth which they maintain and believe, The appeal to our honourable and enlightened governor they receive and hail with pleasure and satisfaction, and submit with cheerfulness to the decisions of so enlightened and good a man. Let the Churiguryans then nominate their arbitrators, if they are serious in such reference; let them fix times and place of meeting; let them prepare a petition to select the umpires. Upon what books, or authorities, or evidence, are they to decide? Are they to be the ancient histories of our nation, or are the books to be of a religious, or what other descriptions? Are the French, English, or Latin, or Persian, or Arabic authorities, to be received or rejected? In short, by what kind of evidence is the question to be determined? Should the Churiguryans fail in the plan they proposed for settling the serious matter at issue, let each party send an humble memorial, with all documents, to one of the learned Universities in England, for the justification thereof. "All these matters the Churiguryans will have the kindness and condescension to explain, that every previous difficulty may be removed, and that the light of reason and truth may meet with no barriers or impediments in its progress to the hearts and understandings of our judges. For the benefit of those persons who are uninformed as to the nature of the dispute in question, the undersigned beg to state, that both the Shersayans and Churiguryans admit the existence of the Kubbeesa, or Intercalation; with this difference, that the former maintain it was purely a religious observance, and the latter allege that it was an intercalation of one month, at the end of every 120 years, to enable the Government to collect the revenue, and keep the harvest on a regular and equal footing. Now, if it was, as the Churiguryans assert, merely for the collection of revenue, it stands to reason, that there could have existed no objection to the doing so every four years.-And we beg to subscribe, Sir, your most obedient servants, THIS day, a General Quarterly Court of Proprietors was held at the India House. The minutes of last Court having been read, The CHAIRMAN read the Resolution of the Court of Directors, declaring the interest of the Company's stock, from the 5th of July last to the 5th of January next, at 54 per cent, which was confirmed. GRANT TO CAPTAIN THOMAS BUCHANAN. 1. The CHAIRMAN informed the Court, that it was made special for the purpose of submitting for its approbation a Resolution of the Court of Directors, granting to Captain Thomas Buchanan, of the Bombay Marines, 8007. per annum. Previous to putting this motion, the Chairman wished to say a few words to the General Court, on the grounds on which it had been brought forward; and he begged to assure the Proprietors, that it was not in any way because Captain Buchanan had not performed his duty well, but because his Majesty having been graciously pleased to approve of the Lord High Admiral's proposition, to grant to the Marines a relative rank with his Majesty's navy, it was thought best to select a careful, able, and skilful officer of his Majesty's navy, to carry into effect this mark of Royal favour. He was extremely happy that this mark of Royal pleasure had been obtained for the Bombay Marines, and it would be unjust to supersede a gentleman, not because he was not perfectly competent to fulfil the duties of the office, but because the Court of Di rectors had thought it beneficial to have the Bombay Marines placed on an equal footing with his Majesty's navy. Had Captain Buchanan been allowed to continue in the service, he would have saved a sum which would have enabled him to purchase, in this country, an annuity of 8001. Captain MAXFIELD wished to ask one question. The motion did not set forth any other claim of Captain Buchanan to this grant, than his disappointment in seeing a Navy officer appointed to the office he expected to hold. He wished to know how long he had held the situation of Superintendent of the Bombay Marines? The CHAIRMAN answered, for two years. Captain MAXFIELD said, it appeared to him that this grant was given for two years' service, as well as for the disappointment which Mr. Buchanan felt. He wished to know whether this appointment had been given to Mr. Buchanan after or before application had been made to the Lord High Admiral for a change of system. Looking at the inefficient state of the Bombay Marines for a long time past, he should have thought that the corps would have done better without any Superintendent at all; and the disgraceful state in which that corps had been sent to Ava, afforded sufficient grounds of censure. For all the reasons he could see for the present grant, he thought it might be just as well 80007. as 8007. He should, therefore, though he might stand alone, oppose the motion The CHAIRMAN stated, that Mr. Buchanan had received the appointment in 1825. With respect to the inefficiency of the Bombay Marines sent to Ava, he thought, if they really had been inefficient, Sir James Brisbane (now, unfortunately, no more) would not have said that they vied with his Majesty's navy. Captain MAXFIELD wished to know, whether an application had not been made to the Board of Control in 1823? The CHAIRMAN understood that Captain Buchanan had been appointed long before the present arrangement had been entered upon. The Directors had, without doubt, long wished to obtain that right for the Marines for which their endeavours had at length been successful. Mr. HUME wished to say a few words, not so much to the amount, as to the grounds of the grant; for, if disappointment was to be considered a sufficient ground for a pension, there was scarcely any gentleman in their service but might come forward with such a complaint. He thought it most extraordinary that the Court should be called upon to grant a pension of 8007. per annum for scarcely two years' service, when there were many Captains (his friend, Captain Maxfield, for instance) who retired' on the small pittance of 2907. a year, after twenty-five or thirty years' service. He thought that the present motion was made at a bad time, when the Government in India were almost bankrupts, and the Company's expenditure exceeded its income; and he thought it would have been better for the executive of the Company to provide for Mr. Buchanan by appointing him to the first vacant office in India suitable to his rank. He thought it surprising to grant a pension of 800%. to a person who had only served two years; and he hoped his hon. Friend would take the sense of the Court on the present motion. The CHAIRMAN, in answer to some observation of Mr. Hume, stated |