the English Government,' being this day taken into consideration, Mr. Sheridan moved, That one of the said printed books be burnt by the hands of the common hangman in the New Palace-yard, Westminster, on Monday, the 21st day of this instant December, at one of the clock in the afternoon; and that another of the said printed books be burnt by the hands of the common hangman before the Royal Exchange, in London, on Tuesday the 22d day of this instant December, at the same hour; and that the sheriffs of London and Middlesex do attend at the said times and places respectively, and cause the same to be burnt there accordingly.' As an amendment to this motion, Mr. Secretary Dundas moved, "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, humbly to desire his majesty that he will be graciously pleased to give directions to his AttorneyGeneral to prosecute John Reeves, Esquire, as the author or pub lisher of a printed pamphlet, entitled 'Thoughts on the English Government,' &c.

Mr. Fox said,―That as a pamphlet, such as this, had been brought before the House, they should not content themselves with a mere vote of censure, but should make the pamphlet undergo, as it were, the ignominious punishment of burning.' Arguments had been used to show, that the House, if they adopted the motion, would, at the same time, be judge and jury. Is it not in the nature of things that it must be so ?'-About punishment he was little solicitous, and he should even have cared little about burning the pamphlet, if Mr. Reeves had not been at the head of these Associations; and if this, and other pamphlets, circulated by these Associations, had not proceeded from the same shop. The removal from a place of trust was certainly a severe punishment; but was it not inflicted in cases where particular tests were not taken? Had it not been inflicted in similar cases to the present? In the case of the Bishop of Worcester, who had interfered in an election, did not the House petition the Queen to remove him from the office of Almoner to her majesty?'

Mr. Sheridan's motion was put, and negatived; after which, Mr. Dundas's motion for the Attorney-General to proceed against Mr. Reeves was agreed to.*

* On the trial of John Vint, in 1799, for a libel on the Emperor of Russia, the same Attorney-General said, In the case of Mr. Reeves, perhaps, I hardly conduct myself as I ought to have done, having, from delicacy, abstained in the House of Commons from taking any share in the debate; whereas I ought rather to have followed the example of Lord Hardwicke, and have spoken my sentiments upon it, and after the address was voted, have begged that his Majesty might command the alleged libel to be prosecuted by some other of his servants. I admit the paragraph complained of in the book of Mr. Reeves was improper, but upon reading the whole of it, I thought it manifest that the author had no evil intention.'-State Trials, vol. xxvii. p. 639.

The jury pronounced Mr. Reeves NOT GUILTY. To complete this memorable case, and to throw additional light on Mr. Fox's sentiments as to the treatment of libel, it is only necessary to add the following passage from his speech, November 30, 1795, that is between the introduction into, and final disposal by, the House of Commons of Mr. Reeves's pamphlet: The honourable and learned gentleman has spoken of libels against the King and other persons. His opinion was, that libelling the King and individuals had not been sufficiently punished! He would prosecute, with the utmost severity, all libels on the characters of persons, with whatever party they were connected. The most exemplary rigour of that sort he would connect with equal temperance in respect to libels of another description. He would punish whatever reflected on the dignity of the Chief Magistrate, or the fair fame of individuals, and all political libels he would leave to themselves; discussion on Government,so far as they did not interfere with private character, he would permit to pass entirely unrestrained; that was the way to make the Press respected and useful.'

HARP OF THE SOUL!

HARP of the Soul! oh, breathe to me
The anthem that my Laura taught,
In youth's exulting melody,

When all with hope and joy was fraught.

Then fondly did my heart rejoice

To hear thy chords with magic strung;

And the deep cadence of the voice

That from her burst of rapture sprung.

Wake the wild spell, with transport blent,
The Syren o'er the senses threw,

As low her fragile form she bent,

And from thy chords such music drew.

Her eye of inspiration beamed

The softened ray of pure devotion;
Or then with Love's own lightning gleamed,
As swelled the strain in deep emotion.

But, silent Harp! thy music fled

With Laura's evanescent love;
And now, forlorn, to sadness wed,
I mourn the joy I ne'er may prove.
Yet thou, deserted Harp! art dear

To him, like thee, thus left alone ;
While fond affection lingers near,
To worship, though the idol's gone!

JANET.

DECLINING ATTACHMENT AND FIDELITY OF THE BENGAL ARMY.

SIR,

To the Editor of the Oriental Herald.

Calcutta, July, 1827. Ir is a fact, universally acknowledged throughout the Bengal army, that the attachment of the Native soldiers towards the service and their European officers, has of late years very much diminished, and that this diminution increases daily, to the great deterioration of this army.

The consequences which must naturally ensue in the course of time, should the Company's dominion in the East be seriously attacked, (and the time, I fear, is not far distant when it will be,) is worthy of consideration. It is my opinion, that, in such a crisis, the Bengal army, constituted and treated as it now is, will fail the Government. Late events in this country have too plainly manifested the little hold which Government and their European officers have upon the exertions of the Native soldiers; and it becomes the duty of every well-wisher to the service, to endeavour, if possible, to discover and point out the causes of the evil, as well as to suggest those remedies which may remove it.

Under this impression, I am led to give my opinion, founded on a close observation of between twenty and thirty years.

The causes of the diminution of attachment to the military service in the Natives are too numerous and minute to detail, but they may almost all be fairly traced to the grand error of Government,—a want of consideration and respect for the Bengal army, both Europeans and Natives; for, say what they will, this is, and must be, a Military Government. This error is not confined solely to the Government, but descends to the Commanders-in-Chief (ever since Lord Lake's time) and King's General officers on the staff of this army; it is also seen in the conduct of commanding officers of Native corps, whose interest in, and connection with them, is materially lessened by the little permanency of their commands, and curtailment of authority both to reward and punish those under them. Commanding officers of regiments, feeling themselves treated with little consideration and respect, in the partiality shown to those of his Majesty, retort the same line of conduct upon those under their command, and, trusting to their authority being supported against their inferiors, act sometimes with glaring partiality towards their officers and men, alienating the respect and attachment of both; and thus the system descends through all ranks. The erroneous doctrine held by many, that a commanding officer's authority is not to be called in question by those under his command, though exerted in the cause of partiality, because it would create insubordination, is highly injurious. A commanding officer's Oriental Herald, Vol. 16.

I

conduct ought to be guided by that rule of impartiality which can leave no room for its being called in question, and subordination from respect will be best maintained by such a line of conduct; a soldier's mouth may be shut by penalties, but his thoughts cannot be controlled; and the soldier of this army, when reduced to a mere passive machine, is little fit for the service that is required of him; his attachment and respect is necessary to make him efficient in the great day of need to this Government, which must sooner or later arrive.

Much has been said and written, drawing an invidious comparison between the Native and European troops; but I would ask, are they on fair and equal terms ? Officer the Native regiments as fully as those of his Majesty, and treat them with the same respect and consideration, and then see what they will be! It may be judged of from what they have performed under all the disadvantages of ill treatment, and a shameful paucity of European officers.

Duty alone, in the imperfection of human nature, is not a sufficient stimulus to action; interest ought to be coupled with it, when it can be done without offering too great a temptation to forget the former, in pursuit of the latter object; this refers to the regimental bazars, now a mere shadow without substance.

It cannot be disputed but that regimental bazars were much more efficient when commanding officers had an interest in their being well supplied, by the personal benefits accruing from them, than they are under the present system; the evil to the soldier in the tax formerly levied is by no means decreased, but transferred only from the hands of the cominanding officer to a chowdry; nay, I may venture to assert, without fear of contradiction, that the evil is rather increased than diminished, for no one acquainted with the Natives of this country will doubt, that where a European could make 100 rupees a month, a Native would make double that amount, and without the same efficiency of supply.

I may here point out one considerable cause of the difficulty of filling our ranks with good and efficient men: it is the diminution of the pay of the Native soldier. When I say the diminution of the pay, I am not to be understood as asserting that such in amount is lessened, but it is lessened in value by the vast increase in price (at least from 50 to 150 per cent.) of every necessary article of his consumption. With all other classes of the community in this, as well as every other country, the price of labour has increased with the price of the necessary articles of subsistence; with the Bengal soldier it remains the same.

The causes of the diminution of attachment and respect in the Native soldiers to their European officers are many; but the main source of this evil also, has its rise in the little consideration and respect in which the European officers are apparently held by Government; this has the baneful effect of destroying their zeal and

exertion in upholding the service to their men, and the interest they should show in their welfare, the abuse of which naturally creates a corresponding diminution of attachment and respect in them.

This want of consideration and respect by Government is too plainly manifested in numerous ways, and sensibly felt by them, though I shall not here point them out, with the exception of one or two. I believe it will not be denied, that there is a strong necessity, in an army constituted as this is, and under a Military Government such as this is, held by a name, to increase and uphold the respect and veneration for the European character, and particularly in the eyes of our soldiery for their European officers; for call this Government what name you will, it is, and ever must be, to all intents and purposes, a Military Government. What then must be the effect both upon Europeans and Natives of such a measure as the institution of the Military Courts of Request, but to degrade European officers in the eyes of the Natives, by being brought before them upon every trifling complaint, whether well or ill founded?—it was a measure highly prejudicial to sound policy. Sufficient authority is, or ought to be, vested in a commanding officer of a regiment to settle such claims as are brought before him; but the trouble is now taken off his hands. Surely it was a trouble properly appertaining to his situation, and he has always officers under him to have recourse to in cases of difficulty. What, again, I would ask, must be the effect of such an instance of want of consideration towards their European officers as we have lately witnessed, when all medical assistance was taken from a detachment of 30 or 40 cadets, proceeding up the country, under the charge of an experienced and valuable officer: and they were left to proceed, even without a supply of medicine. This valuable officer (a better was not in the service) lost his life for want of medical assistance. This officer told me, with tears in his eyes, that it was shameful and cruel to see so many fine lads diseased in the state they were, without any kind of medical aid. It must be pretty well known to Government, that young men, just entered into this country, are more liable to disease, from imprudence, and the effects of climate, than those of more mature age and greater experience, and consequently require more medical assistance; but these young officers were not treated even with the consideration the same number of private European soldiers would have been; I doubt much if any general officer on the Staff would have ventured to have taken away all medical aid from such a detachment of privates, proceeding as these officers were. It is no argument to say, that Government were ignorant of the transaction: they ought not to have been ignorant of it; it could not have been done without being reported to the Commander-in-Chief, whose duty it should be to attend to the welfare of every part of the army intrusted to his charge; and when such palpable want of consideration and common humanity occur in inferiors, if their conduct is not noticed by Government with the