The Carolina Spartan, 1856-03-20

p sonsc, wo con strued his orders lo retire j The it of reach of the cannon balls, and so we { serili ist kinder countermarched. The General Tl ml ftomo difficulty in interpreting this \ appe ccuso to Humbert, who shock his head, j Chct id continued to tho day of his death ' sanu rofoundly skeptical of the soldierly quali ( Tl es of tho Tcniiessccant. screi The Use ol Torture in India. ! In the Edinburgh lie view for January, j [,rc;l, ust published by L. Scott <iz Co.) is a re- ,)arl), arkabio article on the uso of torturo in ! ,)0j?| i.at part of British India known as the UTCn adras Presidency. The facts are made ,,|ac( uowii through tho oflicial report of coin- , ,nort issioners appointed to make investigation tj10 j to alleged cases of torture, "submitted to j |ieav 10 Governor in Council of Fort St. George, tjJC i the 10th of April, 1835, and prcrented , jj i Parliament by command of her Majcs- j jc|jv This report forms the basis of tho .,oon ticlo in tho Edinburgh Quarterly. The viewer says that tho Ind an Govoiuinetit i|ien) chargeable with something more than ! j]n?c issivo acquiescence in the toituro system ] coln< hich formerly prevailed under the nntive ' <j*j jvernments; that in British India the hor- joiiu ?rs which formerly prevailed in Oinle have a sl0( ?on perpetrated; and that the British ad- uraj inistrutioii of the land system, "although cj|>iy r more merciful than that of the native c|0^|, ivernmcnts, has not been meli as to put i end to the traditionary evils which have tj10 ( tended the collection of the land revenue ^|ltf every part of Indin." And ibis position j ic reviewer proceeds to establish by the neck cts narrated in the report of the coinmis- curj0 oners above referred lo. vj0lc In a debate which took place in the j }loUr ouso of Commons, on the 11th of June, jjOIl 354, for tho creation <>f this commission, tj(0 ^ was formally alleged that in the collec- pCna >u of the land revenue in tho Presidency sjtij|, Madras, the Government oflicials weie wq tlie habit of employing t<>itiito. The nl- |e ( gnliou was denied and even ridiculed by | tjOI1 io Board ol East India Directors, l>y many ! Rl||, embers of the House of Commons who i id lesidetl in India, and woic supposed to ! ev"n i familiar with the administration of the vjcj? overnmcut there, and was disbelieved by ccr majority of the House. The statement, n??'jv jwever, was solemnly and earnestly re- j jated and persisted in, and in the end the 'iq r. o ,.r .1... ii 1 i < -i I

carta were loaded with whiskey barrels, and ol at every halt there was a general bibation. ot Mingled with tho men, who thus encuin- ju bered Humbert's march, were many wo- hi mcu and children. Tho small, regular, cj compact body of disciplined soldiers, look- ni ed even smaller from being enveloped by pi such a rabble. They were perplexed and li astounded at the conduct of their allies ? of patriots, who would bear no restraint, submit to no discipline, who all wanted to i be officers, chiefs, and leaders, who sneered ; ,. at tho generous devotion of their allies, and frowned on any assumption of authority by them. Humbert saw at a glance tho folly ^ ; and hopelessness of tho enterprise. t "Wo shall all bo taken, and probably ' | shot," lie remarked to his aid; 4 but then !u Franco will bo committed to tho enterprise, Jj1 . and will bo bound to avenge us. So i 1 1 Vive la llepublique! Vive la ll*j)ubliquc! , ' En cvant! JSn cva>it."" Ami thus tho enthusiastic and heroic ^ , Frenchman advanced rapidly towards Can| tlebar. Here he encountered a considcra- . ; bio force of royalists, strongly posted with J artillery. Tho French battalion steadily ''' : advanced on the royalists, but a few dis1 charges of tho English guns scattered in ! every direction Humbert's nuxiliaies. Char- I ^ ging gallantly with his Frenchmen, Hum- | * I bort succeeded in putting the royalists to . ^ flight with considerable loss, and achieved I i a brilliant and decided victory. He then p ' made a triumphal entry into the town of, ' Castlebar. Hero he was joined in greatly j . I augmented numbers l?y tho peasantry of: ^ the country, who with scythes, pikes, and ^ j c>vcry r:ulc weapon imaginable, crowded i . into the town and made it hideous with I ! their wild rcveliy. They imagined that jj tho lasi blow had been struck, and that Ireland was now free. Humbert was com- . ' polled to tairv here for the reinforcements ^ , daily and hourly expected from France, j I These reinforcements were rayidly proceed- | ing to Kitlala, but unfortunately the fleet j under Hompard, which was convoying i ^ them, was attacked in tho bay of Killala by the s<piadron of .Sir John Warren, and | entirely destroyed. Thus was Humbert's j'last hope annihilated. j Meantime Lord Curnwalli*, with a pow- :i erful army, was gradually surrounding |? llumheit. as ho himself loul Iwah

111 wish indeed that I lie whole evidence coti! | be proved untrustworthy and fata. lJu tiiis wo iegret cannot be. There aro tli instruments of torture. As wo hare see above, lire majority of the officials n.ltni j that they use them, and scarcely any den their being resorted to. All the te?timon has undergone the scrutiny of the commit , sioners. Some of it was derived from th ! Courts themselves. Some was "drawn fron the official returns of a class of Europeat witnesses who would be deeply interest* in concealing the facts if it had been possi l?lo to do so?the collectors, sub-coffectorr I judges, magistrates, surgeon*, and otlie . civil servants of the Government; part fron the testimony of merchants, clergymen and others unconnected with the adininis . tration; but by far the most curious am j interesting portion consists o? the writtei ; or oral statements of the aggrieved partie i themselves. Native testimony in India i; proverbially deceitful, and there is n< proposition which may not be establishes in an Indian Court of Justice by prepare* witnesses; but in tli's case, the Commission ers themselves declare thnt the variety ani extent of the evidence precludes the possi bility of fraud." They say: "In consequence of a certain notificatioi disseminated almost simultaneous over tin whole Presidency, without any pretioui warning or notice, ll)o9 complaints wcrr preferred within the space of three months by parlies, the great majority of whom could have hnd no means of acting in con ceil, poor, ignorant, and penniless,dwelling at great distances from, and totally mi known to each other, and using even vari ous languages; yet these complaints, oik and all, speak to similar facts, detail similai practices, ascribe similar causes for theii treatment. If this be a concocted plan, ii is the most singular conspiracy in tin world's history; but indeed the above con ditions preclude iho possibility of ant other conclusion than that the acts of vio louco complained of are commonly prac tiscd." All this?and the half of tho Jiorron have not been told in this article?witliir seven years, transpiring probably only ; few mouths ago, under the rule of h Chris linn Government! It is appalling, an<1 1 would have been incredible had the fact)

? - ?..V ?! Uk illU AIICU1^% kw VI! list in the Republican territory?we am unquestionably in the wrong. In neithe. case is our honor engaged; in neither case r ' does any principle which ought to be main* , tain I'd stand behind the formal terms at > the disagreement?thus presenting a true , ground of quarrel, as in the Russian War, I w hich the genius of the nation can seice . aud nccejil. Our statesmen might? and r tnust?find in tho resources of diploma* r ' r a means of satisfying all interests without > an insane appeal to the sword. Where we : re clearly wrong, we should at once and fully admit our error, making whaleri or reparation is fairly due. It is said the | Washington Cabinet requires the with, I drawnl of Mr. Crampton. 8urcly this i? ; j no extreme or revolutionary request. Per. sonal unpopularity hrts always been consid# i ered a sufiicient reason for requiring the ; ; withdrawal of an ambassador. We could , give a hundred Instances in w!:?cb sovereign . |K>wers have exercised this right. Under j j such circumstances withdrawal does not I imply censure. It merelv implies that the . |x*rsonal relations of the ruler and the min* \ istcr hare become such ns to impede the I transaction of public busincs*. We were f wiong in attempting to recruit within the _ Union. Mr. Crampton was the instrument j of tho wrong, lie has thereby rendered > 1 himself an objev-t of suspicion at Washing-' t?>n. His withdrawal, therefore, at the re | quest of the American Cabinet, would be in accordance with usnge, and would be a . ' sure pledgo of the sincerity of our ackuowl' 9 ! cdguieut of the original error. Strong na, lions can afford to l?e graceful in their con* s j cessions. ,! *Tho other, points afe less deaf. Yet, if j i a proper spirit of conciliation preside* at r the discussion, we havo no reason to fear a L. 1 permanent disagreement. We have a rifcht f to expect that our diplomatists and pirbiii? writers will approach the discussion in a ? pacific mood. Above all things, we depreh cato a tnciiacing tone. We cannot read without indignation the elaborate display p of our naval and military powers which

i V V"V l'( ; ed by the I* reneh and Americans at Yoik- j> | town, Virginia, some fifteen yeais before. I ,M As t!ic rumors of the approach of the jj, lSriti.-.li began to thicken upon him. Hum- |j( | l?ert ? bserved his allies rapidly falling off, u and slinking out of the town, until at la?l lie was left in the village of ltoyle with hi , French veterans, and a few of the Iiish NV leaders who were too fir committed to f(| retieat. Humbert called a council of his C| i officer'--, and proposed to light it out. oflcr- j,. ing thenfrelves a sacrifice oti tlie altar of y> Irish independence. His ofiicers, who had been disgusted with the enterprise from ; their landing and first acquaintance with their allies were not so cuthu-iaslio and r devoted. I'nder their advice iie deter- ^ mined to surr- nder. Accordingly, Lord |? Cornwallis had the ratisfiction < ! rcccixing ct the sword of the French general, an event t| well calculated to remind that distinguish (, cd ihiton of a tncmoiahlo scene in his own military history. Ilumhcit was released t.*, on parole, and finding no prospect foi j," i promotion in France, came with man) ,, ' other soldiers of the ol 1 French republican ft1 ; school, whose republicanism was of too ^ , earnest and uncompromising a character for Napoleon's views, t>? New Orleans. When .1 n kson nriived, in 1S1-I. to as- ai . suine the defence < f the city, Humbert was l! one of the first to tender his set vices as a t: volunteer, lie proved eminent!v seisin a o hie during the campaign. Hating no " regular command, he was always ready it for any detached service, how peiilous and ? ! difficult soever it might he. Mounted on c a huge black charger, it was his custom rv every day to emerge from the American f< lines, and trotting down the road to a ti point within inu-kel shot of the llritish ti outposts, to take a deliberate observation i f h thcir camp through a field glass; after <<

disciplined force and arms to give direction to their unconquerable ardor; that a largo army might either create that jealousy which all people nre prone to feel towards I foreigners, even when acting as allies, or i might imluco an entire dependence, upon a I; force which they regarded as sufficient to accomplish the object without their aid; i that a peoplo, to appreciate their independence, must achieve it themselves. These ; nre precisely the arguments which cncournged and emboldened tbc companions of Narcisco Lopez in his expedition to Cuba, I in 1851. I Franco was then (in 1708) crippled in i power and means, with tho old world nrI rayed in arms against her, and constantly ; threatened with internal revolution,changes, 1 ' and discord. About this time, too, the l)i , I rectory, composed, as it then was of a more philosophic and conservative class of repub; licans than had wielded tho destinies of i; the nation for some years before, began to adopt a inoro pacilic and prudent policy, i Still, it could not hazard its popularity by i discouraging, even if it did not afford material aid, to the cntcrpiiso of liberating i "oppressed Ireland." Officers and soldiers of i ' the ariny were, therefore, allowed to voluni tecr for the expedition, and aims and mu, lions wero furnished to them. At this mo'i meat, Humbert stepped forward to volunteer to lead this for lorn hope. He had ; served with distinction on the Khinc, under ! Pichegru, Moreno, and Dutnourier, and was i an officer of acknowledged courage ami en' crS>'- Hepaiiing to Kochcllc, he immediatei, ly set to work, in conjunction with tho Iiish patriots. Tone, Teeiing, and Sullivan, to organize an army out of a heterogeneous in:i??s of ad venturers, who had assembled there, composed of straggling French sol-, diers, lii-.li volunteer!', Ihitish deserters, and a few corne t enthusiasts in the cause of universal freedom and republicanism. I *r.? I O ^ ..

J made for the weakness which ciicuiiistnn cos forced upon a gallant and sturdy old soldier, who, in his day, had played a com epicuous part in events of great moment Yes, Ibat old soldier, who died twenty years ago, in poverty and destitution, whe was indebted to an old tpiadroon womai for his only attendance in sickness, ami was hnried a? the public expense, had onct been a proud general of the French repuh lie in its palmy days. To him was intrust ^ cd the com nnnd of the expedition to email cipate Ireland from English rule, in 1708 A more desperato enterprise was never con ceived. Its character, events, and results have found a parallel in the expedition o! Narcisco Lope/, to Cuba, in 1851. For ji long time, this design had occupied the most anxious deliberation* of the French republic. The presence in I'aris of scvera prominent Iiish patriots served to kee| alive this feeling, and encourage the plar of sit iking "perjide Albion" in this hei weakost point. The French never doub.ci the assurance that tho Irish were nailer and harmonious in their devotion to re publican liberty, that they wcro t.s hoslih to the Briti-h dynasty as tho French wen to tho liourbon rule. Various plans of in rasion were proposed, and gicat prepara tions were made to carry them out. Fail uro apon failure, disaster after disaster fol lowed, n?d frustrated all the efforts of the Irish patriots to otgaui/.o an efficient expo dition to proceed from Franco. One great difficulty was to obtain a leader in the Frenc}i army of sufficient experience ami prestige to take charge of such an expedi tion.- They were all willing to go with u large army, but none would venture with a mare experimental force. It was in vain the Irish patriots, Tono add Sullivan, rep resented that the Irish ptv plc were united iu tbo cause; tb<x they on I; needed n small EPhir' *

" 111 I riuifl' ft .!!!-; I'AQ I 'C'VOP' *t j , painful to lie obliged to record that a , ( ^ vid.et of rj;ii11v has been returned. The * were oinmtssiotiers declare, as "the only coni i i i ? liessi lu*ton at winch any rmpaitial minds w,|| iiid arrive," thai "personal violence, prne ii i 1 "? not i -eil by tlio native revenue and police ! j Hicinls, generally prevails throughout tlie 'residency," and that this "personal \io- . , it - ti i j i 1 i tncle nice i>, to ail intents and purjnv.ses, tor- ' ire. I he) add, indeed, that it is beyond J ( tj II di pnte that 'many of the practices -n, t-1,11, * . 1 1 hal In, li undouhtedly exist must cause acute, , . ' me*! temporary or even momentary, agony; ,j nd that in no f,-\v iccorded instance*, fas Jj i ppcars 11) tlie oalendais.) even death has iliowed upon their intliction." ^ ^ | 1 lie evidence in the case is overwhelm i i dma ig. i >| persons actually put to torture by ^ . to police, 27 complained in person before J le commissioners, and 140 by letter; in '(l!j , venue eases, 201) complained personally, Jj ud 279 by letter, in reference to tlio, ractice ?>f torture in the formei service, out f 109 answers returned from the various in<) I atious in the Madras Presidency, 30 were \'s ' culral, not a mnglo ono was negative, h?rb liilo no lejs than 79 were unhesitatingly l'tM i the allirinative; ami out of tho 121 an- ?.p " vers returned to tho queries sent out re- . ? nrditig the use of torture in the collection i f revenue, while 17 ofTicia's e<pressed k,l!'1 icir disbelief of the use of torturo for such purpose, ami 7 professed to have no "Jilt nowlodgo on tho subject, no fower than ' 9 retuinel an unequivocal affirmative. ' "?rt