which promise future increase of glory, if opportunity be afforded to the exercise of the great talents which he possesses as a statesman, philosopher, and warrior.' pp. 283, 4.

There are, however, two or three points on which we made little or no comment; and the first to which we shall refer, is the conduct-we will not say unjustifiable, but we must take leave to say, that we have not yet seen any adequate justification-of Sir Thomas Hislop, commander in chief of the army of the Deccan, towards the Killedar, or commandant, of the fort of Talnier. Colonel Blacker's account is more precise and distinct than that of Mr. Wallace, but they agree in the main particulars, and we much prefer the feeling in which the latter animadverts on the transaction.

Sir Thomas, when within a march of Talnier, had received intimation that the Killedar of that place intended to resist the occupation of his fort by British troops, although he had received the order of his sovereign to surrender it, and, upon the approach of the advanced guard, some guns, and a number of matchlocks, were fired from the walls. The fort was surrounded by deep ravines, and quite inaccessible to reconnoissance by cavalry. It was, however, closely approached by the engineers covered by light infantry; and the Killedar having returned no answer to an attempt at negotiation, the field-pieces were brought into position, and the defences of the gateway demolished to such a degree, that Sir Thomas determined upon storming it, in the hope of at least making a lodgment within. For this purpose a column of attack was formed and pushed forward to the gate. The Killedar, being alarmed at these preparations, sent out a flag of truce and solicited terms; upon which he was desired to open his gates and surrender himself and his garrison unconditionally. After some little delay, the two outer gates were opened, and the head of the column entered. At the third gate the Killedar came out through the wicket, and surrendered himself to the adjutant-general, Colonel Conway. A party of grenadiers was then pushed forward through the wicket, and still further through another gate, but they were at length stopped by the fifth entrance being shut. The Arabs within were clamorous to have some terms mentioned, before they delivered themselves up to the mercy of Europeans; but after some delay, the wicket of this gate was also opened from within, and Lieutenant Colonel Murray, Major Gordon, and two or three other officers entered it, followed by ten or twelve grenadiers of the Royal Scots, upon which they were attacked by the Arabs, and, before aid could be afforded, cut down. Major Gordon and Captain M'Gregor were stabbed to the heart, and Colonel Murray and two other officers wounded in several places with daggers. The gates being burst open, the storming party entered the fort, and the Arabs retreated to the stone buildings, where they continued to defend themselves until all the garrison, about 300 Arabs and Hindoos, were put to the sword." A severe example,"

says Sir Thomas Hislop, in his report to the governor-general, “indeed, but absolutely necessary, and one which I have no doubt will produce the most salutary effects on the future operations in this province. The Killedar I ordered to be hanged on one of the bastions, immediately after the place fell. Whether he was accessary or not to the subsequent treachery of his men, his execution was a punishment justly due to his rebellion in the first instance, particularly after the warning he had received in the morning." pp 291-3.

Well may Mr. Wallace exclaim-' The coldness of this language freezes the heart;' and we perfectly agree with him, that the conduct of the garrison is probably to be attributed more to the precipitate' and imprudent' manner in which our officers entered the wicket, than to premeditated intention. We have no wish to pass judgement on a case of which all the circumstances are, possibly, not before us; but of the transaction, as stated, there can, we think, be but one opinion. Sir Thomas Hislop appears to stand high in the estimation of his fellow soldiers. Lord Hastings, on another occasion, praises his temper and forbearance;' and Colonel Blacker eulogizes his unassuming character.'

The two most important subjects of consideration which present themselves in connexion with our Indian empire, are, first, its security, and, secondly, the responsibility it entails on its possessors. It is idle to treat, in any other way than as of difficulty equal to its importance, the question of suitable policy and effective government; at the same time that it is selfish in the extreme, to consider the matter of occupancy as nothing more than a problem in general politics. The 16th chapter of Sir John Malcolm's admirable Memoir of Central India, contains a brief but able and interesting inquiry into the nature and probable permanency of our establishment in India. From the moment that the English authorities adopted the system of Dupleix, and interfered, for their own ends, in the quarrels of the native princes, their plans became those of aggression and aggrandizement. For a long series of years, the question of government was merged in that of conquest and military ascendancy; but, when our possessions became of truly Asiatic dimensions, and the great Indian powers were, one after another, blotted out of the map, it was necessary to inquire whether the old regime should be, as far as possible, preserved and perpetuated, or what new influence should be substituted in its place. Lord Wellesley first, we believe, adopted and applied the plan of subsidiary alliances. Insulating, as far as practicable, the major states, and maintaining on one frontier a commanding force, he pressed on the other with a cordon of minor principalities, dependent for their ex

istence on their strict alliance with the Supreme Government. This plan is still adhered to, with the addition of the maintenance of a controling force at the capitals of such potentates as may still retain enough of political power and influence to make them formidable. It is quite obvious, that such a scheme of government as this, must involve jealousies, antipathies, remonstrances, and struggles, without end. No monarch is disposed to acquiesce in a state of virtual thraldom, consequent on the presence of a foreign garrison in the heart of his dominions; and hence the necessity of increasing vigilance, undeviating caution, and unrelaxing preparation.

We have been reluctantly compelled,' observes Sir John Malcolm, by events far beyond our power to control, to assume the duties of Lord Paramount of that great continent; and it is now confessed by all, that our dominion can rest upon no secure basis but the general tranquillity of India. Our present condition is one of apparent repose, but full of danger. With the means we had at our command, the work of force was comparatively easy; the liberality of our government gave grace to conquest, and men were for the moment satisfied to be at the feet of generous and humane conquerors. Wearied with a state of continued warfare and anarchy, they hardly regretted even the loss of power; halcyon days were anticipated, and men prostrated themselves in hopes of elevation. All these im pressions, made by the combined effects of power, humanity, and fortune, were improved to the utmost by the character of our first measures. The agents of government were generally individuals who had acquired a name in the scene in which they were employed: they were unfettered by rules, and their acts were adapted to soothe the passions, and accord with the habits and prejudices, of those whom they had to conciliate or to reduce to obedience. But there are many causes which operate to make a period like this, one of short duration; and the change to a colder system of policy, and the introduction of our laws and regulations into countries immediately dependent upon us, naturally excite agitation and alarm. It is the hour in which men awake from a dream. Disgust and discontent succeed to terror and admiration; and the princes, the chiefs, and all who had enjoyed rank or influence, see nothing but a system dooming them to immediate decline and ultimate annihilation. This view of the subject applies only to the countries under our immediate sway. That government of influence and control which our condition forces us to exercise over many of our allies and dependents, presents more serious difficulties.'

Such a state of things as that so strongly and yet so correctly exhibited in this extract, is, obviously, one of extreme difficulty and delicacy. It would be easy enough to gall the dependent powers into a state of mutiny, and then to amalgamate them into the mighty mass of appropriated territory; but

this, as Sir John emphatically observes, is the very evil against which we have to guard. Increase of territory will, in spite of all our efforts, come too rapidly; but, to be at all safe, the march must be gradual towards a crisis which cannot be contemplated without alarm.' The peculiar character of the British power in India, destitute of all natural root in the soil,' allows of no toleration to resistance. There can be no concession, no admission of weakness; every thing must be carried fairly through, since, when victory leaves our standard, our Indian supremacy will become a shadow and a name. Whether this is a desirable state of things or not, is a different question; but, that it actually exists, there can be no reasonable doubt, though we are by no means sure that Sir John Malcolm and those who think with him, take the right view of the policy demanded by the crisis.

We much fear that there is forming, if not actually matured, a spirit of most formidable opposition to the efforts of Christian missionaries. We do not allude to the miserable effusions of such men as Bowen and Dubois, but to the opinions of calculating and influential politicians; to the decided negative given by Mr. Elphinstone, in answer to proposals for introducing native schools into the conquered territories of the Peishwah, and to a similar reception which proposals of the same kind, in reference to Central India, met with from Sir John Malcolm. The latter expresses himself upon the subject with great apparent moderation, admits that no mischief may have resulted 'from' institutions of the same kind in other parts of India long subjected to British authority, but deprecates interference with the prejudices existing in countries newly conquered, and just emerging from a state of anarchy. We confess that this excessive overstraining of the doctrine of political expediency appears to us of unfavourable augury; it awakens a suspicion of primary and radical disaffection to the great cause. Nothing, as it should seem, could be better adapted to remedy the evils of anarchy, than the gift of knowledge. Without instruction, there can be no permanent civilization; and no time should be lost in communicating the blessings which Providence, by crowning our arms with success, has rendered it imperative on us to confer. If this excessive timidity is to prevail, the natives will soon discover our weak side; and the very policy which is designed to conciliate and confirm, will debilitate and destroy.

'The efforts,' writes Mr. Wallace, which are now making in India to educate the natives, are, perhaps, the most effectual towards the interests of the Christian religion of any that have yet been made. But it is my humble belief, that if the British missionaries were permitted to locate the converted Hindoos upon the waste lands in our pro

vinces, either in conformity to ancient Hindoo civilization, or to plans found practicable in Europe for bettering the condition of the poor, such a foundation for native Christian society would be laid, as could never again be shaken by the attractions of idolatry. Round such a nucleus the native population would gradually congregate, till civilization extended from the mouths of the Ganges to the Indus, and from the Himalaya mountains to Ceylon.' pp. 374.

Mr. Wallace has brought together a large collection of important materials, and has displayed considerable skill in compressing and arranging them. Having spent a considerable part of his life in India, as a military officer, he has had many opportunities of personal observation, and he appears to have neglected no opportunity of adding to his own proper store, the information afforded by others. His work is designed both as a vade mecum for the traveller, and as a book of easy reference for the general reader. It is not invariably written with good taste, nor is it always accurate* in its details, but it is altogether a useful, interesting, and accessible volume, and it stands, we think, a fair chance for popularity. The book is divided into the distinct departments of Geographical, Historical, and Miscellaneous, with an Appendix of interesting matter. As a specimen of his general style, we shall extract a few anecdotes illustrative of the romantic valour of the brave men who established and extended the Portuguese empire in the East.

During an overwhelming attack made by the Egyptian fleet that had passed down the Red Sea unexpectedly, on a small squadron under Laurence D'Almeyda, after a most determined resistance, his vessel struck on a flat. It was impossible for the other vessels to get near him, for Hocenus, the Egyptian admiral, with his native auxiliaries, surrounded the wreck, assailing this unfortunate ship on all sides. The battle continued during a whole day, and at night a boat was sent to bring off the Portuguese admiral, but he replied, “I shall never leave those who have been my companions in danger, nor desert this ship whilst hope or life remains to defend and save her for my country." Next morning the battle was revived, and one of Almeyda's thighs was shot away, but he ordered himself to be placed in a chair on the deck, and continued to give his orders with coolness till another ball carried away part of his breast and ribs, when he expired. The Egyptians then boarded the vessel, when Laurence Catus, a servant of the deceased admiral, who was wounded in the eye with an arrow, and who had thrown himself on the body of his master, started up,

*We could give several instances of inaccuracy, but one or two shall suffice. The mistress of Holkar is called his sister;' and Sir David Ochterlony is, we believe, very erroneously represented as the commander-in-chief of the army employed against the Ghoorkas.