we shall present the leading points of each, and refer to the sources wherein the whole of the original articles may be found, for the satisfaction of the doubting and the curious. The first in order, as well as enormity, is the Announcement, said to have been written in conformity to Mr. Buckingham's wishes, expressed before he left India, and inserted some months after his departure. Its only crime appears to be that of its evincing a solicitude for the welfare of an individual, whose prospects the Indian Government seemed determined to destroy for ever; its speaking in terms of unwelcome approbation of that individual's exertions; and anticipating the success of his labours in the new publication he contemplated establishing in England. These were regarded as crimes of so deep a dye in the estimation of the Indian Government, that they determined to put an end to their further commission accordingly. But the reader must see this "offensive" Announcement for himself. It was as follows:

PROSPECTIVE ARRANGEMENTS.

The ship Stentor having brought us about 3000 rupees worth of valuable English books, and as from letters received by the Hythe, we have reason to expect soon, further large additions to our stock, we take this opportunity of announcing to our friends and the public generally, the extension of the Calcutta Journal concern, long contemplated by its original conductor, previous to his departure, and which there is now a near prospect of being realised. Mr. Buckingham's sudden removal from this country, prevented him from doing more than leaving general instructions for the execution of the plan he had laid down; and the events which followed soon after, rendered the footing on which the whole property stood, so uncertain, that all minor arrangements for its general improvement were lost sight of, or at least regarded as in the meantime comparatively unimportant. The confidence acquired by the experience of several months, and the late advices from England, as well as the hope that Mr. Buckingham is now, or will shortly be there to look after his own affairs, and make every provision his experience may suggest for the improvement of his property in this country, induce us to turn our attention again to those long contemplated arrangements.

On the arrival of the large stock of books commissioned from England, it was determined to form these and the extensive collection of books accumulated for Mr. Buckingham's use, and not disposed of at his departure, into a Public Circulating Library, which would turn this part of his property to some account, and help to indemnify the proprietor for his great sacrifices.

The books are at present chiefly of a higher order than those used in circulating libraries; but these will be agreeably varied with books of light reading, by a monthly addition of works of that description to its stock.

The subscription will be fixed at the low rate of four rupees per month, to enable readers of all classes to avail themselves of this accommodation.

The Reading Room will continue open to the subscribers to the Journal, on exactly the same terms as before; and every accommodation afforded them in the use of the late Papers and Periodical Publications there; while those who desire the use of the books at their own residences, may have them on the easiest

terms.

Subscribers to the Journal will understand from the above, that there is no in tention to curtail their privileges in the slightest degree; the Library still remaining open to them as a Reading Room, where, without any additional charge, they may have access to the whole of its valuable contents, and to the latest English periodicals and other new publications of interest. And we cannot let this occa sion pass without congratulating ourselves and them on the signal advantages we must soon derive from having such an agent in England as Mr. Buckingham, who, whether from his large experience and the deep stake he has in this country or his personal activity and perfect acquaintance with what will suit the public taste here, is altogether such a correspondent as no Indian newspaper ever pos sessed before.

Our new system may in one respect be regarded as already commenced, as we

may reasonably hope Mr. Buckingham is now arrived in England; and we cannot doubt for a moment, but the first day he sets his foot on that land of liberty, will be employed usefully for the friends he has left behind him. When the requisite period has elapsed for us to reap the fruits of these exertions, we may expect every vessel from England to bear witness to that indefatigable activity, by which he is so highly distinguished.

We ought not to omit noticing another source of advantage to be expected from Mr. Buckingham's enterprising exertions in England, which, though not so immediate, will, we are confident, be far more important in its consequences. We allude to the establishment of his New Asiatic Journal. The support which that publication has already obtained in this country, is sufficient, we think, to ensure its commencement under the happiest auspices; and when it has acquired a footing in England, the materials which will flow to its pages, in all probability, will soon exceed the narrow limits of a monthly or even a weekly publication. Many articles also which are of too little interest for the public in England, might be highly prized in this country, to which they more immediately refer; and we have thus a prospect of putting our readers in possession of interesting intelligence that would not probably reach them through any public channel.

This was the treasonable and dangerous Announcement, at which the Government of a great country, with a hundred millions of beings subject to their sway, actually trembled and turned pale. This was the alarming article that threw their serene highnesses into a high fever! But the "Advertisement" which is said to have been audaciously peated several times since"(i. e. not since it was complained of, for after that, it was instantly taken out, but since the first announcement,) may be thought by the reader to be more flagitious still. Let him read this also for himself. It was as follows:

MR. BUCKINGHAM'S VALUABLE LIBRARY.

re

In our number of the 5th of July last, we noticed our intention of throwing open to the public use, the valuable collection of books, belonging to Mr. Buckingham, and hitherto available only to the subscribers to the Journal, in the Reading Room attached to our establishment. We have now to announce that the Catalogues are ready and will be delivered gratis, on application, to the subscribers to the Journal, and at the charge of one rupee each to non-subscribers. The Library at present is rather select than extensive, but the books are of the very first character, and are constantly increasing, so that even in point of numbers, we shall, we hope, ere long, be able to make no inconsiderable show. All the periodical, as well as all other new works of merit that issue from the London press, reach us regularly, and we are daily adding to our stock of books of light reading; so that, though our shelves will not be found loaded with the productions of the Minerva press, the scholar, the man of science, and the admirer of polite and elegant literature, will find in them ample means of gratifying their respective tastes.

This innocent Advertisement, which had no other object in view but that of making some little use of the wreck of Mr. Buckingham's property; and at the same time giving the Indian Public cheap access to a collection of books not usually found in circulating libraries, was so offensive to the Indian Government, that the affrighted Editor who inserted it was compelled to take it ont; and even after that, it was complained of in the official letter of the Chief Secretary, as having been repeated several times after its first appearance, though it was destroyed on the very instant of its being known to be obnoxious!

Are these the terrible and alarming events which justify the arbitrary suppression of all freedom of discussion in India? Yes! astonished reader, these are they.The Indian Government having trampled on the rights of person, property, and opinion: having banished from the

country a man whose chief pleasure consisted in endeavours to render the condition of that country more worthy of the British name and character, now find the very mention of his name so hateful to their ears, that they seem determined to extinguish every hope he has left behind him, and to blot out, as far as their efforts can effect it, the very memory of his sacrifices and injuries, from their records. But this is impossible; and every attempt on their part to strike the iron deeper into his soul, will only make him more honoured, and them more despised, by those whose sympathy for the oppressed is sure to be associated with indignation. towards their oppressors.

The paragraph respecting Nawab Moatumud-Dowla, translated from a Persian newspaper, is as harmless as any article of intelligence could be. It was not reprehended in the Persian Paper, in which, if it were at all dangerous, it must have been more so than in an English one, since the former is read by the Native subjects of India, and the latter by the English rulers only:-but this distinction is not new. It has been for years the practice of the Indian Government to permit the newspapers in its pay and favour-particularly the Government Gazette, published by authority, and the Indian John Bull-to go all lengths, in breach even of their own regulations; at the same time that they threatened Mr. Buckingham's Paper with annihilation, even when no such breaches were made: their hostility to his Journal being such as to confound all rules and principles in their minds, and to make them persecute it, even when it contained nothing of which they could complain, because it ventured, on some occasions, to abstain from the gross flattery offered by others, and had the virtue to be silent when it could not conscientiously applaud. We will give the "Intelligence" complained of, a place, however, with the rest, that the reader may judge of this also for himself. It was as follows:

Intelligence regarding Nawab Moatumud-Dowla, the Minister for the Affairs of Oudh.-In the Jam-i Jehan Nooma Newspaper of the 2d instant, it is stated, that it appears from the Ukhbars, that the Nawab Moatumud Dowla went on the day of the Eid, to present his Nuzzur to the Resident. The sentinel at the gate informed him, that strict orders had been given not to admit any person whatever with arms, within the precincts of the Residency. The Nawab replied, that he had ever been in the habit of entering armed. The Sepoy would not permit him to proceed. At length he laid aside his arms and entered, and complained of the matter to the Resident. The Resident answered, that the Sepoy was in the Company's service, that he had received orders that, excepting his august Majesty, no other person whatever should be allowed to pass; therefore it could not be helped. The Nawab shortly took leave. Further, as Captains Hussein Ally and Mado Sing, who had been ordered to proceed to the Elaka, of Baraitch, to chastise Raja Mandhata, had not yet proceeded from the city, and great disturbances existed in that Elaka; the said Nawab told these Captains that the pay of the Battalions shoul dsoon be issued, and it was better that they marched immediately. They represented that for the last year past they had not received a single daum or dumree, but that as soon as all arrears were paid up they would immediately set off. Hurkarrahs brought intelligence that in Nawab Gunge, near Ayesh Baugh, an affray happened between the Chela of Mirza Muhmood Beg and some Suwar of the Presence. The Chelah wounded three of the Suwars and fled: the other troopers, though they exerted themselves to seize him, could not come up with the Chelah.

The article on the" Affairs of Oudh," was of about the same length and character as the preceding. The letter signed "Paul Puzzle Brain," contained remarks on the inconsistencies of the John Bull newspaper, in find

ing fault with Mr. Hume for undertaking commissariat contracts in India, while he had his duties as a Surgeon to attend to; and yet defending the Reverend Doctor Bryce, for undertaking stationary contracts in the same country, while he had his duties as a Clergyman to attend to; making it a fault in a military man to unite two objects in the same branch of service, and perfectly harmless for a clerical character to attempt three or four objects, all unsuited to each other! namely, a Presbyterian Minister, a Clerk of Stationary, an Editor of a virulent and controversial Magazine, and a Secretary of a Committee for procuring a Picture and Statue to the late Governor General of India. To remark on such inconsistency was deemed an offence to the Government, because they wished it to be passed over in silence and secresy.

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The article on "Colonial Policy" was even still more unobjectionable. A masterly and unanswerable work had appeared in England, in May last, entitled, "An Inquiry into the Expediency of applying the Principles of Colonial Policy to the Government of India; and of effecting an essential change in its Landed Tenures, and consequently in the character of its Inhabitants." This book, on its reaching India, was reviewed in the publication conducted by Doctor Bryce, who gave his pen free scope in inquiring into every matter which he thought calculated to bring the work into disrepute. Conjectures were ventured as to the author, who was first thought to be some envious trader, desirous of sharing in the commerce now confined to the monopoly of the Company; then considered to be a servant of the Government he abused; and, lastly, one fattening, by licence or covenant, on the very system he deprecated. The arguments of the book were treated with the Doctor's peculiar flippancy and acrimony, each by turns; and although this was a discussion on a topic expressly forbidden by the Regulations for the Indian Press, yet as the object of this Divine was to abuse the advocates of Colonization, and uphold Monopoly, as more suited to Indian happiness and English prosperity than Free Trade, the utmost licence was allowed him; and his Review was printed and published without drawing a single complaint from those guardians of the public peace, who express such horror on all other occasions, at the licentiousness of the Press. Here was licentiousness enough; but it was on what they deemed the right side; so that it was never once found fault with. After all, however, the Review was so miserably deficient in argument, and so utterly incapable, with all its virulence, to show any good reason against the advantages of Colonization pointed out by the author of the work reviewed, that the friends of this great question recommended its re-publication in the Calcutta Journal, merely to expose, as they deserved, the shallow foundations on which the best arguments that could be brought forward against the Colonization of India by Englishmen really rested. One would have thought that this, at least, might have been permitted. But no!-as if the Government of India were themselves ashamed of the folly and weakness of their best advocates, the re-publication of this attempt to refute the arguments in favour of Colonization, though passed over in the work of the original Reviewer, was obnoxious to them when transplanted to the pages of the Calcutta Journal! It was prefaced with but few observations, of which it may be quite sufficient to give a single paragraph

Published by J. M, Richardson, 23, Cornhill.

towards the close, to show the spirit in which its re-publication was conducted. It is this

We shall not attempt to follow this Reviewer through his absurdities and misrepresentations; we content ourselves with merely recommending the work on Colonial Policy to the perusal of every person who feels himself capable of forming his opinion on the subject on which it treats. We have heard it remarked by some gentleman, that the book is fifteen years before its proper time. It was more than twenty before Mr. Wilberforce's efforts against the Slave Trade succeeded!We publish the article, entire, however, to show that we have no apprehension of the Reviewer's anathemas producing any other feeling than contempt for their author.

There are some rich specimens of absurdity in the article itself which we feel strongly tempted to quote; but as it will divert us from our purpose, which is to show what the Indian Government wish to suppress, rather than what they permit to appear, we must pass on to the conclusion of the articles enumerated, as obnoxious to them, in the marginal note of Mr. Secretary Bayley's letter.

The article entitled "The Tories' Gridiron," consists entirely of a contrast of the opinions put forth by Doctor Bryce as the Editor of the Calcutta Review, and Doctor Bryce as the writer of the Address to Lord Hastings; and of the sentiments avowed by the Editor of the Indian Bull, at different periods. These contrasts were introduced by the following paragraph:

The contradictions and inconsistencies that issue from the Calcutta Tory Press, are so flagrant and self-confuting, that we intend in future to make it condemn itself; which we trust its partisans will relish as well as Cobbett did the roasting of his gridiron.

The article then goes on to contrast the opposite opinions maintained at different times, in such a manner as to convince all who see them that in one or the other, the writers must have uttered what they could not have believed. Doctor Bryce, as the Reviewer, contends, that it is in vain to look for any active principle of loyalty or attachment from our Asiatic subjects (a pretty confession, truly!) He says

No Government in India ever sought, or ever will seek, security of tenure from such principles. Our Government must essentially and necessarily be despotic and military,

Lord Hastings, however, only two years before, had said

Force never could have effected the establishment of our paramountship. On what foundation then does our supremacy rest?-On that opinion of the British character which induced the several states, now leagued under us, to place implicit reliance on our good faith, our justice, and our honourable purpose of fostering their interests.

And in the year following (1820) his lordship had repeated this sentiment, in other words

Wonderful and unexampled rule! Let it never be forgotten how our supremacy has been constructed. Benefit to the governed has been the simple but efficacious cement of our power. As long as the comforts and the gratitude of the Indian people shall testify that we persevere in that principle, so long may Heaven uphold the dominion of Britain here. No longer!

Here then was an instance in which the very Government under which the Reviewer lived, and of which he was one of the chief flatterers and sycophants, had sought, and had obtained, security from the very princi