, Lord Canning has felt himself compelled to adopt the
measure of placing the King of Oudh in confinement in Fort William,
in consequence of the use made of his name by those who have been busy
tampering with the Sepoys; and of the intrigues which there is good
reason to believe that the Minister of the King, who is also in the
Fort, has carried on in his master's name.[25] The King has been, and
will continue to be, treated with every mark of respect and indulgence
which is compatible with his position, so long as it may be necessary
that he should be retained in the Fort.

Lord Canning earnestly hopes that your Majesty and the Prince are in
the enjoyment of good health, and prays your Majesty to be graciously
pleased to accept the expression of his sincere devotion and dutiful
attachment.

[Footnote 22: After the outbreak at Meerut in May, the
fugitive Sepoys fled to Delhi, and endeavoured to capture the
magazine, which, however, was exploded by British soldiers.
Delhi was not captured until September (see _post_, 25th
September, 1857). On the 11th of July, the Government received
intelligence of the spread of the Mutiny throughout Bengal,
and the resulting diminution of the Indian Army.]

[Footnote 23: For Sir George Grey's action at Cape Town, in
reference to the troops destined for China, see his Memoir, in
the _Dictionary of National Biography_.]

[Footnote 24: On the 4th of June, two native regiments had
mutinied at Cawnpore, and the English residents, under General
Sir Hugh Wheeler, were besieged. After many deaths and much
privation, the garrison were induced by the perfidy of Nana
Sahib, who had caused the Cawnpore rising, to surrender, on
condition of their lives being spared. On the 27th of June,
not suspecting their impending fate, the enfeebled garrison,
or what was left of it, gave themselves up. The men were
killed, the women and children being first enslaved and
afterwards massacred. On the 16th of July, General Havelock
defeated Nana Sahib at Cawnpore, the city was occupied by
the English, and a sanguinary, but well-merited, retribution
exacted.]

[Footnote 25: The ex-King had been living under the protection
of the Indian Government. The arrest took place early in June
at his residence at Garden Beach.]

[Pageheading: DEBATE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Vic