Page:Earl Canning.djvu/183

Rh of any bad use being made of a dangerous opportunity.

The suppression of a rebellion is but one portion of the task which it involves on the Government of the country in which it occurs. On his return to Calcutta, early in 1859, Lord Canning found himself confronted with financial difficulties of the gravest order. The Mutiny had involved an enormous deficit in an exchequer in which, even in normal times, it was not always easy to maintain an equilibrium. The measures adopted to restore it created alarm and distrust in the commercial world. A proposal to introduce a system of licensing trades and professions raised a storm of opposition. Lord Canning, convinced of the necessity for extraneous aid, wrote to England to request the services of an experienced English financier, a request which was answered by the deputation, in November, 1859, of Mr. James Wilson to deal with the emergency.

At this time Lord Canning received another valuable reinforcement in Sir Bartle Frere's arrival as a member of his Council. The aid was opportune, for the Government had by no means recovered from the disorganisation consequent upon so violent a shock as the Mutiny had occasioned. There was much uneasiness, much bitterness. Lord Canning had not yet regained the goodwill of his countrymen in Calcutta. The ofiicial, the non-official, and the native community were on unfriendly and discordant terms. Sir Bartle Frere soon became Lord Canning's trusted friend and