1833.1 of a defensive system of warfare, and its immense conquests were literally forced upon its rulers by the valour of its troops and the sagacity of its Government, in these struggles for existence; and that under its sway life and property have been more effectually secured, and a greater degree of stability and prosperity given to the elements of society, than has been ever witnessed in the East since the descendants of Cham overspread its plains. and the Imperial Eagle is the signal One single observation must be sufficient, with every impartial mind, to demonstrate the groundless nature of these invectives against our Power Eastern administration. founded on injustice, conquests accompanied with desolating effects, never are of long duration. All the energy of Republican France-all the genius of Napoleon, could not establish in Europe the blasting dominion of democratic power. In vain hundreds of thousands were annually sent forth by its able rulers to the harvest of death-the colossal fabric fell at length before the collected indignation of mankind. Why was it that the empire of the Romans was so durable? Because they not only conquered the world by their arms, but humanized it by their institutions; because, under the protecting arm of the legions, internal peace was secured over its vast surface; because, with wisdom ever since unexampled, they consulted the interests, and delicately touched on the prejudices, of the vanquished States; and the majesty of the Empire was felt as much in the benefits which were showered on the provinces from the Imperial Government, as in the revenues which flowed from all quarters into the public treasury. Why is it, in like manner, that the progress of the Russian Empire is so permanent, and that the standards of that vast Power have never receded since the days of Peter? Because the inestimable benefits of a strong Government, among the unruly tribes whom she has reduced to subjection, are such as to supersede all the jealousies of rival States, and obliterate all the heartburnings at the loss of national independence; because great and substantial benefits flow to the vanquished from the Muscovite rule, The practical blessings which have accrued to the inhabitants of India from the extension and establishment of the British dominion, are thus strongly and admirably illustrated by Mr Sinclair in his recent Pamphlet on Indian affairs. 6 "Although the nation suffers under the evils inseparable from a foreign domination, and though the ancient families of rank and fortune have irrecoverably fallen from their former palmy state,' and have almost every where been stripped of their wealth, power, and influence, yet the mass of the people have been re. lieved from many intolerable grievances; and, though still subject to severe and oppressive taxation, appear to be con tented with our Government, and prosperous in their industry. Few countries, indeed, in Asia have ever increased in prosperity and intelligence or have risen from a state of decay into importance, with a more rapid progress; and nothing but the blindest prejudice will deny that this amelioration of its internal condition is mainly to be attributed to the fostering care and judicious exertions of the Government. "The first thing which strikes an attentive observer, and which no traveller has omitted to mention, is the satisfaction and delight which the enjoyment of internal peace has spread over the whole country. Englishmen, who have so long been blessed with domestic tranquillity, and to whom the idea of an invasion presents only a vague and indistinct picture of general confusion, bloodshed, and rapine, cannot readily conceive the fullness of delight which animates the Hindoo peasant, who has had a wretched experience of these frightful realities, or the gratitude he feels to those who protect him from them, and enable him to reap his harvest in security; who defend his home from profanation, and his substance from the extortion of the powerful. must it be in those which have been lately rescued from a state of anarchy, misery, and bloodshed unparalleled in the modern history of the world? Nothing, certainly, can be more gratifying to an Englishman, than to travel through the Central and Western provinces, so long the theatre of merciless and incessant war, and to witness the wonderful change which has every where been wrought. Every village in that part of the country was closely surrounded by fortifications; and no man ventured to go to the labours of the plough or the loom, without being armed with his sword and shield. Now, the forts are useless, and are slowly crumbling into ruin; substantial houses begin, for the first time, to be erected in the open plain; cultivation is extended over the distant and undefended fields; the useless incumbrance of defensive arms is laid aside, and the peasant may venture fearlessly to enjoy the wealth and comforts which his industry and labour enable him to acquire. In short, we may safely assert, that the course of events, during the last fifteen years, bas done more than the whole preceding century to improve the condition of the middle and lower classes throughout India-to give them a taste for the comforts and conveniences of life-and to relieve their industry from the paralysis under which a long continuance of internal dissension had caused it to sink." "We may next observe the general subsidence of that predatory spirit, which is at once a cause and a consequence of general license and insecurity. The excitement of military enterprise, the aversion to steady labour, and the love of conquest and spoliation, appear so congenial to the undisciplined and ill-regulated mind, that we ought not to be surprised at the extent to which it was carried; more especially if we consider that, when the cottage of a husbandman was burnt, and his family reduced to a state of misery and want, he had hardly any other resource than to join some band of plunderers, and in the wantonness of vengeance and despair, plunge others into the same poverty and ruin under which he himself was suffering. The strong arm of British power has put an end to this dreadful system, and has succeeded in dissolving these hordes of robbers. Many turbulent spirits, who carried terror and dismay over whole provinces, are now converted into peaceful and industrious cultivators; and are so restrained, by the judicious distribution of the army, and by the increased efficiency of the police, that, at present, the Looties and Pindarries seldom venture to appear, because they feel a wholesome terror that they would be overtaken or detected, and signally punished. But if this unwonted feeling of security against a hostile invasion is perceptible, even in the provinces which have enjoyed British protection for the longest period, how much stronger Nothing can be more satisfactory than to see, on the impartial testimony of this able eyewitness, now retired from the Company's service, and, therefore, noways interested in winning its favour, such decisive evidence in favour of the general beneficence of their administration. It might have been inferred, a priori, from the facts of its steady progress and long continuance; but it is doubly satisfactory to have it established by the united authority of theory and experience. The admirable effects of the Comnal communications and rural ecopany's Government upon the internomy of the country are equally satisfactory. "Nor ought we to forget the many excellent roads by which the great towns are now connected, instead of the wretch. ed and scarcely practicable footpaths which formerly were the only means of communication; nor the passes opened through the mountains, giving the inland provinces an easy access to the sea, and a ready market for their pro even among zealous advocates of Indian The East India Question. 1833.] ductions; nor the trees planted every- Nor have those improvements which more immediately affect the moral and intellectual elevation of the species, and prepare it at some future period to receive the spiritual faith of Christianity been neglected. "Of late, various plans, still more beneficial, have been introduced, which only European intellect and perseverance could have carried into successful operation. No doubt, it is from India that we ourselves have learned the invaluable system of education which now prevails in our national schools, and which, though beginning to decline, had been in use through some of the Madras provinces from remote antiquity. But we are now paying back, with accumulated interest, the debt we owe. Not only have the ancient schools in the Carnatic been preserved and renovated, but, under the wise and liberal administration of the late governors, the system has been, or is about to be, extended to every subdivision of the empire, with those improvements which experience has shewn to be best fitted for the diffusion of useful knowledge. School-books of a better quality and sounder morality begin to be diligently prepared; and the Moonshees and Pundits intrusted with the office of superintendents are carefully selected, and undergo, before their appointment, a strict examination as to their character and qualifications. From the connection with Great Britain, a taste for English manufactures is now decidedly spreading through the vast native population of India. This fact was long ago observed by Bishop Heber, and the growing trade for English luxuries pointed out by that enlightened prelate, as the source of incalculable wealth to the mother country, if her connection with the East was not severed by rash measures of legislation in the British Parliament; and the same gratifying change is farther confirmed by the more recent observation of Mr Sinclair. "In the colleges an important change has lately taken place. For a long time, an absurd and groundless belief prevailed, "The calicoes and long cloths of Paisley and Manchester," he observes, " have now obtained as undisputed possession of the markets of the East, as the hardware and woollens of Sheffield, Birmingham, and Leeds; and it must be admitted, that the abundance and cheapness of those European manufactures, which the simple and contented Hindoo requires, are adding much to the comfort and happiness of the majority of the people. "But a speculation has lately been attempted, which, if successful, appears likely to re-establish the cotton manufacture in the country of its birth. Machinery and steam-engines, for weaving and spinning both cotton and silk, have been exported, and are worked by means of coal, which has been discovered in several parts of the Bengal provinces. Should this great experiment succeed and we know not why we should express a doubt--what a noble and boundless prospect does it open for Indian skill and industry!" The liberal and enlightened conduct of the East India Company, in encouraging the cultivation of cotton and indigo, has been rewarded, not merely by the prodigious increase of that boundless source of wealth, but by the growth of a middling class in society; a body of men hitherto almost unknown in the East, but whose appearance is the certain indication of a Government beneficent and paternal in actual practice. "Nor has this class of persons been debarred from the pursuits of agriculture; for, after due enquiry and deliberation, the Government suffered planters, whose good conduct is secured by the dread of expulsion, to cultivate farms, which, at first, they occupied under the names of Hindoos, but are now permitted to hold in their own. The effect of this prudent liberality has been the conferring of a boon on India, among the greatest she ever received. Every reader must be aware, that, in consequence of improvements in the culture and preparation of indigo, that important article of commerce is now almost entirely raised in our Eastern dominions, and that the Americans and Brazilians have ceased, in a great degree, to cultivate the plant. This great benefit to India was the result of British enterprise and skill; and there is reason to hope that other similar advantages may follow from the further relaxation by the Government of the restrictions indispensable in the infancy of our power. of luxury and ostentation for the other. The manufacture, indeed, of these latter articles, as, for example, of brocades in the Circars, and of muslins in Dacca, has been greatly diminished, in consequence of the revolutions, which have ruined, to a great degree, the ancient nobles and landed proprietors-the nabobs and Zemindars; but now, the articles manufactured, as well as the importations from Europe, which exceed the consumption of British subjects, mark the gradual, though slow and tardy, growth of an intermediate order, to whose taste and necessities these productions are adapted." "An important evidence that the ad vantages above enumerated are real and substantial, and that the establishment of British power has, on the whole, been beneficial to Hindostan, is the slow but evident rise of a middle class. In former times, and to a great extent in the present day, the population was divided into two classes a few nabobs and rajahs possessed of inordinate wealth, and the mass of the people in a state of abject poverty. With a view of suiting the demands of these two classes, the industry of Indian artizans was exclusively direct. ed to fabricate the coarsest necessaries for the one, and the most costly articles We have dwelt so long on the internal administration of the East India Company, because it is a subject of which the people of this country, who are so soon to be called on through their representatives, to East, are almost wholly ignorant, decide on the mighty concerns of the and because it is, in truth, the most important topic which can be presented to the consideration of any enlightened or benevolent legisla ture. For, in truth, the real test of the civil merits of a Government is to be found in its internal administration; and the prosperity and contentment of its subjects, is the most unequivocal demonstration of the wisdom and beneficence of its sway. And as there can be no doubt that the English people, at the expiry of the charter, will be abundantly stimulated to look after their own immediate interests in the establishment of a Government for India, it is of have the ultimate interests of their the more importance that all who country at heart, and are anxious for the increase of the sum of human happiness, through all its immense territory, whether inhabited by sable fully aware of the vast interests, not or pale-faced subjects, should be only to their country, but humanity at large, which are at issue on the question. It augments our admiration at the wisdom and beneficence of the Indian Government, that these prodigious benefits have been conferred by them upon their subjects during a period chequered with the most desperate wars, when the existence of the English authority was frequently at stake, and the whole energies of Government were neces Abraham or the followers of Zoroaster, to the rigid and punctilious Brahmins, the degraded and ignorant Hindoos, and the fierce and voluptuous Mussulman. Twelve millions of Mahomedans are scattered among eighty millions of Hindoos. The former, as the dominant and conquering race, had seized in general all the situations of power and authority through the Peninsula ; and the innumerable millions of natives regarded it as an equal abomination to eat with their former Mussulman, as their present Christian masters; the bitterness of civil conquest and exclusion was superadded to the rancour of religious hatred; and yet over this vast heterogenous and discordant mass one regular and stable Government has been placed; and out of these jarring and divided materials the most powerful empire established which has ruled the Eastern Peninsula since the days of Aurengzebe. 1833.] sarily directed, in the first instance, Nor is it a less remarkable circumstance, that these civic and warlike achievements were gained in the midst of a population, who, beyond any other, were divided and distracted among each other, not only by civil dissensions of the oldest standing, but the most inveterate religious differences. From the earliest dawn of history, India has been broken into a number of independent sovereignties or Rajahships, subdued at intervals under the firm grasp of an able and enlightened sovereign, but invariably breaking out in a few generations into their natural state of dissension and anarchy; while among its numerous inhabitants are to be found not only all races of men, from the bold and fearless Affgaun, to the roving Mahratta and the timid Bengalee; and every species of religious worship, from that of the children of It augments our astonishment at the growth and steady progress of this extraordinary power that it has risen and prospered, and won the native affections, at the very time when the Colonies of England, under the direct control of the mother country, were brought into such a state of discontent, as led to the dismemberment of a large portion of the empire, and threatens soon to sever from the parent state its colonial possessions. At the same time that the East India Company, with their brave and faithful Sepoys, were successfully combating the immense and disciplined hordes of Hyder Ally and Tippoo Saib, the vast American colonies of England, directly ruled by Parliament, were severed from the empire, without any external violence, from the mere spirit of internal discontent; the dissatisfaction of Canada has more than once led to ominous and alarming contests between the Government at home, and the local Legislatures; and the exasperation of the West Indies, provoked by a long series of disasters, and now brought to a crisis by the monstrous precipitance of a democratic Government, has become so excessive, that it is only restrained from leading to the immediate loss of all those great colonies, and the rupture of one of the principal |