THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 AMONG INDIAN RAJAHS AND RYOTS
 
 INDIAN IDOLS 
 
 Maba'leva (" the Great God ") Siva (the Destroyer and Reproducer) pnd his wife Parvati riding on 
 the Sacred Hull. This image is at the Hanira State headquarters. Parvati is also called Durga. Hpth 
 the God and Goddess are usually represented as terrible, but this is the most pleasant representation 
 of them.
 
 AMONG INDIAN 
 RAJAHS AND RYOTS 
 
 A CIVIL SERVANTS RECOLLECTIONS c^ IMPRESSIONS 
 
 OF THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS OF WORK 6* SPORT 
 
 IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 6- BENGAL 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR ANDREW H. L. FRASER, K.C.S.I. 
 
 M.A., LL.D., LITT.D. 
 
 EX-LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF BENGAL 
 
 THIRD & REVISED EDITION 
 WITH TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS Sr A MAP 
 
 LONDON 
 SEELEY, SERVICE fcf CO. LIMITED 
 
 38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET 
 1912
 
 UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME 
 
 THE CROWN LIBRARY 
 
 Extra crown Zvo. With many frustrations. 5*. **/. 
 
 A series of notable copyright books issued in uniform binding. 
 
 Just issued. 
 
 AN APOSTLE OF THE NORTH. The Story of Bishop 
 Bompas's Life amongst the Red Indians and Eskimo. By 
 the Rev. H. A. CODY, M.A. Second Edition, 53. net. 
 " An admirable picture of a great career." Spectator. 
 
 "The story of his remarkable life has been told with moderation and 
 vividness, and many scenes associated with his wonderful work are 
 illustrated by means of admirable portraits." Scotsman. 
 
 " This deeply interesting volume ... a record of noble devotion." 
 Graphic. 
 
 "The story of his life, admirably told, is one which everyone should 
 tea.d." Westminster Goztttt. 
 
 AMONG INDIAN RAJAHS & RYOTS. By Sir ANDREW 
 H. L. ERASER, K.C.S.I., M.A., LL.D., LiTT.D., ex- 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. Third Edition, 53. net. 
 
 "A book which is sure to take its place as one of the best we have 
 on the subject." Westminster Gazette.* 
 
 " Will take its place with the great standard authorities on our 
 Indian Empire. Every page deserves to be studied." British Weekly. 
 
 Recently issued. 
 
 AMONG THE WILD TRIBES OF THE AFGHAN 
 FRONTIER. A Record of Sixteen Years' Close Inter- 
 course with the Natives of Afghanistan and the North- West 
 Frontier. By T. L. PENNELL, M.D., B.Sc. Fourth 
 Edition, 53. net. 
 " This interesting and valuable book." Manchester Guardian. 
 
 " A book of marked originality. Dr. Pennell writes with rare common- 
 lense." Illustrated London Nevis. 
 
 " An entrancing volume of experiences." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 "The whole book is interesting in the highest degree." Spectator. 
 "Seldom does a volume appear of such immediate and absorbing 
 interest " Graphic. 
 
 SEELEY, SERVICE & CO.. LTD.
 
 }O 
 
 TO 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
 WHO SHARED MY WORK 
 FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN INDIA 
 
 1909775
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. EARLY DAYS - 9 
 
 II. EUROPEAN OFFICERS OF MY PROVINCE - 20 
 
 III. MORE ABOUT CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS - 32 
 
 IV. INDIAN OFFICERS OF MY PROVINCE - - 44 
 V. JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF OUR OFFICERS 54 
 
 VI. SOME INDIAN FRIENDS - 67 
 
 VII. THE INDIAN PEOPLES - - 82 
 
 VIII. INDIAN LADIES 101 
 
 IX. GRAIN RIOTS IN THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 118 
 
 X. THE KHOND RISING IN KALAHANDI - - 133 
 
 XI. THE FEUDATORY STATES OF CHHATTISGARH - - 146 
 
 XII. CHRISTMAS WITH WILD ELEPHANTS - - 156 
 
 XIII. WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME - 170 
 
 XIV. THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY AND DEBT - 185 
 XV. THE FINANCING OF AGRICULTURISTS - 199 
 
 XVI. LOCAL INQUIRIES - 211 
 
 XVII. THE POLICE - - 226 
 
 XVIII. EDUCATION - - 245 
 
 XIX. CHRISTIAN MISSIONS - - 265 
 
 XX. INDIAN UNREST: ITS CAUSES - 282 
 
 xxi. INDIAN. UNREST: ITS LIMITATIONS - - 295 
 
 XXII. MEASURES OF REPRESSION AND REFORM - 307 
 
 XXIII. THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" - 317 
 
 XXIV. THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN - 335 
 XXV. THE HUMOURS OF ADMINISTRATION - - 347 
 
 XXVI. THE LAST - 362 
 
 INDEX - 372 
 vi
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS 
 
 INDIAN IDOLS - - Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 A DARBAR PANDAL - 34 
 
 THE GOLA (GRANARY) AT BANKIPUR - - 76 
 
 FAMINE COOLIES STARTING WORK - - 76 
 
 THE HON. SIR BIPIN KRISHNA BOSE - - 78 
 
 THE HON. MR. GANGADHAR MADHO CHITNAVIS, C.I.E. 78 
 
 KHAN BAHADUR AULAD HUSSAIN, C-I.E. - 78 
 
 RAO BAHADUR BHARGO RAO - 78 
 
 A SUBURBAN TEMPLE - 84 
 
 THE BARDWAN FAMILY - 112 
 
 RAJAH KANHAYA LALL 148 
 
 THE LATE FEUDATORY CHIEF OF CHHUIKHADAN - 148 
 
 A BODYGUARD OF BOYS 150 
 
 A GRAVEYARD OF THE ABORIGINES, CHOTA NAGPUR 150 
 A GROUP TAKEN ON TOUR AMONG THE CHIEFS OF ORISSA - 152 
 
 A DARBAR 154 
 
 MY CAMP AS DISTRICT OFFICER - 160 
 
 SACRED OLD TOWN OF NAWADWIP 160 
 
 AWAITING THE TIGER - - 172 
 
 FISHING-BOATS IN THE SUNDARBANS - 182 
 
 A GROUP OF BAIGAS IN BALAGHAT 182 
 
 "BELVEDERE"- - 256 
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 336 
 KINCHINJANGA FROM DARJEELING - ... 352 
 
 vii
 
 AMONG INDIAN 
 RAJAHS AND RYOTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 I WENT out to India impressed with the dignity of our Service, 
 an impression derived from some of my European friends whose 
 lives had been spent in India, from my intercourse with Indian 
 gentlemen who were my fellow-probationers, and from reading 
 about the life and work of those who had been employed in the 
 making and maintenance of our Indian Empire. I found myself 
 in a novel atmosphere and among strange and unaccustomed 
 surroundings. I well remember the sense of loneliness which 
 possessed me at the first. I went out at a somewhat early date 
 so that I might spend a little time at Poona, before reporting 
 myself for duty. I suppose it may have been due to this fact 
 that no orders had been received in Bombay as to my destina- 
 tion. All that I was able to find out there was that, as I was 
 posted to the North- West Provinces of India, I must first of all 
 report myself at Allahabad. 
 
 Accordingly, after a short visit to Poona, I went to Allahabad, 
 and there reported myself to the Chief Secretary. I arrived 
 about the end of October, when Allahabad was exceedingly hot 
 and uncomfortable. Being still unacquainted with Indian 
 ways, I walked over from the hotel to the Secretariate at eleven 
 o'clock. I found the Chief Secretary a most genial, courteous, 
 
 9
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 and kindly man. After we had talked some time about the 
 Service, and when I was rising to leave, he offered to call my 
 trap. I told him that I had walked over from the hotel. He 
 warned me seriously that at that season it was by no means 
 a wise thing for a European to walk about in the sun, and 
 insisted on sending for a trap for me. The trap came, and I 
 drove in it to the Fort to visit two young officers whom I had 
 known at home and who were stationed at Allahabad. 
 
 After I had seen them, and lunched with them, I drove to the 
 hotel ; and with some difficulty made the driver of my trap 
 understand that I wanted to know how much I had to pay him 
 as his fare. To my horror he told me that he was not an 
 ordinary cab-driver, but the servant of the Chief Secretary. 
 I had therefore the chagrin of writing a humble apology to that 
 officer for having used his trap so long, an apology which re- 
 quired some care ; for this entailed an explanation how his 
 elegant conveyance had been mistaken by a miserable " griffin " 
 for one that was for hire. A very kindly letter was received in 
 return, informing me that I was posted to Nagpur in the Central 
 Provinces, and asking me to dine at the Club that evening. 
 
 I proceeded the next day by train to Nagpur. This second 
 journey took somewhat over thirty hours by rail. My knocking 
 about and my exposure had made me feel rather indisposed ; 
 and I was huddled up in a corner of a commodious first-class 
 carriage, such as they supply for long journeys in India, when 
 a gentleman entered the train at Jubbulpore. He at once began 
 to talk to me ; for Europeans are still very kindly to one another 
 in India, and were even more so then than now. He was soon 
 in possession of the facts that I was one of the new batch of 
 civilians, that I had already made a long journey to Allahabad, 
 and that I was posted to the Central Provinces. I asked him 
 about the hotel accommodation in Nagpur. He told me that 
 there was no hotel, but that there was a Dak (or Travellers' 1 ) 
 Bungalow. 
 
 It was thus that I became acquainted with Mr. J. W. 
 Chisholm, who, though considerably my senior, has been my 
 
 10
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 friend throughout my service, and is my friend to this day. He 
 told me that he was the District Magistrate of Jubbulpore, and 
 had just been appointed to take up the newly-created Excise 
 Commissionership. He said that he was going to stay with 
 Mr. J. W. Neill, the Chief Secretary, that he would probably 
 be at the station to meet him, and that he was sure that I should 
 not be allowed to go to the Dak Bungalow. So it turned out ; 
 for Mr. Neill took me into his house, offered me the choice of 
 my first District, and, finding that I knew nothing about the 
 Central Provinces, advised me to ask for the District of Jubbul- 
 pore. The officiating Chief Commissioner, Col. Keatinge, posted 
 me to Jubbulpore accordingly ; and, after a few pleasant days 
 spent with Mr. Neill, I had another journey of twenty-four hours 
 back to that station. 
 
 It was in the beautiful station of Jubbulpore that I began my 
 long Indian career. It has had much variety of experience and 
 of interest, and has afforded me unique opportunities of becoming 
 acquainted with India and its peoples. I served the Crown for 
 thirty-seven years, of which over a quarter of a century was 
 spent in the Central Provinces, of which I have (perhaps on that 
 account only) the most pleasant memories. I spent a whole 
 year in visiting every province in India and almost every impor- 
 tant Native State, as a member of the Commission appointed to 
 inquire into the use and abuse of intoxicating drugs, of which 
 my friend, Sir Mackworth Young, was the President. After 
 that I served with the Government of India as Secretary in the 
 Home Department. Then after a few years as Chief Commis- 
 sioner of my old Province, I was appointed by Lord Curzon's 
 Government to be President of the Police Commission, which 
 again took me to every Province in India. On the conclusion 
 of the labours of that Commission, I was appointed Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Bengal, and gave the last five years of my service to 
 that province. 
 
 To return to the old days, the somewhat lofty ideas that 
 I held regarding the Service which I had joined were dissipated 
 to a certain extent when I found myself gazetted as a magistrate 
 
 11
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 of the third class, the greater part of my work being to try 
 cases of assault and petty theft. I was also informed that I had 
 still examinations to pass in languages, in criminal, civil, and 
 revenue law and procedure, and in the practice of the treasury 
 and accounts. I was fortunately placed under a District Magis- 
 trate or Deputy Commissioner who took considerable interest 
 in his subordinates. Mr. Girdleston, of the Political Depart- 
 ment, had been appointed to be Deputy Commissioner of 
 Jubbulpore ; and when he was transferred to be resident at the 
 Court of Nepal, he was succeeded by Col. Saurin Brooke ; and 
 these two were my superiors during my first year of service. 
 
 Mr. Girdleston was animated by the highest traditions of the 
 Civil Service, and was especially anxious to train me in frank 
 and friendly relations with the people, and to impress on me the 
 necessity for passing my examinations in the higher standard 
 with the least possible delay, so that I might soon be qualified 
 for full work as a member of the Service. Col. Saurin Brooke 
 was devoted to municipal and local work ; and it was a pleasure 
 to him to take me round and show me the working of the 
 Jubbulpore Municipality, and of the District Councils in the 
 interior. Nothing could have been better for me than the 
 training which these officers gave me. I had also among my 
 fellow-assistants two men who were very anxious to do all they 
 could to help me to acquire a knowledge of my profession. The 
 one was an Englishman, Mr. W. A. Nedham, a man of consider- 
 able Indian experience and of the kindliest disposition and 
 manners. He advised and assisted me in many ways, both in 
 the preparation for my examination and also in the work that 
 was given me to do. The other was Aulad Hussain, a Muham- 
 madan officer, who was afterwards made a Khan Bahadur and 
 a C.I.E. for his excellent services. He was senior to me in the 
 Commission, and took great delight in helping me in my work, 
 and in endeavouring to show me how best to understand the 
 people, and to find my way to their hearts. To all these men, 
 and to many such as they among the officers of the Central 
 Provinces, I owe a great debt of gratitude. Throughout my 
 
 12
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 service, I believe^ it was the remembrance of what I owe to them 
 that made me anxious to attend to the training of young 
 civilians on their first arrival in India. 
 
 I very soon began to have friends among the people. I 
 remember well the dignified and courteous old Rajah of Saugor, 
 who was then living as a pensioner in Jubbulpore, and became a 
 constant visitor at my house, from whom I learned a great deal 
 about the people. I remember Baijanath Pande, an influential 
 Brahman malguzar (or land-holder) in Bijeraghogarh, a Parganah 
 of the Murwara Tahsil (subdivision), with whom I was brought 
 into contact in connection with inquiries into a local scarcity in 
 that part of the Jubbulpore District. My intimacy with these 
 and many others gave me opportunities of talking in the 
 vernacular to men of good position, and of acquiring those 
 niceties of courtesy in speech which characterize the communica- 
 tions between natives of India of high class, and the ignorance 
 of which on the part of some European officers tends to uncom- 
 fortable relations with some of the best disposed Indians. 
 
 One thing was above all others impressed on my mind by my 
 kindly advisers, and my own experience proved it, namely, that 
 almost the worst thing that a European officer can do in his 
 intercourse with Indians with whom he is brought into contact 
 is to lose his temper. They are extremely sensitive in regard to 
 the manner in which they are treated ; and an officer who loses 
 his temper and acquires the reputation of being sometimes 
 violent in his language creates a complete and practically 
 impassable barrier between himself and the people of the 
 country. They do not know at what time an irascible officer 
 may use language to them which may expose them to the ridicule 
 of their fellow-countrymen, whether they be their equals or their 
 inferiors. An important lesson for a young officer in India to 
 learn is, that courtesy, always desirable in the communications 
 of life, is much more than desirable it is absolutely essential 
 in communications with Indians. 
 
 In my early days the cases which I had to try the small 
 assault and petty theft cases were generally conducted by police 
 
 18
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 prosecutors and junior members of the Bar, who in those days, 
 in the Central Provinces at least, did not profess a knowledge of 
 English. Some of them, indeed, knew English well enough to 
 understand ordinary remarks made to them in that tongue ; 
 but they did not know it well enough to speak the language 
 in court ; and they were certainly not encouraged by the Central 
 Provinces officers of those days to do so. The British officers 
 were determined, in accordance with the fine traditions of the 
 Service, and especially on account of their constant association 
 with the people in Revenue, Settlement and other departments 
 of executive work, to conduct their court work in the vernacular. 
 It is now far too common to see work in court conducted entirely 
 in the English language ; but there is practically still no part of 
 India where this can be done without grave disadvantage, except 
 perhaps in the Provincial High Courts. The great mass of the 
 people do not know English ; and it is not fair to the parties or 
 to the witnesses that their cases should be conducted in a 
 language which they do not understand. The judge should 
 himself be able to understand what any ordinary witness before 
 him is saying, and to ask such a witness in his own vernacular 
 questions which will elucidate his statement. 
 
 The great majority of the cases which I had to try when I 
 first joined the Service in Jubbulpore had to be tried in a small 
 room, where I sat at a table, without even the dignity of a dais, 
 and had in front of me the parties, the witnesses, and the 
 counsel, all talking in the vernacular. I admit that I have a 
 painful recollection of the length of time that it took me in the 
 earlier of these cases to understand all that was said to me, 
 and to make counsel and witnesses understand all that was in 
 my mind. But the training was invaluable ; and the patience 
 of the people and courtesy of the Bar made a deep impression on 
 my mind. It is really much to be regretted that the progress of 
 the knowledge of English among the learned professions, and their 
 desire to conduct their cases in that language, have released the 
 young civilian of the present day from the necessity of submitting 
 to these somewhat trying, but exceedingly valuable, experiences. 
 
 14
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 The prevalence of English in our courts is undoubtedly due 
 in part to the pressure of work, and to the not unnatural desire 
 of officers, not well acquainted with the vernacular, to get 
 through their cases more easily and more quickly ; but it is 
 also undoubtedly due to the reluctance of members of the Bar 
 to address the court in the vernacular. There are, indeed, 
 many practitioners at the Bar now, who frankly declare their 
 incapacity to deliver an address in the vernacular. This is 
 greatly to be regretted. It is not just to the people to have 
 court business conducted in a foreign language; and it is 
 deplorable in its effect on the members of the Service ; for there 
 is no qualification in an officer which will wholly compensate 
 for want of knowledge of the vernacular. 
 
 In my very early days I broke down utterly, and had to take 
 leave within eighteen months of my arrival in India. This was 
 entirely due to want of knowledge, and want of advice, regarding 
 the dangers to which the European is exposed in India from 
 climate and from insanitary conditions. It has often seemed to 
 me most deplorable that young men should be allowed to start 
 life in that country without the necessary advice and warning. 
 Lady Wilson, the wife of Sir James Wilson, of the Punjab 
 Service, has published an excellent little pamphlet of advice 
 to young men setting out on an Indian career ; and Surgeon- 
 General Sir Charles Lukis, the present Director- General of the 
 Indian Medical Department, when he was Principal of the 
 Medical College in Calcutta, wrote at my request another most 
 useful pamphlet, containing practical hints for the preservation 
 of health in India. These two little works should, I think, be 
 placed by the India Office in the hands of young men joining 
 the Indian Services. They might save many a breakdown, and 
 so obviate much trouble and anxiety to officers and much 
 expense to Government. 
 
 In my early London days the probationers for the Indian 
 Civil Service were grossly neglected. We had, indeed, very 
 clear instructions given to us as to the lines of study which we 
 should follow; and in that respect our training was excellent. 
 
 15
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 I think that, in one or two respects, it was better than the 
 training now given to probationers. In the first place, it was 
 a two years' course of probation instead of only one, as at 
 present. This was of great advantage to us in two respects. 
 It gave us a better opportunity of grounding ourselves in the 
 language and literature of the East than" probationers now have ; 
 and, as it is very difficult in India to secure good scientific 
 tuition in the vernaculars, it was a great benefit to have 
 secured this at home. There is no doubt that, when we 
 reached India, we had a great deal to learn of the colloquial 
 use of the vernaculars, of correct pronunciation, and of 
 adaptation of our speech to the varying circumstances and 
 dialects of the people among whom we had to work; but 
 we had a far better basis than the present system gives, on 
 which to build up a useful knowledge of the Eastern languages 
 current among the people of the Provinces to which we were 
 sent. 
 
 In the second place, there is no doubt that our two years'* 
 training was far more useful to us in respect of the history of 
 India, the principles of political economy, and our knowledge 
 of law. As regards the last, we had not only to study law books, 
 and to pass examinations on them ; but we were compelled, 
 also, to attend police courts for criminal law, county courts 
 for civil law, and the higher courts for both ; to report cases 
 to the Commissioners ; and to write intelligent notes on the 
 practice of the courts, and the principles of the law of evidence 
 as illustrated in these cases. That practical work in the English 
 courts gave us a conception of the methods used in our courts, 
 and a respect for the administration of j ustice there, which it is 
 difficult to believe the young civilians of the present day can 
 acquire without such training. This portion of our work was 
 of special interest to us, and was, I think, also of much value. 
 It is greatly to be regretted that this part of the training of 
 civilians should have been abandoned. 
 
 There is no doubt a difficulty, now that the age for entrance 
 into the service has been raised, in giving a two years' course 
 
 16
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 of probation ; but I am very far from thinking that the raising 
 of the age for the Competitive Examination, and the reduction 
 of the period of probation, have secured a better class of men, 
 from the point of view of the interests of India, than the system 
 under which I entered the Service. In my time the maximum 
 age was twenty-one. Every candidate was bound to be over 
 nineteen and under twenty-one when he appeared for the 
 Competitive Examination. That left it possible for men to 
 complete a University education and take a degree before 
 appearing for examination, though it must be admitted that 
 a large number of those who did appear had sacrificed their 
 University training .for special preparation for the Competitive 
 Examination. At the same time, the men who came up for the 
 Competitive Examination then differed from those who appear 
 for it now in that, being somewhat younger, their ideas were not 
 so completely set, and they were more capable of adapting 
 themselves to the circumstances and requirements of the 
 career which they had selected. 
 
 They entered on that career without having acquired certain 
 tastes and habits of life which, while thoroughly suitable to 
 a scholarly career at home, and even to the general life of 
 this country, are not such as make a man very ready to adapt 
 himself to the circumstances of a new country, and to enter 
 easily and without effort into co-operation with his fellow- 
 subjects of different race, and in many respects of different 
 character. I am sure that there are many advantages in having 
 men thoroughly well educated, and possessed of high University 
 qualifications before they enter on any career of life ; but I 
 am not sure that the training and life of an English University 
 are easily exchanged by the man who has settled down to them 
 for the peculiar life which the civilian has to lead in India. 
 In any case, to secure the advantages which the present system 
 is believed to give, the efficient and adequate training of the 
 probationers is to a great extent sacrificed. 
 
 The great defect of the old system was undoubtedly this, 
 that the probationers for the Service were practically compelled 
 
 17 B
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 to come and live in London, without any supervision or control 
 over their lives. It is true that men were permitted to conduct 
 their studies where they liked ; some actually did pass their 
 probationary period in Edinburgh or Dublin, or some other 
 centre of British University life ; and they were allowed to 
 report Scottish or Irish as well as English cases. At the same 
 time, the facilities for tuition in the subjects prescribed for the 
 study of the probationers, and for the further examinations, 
 were much greater in London than elsewhere. Study in London 
 was undoubtedly the best training then available; and, had 
 there been any attempt to guide the young men, and to save 
 them from the temptations and dangers of life in the great 
 capital, the system would not practically have been open to 
 criticism. But that so many of the probationers passed without 
 stain through the period of probation, was due far more to 
 their own good fortune or good sense than to any influence 
 exercised over them by the authorities. One or two cases there 
 were of young men who threw away their opportunities, and 
 sacrificed all the expense and trouble involved in their educa- 
 tion, by the follies of their life in London ; and one can only 
 say in their defence that the fault lay as much with those 
 who ought to have made better provision for the supervision 
 and regulation of their life in town, as with the young men 
 themselves. 
 
 In my time there was a good number of men who devoted 
 themselves to the study of law at one or other of the Inns of 
 Court ; and there were certain barristers who gave themselves 
 to teaching young civilians with special reference to Indian Law, 
 and the circumstances of Indian practice and service. This was 
 an enormous advantage. The personal acquaintance with an 
 honourable, upright and able member of the Bar, the private 
 intercourse with him, the acquisition of his ways of looking 
 at questions involving the principles of law and justice, and the 
 communication by him of the high traditions of the English 
 Bar, were of very great advantage. 
 
 Directly and pecuniarily, the legal training which I received 
 
 18
 
 EARLY DAYS 
 
 in London may not manifestly have been of much use to me in 
 my Indian career. It is true that I was posted to a Non-regula- 
 tion Province, in which the distinction between Executive and 
 Judicial functions had not then been made, and that I there- 
 fore had Judicial work not only as a magistrate in the earlier 
 part of my career, when Assistant Commissioner and Deputy 
 Commissioner, but also later on as a Sessions Judge, when Com- 
 missioner ; but I did not belong at any part of my career to the 
 Judicial Department. All the same, my legal training was of 
 great advantage to me. Some such training is necessary for all 
 civilians, for in every branch of the Service they have to apply 
 the principles of law, and to be animated by the impartial spirit 
 of the English judges. 
 
 It is, of course, particularly for the Judicial Department that 
 special legal training is now clearly and undoubtedly essential ; 
 where that is not given fully in the probationary period of 
 service, it ought to be supplemented by careful and expert 
 tuition at later periods ; and for this the Government of India 
 ought to make, and are now beginning to make, some provision. 
 Even in my own case, the legal training that I had, and the 
 position which I held in India, as a member of the English Bar, 
 was of no little advantage. Legal practitioners in India some- 
 times showed more consideration in their treatment of me, 
 and were more willing to pay respect to my views, and to my 
 decisions, when they knew that I was a member of what is in 
 India the highest branch of the legal profession. In one par- 
 ticular case, where I was Commissioner and Sessions Judge, the 
 local Bar appointed me to be the Honorary President of the 
 Bar Association, and accepted my assistance and co-operation 
 in helping them to get rid of certain abuses. I have therefore 
 had no reason whatever to regret the time that I spent at the 
 Middle Temple, and my call to the Bar. 
 
 19
 
 CHAPTER II 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 WHEN I joined the Central Provinces, that part of India was 
 officered largely by men belonging to what was then known as 
 the Staff Corps, consisting of officers of the Indian Army who 
 had elected for Staff employment. The greater number of the 
 Districts were in the hands of these officers, along with a 
 sprinkling of members of the Indian Civil Service; but the 
 Commissionerships and Secretariate appointments were practic- 
 ally in the hands of the Civil Service. The men who held 
 these high appointments were men from other Provinces, whose 
 services had been specially asked for by Sir Richard Temple, 
 who was the real founder of the Province, and Sir John Morris, 
 who was the first Chief Commissioner after Sir Richard to hold 
 the Province for any length of time. Both these officers were 
 well known to be unusually happy in the selection of their sub- 
 ordinates ; and some of the Commissioners and heads of depart- 
 ments serving in the Province when I joined were men of great 
 distinction, such as Sir Alfred Lyall, Sir Charles Bernard, and 
 Sir Charles Elliott. 
 
 Among the military officers employed in Districts, and occa- 
 sionally in Commissionerships, there were a few men of really 
 exceptional ability, who commanded the respect of all who 
 came into contact with them, and especially of those who served 
 under them ; but there were others and they were, I think, 
 the majority who never could have claimed to be men of any 
 special ability, or to be well trained in law and the principles of 
 administration. Yet they were thoroughly sensible men, and 
 
 20
 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS 
 
 well suited for the work of a new and backward Province. They 
 would have found themselves very much out of their element, 
 and probably not infrequently in hot water, had they served in 
 a Province such as Bengal, with its teeming Bar, and the crowd 
 of critics rather inclined to a hostile attitude ; but in the Central 
 Provinces they ruled happily over a happy people. The dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of these men was that they knew the 
 Province. They had learned it in the work they had done in 
 the different grades of the Settlement Department, and in the 
 constant camp life which was the tradition of the Province in 
 those early days ; and they were for the most part, not only 
 sensible men, but men animated by justice and by kindliness. 
 
 Some of these men showed their good sense by a clear 
 understanding of their own limitations. I remember serving 
 under one as his assistant when I joined the District as a 
 somewhat junior officer. He asked me to come and see him 
 and talk over the division of the work. He told me that he 
 felt that he knew a great deal about forest work, about local 
 works, which were ordinarily in the charge of the Municipal 
 Committees and District Council, and also about police work. 
 He said that he would retain these matters in his own charge, 
 in addition to the court work, which, as District Magistrate, he 
 was bound to do ; but he would be very glad, with a view to my 
 own training, to let me see as much of the work in connection 
 with them as I found time to examine. 
 
 He added that he understood that I was a University man 
 and also a barrister-at-law, and that he would therefore like me 
 to take full charge of education and kindred matters, and also 
 to prepare for him the records in the revision and appellate 
 work of his court. I found my time with him most valuable as 
 a training. I devoted myself with diligence to the departments 
 which he had allotted to me ; and, as I was able to assist him 
 considerably in his judicial appellate and revision work, I found 
 him very willing to assist me and instruct me in regard to the de- 
 partments which he had retained under his own control and in the 
 miscellaneous work of the District ; and he discussed freely all 
 
 21
 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS 
 
 questions of any interest connected with the administration of 
 the District. 
 
 I think that this was a very typical case. The "Military 
 Deputy Commissioner,'" as we used to call him, knew very well 
 what he himself was fit for, and he recognized the qualifications 
 of the specially trained civilian for certain work which he did 
 not think he was altogether as well qualified to perform. The 
 result was that, though the more highly trained civilians 
 sometimes thought a little lightly of some of these men, the 
 administration of the Province was on the whole well conducted 
 by them. 
 
 I remember an officer whom I had not had the pleasure of 
 meeting before I entered the Secretariate. He was a District 
 Magistrate in another part of the Province from that in which 
 I had been serving. He was in charge of an important District, 
 and had an excellent reputation as a sensible and efficient 
 officer. In the Secretariate I found that his reports were clear 
 and interesting ; that his answers to matters referred to him, as 
 well as to other local officers, were often especially useful ; and 
 that he succeeded, apparently, in getting through a surprising 
 amount of work. I thought of him as an able and, perhaps, 
 even brilliant man. 
 
 I accompanied the Chief Commissioner on tour, the Secretary 
 in the Public Works being also with us. We came to the 
 District of which this Magistrate was in charge. After a day or 
 two with him, I found that he was distinctly not brilliant, and 
 that he could hardly be called able. In the course of con- 
 versation I mentioned to the Secretary in the Public Works 
 what my impression had been, and that I was somewhat dis- 
 appointed, on personal acquaintance, with the officer of whom I 
 had formed so high an opinion. My colleague, who knew him 
 well, replied: "There are two classes of men who deal with 
 business in two different ways. A man of the one class, when 
 he has a difficult piece of work to do, scratches his head thought- 
 fully, and says to himself, ' How on earth am I to do this ?' A 
 man of the other class, under similar circumstances, also scratches 
 
 22
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 his head thoughtfully, but says, ' Who on earth am I to get to 
 do this?" 1 Our friend is of the second class. He is not a very 
 able man ; but he has a qualification which compensates fully 
 for the lack of personal ability, namely, a capacity for choosing 
 the subordinate best fitted to do any particular work for 
 him." 
 
 There is no doubt that one of the most valuable character- 
 istics of an officer in a responsible position is the good sense 
 which enables him to know whom to trust, and whom to select 
 for any particular piece of work. After all, what we want is 
 to have the work well done, and it is less important who it is 
 that does it. It is as useless as it is unwise for any man who 
 has a heavy charge, and who is supplied with a good staff, to 
 try to do everything for himself. It is decidedly of advantage 
 that he should be able to do things well for himself, when it is 
 desirable that he should do them at all ; and it is necessary that 
 he should be able to know whether the work of his subordinates 
 is good or not ; but it is also essential to efficient work that 
 he should be ready to give a reasonably full share of the 
 work to his subordinates, so as to leave himself time for 
 initiation and general supervision, without an undue burden of 
 details. 
 
 I have often found a thoroughly able man administering a 
 charge with less success than many officers inferior in capacity 
 to himself, because of the want of the power to call upon his 
 colleagues and his subordinates for loyal and hearty co- 
 operation. This is sometimes due merely to a blundering desire 
 to push forward, no matter how high the pressure, with any 
 piece of work that happens to come into one's hand. It is 
 sometimes, however, due to a characteristic which is, I think, in 
 India regarded with very special dislike and contempt I mean 
 the suspicion of subordinates. An officer undoubtedly ought to 
 exercise close and keen supervision to prevent mistakes and 
 carelessness, and to obviate the possibility of dishonesty; but 
 he ought quickly to know whom he can trust ; and he ought 
 never to show suspicion of an officer who has won his way 
 
 23
 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS 
 
 into a position of trust unless such suspicion has very serious 
 justification. It is wonderful how general throughout the 
 Services is the honourable feeling of confidence on the part of 
 superiors, and loyalty on the part of subordinates ; but there 
 are some men whose characters are so framed that they are full 
 of suspicion on every side. I do not think that there is any 
 class of officers more unfit for the delicate and responsible 
 positions into which men are called in the Executive Service 
 in India. 
 
 On one occasion I was walking around Pachmarhi with my old 
 chief, Sir John Morris ; and there was with us another officer of 
 the Province, a civilian of great ability, who afterwards rose to 
 very high distinction. This officer was pressing on Sir John 
 Morris the desirability of getting rid, gradually no doubt but 
 as speedily as possible, of the military element in the Com- 
 mission. He was urging that the time had come when they 
 should be relegated to the military service for general duty, or 
 placed on pension, so as to make way for more fully trained men 
 belonging to the Civil Service. He was insisting on the view 
 that these men were not really fit for their appointments ; that 
 many of them might commit serious mistakes unless they 
 were carefully watched ; and that they should therefore be 
 removed. 
 
 Sir John Morris took up two positions in regard to these men. 
 The one was that they were of more value than their previous 
 training might have led one to expect, owing to their real know- 
 ledge of the country, and the kindly and sympathetic relations 
 which had grown up between them and the people ; the other, 
 that it was essential to maintain good faith with every class of 
 officers, if the Government was to continue to receive the con- 
 fidence of its subordinates and to secure loyal and efficient service. 
 He was therefore opposed to any drastic measure of change. 
 At the close of the argument he made use of an expression 
 which was entirely typical of the character of his administration. 
 He said, " It would no doubt be easy to administer a Province, 
 if every officer were thoroughly well qualified for the post which 
 
 24
 
 he holds ; but it is a better test of administrative capacity to be 
 able to secure really good all-round service from a somewhat 
 inferior staff." 
 
 This was a principle which lay at the very root of Sir John's 
 administration. He kept his eyes and ears open wherever he 
 went ; he discussed matters in the fullest and frankest way with 
 all officers whom he met, and especially with those who were 
 nearest to himself in position ; and he strongly advised the 
 Commissioners of Division and the heads of departments to 
 travel about throughout their charges and discuss all questions 
 freely and frankly with their subordinates. The result of this 
 was twofold. In the first place, it secured an administration 
 throughout the Province that was really measured in efficiency 
 by the possibilities of the best men and not of the worst ; and 
 in the second place, it secured those kindly and confidential 
 relations between officers which led officers from other Provinces 
 to describe the Central Provinces Administration as " a happy 
 family. 11 I have often heard men from other parts of India 
 speak in the strongest terms of this characteristic, which remains 
 an effective tradition in the Province to this day. 
 
 It is wonderful how little capacity some thoroughly practical 
 men have of conveying to others the information of which they 
 are full. I remember the Provincial head of one of our important 
 departments, who knew more about the details of his depart- 
 ment than almost any officer I ever met. He was devoted to 
 his work, full of knowledge and full of energy ; but it was very 
 difficult to get him to reply to official references or to submit in 
 writing a report at all worthy of himself. On one occasion when 
 I was Secretary there were some dozen or score of important 
 references from the Secretariate pending in his office. The 
 Government was at its hill station. This officer, in the course 
 of a tour, visited the place. He was at once told that he must 
 not leave until all these cases had been disposed of. He tele- 
 graphed for the necessary papers and sat down with me and 
 went into all the questions one by one. I never saw a man so 
 full of valuable information, when one set to work to pump him 
 
 25
 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS 
 
 systematically. And in a few days we had entirely disposed of 
 the whole budget of arrears and taken the orders of the Head 
 of the Government on every case. This officer afterwards served 
 under a less sensible and considerate Chief than we then had, and 
 his heart was nearly broken by the harshness of the communica- 
 tions which he received. 
 
 On one occasion I was taking up to another of the Chiefs 
 under whom I served a draft in which I had clearly stated the 
 facts of a case in which one of the officers of the Province had 
 seriously blundered. My draft was full and clear, and, on the 
 whole, just, except that it took no cognizance of the fact that 
 the officer in question was a conscientious, hard-working officer, 
 who was highly esteemed by the people of his District. The 
 tone of the letter was therefore too severe. My Chief was 
 Mr. W. B. Jones, C.S.I., a Central Provinces officer who had, 
 some time before, gone for a time into the Political Department 
 as Resident at Hyderabad (Deccan), and had just returned to 
 his old Province as its Chief. He talked the draft over with me, 
 and, while acknowledging the completeness and accuracy of the 
 statement of the case, pointed out the undue severity of tone. 
 With great courtesy he made it clear to me that a censure 
 couched in considerate language was, in the case at least of a 
 loyal and conscientious officer, at least as effective as one that 
 was harsh in tone. It was a good lesson to learn, and well worth 
 being carefully taught. I never forgot it, though I daresay I 
 did not always act fully in accordance with it. 
 
 Another incident lives in my memory. I was a very young 
 officer, and Under (then called " Assistant ") Secretary to the 
 Chief Commissioner. The roof of my room required repairs, 
 and I had to sit for a few days at another table in the same 
 room with the Chief Secretary, Mr. Lindsay Neill. This was 
 one of the hardest working officers I ever met. He could work 
 all day long without rest or recreation for weeks on end ; and 
 he loved his work. His principal defect seemed to me to be 
 that he did far too much with his own hand. I have often 
 known him to refuse help in the mere clerical drudgery of a case 
 
 26
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 he was dealing with : he liked to deal wholly with a case " from 
 start to finish." 
 
 One day an officer of a somewhat nervous character, but very 
 capable, came driving up to the door. Mr. Neill could see from 
 where he sat who it was that was driving up. Immediately a 
 drawer was pulled open and a yellow-backed novel taken out ; 
 and up went Mr. NeilPs legs on a corner of the open drawer, as 
 he lay back in his chair. The officer was announced, and came 
 forward, saying, " Are you busy ?" Mr. Neill replied, " No," 
 laid the yellow-back face downwards on the table, and placed 
 his feet on the floor. The officer said all he had to say, got all 
 the advice he wanted, and went away. I ventured to ask 
 Mr. Neill the meaning of the production of the yellow-back, 
 which I was confident he never read. He replied, " There are 
 one or two good men who are horribly nervous if they think they 
 are interrupting a busy man : they never can state their case 
 in a hurry. The statement of such a man is less effective, and 
 takes ever so much more time, unless you put him at his ease 
 and make him believe that he has caught you at a slack hour." 
 This was quite like Mr. Neill, who was a keen observer of men 
 and very considerate. I haye never slavishly imitated his plan 
 of having an unreadable novel at hand for the purpose ; but I 
 have often adopted his wise habit of letting men state their case 
 in their own way, and, as far as possible, letting them take their 
 own time in the statement. 
 
 I recall another incident of a somewhat touching character in 
 connection with Mr. Neill, which was to some extent indicative, 
 not only of the kindliness of his own disposition, but also of the 
 simple and kindly relations that existed in those days between 
 the people and even very senior officers. After some time spent 
 in district and departmental work away from the Secretariate, 
 I was called on to take over charge of the office of Chief Secre- 
 tary from Mr. Neill. In giving over charge he told me that 
 there were two helpless old men, to each of whom he made from 
 his own purse a regular allowance of one rupee a week. They 
 received their allowances on two different days near the Secre- 
 
 27
 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS 
 
 tariate. They were both men who had lost their reason through 
 civil litigation. Neither of them understood our system ; each 
 believed that the Civil Courts had done him grievous wrong, 
 and had too much of the old Oriental notions to understand 
 that the highest authority in the land could not interfere on his 
 behalf. So he had petitioned the Chief Commissioner. Mr. 
 Neill had seen them both, ascertained that nothing could be 
 done, gauged the gentle and inoffensive mental weakness, and 
 made up his mind not to pass orders which might extinguish 
 hope. 
 
 So every week each of these two old men was told that no 
 order had yet been passed, and that he must come up again 
 next week, but that one rupee had been allowed as "khurak.""* 
 They lived quietly in Nagpur city, and their neighbours have 
 told me how they would talk about the justice of the Chief 
 Commissioner. These neighbours guessed what the old men did 
 not know, that the kindly Chief Secretary was making their sad 
 lives a little brighter by an ingenious method of extending help 
 which would otherwise have been refused. This device, at small 
 cost to the thoughtful and sympathetic officer, enabled these two 
 old men to live, peacefully, and without much sense of bitterness, 
 until their sad lives ended at God's behest. I do not belittle 
 the action of my friend when I add that it was not wholly 
 exceptional in those days, but rather characteristic of the rela- 
 tions between many of the officers of my old Province and the 
 people among whom they lived. 
 
 I once heard an Indian friend of my own speak with intense 
 enthusiasm of the action of an officer, then a young man though 
 now holding a position of some importance. There was cholera 
 prevalent in the District where Mr. Napier was serving, and he 
 was out in camp with his tents. News reached him that Mr. 
 Chatterjee, the District Forest Officer, who was in camp some 
 miles off, was down with cholera. Mr. Chatterjee was a fine 
 man, straight, upright, and capable. Mr. Napier knew him a 
 little then, and they became great friends afterwards. On receipt 
 
 * Subsistence allowance or diet money. 
 28
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 of this news, Mr. Napier galloped off at once to Mr. Chatter) ee's 
 camp, found him desperately ill, far from help and with no one 
 near him who had any idea of what to do in such an emergency. 
 He settled down determinedly, as he would have done for his 
 own brother or old friend, and nursed him over the crisis and 
 back to health. It was well to have been ready to seize such an 
 opportunity : such an act of recognition of our common humanity 
 and its obligations is of immense value. Mr. Chatterjee, like 
 many Indians, was liberal in the use of his means : he delighted 
 in founding scholarships and giving gifts to dispensaries, schools, 
 and libraries : a good number of these benefactions were after- 
 wards made by him in the name of his devoted brother officer of 
 another race. Mr. Chatterjee was one of my friends in the 
 Central Provinces ; and many an opportunity he gave me of 
 knowing his inmost thoughts. It was with great regret that I 
 heard of his death after years of excellent service for which the 
 prompt action of Mr. Napier was the means of sparing him. 
 
 This incident reminds me of an occasion when, at the very 
 beginning of my service, I was sent out to deal with the most 
 appalling outbreak of cholera which I have heard of during all 
 my life in India. I had to take with me a staff of police and 
 vaccinators who were deputed for sanitary work in connection 
 with that terrible epidemic. We found that blind panic had 
 seized the villagers, causing them to desert their houses and 
 property and take to flight into the jungle with a ruthless 
 disregard of the sick and the dying. These were often locked 
 up in their cottages and left, with nothing but a jar of water, to 
 meet their fate. 
 
 As I was starting on this expedition I telegraphed to my 
 friend, Dr. Joseph Barter, who was then acting as Sanitary 
 Commissioner, to send me as soon as he could any brief directions 
 which might suggest themselves to him as of possible service to 
 me. He sent me some papers regarding the treatment of 
 epidemics ; and with them he sent a sensible letter, containing 
 a few practical suggestions. Some of these were purely medical 
 and need not be recorded; for sanitary science has certainly 
 
 29
 
 EUROPEAN OFFICERS 
 
 made great strides of late years in India. Others were the sage 
 counsels of a kindly Irishman who had lived much among the 
 people and understood them well. Among these was a recom- 
 mendation that I should myself smoke, and also permit my 
 subordinates to smoke if they desired. As regards myself, he 
 said that some thought tobacco a disinfectant, and that in any 
 case smoking was a cheery habit. As regards my subordinates, 
 to understand the meaning of his instruction it is necessary to 
 remember that although many of the natives of that part of 
 India use tobacco freely, yet, as a rule, the native does not 
 consider it correct to smoke in the presence of his superior. 
 But it appeared to my adviser that for me distinctly to inform 
 my men that they might smoke without regard to this sentiment, 
 would produce a feeling of camaraderie, and an atmosphere of 
 geniality and intimacy, in which the sense of danger would be 
 minimized, and most effective work would be done. 
 
 His second piece of advice was equally useful. It was that I 
 should never enter on work in an infected village while hungry, 
 nor allow my subordinates to do so. He urged me to carry 
 with me a good supply of provisions for the whole camp, and to 
 select, at some distance from the village we might be visiting, 
 a spot where there was least risk of infection, and there partake 
 myself, and insist on my staff partaking, of a hearty meal. In 
 this way, he said, the body is fitted to resist infection, and there 
 is a vigour and cheerfulness about work which is very important 
 under the circumstances of an epidemic. 
 
 His third piece of advice was that of a courageous Irish gentle- 
 man. It was that I should myself work with the men, and let 
 the men work with me, and that I should never send them to 
 any place where I was unwilling to go myself, nor call on them 
 to do any work which I was unwilling to do. If disinfecting 
 had to be done, if the sick had to be tended, if bodies of the 
 dead had to be removed and burned, I was to be with the men 
 in all such operations. I found the advice valuable at the time ; 
 and it was with intense gratitude to my adviser that I returned, 
 at the close of our work, with a complete staff, not one of my 
 
 30
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 men having taken the disease during our operations. The 
 advice, valuable on this occasion, was never forgotten under 
 similar circumstances, and my respect for my adviser, who still 
 lives in an honourable retirement at home, and will long live in 
 the memory of many simple people throughout the Districts of 
 
 the Central Provinces, has remained undiminished through all 
 
 f our years of friendship. 
 
 31
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 MORE ABOUT CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 I HAVE perhaps sufficiently indicated that one important feature 
 of official life in the Central Provinces in the old days was the 
 importance attached to the training of young officers. I have 
 the liveliest recollection of the great kindness almost invariably 
 shown to me in my early service by the officers of all grades 
 under whom I had the privilege of serving. This made life 
 more pleasant, and was therefore worthy of commendation from 
 the point of view of our common humanity. It was also praise- 
 worthy from the official point of view. It made work not only 
 smoother, but far more efficient. 
 
 We were taught from the very first to take an interest in our 
 work, and were encouraged to do our very best to discharge our 
 duties honestly and efficiently. We talked frankly about our 
 work to our superiors. When we made mistakes these were 
 pointed out to us with clearness and precision, but, as a rule, 
 with kindness also. It was only the man who deliberately 
 scamped his work, or who showed "zid"* in his work, that 
 got into really hot water. When work was good, it received 
 commendation which was all the more frank that it was entirely 
 unofficial. 
 
 It is impossible to overestimate the effect of kindly and 
 wise treatment of young officers by those who have had much 
 experience, and occupy comparatively high positions. The 
 memory of what I owed to many of my superiors has, I think, 
 
 * " Zid " is a well-known word in India ; it indicates an implacable 
 persecuting spirit of personal spite. 
 
 82
 
 CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 influenced me in my treatment of young officers since I attained 
 to the higher offices in the Service. My wife and I made it a 
 practice to receive newly joined civilians at Government House, 
 Nagpur, when I was Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces, 
 and at Belvedere, when I was Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. 
 They spent their first few days with us. 
 
 This enabled my wife to talk to them freely about their life 
 in India, and to give them many hints which not a few of them 
 have spoken of as of great value. It also enabled me to get 
 some knowledge of them, and to give them hints about their 
 work in a more effective way than by mere circular orders. It 
 had another good effect. These young officers realised that the 
 head of the province desired to be on friendly terms with them, 
 and that they had not settled down entirely among strangers 
 who were indifferent to their welfare, and inclined to ignore 
 them and their work. My wife and I have had many kindly 
 intimations, sometimes after several years, of how much the 
 young men appreciated this treatment. 
 
 My chief officers and I used to consider with anxious care to 
 what District each of these young officers should be sent. The 
 District was selected from various considerations, of which the 
 healthiness of the climate was one. It is wasteful, as well as 
 cruel, to send an officer to an unhealthy station unless the 
 interests of the Service demand it. These interests rarely, if 
 ever, require that a young man, who is under training, should 
 be sent to any particular place : the place for him is the place 
 where he can best prepare himself for the work of his life. 
 Another consideration was the kind of work which was being 
 carried on in the different Districts. We tried to choose a 
 District the work of which afforded the best chances of a sound 
 training. But perhaps the most important consideration of all 
 was the character of the officers who were in charge of the most 
 likely Districts. We wanted to send the young officer to be 
 under a District officer who was a sound and sensible workman, 
 who cared for the people, who was likely to take an interest in 
 his young subordinate, and who would devote himself to train- 
 
 38 c
 
 MORE ABOUT 
 
 ing him in the manner best fitted to make him a useful officer 
 in his turn. 
 
 When we had selected the District to which a young officer 
 was to be sent, I wrote privately to the officer under whom he 
 was to serve. I happen to have a copy of one of the letters 
 which I issued. It may be quoted here as indicating both 
 what my experience had been as a young officer, and what I 
 thought might be done for men in similar circumstances. The 
 letter is marked " Confidential," and runs as follows. 
 
 "I am sending to you A. B. from among the civilians who 
 have just passed their examinations and come out from home 
 posted to this province. It is because I think that your in- 
 fluence over him will be good, that you will be kind to him, and 
 that you will assist him in preparing for his future career, that 
 I send him to you. 
 
 " I should like you very carefully and earnestly to advise 
 him to give his best efforts to passing his examinations. You 
 know how important it is for men to become qualified at once 
 to take their place in district administration. Until he passes, 
 he is very much less useful to Government ; and his position 
 is not a pleasant one for himself. The sooner he gets rid of 
 the burden of examinations, and acquires the knowledge which 
 examinations are intended to test, the better for him and for 
 the service. 
 
 "A. B. should be employed in assisting you in any way that 
 you think right, subject to this limitation, that he should not 
 ordinarily be called upon to do more work than is required to 
 give him some experimental knowledge of work and so assist 
 him in his examinations and in acquiring fitness for the duties 
 of an Assistant. I shall not reduce your staff at all in conse- 
 quence of his being sent to you, so that it may be possible 
 for you to utilise his services only so far as will be of advantage 
 to him in his training. My idea is that he should be regarded 
 as an extra man, so that he may have plenty of time for study 
 for his examinations ; and I look to you not to allow him to 
 forget the necessity for passing them quickly. 
 
 84
 
 CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 " A. B. should be stationed at the head-quarters of your 
 district. If you think fit to take him into camp, you 
 should be careful that this is not allowed to interfere with 
 his studies and other work, and that he is not allowed to 
 fall into the erroneous notion that a tour in the interior of 
 a district is undertaken merely for sport and recreation. While 
 he is under training, he should be required to visit the various 
 institutions which are available for him (schools, pounds, police 
 posts, dispensaries, municipalities, roads and buildings, the 
 various Government offices and the like), so that he may become 
 acquainted with the general administration of the district ; 
 and, of course, he ought to be placed some time during his 
 training, as the rules require, in joint charge of the Treasury, 
 so that he may learn Treasury work. 
 
 " As soon as you think him fit, he may be nominated a 
 member of the head-quarters Municipal Committee or of the 
 District Board, so that he may acquire a knowledge of the 
 manner in which the members transact business, and get into 
 the way of courteous discussion and co-operation with them. 
 He ought also to look into sanitation and local works and make 
 special inquiries and reports for you. I think it essential that 
 in everything which the young civilian is called upon to do, 
 he should be made to realise that a Government officer has 
 serious responsibility resting upon him. If he is the member, 
 for example, of a local body, he ought to realise that he is not 
 only nominally a member, that he is bound to take his share 
 in the work, and that he is bound to keep the District Officer 
 thoroughly acquainted with all that is going on. He should 
 be shown the best means of making himself useful ; and the 
 District Officer ought to be able to judge, from the reports 
 which he receives from him, and from conversation with him, 
 whether he is making the best use of his opportunities. 
 
 " I would ask you from the very first earnestly to impress 
 upon A. B. the duty of kindly, sympathetic and courteous 
 treatment of Indians of all classes, and of working cordially 
 with Indian gentlemen. Everything depends upon how a young 
 
 35
 
 MORE ABOUT 
 
 officer begins in this respect. Let him understand from the 
 first that firmness commands the true respect of the ordinary 
 Indian only when accompanied by real kindness, and that the 
 one thing above all which the ordinary Indian desires is to be 
 heard. If he is heard and realises that his case has been fully 
 considered, there is seldom any discontent with the order finally 
 passed, no matter what that order may be. 
 
 " Impress on A. B. also the necessity for treating Indian 
 gentlemen as gentlemen. There is no one that is more sensi- 
 tive, nor more observant, in regard to courtesy and gentlemanly 
 treatment than the Indian gentleman. Keep A. B. in mind 
 that an Indian gentleman ought to be treated as a European 
 gentleman should be treated. Courtesy in receiving him and 
 in intercourse with him is very important. To keep him wait- 
 ing without real necessity, or to let him wait in an unsuitable 
 place, is a galling, but unfortunately not an unusual, discourtesy ; 
 and harshness and rudeness of speech are as much to be 
 avoided with the Indian as with the European. The use of the 
 proper forms of address to the Indian gentleman is a mark both 
 of breeding and of sound education in the vernacular. 
 
 " In regard to his intercourse with the common people, let 
 A. B. remember that they are to be treated as a gentleman 
 treats common people at home. If he is animated towards 
 them by kindliness and sympathy, returns their salutations, and 
 shows an interest in their affairs, he will do well. For this pur- 
 pose you should encourage him to acquire a thorough know- 
 ledge of Indian customs and of the vernacular. This will help 
 him in his dealings with Indians of all classes. It is the 
 tradition of our service that the officers of the Indian Civil 
 Service, on the whole, treat the Indians well. This is due 
 to the fact that they know and understand them at least 
 as well as any body of men in the country. I earnestly 
 trust that the young men who are now coming out will be 
 trained to regard this as one of the very highest traditions of 
 the service. 
 
 " You will see also that A. B. understands the discipline 
 
 36
 
 CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 of the service and the usual marks of respect which ought to 
 be shown to senior officers. The service is stronger and more 
 efficient if discipline is well maintained. Let him also under- 
 stand that courtesy and heartiness in co-operation must always 
 characterise his relations with officers of other departments. 
 Ill-manners which tend to friction are a great defect in a 
 Government servant. 
 
 " I would also ask you to keep your eye on A. B. in regard 
 to his friends, and try to prevent his being on too intimate 
 terms with undesirable persons. You know as well as I do, that 
 there are in Bengal special dangers in this respect, and that it 
 is very necessary that a young officer should be kept out of 
 familiar intercourse with undesirable society and especially out 
 of any undesirable matrimonial entanglement. I have ventured 
 to speak to A. B. about the special danger that exists in India, 
 in taking alcohol when it is by no means required. He is a 
 thoroughly temperate man ; and I hope that this will continue 
 to be his character. 
 
 " One other matter remains, namely, the matter of health. I 
 certainly do not wish any of our young civilians to become 
 nervous about his health and to be constantly thinking about 
 it. But you know the dangers that arise from ignorance 
 amongst our young men. I daresay that, like me, you have 
 had experience of cases of men who have lost much in having 
 to take early leave in their service, and also one or two cases of 
 early death, due only to ignorance of danger and disregard of 
 symptoms which ought to have been immediately attended to. 
 A. B. should be warned to consult the doctor at once in regard 
 to any derangement of his digestive system and in regard to 
 fever. In this connection I would express the hope that he will 
 also show himself a good physical man, and join in the athletic 
 recreations of the station. 
 
 " I hope that you will not think that I am unduly inclined 
 to lecture ; but I want you to understand my object in specially 
 selecting you to start A. B. in his career." 
 
 It is curious how little some men who have been long in India 
 
 87
 
 MORE ABOUT 
 
 realise the importance of courtesy to the common people in town 
 or country. The Indian has a special faculty of recognising a 
 gentleman. Some men fail to realise this. I remember about 
 seventeen years ago driving around Lahore with a very senior 
 officer. He was dilating on the change of attitude towards 
 Europeans which was, he said, coming over the people of the 
 town. He especially complained that, though they all knew 
 him, hardly any Indian saluted him. I told him that if I were 
 an Indian I should not salute him, because I had observed that 
 he did not return salutations. He replied that he thought that 
 the people did not expect an officer to do so ! As a fact, an 
 Indian regards the failure to return his salute not only as a dis- 
 courtesy, but also very often as an ill omen. It is both dis- 
 courteous and unkind. The European who treats the Indian 
 of any rank without due courtesy separates himself from them, 
 and tends to prejudice their relations with all the members of 
 his own race. 
 
 In the old days in the Central Provinces our officers had a 
 good habit of doing much of their work in friendly consultation, 
 instead of leaving all discussion to be carried on in writing. 
 This did not at all interfere with the direct responsibility of the 
 local officer. An officer, who had come from another Province 
 and had taken over charge of one of our Divisions as a Com- 
 missioner, once said to me, " The office of Commissioner here is 
 altogether different in character from that of a Commissioner 
 in my old Province. There the Commissioner merely super- 
 vises the work of his District officer. Here I find myself less a 
 Commissioner and rather the Collector or Deputy Commissioner 
 of five Districts.' 1 ' 1 I endeavoured to show him that he had failed 
 to understand the genius and traditions of the Province. The 
 Commissioner was expected frequently to visit, and to be con- 
 stantly in touch with, his District officers ; but he was not to 
 do their work. He was to know all that they were doing, and 
 to give his advice freely. When questions of importance were 
 under discussion, the discussion should not be allowed to continue 
 too long a mere matter of writing, but should at the right point 
 
 88
 
 CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 terminate in a frank and exhaustive consultation, the final 
 results of which should be reduced to writing either by the 
 District officer or by the Commissioner, to form part of the 
 Record. 
 
 Sometimes such a discussion might be between the Com- 
 missioner and one Deputy Commissioner regarding a matter 
 concerning one District only. The Deputy Commissioner would 
 state his case in writing. The Commissioner would give a 
 written statement of his views on it, as then advised. This 
 secured at the initial stage that accuracy which careful perusal 
 of documents and the restraint of writing ordinarily tend to 
 produce. But it would be absurd to go on for weeks with a 
 written discussion which was apt to develop into controversy, 
 So, if the Deputy Commissioner still had difficulties, these would 
 be discussed at an early meeting with the Commissioner. The 
 whole subject would be talked over in a frank and friendly 
 spirit. And then, in the great majority of cases the Deputy 
 Commissioner would write a letter beginning with a reference 
 to the last letter on the subject, "and our subsequent consul- 
 tation," and put the whole matter on record with all his 
 proposals in detail as now agreed on. A brief letter from the 
 Commissioner expressing his concurrence closed the corre- 
 spondence. The Deputy Commissioner was responsible through- 
 out : he had to do the work, and he did it ; but he had in the 
 doing of it the best advice and the intelligent concurrence and 
 support of his Commissioner. 
 
 I learned that style of work from my old Chief, Sir John 
 Moms. When I took up the appointment of Chief Secretary to 
 his Administration, he had been long enough in the Province to 
 know every District and almost every question likely to arise. 
 In certain cases he had to give time and labour of his own to 
 the papers. But in the great majority of cases, I used to study 
 the files, take notes of points on which I was uncertain or 
 thought that his orders were necessary. We would discuss these 
 cases from my notes, perhaps, as we took an early walk together 
 in Pachmarhi, or from camp to camp on tour, or during the 
 
 39,
 
 MORE ABOUT 
 
 hour appointed for bringing up papers in his office. After such 
 a discussion I went home and set to work at once to write out 
 the conclusions we had arrived at in the form of a note. In the 
 great majority of cases he merely appended his initials, with 
 perhaps the words " I concur." If any man looking at old files, 
 and seeing the words " I concur. J. H. M." on many of them, 
 thinks that my old Chief was perfunctory in his work, he makes 
 a great mistake. Nothing could be further from the truth. It 
 was Sir John that really made the Central Provinces what they 
 are, by his Settlement work and his long tenure of the office of 
 Chief Commissioner; he ruled the Province effectively and wisely; 
 and I doubt whether his name will ever be forgotten. It is over 
 a quarter of a century since he retired ; and I do not think there 
 is any name more widely known and respected to this day. 
 
 This habit of frank and friendly consultation was not limited 
 to questions between two officers only. When I was appointed 
 Commissioner of Chhattisgarh, I at once saw how important it 
 would be to have the officers of different Districts meet for dis- 
 cussion and consultation regarding many questions which more 
 or less affect the administration of all Districts. 
 
 The last Saturday of the month was an office holiday, if the 
 state of business allowed. All the Deputy Commissioners used 
 to come up, as soon as railway facilities made that possible, to 
 spend that day and the Sunday following with me, as regularly 
 as circumstances would allow. 
 
 We sometimes had special questions marked for discussion, in 
 regard to which local difficulties had been experienced, or advice 
 had been asked for by the Chief Commissioner. For a District 
 officer to obtain on such questions the light of experience not 
 only of the Commissioner, but also of every other Deputy Com- 
 missioner, was felt to be of great importance. The relief from 
 the monotony and loneliness of District work and the sense of 
 the solidarity of the work of the Division were also much appre- 
 ciated. Many officers have spoken to me of the great advantage 
 of such opportunities of conference. To me they were always 
 deeply interesting and of inestimable value. 
 
 40
 
 CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 When I became Chief Commissioner, I extended the system 
 by introducing annual conferences during the hot weather for 
 two or three weeks at Pachmarhi, the provincial sanitorium. 
 Men were not at that season of the year too much occupied 
 locally to be able to come up to Pachmarhi, where, of course, 
 they could do their routine work ; and they were glad to come. 
 All the Commissioners of Division were invited ; and when 
 they met in conference, the heads of the departments concerned, 
 and the Secretaries interested, in the questions under discussion 
 were also present. Many questions, regarding which written 
 opinions had been given during the year, were threshed out and 
 settled in conference. The saving of time was enormous ; and 
 it was most surprising to find how often decisions were arrived 
 at which commended themselves to the unanimous judgment of 
 all the officers present. The spirit of mutual understanding and 
 confidence which these conferences produced between the Head 
 of the Province and his colleagues in all departments and 
 Divisions, as well as amongst these officers themselves, was 
 universally recognised. 
 
 When I was touring through Bengal, as President of the 
 Police Commission, one of the Commissioners of that Province, 
 who has since been promoted to higher office, asked me about 
 these conferences, and expressed a great desire to see them 
 introduced there. At that time there was no thought of my 
 going to Bengal as Lieutenant-Governor. But when, a year 
 later, I was sent to that office, one of the first communications I 
 got was a letter asking me to introduce the system. I did so, 
 and our experience was that it was a great success. In course of 
 time it was expanded to this extent that, in the discussion of 
 certain questions, we secured the presence of European and 
 Indian non-officials whose assistance we found of much value. 
 These conferences are more valuable to those taking part in 
 them, and in some respects to the administration generally, 
 than even the Legislative Councils ; because they are confiden- 
 tial, and absolutely frank and friendly. But, of course, they 
 cannot in any way take the place of the Legislative Councils in 
 
 41
 
 MORE ABOUT 
 
 respect of questions, the discussion of which must be public. 
 The two ought to coexist, each in its own sphere. 
 
 It seems to me that the true theory of government in the 
 East is to be found in a system which combines decentralisation 
 in work, with thorough understanding and confidence between 
 superior and inferior authority. The centre of District ad- 
 ministration is the District Magistrate : the people should 
 know him as the man who does the work and is responsible for it. 
 The Commissioner should know what the District officer is 
 doing : he should give him the best advice, and help him to 
 avoid mistakes ; but he should regard it as essential to avoid, 
 as far as possible, pushing himself to the front, or weakening the 
 authority of the District officer in his District. 
 
 Precisely in the same way, the responsibility for the work of 
 a Division or of a department should be recognised as resting 
 on the Commissioner, or head of the department. The Local 
 Government should know clearly what is going on, and be in 
 constant touch with these high officers, but ought, as far as 
 possible, to avoid weakening their authority or interfering 
 with their work. A practice of sending me confidential " demi- 
 official " letters twice a month was loyally earned out by all 
 Commissioners and heads of departments in Bengal, and 
 was spoken of as of great value to them : it certainly was so to 
 me. And again, the head of the Province ought to be always 
 recognised before the people as the responsible authority 
 in provincial work : undue interference with him by the 
 Government of India cannot but be disastrous. 
 
 With all respect, and with some diffidence, as one that judges 
 the matter not from personal knowledge of the relations in 
 question, but from the effect produced by certain impressions 
 regarding these relations on outsiders and the people generally, 
 I should say that the same is true of the relations between the 
 Secretary of State in Council and the Government of India. 
 Government in India ought to be recognised as vested in 
 H.E. the Viceroy in Council. The Secretary of State in 
 Council must supervise, and, when necessary, control the work 
 
 42
 
 CENTRAL PROVINCES OFFICERS 
 
 of the Government of India. This he does under his re- 
 sponsibility to Parliament, which, after all, is the supreme 
 authority in the Empire. And he ought to be in constant 
 touch with the Government of India, and in a position to 
 understand, and, when necessary, to explain and justify its 
 action. But he ought not unduly to interfere with that 
 Government, or weaken its authority. To transfer the seat 
 of government in India to London seems to me not only con- 
 trary to the traditions of our rule, but necessarily unwise 
 and even disastrous. 
 
 43
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 INDIAN OFFICERS OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 IT was in the early days of the Central Provinces that I joined 
 the Service; and at that time a good number of the Indian 
 officers employed there, men who were doing the work of 
 Assistant Magistrates and Deputy Collectors, were undoubtedly 
 suspected of susceptibility to inducements to deviate from 
 honest and righteous action. In these early days, when these 
 men were appointed to the Service, the Province was young, 
 and there was a greater demand for officers than the supply 
 could well meet. A good number of them were, consequently, 
 either ill-trained and sometimes even ill-conditioned natives 
 of the Province itself, or men who had been obtained from 
 other Province, and were sometimes far from being good 
 bargains. 
 
 & V 
 
 We had certainly some excellent local men, of good position, 
 and trained in the few local institutions we then had which 
 were capable of training men well. But these were not the 
 majority. The majority were men of inferior training and social 
 position, often recruited from the ministerial ranks. Similarly 
 there were one or two Provinces that undoubtedly " shot 
 their rubbish " into the Central Provinces ; but there was one 
 Province that treated us exceptionally well, the Presidency of 
 Bombay. A man happened to be in a high position there, who 
 took a great interest in the future of his deserving sub- 
 ordinates; and, as the Central Provinces offered a fine field for 
 good work and quick promotion for deserving men, he sent us 
 some of his very best. The names of men like Bapu Rao 
 
 44
 
 INDIAN OFFICERS 
 
 Patwardhan, Rhambhaji Rao, and others, occur to me as 
 amongst the very best Indian officers that I have ever met in the 
 whole course of my service. They were men loyal to the 
 Government, and devoted to their work and to the interests of 
 the people, who talked freely and frankly to us about any 
 matter which they thought ought to be brought to our notice, 
 whether it was immediately within their own department of 
 work or not, and who were therefore most valuable advisers in 
 regard to the interests and feelings of the people. 
 
 There was a man who served with me, as Assistant Magistrate 
 and Deputy Collector, in the first District I ever held for any 
 length of time. He was a Brahman from the Konkana, but had 
 been educated in Poona. I was struck with the fact that he 
 talked English with a slight Scottish accent, and discovered 
 that he had been educated in a Scottish Missionary Institution. 
 He took an early opportunity of telling me that the people of 
 India had a great regard for religion, and did not understand 
 how religious spirit could exist apart from religious observance. 
 So he always regretted to see any professedly Christian officer 
 living without some public profession of his religion. At the 
 headquarters of the District in which we were serving there was 
 no chaplain, though there was a church ; and he urged that 
 some arrangement might be made that the professedly Christian 
 community might meet oh their sacred day. It was interesting 
 to hear this good old Brahman pressing this out of regard for 
 his old missionary teachers and for the religion which they had 
 taught him to respect, though he had not embraced it. He was 
 a very straightforward man, and did not hesitate to bring 
 abuses to my notice, and to offer me frank advice. 
 
 On one occasion he mentioned to me that unusually excellent 
 services rendered by a Brahman of Orissa had not been ade- 
 quately recognised. I asked him what business it was of his. 
 His reply was, " None whatever. I have never met the man ; 
 and he is, of course, not of my caste. But your Government 
 is always just when it is fully informed ; and I do not like to 
 hear men speaking of a case that does not seem to show that 
 
 45
 
 INDIAN OFFICERS 
 
 spirit of justice. I know also that the matter does not directly 
 concern you ; but you might bring it to the notice of the Chief 
 Commissioner." A solitary incident like that might have been 
 capable of some special explanation ; but it was so characteristic 
 of my friend that there was no explanation possible except that 
 he was loyal and upright. 
 
 A comparatively young Indian had just been appointed to the 
 Judicial Service, and posted to a District where he was for a 
 time very much overworked. He was a Brahman from Bombay. 
 A petition was filed against him before one of the appellate 
 courts, stating that he had publicly given a decision orally 
 for the plaintiff in a case, that he had refused for a long time 
 to give any copy of his judgment, and that at last, after a 
 month or so had elapsed, he had allowed a copy to be obtained, 
 when it was found that the judgment was in favour of the 
 defendant. It was urged that this was undoubtedly due to the 
 fact that he had awaited illegal gratification, and that when 
 he had received it he had given judgment in favour of the 
 person who had tendered it. 
 
 His defence was that he had been very much overwhelmed 
 with work, and had got into arrears ; that he kept an office 
 box in which he put cases for the writing of judgments at home ; 
 that, unfortunately) he never turned the box upside down, 
 and had consequently only reached this case when all his 
 arrears were worked off, which was not until a month after the 
 case had been heard. He admitted that inquiry from the 
 court officials disclosed the fact that his oral decision had been 
 in favour of the plaintiff ; but he denied that there had been 
 any cause, except forgetful ness, for his giving his final decision 
 in favour of the defendant. I knew the man, and was sent down 
 to conduct a final inquiry on behalf of the Chief Commissioner. 
 
 There was no doubt whatever left in my mind as to the 
 straightforwardness of the defence ; and the case in which 
 the mistake had occurred was one in which, dealing at all 
 events with the record alone, without seeing the parties and the 
 witnesses, there was every ground for doubt as to which side 
 
 46
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 ought to win. My young friend Bhargo Rao, however, fell 
 more or less under the general suspicion with which Indian 
 officers of the Provincial Service were then regarded ; and it 
 was therefore less easy to persuade his superiors to take my 
 view of the case. They did so, however, and his future career 
 justified their decision. He rose to the very top of the Pro- 
 vincial Service, was trusted on all hands, received from the 
 Government the high title of Rao Bahadur, and retired from 
 the Service full of honour. 
 
 On the other hand, there were men about whom there was 
 always the gravest suspicion, and there was always a desire on 
 the part of litigants and others to have some other officer to 
 deal with their cases. At a very early stage in my service I 
 was sent urgently to a somewhat remote district to report my- 
 self to the District officer. As soon as I arrived I was ordered 
 to take charge of all the official papers belonging to an Indian 
 officer of the District staff. He was suspended and ultimately 
 punished for corruption. It was an exceedingly trying but 
 useful experience. 
 
 There were certain Districts where senior officers were less 
 watchful than elsewhere ; and in some of these corruption was 
 undoubtedly very common. On one occasion, thirty-five years 
 ago, when, as Under Secretary, I was travelling with the Chief 
 Commissioner, a man of high position and good character as a 
 landlord offered me a very considerable bribe to induce me to 
 place before my Chief a certain view of a pending case. It was 
 a view very much to the benefit of the landlord in question, but 
 not likely to inflict direct injury of any kind on any one else. 
 It was, in fact, the view which I had been inclined to take. I 
 related the circumstances to my Chief, and asked his advice as 
 to how I should act. He decided not to prosecute the man, 
 who had borne a good character, but to take other steps to 
 mark our sense of the gross impropriety of his conduct. The 
 man felt very much the position in which he had placed him- 
 self, and recognised that he might have been the subject of a 
 criminal prosecution. He made no defence, except that he was 
 
 47
 
 INDIAN OFFICERS 
 
 " an ignorant rustic." But an Indian officer of high character, 
 who knew the District well, said that the man's action had been 
 due to the prevalence of corruption among prominent officials 
 in that District. 
 
 It was not only in regard to the bad tradition prevailing in 
 some quarters about the acceptance of illegal gratifications that 
 some of the Indian officers were distrusted in those days. 
 Some of them also showed themselves prejudiced and unjust 
 towards members of certain sections of the community. There 
 were men like Khan Bahadur Aulad Husain, Rao Bahadur 
 Bapu Rao Patwardhan, Rambhaji Rao, and others who were 
 able to hold the balance justly between men of different race, 
 caste or creed, in a way that won the respect and admiration 
 alike of Europeans and Indians. But there were others who 
 were well known to be unfair and often hostile to those of 
 different caste or creed from themselves. One of these was 
 a Kayasth, whose hatred of Muhammadans was well known, 
 and led in one case to one of the saddest incidents that I can 
 recall in my service, the assassination of a popular officer who 
 threw himself too much into the hands of his Assistant. 
 
 He was assassinated by a fanatic Muhammadan, whose inten- 
 tion was to take the life of the Kayasth Assistant for having 
 used the stones of an old mosque in the construction of a 
 bathing ghat (flight of steps) on the river. The assassin fired 
 on the District Magistrate when the latter stepped forward to 
 interfere. He then fled, threatening with his revolver any who 
 should attempt his arrest. He was seized by a native, a brave 
 foreman of railway (coolie) labourers, who held him until help 
 came, though he was himself fatally wounded and died almost 
 immediately. It is marvellous how, among the natives of India, 
 courage and devotion are found where one would hardly think 
 of looking for such qualities. 
 
 One more reminiscence concerning the Indian officer is worthy 
 of record. During my early days in the Province there was one 
 battle which we were constantly fighting : that was the fight 
 against the tendency of Indians to surround themselves with 
 
 48
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 men of their own caste or community. The offices were con- 
 stantly being packed with men of one class. Thus, for example, 
 if a Chitpawan Brahman from Bombay became head of an office 
 as Clerk of Court, his tendency was within a surprisingly short 
 period to have every post of any importance in that office filled 
 with people of his own caste. Those of other castes had generally 
 their lives made so uncomfortable to them that they applied for 
 transfer. Failing to turn out men in this way, the head of the 
 office would patiently wait until vacancies occurred and then fill 
 them with men of his own class. It became absolutely essential 
 to control constantly and vigorously the appointment of men to 
 office. Perhaps certain castes like the Poona Brahmans were 
 more addicted to this than others ; but I am not sure that this 
 can be said. The tendency is human and especially Oriental. 
 
 This indicates one of the difficulties which arise in adminis- 
 tration from the employment of Indians. We have now, indeed, 
 many Indians who have by their training acquired a much more 
 impartial way of doing business ; but the difficulty has not yet 
 nearly passed away ; and there is no doubt that the simpler 
 natives of India generally prefer to have in places of authority 
 men who are free from this tendency, and from any connection 
 with local castes and races. Of course, it must be borne in 
 mind that, in some cases at least, this tendency on the part of 
 Indian officers was due to the fact that they had more con- 
 fidence in their own caste-fellows than in other Indians ; and 
 I have known some few Europeans who seem to think that no 
 one is to be trusted except a European. This is a frame of 
 mind, in Indian and European alike, which is altogether incon- 
 sistent with the sound administration of the country. 
 
 In the early days of my service in the Central Provinces any 
 officer of experience who was asked what was the character of 
 the Indians in the Service would probably have said : " Aulad 
 Husain and Bapu Rao Patwardhan and one or two others may 
 be trusted in every way ; but the great majority are corrupt 
 and untrustworthy." If the same question were asked now, the 
 answer would probably be : "A and B and one or two more are 
 
 49 D
 
 INDIAN OFFICERS 
 
 certainly open to suspicion ; but the vast majority may be 
 implicitly trusted." Several causes have undoubtedly contributed 
 to this most remarkable change. Education has greatly 
 advanced in the Central Provinces; and it has been possible, 
 much more generally than formerly, to employ local officers. 
 There is no doubt that this is a great advantage. We have 
 had among our very best officers in the Central Provinces some 
 men from other Provinces ; but this is undoubtedly not the 
 rule. Indians do not, as a rule, care to leave the Province to 
 which they belong and work among strangers ; and the voluntary 
 immigration of men from other Provinces is therefore generally 
 confined to men who have not the capacity to make a good 
 position for themselves nearer home. In only a few cases we 
 have examples of youthful energy and enterprise which have 
 given us some of our very best men. At the same time it has 
 been a comparatively rare experience to find another Local 
 Government willing to send to our help any other than its some- 
 what inferior or at least mediocre officers. 
 
 Another cause of the change has been that very much greater 
 care has recently been taken in the selection of the Indian 
 officers for the Judicial and Executive appointments of the 
 Provincial Service. Such greater care has become possible, as 
 the diffusion of education has made the field of selection wider. 
 The Service has also been made much more attractive. The 
 officers have begun to realise more that they are the comrades 
 and coadjutors of the European officers with whom they work ; 
 and their sense of the dignity of their position is in some re- 
 spects increased. Their salaries have also been raised ; and 
 much higher offices are now open to Indians than at the time 
 when I joined the Service. 
 
 I have no doubt whatever that in the Central Provinces the 
 remarkable change which has taken place in the character of 
 our officers is also due in great measure to the excellent teachers 
 whom we have had in our colleges. One of the most influential 
 colleges in the Central Provinces is the Nagpur Hislop College, 
 manned by Scottish missionaries of high character and of 
 
 50
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 sound education. For these men their students have always 
 had the highest respect, and many of them, even while they 
 do not embrace Christianity, have imbibed the moral principles 
 of their teachers. I have already referred to the interesting 
 fact that some of our best officers in the Central Provinces 
 had something of a Scottish accent. I attribute this to the 
 fact that some of them came from Bombay, where they 
 had been educated (as I ascertained) by Scottish missionaries 
 in Bombay and Poona. Others were educated in the Missionary 
 College at Nagpur ; and a few more had had a considerable part 
 of their training from a Scottish teacher, who, for a long time, 
 was the head of the only other college in the Central Provinces, 
 that at Jubbulpore ; and my experience is that these men who 
 talked with a Scottish accent had received an education which 
 included training in high principles. 
 
 I remember the Honourable Sir Asutosh Mukerji, now Judge 
 of the High Court and Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta Univer- 
 sity, speaking in the Viceroy's Council in the strongest terms of 
 the injury which education in Bengal had received from the 
 substitution of cheaper and inferior professors for the fine men 
 who used to come from our own country; and I am persuaded 
 that University education might have produced very much 
 higher results in India if men of sound home training and good 
 common sense had been more generally employed in our colleges. 
 The injury which has resulted from false economy on the one 
 hand, and carelessness in the selection of professors on the other, 
 cannot be calculated. 
 
 It is not education alone, however, that has effected the 
 change to which I refer. It is the opening out of a more dig- 
 nified career to Indian officers of the Provincial Services. This 
 has been steadily kept in view. It has been a constant policy 
 based on the desire to fulfil a noble promise. In his admirable 
 address on " The Place of India in the Empire," delivered before 
 the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution in October, 1909, Lord 
 Curzon referred to the scope for participation of Indians them- 
 selves in the government of their country. He laid before his 
 
 51
 
 INDIAN OFFICERS 
 
 audience certain facts and incidents of a very illuminative 
 character. He said, for example, " The Englishman proceeding 
 to India may expect to see his own countrymen everywhere, 
 and above all in the offices and buildings of Government, in the 
 Law Courts, and on the Magisterial Bench. As a matter of fact, 
 except in the great cities, he will rarely come across an English- 
 man at all. I once visited a city of eighty thousand people, in 
 which there were only two official Englishmen, both of whom 
 happened to be away." A fact like this would deeply impress 
 a man of keen observation and thoughtful mind. The influence 
 of England in India is now, one may say, for the most part 
 exercised locally through Indian officers. 
 
 Lord Curzon proceeded to give important figures. He said, 
 " When we assumed the Government of India, the Native 
 Agency was so injuriously inefficient and corrupt that the 
 British were obliged to take control of all branches of the 
 administration. But ever since there has been a progressive 
 reduction of the European and increase of the Native element, 
 until Indians now fill by far the greater number of the Executive, 
 Magisterial and Judicial posts, entire classes of appointments 
 being reserved for them, either by definite rule, or by unbroken 
 practice. Figures were published when I was in India which 
 showed that out of twenty-eight thousand three hundred 
 Government servants drawing more than 60 a year a high 
 salary in India eleven thousand eight hundred were Indian 
 or Eurasian inhabitants of the country. Below that figure the 
 Indians practically sweep the board ; and I have seen the total 
 number of Government employees in India given as one million 
 five hundred thousand Indians to ten thousand Europeans." 
 
 These figures are no doubt very noteworthy, but they do not 
 bring into prominence the real point in the question of the 
 employment of Indians, as contemplated and discussed by the 
 educated and ambitious classes in India. These classes aim at 
 the appointment of Indians, as largely as possible, to the higher 
 posts in the Executive Service of Government. Lord Curzon, 
 indeed, refers to this, and states a principle which has been, to 
 
 52
 
 OF MY PROVINCE 
 
 the honour of our Government in India, recognised by the 
 Government of India, and by Local Governments ever since 
 Her Majesty the late Queen Victoria, on behalf of the British 
 nation, took over the government of that great dependency from 
 the old East India Company. Lord Curzon's words are these : 
 "No one would impose or defend a merely racial bar. The 
 question at issue is rather not what is the maximum number 
 of offices that can safely be given to Indians, but what is the 
 minimum number that must of necessity be reserved for Euro- 
 peans." Lord Curzon did not go on to say how that principle 
 has been applied in the past; and this is after all the crucial 
 question in regard to this matter. 
 
 Judicial appointments are not much prized by the educated 
 classes, or, I ought to say, by the Congress party, or the 
 Nationalists among these educated classes. It is in respect of 
 the higher Executive appointments that there has been the 
 strongest agitation. It is power that is desired ; and power 
 is in the Executive officer. The record of the Government 
 policy and action in regard to this matter is one of which the 
 Government may well be proud. That record does not in any 
 way require to be kept in the background, but really indicates 
 a high-principled and determined effort to meet the just claims 
 of the people of the country. I shall refer to this in fuller 
 detail in dealing with recent unrest. I mention it here as one 
 of the causes which have led to the great improvement among 
 our Indian officers. 
 
 Better training has fitted Indians for higher office, and the 
 throwing open of higher and more responsible offices has made 
 Indians more proud of their service, and more anxious to dis- 
 charge their duties in an honourable and worthy way. There 
 are no finer men now than some of the Indians of the old 
 days ; but the Provincial Service, as a whole, is immeasurably 
 improved.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF OUR 
 OFFICERS 
 
 THESE reminiscences of officers serving in my old Province recall 
 to my mind what I saw there of the introduction of a more 
 elaborate system of administration. When I joined the Province 
 there was no demarcation between Executive and Judicial 
 functions at all, except in regard to the heads of the two 
 departments. The Chief Commissioner was the head of the 
 Local Government generally, and the head of the Executive 
 Service in particular. The Judicial Commissioner was the head 
 of the Judicial department. The latter was subordinate to the 
 Chief Commissioner in one respect only, that is, that he had to 
 report on his work and the administration of his department to 
 the Chief Commissioner, and that the latter was theoretically, 
 at least, entitled to express either satisfaction or dissatisfaction 
 with the work. But there was no appeal from the Judicial 
 Commissioner in any civil or criminal case ; nor had the Chief 
 Commissioner any power of direct interference in the work of 
 the Judicial Commissioner except such as may be held to be 
 involved in the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy. The 
 Judicial Commissioner sat alone as a High Court, the highest 
 court in the Province in both civil and criminal cases, exercising 
 in both classes of cases the powers of revision and appeal. 
 From his decision in any criminal case no appeal lay ; but in 
 civil cases there was, under certain limitations, an appeal to the 
 Privy Council. 
 
 The original civil and criminal work was done by the Com- 
 
 64
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS 
 
 missaoners (each in charge of a Division), the Deputy Com- 
 missioners (each in charge of a District), and the Tahsildars 
 (each in charge of a Subdivision of a District), and by assistants 
 to some of these officers, and by Honorary Magistrates. The 
 Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Tahsildars were re- 
 sponsible for Executive and Judicial (both civil and criminal) 
 work within their respective charges, and had, of coarse, powers 
 according to their position. This was all very well in the early 
 days of the Province, when the work was not heavy, when cases 
 were not intricate, and when the people found, under the kindly 
 common sense of their new rulers, a considerable improvement 
 on anything that they had hitherto experienced ; but such 
 a system could not last. It was manifest that the work of the 
 Civil Courts could not be done by officers charged with the 
 Executive administration. 
 
 There were indeed advantages attached to the trial of civil 
 cases by Executive officers which are of very considerable 
 importance in India. The knowledge of the people which the 
 Executive officers possessed, and the custom of fixing civil 
 cases very often to be tried on the spot, were very considerable 
 advantages in the old system ; and there are many thoughtful 
 and sensible Indians who are found to deplore the absence of 
 these two advantages under the present system. It does not 
 seem to be a necessary feature of the present system that the 
 judges should be ignorant of the people, or even that they 
 should entirely abandon local inquiries; but it is undoubtedly 
 very commonly characteristic of it. 
 
 There were admittedly, on the other hand, grave disadvantages 
 in having civil cases tried by Executive officers. These have 
 been very much enlarged on by some of the best Anglo-Indian 
 officers, who struggled for what they then called the separation 
 of the Judicial and Executive functions. Perhaps one of the 
 worst features of the old system was this, that Executive work, 
 on the efficiency of which depends in large measure the happiness 
 of the great mass of the community, was sacrificed to civil 
 Judicial work. This was only natural. Civil cases very soon 
 
 55
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE 
 
 began to be more and more a burden on the officers of the 
 Province. They had to be tried regularly and punctually. If 
 parties and witnesses were called up from great distances to 
 attend the court, it was intolerable that they should be turned 
 away and compelled to come back another day, because the 
 officer presiding in the court had urgent Executive work to do. 
 A sense of the great inconvenience involved in making these 
 people take long journeys in vain led officers to give civil judicial 
 work the first place in the day's routine ; and this tendency was 
 emphasised by the fact that the Judicial Commissioner scrutinised 
 most carefully the returns of civil judicial work, and was 
 inclined to be somewhat unsparing in his censure when cases 
 were delayed. 
 
 The consequence of this was that, when such cases occupied a 
 longer portion of the day than had been anticipated, other 
 work was pushed aside, and the Executive duties of these 
 officers were often neglected or perfunctorily performed. The 
 Executive Government, seeing this, began to appoint separate 
 officers for the trial of civil cases. Naib (assistant) Tahsildars 
 were appointed to relieve the Indian Revenue officer in charge 
 of the Subdivision of his Judicial work, so that he might be free 
 to travel all round his Tahsil and keep himself in touch with 
 the people. The same principal had to be extended to the 
 District officer and to the Commissioner ; and I well recall the 
 great satisfaction with which, as a Commissioner of Division, 
 I handed over the trial of civil cases to an officer specially 
 appointed to this work. These cases had often been very 
 interesting ; but the extent to which they interfered with the 
 efficient discharge of Executive work was altogether incal- 
 culable. 
 
 As things developed further in the Province, as the Province 
 itself advanced in wealth and in civilisation, the work continued 
 to increase, and the staff of officers had to be considerably 
 reinforced. Gradually it became necessary to give District 
 Magistrates assistance in the trial of criminal cases; and a 
 natural desire for that efficiency which springs from the division 
 
 66
 
 FUNCTIONS OF OUR OFFICERS 
 
 of labour led to the appointing of special officers to take the 
 great bulk of the criminal case work of the Districts into their 
 hands. At the same time the Commissioners, whose work had 
 greatly increased, were relieved of the trial of sessions cases, 
 and of the hearing of criminal appeals from Magistrates, and 
 these cases were given over to men who were known as " Addi- 
 tional Commissioners,"" and who developed into the Divisional 
 and Sessions Judges of the present day. Here, also, there was 
 undoubtedly a great improvement in administration. Practice 
 and training produced a more efficient performance of court 
 work. At the same time the District Magistrate, though 
 relieved of the drudgery of the trial of cases, many of which 
 occupied days together, and prevented him from exercising that 
 constant supervision over all the interests of the District which 
 is absolutely necessary, was still left responsible for the peace of 
 his District. To my mind this is at the present time an 
 essential feature of sound Indian administration. 
 
 There is on the part of the " National Congress " a demand 
 constantly reiterated for what they call " the separation of 
 Executive and Judicial functions." They quote the utterances 
 of some of the finest men, the ablest officers that India has seen, 
 either ignorant of, or distinctly and deliberately misrepresenting, 
 the real facts. The utterances that they quote refer to the 
 separation of Executive functions from the trial of civil cases. 
 The men from whom they quote never dreamed of the entire 
 separation of Executive functions from the criminal administra- 
 tion of a District, for which the " National Congress " clamours. 
 I do not profess that the present system which exists all over 
 India must never be altered ; but I am clearly of opinion that 
 it ought not to be altered out of deference to garbled or mis- 
 applied quotations from the utterances of great men, for whose 
 judgment it is right that the highest respect should be shown, 
 but who were dealing with a question altogether different from 
 that which is now under consideration. Above all, it ought not 
 to be altered without carefully considering the effect which any 
 alteration may have on the responsibility of the District officer 
 
 57
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE 
 
 for the 'peace of his District, and on the possibility of the 
 efficient discharge of that responsibility. 
 
 There is one argument which is frequently used in favour of 
 taking from the District officer all magisterial work, and all 
 responsibility for the Judicial criminal work of his District. 
 It has been thus expressed: "There is an unconscious bias in 
 favour of conviction entertained by the Magistrate who is 
 responsible for the peace of the District, or by the Magistrate 
 who is subordinate to the District Magistrate, and sees with his 
 eyes." This seems to me a most mischievous statement. It 
 is an exaggerated statement, and constitutes a libel upon a 
 distinguished body of men, the Magistrates of our Districts, 
 who belong both to the Indian Civil Service and to the Pro- 
 vincial Service. It is surely also contrary to the evidence 
 of statistics to say that unduly severe sentences and convictions 
 on inadequate evidence arise from any bias on the part of the 
 Magistrates ; for it is found that, even in cases which have 
 involved police inquiry beforehand, the proportion of convictions 
 is under sixty per cent. 
 
 On the other hand, it ought to be emphasised that there 
 are no courts in India which have aimed, as the magisterial 
 courts have done, at unearthing and punishing false cases. 
 There is no public feeling in favour of punishing false evidence 
 and of putting down false cases. In the civil courts it is often 
 found difficult to persuade judges, even when the falsity of a 
 case has been established, to revise their original decision, or to 
 take steps against the fabricator of false evidence. With the 
 Bar, and with those who frequent the courts, any attempt to 
 punish false evidence is undoubtedly met too generally by more 
 or less active opposition. False evidence is too often practically 
 regarded by the people generally as a natural and suitable weapon 
 when one comes to court. It is a matter of simple experience 
 in the interior that the magistrates alone make any real effort 
 towards putting down this terrible abuse, whereby the courts 
 are to a large extent losing the confidence of the people of the 
 country. 
 
 58
 
 FUNCTIONS OF OUR OFFICERS 
 
 Besides, it must be borne in mind that one of the most 
 frequent forms of the miscarriage of justice is the discharge or 
 acquittal of the guilty. This is often a serious danger to the 
 public peace. It is too customary in India to speak as though 
 an acquittal must be regarded as always absolutely innocuous, 
 if not really meritorious. It would be a very serious thing if such 
 a view came to be accepted by the High Courts and by the 
 Government. There is in India a natural tendency to acquit 
 (a) from aversion to give pain ; (b) from aversion to take the 
 trouble to solve a doubt : the accused is often " given the 
 benefit of a doubt " which ought to have been faced and settled, 
 and (c) from a desire to avoid appeal. This tendency would be 
 greatly strengthened if the salutary control over the subordinate 
 courts by the District Magistrate were removed ; for that 
 officer realises his responsibility for the peace of his District, 
 and is compelled, by a sense of that responsibility, to take the 
 necessary trouble to inquire effectively into such cases. 
 
 Another argument used is that, although blunders arising 
 from "unconscious bias' 1 do not frequently occur, they give 
 rise amongst an advanced people, of whom the educated are 
 expert in law and ready to assert their rights, "to a general 
 distrust in the impartiality of the Magistrates.' 1 I am bound 
 to admit that there is on the part of many educated men in 
 certain parts of India, and especially in the legal profession, 
 a great jealousy, though not, I believe, any distrust of the 
 District Magistrates. I have no doubt that this is in large 
 measure due to the great care taken by so many of these officers 
 in really getting at the facts of the case, and preventing the 
 poorer people from being oppressed by processes of law. It 
 is not true that there is any real distrust of the magistracy as a 
 body among the people generally. It is the rarest thing possible 
 to meet with any such feeling. Pleaders sometimes make such 
 allegations to their clients and to the superior courts. This is 
 only in the way of their business, as they understand it. 
 
 I know, however, and expression has been given to this fact 
 by many of the most experienced and thoughtful of our Indian 
 
 59
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE 
 
 fellow-subjects, that there are not many villages in which 
 the civil courts are known, where the people do not often dis- 
 cuss them in terms of strong condemnation and distrust. The 
 reason for this is, that under the present system the civil 
 judges are too often out of touch with the people, and are 
 occupied only in the consideration of what is laid before them 
 and of what takes place within the four walls of the courts. 
 Their slavery to technicality and legal formalities leads 
 frequently to injustice with which dissatisfaction is often 
 strongly expressed, and which, were it not for the fatalistic 
 disposition of the people, would often have added very much 
 to the discontent and violent resistance to the action of 
 these courts of which we have had unfortunately too much 
 experience. 
 
 The argument connected with the theory of a bias on the 
 part of the Magistrate is also to a large extent the survival 
 of the memory of former times, when the Magistrate had not 
 only to exercise magisterial functions, but was also the actual 
 head of the police, the true prosecutor in the case, a state of 
 things which has long since passed away. 
 
 Besides this, it is a matter of personal knowledge that not 
 even in England does any man like to go to court, either as the 
 accused in a criminal case or as the defendant in a civil case. 
 There is no doubt that this natural feeling has been interpreted 
 by some as indicating the belief in a bias on the part of the 
 presiding Magistrate or Judge. It is inconsistent with this 
 alleged distrust of the District Magistrate, and it is a very 
 wonderful and satisfactory experience of life in India, to find 
 that everywhere the District Magistrate is regarded as the 
 friend of the weak and the oppressed. They come to him on 
 every occasion in criminal matters ; and they do not often 
 come to him in vain. In civil cases they find him unable to 
 give help of any kind ; and they do not understand it. It 
 would be very dangerous to make him equally helpless in criminal 
 cases. We should be handing the weak over entirely to the 
 tender mercies of the strong. 
 
 60
 
 FUNCTIONS OF OUR OFFICERS 
 
 Another reason for the strong desire to separate Executive 
 and Judicial functions is the idea that these functions are 
 entirely separate in England, and that their union is only 
 appropriate to a comparatively primitive stage of civilization. 
 It is forgotten that in England, Executive (or, as they are 
 sometimes called, " Administrative ") and Judicial functions 
 are actually united in the same officers. Justices of the Peace 
 have large powers of both kinds. In their Judicial capacity 
 they sit to try indictable offences at quarter sessions, and 
 exercise their summary jurisdiction in their petty sessional 
 divisions. In the exercise of their administrative powers they 
 issue warrants and summonses, hold preliminary examinations 
 in the case of indictable offences, take surety of the peace and 
 good behaviour, or dispose of the police and other power at 
 their command for the suppression of unlawful assemblies and 
 riots. Thus the same dual system exists in principle in England 
 as exists in India. Surely it cannot be urged that a system in 
 force in England is too primitive and backward for India. As 
 a mere matter of fact it is, in the opinion of the vast majority 
 of all classes of officers, and of all those with any stake in the 
 country, who were consulted on the subject some years ago, 
 absolutely essential in India. 
 
 The Government of India took up this question during Lord 
 Curzon's administration, in connection with a very misleading 
 but influentially signed memorial on the subject. The memorial 
 was misleading, in the first place, because it quoted in this con- 
 nection certain utterances of distinguished men on the question 
 of the removal of the trial of cases involving civil rights from 
 the hands of the officers entrusted with Executive functions 
 and the criminal administration of their charges. These 
 utterances were, as I have already shown, entirely irrelevant 
 to the present question. It was also misleading, because it 
 referred to about a score of cases in which an alleged failure 
 of justice had taken place, without pointing out, on the one 
 hand, that these cases extended over about twenty years, and 
 were not more numerous than those which are pilloried in a 
 
 61
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE 
 
 single issue of Truth ; nor, on the other hand, that most of them 
 had been set right on appeal or on revision. The Government of 
 India consulted Local Governments and their officers, including 
 not only the Executive officers, but also the highest Judicial 
 authorities. The preponderance of opinion among both was 
 decidedly against any change; and it might well have been 
 hoped that the matter would have been set at rest for at all 
 events a considerable number of years. It is distinctly unfortunate 
 that it should have been revived. 
 
 Reference is sometimes made to the views of a certain section 
 of educated opinion. It is most important that such a reference 
 should be carefully tested. I shall show, in dealing with the 
 matter of political unrest, how very small a proportion of the 
 population of India are entitled to be regarded as educated ; and 
 it will not do to attach too much importance to their opinion in 
 regard to a matter which affects far more the interests of those 
 who are not educated. It is also necessary to inquire what pro- 
 portion of that small educated section of the community holds 
 the views which are quoted. 
 
 I had occasion within two or three days of my finally leaving 
 India to meet a conference regarding a certain question which 
 was at the time attracting considerable attention. At that con- 
 ference a non-official Indian of high standing declared that the 
 movement in favour of the separation of Judicial and Executive 
 functions, to which reference happened casually to be made, was 
 engineered by lawyers ; that they were largely animated by self- 
 interest; and that they practically coerced many men charac- 
 terised by weakness or inertia to advocate, if not to accept, their 
 views. He was supported in this statement by all the Indian 
 gentlemen present ; and there is no doubt that some allowance 
 has to be made for the facts, both that there are many educated 
 Indians who strongly oppose this scheme of the separation of 
 Executive and Judicial functions, and that the main supporters 
 of the scheme are the lawyers. I have received strong pro- 
 nouncements against the scheme by the leading and most 
 influential Muhammadan and Hindu noblemen and gentry, the 
 
 62
 
 FUNCTIONS OF OUR OFFICERS 
 
 planters of Behar, the Anglo-Indian Association, and the 
 District Magistrates who are responsible for the preservation 
 of the public peace. 
 
 The most serious result of the proposed separation would be 
 the loss of the control exercised at present by the District 
 Magistrate over the criminal administration, through his in- 
 spection of courts and his supervision of their work. It is 
 notorious that in the civil courts cases are sometimes carelessly 
 disposed of, that great inconvenience is caused to parties and 
 witnesses, that unfair advantage is gained by the party with the 
 long purse, and that injustice is too often done, merely from 
 the want of inspection by an officer with real knowledge of, and 
 interest in, the circumstances of the District. Removed from 
 the control of the District Magistrate, the criminal courts might 
 well become the instruments of more frequent and more serious 
 injustice and oppression than the civil courts. The latter must 
 at least come to a definite finding on the issues between the 
 parties ; but a lazy or unscrupulous magistrate can discharge or 
 acquit an accused person on vague grounds of dissatisfaction 
 with the evidence for the prosecution. The fate of whole 
 villages may hang on the successful prosecution of an oppressive 
 bravo or a brutal landlord ; and length of purse may prevent 
 success before an unsupervised and Vakil-ridden magistrate. 
 
 One matter which really lies at the bottom of this agitation, 
 at least in some parts of India, is this, that the criminal courts 
 do not make a distinction between the Bhadralog* and the 
 poor. It is undoubtedly a current opinion with certain sections 
 of the community who can make their voices heard, that a well- 
 to-do man should be allowed to compromise even such offences 
 as dacoity or branding. This is a fact which shows how little 
 real advancement in true sentiment there is among many of the 
 so-called ceducated lasses in certain parts of India. The con- 
 trolling authority must be strong, and in touch with the 
 circumstances of the locality to prevent such compromises. 
 
 This view of the agitation is, of course, closely associated with 
 
 * Middle class, literally respectable people. 
 63
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE 
 
 the cognate explanation, namely, the desire to advance the 
 pleaders and to make the Judicial department all-powerful. 
 No one doubts that the pleaders are at the bottom of the 
 agitation; and they themselves clearly state that what they 
 desire to see is the criminal courts made the same as the civil. 
 The reason for this is that the Munsif (local civil judge) is out 
 of touch with the district, and is confined to what he hears 
 within the four walls of his court, so that the pleaders on the 
 one side or the other have it all their own way. There is no 
 particular check over the judge, so long as his record reads 
 correctly. Now this is a matter which requires serious con- 
 sideration. It is the Bar and the Bar " Libraries " or Associa- 
 tions which have been clamouring for this change. They all 
 speak from the theoretical rather than from the practical point 
 of view. Many of them also speak from a purely selfish view of 
 the case. They want a change which will increase their power. 
 It is not a change required nor desired by people generally. 
 
 Throughout the country there is a growing distrust of what is 
 called the " Vakil Raj " (the rule of the lawyers). This power 
 of the Bar is regarded by the people generally as a power which 
 undermines the prestige and diminishes the beneficence of British 
 rule. Loyal men fear it ; and many, who, without being very 
 enthusiastically loyal, have a stake in the country, resent it 
 exceedingly. The " Vakil Raj " has been advanced, according 
 to the Indians who think in this way, by several of the measures 
 of Government. One of these is our Civil Procedure, with its 
 technicalities and its abounding lawyers. The whole power in 
 the civil courts rests with munsifs, subordinate judges, and others 
 who belong to the legal profession and have been trained merely 
 as lawyers, who are generally out of touch with the people, 
 educated in the city law colleges, full of little else than techni- 
 calities, and absolutely without sympathy. The only voice that 
 is heard within the courts is the voice of the lawyer. No one 
 who comes into court without a lawyer feels that he has the 
 slightest chance of getting justice; and all that many lawyers 
 (though there are distinguished exceptions) care about is the 
 
 64
 
 FUNCTIONS OF OUR OFFICERS 
 
 fees they win and whatever will make for the winning of the 
 particular case in which they are at the time engaged. This is 
 a somewhat harsh description of what prevails over the whole 
 country ; but I do not give it as my own. It is a description 
 which would be given by most non-professional Indians who 
 discuss the matter in the interior. 
 
 Besides this, the lawyers have had a disastrously undue 
 influence given to them in the unsuitable local self-government 
 franchise prevailing in many parts of India. They have taken 
 into their hands, wherever the elective principle has been intro- 
 duced, virtually the whole conduct of local affairs. The Honour- 
 able the Maharajah Bahadur of Darbhanga, the wealthiest and 
 one of the most influential nobles of Bengal, said to me one day, 
 when I was urging him to state his opinion on a certain matter 
 publicly and boldly, " It is your policy which is to blame for the 
 unwillingness of the Zamindars to take their place and state 
 their opinions publicly. You have thrown all the power into 
 the hands of the pleaders. They rule the courts; they have 
 all the power of the local bodies ; and they have a practical 
 monopoly of the Legislative Councils. We cannot oppose 
 them." These considerations present a very serious view of the 
 state of affairs; and if the separation of the Executive and 
 Judicial functions in respect of the criminal administration of 
 our Districts is carried out, whatever advantages theoretically 
 or practically may be secured, there is no doubt of this, that it 
 will extend this system and increase the power of the lawyers, 
 which is far too great already. For one ordinary Indian who 
 honestly holds any view in favour of the separation of Executive 
 and Judicial functions, there are ten who merely wish to see the 
 courts and the office of the magistrate in the hands of the 
 " vakil " (lawyer). There never was a more purely class 
 agitation. 
 
 To anyone who knows India and the necessity for safe- 
 guarding in India the interests of the weak, the " Vakil Raj " 
 constitutes a real danger ; and the separation of Executive and 
 Judicial functions calls for serious consideration and hesitation. 
 
 65 B
 
 JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS 
 
 This is especially the case at the present time. The effect of 
 the measure, no matter what may be plausibly said to the 
 contrary, would necessarily be to reduce to some extent the 
 proper authority and power for good of the Executive, as repre- 
 sented by the District officer ; and the power of the Executive 
 ought not to be reduced at the present time. There are foolish 
 sneers about "the prestige"" of the District Magistrate, as 
 though the District Magistrate desired prestige merely in his 
 own personal interest or for his own selfish satisfaction and 
 pride. The prestige of the District officer means his power to 
 maintain the interests of the weak against the strong, and to 
 carry out the administration of his District in the interests of 
 all parties alike. 
 
 If there ever was a time when it was necessary to strengthen 
 the Executive rather than to weaken it, it is the present time ; 
 and this measure, of more than doubtful expediency at any 
 time, is specially inopportune now. The Maharajah Sir Prodyot 
 Tagore well said, " Executive authority should, under existing 
 circumstances, be strengthened and not weakened; and means 
 ought to be taken to increase its prestige and not to diminish 
 it." I have allowed myself to deal at some length with this 
 subject because it is one the discussion of which touches many 
 aspects of life in India, and the decision of which cannot fail to 
 be fraught with grave consequences to the administration of the 
 country. 
 
 66
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 INDIAN Society in Nagpur when I was first posted there, in the 
 beginning of 1877, was not of a very high type. It was only 
 a few years after the Bhonsla Dynasty had been set aside by 
 Lord Dalhousie, owing to the failure of the Rajah of Nagpur 
 to adopt an heir. The Nagpur territories had been added to 
 the British Crown ; and the adopted son of the widowed Rani 
 had been made a political pensioner, very much, I fancy, in the 
 best interests of the territories themselves and of the people. 
 There were still a number of the old hangers-on of the court, 
 none the better for their enforced idleness, and the influence 
 which they exercised in Nagpur Society was certainly not of the 
 best. There were one or two distinguished exceptions. One of 
 these was Madho Rao Chitnavis, whom I first knew as a dignified 
 and courteous Maratha gentleman who was on friendly terms 
 with the Local Government officers, and engaged earnestly in 
 municipal work, to which he was attracted by his great interest 
 in the welfare of the town. He was much esteemed among the 
 people, especially amongst the better classes, and also regarded 
 with respect and confidence by the Government. He was a man 
 of very attractive manners, though of somewhat blunt speech. 
 
 I became acquainted with him first in 1874-6, when I was 
 a young Assistant Commissioner in Bhandara, forty miles east 
 of Nagpur, where he had large estates. He was a good land- 
 lord ; and his relations with his tenants were most cordial. He 
 very often visited Bhandara, and hardly ever came there with- 
 out coming to see me. Sometimes when I was touring among 
 
 67
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 his villages he was with me for days together. We struck up 
 a real friendship, though there was a great disparity in our 
 years. I cannot help thinking that he was very anxious that 
 I should enter into such kindly relations with the people as 
 might influence my treatment of them during the whole of my 
 service. He had two sons, both of whom were educated in 
 Nagpur, and sent in due time to the Bombay University to 
 complete their education. His anxious and wise provision for 
 their training was a striking indication of his character. 
 
 After some years the Government of India gave to the Central 
 Provinces two appointments in the Statutory Service, which had 
 been devised by Lord Lytton. This service was intended to be 
 composed of Indians of good social position, high character, and 
 sound education, who would hold offices hitherto reserved for 
 members of the Indian Civil Service. The then Chief Commis- 
 sioner, Mr. W. B. Jones, C.S.I., determined to give the two 
 appointments one to a Muhammadan, a son of Khan Bahadur 
 Aulad Hussain, and the other to a Hindu, the younger of the 
 two sons of Madho Rao Chitnavis. 
 
 A day or two after this decision had been arrived at, and 
 before it had been publicly announced, I received an urgent 
 message from my kind old friend, telling me that he believed 
 his end was drawing near, and that he desired to see me once 
 once before he died. I drove down to the city ; and on the 
 way I called in at the old Government House (or as it was then 
 called, in memory of the political days of the late Bhonsla rule, 
 "the Residency") and asked Mr. Jones whether he would permit 
 me to tell my friend what had been decided about his second 
 son. Mr. Jones willingly agreed, and sent by me a kind message 
 to Madho Rao. 
 
 When I reached his house I found my friend very ill indeed. 
 His two sons were present with him ; and after talking to me 
 for a few minutes in the kindly, thoughtful way which had 
 always characterized him, he told me that one of his objects 
 in sending for me was to ask me to be a friend to his sons, 
 as I had been his friend. He took my hands and laid them on 
 
 68
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 his sons' heads in the old Oriental patriarchal way. I told him 
 that, while his eldest son would succeed him in the management 
 of the great family estates, the younger son was destined to hold 
 office under the Crown as a member of the Statutory Civil 
 Service; and I promised that, so long as they permitted it, 
 I should be their friend and should endeavour to do for them 
 what he would have done, so far as a stranger can discharge 
 a father's part. He expressed his deep gratitude to the Chief 
 Commissioner for his kind thought of his second son and thanked 
 me for the promise I had given ; and so we parted. Soon after 
 he breathed his last ; and from that time his two sons have been 
 amongst the most intimate of my Indian friends. 
 
 Sir Gangadhar Madho Chitnavis, K.C.I.E., the elder son, has 
 served the Government and the people well, as President of the 
 Nagpur Municipality, as chairman of the District Council, and 
 as member of the Legislative Council of His Excellency the 
 Viceroy. He is now a member of the enlarged Council. Shankar 
 Madho Chitnavis, the second son, is now Deputy Commissioner 
 and District Magistrate of one of the Districts of the Chhat- 
 tisgarh Division of the Central Provinces, and has acted as 
 Commissioner. He has carried one District through a grievous 
 famine and another through a severe visitation of the plague. 
 He served on the Labour Commission appointed by the Govern- 
 ment of India, and he has throughout maintained a high 
 character and earned the respect of all who know him. They 
 are both of them worthy men ; and it is my firm belief, which 
 I trust is not a delusion, that I have understood them well 
 and have been on really intimate terms with them for over 
 a quarter of a century. 
 
 In the very beginning of the sixth year of my service, I was 
 called to Nagpur early in 1877, as Under Secretary to the Chief 
 Commissioner. There I very soon made the acquaintance of 
 Babu (now Sir) Bipin Krishna Bose, a Bengali, who had come 
 to practise at the Nagpur Bar. I made his acquaintance first 
 in a Literary Society attended by both Europeans and Indians. 
 He read a very able paper on " Utilitarianism " ; and I made
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 a full criticism of the paper, differing greatly from him in his 
 principles and conclusions. This was the beginning of a friend- 
 ship between us, just as it might have been the beginning of 
 a friendship between two men of Western birth. His is a very 
 beautiful character. If it has a defect it is an excess of gentle- 
 ness ; but he is very far from being a weak man. He is a man 
 of sound ability, of thorough uprightness, and of great public 
 spirit. He has been a member of the Viceroy's Legislative 
 Council ; and after long and honourable service as Government 
 Advocate in Nagpur he is now a judge of the local High Court, 
 as " Additional Judicial Commissioner."" 
 
 We had opportunities of doing much work together in Nagpur 
 in the old days, and in Calcutta since ; and we have seen much 
 of each other during the many years of our friendship. He has 
 come to me often to talk over the most private concerns of his 
 life ; and I have obtained from him friendly advice and assist- 
 ance in many cases of difficulty. I do not know how to speak 
 of my friendship for him in language other than I should use in 
 speaking of my friendship for a friend in the West ; and I 
 believe that we know and understand each other well. I attribute 
 much of any knowledge that I have of the people, and of any 
 good work that I have been able to do among them, to my 
 intimate friendship with Sir Bipin Krishna Bose. His affec- 
 tionate sympathy in certain times of trial, his hearty congratula- 
 tion in respect of anything that might be regarded as good 
 fortune, and at the end the kindliness of his farewell when I left 
 India, can never be forgotten. 
 
 To one other friend I must make reference. When I went to 
 Bengal in 1903 as Lieutenant-Governor, I found that the young 
 Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Bijay Chand Mahtab, having com- 
 pleted his twenty-first year, had just been installed as Zamindar 
 of Burdwan, to which position he had succeeded to his adoptive 
 father while still a minor. This young man had been well 
 educated in his own home. His own father had brought him up 
 and had inculcated in his mind lessons of wisdom and of loyalty to 
 the Government. He was intensely desirous to take his proper 
 
 70
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 place, and discharge the duties of his station. He wished to be 
 a good landlord and to do what he could to advance the interests 
 of the people of India generally and of his own people in 
 particular. I very soon became acquainted with him ; and, 
 despite the difference in our years, our acquaintance rapidly 
 developed into sincere friendship. I do not think that there is 
 any man on the earth, either in the East or in the West, who 
 has spoken to me so freely about matters of vital concern and 
 interest to him ; for he has treated me almost as his father ; and 
 it has been the greatest delight to me to see him more and more 
 take his place as a wise and strong leader of the people in 
 progress and in good works. He is the senior Hindu nobleman 
 of Bengal, having the highest hereditary dignity and titles, 
 though not the greatest wealth, amongst these noblemen. 
 
 He was a member of the Council of Bengal while I was 
 Lieutenant-Governor ; and under the new regulations he has 
 recently, since I left India, been elected by the Zamindars of 
 Bengal to the enlarged Legislative Councils, both of the Viceroy 
 and of the Lieutenant-Governor. His Maharani, like the wife 
 of my friend Mr. Shankar Madho Chitnavis, has with quiet 
 dignity emerged from behind the parda, to take her place 
 alongside of her husband in great social functions, and to assist 
 him, as a good wife can, in the great work of his life. Every- 
 where she is received with respect and cordiality ; and the 
 relations which exist, in public as well as in private, between 
 these two, are indicative of the excellent character of both, and 
 are honourable to the Indian people. 
 
 There was one incident which occurred just before I left India 
 which gave him a unique opportunity of proving the devotion 
 of his friendship. On the 7th of November, 1908, just about a 
 month before I left India for good, an attempt was made on my 
 life, which is described in detail in the chapter dealing with 
 " Unrest in India : its limitations." There the Maharajadhiraja 
 Bahadur bravely placed himself between me and the pistol 
 of a would-be assassin, and offered his own life to save mine. 
 It is miserable to think of the fatuous folly and wicked crime 
 
 71
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 into which the wretched student who attempted my life was led 
 by the advice of some whose voices are still heard in India. It 
 was pleasant, however, to see how utterly out of sympathy he 
 was with the public generally ; and it is a thing never to be 
 forgotten that this brave young nobleman deliberately offered 
 his life to save the life of his Lieutenant-Governor and friend. 
 If he had done it for his own father it would have been an act 
 of signal filial devotion ; that he did it for me constitutes an 
 act which it is impossible for me adequately to describe, and 
 which will form an indissoluble bond of friendship between us 
 for ever. 
 
 There are some among the Indian friends whom I have learned 
 to love as we love our friends at home. There are others whom 
 I could name, some of them perhaps not quite of the same high 
 character as some of these for in all countries our friends are 
 human and have their own weaknesses or defects but all of 
 them men whom it has been a privilege to call friends, and in my 
 friendship with whom I have found that, in the East as in the 
 West, "as iron sharpeneth iron so the face of a man his 
 friend." 
 
 It is to the experiences which I have been describing that 
 I owe my opinions of the relations between Europeans and 
 Indians. There is a very interesting and instructive book by 
 Mr. Meredith Townsend, entitled "Asia and Europe," which 
 contains a great deal of valuable matter regarding the East and 
 its connection and relations with the West. But there is one 
 chapter in that book entitled " The Mental Seclusion of India " 
 which contains what seems to me erroneous and even mischievous 
 teaching. I regard much of the teaching of it as erroneous; 
 because it seems to me to be contrary to my own experience and 
 that of many Anglo-Indians whom I have known. I regard it 
 as mischievous, because it authoritatively states views and recites 
 so-called facts which, if accepted, would certainly not make it 
 easier for the East and the West to work together. As the 
 book is undoubtedly one which is much sought after by young 
 men going to India, and as this particular teaching is not such 
 
 72
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 as can render their work either easier or more worthy, I deeply 
 regret to find it in the volume. 
 
 It is not easy to understand precisely how it is that Mr. 
 Meredith Townsend has acquired the experience on which he 
 bases his statements. I have not been able to ascertain how 
 extensive his knowledge of India really is, and how far it is 
 limited to the town of Calcutta. My impression, however, is 
 that he knew little of India outside the capital. Now it is 
 perfectly clear that this knowledge of India is very defective. 
 India as a whole is a land of agriculturists dwelling in small 
 villages and hamlets. A great city where the three prevailing 
 interests and modes of life are Government Secretariates, law 
 courts and merchants' offices, and where the most important and 
 influential sections of the community are largely either Asiatic 
 or European foreigners, can hardly be said to represent India at 
 all. I have heard it said, and I am inclined to regard the state- 
 ment as true, that there is no one who knows less of India than 
 the man whose experience is confined to Calcutta. 
 
 There is another point also which must be borne in mind, 
 namely, that in Calcutta we have sharp Indian business men 
 meeting smart Europeans in rivalry and competition ; that their 
 interests conflict one with another ; that they inhabit different 
 sections of the capital ; and that they have, until quite recently, 
 shown little disposition to co-operate or to cultivate friendship 
 with one another. I have never in all my experience of India 
 seen anything to compare with the aloofness between Europeans 
 and Indians which I found when I went some years ago to take 
 up my residence in Calcutta. Perhaps, also, it may be strongly 
 said that there have for many years been influences at work in 
 Calcutta which have not tended to the promotion of kindly 
 feeling between the races ; that the Europeans have not laid them- 
 selves out to understand the Indians, and that the Indians have 
 been, in a strangely sensitive manner, jealous of Europeans. 
 
 Mr. Meredith Townsend makes the following statement : 
 " That Europeans are, with personal exceptions, by nature and 
 the will of God stupid, is the single broad idea which has ever 
 
 73
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 clearly emerged from the sea of the native mind."" I have heard a 
 statement like this made by a very astute Indian ; but it was, I 
 believe, even intended to be a compliment. It was to the effect 
 that Europeans are stupidly frank, and blurt out too freely 
 what is on their minds. My own experience is, however, that 
 the truest wisdom lies in being always straightforward and 
 outspoken with the people, and never attempting, under any 
 circumstances, to meet guile with guile. The great majority of 
 good Indians believe this to be invariably the soundest course. 
 If taken literally, however, Mr. Townsend's statement appears 
 extraordinary, in view of the eagerness with which practically 
 all sections of the community desire to have European Executive 
 officers in preference to Indians, the readiness with which they 
 accept, even on Mr. Meredith Townsend's own saying, the 
 principles which animate Europeans in the government and 
 administration of the country, and the devotion and loyalty 
 with which Indians will follow Europeans to danger or death. 
 I am persuaded that there is no one who has had to do with the 
 people of India generally, and especially of the interior, who 
 will not regard this statement, which might have been made by 
 the most superficial of Anglo-Indian novelists, as quite un- 
 worthy of the generally thoughtful character of Mr. Meredith 
 Townsend's book. 
 
 It cannot be pretended that the mere understanding of the 
 people who are governed leads to successful government, and 
 Mr. Meredith Townsend is right when he says that the fact 
 that the "great Civilian" 1 has understood "justice, toleration, 
 mercy and the use of firmness, and has applied those principles 
 steadily, fearlessly and with a certain respect for logic, seldom 
 displayed by his own caste in Europe," is the best explanation 
 of his success as a governor. At the same time, he seems to me 
 to be quite mistaken when he says that it is impossible for the 
 European to understand the Asiatic; and his teaching in this 
 respect is mischievous, for the duty which the " great Civilian " 
 impresses most earnestly on his subordinates is to use every 
 endeavour to arrive at such an understanding. 
 
 74
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 Mr. Meredith Townsend says : " The Civilian or adventurer 
 does not reside among the Indian people at all, but only on the 
 spot where the Indian people also abide a very different thing. 
 There he is and there are they ; but they are fenced off from 
 each other by an invisible, impalpable, but impassable wall, as 
 rigid and as inexplicable as that which divides the master from 
 his dog, the worshipping coach-dog from the worshipped horse, 
 the friendly spaniel from the acquiescent cat. The wall is not 
 as we believe difference of manners or of habits or of means of 
 association, for those difficulties have been conquered by officers, 
 travellers, missionaries and others, in places like China, where 
 the external difference is so much greater. They have, indeed, 
 been conquered by individuals even in India itself, where many 
 men, especially missionaries, who are not feared, do live in as 
 friendly and as frequent intercourse with Indians as they would 
 with their own people at home. The wall is less material than 
 that, and is raised mainly by the Indian himself who, whatever 
 his profession or grade or occupation, deliberately secludes his 
 mind from the European with a jealous, minute, and persistent 
 care of which no man not gifted with an insight like that of 
 Thackeray could succeed in giving even a remote idea." 
 
 There is no doubt a considerable amount of truth in this 
 statement ; but it is very far from being the whole truth ; and 
 the measure of truth which it contains hardly renders it less 
 mischievous, but does perhaps render it more difficult to contro- 
 vert. It is undoubtedly true that there are many Europeans 
 who live in juxtaposition to the Indians not only without 
 understanding them, but without knowing anything about 
 them. It is also true that the Indian has a great capacity for 
 keeping the mere acquaintance, with whom he has no confidential 
 relations, quite out of touch with himself, and of secluding from 
 him his thoughts and feelings. I have known Orientals who 
 were quite unintelligible to me : their minds and feelings were 
 a sealed book to me. Without any discourtesy they kept me 
 outside. 
 
 The Oriental has great reserve and can easily, when he 
 
 75
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 chooses to do so, refrain from unlocking his mind, revealing his 
 real thoughts and manifesting his true character. It would be 
 a strange thing if the Englishman, whose habitual reserve is 
 proverbial, failed to understand this characteristic. It was an 
 Oriental philosopher Semitic, however, not Aryan who said 
 that, " the heart knoweth its own bitterness, and the stranger 
 doth not intermeddle with its joy." To admit this, however, is 
 not the same thing as to say that the Western cannot understand 
 the Eastern, and that their hearts and minds cannot come into 
 touch. It is altogether contrary to the experience of some of 
 us to say that the Eastern and the Western are divided from 
 one another by such a wall as divides the master from his dog, 
 the coach-dog from the horse, or the spaniel from the cat. 
 
 It is no cant sentiment with men who have spent their lives 
 among Eastern peoples, that " God has made of one blood all 
 nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." Human 
 hearts, human needs, human sentiments are much the same 
 in the East and in the West. Circumstances, traditions, and 
 environments are different ; but, when these have been taken 
 into account and have had due allowance made for them, it is 
 found that human nature remains. Hearts therefore can come 
 together in the East just as they can in the West. It is true 
 that the history of India supplies an explanation of the tendency 
 of the Indian to keep the stranger, especially if he be a repre- 
 sentative of the governing body, out of his confidence. This 
 undoubtedly makes it more difficult to overcome the shyness and 
 seclusiveness which is to be found more or less in every man ; 
 but though there may be difficulties, the task is possible and 
 well worth performing. 
 
 When I went to the Central Provinces in 1871 I found myself 
 the youngest officer in a Commission, almost all the senior 
 officers of which had been engaged in Settlement work. There 
 is no work like this for bringing the European officers into 
 intimate contact with the people of the country. The Settle- 
 ment Officer went out into camp for about six or eight months 
 of the year. All that time he wandered about from village to 
 
 76
 
 THE GOLA (GRANARY) AT BANKIPUR IN THE PATNA DISTRICT 
 
 "" This was erected as part of a general plan ordered by the Governor General in Council in 1784 for 
 the prevention of famine. It was to be filled from above : hence the footway to the top. It was 
 never used, but remains " the monument of a mistake." It has a wonderful reverberating echo, 
 which can carry a whisper round the walls, and can at one point in the middle produce irom a 
 whisper the impression of many voices. 
 
 FAMINE COOLIES STARTING WORK
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 village with his tents, his camels, his horses, and his cattle. He 
 lived not only alongside of the people, but also among them. 
 He pitched his tent for several days at a time at a particular 
 village, and learned all that he could about it. He met the 
 people in groups in their fields, and discussed with them the 
 capacity of the soil and the character of the crops which were 
 grown on it. He talked with them familiarly round the camp 
 fire at night, when the day's work was over. Perhaps he may 
 have begun by thinking that the people were distinguished 
 above all the people of the earth that he had known for false- 
 hood and fraud ; but he very soon changed his mind. The 
 village people were very different from the litigants and witnesses 
 in court. He found that, when he got alongside of them in 
 their own homes, and talked to them in front of their own 
 people, they were wonderfully truthful ; and it was surprisingly 
 easy to arrive at right conclusions with regard to the important 
 matters about which he was inquiring. He found rich and poor 
 alike inclined to be frank and friendly. 
 
 He soon began to understand that the people, when dragged 
 to the courts by litigation, felt that they were entering upon 
 a struggle with their enemies, that all things were fair in war, 
 and that if one can circumvent his enemy even by false state- 
 ments, he must be a somewhat silly person not to do so. There 
 is a good deal of the same sort of spirit among litigants every- 
 where. It is perhaps, however, especially characteristic of the 
 Oriental to believe that anything which secures victory over an 
 enemy is permissible and desirable ; and that, where power 
 seems to give advantage on one side, deceit may well be practised 
 on the other. This is in accordance with the traditions and 
 history of India. It is quite otherwise when the people are 
 visited in their own hamlets, and their affairs are discussed in 
 front of their friends and neighbours. It is one of the first 
 lessons which a well-trained civilian learns, from his valuable 
 experience in camp, that the one way to arrive with some 
 definite assurance at the truth is to make an inquiry on the spot. 
 
 The Settlement Officer, however, learned far more than this. 
 
 77
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 He got alongside of the people in respect of the interests 
 that most vitally concerned them ; he spoke to them frankly 
 and plainly about these things ; and the common humanity of 
 the Eastern mind responded, as a rule, to his frankness. There 
 were, no doubt, many who did their best to conceal the truth ; 
 but the people as a whole were honest and open in their 
 dealings with him, as he was frank with them. Their frankness 
 was not confined to business. If he were, as he could hardly 
 fail to become, a sympathetic man, he very soon became 
 acquainted with the private history and concerns of a great 
 number of the people with whom he was brought into contact. 
 He had private talks with them ; he knew their family concerns, 
 the little hopes that buoyed them up in life, and the cares and 
 worries that depressed them ; he found simple and kindly ways, 
 such as he had associated more with the Western peoples whom 
 he had up to this time known so much better, but which he 
 was glad to recognise as existing in those whom he was now 
 making his new friends. The sentiments he had entertained 
 regarding the Indian peoples from a mere knowledge of them in 
 the law courts and offices of the head-quarters station, very 
 speedily gave way to a broad human way of regarding those 
 who were after all men of like passions with himself. 
 
 There is perhaps nothing in India that brings men more into 
 touch with the people of the country than such work as Settle- 
 ment ;* there is nothing that enables a man more to understand 
 them ; and there is nothing that produces better relations 
 between European Officers and the people, or tends to the better 
 government of the country. The tone of the officers of the 
 Central Provinces Commission, when I joined the Province, was 
 the result of having been engaged in such work for years. At 
 the head of the Province was Mr. (now Sir John) Morris, 
 himself an old Settlement Officer and Settlement Commissioner ; 
 
 * The Settlement Officer is the officer who, subject to appeal to and 
 revision by higher authority, records the rights of the different members 
 and classes of the village community, and settles the conditions and terms 
 under which they hold their lands. The settlement is made after careful 
 public inquiry on the spot. 
 
 78
 
 Facing p. 78. 
 
 The names beneath the lower photographs should be re- 
 versed, for " Rao Bahadur Bhargo Rao " read "Khan Bahadur 
 Aulad Husaiu, C.I.E.," and for "Khan Bahadur Aulad 
 Husain, C.I.K." read " Rao Bahadur Bhargo Rao."
 
 THE HON. SIR BIPIN KRISHNA BOSE 
 
 >vernment Advocate, Nagpur, Central Provinces 
 
 THF. HON. MR. GANGADHAR MADHO 
 CHITNAWIS, C. I.E. 
 
 Representative of the Central Provinces in the 
 Legislative Council of the Viceroy. 
 
 RAO BAHADUR BHARGO RAO 
 
 fudge of the Small Cause Court at Nagpur. 
 
 KHAN BAHADUR AULAU HUSAIN, C.I.E. 
 
 Long a Settlement Officer in the Central Provinces.
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 and under him were working in every district men who had 
 been trained under his kindly and sympathetic example in the 
 same kind of work and with the same regard for the people. 
 The Settlement that had been made was a lenient, judicious, 
 and righteous Settlement ; and the Province advanced by leaps 
 and bounds during the succeeding years under its influence. 
 
 What I am concerned with at present, however, is the spirit 
 which animated the men whose training had been effected in the 
 course of this work of Settlement. They were not all dis- 
 tinguished officers. Some of them were very ordinary men. A 
 large number of them were military officers who had joined the 
 old " Staff Corps," and entered civil employ in what was called a 
 " Non -regulation Province " ; but with few exceptions they were 
 men imbued with a strong sense of duty, a great knowledge of 
 the country, and a deep sympathy with the people in all their 
 most vital concerns. It is this spirit which the best Anglo- 
 Indian officers, the " great Civilians " of whom Meredith Town- 
 send speaks, desire to see reproduced in the succeeding race of 
 Government officers. These men found no difficulty, after their 
 long experience among the people, in understanding them, in 
 knowing the men whom they might trust, and in selecting from 
 among them some to whom they accorded indeed no partial or 
 unfair treatment in their relations with the Government, but 
 whom they regarded undoubtedly as their friends. 
 
 Among my most intimate friends in the earlier part of my 
 service were some of these officers. Sir John Morris himself, 
 Sir Charles Bernard, Sir Charles Crosthwaite, Mr. J. W. Neill, 
 Mr. J. W. Chisholm, Col. Henry Ward, and others were among 
 them. These men gave me the advantage of their own ex- 
 perience among the people. With these men I had the 
 privilege to serve. I was several seasons, early in my service, in 
 camp on the Staff of Sir John Morris, the Chief Commissioner ; 
 and later I became his Chief Secretary. I shared the same 
 bungalow at different times for several months together, first 
 with Sir Charles Bernard, and then with Sir Charles Crosthwaite, 
 when their wives were at home. I served for years under 
 
 79
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 Mr. Neill and Mr. Chisholm in the Secretariate, and under 
 Col. Ward as his assistant in District work. From all of them 
 I learned to regard the Indians as fellow-men, and not as a 
 different kind of animal altogether, and to see in them the 
 attractive qualities which have called forth the most devoted 
 work and warmest feelings of generations of British officers. I 
 also had among my friends kindly and devoted missionaries such 
 as the Rev. John and Mrs. Cooper of Nagpur, who knew the 
 people and loved them, and had the greatest delight in telling 
 me all that they could about them. 
 
 Not less valuable to me at that time were some of the friend- 
 ships which I formed amongst Indians. One of my best friends 
 at the very beginning of my service was the late Khan Bahadur 
 Aulad Hussain, C.I.E. When I went to Jubbulpore, which 
 was the first station to which I was posted, he was Senior 
 Assistant Commissioner there. He and I struck up an acquaint- 
 ance very soon ; and he took great delight in teaching me my 
 work. I had from the very first a great admiration for him. 
 He could read English ; but he spoke little of it. He was of 
 the old school, a scholarly man in Persian and Arabic, and 
 a devout Muhammadan. He did all his work in the vernacular, 
 and strongly urged on me the importance of acquiring a know- 
 ledge jof the vernacular languages, so that I might be able 
 to have free intercourse with the people. He helped me very 
 materially in important duties, which were somewhat early 
 thrust upon me, owing to the exigencies of the service and the 
 inadequate supply of officers. His high religious character, the 
 great reputation for probity and justice which he had amongst 
 all classes of the people, the great confidence reposed in him by 
 the Government, and his own singularly attractive manners and 
 great strength of character, won my heartiest esteem. 
 
 He soon became my friend ; and there was scarcely a subject 
 at all which we did not discuss freely with one another. I 
 knew all the details of his family life, was introduced to every 
 member of his family, and saw as much of them as the customs 
 of the country allowed. I was in camp with him alone, some- 
 
 80
 
 SOME INDIAN FRIENDS 
 
 times for weeks, and I acquired as intimate knowledge of his 
 character as I have ever had in respect of a Western friend. 
 I can only express my relations with the Khan Bahadur in such 
 language as I should use in speaking of the best and most 
 esteemed and most intimate of my Western friends. It cannot 
 be wondered at that, with such an early education and training, 
 I should feel deep regret at the particular sentiments which 
 I have quoted from Meredith Townsend's otherwise valuable 
 book. 
 
 81
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 IT is not altogether easy for an Indian officer, who has been 
 accustomed to deal only with Indian questions in India, to 
 convey an accurate impression of his views to people at home, 
 because of certain ways of looking at India which he has 
 acquired from experience, and which have from habit become 
 to him a second nature. He has a tendency to forget both his 
 first impressions and also the course of experience and discipline 
 by which these were displaced by a fuller knowledge of India 
 and its peoples. In one of his excellent papers, collected and 
 published under the title of " Twenty-one days in India," 
 Aberigh Mackay suggests the following conundrum : " Q. What 
 is it that the travelling M.P. treasures up and the Anglo-Indian 
 hastens to throw away? A. Erroneous, hazy, distorted first 
 impressions."" There is a great deal of truth in this, and it is 
 a common subject of ridicule in India that men, who visit the 
 country for a few days, consider themselves qualified to pro- 
 nounce opinions about the most difficult questions of Indian 
 administration and life. At the same time, crude first impres- 
 sions are worth remembering, if for nothing else than for this 
 purpose, that they may enable an Anglo-Indian to understand 
 the mental attitude of one who does not know the country. 
 Without some such understanding, it is difficult to communicate 
 information. 
 
 One of the difficulties in understanding Indian questions 
 undoubtedly arises from the enormous area of the peninsula 
 and the vast and varied populations which it contains. India 
 
 82
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 is not one country ; and there is no " Indian nation." This is 
 generally admitted and so far recognised at home ; but it is 
 difficult for one who has looked at Indian questions from afar, 
 and does not know India itself, to realise how vast the peninsula 
 is, and how varied are its peoples. One even hears such a ques- 
 tion as this, "I hear you have come from Lahore, which is, 
 I believe, in India. Do you know my friend Mr. Jones who 
 is in business in Madras?" Well, over a thousand miles of 
 space lie between the two places as the crow flies; and there 
 is little communication in the way of business between the 
 Punjab, of which Lahore is the capital, and the Presidency of 
 Madras. Yet, your friend is disappointed that you should not 
 have met Mr. Jones. One might almost as well say, "I hear 
 you have come from Edinburgh. Do you know my friend, who 
 is employed in a bank in Paris ?"" 
 
 The vastness of the Indian Empire may be understood more 
 or less by anyone who grasps this simple fact, that its area 
 is almost, and its population is just, equal to the area and the 
 population of Europe without Russia. As to its peoples, they 
 are diverse in almost every respect in which one people can be 
 separated from another. They have languages not only differing 
 as much as the Latin tongues differ among themselves, but also 
 differing in family as the language of Germany differs from that 
 of France. There are the Aryan languages of the north of India 
 and the Dravidian languages of the south, as well as a large 
 number of dialects and languages used by the aboriginal tribes 
 and races in Central India. As the languages differ, so do the 
 manners and modes of thought. It is of great importance to 
 remember that the Bengalis do not differ from the Marathas 
 of Bombay less than the Italians differ from the French ; nor 
 the men of Agra and Oudh from the Madrasis less than the 
 Germans from either of these two Latin races. 
 
 The races of India differ in physique, as for example the powerful 
 and martial Punjabi from the feebler inhabitants of the malarious 
 districts of Bengal. They differ in history, as in the case of the 
 north-country Muhammadan or the Bombay Brahman who looks
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 back on a past full of memories and traditions of power, and the 
 great majority of the peoples of the south and the east, whose 
 history was rather that of subjection and oppression. They 
 differ in religion. This difference is not only between Muham- 
 madans and Hindus, but also, for example, between those who 
 worship Shiva and Kali and the votaries of Vishnu and Krishna, 
 or between both these forms of Hinduism and the Fetish worship 
 of many of the aboriginal tribes. Even races calling themselves 
 Hindus are often not really of the same religion ; for while 
 Hinduism cannot receive the individual into its bosom on 
 account of the impossibility of finding him a place in any of 
 its castes, it can receive, and has often received, a whole tribe 
 as a separate caste, requiring not the renunciation of the old 
 gods, but only the recognition of the special privileges and 
 sanctity of the Brahmans. 
 
 If one were able to read what he sees in the first day spent in 
 Bombay, in the light of the knowledge that comes to him in 
 later years, he would understand at a glance how distinct are 
 the races and peoples of India. He sees men in varied costume 
 with diverse head-dresses ; and he lumps them all up together 
 into a very great nation of strange manners and costumes. He 
 has to learn that these different dresses and manners indicate 
 different races and nations, representatives of which are to be 
 found gathered together for commerce and business in Bombay, 
 but which belong to different parts of the country and are 
 divided from one another by all that divides nations anywhere. 
 
 Very soon, too, the man who arrives in India, to begin the 
 work of his life, is made acquainted with the fact that India is 
 a land of far distances. I had to take a thirty hours 1 journey 
 by rail from Bombay to Allahabad, and was then sent thirty 
 hours from Allahabad to Nagpur, and back again twenty-four 
 hours to Jubbulpore before I settled in my first station. I had 
 thus early begun to realise the great distances that one has to 
 travel ; but it was not until I was appointed, in 1893, to the 
 Hemp Drugs Commission, and travelled over the whole of India 
 during that Commission's full year of work, visiting every 
 
 84
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 Province and several of the Native States, that I realised the 
 differences that exist among the peoples of India, and the 
 enormous area of the peninsula itself. That experience and my 
 experience nine years later as President of the Police Com- 
 mission, which also took me all over India to all Provinces and 
 to one or two Native States, was valuable to me as giving me 
 opportunities of seeing India, which, I suppose, are quite 
 unique. 
 
 When one is listening to a man who professes to speak from 
 personal knowledge on any Indian subject, he ought first of all 
 to endeavour to ascertain where the speaker has obtained his 
 experience, and what qualifications he has for speaking on the 
 subject under consideration. If the subject is one concerning 
 only a part of India, and if the speaker's experience belongs 
 wholly to another part, it may be at least very doubtful whether 
 he is entitled to speak with authority at all. No length of 
 residence in Bengal will entitle a man to speak, with the 
 authority of one who has seen things for himself, in regard to 
 any question affecting Bombay. Study of books and papers or 
 information given by friends and acquaintances may enable a 
 man to speak usefully about that which he has not seen ; but 
 his claim to be heard depends in that case on the trustworthi- 
 ness of the source from which he has received his information, 
 and does not depend on his own experience or observation. This 
 distinction is most necessary to bear in mind in regard to India 
 and its interests ; and it arises from the differences between 
 Provinces and races which I have endeavoured to make clear. 
 
 In this connection it may be observed that there is nothing 
 more misleading than to accept as authoritative the statements 
 about India and its peoples, which are made by those who 
 base their claim to be heard on a long residence in Calcutta, 
 or any other Presidency town. It should be borne in mind that 
 India, with all the differences that exist between different parts 
 of the country, has this common feature throughout, that it is 
 an agricultural country, consisting mainly of villages, smaller or 
 greater, scattered over its hills and plains. In the Presidency 
 
 85
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 towns one sees, no doubt, many Indians gathered together ; but 
 they have separated themselves, either recently or at a more 
 remote period of their family history, from the great occupations 
 and interests of the people of India. They have come together, 
 some of them, for the acquisition of Western learning which 
 the great mass of their countrymen do not value and are inclined 
 to think as little suited to an Indian as the peacock's feathers 
 to the jackdaw of the fable. 
 
 Some of them have come for the study and practice of law, of 
 which the great mass of their fellow-countrymen are ignorant 
 and suspicious ; some of them for the sake of commerce, in which 
 the great mass of their countrymen have no intelligent interest 
 or direct concern. Their habits of life in the town are altogether 
 different from the habits of the country ; and there is no tie 
 that binds the professional and commercial classes of the capital 
 cities to the people of the country generally. The former do 
 not understand the latter ; and the latter, while they may, 
 where necessity compels them, utilise the services of the former, 
 are by no means as a rule in frank and intelligent sympathy with 
 them. 
 
 It is a common saying among people in Bengal that there is 
 no one more ignorant of the people of the interior and of their 
 affairs than the man whose training and career are confined to 
 Calcutta ; and I dare say the statement is true. The man who 
 lives a town life in Great Britain is not the best authority on 
 rural affairs, though he generally keeps up some connection with 
 the country. He pays periodical visits and tries to live the 
 country life and get into touch with the country people and 
 their concerns ; he spends there many of his weekends and 
 sometimes weeks at a time ; and when there he throws himself 
 deliberately into the life of the country, and lives as if himself 
 of its people. On the other hand, the man whose life-work is 
 done in the Indian Presidency town, ordinarily goes to the 
 country far too little ; and, even when he does go there, he lives 
 apart from the people in the aloofness which his sense of 
 educational superiority and want of community of interest lead 
 
 86
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 him to adopt. He has not, and does not care to have, much 
 sympathy with, or knowledge of, the country and the country 
 people. 
 
 When this great barrier between the people of the town and 
 the people of the country is taken into consideration, as well as 
 the great differences of race and religion that exist throughout 
 India, one begins to realise something of the difficulty of dealing 
 with Indian questions. The sources of information to the man 
 who does not travel about and live among the people of the 
 country, who, as a rule, are silent and invisible to those who do 
 not make an effort to hear and see them, are the newspapers and 
 orators of the great cities. These men write and talk as freely 
 and as fully in regard to matters of which they are entirely 
 ignorant as in regard to matters with which they may claim 
 some acquaintance. 
 
 I remember hearing a missionary in a public meeting in 
 Scotland setting himself to correct what he stated to be a 
 popular fallacy in regard to Indian temples. He said that 
 people coming from India spoke of the beauty and picturesque- 
 ness of Indian temples ; and on the authority of his own long 
 residence in India he assured his audience that this was pure 
 sentiment or misrepresentation. He had seen many temples ; 
 and they were nothing but squalid shrines. I found that his 
 experience was limited to Calcutta ; and I was able to make 
 some allowance for his statement. But there rose before my 
 mind pictures of many temples which I had seen in many parts 
 of India, beautiful for situation and capable, so far as their 
 outward appearance went, of being the joy of the whole land. 
 I recalled the reaches of the sacred Narbada, beautified by 
 the temples and shrines which the piety of many generations of 
 simple people had erected on its banks, or temples with fair 
 walls and battlements on the tops of hills and even mountains, 
 to which the piety of simple pilgrims lead them for quiet and 
 secluded worship. 
 
 I have heard men tell of the state of feeling in India, of the 
 jealousy of the people in respect of the British Government 
 
 87
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 and its officers ; and I have found that they have been simply 
 quoting the utterances of some of the carping and even seditious 
 native papers of Calcutta. Not only do these newspapers 
 themselves mistake "the cackle of their bourg for the great 
 wave that murmurs round the world " ; but there are many 
 also who are deceived by the arrogant and authoritative tone 
 of these papers into accepting their ebullitions as the expression 
 of the feelings of the great mass of the people. A friend of 
 mine, who is rightly regarded as competent to speak on many 
 Indian questions, said to me, when I was appointed Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Bengal, that it was no use attempting to get into 
 touch with the people of that Province. " For," he said, " to 
 put it in a word, we have lost Bengal." He explained that 
 in his opinion we had lost all touch with the people of that 
 Province ; that their affections had become alienated from us ; 
 and that we could not rely on their goodwill. 
 
 It was not many weeks after this, when, in the course of a 
 tour in the Province, I was passing through a railway station 
 in the interior. My special .train arrived there about 6 a.m., 
 and halted for a few minutes. In accordance with my old 
 Central Provinces custom, I had risen early and was fully 
 dressed. I stepped out of the train to enjoy the cool morning 
 air, a man altogether unknown to anyone on the platform. 
 None of my staff even looked out of their windows. The police 
 who lined the platform judged that I must be connected with 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, and stood at attention ; but they 
 did not present arms, as they would have done had they recog- 
 nised me. I saw a large crowd at one end of the platform, 
 near an over-bridge which crossed the line. Some of the crowd 
 had come up the steps of the over-bridge, as far as the point 
 where another flight of steps from the platform joined it ; 
 but they did not attempt to enter the station, and stood looking 
 at the scene from the position they had taken up. I went up to 
 the over- bridge and began to talk to those who were in front of 
 the crowd. I could not speak Bengali ; but I talked to them in 
 Hindustani, which seemed to be known to many. 
 
 88
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 In the course of our conversation I asked them what they 
 had come for ; and they said they had come to see the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor (or as they called him, the " Lord Sahib ") 
 passing. In reply to my inquiry whether they expected to see 
 the Lieutenant- Governor, they said that they did not, as the 
 hour was so early ; but they liked all the same, they said, 
 to see his train and to think that he was in it. I talked to 
 them about their affairs, about the season and the crops, 
 the municipal administration of the town, and the like. After 
 we had talked for some time 3 and when the train was about 
 to move on, I said, " Would you not like to see the Lieutenant- 
 Governor?" An intelligent old grey-beard, who seemed to 
 have some position among the crowd, promptly said, " Are 
 you the new Lieutenant-Governor ?" When I replied in the 
 affirmative, he at once shouted the announcement to the crowd ; 
 and I received as hearty an ovation as I should have received 
 perhaps in any part of India. 
 
 The experience of that morning was corroborated by all my 
 subsequent experience in Bengal. It is not true that " we have 
 lost Bengal." We have certainly not the same opportunities 
 of getting into touch with the people that we have in the 
 temporarily settled* districts of other Provinces, where the 
 agricultural interests of the people are largely identical with 
 those of the Government, and where this community of interest 
 binds the Government and the people together ; but, if we make 
 the effort, we can get into touch and have sympathy with the 
 people of Bengal to a very great extent, if not quite as fully 
 as in the rest of India. Everywhere I found the people friendly 
 and pleased to find me accessible to them. 
 
 The people all over the country are anxious to know the 
 officers who govern them ; and it is too often the fault of our 
 officers themselves if they are not on good terms with the 
 people. It is true that mischievous relations may very easily 
 
 * In other Provinces the land revenue payments to the Government are 
 periodically revised ; in the greater part of Bengal they were permanently 
 fixed by Lord Coruwallis. 
 
 89
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 be produced between the people and the Government by mis- 
 representation. The people are ignorant and superstitious ; and 
 appeals to their ignorance and superstition find them excitable. 
 They can be misled, and they have, in certain localities and at 
 certain times, been misled, to their own loss and to the injury 
 of the administration ; but as a whole they are loyal to those 
 who rule, and affectionate in their loyalty to the rulers who 
 show themselves friendly. There is no general antipathy to, 
 or jealousy of, the British Government or its officers. The 
 contrary is the case. The Government is regarded with loyalty ; 
 and British officers are often asked for as District Officers ; and 
 when they visit any locality they receive a most hearty welcome. 
 It is pitiable, in view of all one's experience in India, to see 
 how the expressions of a certain section of the comparatively 
 educated classes are received as though they constituted the 
 voice of the peoples of India, or, as it is called, " the national 
 voice." I recall an unfortunate incident which occurred in the 
 course of a confidential conference at which I was presiding. 
 The conference consisted of a number of Government officers, 
 some representatives of the Hindu and Muhammadan com- 
 munities, some feudatory chiefs, noblemen, and landowners, and 
 some European and Indian business and professional men, as 
 representative a gathering as could be got together at the time. 
 We sat down to discuss the matter before us. Just opposite 
 me was seated a Bengali, an old member of what is called " the 
 National Congress "; and beside me was seated a Chief of much 
 influence and high character. The gentleman opposite, in some 
 remark he made, used the expression "the national opinion. " 
 The Chief asked what he meant by " the national opinion." 
 " Is it your own opinion," he said, " or mine, which differs from 
 yours?" More or less apologetically the man opposite said, 
 " Everybody knows what I mean. I mean the congress view."" 
 The matter dropped. Again a little later the same man used 
 the same expression. The Chief somewhat lost his temper at 
 this persistence, and demanded, " What do you mean by the 
 national opinion ? Do you not know that there is no Indian 
 
 90
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 nation, that, if the British authority were removed, some of the 
 races of India might be at your throats at once, and that the rule 
 and authority of Bengalis would not be tolerated out of Bengal ?" 
 
 The man opposite sank back in his chair, not a little unsettled 
 by this ebullition of temper. I intervened, and pointed out to 
 the Chief that this was scarcely language to be used in a friendly 
 and confidential conference, and that the matter to which he 
 referred was scarcely relevant to the question which we were 
 considering. The Chief frankly concurred and apologised. The 
 fact remains that there was some truth in what he had said. 
 There is no Indian nation. What may be in the future none 
 can tell. Our own history shows the possibility of welding 
 different races into one nation, but only when they live together 
 within the same area, eat together, work together, and inter- 
 marry. It is not so in India ; and at present, at least, there is 
 no Indian nation. Indian races are not in sympathy with one 
 another ; and British rule is necessary for the maintenance of 
 peace and for the progress of the country. If we ever have 
 anything like full self-government in India, it is as likely to be 
 self-government of separate Provinces as that of the whole of the 
 vast and varied Peninsula. 
 
 It must specially be remembered and realised that India is not 
 a country of great cities. Scarcely one- tenth of the population 
 live in cities or even in small towns or large villages with more 
 than six thousand inhabitants. In England we have one-third 
 of the population gathered together in crowded cities of not less 
 than one hundred thousand inhabitants ; but over the whole of 
 the vast Peninsula of India we have only twenty-eight such cities, 
 with a total city population of only seven millions out of the 
 three hundred millions of its inhabitants. It is worth while to 
 remember that it is almost exclusively in the large cities that we 
 have anything of unrest, except where, by the progagation 
 of false statements, temporary disturbances have been created 
 among the villagers. 
 
 There is a great distinction between town life and country 
 life in India, There is a great distinction between town and 
 
 91
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 country everywhere ; but in India it is very much more marked 
 and more important than in any country with which I am at all 
 acquainted. The city life of India, in such cities, I mean, as 
 Bombay or Calcutta, where there is great commercial activity, 
 is altogether different from the life of the interior. Such cities 
 are only Indian in the sense that they are in India. The life of 
 the vast peninsula is, as a whole, village or rural life. The 
 people in their own homes are still, despite railways and post 
 offices and many of the agencies of Western civilisation, very 
 much the same as they were centuries ago. The standard of 
 comfort has no doubt risen to a certain extent. A number of 
 the people in the villages have seen things of which their fathers 
 had no conception ; but their life and their modes of thought 
 are still essentially the same. The foreigners in India are after 
 all comparatively few, and their influence except in respect that 
 it has made for peace and stability, has not very materially 
 affected the lives of the people. The city life is a foreign 
 life. There are proportionately far more foreigners working 
 in the city ; and the people who are working with them are 
 far more affected by foreign influence. As I have already said, 
 they are, to an extent which we in the West cannot easily 
 understand, out of touch with their own countrymen in the 
 interior. 
 
 There are large tracts in India about which one may travel 
 day after day and see even still the simple Arcadian life that the 
 old classical Indian books very beautifully portray. Nothing is 
 more delightful than such work as this, to march for a month 
 or two on end through the villages of a District or Division or 
 Province, bringing the Government into contact with the people 
 in respect of the matters in regard to which the people wish to 
 come into contact with the Government ; seeing the people in 
 their own homes ; ascertaining their circumstances and especially 
 their troubles and calamities ; and seeking quietly, in personal 
 contact with them, to improve their condition and to secure 
 their easily won gratitude and affection. It will be a long time 
 before the personal influence of the individual officer of Govern- 
 
 92
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 ment ceases to be one of the most important features of life in 
 the interior of India ; and any failure on the part of Government 
 Officers to treat the people with sympathy, kindness, and con- 
 sideration, and at the same time with justice and temper, 
 militates more against the interests of Government than perhaps 
 any other active influence on inter-racial feeling. 
 
 Generally speaking, the officers of the Civil Service who are 
 accustomed to travel among the people, especially in these 
 Provinces where the temporary character of the Revenue Settle- 
 ments leads necessarily to a desire to obtain a thorough insight 
 into agricultural conditions, treat the people well, and in fact 
 acquire a great affection for them ; and in no part of the world, 
 I believe, is kindly treatment and affection more fully returned 
 than in the interior of India. But there are Europeans, some- 
 times of a class from whom, despite their youth, better things 
 might be expected, but more generally of low breeding and de- 
 fective education, who treat their Indian fellow-subjects in a way 
 which leads to bitterness of feeling which it is most difficult 
 to eradicate. 
 
 Ignorance of the manners and customs of the people, and or 
 their real sensitiveness under an unmoved exterior, very often 
 leads to this sort of thing. I have known even an officer high 
 up in a Commission who appointed an hour at which to receive 
 Indian visitors, and left them to sit on a bench outside his door 
 with his menial servants, or to rest on the coping-stone of the 
 well in his compound, until he was at leisure to receive them. 
 He had a good reputation for office work ; but it would have 
 been a great blessing to the province to have been able to deport 
 him and to keep him out of all influential work among the 
 people of the country. I have seen an officer assault country 
 carters, and actually beat them severely, because they allowed 
 their carts to stray down the middle and on both sides of the 
 road, so as to block his way while he was driving his carriage 
 and pair. That officer, when I reprimanded him for his conduct, 
 told me that he thought we were losing the country owing to 
 such sentiments as mine ; but there can be no doubt that a few 
 
 93
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 cases of such violence and injustice do more harm than can be 
 calculated. 
 
 I have known men who maintain that the old Indian proverb, 
 "pit par maro pet na maro,""* shows that the people generally 
 regard it as quite reasonable that at least a master should be 
 allowed to beat his servant. This merely indicates an absolute 
 failure to recognise that men are the same all the world over, 
 and that right-minded men in the East are as much disgusted 
 with physical violence as right-minded men in the West. The 
 effect on Indian gentlemen of the sight of physical violence used 
 by a European towards an Indian menial servant is just precisely 
 what it would be amongst ourselves if we could conceive of it. 
 They tolerate it amongst some of their own princes and big 
 men, because they do not expect from these particular persons 
 anything approaching to justice or to a recognition of the 
 dignity of humanity ; but they are shocked at any such exhibi- 
 tion on the part of the members of a race with the superior 
 classes of which at least they have been accustomed to associate 
 thoughts of better things. Such cases as I have indicated are 
 within the experience of some of us; but they are distinctly 
 exceptional. Exceptional as they are, however, they do in- 
 calculable damage; and they should be regarded with strong 
 condemnation, and, wherever possible, repressed with rigour. 
 There is no doubt that a great deal of good might be done by 
 pointing out to young men who are destined for work in India 
 that they must act there on the first principles of Christian 
 gentlemanliness. 
 
 To return to the people of the interior what a delight it is 
 to see them in their ordinary life, to take part with them in 
 little functions or ceremonies where that can be done without 
 prejudice to the principles of religion. Formerly the officers of 
 Government were not averse from taking part even in the 
 religious ceremonies of the people. I do not think that this 
 could be done without sacrifice of Christian principle and with- 
 
 * That is, " Strike me on the back, not 011 the stomach " : does it mean, 
 " Beat me rather than fine me " ? 
 
 94
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 out producing a false impression among the people; and I 
 entirely sympathise with the condemnation of the practice and 
 with its authoritative repression ; but I regret that in many 
 places this change has led to a standing aloof from the people 
 which is undoubtedly to be regretted. 
 
 Often when I have gone to a village, especially in my earlier 
 days when I could go about amongst the country people with- 
 out the pomp and circumstance of the head of a province, I 
 have slipped into the home of an agriculturist during a marriage 
 ceremony or on some other festal occasion. I have never sought 
 to do this where there would be any risk of raising any caste 
 question ; but if you ask of a host whether there is any objec- 
 tion, he will point out the time when you can come without 
 raising any such difficulty ; and he will welcome the presence of 
 an officer of Government as being most auspicious. That officer, 
 on his part, will see something of the customs of the people and 
 of their kindly life, which may well be useful to him in framing 
 his conception of the character of those among whom he is 
 called to work. The enthusiasm of such a reception is some- 
 times very great. The interest that the people show in our 
 affairs, in our customs and life, when we show our interest in 
 theirs, is surprising; and the bond of loyalty between the 
 people and the Government is greatly strengthened by such 
 mutual interest. 
 
 A man who only knows the towns and great cities knows 
 nothing really of the life of India. To know the real India 
 well one has to move about among the people in their village 
 homes. What a delightful life it is ! There is no part of his 
 life in India that the Executive officer enjoys so much as his life 
 in camp among the people ; and there is no part of his life that 
 is more important and useful both to him and to them. That 
 he should know them in their own fields and homes, and in 
 their own everyday life, is absolutely essential to efficient 
 administration. 
 
 An officer on tour has two sets of tents. He pitches one set 
 at one place; and, while he is occupied there, the other set 
 
 95
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 moves on to his next camp, perhaps about ten miles off. During 
 the day he is occupied with midakats* with those who are 
 entitled to that courtesy, with informal talks at his tent doors 
 or in the fields with the villagers generally, with the inspection 
 of any local institutions and the conduct of any local inquiries, 
 with the discharge of his office duties, and with efforts to make 
 himself acquainted with all the circumstances and conditions of 
 the village. It is a busy day ; and by nightfall he finds himself 
 ready for rest. At daybreak he is up again mounted on his 
 horse, and on his way to his next camp. He does not go direct 
 across country, but wanders round, taking in all the villages 
 within reach, seeing groups of people, and perhaps inspecting 
 schools, police stations, and other institutions on the way. 
 Arriving at the next camp, he sets himself to do very much the 
 same line of work as occupied him the previous day ; and so in 
 the course of a tour he becomes intimately acquainted with 
 a considerable portion of his charge. 
 
 I have sometimes been three or four months on tour, seldom 
 meeting a single European or speaking a word of English, but 
 living among the people and talking to them in their own 
 vernacular. Often in the evening they would come round the 
 camp fire and sit beside me and chat to me about their affairs, 
 telling me stories of their daily life or old legends connected 
 with the country, and acquiring that kindly familiarity with 
 a British officer which camp life induces, and which is so 
 valuable in the administration of India. Often, too, a man of 
 sufficient standing would invite me to his house to some small 
 family entertainment or social function. For my part I not 
 infrequently went to the houses of people who would not them- 
 selves have laid claim to a visit, simply for the sake of getting 
 to know something of their home life. It is a grievous error so 
 to increase the drudgery of office work, or so to reduce the 
 European staff, that the European officers are unable to give 
 a large amount of time to this camp life. 
 
 The calamities which too often fall upon the peoples of India 
 
 * Formal interviews. 
 96
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 are themselves sometimes a means of drawing the races together. 
 Nothing binds officers and people together more than sympathy 
 between them, and co-operation with one another, in dealing 
 with calamity. A visitation of plague or cholera, in which the 
 European officer sets himself to explain the measures of pre- 
 vention and relief which have been adopted after careful 
 inquiry and wide experience, and in which he associates himself 
 closely with the people in dealing with the calamity, does more 
 to bind the races together than any mere talk, however kindly. 
 It is wonderful how he will lead the people, if he is himself 
 careful indeed in regard to disinfection, but fearless in his 
 attitude towards the disease. Their spirits are cheered, and 
 they realise that Government is doing at least all that human 
 power can do to mitigate the horrors of the situation. 
 
 My experience of famine has been very extensive. As Com- 
 missioner of Nagpur, I had to deal with the famine of 1896, 
 and as Chief Commissioner I had to deal with the even more 
 terrible famine of 1899-1900. I do not propose to record the 
 sad experiences of those famines ; but I think it worth while 
 to note that the work which we then had to do brought us more 
 closely into touch with the feelings, customs, and resources of the 
 people than perhaps anything else in my Indian experiences. 
 
 We did not deal with famine in the way adopted by Joseph 
 in the great Egyptian calamity. In Bengal, at Patna, there is 
 a strange structure called the " Gola," which was built as a 
 storehouse for grain to provide against famine. It is now used 
 for little else than echo experiments. Railways and easy com- 
 munication with the markets of the world have obviated the 
 necessity for such measures against famine. We rushed the 
 grain into the affected area by the mere operation of the law 
 of supply and demand. We provided work for able-bodied 
 adults that they might earn the money to buy the grain ; and 
 only the sick and infirm and little children were gratuitously 
 fed. The simplicity of the country people, their confidence in 
 the officers whom they had learned to trust, their patient 
 endurance of the severest trials, and their deep gratitude for 
 
 97 o
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 all that was done for them, made an impression on our minds 
 which will never be effaced. It was also delightful to find how 
 cordially many of the best Indians, official and unofficial, threw 
 themselves into the work of famine relief. One learned to 
 appreciate not only the patience of the common people, but 
 also the devotion and pluck of many of those in influential 
 positions. I remember Mr. (now Sir Reginald) Craddock, then 
 my famine secretary and now Chief Commissioner of the Central 
 Provinces, telling me that he agreed with me that some of our 
 most valued friendships with Indian gentlemen were formed 
 during the famine. 
 
 There is one thing which we must not allow the recent 
 deplorable ebullition of anarchy to prevent, namely, our inter- 
 course with the people. When passing through a town in 
 Bengal soon after an abortive attempt had been made on my 
 life, I was struck by the emptiness of the streets. Cursory 
 observation led me to see great crowds gathered at points some 
 little distance down the side streets, so that they might just 
 catch a glimpse of my carriage as it passed along the main road. 
 I inquired the meaning of this, and found that the local police 
 had cleared the streets and kept the people at a distance so as 
 to secure my safety. I issued orders to the effect that this was 
 never to be done again : the police might take what precautions 
 they deemed necessary in the way of having officers in plain 
 clothes scattered about among the crowds that lined the streets ; 
 but I felt that we could not tolerate any prevention of the 
 people from becoming acquainted with their ruler and showing 
 him respect. 
 
 When we are unable to meet the people freely and frequently, 
 we shall be unable to exercise the most potent influence for 
 loyalty ; and the impression created on the minds of the people, 
 when they seem to be suspected as a whole merely because of the 
 existence of a few miserable criminals among them, is deplorable. 
 One of the great reasons why it is absolutely essential to suppress 
 sedition and anarchy by the most effective measures, however 
 severe, is that it is the essence of sound administration in India 
 
 98
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 that the officers of Government should mingle freely with the 
 people. People at home, even the authorities at home, do 
 not adequately understand the necessity for this. The Indian 
 Government itself sometimes seems hardly to realise it; but 
 I think that there is no local government at all events, there 
 are exceedingly few officers with long and valuable Indian 
 experience who have any doubt of the vital importance of 
 having officers going about freely among the people and learning 
 at first hand their sentiments, their needs, and their condition. 
 
 The loyalty of the people of the interior is a very strong 
 sentiment indeed. It is distinctly personal in its character. 
 The vague abstraction of Government is not much regarded 
 by the people of the interior. Their loyalty is to the King on 
 the throne, and to the officers serving under him, especially 
 perhaps to those with whom they come most in contact. It 
 was the necessity of the case that obliged His Majesty, when 
 as Prince of Wales he visited India in 1 904, to confine his tour 
 mainly to the great cities of India, and his intercourse with the 
 people mainly to the chiefs and nobles. But the common 
 people eagerly took advantage of every possible opportunity 
 of seeing their future king. The enthusiasm with which Their 
 Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales were received 
 everywhere was unbounded ; and amongst those who displayed 
 most enthusiasm were many of the people of the interior. They 
 had to make very considerable sacrifices and endure considerable 
 hardships to gratify their loyal desire to see the royal visitors. 
 
 I remember a large party of several hundreds of people from 
 the interior being found seated one evening on the Calcutta 
 maidan,* well supplied with parched corn, and evidently deter- 
 mined to spend the night there. They were asked what their 
 purpose was. They said that they had come hundreds of miles 
 to see their Royal Highnesses, that they had heard that they 
 were to pass in procession along Chowringhee the next day, and 
 that they were taking up their place on the maidan so as to 
 secure to themselves a sight of the Royal visitors. The kindly 
 
 * The great open meadow between Chowringhee Road and the river. 
 
 99
 
 THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
 
 Commissioner of Police, Mr. (now Sir Frederick) Halliday, 
 entered sympathetically into their wishes, and took care that 
 they had the privilege which they desired. This was typical 
 of the action of thousands and thousands of village people, who 
 flocked to the towns for the sake of seeing the Prince and 
 Princess of Wales. 
 
 The impression created among the people generally by this 
 visit was of the greatest value. The affections of those who 
 came into contact with the Prince and Princess were won by 
 their unvaried kindliness and courtesy. Every utterance of the 
 Prince was marked by sympathetic appreciation of the feelings 
 of the people and a deep interest in their welfare. The common 
 people were delighted with that readiness to receive and 
 graciously to acknowledge their acclamations, which has char- 
 acterised the Royal House of England for at least three genera- 
 tions. The political effect of the Royal visit will not soon pass 
 away. The visit of Their Majesties seven years ago may have 
 been of benefit in preparing them for the exalted position 
 which they now occupy. It was certainly not less important in 
 its effects on the peoples of India. 
 
 The resolve of His Imperial Majesty to visit India and hold 
 there a coronation darbar seems to me a splendid inspiration. 
 I can hardly imagine the feelings of delight with which the 
 announcement must have been received. Indian friends wrote 
 to me about it with unrestrained enthusiasm. The Royal visit 
 has been an unbroken success. I never feared for the safety of 
 Their Majesties, any more than I should have feared for them 
 anywhere else. But I can understand the anxiety of those 
 responsible for their safety ; for the half- brained anarchist may 
 be met with anywhere. But the visit was courageous with the 
 courage of imperial instinct and sympathy. The nation has 
 joined in thanking God for Their Majesties' 1 safe return and for 
 His blessing on their tour, the beneficent influence of which will 
 not easily pass away. 
 
 100
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 THE Zenana system exists to a very large extent in India. 
 The farther north one goes the more he finds of that system. 
 In the south there is less of it. The Zenana is simply the 
 vernacular name for that part of the house which is occupied 
 by the women ; and the Parda * is that which divides the 
 women's quarters from the rest of the house. The lady who 
 occupies the Zenana is a parda nashin, or one who sits behind 
 the curtain. Where the Zenana system prevails men, other 
 than the head of the house and his sons, are not allowed to see 
 the ladies. The ladies do not come into public life ; and the 
 worst feature of the system is that their influence is confined to 
 the family circle, and does not reach society. It reaches even 
 the family circle only within the home; the ladies cannot 
 directly influence the men outside the house. Where it is 
 strictly enforced, it goes even further than this ; ladies them- 
 selves are not allowed into the Zenana of other ladies, unless 
 they are very intimate friends indeed. My wife has always 
 made it a practice to visit the ladies of any house with the 
 head of which I have been on friendly terms. In several 
 instances her first visit was paid to the lady with the same 
 formalities as mine might have been ; she sat outside the parda 
 and conversed with the lady inside. Sometimes two or three 
 visits were conducted in this fashion ; and it was only when she 
 became more intimate that she was asked to go inside the 
 
 * A parda is a curtain or screen. 
 101
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 parda. There are several Indian ladies who had never received 
 any European lady at all until they received my wife. 
 
 No doubt this tends to make intimate relations between 
 Europeans and Indians more difficult. The influence of ladies 
 on society is wanting, where the parda system prevails. But at 
 the same time it must be borne in mind that the Zenana excludes 
 Indian gentlemen and ladies just as much as it excludes Euro- 
 peans ; and yet social relations between Indians are perfectly 
 frank and simple. It will not do therefore to say that while 
 this system prevails, any intimacy between Europeans and 
 Indians is impossible. Above all, it must be ever remembered 
 that the Zenana system is not in any way indicative of a low 
 opinion of women, or of their want of influence. The system 
 is not a part of the ancient Hindu life at all. It has been 
 prevalent among Muhammadans; and it came into India in 
 troublous times. 
 
 It undoubtedly sprang from an unworthy conception of 
 the relations that ought to exist between the sexes. It owes 
 its rise in great part at least to lawlessness, to dangers arising 
 at a time when might was right, and to a jealousy of women, 
 who did not take an equal place in family and social life, nor 
 were regarded as fit to do so. It must not, however, be thought 
 that, where the system is now practised, these views of women 
 necessarily exist. The troublous times in which the system 
 took its rise and laid its powerful grasp on the society of certain 
 communities and of certain parts of India, have left behind 
 them this survival of the distrust and anxiety by which they 
 were characterised ; and it is not easy in India to get rid of 
 any system which has once laid hold of the popular mind. 
 It is not true, however, that Indians have a low opinion of 
 women. There are men in all countries whose estimate of 
 women is tainted by the stain of their own impure minds ; 
 and these may perhaps be more common in India than in 
 a Christian country. But the men who are worth knowing 
 in India have no such views. They despise some women ; 
 and they view some forms of behaviour in women with grave 
 
 102
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 suspicion. But for good women, whether European or Indian, 
 they have a chivalrous respect and admiration. 
 
 Let it not be forgotten that the women who are secluded 
 under the Zenana system are, as a rule, at least as much in 
 favour of that system as the men who are related to them. 
 They have been trained for generations to think that it is 
 a mark of respectability and dignity. They do not indeed 
 misjudge the freedom of European ladies. As a rule these 
 latter are regarded by the simple Indian ladies of the interior 
 as strange indeed in their customs, and as possessing powers 
 and privileges which, however consistent with their own sur- 
 roundings, are altogether unintelligible to Indians. Yet they 
 no more despise the European lady for her freedom from the 
 Zenana system than they despise her for her want of Hindu 
 caste ; but amongst themselves they hold that it is a mark 
 of their social superiority that they are thus carefully 
 secluded. 
 
 It is a curious fact that some of the strongest supporters, 
 male and female, of the parda system object not only to the 
 visits of men from outside, but even to the visiting of ladies 
 amongst themselves, and to the reception by the parda nashin 
 of European lady visitors, or even Indian ladies who do not 
 belong to their family. No doubt this arises from an instinctive 
 feeling that the influence of the system may be destroyed by 
 the enlargement of view which arises from contact with the 
 outer world in any form. At the same time it must be borne 
 in mind that the system receives as strong support from the 
 ladies of India themselves as from the men. It is therefore 
 wrong to endeavour to hasten the throwing aside of the parda 
 and the opening of the doors of the Zenana. Nothing is good 
 for a race which does violence to the modesty and self-respect 
 of its women ; and until the ladies of India themselves begin 
 to see the evils of the system, and that it is not essential to 
 endure these evils for the sake of propriety of conduct and 
 reputation, it will be impossible, without injury, to abolish 
 the system. The remedy lies in the preservation of the peace, 
 
 103
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 the inculcation of respect for the rights and honour of women, 
 and the education of the women themselves. 
 
 It is, indeed, a strange system. To illustrate it, let me recall 
 a visit to an Indian friend with whom I was on most confi- 
 dential relations. I drove up to his house. He came to receive 
 me at the outer gate of his residence, with the delightful courtesy 
 of a Hindu gentleman. Taking my hand in his, he led me into 
 the public apartments of his house. I was seated with great 
 respect in his audience chamber ; he called the members of his 
 family together that he might introduce them to me. His 
 sons, some of whom had reached manhood, came one by one and 
 were introduced. Of his daughters, only the very little girls, 
 under, perhaps, nine or ten years of age, were allowed to come. 
 The other ladies of the family were behind the parda. The 
 little girls were bright and intelligent, and at least as suscep- 
 tible to friendly overtures as the boys, as bright and cheery and 
 happy as the boys, and more inclined to conversation, comparing 
 with the boys just as girls generally do all over the world. 
 Their intelligent interest in anything that one had to show them 
 or say to them was very marked. It was sad to think that in a 
 short time they would be within the Zenana. This was not 
 because their father had any less regard for them than for his 
 sons ; for, whatever theory may exist in the Hindu mind of the 
 comparative value of sons and daughters, human nature is the 
 same everywhere ; and the father has very often as proud and as 
 tender an affection towards his girls as towards the boys. It 
 was merely because custom demands their seclusion. 
 
 Lady Fraser has told me that the Zenana quarters are very 
 frequently most comfortably furnished ; and the ladies are pro- 
 vided with all that love and care can devise for them. But, as 
 one can see by visiting the Zenana of an empty house, the 
 windows looking out upon the world are high up, so that there 
 may be no temptation to the ladies to make themselves 
 acquainted with that which is outside. The doors and windows 
 which are lower down open only on courtyards or gardens, into 
 which no one is admitted who would not be permitted to enter 
 
 104
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 the room itself; and every precaution is taken to keep the 
 ladies from contact with the outer world. The seclusion is most 
 strict ; the life is practical imprisonment. 
 
 Early in my service I had a civil case before me in which a 
 lady of considerable property was required to give evidence. As 
 she was a parda nashin, it was possible, under the law, to 
 appoint a commission to examine her at her house ; but this 
 would have involved considerable expense in sending counsel for 
 both parties to attend while she was under examination. The 
 party producing her as a witness was of common interest with 
 her ; and it was determined, with regard to that common interest, 
 that she should be examined in the court. A day was fixed, 
 and she was brought to court. She came in a palki or palanquin, 
 which, despite its name, was nothing else than a very small and 
 uncomfortable box carried on a bamboo pole. One could hardly 
 understand how it was possible for her to be in it without great 
 discomfort. It had been carried into a room of the Zenana and 
 laid down. After all the men had gone away, she had come, 
 attended by her women, and had stepped into it. The thick 
 curtain that covered one side of the box (all the rest being of 
 wood) was then dropped and securely fastened. Her nearest 
 male relative stood by while the box was removed from her 
 room ; and he walked with it through the streets. 
 
 When it was brought into the court, it was laid down, but 
 not opened. I asked the counsel on both sides whether they 
 were satisfied that the lady inside the box was the witness whom 
 it was desired to examine. After conversing with those who 
 had accompanied her, and addressing a question or two to the 
 lady, they replied that they were satisfied. I then put certain 
 questions to her; and she answered them clear, intelligent 
 answers, in a sweet, low-toned voice. I never saw her ; no one 
 in the court saw her. She returned through the streets to her 
 seclusion in the Zenana, having seen nothing all the time during 
 which she was out of it. I have had male criminals brought 
 before me from the jail to give evidence. They indicated their 
 interest in the occasion by attending to what was going on 
 
 105
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 around them to a degree which made it difficult to extract their 
 evidence ; and they went back to their penal confinement, no 
 doubt, inclined to mark that day as a red-letter day in the 
 period of their imprisonment. It was not so with this innocent 
 parda nashin lady. She had experienced nothing but discomfort, 
 and had seen nothing of interest. 
 
 These ladies who are thus secluded are often very far from 
 unintelligent. One knows this, not only on the testimony of 
 the European and other ladies who visit them, but also from the 
 fact that they are able, from their seclusion, to administer 
 affairs of very considerable importance. I havie in several cases 
 had to discuss important business with parda-nashin ladies. 
 I had, for example, on one occasion to visit a lady who was ad- 
 ministering one of the small Native States on behalf of her 
 minor son. He received me ; and intimation was sent to the 
 Rani that I had come. When she announced that she was 
 ready, I was led through several doors and corridors to a room 
 in which a chair of state was placed for me. This chair was in 
 front of a thick curtain which hung at one end of the room. 
 On the other side of that curtain, I was informed, the Rani 
 was sitting in another room awaiting the interview. Her son 
 and anyone in attendance on him would not sit while she was 
 thus in presence, though unseen. I exchanged friendly greet- 
 ings with the Rani, and solemnly saluted in the direction of the 
 curtain, believing that she was making a friendly salutation to 
 me on the other side. I proceeded to discuss with her the 
 affairs of the State. I found that she had a very intelligent 
 grasp of them, and thoroughly understood what it was she 
 wanted. 
 
 I made it a practice as far as possible, to take my wife with 
 me to such interviews, so that she might sit on the other side 
 of the parda with the Rani, as she was acquainted with her. 
 This was at least a security that the right lady was conversing 
 with me. To me there was always a feeling of dissatisfaction, 
 in that neither of us, in the course of our conversation, was able 
 to look the other in the face, and receive that light upon our 
 
 106
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 interchange of views which the human countenance so often 
 gives. I recall one case in which that feeling was evidently 
 shared by the lady herself. She turned to Lady Fraser and 
 asked her in a whisper, which I did not hear, whether there was 
 any objection to her slightly putting the curtain aside with her 
 finger, just so far as to permit her to get a view of my face, so 
 as to see whether I was giving kindly attention to the expression 
 of her views. My wife,- of course, said that there was no objec- 
 tion ; and, although I was unaware of it, the old lady saw my 
 face, and then expressed herself as more confident that I would 
 give careful and friendly consideration to her wishes. 
 
 It must not be considered that the ladies look upon their 
 position as in any way deplorable, or as oppressive ; but it is 
 impossible for them to feel other than a sense of great depriva- 
 tion, however necessary or honourable they may consider that 
 deprivation to be. Ladies of India are brave and self-sacrificing. 
 Nothing perhaps shows this more clearly than the old and awful 
 system of Sati. This word, which perhaps may be translated 
 " constant " or " faithful," was the name given to the Hindu 
 widow who, in the depth of her sorrow, and in the determination 
 not to live the lonely and, in some respects, accursed life of a 
 widow, but to accompany her husband into the unseen, laid 
 herself on his funeral pyre and died by the fire which consumed 
 his remains. This awful system was abolished by the British 
 Government, and anyone abetting a sati is now liable to con- 
 viction for abetment of suicide or murder. This stringent law 
 has tended to abolish the practice of this dreadful rite. The 
 law was enacted in opposition to the sense of large and influential 
 sections of the community ; and, owing to the prohibition of 
 widow remarriage by Hindu law and custom and the estimation 
 in which widows are held, these stricken women lead lives of 
 sorrow and humiliation. 
 
 Sati is not even now entirely unknown. I remember that, in 
 the end of 1903, in the village of Kaltaki in the District of Gaya, 
 in Bengal, a Brahman named Damodhar died of fever. His 
 widow, a woman of about forty-five years of age, was frantic 
 
 107
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 with grief. Some time in the afternoon of the day of her 
 husband's death, his kinsmen came to remove his dead body 
 to the burning ground, which was about five hundred yards 
 from her house. The widow became extremely violent ; and, 
 seizing the feet of the corpse, she solemnly cursed them for 
 seeking to take it from her. She threatened to cut her throat 
 if they did not leave her in possession of the body. They left 
 it for a while in the room where the man had died, and the 
 widow sat down beside the body. 
 
 The story is that there was no one else in the room except 
 an old woman, a widowed sister-in-law of the deceased ; and 
 this woman gave evidence that suddenly she saw smoke coming 
 out of the waist of the widow, her sari (or shawl) appearing to 
 be on fire. The widow ran out of the room, and as she went 
 she shook her sari so as to increase the flames. She threw 
 herself down in front of the house on some wood lying near, 
 which took fire. Seeing that she was dead, and that her body 
 was being consumed, the relatives brought out her husband's 
 corpse and set fire to it, heaping up wood and straw which lay 
 at hand. Both bodies were thus consumed to ashes. When the 
 police arrived the fire was still burning, and people were throw- 
 ing ghi * on it. Not less than sixteen people were ultimately 
 committed to the Court of Session charged with an offence 
 under Section 306 of the Penal Code, which deals with the 
 abetment of suicide. I cannot recall the precise results of the 
 trial ; but to me the important points established were the 
 determination of the woman to give her life on her husband's 
 funeral pyre, the failure of her relatives to see any reason why 
 this desire of hers should be frustrated, and the general approval 
 of the community as indicated in their adding oil or ghi to the 
 flames. 
 
 Another case occurred in the Patna District a year later, 
 where a Brahman having died, preparations were made to 
 cremate his body in the usual way, close to a sacred and wide- 
 spreading pipal t tree, and near the shrine of the village deity. 
 
 * Clarified butter. + The pipal is the sacred fig-tree. 
 
 108
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 The widow, accompanied by about a hundred women and 
 children, followed the litter, and went on to the river about a 
 hundred yards from the funeral pyre. There she bathed and 
 dressed herself in new clothing, the women putting sindur and 
 tikulis on her head. She then walked back to the funeral pyre, 
 climbed on to it, and sat facing the east with her husband's 
 head in her lap. Then her own son applied fire to the mouth 
 of the deceased ; and he and other Brahmans set fire to the 
 pile by placing sticks soaked in ghi and oil in the little fire- 
 places underneath. It was alleged that the woman took fire 
 by spontaneous combustion. She stood up with her clothes on 
 fire, and then sank down again and died. There were said to 
 have been from two to four thousand persons present, crying 
 out, " Ram, Ram, Sita Ram." 
 
 The nearest police station was eight miles off; and informa- 
 tion was not given there until, two days later, a report was 
 made by a man who seemed to think that he was risking his life 
 in informing. On the District Superintendent arriving at the 
 spot, he found the pile still red-hot, and people coming in 
 hundreds from long distances to worship at the place. A lamp 
 was kept burning as at a shrine ; flowers and sweetmeats were 
 being offered ; and temporary shops had been erected under 
 the pipal tree. Among the articles in evidence in the case 
 there was an invitation issued by the son to the sraddha,* in 
 which it was stated that his father was dead and his mother had 
 become a sati. Another document showed the line of defence 
 to be taken in case of prosecution. The last sati that had 
 occurred in this village was about eighty years before. 
 
 These melancholy stories are indications of the manner in 
 which superstition still prevails in India despite the education 
 of which we hear so much, but which, in reality, has affected 
 directly only a very small fraction of the Indian peoples. 
 They indicate also, how old customs, however cruel and con- 
 trary to human nature, may survive even after they have been 
 made punishable by law, and have fallen into desuetude for 
 
 * The sraddha is a funeral ceremony. 
 109
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 years. We learn undoubtedly in India that human nature is 
 in many respects the same all the world over ; but we also learn 
 that it is not very difficult to persuade men, under the name of 
 religion, to practices which cannot be soberly regarded as any 
 other than inhuman ; and we must never allow ourselves to 
 think that those practices, which have received the sanction of 
 religion for ages, can be easily eradicated from the minds and 
 lives of the people. On the other hand, these sad stories elicit 
 an altogether different characteristic of Indian life which it is 
 well that we should not forget, namely, the courage and devo- 
 tion of the Indian women, their determination and capacity to 
 endure anything and make any sacrifice that their religion and 
 their family duty may require. 
 
 If anyone is under the impression that because the Indian 
 ladies live in a Zenana, secluded behind the parda, they have 
 no influence on the lives of their relatives and are looked down 
 upon by them, he makes a great mistake. He does not under- 
 stand human nature. I have heard much from my wife and 
 others of the dignified bearing and attractive manners of Indian 
 ladies ; and I have heard my Indian friends speak with the 
 deepest respect of their mothers and sisters, and with the deepest 
 gratitude of the debt they owed to them for their influence on 
 their lives. I may add that I have also known many a man 
 who, when in society in the outside world, had strong things to 
 say about his freedom from what he called the superstitions and 
 bonds of his old religion: he talked lightly and flippantly, and 
 even contemptuously, of the gods which his people worshipped ; 
 yet in his own house he prostrated himself before the images of 
 these very gods and practised the rites and made the offerings 
 required by that religion. The reason was that the ladies of 
 his family wished it ; and he had not the courage of his pro- 
 fessed convictions. An old friend of mine once said to me that 
 what India most wanted was " a new grandmother." He meant 
 that, as every man who knows the peoples of India knows, the 
 influence of the ladies in the house is great, and that the older 
 the lady the greater her influence. The mother in the family 
 
 110
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 has a place not unlike the mother elsewhere ; but her mother-in- 
 law, the grandmother in the house, has an altogether excep- 
 tionally honourable place in the Hindu family. She rules 
 among the women ; and the women rule in the house. 
 
 It is a very hopeful thing to think of this influence of women 
 in India when one sees the growing desire on the part of both 
 men and women to have the women educated, and to see women 
 take their place alongside of their husbands in the work of life, 
 and become a real influence, not only in the home, but in the 
 social circle and in the life of the people. No doubt there are 
 not yet very many who have broken free from the parda, deter- 
 mined to help their husbands in their social and public life ; 
 but there are not a few such ladies, and they are a growing 
 company. 
 
 Many years ago, when I was Commissioner in Nagpur, I went 
 on tour with my wife in the Balaghat District, and the Deputy 
 Commissioner, my highly esteemed friend Mr. Shankar Madho 
 Chitnavis, then a young officer, accompanied us on tour. As 
 we were all three together riding along one morning, we passed 
 a tonga, or little Indian cart, drawn by fast-trotting bullocks. 
 There was manifestly a lady inside, because there were curtains 
 carefully drawn as we passed. These were so constructed that 
 she could put them aside to see the country, but could draw 
 them at any time to exclude the gaze of outsiders. I asked my 
 friend, Mr. Chitnavis, whether he knew who the lady was. He 
 told me that it was his wife ; that she was very anxious not 
 to be dissociated from his life; and that, as he had to go so 
 much into camp, she had made up her mind to endure all the 
 trouble of marching with him rather than leave him without 
 the comforts and society of home life during the months he had 
 to spend in his tents away from head-quarters. This was, at 
 that time, very unusual action on the part of an Indian lady. 
 It excited the admiration of my wife, who very soon, in the 
 course of that tour, became an intimate friend of the Deputy 
 Commissioner's wife. 
 
 Some time after this, when I visited Balaghat head- quarters 
 
 111.
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 on Sessions duty, Mr. Chitnavis asked me whether Lady Fraser 
 and I would dine with his wife and him at their house. He told 
 me that his wife was anxious to know some of her husband's 
 friends, and that he thought it would be an excellent thing for 
 her to see something of our social customs. He said apologeti- 
 cally that he would not ask anyone to meet us, as his wife was 
 still shy about meeting strangers, and desired only to see a lady 
 who had become her friend, and an officer who had been so long 
 a friend of her husband. Of course, we agreed. I took the 
 lady in to dinner, and talked with her at one side of the table 
 in Marathi ; for she knew no English. On the other side of 
 the table, her husband was talking to my wife in English ; for 
 my wife did not know Marathi. Sometimes the conversation 
 became general in Hindustani, which was known, more or less, 
 to all four of us. It was one of the most interesting evenings 
 that I have ever spent. It was a delight to see the intelligent 
 interest that this Indian lady took in all the affairs which con- 
 cerned her husband, in the administration of the District and 
 in life generally ; and to understand something of the earnest 
 desire she had to play her proper part, as the wife of a man 
 holding such a responsible office among his people, was a very 
 instructive experience. Our pleasant interviews were repeated 
 not infrequently. Then I left Nagpur, broken down with 
 famine work, in which one of my most trusted fellow-workers 
 had been Mr. Chitnavis himself ; and when I returned from 
 leave I was sent to the head-quarters of the Government of 
 India as Secretary in the Home Department, so it was not till 
 after some years that we met again. 
 
 We next met, all four of us together, when I was Chief 
 Commissioner of the Central Provinces, and Mr. Chitnavis was 
 Deputy Commissioner of Wardha. I visited the station with 
 my wife, and the Deputy Commissioner asked us to a station 
 dinner. He told us that all the officers in the station would be 
 there with their wives ; that his wife now knew all his colleagues 
 and their families. We accepted the invitation. It is the 
 Indian custom, that, when the head of the Local Government 
 
 112
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 comes to dinner, all the company have already assembled, and 
 are ready to proceed at once to the dining-room. We, there- 
 fore, had only time to shake hands, and then went straight to 
 dinner. I sat down beside our hostess and began at once to 
 speak to her in Marathi. She answered me in English, good 
 ladylike English, pronounced with wonderful accuracy. I said 
 to her, " Surely you did not make me talk to you in Marathi in 
 the old days when you knew English so well ?" She answered 
 that when we used to meet in Balaghat she did not know 
 English ; but she had since set herself to learn it. She had 
 regular lessons from the station-master's wife and lessons at 
 least once a week from the wife of the missionary, and had 
 given her mind to the matter, so that she had made what they 
 regarded as very creditable progress. She said that her reason 
 for this was that her husband had made up his mind to visit 
 England, and that she felt that she must go with him ; because, 
 as she added, " It is not good for a husband to live a life, and 
 to know people and places, of which the wife is altogether 
 ignorant." 
 
 This plucky lady was still an orthodox Hindu, and partook 
 at the table of nothing but fruit and such light food as her 
 religion allowed her to eat in the presence of strangers ; but she 
 was determined that she would live alongside of her husband as 
 far as possible in all his life, and be a help to him after the 
 manner, of some of the good European ladies whom she knew, 
 and after the manner also of some of the famous ladies of early 
 Indian story. She did go to England with her husband. She 
 thoroughly enjoyed her visit to that country ; and she set her- 
 self to write a little book in Marathi to explain to the women 
 of her country the life of England as she had seen it. 
 
 Curiously enough this history was practically repeated in the 
 life of another Indian lady who was a great friend of my wife 
 in Bengal. The Maharani Adhirani of Bardwan, when she 
 found that her young husband was determined to take his 
 proper place in social and political life as the senior Hindu 
 nobleman of Bengal, determined also for herself that she would 
 
 113 H
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 take her place beside him and render him all the assistance in 
 her power. She applied herself to the study of English manners 
 and the English language ; and in a wonderfully short time had 
 stepped out, in all dignity and modesty, from her accustomed 
 seclusion into the social life of Bengal. She has been the 
 hostess at great entertainments, at which His Excellency the 
 Viceroy and Lady Minto, the Lieu tenant-Governor of Bengal, 
 and other notable persons in Bengal life, along with their wives, 
 and also the leaders of both European and Indian society, 
 have been gathered together. She takes the deepest interest in 
 all her husband's doings ; and the relations in which they stand 
 to one another, and the manner in which they treat one another 
 and live their lives before the public, are an example to all the 
 people. Let this movement but go on, and one cannot doubt 
 that the progress of social enlightenment and moral elevation 
 of the people will proceed with ever-increasing rapidity ; for the 
 principal defect in the social system of India in the past has 
 been this, that the women's cause has not developed equally 
 with the men's. 
 
 The education of women is still deplorably backward. The 
 most recent figures show that education has reached only a 
 fringe of the female population. The figures of the last census 
 in Bengal show only '57 per cent, of women, against 11 '86 of 
 men as " literates." This is fairly typical of the state of things 
 throughout India. For the size of the community it need 
 hardly be said that the Christian natives of India have a vast 
 
 / 
 
 preponderance of educated women ; but the general desire for 
 the education of women is spreading, not only among them- 
 selves, but, what is far more important, among the men. The 
 men have hitherto, to a very large extent, been either wholly 
 indifferent, or even antagonistic, to the education of women. 
 The best of them are beginning to change their minds on 
 the subject, and to realise how important it is for their own 
 work and for the development of the peoples of India that 
 the women should be educated. The number of female students 
 in institutions of all kinds is increasing more rapidly every year. 
 
 114
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 In the parts of India where the parda system prevails, it was 
 naturally an almost insuperable barrier to the progress of educa- 
 tion among the women. Only the intimate and sympathetic 
 knowledge of the people possessed by the missionaries led them 
 to adopt and advocate what is known as the Zenana System of 
 education. The late Dr. Thomas Smith, then a missionary in 
 Calcutta, was the first earnestly and determinedly to advocate 
 that system. It was surrounded with difficulties ; but he saw 
 that they were not insuperable. It was clear to his mind that 
 agents for the education of these women must be themselves 
 women ; and, through the kindly relations which the mani- 
 festation of the spirit of Christ by the missionaries established 
 between them and the people of the country, it became possible 
 for the lady teachers sent out or employed by the Christian 
 Churches to find their way into the seclusion of the Zenanas. 
 They undertook the great task of enlightening their Indian 
 sisters, and interesting them in matters of vital moment with 
 which they had hitherto been unacquainted. The progress of 
 education within the Zenanas has been of the utmost impor- 
 tance ; and it has been successful to a degree which could hardly 
 have been anticipated by any ordinary thinker, and was certainly 
 very far from being anticipated by many who were called on to 
 judge the system and to give it their countenance. 
 
 Side by side with this system of Zenana instruction the 
 girls' 1 schools which had been started before that system was 
 evolved have been continued and extended ; but, beneficial 
 as they were, they were quite inefficient without the Zenana 
 System, inasmuch as the little girls who had acquired a certain 
 amount of education in the schools were carried off at far too 
 early an age to the seclusion and ignorance of the Zenana. 
 There they found an atmosphere altogether hostile to the main- 
 tenance and development of their education. Too often the 
 elder ladies, with whom they were brought into contact, were 
 entirely ignorant and even despised the education of which they 
 had none themselves, and the necessity for which they failed to 
 understand. When these girls were pursued into the Zenanas 
 
 115
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 by the Zenana teachers, and when the elder ladies themselves 
 were subjected to the kindly enlightening influence of these 
 teachers, things began greatly to improve ; and the progress of 
 education among the women is much greater than the statistics 
 themselves can show; for there is great reluctance to make known 
 the facts connected with Zenana life. Perhaps the highest 
 tribute to the system which the missionaries introduced was 
 paid when the Indian gentlemen of Bengal, during my time, 
 urged the Government to press forward with female education, 
 and emphatically declared that the system to be adopted was 
 the system which the missionaries had proved to be so suc- 
 cessful. It is earnestly to be hoped that the Government will, 
 in the system of aided female education, give full and fair play 
 to the great missionary agencies to which the people of India 
 already owe so much. 
 
 There was one very melancholy feature of that part of the 
 recent unrest in Bengal which was tinged with sedition, namely, 
 that the influence of the ladies of the family was sometimes 
 exercised against the peace. I do not know that this was by 
 any means very extensive. I am inclined to think that it 
 was not ; but where it existed it was very strongly marked. 
 We knew from our secret information that there were some- 
 times ladies' meetings held, in which sympathy was extended 
 even to anarchists who had been guilty of. murder, and in which 
 ladies gathered together in the Zenanas were urged to do all 
 that they could to advance the cause of the wicked and mis- 
 chievous propaganda. I was once talking to a friend of mine 
 who, though a member of what is called the National Congress, 
 was not an extremist ; for he was very clearly of opinion that in 
 the interests of India it was necessary for an indefinite period to 
 maintain British rule. I mentioned to him this information 
 that we had ; and he told me that there was some truth in it. 
 asked him for an explanation. He said that it was due to 
 three causes. First, there was the generally impressionable 
 character of women, especially when they were uneducated and 
 unacquainted with the life of the world. Secondly, there was 
 
 116
 
 INDIAN LADIES 
 
 the natural sympathy of women with a mother whose son had 
 been laid hold of by the law for a crime into which he had been 
 led by sentiments, however mistaken and perverse, of love of 
 country, and by which his life had become forfeit to the law. 
 Thirdly, it was due to forgetfulness of what they owe to the 
 British Government. 
 
 On this last point his statement was very strong. He told 
 me that, though now an elderly man, he remembered well how 
 his mother and grandmother had impressed on him in his youth 
 the sense of peace and security which the British Government 
 had brought to the homes of the people, how they spoke with 
 strong affection of that Government, and of the great lady who 
 ruled over the British Empire from her home across the black 
 water. He also expressed strongly his regret that these 
 memories were passing away, and that misrepresentations of the 
 character and results of British rule were being introduced into 
 the homes of the people. No man who knows anything of 
 human nature generally, or of Indian human nature in par- 
 ticular, will fail to realise how great is a mother's influence over 
 her children under anything like normal conditions of family 
 life, and how great is the importance of securing that influence 
 in favour of that which is in the highest interests of the people. 
 It is one of the saddest facts connected with the writings of a 
 seditious press, that they are often all that the son of a proud 
 Hindu mother has to read to her in her seclusion. The poison 
 spreads farther and sinks deeper than we sometimes realise. 
 
 117
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN THE NAGPLJR DISTRICT 
 
 IN the end of September, 1896, when I was Commissioner of 
 the Nagpur District, we had grain riots in the city of Nagpur 
 and in different parts of the District, which were in their origin 
 and principal features of a somewhat interesting and instructive 
 nature. There was famine in the north of the Province, that is, 
 in the Jubbulpore Division, as well as in the adjoining parts of 
 the North-west Provinces. There was no famine in the Nagpur 
 Division, but the prices of grain were very high. The reason of 
 this was partly the demand for the export of grain from that 
 part of the Province to the famine-stricken parts, and partly 
 the determination of the grain merchants to hold up their grain 
 in hope of still higher prices when the famine elsewhere should 
 have developed. There was some distress occasioned by these 
 high prices. People with fixed incomes found it hard to pur- 
 chase for themselves even the necessaries of life ; and there was 
 a great deal of ill-feeling in the community against the grain 
 merchants. 
 
 It was ascertained in the inquiries which were made later that 
 a number of the badmashes * of Nagpur had set themselves to 
 foment this ill-feeling and to incite the people to rise against 
 the grain sellers and take their stock by force. The object of 
 these badmashes was to stir up a riot and incite an attack on 
 the grain merchants' shops, in the hope that, while the rioters 
 were possessing themselves of grain, they might take advantage 
 of the disturbance of the peace to break into the treasuries and 
 
 * Badma'ash is a man of evil life, also a habitual criminal. 
 118
 
 GRAIN RIOTS 
 
 secure the bullion and valuables belonging to the merchants. 
 The rumour was very carefully and secretly circulated among 
 the people that the Government would be favourable to any 
 measure, the object of which was to bring the grain merchants 
 to their senses. It was stated that the paternal Government 
 deeply sympathised with the people in the distress occasioned 
 by high prices, and reprobated the selfish and unprincipled 
 conduct of the grain merchants in seeking to make large profits 
 out of the misery of their fellow-countrymen. The people 
 were told that Government would not tolerate any prolonged 
 disturbance, but was quite willing to have the grain dealers 
 robbed of a certain amount of their grain, provided that the 
 disturbance did not last more than two or three hours, by which 
 time it would be possible to give them a sound lesson without 
 too seriously injuring them. These extraordinary statements 
 were received without doubt by a large number of ignorant 
 persons ; and riots in Nagpur city and in several towns in the 
 District were the result. 
 
 On Saturday, 19th September, there was an unimportant 
 fracas in the Sanichari Bazar. There were only two policemen 
 present, and they fled. The rioters had a noisy quarrel with 
 the grain sellers and seized some grain and then dispersed. 
 The far more important Bazar, the Itwari * Bazar, was held 
 on the following day and passed off without disturbance. No 
 particular importance was therefore attached by the District 
 officers to what had occurred on the Saturday ; and it is probable 
 that the incitements to general rioting were more systematically 
 given after that date, and that Monday, 28th September, was 
 fixed for simultaneous risings throughout the District. I was 
 at the time on a visit to the Balaghat District of the Divi- 
 sion, where there were some signs of approaching distress. The 
 Deputy Commissioner of that District had invited me to come 
 and consult with him as to the measures to be taken there. 
 
 * Sanlchar is Saturday, and Itwar is Sunday. The bazars are named 
 from the day on which the weekly market is held, or used to be held when 
 the bazar was named. 
 
 119
 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN 
 
 The Nagpur District was in the hands of a very junior officer. 
 Mr. Needham, the permanent incumbent of the office of Deputy 
 Commissioner, was away on " privilege leave." * As the vacancy 
 was a very temporary one the senior assistant, Mr. Blenkinsop, a 
 civilian of about three years standing, had been placed in charge 
 of the District. He was then a young officer of great promise, 
 which has since been manifestly fulfilled in several important 
 posts under Government ; and he showed by his tact and 
 judgment throughout the trying experiences of the riots that 
 he was even then not unfit for the charge of an important 
 District at a critical time. 
 
 In consequence of the disturbance on Saturday the 19th, 
 and of the reports which he received regarding the high prices 
 of grain in the Bazar and the consequent irritation of the 
 people, especially of the Koshtis (or weavers), Mr. Blenkinsop 
 agreed to meet the merchants and some leading representatives 
 of the other classes at the Town Hall on Wednesday, 
 23rd September, to discuss the state of affairs. When he reached 
 the Town Hall he found all the leading Baniyas t and about 
 six or seven hundred people assembled. There was also a very 
 considerable crowd outside the Hall. The meeting was held in 
 view of the Budhwari J Bazar which was established in the 
 open space in front of the Town Hall, and not in the Budhwari 
 Mahalla itself. Mr. Blenkinsop, who had previously written 
 to me for advice on the subject, explained that he as the 
 representative of Government could not interfere with trade ; 
 but he suggested that it might be well for both parties to 
 appoint representatives and discuss the matter with a view to 
 an amicable understanding. This was done ; and certain rates 
 were voluntarily fixed for that day. Everyone seemed satisfied 
 with this voluntary arrangement, and the Bazar passed off 
 without any sign of trouble. 
 
 h " Privilege leave " is short leave or holiday on full pay. 
 f Baniya is a shopkeeper, usually a grain dealer. 
 J Budhwar is Wednesday. 
 Mahalla is a ward, or part of a town. 
 120
 
 THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 
 
 The arrangement did not, however, work well for more than 
 a day or two. Complaints were soon heard that the middle 
 men were not adhering to the prices that had been fixed and 
 were also adulterating their grain, and wetting it. These 
 complaints were submitted to the Deputy Commissioner per- 
 sonally, and by post to myself. I had seen Mr. (now Sir Ganga- 
 dhar) Chitnavis, President of the Municipality, and one or two 
 other leading citizens ; and we had consulted as to the best 
 means of relieving such distress as existed, and allaying 
 irritation. The Indian gentlemen generally advocated the com- 
 pulsory reduction of rates by Government, and the prohibition 
 of the export of grain. They were told that such measures, 
 though certainly consistent with Oriental ideas, were entirely 
 opposed to the policy of Government, and could not be adopted. 
 We discussed the propriety of having relief works for those who 
 could not earn enough to secure the necessaries of life at current 
 prices ; but the unanimous opinion of our Indian advisers was 
 that there was no such distress as to require this measure, and 
 that those who were most discontented would certainly not 
 come to the relief works. It was ultimately decided by the 
 Deputy Commissioner, in consultation with his Indian advisers, 
 to hold a small meeting of the leading citizens and merchants 
 on Monday, the 28th, to discuss the matter after further inquiry 
 and consideration. I was informed of this decision and agreed 
 to be present at the proposed meeting. I therefore returned to 
 head-quarters on Saturday, 26th September. 
 
 On the morning of the following day the Tahsildar informed 
 the Deputy Commissioner that irritation was very acute, and 
 that disorder was apprehended at the Itwari Bazar. At break- 
 fast the Deputy Commissioner received a letter from Sir Ganga- 
 dhar Chitnavis, saying that the grain merchants had abstained 
 from opening their shops in the Itwari Bazar, and that there 
 was much discontent in consequence. No doubt the merchants 
 were afraid of violence ; but their action increased the irritation 
 of the people by making it impossible for them to secure the 
 necessary supplies of grain. A good number of people came to 
 
 121
 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN 
 
 the Deputy Commissioner's house along with the letter. Sir 
 Gangadhar suggested that the Municipal Committee might buy 
 grain and sell it to the people. There had also been a proposal 
 that some well-to-do merchants should bring in large consign- 
 ments of grain and try to break up the alleged combination of 
 grain sellers to raise prices and to keep them high. In his letter 
 Sir Gangadhar said that he would await the Deputy Commis- 
 sioner's reply at the Town Hall, which was about two miles 
 from the Deputy Commissioner's house. Mr. Blenkinsop went 
 down as soon as he could ; but Sir Gangadhar had gone home 
 to breakfast. 
 
 News was brought to Mr. Blenkinsop at the Town Hall that 
 there was a threatening of grain looting at the Budhwari 
 Mahalla, where there was no open Bazar that day, but where 
 there were many important merchants' houses and shops. He 
 rode off in that direction with the City Superintendent of 
 Police. They learned, however, that the rioters had moved off' 
 towards the Itwari Bazar, the unopened shops in which were 
 understood to be full of grain which had been brought in for 
 that day's market. They therefore pushed on to that Bazar. 
 When they got there, they were met by an angry crowd 
 demanding that grain should be supplied. They had come to 
 the Bazar to buy, and there was no grain on sale. Mr. Blenkinsop 
 despatched a messenger to the District Superintendent of Police 
 to bring up some of the Special Reserve Police to protect the 
 Bazar ; and, meanwhile, he promised the people that he would 
 try to make arrangements to have grain in the market by 
 4 p.m. if they would have patience. This promise was un- 
 doubtedly required, for there was no grain available. It was 
 also quite a reasonable promise ; for the merchants professed 
 themselves to be quite willing to bring grain if they were pro- 
 tected from violence. It was because they had heard very 
 credible rumours of an intention to plunder the Bazar that they 
 had not opened their shops. 
 
 It was very much to be regretted that, instead of adopting 
 this course, which they must have known to be likely to cause 
 
 122
 
 THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 
 
 intense public irritation, they did not inform the Deputy Com- 
 missioner of the rumour and of their intention. Owing to their 
 failure to do so, he had no chance of taking the necessary pre- 
 cautions to prevent lawlessness. The police were too remiss or 
 too sympathetic with the people to give any warning. It is a 
 very striking thing how often in India serious trouble may be 
 brewing without anyone going out of his way to inform the 
 authorities. Experience of this kind was met with in the north 
 of India during the cow-killing riots, in Behar during the tree- 
 rnarking disturbances, and in Lower Bengal during the incidents 
 of the boycott movement. European officers and their most 
 trustworthy Indian subordinates of superior rank require them- 
 selves to live among the people and in close touch with them, if 
 they are to be ready for any mischief that may arise. 
 
 Some time after Mr. Blenkinsop had reached the Itwari Bazar 
 a large crowd, headed by three or four young men brandishing 
 lathis,* marched into the Bazar, down the main road through 
 the city. On finding the Deputy Commissioner there, these 
 lath\yals j( i; lowered their clubs and appeared to mix with the 
 crowd. Mr. Blenkinsop remained patiently at the Itwari Police 
 outpost, awaiting the arrival of the District Superintendent of 
 Police. The latter officer, Mr. Stuart, arrived soon after 3 p.m. 
 with about twenty of the Reserve Police. Before it was possible 
 to begin sales, however, news was bi ought that plundering had 
 begun in the Shukrwari { Bazar ; and Mr. Blenkinsop sent 
 Mr. Stuart there with some of the Reserve men, remaining 
 himself to maintain order in the Itwari Bazar. At the same 
 time, he sent me a note suggesting that troops might be called 
 out to maintain order. I did not receive this note till hours 
 later, when I was myself at work suppressing the disorder in the 
 Shukrwari Bazar. Mr. Bleukinsop did not think then that the 
 people in the Itwari Bazar would proceed to extreme measures ; 
 for they had listened to him quietly, and had apparently accepted 
 
 * Lathi is a heavy club often mounted and weighted with metal. 
 
 t LSthiyal is a man armed with a club, generally a professional ruffian. 
 
 1 Shukrwar is Friday. 
 
 128
 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN 
 
 his advice to exercise a little patience. Soon afterwards he 
 received a resport to the effect that there was a rising in the 
 Budhwari Mahal la, and that the City Superintendent had been 
 killed. The latter statement was not true; but it was true 
 that there was serious rioting at Budhwari. He therefore sent 
 a messenger direct to the Fort urging the immediate despatch of 
 a detachment of Madras Infantry to his assistance. 
 
 Meanwhile, at 3.30 p.m. a messenger had come to me from 
 Sir G. Chitnavis with a hurried note saying that there were 
 crowds of discontented and riotous persons led by lathiyals 
 threatening to plunder the town, and that his own house was 
 in danger. At the same time several grain merchants from the 
 town drove at express speed into my compound with the infor- 
 mation that the city people had risen against the merchants. 
 At that moment I was -talking to Mr. Coxon, Deputy Commis- 
 sioner of Chanda, and Mr. Mitchell, Inspector of Schools, who 
 were in Nagpur at a Conference, and were staying at my house. 
 They offered to come with me to the city, which was about two 
 miles distant. We started as soon as my wagonette could be 
 got ready, for only two of my horses had returned from camp. 
 On the way we met Chuni Lall (the Agent of Rai Bahadur 
 Bansilal Abirchand, the great Kamptee banker) in a pony tonga, 
 Seth Agyaram's messenger in a carriage, and several other 
 terrified merchants, who told us that the shops in New Shukr- 
 wari Bazar were being broken into, that the police had fled, and 
 that the whole of that part of the city was in the hands of a 
 mob led by lathiyals and badmaslics. This Bazar is the richest 
 in Nagpur and contains the business residences of some of the 
 most important money-lenders and grain dealers. It was 
 evident that there was a rising of some importance in the city. 
 
 I turned into the Bank of Bengal, which we were just passing. 
 It lies at the foot of the hill on which the Sitabaldi Fort stands, 
 about half a mile from the Commissioner's old house, and 
 between it and the city. There I wrote a note to Lieutenant 
 Jeffcoat, in command of the detachment of Madras Infantry, to 
 send down men to my assistance at once. We then drove on to 
 
 124
 
 THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 
 
 the city as fast as we could, leaving the troops to follow. At 
 the end of the new Shukrwari road, as we entered the city by the 
 Juuia Darwaza,* soon after 4 p.m. we found -a small body of 
 about twelve or sixteen unarmed Indian police huddled together 
 in terror. The road was crowded with a vast concourse of 
 people, among whom could be seen men armed with lathis. I 
 inquired where the Deputy Commissioner was, and was informed 
 that he was with the District Superintendent of Police in the 
 Itwari Bazar dealing with a similar rising there. I left a note 
 with one constable for Lieutenant Jeffcoat asking him to send 
 half of his men on to the Deputy Commissioner, and half into 
 the Shukrwari Bazar after me. I then shouted to the police, so 
 that many of the people heard me, informing them that the 
 military were on their way to the city, and ordering them to 
 form up behind me and follow my carriage at the double. 
 
 I drove my carnage at full speed down the street to where the 
 shops had been broken into and were being plundered. The 
 crowd, in a somewhat friendly manner, opened out before us. 
 Many of them recognised me and saluted quite respectfully, even 
 some of those who were carrying away little bundles of grain. 
 Meeting with no resistance, we were soon at the grain merchants' 
 quarter. We found the shops broken open, the doors even 
 smashed off their hinges, the rioters in undisputed possession, 
 and some of the shops completely plundered. The work of 
 spoliation was making rapid progress when we arrived. The 
 rioters thought that we had a large force behind us ; for the 
 information I had given to the police spread like wild-fire. We 
 leaped from the carriage and rushed into several shops which 
 were entirely in the hands of the looters. Wherever we appeared 
 panic seized them. We knocked down a number of the ring- 
 leaders, tied them up in their own pagaris t and deposited them 
 in the strong room of a shop, in custody of some of the police 
 until assistance should arrive. The noise in the street prevented 
 
 * Jum'a is the Muharamadaii name for Friday. Darwaza means gate 
 (or door). 
 
 t Pagarl is a long cloth wound round the head, a turban. 
 
 126
 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN 
 
 people in one shop knowing what was being done in another ; 
 and we had forty or fifty prisoners by the time assistance came. 
 At least one half of these were ringleaders armed with lathis, 
 and carrying not grain, but bullion and jewels as their booty. 
 All of them were strong, well-nourished men. By this time we 
 had emptied the shops of the looters and closed them, and were 
 proceeding to clear the street. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Stuart, who had been sent by the Deputy 
 Commissioner to this Bazar, arrived. We made over charge 
 of the prisoners to him, and as there had been no signs of 
 organised resistance we determined to leave him there and 
 push on to the help of the Deputy Commissioner. As soon, 
 however, as we had turned to go, a determined attack was 
 made by the street rioters on the District Superintendent. We 
 fortunately heard the alarm and turned back. We fastened 
 the prisoners to each other by their own head-dresses and by 
 ropes, and then fastened the foremost of them to the carriage. 
 We directed about half a dozen of the small force of Reserve 
 Police to remain as a guard in Shukrwari, and the rest (about 
 six men) to follow close behind the prisoners with fixed bayonets 
 and loaded rifles ; and in this order we drove off to the Kot- 
 wali.* The crowd opened up to make way for my wagonette 
 and the strange procession of prisoners, whom the wagonette 
 in front and the armed police behind kept at a smart trot all 
 the way. 
 
 The Kotwali was not far from the Shukrwari Bazar, and 
 we soon deposited our prisoners in the cells, from whence they 
 were removed the next day to the Central Jail under charge 
 of a military escort. By this time it was about 5 p.m., and the 
 men of the Madras Infantry, who had started with great 
 promptitude, under Captain Jeffcoat, joined us here. While 
 we were putting our prisoners in the cells we received news 
 that a mob led by lathlyals was marching on Sir G. Chitnavis's 
 house. We left some of the Madras Infantry men to guard 
 
 * The Kotwal is the Chief Police Officer of the city ; and the Kotwali 
 is his office. 
 
 126
 
 THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 
 
 the Kotwali, and took as many as we could (about a dozen) 
 in my wagonette. I requested Lieutenant Jeffcoat, meanwhile, 
 to march directly to the relief of the Deputy Commissioner. 
 We drove off straight to the Shukrwari Bazar as fast as my 
 horses could gallop. The sight of the Sepoys with us was, 
 however, quite enough ; and we only saw the mob disperse and 
 the lathiyals vanish. 
 
 We left a few of our men as a guard at Sir G. Chitnavis's 
 house and went the shortest way to the Itwari Bazar. We 
 found that organised looting had started there, about half an 
 hour before our arrival. The Deputy Commissioner had not 
 sufficient force to prevent it throughout the Bazar, though he 
 had kept the peace at the part where he was. While he kept 
 the peace in one place the plunderers were at work in another. 
 The leaders were armed with lathis and house-breaking instru- 
 ments, but only a few shops had been opened. We passed into 
 the Bazar just ahead of Lieutenant Jeffcoat and his men. We 
 formed up all together, rushed the Bazar and arrested some ring- 
 leaders. The police, seeing that they had European officers 
 with them and that the troops were close behind, soon quelled 
 the disturbance without any bloodshed. 
 
 There was, however, a grave risk that the rioters, whose 
 defeat had been due to panic, might rally and give very serious 
 trouble. No one who has seen the large bodies of men armed 
 with lathis, who were the main agents in the disturbances, or 
 the sympathetic attitude assumed for the most part by the 
 crowd, could have doubted that the danger was decidedly 
 serious. We therefore asked Lieutenant Jeffcoat to send as 
 many men as he could spare of the Lancashire regiment, a 
 small detachment of which was at the Fort, to assist in main- 
 taining the peace of the city. He sent us twenty-five men. 
 These were kept at the Kotwali as a reserve and to guard 
 the prisoners, who now numbered ninety men. The men of 
 the Madras Infantry detachment were picketed in the principal 
 markets for the night. No further looting occurred. 
 
 On Monday morning disturbances broke out in various parts 
 
 127
 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN 
 
 of the city, and mobs armed with lathis were seen to be ready 
 for mischief. Meanwhile, if the outbreak had been renewed, it 
 would, in all probability, have been more serious than before. 
 The mob would have come prepared to resist. Mr. Blenkinsop 
 therefore asked Major Graves and Captain Biddulph to bring 
 out such of the Bengal Nagpur Railway Rifles and Nagpur 
 Volunteer Rifles respectively as they could. These were sent 
 down most promptly to assist us. At the same time Mr. 
 Blenkinsop, with my concurrence, telegraphed to Kamptee to 
 the General Officer commanding the District to send some men 
 of the Lancashire regiment and of the Madras Infantry to 
 relieve the men from Sitabaldi, whom it was undesirable to keep 
 away from the Fort. Patrols moved about the city all night ; 
 the mob was overawed, and all remained quiet. On Tuesday 
 we sent back the European troops and Volunteers, and retained 
 only a few of the Native Infantry as guards in the principal 
 Bazars, with a reserve at the Kotwali. From this time there 
 was no renewal of the disturbance. All was quiet in the city. 
 
 The main causes of the disturbance were undoubtedly : (1) the 
 discontented state of the Koshti* population, whom the mills 
 had deprived of a great part of the profits of their own peculiar 
 calling, and who did not readily turn to any other ; (2) the 
 rise in prices owing to the want of rain and to the demand 
 for food grains from the North- Western Provinces and parts 
 of Bengal ; (3) the export of grain which led the people to 
 fear that there would soon be no grain at all in Nagpur ; and 
 (4) the efforts of the badmashes to fan the flame of resentment 
 against the grain sellers and rich merchants, so as to create for 
 themselves an opportunity for robbery. It was very curious 
 to find on later inquiry that the principal prisoners arrested 
 were all of bad character, some of them having several previous 
 convictions against them, and that one of the principal pro- 
 moters of the disturbance was an ill-conditioned distant relative 
 of the old Bhonsla family of Nagpur, who was well known for 
 encouraging crime and reaping profit from it. 
 
 * The Koshti caste is the great weaving caste of the Nagpur territory. 
 
 128
 
 THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 
 
 On the whole, the rioters were to all appearance fairly well 
 nourished. There was no exceptional distress in the town. 
 Attention had been drawn very particularly to destitute people 
 from distant famine-stricken parts of the country passing 
 through the town ; but there was no local distress of an ex- 
 ceptional character, and nothing that private charity was un- 
 able fully to meet. Almost all the arrests made in putting 
 down the riots were of able-bodied and well-fed men, mainly 
 Koshtis, low-class Mussulmans, and professional bad characters. 
 There were many poor people and women following in the wake 
 of these; but we drove them away without arresting them. 
 The rioters were mainly ill-disposed persons bent on plunder. 
 But for the prompt action of the military authorities, and the 
 fact that the civil officers engaged in restoring peace were 
 generally well known and popular among the people, there 
 would undoubtedly have been determined resistance and prob- 
 ably considerable loss of life. As it was, there was really very 
 little violence. Not a shot was fired or a bayonet used. The 
 only death that occurred was that of an old and feeble grain 
 merchant, who was seized by a fit owing to his terror and 
 passed away. Our sudden arrival on the scene, speedily 
 followed by the troops, created a panic and quelled the dis- 
 turbance in the city in an incredibly short space of time. 
 
 Although it was promptly quelled in the city, however, the 
 disturbance spread to surrounding villages. There seems little 
 doubt, indeed, as subsequent inquiry showed, that plans were 
 made for a simultaneous rising in several towns on a later day 
 in the week, and that the rising in the city on the Sunday was 
 fortunately premature. When I was in the Kotwali shortly 
 after noon on Monday, news was brought of shops being 
 plundered in Paldi, a beautiful old village of considerable 
 wealth, about three or four miles along the Great Eastern 
 Road. I started off at once with a small body of Bengal 
 Nagpur Railway Rifles ; but we were too late to prevent the 
 plundering of the shops of one or two Marwari grain merchants ; 
 and unfortunately, as we had no mounted troops or police, we 
 
 129 i
 
 GRAIN RIOTS IN 
 
 were unable to follow the rioters across country. This was the 
 only serious plundering that occurred near Nagpur. There was 
 also an attempt to plunder the Bazar in Kamptee, which was 
 frustrated by the military authorities. 
 
 On Tuesday the 29th, a telegram from the Tahsildar of 
 Ramtek, a subdivision about twenty-seven miles from Nagpur, 
 was received about noon at the Kotwali, reporting a rising 
 there with serious danger to the Government Treasury. Mr. 
 (now Sir Charles) Cleveland, then Commissioner of Excise, was 
 with the Deputy Commissioner and me at the time. He kindly 
 consented to go off to Ramtek at once with any mounted men 
 that the General Officer commanding at Kamptee could spare. 
 A telegram was at once despatched to that officer, who placed 
 twenty-five men from the Battery at our disposal. This he did, 
 no doubt, with the more alacrity, because there were then one 
 or two European officers and ladies taking a holiday at the 
 beautiful Bungalow on the top of Ramtek Hill. 
 
 Kamptee lies on the way to Ramtek, and Sir C. Cleveland, 
 who had driven out in my dogcart, found the men ready with 
 an empty saddle for himself, and before night he was clearing 
 the streets of Ramtek of the rioters. He found that the town 
 had been entirely in the hands of a mob of some fifteen hundred 
 persons. The attack on the shops had been deliberately planned. 
 Their doors had been broken open and in some cases removed 
 bodily. They had been plundered of grain, sugar, oil and 
 money. The police had been unable to repress disorder, and 
 the merchants had been panic-stricken and unable to defend 
 their property. Nineteen ringleaders were quietly arrested, 
 some of whom were prepared for further action next day. More 
 arrests were made subsequently. Sir Charles summarily 
 punished some of the less important rioters, and kept the rest 
 for more severe punishment afterwards. Amongst the arrests 
 made were two Tahsili Chaprasis.* 
 
 Similar risings occurred at practically the same time in 
 Khapa, Umrer, Katol, and other towns of the district, and 
 
 * Chaprdf is a badge. A chaprdsl is an orderly or messenger. 
 
 130
 
 THE NAGPUR DISTRICT 
 
 officers of different departments were despatched with police 
 officers in tongas* to restore peace. Some well-to-do people 
 were among the ringleaders. In Khapa two members of the 
 Municipal Committee were amongst those arrested for having 
 incited the mob and led them in their plundering. The officers 
 sent out were instructed to arrest the ringleaders in the riots, 
 and either to punish them summarily or to reserve them for 
 punishment ; to direct the police to take special precautions 
 against plundering in the Bazars ; to urge the malguzars (or 
 village head men) and villagers to defend their property, and 
 especially their seed grain ; and to do all they could to restore 
 order and confidence. No doubt the rioting in the interior of 
 the district was partly planned beforehand, and partly due to 
 exaggerated and coloured reports of what had occurred in 
 Nagpur. The people were generally alarmed, and the ill- 
 disposed were encouraged in lawlessness. 
 
 The subordinate police failed in their duty in not giving 
 warning of what was about to occur, and were quite inadequate 
 to suppress the disturbances. They were ignorant of what 
 was about to occur, or perhaps somewhat sympathetic. They 
 were wanting in courage, and not unfavourable to the rioters. 
 It is very seldom that the police fail in this way ; but the 
 circumstances were such as fully to explain in the East the 
 rapidity with which disorder spread, and the measure of diffi- 
 culty that was found in restoring the peace. The sudden raid 
 of Sir C. Cleveland on Ramtek with a body of mounted Euro- 
 pean troops removed the impression that these plunderers could 
 commit crimes with impunity in the remoter parts of the 
 District ; and the visit of European officers to all parts of the 
 District had an excellent effect. No plundering worth men- 
 tioning occurred after the 30th. 
 
 It was somewhat painful to see how thoroughly panic-stricken 
 the most respectable people of Nagpur, and especially the 
 merchants, were in presence of these disturbances. One does 
 
 * Tonga (or tango) is a light two-wheeled cart drawn by ponies or 
 bullocks. 
 
 181
 
 GRAIN RIOTS 
 
 not blame them for some anxiety, for the aspect of the mob 
 was undoubtedly at times very serious ; but what surprises one 
 is that there was hardly any real attempt made by anyone 
 to defend his property where the riots occurred. This is due, 
 partly, no doubt, to a certain want of courage and vigour on 
 the part of these classes in India generally, and also, and even 
 more, to their distinctly law-abiding character, the objection, 
 if not fear, that they have to take the law into their own hands, 
 and the natural inclination to look to the Government for 
 protection. This is a feature of Indian life that we have to 
 take into account at every turn. If we want the peace to be 
 maintained we must maintain it ourselves. 
 
 Sometimes we do succeed in getting men to defend themselves 
 against dacoits* and robbers; but as a rule they look to us 
 in every respect for their defence. There are always some 
 distinguished exceptions ; and there were some on this occasion. 
 I well remember several Indian gentlemen to whom public 
 acknowledgment was made of their plucky and devoted 
 assistance. Two of these especially recur to my mind, both 
 of them Brahmans from the Bombay side, Rao Bahadur Bhargo 
 Rao, an Extra Assistant Commissioner, and Rao Bahadur Bapu- 
 rao Dada, a leading legal practitioner and Vice-President of the 
 Municipality. These two men and others were present through- 
 out the riotous scenes in the city, did their best to keep the 
 people quiet and to restore order, and were indefatigable in the 
 assistance they rendered to their European brother officers and 
 friends. It is well worthy of record that neither of them suffered 
 in the least, either in his profession or in his social popularity, 
 by the vigour and loyalty which he displayed. 
 
 * Dacoit (or dakait) is a member of a band of robbers. 
 
 132
 
 CHAPTER X 
 THE KHOND RISING IN KALAHANDI 
 
 WHEN the territories of Nagpur came under our rule, owing to 
 the failure of Rajah Raghoji Bhonsla to adopt an heir, it was 
 determined by the Government of India to form a new Non- 
 regulation Province consisting of these territories, with the 
 addition of certain adjoining tracts. This Province was called 
 " the Central Provinces, 11 and was formed by the union of the 
 old Nagpur Province and the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. 
 It included the Vindhyan table-land Districts, the Nerbudda 
 Districts with their great wheat-field, the Nagpur plain with its 
 cotton and rice, and the Chhattisgarh Division, a low plateau 
 of red soil forming the Districts of Raipur and Bilaspur, to 
 which was added the Uriya District of Sambalpur. Of this 
 Division I was appointed Commissioner in 1888, in succession 
 to my old friend Mr. J. W. Chisholm, who had formerly been 
 Settlement Officer of the Bilaspur District, and, therefore, knew 
 that District as intimately as it was possible for any man to 
 know his charge. He had also, as is the manner of men trained 
 in the Settlement school, a very intimate knowledge of the 
 vernacular dialects of that part of the country, a great belief 
 in moving about among the villages in camp, and a thorough 
 and sympathetic acquaintance with the people. 
 
 The Chhattisgarh Division consisted of two great parts, the 
 one being the British territory, consisting of the three Districts 
 above named, and the other the Feudatory Territories of four- 
 teen ruling Chiefs, each of whom was then nominally attached 
 for purposes of supervision to one or other of these three Dis- 
 
 133
 
 THE KHOND RISING 
 
 tricts. The area of the British territory was 25,000 square miles, 
 and that of the fourteen Feudatory States 26,000 square miles. 
 There were no railways in those days over any part of the 
 Division, the only railway communication being a narrow-gauge 
 line, opened about five years earlier, between Raj -Nandgaon (the 
 capital of the Feudatory State of Nandgaon, which is in the 
 extreme west of the Chhattisgarh Division) and Nagpur, the 
 capital of the Province. The whole of this vast territory of 
 over 50,000 square miles was, therefore, under the sole charge 
 of the Commissioner of Chhattisgarh, assisted by three District 
 Magistrates, until events occurred which led to the appointment 
 of a political officer to the charge of the Feudatory States. 
 The Division was then remote and backward, sparsely populated 
 for the most part, and little known. It was spoken of in 1866 
 by Sir Richard Temple, the first Chief Commissioner of the 
 Central Provinces, as " the trackless wilderness of Chhattisgarh"; 
 and he justly prided himself on having made the first road with 
 any right to claim such a name running from West to East, that 
 is, continuing the Nagpur-Raipur road down to Sambalpur, a 
 hundred and sixty miles off. 
 
 It was impossible for any of the District Magistrates or 
 " Deputy Commissioners " to become acquainted with the real 
 condition of things in the Feudatory States attached to his 
 District, if he was effectively to do his duty and discharge his 
 responsibility as Magistrate of the British District committed 
 to his charge; and it was equally impossible for the Com- 
 missioner to do more than pay a flying visit to a few out of the 
 fourteen Native States in the course of each year. The result 
 was that, although a good deal was known of these States in a 
 general way, there was little intimate acquaintance with them. 
 The Chiefs, indeed, not infrequently came up to the head- 
 quarters of the District to which they were attached, and of 
 the Division itself, to meet the Commissioner or Deputy Com- 
 missioner and talk over things with him in a friendly way. But 
 on the whole the administration of the Feudatory States was 
 unsystematic and not very effective ; and what the people had 
 
 134
 
 IN KALAHANDI 
 
 of comfort and fairly satisfactory administration was due rather 
 to the remoteness of the jungle villages, the simplicity of their 
 manners, and the smallness of their requirements, than to any 
 other cause. 
 
 At the time when the Central Provinces came under our 
 rule, the present clearly defined distinction between Feuda- 
 tories and Zamindars did not exist. All the petty chieftains of 
 Chhattisgarh constituted a great class of more or less inde- 
 pendent rulers. Their powers and privileges were by no means 
 equal. These depended largely on the degree of remoteness of 
 the territory of the chief in each case from the centre of sovereign 
 authority at Nagpur ; but the States were all alike in this, 
 that while the most important of them was not wholly outside 
 of the authority of the permanent power, the least important 
 was not in every respect subject to that authority. When the 
 authority of the British Government was established in these 
 tracts the chieftains were divided into Feudatory Chiefs and 
 Zamindars, according to the degree of their powers, as far as 
 these could be ascertained by the inquiries instituted under 
 the orders of Sir Richard Temple, and also personally under- 
 taken by him with his usual energy. 
 
 The Feudatory Chiefs were left to rule their States. The 
 more remote among them, having been the most powerful, were 
 given authority subject only to the condition that they should 
 generally administer their States under the supervision, and 
 subject to the advice, of the Chief Commissioner of the Central 
 Provinces, and especially that they should not execute any 
 sentence of death without his sanction. The western and 
 smaller States had similar authority ; but in the exercise of their 
 criminal powers any sentence of over seven years 1 imprisonment 
 required the confirmation of British authority. The authority 
 of all the Chiefs was thus to a greater or less degree politically 
 circumscribed and controlled ; but from the point of view of the 
 law their independence is practically absolute, and they are not 
 British subjects. 
 
 The ordinary Zamindars, on the other hand, are British 
 
 135
 
 THE KHOND RISING 
 
 subjects, though as a class they have special privileges. Owing 
 to the exigencies of the administration they were long allowed 
 a number of extraordinary privileges, some of which appear at 
 first sight incompatible with the position of an ordinary British 
 subject ; but it is noteworthy that, whenever attention has been 
 drawn (as in the matter of police and excise) to the fact that 
 any such privilege is inconsistent with the due administration of 
 the law, it has invariably been held that it must be either with- 
 drawn or legalised. The whole question of the relation of these 
 two classes of Chiefs to the Government was generally decided 
 in Sir Richard Temple's time on the principle indicated above, 
 namely, that one clear line of demarcation was drawn between 
 those who on account of their high powers and privileges under 
 native rule should be regarded as more or less independent 
 rulers, under the general control of the Government as feudal 
 superior, and those who, though possessing certain special 
 privileges, were not rulers at all ; but details were worked out, 
 and have continued to be worked out, in accordance with any 
 later light thrown on the matter and the developing require- 
 ments of the case. 
 
 As I have said, the authority and control of the British 
 Government over the internal administration of the Native 
 States was exercised through the Commissioner of the Division 
 and the Deputy Commissioner of the District, until certain 
 events which occurred in 1878 and 1879. On the 1st January, 
 1877, Lord Lytton's great Imperial Durbar was held at Delhi 
 for the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India. 
 The native chiefs, small and great, from all parts of India were 
 invited to be present at this Durbar ; and Chhattisgarh chiefs 
 went up to Delhi with the rest. Various honours were dis- 
 tributed at Delhi amongst the chiefs, and the Chhattisgarh 
 Chief selected for distinction was the Rajah of Kalahandi. His 
 is a somewhat important Uriya State. He himself was a man 
 of excellent manners, and of more capacity and education than 
 the Chiefs of Chhattisgarh generally possessed. He was a man 
 who, on the whole, meant well ; and he had some idea of 
 
 186
 
 IN KALAHANDI 
 
 administration and a great desire to improve the status and 
 develop the revenue of his State. He was believed to have 
 administered it well, and he was recommended for the honour 
 of a salute of nine guns ; to which honour none of the Chiefs of 
 Chhattisgarh had up to that time been entitled. The recom- 
 mendation was accepted, and the honour bestowed. 
 
 It was not long after this that the Rajah died, and Mr. 
 Frederick Berry, of the Indian Civil Service, was appointed to 
 go down and inquire into the circumstances of the State and 
 report what measures should be taken for its administration 
 during the minority of the heir. Immediately on the death of 
 the Rajah, whose personal influence seems to have been great, 
 and just as Mr. Berry was taking over charge of the State, a 
 deplorable insurrection occurred. 
 
 Subsequent inquiry showed that the measures in the Rajah's 
 administration which led up to this rising had been of some 
 standing. The cause of the rising was the despair and rage 
 with which the simple Khonds, who had been the pioneer 
 cultivators of the soil in certain parts of Kalahandi, found 
 themselves over-reached and superseded by a far more efficient 
 class of agriculturists, known as the Kultas. The Khonds are a 
 hardy, war- like race of men, well accustomed to jungle life. 
 Their pluck in the presence of wild beasts and their skill as 
 hunters are well known ; but their style of agriculture is 
 primitive and desultory. They are quite content to live in the 
 simplest manner and from hand to mouth, doing only as much 
 as the necessities of the hour seem to demand. 
 
 The Kultas, on the other hand, are very successful agricul- 
 turists of somewhat timid character and of frugal habits. They 
 were naturally in many respects much more desirable tenants 
 than the Khonds. They were more easily squeezed in the 
 matter of rents, so long as the squeezing was done somewhat 
 judiciously ; and they were able themselves to get a great deal 
 more out of the land. The Rajah therefore encouraged them, 
 and gradually the Khonds found themselves ousted from the 
 possession of their old villages and fields by these interlopers of 
 
 137
 
 THE KHOND RISING 
 
 superior agricultural capacity. This led to a strong agrarian 
 hatred and jealousy. 
 
 In the middle of May, 1878, a meeting was held at Balwaspur, 
 which was attended by a large number of the leading Khonds. 
 They determined unanimously to massacre the Kultas. From 
 natural reverence for their Chief, whom they indeed worshipped 
 as an embodiment of the Divinity, they had been prevented 
 from entertaining or manifesting any personal animosity against 
 him ; but they planned to attack the European Superintendent 
 of the State, Mr. Berry, and either murder him or at least 
 restrain him from interference with their designs to wreak their 
 vengeance on the Kultas themselves. They swore to carry out 
 these designs, and kissed the sacrificial tangi (or axe) in token 
 of their resolve. The execution of this purpose was remitted to 
 the various representatives, that each might carry it out in his 
 own neighbourhood. The result was that over a hundred 
 Kultas were murdered, and many more would have perished but 
 for the prompt measures taken by the Government, and on the 
 spot by Mr. Berry, who, acting under the supervision and with 
 the support of Col. Ward, Commissioner of the Division, dispersed 
 the armed bands of Khonds and rescued the captured Kultas. 
 
 In the village of Kalamgaon twenty Kultas were murdered. 
 This is a typical case, and the circumstances may be related. 
 Four days after the meeting above referred to, news was received 
 in Kalamgaon of the murder of Ishwar Gaontiya of Asargarh, 
 a leader of the Kultas ; and his fellow caste-men were filled with 
 alarm and prepared to flee. They found, however, that they 
 were surrounded by armed Khonds, chiefly belonging to their 
 own and the neighbouring villages. They were captured and 
 huddled together in a house in the village, which was guarded 
 all night. Besides placing a strong guard on the house, the 
 leading Khonds present promised that, though the Kultas might 
 be deprived of their ill-gotten lands and wealth, their lives 
 would be spared. Next morning the number of Khonds had 
 largely increased. The number of Kulta prisoners, including 
 women and children, was about forty. 
 
 138
 
 IN KALAHANDI 
 
 Early on the morning of the 20th May the leading Khonds 
 came in and demanded the surrender of all the property that 
 the Kultas had. When this had been given up, the Khonds 
 prepared to remove their prisoners from the house. The latter, 
 who were now convinced that their lives would be taken, tried 
 to hide themselves where they could ; but one after another they 
 were pulled from their hiding-places and hurried outside. Here 
 they found hundreds of Khonds collected, armed with axes and 
 bows and arrows. The wretched prisoners fell at the feet of 
 the leading Khonds and begged them to spare their lives ; but 
 they were told that none of the men among them would be 
 spared. In the confusion one or two men did succeed in effect- 
 ing an escape to the hills ; and their story was told before 
 Col. Ward when he made a judicial inquiry into the circum- 
 stances. The women, however, and most of the children were 
 spared. The harrowing details of what followed were furnished 
 to Col. Ward by the bereaved women and by the Khond 
 prisoners themselves ; for the latter were far too simple to deny 
 their guilt, and gave what were shown to be clear and accurate 
 accounts of what had occurred. 
 
 Twenty Kultas were murdered in cold blood. There may 
 have been more ; but twenty murders were proved. One old 
 Kulta who had got a little way out of the thickest of the 
 confusion was discovered by some of the Khonds. He came 
 towards the foremost among their leaders in an attitude of 
 supplication, holding grass in his mouth as a token of abject 
 submission. The fierce Khond struck off the old man's head 
 with one stroke of his axe and filled a small vessel he carried 
 with the blood. This he intended to pour upon some of the 
 fields belonging to himself and some of his friends, as an 
 offering to the earth to secure her bountiful response to their 
 agricultural efforts. The other men were not murdered at 
 once ; but the leading Khonds from the various villages 
 which they represented were allowed to select victims, who were 
 led away in different directions to be slaughtered in these 
 villages. 
 
 139
 
 THE KHOND RISING 
 
 One woman, Musamat Sari, the widow of one of the murdered 
 Kultas, thus described the capture of herself and family, and 
 the events which followed : " My boy Madho was carrying a 
 Banghy * on his shoulder ; my husband was carrying our little 
 girl ; and my brother-in-law had a basket of our goods. I was 
 also carrying a little girl. We were running away from our 
 village of Kalamgaon, when we were surrounded by several 
 Khonds, led by Ude Khond, all of whom were armed with axes. 
 They seized all the things we had with us which they thought 
 worth taking ; and we were separated and taken in different 
 directions, two or three men going with each of us. We begged 
 for our lives ; but the men said they were going to kill all the 
 Kulta men, and that I would not see my son or my husband 
 again. Afterwards I heard that they had taken my husband 
 to Billaikoni and killed him there in the idol's shrine. When 
 the men had been carried off the man Ude came to me and 
 asked me what I had in my basket. In hopes that he would 
 save my boy, I gave him two saris,t some silver jewels, a silver 
 waistbelt, Rs.103 in cash, and some other things. I gave them 
 to him, and implored him to save my boy ; but he took them 
 all and ran away ; and my boy was killed. Not knowing what 
 to do, I returned to the village ; but the Khonds turned me out 
 saying I was not to go crying about the place ; so I went away 
 to the nullah. J Towards night I returned, but they again 
 turned me out, saying that the widows would not be allowed to 
 remain in the village. I got shelter for the night in one of the 
 tolas. I never saw my husband or my boy again. When my 
 boy was taken away to be killed my two other little children 
 were taken from me, but they were afterwards recovered by the 
 Tahsildar of Bhawani Patna. Being very young girls they had 
 not been killed. 1 ' 
 
 This is a sad story told in simple language, with no attempt 
 to enlarge on the miserable details. The widow simply tells 
 
 * A bamboo pole, with a bundle at each end, carried across the shoulder, 
 f A sari is a woman's dress or shawl. 
 J A nullah is the bed of a stream or the stream itself. 
 A tola is the hamlet attached to a village. 
 
 140
 
 IN KALAHANDT 
 
 how she and her family were intercepted in their panic-stricken 
 flight ; how the little property they had hurriedly put together 
 was offered in vain as the ransom of her son's life ; how her 
 husband and son were carried off from before her eyes and 
 killed ; and how she was not even allowed to weep for them. It 
 would be hard indeed to find a record of greater barbarity, 
 more contemptuous ill -faith, and more ruthless cruelty; but 
 practically the same story was repeated in every case that came 
 before the courts in reference to the murder of the Kultas in 
 this rising. It will be observed also that the woman par- 
 ticularly mentioned that her husband was killed in the shrine of 
 the idol of the village to which he was taken. This was charac- 
 teristic of the rising, and was a detail established in almost all 
 the cases. 
 
 The rising was not only agrarian ; it was also partly animated 
 by superstition and religious fanaticism. The old ceremonies 
 connected with human sacrifice which had been common among 
 the Khonds in former days, and had been put down with 
 difficulty by officers of the British Government some years 
 before, were revived in connection with this rising. The victims 
 were murdered solemnly in cold blood, after having been duly 
 anointed and prepared for sacrifice. The huge and terrible 
 sacrificial axe was ordinarily used ; and the murderers struggled 
 to dip their axes in the blood, and to secure small fragments of 
 the bodies to bury in their fields as an offering to the powers of 
 the earth. These details are given to indicate the character 
 of the rising. As has been already stated, about one hundred 
 Kultas were proved to have been murdered in this way ; and 
 there were no doubt many more whose cases did not come before 
 the Commissioner and Superintendent of the State (Mr. Berry) 
 for inquiry. 
 
 The Khonds determined to attack the camp of the Super- 
 intendent, who was marching through the State accompanied 
 only by a small body of police. A large number of Khonds set 
 out to attack his camp and take it by surprise. They were 
 fortunately met by Gopinath Guru, who had been appointed 
 
 141
 
 THE KHOND RISING 
 
 to the post of Tahsildar of Bhawani Patna, the head-quarters 
 subdivision of the State. This gentleman was an Uriya Brah- 
 man of the highest caste, and of priestly sanctity. He had 
 been an officer of the British District of Sambalpur, and was 
 selected on account of his administrative capacity and high 
 character for the important post to which he had been ap- 
 pointed under Mr. Berry. He was a man of distinguished 
 courage and resource as well as of high probity. 
 
 When he met this armed band of Khonds he was a few miles 
 distant from the camp of Mr. Berry. As soon as they came 
 in sight, he suspected that they intended to attack that camp. 
 He had with him an orderly mounted on a pony. He im- 
 mediately despatched this man to Mr. Berry's camp to warn 
 him, and meantime he went out with great courage to meet the 
 Khonds and hold them in parley. During that parley he ob- 
 served that several of them kept their bows with their poisoned 
 arrows on the string, ready to loose the fatal shafts at him should 
 he attempt to leave them. He asked them what their intentions 
 were ; and they told him that they were going to the camp of 
 the Superintendent Sahib to take him in charge and prevent 
 him from interfering with their vengeance on the Kultas. 
 
 He endeavoured to dissuade them from this purpose and from 
 their murderous designs, the folly as well as the wickedness of 
 which he tried to impress upon them. The only result was that 
 their demeanour towards him became threatening; but when 
 he reminded them of his sanctity and of the danger which, 
 according to their own superstition, must be involved in taking 
 the life of so high caste a Brahman as he, they desisted from 
 their purpose to kill him. The result was that an hour or two 
 were lost to them. The Superintendent had time to prepare 
 for their attack, and they were defeated. He then sent word 
 to head -quarters to obtain necessary assistance, and with such 
 forces as he could collect, proceeded to put down the rising. 
 Police, followed soon after by a small detachment of troops, 
 were sent down to his assistance ; and the rising was suppressed 
 and the ringleaders punished. 
 
 142
 
 IN KALAHANDI 
 
 The inquiries which followed indicated such serious discontent 
 throughout the State as led the Government to continue the 
 deputation of Mr. Berry to Kalahandi, and to set about making 
 an Agricultural (or Land Revenue) Settlement in the State, and 
 providing for its administration with due respect to the existing 
 rights of all classes of the population, including the aborigines. 
 Those who were actually convicted of murder were, of course, 
 punished according to law, due regard being paid to all the cir- 
 cumstances in each case ; but when the law had been vindicated 
 and peace restored, it was found by no means a difficult task 
 for an officer of Mr. Berry's tact and capacity to carry out the 
 necessary reforms in the administration. The services which he 
 rendered were recognised hy Her Majesty, and he was created a 
 Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, while his brave 
 and capable subordinate, Gopinath Guru, received the title of 
 Rai Bahadur. 
 
 Soon after this, the Maharajah of the neighbouring State of 
 Patna having died and his heir being a child, that State also 
 was taken under management by the British Government. An 
 Indian gentleman, also an Uriya Brahman of high character 
 and proved administrative capacity, was appointed to the direct 
 charge of the State under the immediate supervision and control 
 of Mr. Berry. When these two States had been settled, and 
 their administration had been reformed and raised to as satis- 
 factory and efficient a condition as was consistent with their 
 resources and with the character of their peoples, it was found 
 possible to employ Mr. Berry's services more widely among the 
 States of Chhattisgarh. The great capacity which he had shown 
 in dealing with the wild tribes and simple peoples in these two 
 States marked him out as the very officer required to help the 
 Government in setting right abuses which more careful atten- 
 tion and more accurate information discovered in almost all the 
 States. 
 
 The settlement of these two States and the improvement 
 of their administration took some years of patient and un- 
 wearying labour ; but when this work had been accomplished 
 
 143
 
 THE KHOND RISING 
 
 it was found possible to leave the charge of them to the Indian 
 officers who had assisted in that work ; and nothing more was 
 required from Mr. Berry but careful supervision and somewhat 
 frequent visits to the States. Details were left entirely to the 
 Indian officers ; and the administration was carried on in such 
 a manner and with such expenditure as might reasonably be 
 maintained by the Rajahs when they received charge of their 
 States. Efforts were meanwhile made to train the Rajahs 
 for the responsible position which they were to be called upon 
 to fill. 
 
 Mr. Berry's services being thus available, it was determined 
 by the Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces, with the 
 sanction of the Government of India, to appoint him Political 
 Agent for the Chhattisgarh Feudatory States. He was to have 
 his head-quarters at Raipur, the head-quarters of the Division, 
 and he was to exercise on behalf of Government the super- 
 vision which it was entitled to exercise over the Feudatory 
 States of the whole Division. He was to spend all the open 
 season in touring among the States, and so becoming acquainted 
 with the Chiefs themselves, with the character of their adminis- 
 tration, and with the condition of the people resident in the 
 States. His instructions were not to interfere unduly and un- 
 necessarily with the power and authority of the Rajahs, and not 
 to encourage the people to disregard that power and authority. 
 He was instructed to be a friend and adviser to the Chiefs, to 
 invite them to meet him at his head-quarters, to visit their 
 head -quarters, and to take them with him sometimes on tour, 
 so that he might become intimate with them, discuss with them 
 freely and fully the principles of administration, and advise them 
 in regard to any measures which they were carrying out in their 
 States. 
 
 Going about freely among the people, he could ascertain 
 whether there was any feeling of discontent, or whether there 
 was practical injustice being done. He was not to encourage 
 complaints ; but he was to keep his ears open ; and he was to 
 endeavour to soothe discontent, to explain to people smarting 
 
 144
 
 IN KALAHANDI 
 
 under a sense of injustice the steps which they should take to 
 have the matter righted by the Rajah or his officers, and to 
 bring these cases to the notice of the Rajah privately and in a 
 friendly way, explaining to him that the parties had been 
 referred to him for redress. He was only to take up himself 
 gross cases of injustice in which the Rajah had refused to do 
 right, and grave cases of general maladministration which neces- 
 sitated interference. 
 
 The two principles on which he was instructed to carry on his 
 work were these, that on the one hand the Rajah as the ruler 
 must be supported in his authority; and on the other hand 
 that, as the British Government prevented the people from 
 asserting their rights or setting their Rajah aside by force, the 
 Rajah must consent to administer his State in a way which 
 justified that measure of coercion of the people by the Govern- 
 ment. The Government could not use its power to maintain the 
 Rajah in his rule over the people, without being responsible that 
 that rule was reasonably efficient, j ust, and consistent with their 
 interests. In all his work the Political Agent was under the 
 control of the Commissioner of the Division ; and both of 
 these officers were specially instructed to exercise their authority 
 and supervision in a friendly and tactful manner. No officer 
 could have been found more fitted than Mr. Berry to in- 
 augurate and carry out this wise policy ; and during the years 
 that he held the office of Political Agent a system of administra- 
 tion was introduced over the Feudatory States which has 
 rendered it an easy matter for the Government, through a 
 succession of political officers, to maintain that policy, and to 
 secure at once the friendship of the Chiefs and the general well- 
 being of the people. 
 
 145
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 THE FEUDATORY STATES OF CHHATTISGARH 
 
 IT was a deplorable misfortune which prematurely deprived the 
 administration of Mr. Berry's services. He was stricken down 
 by one of those sudden and terrible strokes of which we have 
 experience in India. He was riding out on a Wednesday 
 morning in May, 1889, in the neighbourhood of Raipur and 
 came to a village where he met several funeral processions 
 following one another. In his kindly way he drew up beside 
 one of them and asked the bearers about the cause of death. 
 They told him that there was cholera in the village ; and he 
 made inquiry as to the virulence of the epidemic, and found 
 that many were dying. 
 
 It was a dry day in the hot weather, and he was to leeward of 
 the body. There seems little doubt that more or less desiccated 
 matter laden with germs was carried to him by the strong hot 
 wind. It suddenly occurred to him that this might be so. He 
 rode home and bathed and changed before he allowed his wife 
 and child to meet him. He wrote and told me (for I was in 
 camp) about this outbreak of cholera, and related all the circum- 
 stances of his meeting the biers to a friend in Raipur. All went 
 well until the Saturday morning, when he suddenly fell ill ; and 
 by evening he was dead. Seldom, indeed, has the death of so 
 comparatively young an officer evoked such widespread grief 
 among the people of a province. Many chiefs and tribes and 
 people of diverse races mourned with his European friends and 
 brother officers over his untimely death. 
 
 I had held, for more than a year, the Commissionership of 
 
 146
 
 FEUDATORY STATES 
 
 Chhattisgarh by the time that he died ; and I had visited all the 
 fourteen Native States. Those that were accessible to head- 
 quarters of districts I had visited by forced marches from these 
 head- quarters when I was there on sessions or inspection work. 
 The others I had visited in the course of a long cold-weather 
 tour. In that tour through the southern and eastern States, 
 and in one or two of my flying visits to the other States, I had 
 been accompanied by Mr. Berry. It was deeply interesting to 
 visit these States, to see their administration, to make the 
 acquaintance both of the Rajahs and of the people, and to find 
 how fully Mr. Berry had won the confidence of both during his 
 ten years 1 work among them. They were in those days even 
 more interesting, perhaps, than they are now ; though Chhattis- 
 garh is still, I should think, one of the most interesting charges 
 in India. They were more interesting then, perhaps, because 
 the Chiefs had still about them more of the old-world spirit and 
 barbaric pomp and circumstance, accompanied by a certain 
 uncivilised simplicity, the combination of which made their 
 durbars or courts of very great interest. 
 
 The people, too, were for the most part unsophisticated, wild, 
 simple, impulsive jungle tribes, with some residents of more 
 cultivated country, far removed from the great centres of 
 civilisation. At the same time there was the deep interest 
 arising from the coming of the railway, the construction of 
 which had by that time begun, the railway that was to cross the 
 whole of the Chhattisgarh Division, running straight from 
 Bombay to Calcutta by way of Nagpur. Many strange experi- 
 ences came to us as the old-world life of Chhattisgarh began to 
 give way before advancing civilisation. 
 
 In the course of one of his tours, Mr. Berry travelled with 
 horses and camels by a hilly tract direct from the head- 
 quarters of the Sonpur State to those of the Rairahkol State. 
 As he crossed the border he found that there was a long- 
 standing boundary dispute. He found that the Rairahkol 
 people were constantly crossing over what the Sonpur people 
 regarded as the boundary, and removing timber and other 
 
 147
 
 THE FEUDATORY STATES 
 
 forest produce ; and so with the people of Sonpur. The value 
 of the produce was not of much consequence ; but there were 
 constant fights between the people of the two States on each 
 side of the border, and not infrequently lives were lost. It 
 reminded us of the old stories of border warfare in countries 
 nearer home ; but it had a weird sound to those who were accus- 
 tomed to the pax Britannica in India, and were surprised 
 to find such a state of things unreported and unknown. We 
 obtained (under the rules) the sanction of the Government for 
 the settlement of the boundary dispute by the Political Agent, 
 under the supervision of the Commissioner ; and we determined 
 to settle it in the course of that cold-weather tour. 
 
 We called on the two Chiefs to meet us on the boundary of 
 the two States as near to the disputed tract as the hilly and 
 jungly character of the country would permit. The Rajah of 
 Sonpur wrote a very courteous private letter to Mr. Berry, 
 pointing out that, if he met the Rajah of Rairahkol, it would be 
 necessary for the latter to comply with certain formalities which 
 had been observed at the last meeting of the rulers of the two 
 States, when the then Rajah of Rairahkol had, nearly a century 
 before, prostrated himself before 1he Rajah of Sonpur and 
 received a KhiFat (robe of honour) from his hand. The Rajah 
 of Rairahkol was asked about this ; and he replied, also in a 
 courteous private letter, that he had no record of the alleged 
 meeting, and that in any case he could not possibly comply with 
 that formality now. 
 
 Mr. Berry and I talked the matter over. We determined to 
 adopt the following somewhat amusing expedient. We ar- 
 ranged to pitch our camp one day in the nearest village on the 
 Sonpur side, where the river formed an undisputed part of the 
 boundary. The Rajah of Sonpur was to have his camp in the 
 neighbouring village of that State ; and the Rajah of Rairahkol 
 was to have his in the nearest village on the other side. The 
 Rajah of Sonpur was to come and pay me a formal visit in my 
 tent, Mr. Berry being also present ; and, while the Rajah of 
 Sonpur was there, the Rajah of Rairahkol was to arrive, also to 
 
 148
 
 OF CHHATTISGARH 
 
 pay me a visit. Finding themselves together in the presence of 
 the Commissioner, as they had not infrequently done in durbars 
 at Raipur, the two Chiefs were to be introduced solemnly to one 
 another, and were to make the usual Eastern salaam and then 
 shake hands " like English gentlemen." 
 
 The next day we were to pitch our camp on the other side of 
 the river in the territory of Rairahkol ; and the ceremony was 
 to be repeated mutatis mutandis. The Rajah of Rairahkol was to 
 visit me ; the Rajah of Sonpur was to arrive while he was there; 
 and again they were to shake hands " like English gentlemen." 
 After this double introduction, they were to sit down along 
 with their diwans (chief ministers) and discuss the boundary 
 question with Mr. Berry and me. The details of this arrange- 
 ment were communicated privately by Mr. Berry to both the 
 Rajahs, and were accepted by both as a perfectly satisfactory 
 settlement of the important question of etiquette. 
 
 Accordingly we had our meeting; and it was always men- 
 tioned afterwards among the officers of Raipur as the "field 
 of the cloth of gold." Both Rajahs got together as many ele- 
 phants as they could and hunted out, from all their treasuries 
 and throughout their States, as many gold-brocaded cloths as 
 they could find, and had them as trappings for the elephants 
 and hangings for their tents, and even as carpets inside and 
 outside of their tents, so that the scene was one of really con- 
 siderable splendour. Our discussion ended in the appointing of 
 two persons to represent (one for each) the two Rajahs. Natur- 
 ally enough the men appointed were the diwans. These men, 
 accompanied by any villagers or experts that they chose to 
 bring as witnesses or assessors, were to go round the boundary 
 with us so that it might be demarcated at once. A number of 
 the inhabitants of both States were also got together, to be 
 ready immediately to put up, on the spot, boundary pillars along 
 the line as laid down by us. Mr. Berry and I, accompanied by the 
 diwans, went out very early in the morning, riding as far as it 
 was possible to ride, and accompanied by a very considerable 
 number of hardy, jungle people, on foot. We dismounted at 
 
 149
 
 THE FEUDATORY STATES 
 
 the beginning of the disputed line ; and we walked over it for 
 six or eight hours on end. The diwans and the people, seeing 
 that we were in earnest to settle the matter, and that the 
 boundary we favoured was clearly indicated by the banks of 
 mountain streams and the ridges of the hills, set themselves also 
 to help us ; and the matter was settled in two days 1 hard walk- 
 ing from about six in the morning till after midday. The 
 boundary pillars were put up as we went along ; and the dispute 
 was finally settled in a perfectly amicable way. 
 
 This may be taken as an illustration of the methods generally 
 adopted in our work among the Chiefs. We got hold of them 
 and of the people, and simply worked alongside of them. 
 During the course of work like this, we could not fail to get 
 into the most friendly and intimate relations with our fellow- 
 workers; and everything that we had to do, in the way of 
 settling disputes, investigating cases and arranging points of 
 State administration, tended to cement our friendship and 
 strengthen the bonds that united us in our relations with one 
 another. 
 
 The Rajah of Sonpur at that time was a very fine old man ; 
 and as his State contains a very considerable amount of first- 
 rate agricultural land, as well as a good deal of valuable jungle, 
 and is situated on the banks of the river Mahanadi, it was a 
 State that was capable of great development ; and to this he 
 and his worthy successors devoted themselves with very con- 
 siderable success. The present Chief has done so well that 
 the Viceroy has given him as a personal distinction the higher 
 title of Maharajah. The old Chief of Rairahkol was a man who 
 had succeeded to his State as a mere boy, and was by that time 
 in the eighth decade of his life. He had, therefore, been longer 
 a ruler than probably any other ruler in the world. During all 
 that time, without any great intellectual capacity or education, 
 he had proved himself a good strong man. He was vigorous 
 in constitution, temperate in habits, upright in character, and 
 generally desirous to do justice and right. It was quite a 
 pleasant experience to make these two men our friends. 
 
 150
 
 A GRAVEYARD OF THE ABORIGINES IN CHOTA NAGPUR 
 
 A BODYGUARD OF BOYS 
 
 A number of the sons of State policemen and other servants formed by the Feudatory Chief of 
 Patna into a bodyguard for my son while we marched through his State : a fairly accurate reproduc- 
 tion of his own guard except as regards the age of its members.
 
 OF CHHATTISGARH 
 
 Our work was not always so pleasant. We sometimes found 
 a Chief abusing his power, and permitting the administration of 
 his State to become anything but a blessing to his people. 
 Sometimes this arose from pure selfishness, from a desire on 
 the part of the Chief to wring from the toil-hardened hands of 
 his people as much as he could, in order to spend it on his own 
 personal pleasure and comfort. Sometimes it arose from ignor- 
 ance and indolence, and from the fact that the Chief was entirely 
 in the hands of bad advisers. I remember the case of a very 
 genial but stupid highland Chief of pompous but courteous 
 manner, and of great hospitality and kindliness. As the railway 
 came into the neighbourhood of his State, that State became 
 the refuge and stronghold of bad characters from all parts of the 
 country. They had their head-quarters under his protection, 
 and from this safe retreat they raided British territory and the 
 neighbouring States, leaving the people of the State in which 
 they resided generally unmolested. 
 
 It was difficult to move the Rajah to take a serious view of 
 these facts. Neither he nor his people suffered much from these 
 scoundrels ; and it was in his opinion the duty of the Govern- 
 ment and of the other States to take measures for their own 
 protection. To put his own police into an efficient state so as 
 to co-operate with them in restraining these criminals would 
 necessitate the removal of men who had long been in hereditary 
 office, and to incur expenditure the direct advantage of which 
 he did not see. It was true also that on all hands he was being 
 robbed, and his revenue was being embezzled by untrustworthy 
 subordinates, some of whom unfortunately were dismissed 
 Government officials, and that his people were largely subjected 
 to petty forms of oppression and exaction ; but of this he was 
 kept largely in ignorance by the unworthy men by whom he was 
 surrounded and in whom he had misplaced confidence. 
 
 The Political Agent (both Mr. Berry and his successors) and 
 I made many attempts to convince the Rajah of the necessity 
 of reform ; but, though courteous to us during his interviews 
 with us, he was obstinately immovable in regard to his policy. 
 
 151
 
 THE FEUDATORY STATES 
 
 On the occasion of my fourth or fifth interview with him on 
 the subject, I warned him that, if he did not comply with the 
 requirements of the Central Provinces Government, and carry 
 out the necessary reforms, he would find that the Government 
 would be compelled to remove him temporarily from the State, 
 and undertake the management of it until the reforms were 
 carried out. His reply, given courteously enough, but sen- 
 tentiously, was to the effect that he had seen Commissioners 
 come and go, but he himself had gone on for ever. I pointed 
 out to him that there had already been one or two cases of 
 the temporary supersession of Rajahs who had grossly mis- 
 managed their States ; but these were tales of what to him 
 were remote and unknown places ; and he did not give much 
 heed. 
 
 On the next occasion he received a great shock. All his mis- 
 demeanours had been from time to time duly reported to the 
 Government, and the Chief Commissioner (the late Sir Alex- 
 ander Mackenzie) had seen the necessity for serious action. I 
 wrote to Sir Alexander privately, and told him I believed that, 
 if he would give me a private autograph letter, stating that the 
 Rajah must be set aside for a time, all might be satisfactorily 
 arranged without his being formally dealt with. Sir Alexander 
 gave me the necessary letter. I went down to visit my mis- 
 guided friend. He came to see me in my tent ; and I took care 
 that no one was within hearing. I then reminded him of the 
 warning I had given him, and I said to him, " What I told 
 you has come true. Here is a letter authorizing me to set 
 you aside." He was very much moved, and, adopting the 
 Oriental forms of supplication, he besought me not to set him 
 aside, because even were he ultimately restored, he would find 
 his authority over his people lost. 
 
 Knowing the character of the people, I recognized fully the 
 truth of his statement. I therefore said to him, " I do not wish 
 to injure you in any way, but these reforms are absolutely neces- 
 sary. They must be carried out ; you yourself cannot do this ; 
 and the authority must be given to one friendly to you who will 
 
 152
 
 5 **- 
 
 o 3
 
 OF CHHATTISGARH 
 
 carry them out on your behalf. The best plan will be this. 
 You have not yet taken your father's ashes to the Ganges ; and 
 it would be regarded as very reasonable for you to do so. If 
 you will go now, I shall lend you the services of an experienced 
 Indian officer of good family, whom I can fully trust and whom 
 I can cordially recommend to you as a loyal and kindly friend. 
 You can summon a Durbar of the principal residents of your 
 State, and you can explain to them that it will be necessary for 
 you to be absent for a certain number of months, and that you 
 have obtained the services of an able and experienced officer 
 who will administer your State for you in your absence, to 
 whom they must give the same loyal obedience as they would 
 render to yourself. You will then give him a Sanad,* signed 
 by yourself, accompanied by a KhiFat f of office." The good 
 old man gratefully accepted this proposal. 
 
 I left the State and sent up the officer appointed, in time 
 for the date fixed by the Chief for his Durbar. The Chief 
 went off to the Ganges as arranged ; and through this officer's 
 earnest work, under the supervision and advice of the Political 
 Agent, the Augean stables were cleansed. The worst of the 
 local officials were removed ; trustworthy men were put in their 
 place ; and the necessary reforms were introduced. As soon 
 as the work was finished, the Rajah was informed, and he 
 returned. His pleasure at finding things so much improved, 
 and his loyalty to Government, were both evidenced by the fact 
 that, with my consent spontaneously solicited, he appointed 
 this Indian officer to be his own diwan, and continued the 
 administration of his State on the lines laid down. The Chief 
 remained my friend long after I left Chhattisgarh ; and many 
 were the kindly letters which I received from him after my direct 
 connection with him was severed. When I returned many years 
 afterwards on a visit to Chhattisgarh, as Chief Commissioner of 
 the Province, my old friend had passed away ; but his son was 
 continuing the administration of the State in accordance with 
 the later policy of his worthy old father. 
 
 * Sanad is a deed or document. f Kliil'at is a robe of honour. 
 
 153
 
 THE FEUDATORY STATES 
 
 We were not always quite so fortunate in the issue of our 
 dealings with the Chiefs ; but it is wonderful how cordial and 
 kindly were the relations between them as a body and the officers 
 of Government with whom they were connected. A very striking 
 illustration of this occurred at the time of the modification of 
 the boundaries of Bengal in 1904, when the Chiefs of the Uriya 
 States of Chhattisgarh (Central Provinces) objected to their 
 proposed transfer to Bengal, mainly because they would thus be 
 deprived of the immense advantage of the friendship and guidance 
 of the Political Agent. They put their views on record in a 
 remarkable petition, to which I shall refer more fully when 
 discussing what has been called " the partition of Bengal." 
 
 The Native Chiefs are loyal to the British Government : not 
 only the less important and influential Chiefs of the smaller 
 States, such as those of Chhattisgarh, but also those of the 
 larger Native States. It is very important for us to retain the 
 loyalty of these Chiefs, both great and small. There is not the 
 slightest doubt that they realise on their part the untold advan- 
 tages which they derive from British rule. They have no desire 
 to go back to the tempestuous times which preceded that rule, 
 nor to enter into a ceaseless and precarious struggle for existence. 
 They understand the benefits of peace both for themselves and 
 for their people ; and there is nothing that can alienate them 
 from us, so long as we respect their position and are manifestly 
 strong enough to secure it for them. Weakness in the adminis- 
 tration of our own Empire fills them with disquiet, while 
 needless interference with their administration, disregard of 
 their dignity, and unsympathetic or bullying treatment fill 
 them with disgust. As a rule they have been particularly 
 fortunate in the political officers whom Government has sent to 
 them, gentlemen of high tone and courteous manners and of 
 sound judgment. Only such men should ever be appointed to 
 political office in any native State, however small. 
 
 An interesting fact came to my notice in the course of a tour 
 in the Bilaspur District of the Central Provinces. On the 
 border of that district there is a beautiful hill called Amar- 
 
 154
 
 ^ o 
 _o 
 
 o 
 o S
 
 OF CHHATTISGARH 
 
 kantak, which was transferred to the neighbouring Rewah State 
 as a reward for the loyalty of its Chief. This hill is 3,500 feet 
 high and has a very pleasant climate. It is greatly beloved by 
 the people, especially of that part of India, as containing the 
 source of the sacred river Nerbudda. Many shrines have been 
 erected there, and it is a place of pilgrimage. On this account 
 it has been greatly valued by the Rewah Durbar. 
 
 I went to visit it on one occasion and was much struck with 
 the beauty of the place. On my way back to head-quarters 
 I passed through the Zamindari of Laffa. The Zamindar was an 
 old Kan war, a fine jungle lord of thoroughly sporting character. 
 I went out with him to a general beat, which he organised for 
 big game of all sorts ; and on my way back I talked to him 
 about the beauty of Amarkantak. He told me that he was 
 going there in the course of a few days. He said that the 
 Rewah Maharajah was to pay his annual visit in state to 
 Amarkantak, and that as many of the Hindu Chiefs of Bilaspur 
 as were able to attend would go there to receive him and do 
 him honour. 
 
 This struck me as very remarkable. The Rewah Chief had no 
 authority over the Zamindars or Nobles of Bilaspur ; but their 
 respect for his ancient position, and the fact that he was one of 
 their own race or clan, led them in a loyal spirit to go and 
 associate themselves with his formal worship at Amarkantak. 
 Their loyalty to the native Chief was entirely consistent with 
 their loyalty to the British Government. There never was a 
 Noble more loyal to our rule, nor more cordial in his relations 
 with British officers, than this good old Laffa Zamindar, for whose 
 memory I have a great regard, and in whose friendship, while 
 he lived, I had great delight. The loyalty of the Chiefs of the 
 Indian States is in my opinion very important, on account not 
 only of the great extent of the territory one-third of the area 
 of India over which they bear rule, but also of the influence 
 which they have beyond their own borders. 
 
 155
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 CHRISTMAS WITH WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 THERE is no part of my service on which I look back with 
 greater pleasure than on my tenure of the office of Commissioner 
 of Chhattisgarh, of which I took charge in 1888. It must be one 
 of the most interesting divisions in the whole of India. The 
 people were simple, for they had lived remote. Even the 
 ordinary village life had, I think, more of attraction for me than 
 that of most other parts of the Province. There were also the 
 fourteen Native States, of which I have already said enough, 
 and there were many Zamindaris. These were large estates, 
 the owners of which were British subjects. At the same time 
 the remoteness of their estates, and the peculiar history of this 
 part of the country, had given these Zamindars rights and 
 customs which placed them in a position midway between the 
 ordinary British subject and the Feudatory Chief. The 
 Zamindars exercised authority over their people to a far greater 
 extent than is the case with proprietors, even more wealthy and 
 more powerful, in other parts of the country ; and they 
 exercised certain powers and rights in the police, excise, forest, 
 and other departments such as were not possessed by Zamindars 
 in other parts of the Central Provinces. Some of the most 
 interesting work of the Division was done amongst the Zamin- 
 daris. In this chapter, however, I shall speak of sport rather 
 than of work. 
 
 The Matin Zamindari to the north of the Bilaspur District 
 is a wild, hilly tract of about 600 square miles, with a sparse 
 population. This estate had, owing to the minority of the 
 
 156
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 young chief, come under the Court of Wards, and was directly 
 managed by the Commissioner of Chhattisgarh and the Deputy 
 Commissioner of Bilaspur. During the lifetime of the last 
 Zamindar the estate had become overrun with wild elephants, 
 and many of the people had been driven from their villages. 
 In the course of a tour in the Bilaspur District, I visited this 
 Zamindari, and I found whole villages depopulated. The 
 elephants came down, kicking the houses and the granaries to 
 pieces and consuming the grain. Sometimes lives were lost of 
 those who inadvertently fell in the way of the elephants, or who 
 might be attempting to defend their property against them. 
 It was manifest that measures must be taken for the capture of 
 these elephants. 
 
 I accordingly wrote to Mr. Sanderson, of the Government 
 Kheddah Department, and asked him whether he could arrange 
 to conduct operations. I told him that, from the best informa- 
 tion I could get, there were about sixty elephants in the herd 
 which had taken possession of the estate. He replied that for 
 him to bring up all the men and tame elephants required for 
 the capture of this herd, and to carry through the operations 
 against them, would involve very considerable cost on the small 
 and far from wealthy Zamindari. But he advised me to secure 
 the services of the neighbouring Maharajah of Sirguja for this 
 purpose. He said that the young Maharajah was a plucky and 
 exceedingly capable man, whom he had himself trained in 
 Kheddah work ; that he might be trusted to carry through the 
 business just as well as he could do it himself, and that far from 
 the operations being costly to the estate, the Maharajah would 
 gladly pay to the Zamindar one-fourth of the value of all the 
 elephants he might capture, as provided by law. 
 
 The border of the Matin Zamindari is the old Central Pro- 
 vinces boundary, and on the other side from us was the territory 
 (including the Feudatory State of Sirguja) then administered by 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The Maharajah of Sirguja, 
 although he was my immediate neighbour, had hitherto been 
 quite unknown to me, as he belonged to a different Province. 
 
 157
 
 CHRISTMAS WITH 
 
 I wrote to him, laid the whole case before him, and told him 
 what Mr. Sanderson had said. I received a courteous and 
 cordial reply, stating that he was quite willing to undertake the 
 operations; that he would take care to do no avoidable injury 
 to the jungle ; that he would begin his operations at once ; and 
 that he would let me know when he was ready to operate 
 against the elephants, so that I might, if I chose, join his camp 
 and satisfy myself that the operations were being conducted 
 with due regard to the interests of the Zamindari. 
 
 Some months later Mr. (now Sir Charles) Cleveland, then a 
 young civilian of two or three years' standing, was in camp 
 with me on special duty in the south-west of the Bilaspur 
 District in the neighbourhood of the Kawardha Feudatory 
 State. We had been compelled to refuse invitations to more 
 than one Christmas Camp, and had been pressed with work 
 right over Christmas Day, 1889. We arrived in the course of 
 our tour at the town of Bilaspur two days after Christmas, and 
 found the .station absolutely empty. The Deputy Commissioner, 
 Mr. Meiklejohn, was in camp in the direction of Matin, and 
 everyone else had gone off to some Christmas party. We 
 settled down to a quiet life, but a telegram from the Maharajah 
 disturbed us. It was brief, but momentous. " Thirty-four 
 elephants are surrounded. Can you come at once to Basan ?" 
 The telegram was from Pendra, over forty miles along the 
 Umaria branch of the Bengal Nagpur Railway, which was then 
 under construction. We got down the map, and found that 
 Basan was about sixty-five miles off as the crow flies, and 
 eighty miles by village tracks round the hills. Telegraphing 
 that we should arrive in two days, we sent off two elephants, 
 one carrying a very limited kit, about thirty miles towards 
 Basan. Next morning we overtook our elephants, driving part 
 of the way and riding the rest. After a hurried breakfast we 
 pushed on between twenty or thirty miles more, slept the night 
 at a little village rest-house, and next morning reached the 
 elephant country. 
 
 At Jatga, the present capital of the Matin Zamindari, we first 
 
 158
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 came on the trace of the great marauders. We found their marks 
 close to the hamlet and at the very door of the manager's office. 
 Under a tree in front of the office lay the huge bleached skull of 
 a wild elephant that had died some time before. We heard 
 melancholy tales of the ravages of these monsters. Again and 
 again as, map in hand, we mentioned villages which were marked 
 on our proposed route, the remark was, " Deserted : no one lives 
 there. The jungle elephants have driven man out." The 
 Gaontya (or head man) of Jatga pointed, with a strange mixture 
 of awe and triumph, to a sheer precipice near the Setgarh Hill 
 about eight miles off, over which four out of a herd of five wild 
 elephants, rushing along in panic, had fallen and been dashed to 
 pieces. Forsyth tells the story in his " Highlands of Central 
 India." 
 
 We pushed on over the hills through magnificent sal jungle 
 and the wild hill scenery to Kudri, where, weary enough with 
 our long and trying elephant ride, we gladly saw Mr. Meiklejohn's 
 tents and received his cheery welcome. Kudri is about three 
 miles short of Hasan, to which we had been summoned. Our 
 telegram had been received after a whole day's delay, as is the 
 manner of these parts ; and Mr. Meiklejohn had then started off 
 for Basan, taking all his belongings with him and driving his 
 camels before him like an Old Testament patriarch, because the 
 servants feared to march without him. Suddenly, in the middle 
 of the jungle, in grass about six feet high, his camels halted. 
 He demanded an explanation. " This is Hasan," said the guide. 
 Basan had been deserted : the elephants had taken possession 
 and warned off the human claimants of the village. Kudri was 
 the nearest habitation of man, so he had pitched the tents 
 there. 
 
 Maharajah Raghonath Saran Singh Deo Bahadur of Sirguja 
 was in tents nearer to the immediate scene of the proposed 
 operations. He had come out with a host against the wild 
 elephants. About one thousand men and thirty-three tame 
 elephants, most of them trained " Kumkis," accompanied him. 
 He had found two herds of wild elephants, in all about thirty- 
 
 159
 
 CHRISTMAS WITH 
 
 five, at the Bahmani Nadi (River) about fifteen or twenty miles 
 off. He had set to work with all expedition to run up a light 
 fence about six miles in circumference, enclosing a valley and 
 part of two hills below Setgarh. Round this he had posted 
 at intervals eight or nine hundred men, mostly armed with 
 matchlocks and provided with blank cartridges. Into this 
 enclosure he had quietly driven all these elephants through 
 fifteen miles of glen ; and there they were surrounded by silent 
 watch fires and sentries constantly on duty. The wild elephants 
 wandered about unmolested within this large enclosure, but were 
 not allowed to pass the guards ; and near one side of it he had 
 constructed a strong stockade, only about two hundred feet 
 square. Having completed these arrangements, the Maharajah 
 had courteously informed us that all was ready, and that we 
 might join his camp if we cared to do so. 
 
 Next morning we set off to visit the Maharajah, whose tents 
 were not much more than a mile from ours. He told us that one 
 very large male elephant had been decoyed into the stockade the 
 day before, and was there tied up and ready to be taken out. 
 We started at once to see the process. We seated ourselves 
 on the top of the broad wall of the stockade and saw the huge 
 tusker. He was a splendid animal. His fore quarters were 
 much heavier than in the tame elephant, and his figure was so 
 massive that we did not think him so tall as we afterwards found 
 him to be. A day or two later we had him measured by a man 
 on a tame elephant. He set a bamboo against his shoulder ; 
 and we found that he measured 9 feet 10 inches. He was not 
 standing quite straight, and must have been full 10 feet high at 
 the shoulder. 
 
 This huge warrior had lost half his tail in some hill fight, and 
 had a great scar on his trunk. We found him tied to some trees 
 in the stockade. By careful manoeuvring they slipped five 
 cables round his neck, fastening the other end of each cable 
 round the body of a tame elephant ; thus there were five tame 
 elephants in front of him. Similarly they fastened each hind leg 
 to two elephants. The hind legs were also tied together by a 
 
 160
 
 MY CAMP AS DISTRICT OFFICER 
 
 The illustration shows the well-trained riding (sawari) camel, and also the burden-bearing camils. 
 
 TIIK SACRED OLD TOWN OF NAWAUWIP ON THE BHAGARATHI BRANCH 
 OF THE GANGES 
 
 Ihe pandits and students of the Sanskrit Tol (College) and a great mass of the inhabitants of the town 
 are gathered on and about the landing-stage to receive my visit.
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 rope which, while leaving him free to walk, prevented anything 
 like a long stride. Having thus securcely bound him to nine 
 tame elephants, each of which carried a Mahout (driver), they 
 undid the ropes which fastened him to the trees within the 
 stockade and prepared to lead the forest freebooter away. 
 
 When he saw the gate of the stockade open he went out as 
 fast as his captors would allow ; but when he found outside that 
 he was not to be permitted to choose his own path he began to 
 show fight. He halted. The five elephants in front put forth 
 all their strength, but could not move him. They roared and 
 pulled, but he stood steady, leaning slightly backwards as in a 
 tug- of- war. Then, suddenly, he swung his great body round, 
 and dragged back the five for a little space, roaring as they came 
 with rage and perhaps with fear. Then they recovered and the 
 tug-of-war began again. A sharp discharge of blank cartridge 
 behind him drove him on a little way. This scene was 
 repeated several times. Occasionally the blank cartridge 
 had to give way to a specially prepared cartridge with about 
 a dozen snipe shot which tickled his fat flanks, and sent him 
 gaily along for a time, his pace being kept moderate by the drag 
 of the elephants behind. At last he was tied up to trees near 
 the Maharajah's tents, about five hundred yards from the 
 stockade. There, poor fellow, he raged awhile, kneeling down 
 and pushing his formidable tusks into the ground, a grievous 
 representation of Samson bound among his enemies. 
 
 Next day as there was nothing doing at the stockade we 
 determined to have a look at the elephants in their own jungle 
 haunts. Divus Augustus (as Sir C. Cleveland translated the 
 " Deo Bahadur " of Sirguja's name), after some hesitation on the 
 score of risk to ourselves, permitted us to go into the jungle on 
 foot under the guidance of two of the most trustworthy of his 
 trained men. They led us quietly through the forest by the 
 paths cleared by the elephants. At last, with a gesture, they 
 stopped us and pointed silently ahead. We peered through the 
 trees and just caught sight of one large elephant. We heard 
 others behind him and saw dark masses, the forms of which were 
 
 161 L
 
 CHRISTMAS WITH 
 
 undistinguishable, moving behind the trees. We indicated our 
 desire for a nearer view ; but the men had evidently been warned 
 against this by the Maharajah, who was no doubt nervous lest 
 any harm should come to us. As we did not wish to lead them 
 to disregard his instructions, we returned to the camp, resolved, 
 however, to have a good view of these elephants for ourselves. 
 By the aid of a compass we carefully marked the direction we 
 took. When we arrived at the stockade, we took leave of the 
 Maharajah and went off in the direction of our tents. 
 
 As soon as we got out of sight, we turned sharply into the 
 jungle. We went on along the elephants' tracks for a consider- 
 able distance. Suddenly we came to an open glade, and as we 
 looked across it we saw the tusks of a great monarch of the herd 
 gleaming through the trees. I had my elephant with me, and 
 four of us, besides the Mahout, were seated on it, Mr. Meiklejohn, 
 Sir C. Cleveland, my trusty servant Ramanah, and myself. It 
 seemed to us that the elephants were going to cross the glade, 
 so we pushed on to cut them off and get a clearer view. In the 
 centre of the glade there stood a large solitary tree. As we 
 reached it, the leader of the herd came out to look at us. We 
 halted under the shadow of the tree. He came towards us, 
 followed by fifteen elephants of all sizes. As he drew near, the 
 situation seemed a little serious ; and we prepared to do what we 
 could to defend ourselves from attack. But after the elephants 
 had stood for a moment looking at us and waving their trunks, 
 as we remained motionless, the leader turned round and slowly 
 crossed the glade to the other side, followed by the herd. Then, 
 as they were about to disappear in the jungle he suddenly 
 changed his mind, turned slowly on his tracks, and solemnly led 
 them past again. The elephants thus marched twice across the 
 open glade within twenty or thirty yards of us a splendid 
 spectacle. Moved by irresistible impulse, we followed them a 
 little way; but when they got into the jungle again they 
 quickened their pace and disappeared. We shall not readily 
 forget that majestic procession, witnessed among the wild 
 scenery of the sal-clad hills. 
 
 162
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 That night we spent some hours on the top of the stockade. 
 We lay concealed among the branches of trees, which were 
 placed on the top of the broad wall, that we might see some- 
 thing of the operations of the tame elephants which were 
 employed to seduce the wild elephants into the stockade. The 
 tame elephants had been well trained to their work. They came 
 along through the jungle, grumbling to one another about the 
 want of any really luscious food, till they reached the gate of 
 the stockade. Then two of them turned in there and found 
 sugar-cane laid down for their consumption. They attacked it 
 with great gusto, and called to one another in triumphant tones 
 about their great find. The wild elephants heard them; and 
 one or two walked quietly into the stockade. There were men 
 over the gateway who had orders to remain inactive as long as 
 the elephants were going in, and to drop the portcullis as soon 
 as any elephant made as though it would attempt to leave the 
 stockade. Eight wild elephants walked in before any thought 
 of going out. At the first indication of such an intention down 
 came the portcullis. 
 
 The elephants then began to feel the walls of the stockade 
 with their trunks to see whether it was possible to demolish it. 
 Men were seated along the wall at intervals, armed with long 
 bamboos with short, sharp needles at the end of each, with which 
 an elephant could be pricked without being hurt. As soon as 
 an elephant came to try the wall, the needle was applied to his 
 head or trunk, and he started back, convinced, apparently, that 
 he might undoubtedly injure himself if he attempted to run his 
 head against the wall ; and gradually they settled down in the 
 middle of the stockade by the sugar-cane, with the two tame 
 elephants on the most friendly terms. It must be admitted 
 that these tame elephants showed the most extraordinary tact 
 and intelligence in inducing the wild elephants to enter the 
 stockade, and in their relations with them after they got inside ; 
 but one could not help feeling a certain sense of irritation at 
 their treachery to their own kind. 
 
 After slipping oft' the wall of the stockade and having a few 
 
 163
 
 CHRISTMAS WITH 
 
 hours 1 rest, we returned to the scene of operations soon after 
 dawn. The elephants were very much in the same position as 
 when we left them. Through little portholes in the stockade, 
 beside which the two trained elephants had taken up their 
 position, two men, armed with the needle- pointed bamboos 
 to which reference has been made, slipped in and, mounting 
 each on his elephant, moved toward the gate of the stockade. 
 From there with their spears they gently drove the wild ele- 
 phants to the further end. The gate was then raised a little way 
 and fifteen trained elephants, led by two huge tuskers, came in. 
 The process of tying up then began. About a dozen of the 
 trained elephants surrounded the particular elephant to be 
 operated on and hustled him into a corner. The two tuskers, 
 meanwhile kept the others off. The trained elephants moved 
 backwards on the selected elephant, and planted their hind 
 quarters against him firmly on all sides so that he could hardly 
 move. He and they formed one compact, oscillating mass, 
 which reminded one strongly of a football scrimmage. A man 
 slipping through one of the portholes of the stockade and be- 
 tween the legs of one of the tame elephants, got a rope round 
 the hind leg of the wild elephant and dashed out again. This 
 rope had been fastened to a tree outside the stockade. As 
 soon as the elephant felt the rope he struggled with the tame 
 elephants and shook them off, but he could not free himself 
 from the rope. The operation was repeated until he was tied 
 up by all four legs to trees in four different directions. It was 
 very rarely that the first attempt to fasten the rope on any 
 of the elephant's legs failed ; and a very striking fact was this, 
 that no wild elephant of them all attacked a tame elephant. 
 Occasionally, one would lift his trunk inquiringly towards the 
 head of the tame elephant where the Mahout (or driver) crouched 
 with a black cloth round his waist, himself painted black and 
 seeming part of the beast he rode ; but a touch of the needle 
 made the elephant lower his trunk and abandon his inquiry. 
 The men who came in on foot to fasten the ropes, however, 
 seemed sometimes to have a narrow escape for their lives. 
 
 164
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 On one occasion the elephant that was being tied up was 
 a young one, about half-grown. Its mother seemed much 
 agitated and alarmed about the treatment her son was receiving, 
 and once or twice she charged past the two huge tuskers that 
 were keeping the wild elephants off. Each time she scattered 
 the elephants that were round her cub. At last the Maharajah 
 gave the order to " knock her down." The larger of the two 
 tuskers drew back until his hind quarters touched the wall of the 
 stockade. The female elephant was occupied in anxiously watch- 
 ing her son and was sideways to the great male. Suddenly he 
 charged straight at her, caught her on the side with the flat of 
 his forehead with all the force he could, and knocked her down 
 on her left side. She staggered tremblingly to her feet, and he 
 stood over her, waving his trunk, as though to warn her that any 
 action on her part in the way of interference in the work that 
 was going forward would lead to a repetition of the punishment. 
 She accepted the warning and stood perfectly still. 
 
 All the elephants were thus tied up. They were then taken 
 out. The process was simply to fasten ropes from their neck to 
 a certain number of tame elephants in front, and from the 
 hind legs to a certain number of the tame elephants behind, 
 the number being fixed according to the size of the wild 
 elephant. The ropes that fastened them to the trees were then 
 undone, and they were conducted in a most extraordinary 
 procession to the camp of the Maharajah, where they were tied 
 up. There they were approached gradually by men who gave 
 them long pieces of sugar-cane from their own hands ; and it 
 was very striking to see how soon these elephants, receiving 
 their food only from these men, became accustomed to their 
 presence and reconciled to the altered circumstances. It was 
 touching to see the anxiety of one of the female elephants 
 about her two young ones. As she stood bound, the one about 
 a year old would come running to her and she would quietly 
 suckle him, he screwing his trunk out of the way in a most 
 ludicrous manner. Meanwhile she would throw her trunk over 
 his elder brother, some two or three years older, with a soothing 
 
 165
 
 CHRISTMAS WITH 
 
 and protecting air. When she was led out, the two young ones 
 trotted before her; and she went without a murmur. The 
 infant " Mouse," as we called him, would sometimes become 
 excited, raise his little trunk and open his mouth and shriek 
 louder than any of the herd. Once he caused great amusement 
 by rushing at a rope drawn tight about two feet from the ground 
 and taking it at a leap. The natives called the elder brother 
 " Babu "; and many a time and oft he scattered groups of them 
 as he charged about in wild excitement. 
 
 Next day we saw a beat which, though unsuccessful, was 
 very exciting. We occupied a position on the top of the 
 stockade with the Maharajah, among the leaf-covered branches. 
 We sat there in silence for hours as the elephants were being 
 quietly driven towards the wings of the stockade; then we 
 heard the sound of the beating together of sticks, by which 
 sound they were driven, and the elephants came crashing slowly 
 through the jungle. Then matchlocks, loaded with blank cart- 
 ridges, were fired ; shouting began and ten or twelve wild 
 elephants rushed into view, accompanied by as many trained 
 ones. They came on at the pace of racing ponies. They dashed 
 towards one wing, then across to the other, again and again. 
 Two tame elephants near the gate then ran in ; but apparently 
 the wild elephants did not see them, or perhaps they did not see 
 the gate. In any case they did not follow. The tame elephants 
 came out again. The wild elephants apparently thought that 
 the tame elephants were rushing in the direction from which 
 they had come. They faced about and made a dashing charge 
 through the beaters into the jungle. The whole scene did not 
 occupy many seconds, but such excitement and commotion we 
 had never witnessed. 
 
 Next day Mr. Cleveland and I took our departure for Bilaspur, 
 leaving the Maharajah to his elephants and the Deputy Com- 
 missioner to continue his tour among the Wards' 1 Estates. We 
 had sent on our elephants twenty miles the day before, and 
 came that distance on two kindly lent us by the Maharajah. 
 We determined to push across country iu a practically straight 
 
 166
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 line, instead of going from village to village. We had one or 
 two Gond guides, who knew the hills well. We passed through 
 dense jungle for about forty miles, and descended on the plain 
 over the Laffa Ghat by a path that only one European was 
 known to have traversed before. We spent the night in a police 
 outpost, and reached Bilaspur next forenoon. I had sent off 
 a letter to announce my coming the day before I started. It 
 arrived three days after us. It had been delightful, though 
 almost uncanny, to be so far from post-bags and telegrams and 
 official life. We had compressed into about half of the Christmas 
 public holidays enough of excitement to last for months. We 
 had passed over miles of wild mountains and forest, and had 
 taken part in scenes such as we could hardly hope to witness 
 again. We carried with us the most pleasant recollections of 
 the Maharajah and the home of the elephants. Of these he 
 managed, before the operations were concluded, to capture, if 
 my memory serves me right, no fewer than forty-two. This 
 brought some money into the coffers of the Matin Zamindar, 
 and relieved his people from a terrible visitation. 
 
 The Maharajah of Sirguja, who is still alive, was then quite a 
 young man. His State was one of the five Hindi Feudatory 
 States handed over from Bengal to the Central Provinces in 
 1904. I have seen him several times of later years, and he 
 continues to be quite happy in his relations with Government. 
 He is most hospitable and friendly ; and it is a pleasure to visit 
 him, for he has a delightful family. His only defect is that he 
 is too easily led or influenced by subordinates. He was a 
 splendid sportsman in his youth, and continues still to take 
 interest in sport and in his jungles. He is a humane and 
 sensible man : he has a large number of captured elephants ; and 
 his system is to accustom them for a considerable period of the 
 year to jungle life and for a few months only to his service. In 
 the jungle they wander about quite freely, except that each 
 wears a chain fastened to one hind leg, which serves to tie him 
 up when necessary. They are in charge of men who periodically 
 feed them with sugar-cane and other luxuries; and at certain 
 
 167
 
 CHRISTMAS WITH 
 
 periods they are led by these men to any part of the State 
 where their services are required for burden- bearing or for 
 assistance in forest work. The system works well, and the 
 Maharajah and his elephants get on well together. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of elephants, I may mention an 
 incident which occurred some time later than this in the Sonpur 
 State to the south of the Sambalpur District in Orissa. I was 
 on tour in the Feudatory States, and had several Rajahs and 
 Zamindars assembled to meet me and discuss the affairs of that 
 part of the country. Many of them had elephants with them, 
 and one of these went mad. He had killed his own Mahout, 
 who was, I fancy, not a great credit to his profession ; and 
 another man had barely escaped with his life from an attack 
 made on him. The elephant was in the neighbourhood of our 
 camp, and we slept all night with our rifles loaded in case he 
 should attack our tents. We had arranged that in the morning 
 we should go after a tiger in the neighbourhood, and our servants 
 slipped into our tents before dawn and carried off our rifles 
 to the spot where the beat for the tiger was to take place. 
 All the weapons in the camp were thus carried off except my 
 shot-gun. 
 
 In the morning I left the camp accompanied by a large 
 retinue of Rajahs and one or two European gentlemen, of whom 
 one was a very old man paying me a visit. About two miles 
 from the camp, as we turned round the high embankment of 
 a tank, we suddenly came face to face with the mad elephant. 
 He charged straight at us, and we all fled ; but there was no 
 place of refuge near. It was manifest that we could not all 
 escape with our lives. The use which the Maharajah of Sirguja 
 had made of specially prepared snipe cartridges and their won- 
 derful effect on the elephants occurred to my mind. I seized a 
 Chaprasi (orderly) who was rushing past me and took out of the 
 bag that he carried two of my No. 1 cartridges. I thrust them 
 into my gun and turned round suddenly face to face with the 
 elephant. I fired point-blank into the light-coloured spot at 
 the top of his trunk. He roared with pain and swung round 
 
 168
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS 
 
 on his hind legs. I immediately gave him the second barrel 
 behind, and he dashed off and disappeared in the jungle. He 
 was afterwards captured and cured. 
 
 On this occasion I had one of many illustrations of the pluck 
 and devotion often shown by the Indian gentleman. Among 
 our number that day was Rai Gopinath Guru Bahadur, the 
 Uriya Brahman Tahsildar, who received the title of Rai 
 Bahadur for his splendid conduct during the Kalahandi insur- 
 rection. When the elephant first charged at us our impulse 
 was, of course, to run away, which we all did. I did not notice 
 that the Rai Bahadur kept close to me ; but when I stopped to 
 fire at the elephant, I heard him shout in Uriya, " Stand, all of 
 you : the sahib is standing." When all was over, I turned to 
 find him standing alone beside me, unarmed. He was my friend, 
 and I was his Chief. He could do nothing to save me ; but he 
 could not leave me in danger : that was all. It was a wonderful 
 escape ; there is no doubt that some lives would have been lost 
 but for my opportune recollection of my Christmas experiences 
 among the elephants in the Matin Zamindari. 
 
 169
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 LIFE in the jungles is exceedingly interesting and delightful. 
 The jungle people charm us with their simplicity and friendli- 
 ness ; and our admiration is called forth by their resourcefulness 
 and pluck. A number of illustrations might be given of the 
 great skill they acquire in dealing with the wild beasts and 
 birds, and in replenishing their larder. When I was on tour 
 in the Sambalpur District very many years ago, I made arrange- 
 ments for duck-shooting in one of the many excellent tanks in 
 that district. On the day of my arrival, however, I had a slight 
 attack of fever, and was unable to go out. In the afternoon a 
 Gond Malguzar (or head man of the village) came to my tent 
 with a present of one or two duck. With the kindly considera- 
 tion of his class, he had refrained from shooting them, as that 
 might have frightened the birds and interfered with my sport 
 next day ; but he had captured them. I asked him how he had 
 done it. He explained the process, and agreed to show it to me. 
 I accordingly went with him on the following day at noon to 
 one of the tanks in the neighbourhood. There I saw one or two 
 inverted clay garras* floating quietly with the wind in the 
 direction of the duck, which were gathered in the middle of the 
 pond. They floated amongst the duck, which looked at them 
 with slight suspicion ; but seeing that they were only clay 
 garras took no further notice. After one or two had passed, 
 however, there floated by another garra which had been con- 
 structed with so wide a mouth that it could be placed over the 
 
 * A garra or garwa is a round water-pot with a small opening at the top. 
 
 170
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 head and on the shoulders of one of the Gonds. It had two 
 small holes in it through which it was possible for him to see. 
 He swam quietly with the garra on his head into the midst of 
 the duck, and as he passed he put up his hand and pulled one 
 after another under the water, until he had three. Each duck, 
 as it went down, made a slight flutter, but it was only momen- 
 tary ; and this garra, like the rest, passed through the midst of 
 the birds and came gently toward the other side of the tank. 
 Near the edge it went under water, and did not reappear. 
 Instead, a man stepped out of the water under cover of the 
 reeds, carrying the three duck in his hand. In this way the 
 Gonds are able, without the necessity for a gun or a gun licence, 
 and without expenditure on powder and shot, to replenish their 
 food supply. 
 
 In the Balaghat District I was walking into camp with a 
 Baiga* after a good ride from my last camp. As I came near 
 my tents, I saw a pipal (fig) tree, with a number of green 
 pigeons feeding on the fruit. I said to my companion that 
 I must come in the evening and get one or two of these. In 
 a very short time he turned up at my tent with half a dozen 
 green pigeon in his hand. They were alive, but unable to fly. 
 His plan was to take some bird-lime of his own private manu- 
 facture, and smear with it one or two of the branches of the 
 pipal near the fruit. A bird would step on this lime, and then, 
 feeling that there was something sticky and uncomfortable on 
 his foot, clean it against the feathers of its breast. The 
 result was that the wings of the bird adhered to the breast 
 feathers. After this had been going on for a short time, the 
 Baiga and his friends raised a sudden shout below the tree. 
 The birds immediately raised their feet and attempted to fly 
 away. Those whose feathers had been smeared found that their 
 wings would not act, and fell like lifeless bodies to the ground 
 where the Baiga made them prisoners. My companion had not 
 been accustomed to meeting European officers, and did not 
 
 * The Baigas are a wild tribe with certain priestly functions among the 
 aborigines. 
 
 171
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 know their preference for shooting their own game ; so he 
 brought these to me to save me trouble. 
 
 I had a more amusing illustration once of the kindly desire 
 of the simple Indian, resident in the jungle, to meet what he 
 believed to be the wishes of his European guest. I was passing 
 through a small and remote Native State on a somewhat hurried 
 journey towards head- quarters. I had to halt for a day to allow 
 my camp followers to overtake me. The Chief told me that a 
 panther had killed a goat very near my camp, and that he had 
 arranged for a beat, so that I might get the panther. The beat 
 was unsuccessful ; and when it was over the Chief asked me if 
 I could not stay until the next day, in which case, he said, he 
 was perfectly certain that I would get the beast. I expressed 
 regret that I must leave at a very early hour in the morning. 
 Next morning he was present to say good-bye, and with him he 
 had brought the panther in a cage-like trap mounted on wheels. 
 It had been caught in the night ; and he suggested that I should 
 shoot the beast through the bars of the cage. He was somewhat 
 disappointed when I declined to take that step ; but his dis- 
 appointment passed away when I told him that I should prefer 
 to take the panther with me and present it to the small zoolo- 
 gical garden at Nagpur. 
 
 The jungle tribes have a great variety of traps for wild 
 animals. One of these is a little enclosure of thick bamboo 
 fencing, within which a goat is tied near a spear firmly fixed in 
 the ground at a particular angle. The goat bleats in the night, 
 and so attracts the panther. The fence is just too high to 
 allow the panther to see over, but is low enough to form an 
 easy jump. The panther gathers himself for a spring, clears 
 the fence, and is transfixed by the spear. 
 
 Another trap is to place a poisoned arrow in a fixed bow 
 against a rock or a tree in such a position as to command the 
 path by which a tiger is accustomed to come and go. To this 
 bow are attached four strings, two on each side. The first on 
 the right hand is a string high enough to be touched by the 
 neck or body of a bullock, or of a man who may be passing 
 
 172
 
 AWAITING THE TIGER 
 
 The sportsman may be seen in his " mac ban " (literally, raised seat or platform) awaiting the 
 approach of the beat. He may see a large number of wild beasts of many kinds pass below him, but he 
 will not fire till the tiger comes.
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 through the jungle. If either of these touches this high string, 
 the arrow is discharged harmlessly ; for it is past before he 
 reaches that spot in the path which it commands. The tiger, 
 however, crouches low in walking, passes below that string, and 
 comes to a second string, which, as he touches it with his foot, 
 releases the arrow just at the right time to catch him behind 
 the shoulder. The poison begins to work immediately, and he 
 is found dead next day within a reasonable distance. The 
 strings on the other side were precisely of the same character, 
 so that any man or bullock coming from that side would 
 be equally safe, and any tiger coming from that side would be 
 equally likely to pay the penalty. 
 
 I once had a delightful tour through the Bastar State, a wild 
 State with great possibilities of development, the name of which 
 has been recently associated in the Press with a rising of some 
 of the aborigines. I came to a certain village where they told 
 me that they had been much harassed by a man-eating tiger, 
 but that they had succeeded in catching it in a trap. They 
 took me to see the trap, and, as one's nose bore witness, the 
 tiger was lying dead within it. It was constructed in the 
 following manner. A great tree had been cut down ; its 
 branches had been lopped off; and the trunk had been placed 
 in a deep cutting into which it almost exactly fitted. The one 
 end of the tree was on the ground in this cutting. The other 
 end was raised by means of a prop which had been placed about 
 half-way down the trunk within the cutting. To this prop 
 a small goat had been securely tied. This goat bleated plain- 
 tively at night and attracted the notice of the cruel marauder. 
 He turned in, seized the goat, and began dragging it out. The 
 prop gave way, and the heavy tree fell upon his back, lying 
 with dead weight upon him from head to tail ; and so he was 
 secured and left to die. 
 
 The villagers came together and lifted the tree in my presence. 
 It was a strange sight to see the great tiger stretched out dead 
 at the bottom of this cutting. The marks made by his claws 
 on the ground showed the struggle that he had made ; and one 
 
 178
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 could not help feeling some pity for the awful sufferings which 
 must have preceded his death. This feeling somewhat passed 
 away when a post mortem examination exposed some of the 
 contents of his stomach. Amongst these was the bangle of 
 a young Maria woman, who had been among his victims. Her 
 relatives pressed this sad memorial of the incident upon me, and 
 were much pleased to receive more than its value in return. 
 
 The man-eating tiger is a terrible visitation in a countryside. 
 The tiger does not ordinarily attack man. I have myself, when 
 unarmed, met a tiger face to face in the jungle, and he has 
 turned away growling at the disturbance, but altogether dis- 
 inclined to enter the lists with me, not knowing his advantage. 
 Ordinarily the tiger confines his attention to the lower animals, 
 making a satisfactory meal or two on a good plump deer, or one 
 of the cattle of a herd grazing in the jungle. The man-eater is 
 generally one which finds himself unable, from some cause or 
 other, to hunt with success. It may be that he has been wounded 
 in a way that has maimed him without taking his life. It is 
 generally due to the act of some Indian Shikari (hunter) pro- 
 vided with a very inferior weapon. From the hind leg of one 
 man-eater of this class I extracted a slug which had broken 
 a bone and rendered it impossible for the tiger to make his 
 usual spring at his prey. Ordinarily one finds that the man- 
 eater is either an old, mangy, worn-out animal, or one that has 
 been injured in this way. He takes to killing men and women 
 when he finds that he cannot otherwise satisfy his hunger. 
 
 There is another class, however, I believe : those trained as 
 cubs by a man-eating mother to feed on men. I remember going 
 out after a man-eater in one of the little hill Zamindaris 
 in the east [of the Raipur District. The Zamindar came out 
 with me, and kindly took me to the scene of operations on an 
 elephant. I took up my position in a tree which he had prepared 
 beforehand, and the beat was organized. The beat came on 
 over the hill for a considerable distance, and then stopped. 
 From the place where I was awaiting the advent of the tigress, 
 I could hear the shouts of the men, the blowing of the horns, 
 
 174
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 and the beating of their drums ; but the beat did not come any 
 nearer. At last a man came running to me and said that the 
 tigress had taken refuge in a cave. I sent to the Zamindar for 
 the elephant, which he assured me was very staunch and would 
 face any tiger. I took a large quantity of dry hay, and some 
 grass a little damper, and pushed the elephant up towards the 
 mouth of the cave. I threw down the hay and grass, and flung 
 into it a piece of lighted fuel (cow-dung cake). The wind was 
 blowing into the mouth of the cave. I pushed the elephant 
 back, and took my station a few yards off, with my rifle levelled 
 at the mouth of the cave to shoot the brute as she came out. 
 She put out her nose and looked ; but seeing me, she withdrew 
 into the recesses of the cave. As I waited, still pointing my 
 rifle at the cave mouth, I heard a sound somewhat between a 
 cough and a growl on my right rear. Turning round, I saw 
 that the beast must have slipped out by some other exit from 
 the cave. 
 
 The elephant, which was supposed to be staunch, had begun 
 to tremble so that my rifle was moving like a ship on a choppy 
 sea. Doing my best, however, to steady it, I fired at the 
 retreating tigress. I hit her, but I hit her low. I inflicted a 
 severe wound on her stomach, and she turned on me at once. 
 The elephant fled, and I had a few unpleasant minutes with the 
 elephant tearing along, as fast as he could, and the tigress 
 bounding along neck and neck with him just a few yards up 
 the hill. I could not reload the barrel which I had just dis- 
 charged, for I felt that the tigress might leap on to the elephant 
 at any moment, and I was bound to keep the second barrel for 
 her. For the same reason, I dared not risk firing the second 
 barrel ; for my aim would have been very uncertain, and I 
 should have been left unarmed. 
 
 Fortunately for me, the elephant tripped and nearly came 
 down. Nothing terrifies an elephant more than the fear of a 
 fall ; so he steadied himself and paused in his panic-stricken 
 flight. The tigress shot ahead, and, finding herself ahead, went 
 straight on. The elephant turned round and fled in the opposite 
 
 175
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 direction. It was some little time before the Mahout (driver) 
 could stop him ; but nothing that we could do would turn him 
 in the direction of the tigress ; so I got down. I fortunately 
 knew the country well, and judged that she had gone over a 
 little knoll, and was probably lying cooling her wound in a 
 soft, marshy piece of ground on the other side. Giving orders 
 to all 'the natives to get into or remain in trees, I pushed 
 cautiously forward up the knoll to a bush which was at the top 
 of it. I peered through this and saw the tigress lying below as 
 I had anticipated. Fortunately she was to windward of me. I 
 pushed my rifle gently through the outermost branches of the 
 bush, and levelled it at her. Just as I got my fore sight on her, 
 she raised her head and looked round suspiciously. This gave 
 me a good target ; and I fired and shot her in the neck, breaking 
 the spine and killing the beast. 
 
 I do not think that I have ever seen greater enthusiasm 
 than marked our return to camp. The victims had for the most 
 part been women, who were seized by the tigress as they were 
 gathering the mohwa flowers, which are used both for food and 
 for the preparation of a spirituous liquor ; and there were tales 
 of about thirty-five deaths within a short period before. We 
 took a charpai (village bed) for the tiger's bier, and it was 
 carried shoulder high into the camp eight or ten miles away. 
 All the beaters danced round it ; and as we drew near the 
 camp they were reinforced by the villagers on every side. When 
 we reached the tents there were hundreds, if not thousands, 
 dancing round it and shouting, " Jai ! Sirkar ki jai !" (Glory or 
 victory to the Government). We found that the cave had many 
 human remains ; and it was apparently satisfactorily established 
 that the tigress had been in the habit of carrying her victims 
 alive to the cave and teaching two little cubs to kill them there. 
 We were fortunately able, next day, to secure the two cubs, 
 which had slunk away while we were dealing with their mother, 
 but whose cries of hunger led to their discovery. 
 
 One other man-eating story may be told as an illustration 
 of courage and devotion not at all unusual among these brave 
 
 176
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 simple jungle people. I have in my possession a tiger's skin 
 which has no mark on it, except a cut on its hindquarters. 
 I had placed a young Assistant Commissioner on special duty 
 after several man-eaters in the State of Kawardha in the cold 
 weather of 1889-90. These man-eaters were holding the ghats 
 (passes) between the plains of Chhattisgarh and the hill country 
 of Mandla, and absolutely stopped the traffic which was carried 
 by pack bullocks. I was engaged in inspecting Settlement work 
 in the State. I fell in with my young friend one day as he was 
 preparing to beat for one of the man-eaters. We had just 
 organized the beat and placed our "stops'"* in certain trees, 
 near which we had taken up our position. 
 
 As we were about to send orders to the distant beaters to begin 
 operations, a woman came running to us, and cried out that her 
 son, a lad of sixteen years, had been carried off by the tiger from 
 the village hard by. We at once set off for the spot, taking with 
 us the few men whom we had retained as " stops." We found 
 that the tiger had just carried off the lad into a narrow strip of 
 jungle, which formed a sort of spur to the main forest. As we 
 got near this strip, we met the lad's father returning with his 
 son's body. The poor lad had his skull smashed, and was quite 
 dead ; but the brave old Gond had attacked the tiger with his 
 little axe, and had inflicted so severe a wound on his hindquarters 
 that the brute had dropped his prey and turned on the man. 
 The latter had stepped up fearlessly towards him, and the brute 
 had turned away and slipped into the strip of jungle. 
 
 We sent our small body of men round the fields to the far 
 end of this strip ; and we told them that when they got there 
 they were to stand and shout, and make as much noise as they 
 could without entering the jungle. Meanwhile we each got 
 astride the branch of a tree. These two trees were at a little 
 distance from one another, and commanded practically the 
 whole of the end of the narrow strip communicating with the 
 main jungle. Hearing the noise behind him, the tiger naturally 
 
 ' " Stops " are men placed in trees near the guns to tap on the branches 
 and turn the tiger towards the guns, if it tries to pass out of the line. 
 
 177 M
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 made for the dense forest. He came out looking to right and 
 left in an angry and defiant way, right under the tree occupied 
 by my friend, who raised his heavy twelve-bore gun to his 
 shoulder. The animal saw the movement and paused to look 
 up. My friend took advantage of this opportunity and fired. 
 He struck the brute full in the chest. It did not move from its 
 position ; but its legs simply gave way under it, and it sank to 
 the ground. There was only one bullet mark in the skin, and 
 that was in the middle of the chest. When the skin was removed 
 the operating Chamar (worker in skin and leather) cut through 
 this hole. There was therefore no mark left on the skin at all 
 except a long wound in the hindquarters, where we found that 
 the blow of the axe had penetrated to the bone. My friend, 
 who was successful in killing all the man-eaters, kindly left this 
 skin in my possession as a memorial of the prowess of the brave 
 old father. 
 
 Many years ago, when I was Commissioner at Chhattisgarh, 
 I had to go out to Khariar (about one hundred miles from 
 Raipur) to settle some urgent matters connected with that 
 Zamindari. I took with me Mr. Chapman, a young civilian 
 who had just joined. We sent notice to the Zamindar, a 
 Chauhan Chief, desjjatched our tents and kit, and followed 
 them a few days later. With relays of horses we rode straight 
 out to the Khariar border. There the Zamindar met us. He 
 was an enthusiastic sportsman, and eagerly offered to show us 
 tiger, buffalo and bison, in the intervals of our work. We 
 marched with him in five short stages to his capital, discussing 
 en route the business about which I had come down. 
 
 At Petiapali we had news of buffalo. My own Shikaris 
 had been left at Suarmar to mark down the man-eating 
 tigress above referred to, which I was determined to get on 
 the way back ; and the Zamindar, who, by the way, had 
 the title of Rajah, preferred that we should have his own 
 people as trackers. He thought that this would prevent friction 
 with the country folk. Dugari Majhi was the head man of 
 a little village near Petiapali and was a well-known Gond 
 
 178
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 tracker. He led us through fine sal jungle with here and there 
 a thick clump of bamboos, and here and there a green glade 
 with a little rippling brook, not dry in these jungles even at 
 the end of April. We went a mile or two on my elephant, 
 and then dismounting followed our guide on foot. We had two 
 other Gonds with us, one of whom carried a chagal* of water, 
 to most men indispensable in jungle work. After a while we 
 came on the tracks of a herd. A little further forward we came 
 on a solitary Gond who had been left to try and keep the herd 
 in view. Not a word was uttered, but he pointed forward 
 towards a low-lying part of the forest which was still fresh and 
 green. We pushed on with eager but suppressed excitement. 
 A small Gond soon after swarmed up a tree and peered cautiously 
 round. Coming down, he stepped out rapidly but silently, and 
 soon stopped and pointed forward. Then we got our first glimpse 
 of the herd just across a nullah, about three hundred yards to 
 windward of us. 
 
 Dugari, who knew the jungle well, led us quickly oft' to the 
 right. He calculated that the herd, which was quietly grazing, 
 would move down the bank of the nullah, and that we should 
 be able to cut it off. He was right ; we came on it suddenly, 
 face to face. The monarch of the herd was about one hundred 
 yards off and facing us. Suddenly the herd took fright, turned 
 round and dashed off. I could not resist firing at the bull as he 
 fled, for I knew that there was no hope of any more stalking 
 of the herd that day. I hit him in the hind quarters, but did 
 not wound him severely. He separated from the herd, however, 
 and we followed his lonely track. On a hard piece of ground we 
 lost it, and sat down for a while to demolish a sandwich or two, 
 while Dugari and his friends scattered to pick up the track 
 again. They soon found it ; and we immediately set forth. 
 It was marvellous to see Dugari step out, touching lightly with 
 his stick, as he went, faint tracks that were sometimes almost 
 invisible to us even when pointed out. 
 
 We had walked about half a mile, Dugari in front, followed 
 
 * A large skin bottle carried by a strap over the shoulder. 
 179
 
 by me, Mr. Chapman, and another Gond in that order, when 
 suddenly the second Gond touched Mr. Chapman on the shoulder 
 and pointed into a nursery of young trees. There was the bull 
 standing not fifty yards off, rubbing his head against a young 
 sal sapling. There were two thick bushes between us and him, 
 but we saw him very distinctly. Mr. Chapman fired both barrels 
 of his rifle, and I fired one of mine. We aimed at his neck, and 
 thought that we must have finished him. He disabused our 
 minds immediately. As we found out later, he had not been 
 touched. All three bullets had been deflected. He turned and 
 charged us with all his strength. Fortunately I was the nearest 
 of the group with one bullet still in my rifle. I waited till he 
 dashed out from among the bushes, having my rifle levelled at 
 him as he came. His head was down, one horn almost sweeping 
 the ground, and he presented a fine target. As soon as I got 
 a clear view of it, I gave him my remaining bullet in the middle 
 of the forehead just above the eyes, at about ten yards' dis- 
 tance, and leapt aside. I heard a tremendous crash and turned 
 round to see him lying dead. The whole thing was over before 
 we had time to think. 
 
 As we stood beside him, I said to Mr. Chapman that it was 
 a very foolish thing to be standing with empty rifles beside so 
 large an animal simply because we supposed him to be dead. I 
 then, opened the breech of my rifle, and to my surprise I found 
 both barrels loaded. I must have loaded them instinctively as 
 I leapt aside, and would, I hope, have been ready for the buffalo 
 if he had charged again ; but as the necessity had passed away 
 I had forgotten the instinctive act. We were fairly excited, 
 especially Mr. Chapman, who had up to this seen nothing of 
 sport ; but Dugari was calm and unmoved. I asked him whether 
 he was not delighted. He replied, " It was not written that you 
 were to be killed by this buffalo ; and I think that the Rajah 
 will give me a silver bangle because you are safe." 
 
 Next day we had a long weary hunt. We had done office 
 work from dawn till noon, when we got news of a herd. We 
 were led up close to it by the faithful Dugari. At last we saw 
 
 180
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 a fine bull in the distance ; but he also saw us and vanished like 
 a ghost in the thick jungle, taking the herd with him. We fol- 
 lowed their tracks a long way, and then lost them and began to 
 make our way wearily towards the camp. When we were close 
 to the tents we met the Zamindar with some villagers who 
 gave us news of a great bull that had taken possession of the 
 water supply of a village about four miles off. He was a crusty 
 old solitary bull, and would allow no one near ; so the villagers 
 had to go a mile or two instead of two hundred yards for their 
 daily supply of water. 
 
 It was by this time nearly five o'clock, so we rode off as fast 
 as we could, taking no one with us, but trusting to get a guide 
 at the little jungle village of Babupali, where the buffalo was. 
 We found a man willing to guide us, who also told us that 
 another man was posted in a tree close to the place where the 
 buffalo was lying. We were told that he would point out where 
 the beast was. We went on foot from the village. Within 
 half a mile we came to the nullah with a strip of jungle like 
 a spur from the neighbouring hill. We separated and moved 
 stealthily towards the water supply from different directions. 
 At last we heard the animal, slowly beating with his tail as 
 he lay among the long grass and shrubs in the bed of the nullah. 
 We tried to get sight of him, but could not. He heard us, 
 however, and with a warning bellow came up to turn us off his 
 preserve. He had to come out of the nullah sideways. We 
 gave him two bullets in the neck and one in the triangle under 
 the ribs as he came out. This troubled him terribly and the 
 fight was soon over. His horns were the largest I had seen, 
 and measured 10 feet 8 inches. 
 
 During our short stay with the Rajah we got three fine 
 buffaloes, a tiger, a bear and a man-eating tigress no mean 
 bag. Tracking the buffalo is much more interesting than 
 tiger shooting ; but it is very rarely that it gives the same 
 satisfaction to one's conscience. When the tiger is killed, there 
 is a destroyer the less, either of man or of his possessions. It is 
 rare to find a buffalo that is really offensive : the churlish old 
 
 181
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 bull that we killed at the Babupali nullah deserved his fate 
 for his selfish appropriation of the only water supply within 
 reasonable distance of the village ; but it is not often that the 
 people suffer in this way from the presence of buffaloes. The 
 damage they do is mainly damage to crops; and they are so 
 like the tame buffalo, from which we get so much milk for our 
 domestic use, that there is little satisfaction in compassing their 
 death. Indeed, they are much finer animals, and I always felt 
 compunction in shooting them. 
 
 We got no bison at Khariar. We did not attempt to go to 
 the place among the hills where the Rajah told us they were to 
 be found ; but later on, in the Chanda District, when I was 
 Commissioner of Nagpur, some friendly Gonds showed me bison 
 in the jungle. It was in the rains ; and I ran out from Chanda 
 to a forest bungalow, some fifteen or twenty miles away, and 
 slept the night there. My Gond friends, who had often been 
 with me on other expeditions, woke me at three in the morning, 
 and took me to a place quite close by where there was a salt- 
 lick. We arrived there just after the herd had left, so we had 
 a long stern chase. The fallen leaves were sodden with the 
 rain, and it was easy to walk through the jungle without making 
 a noise ; and we walked at a great pace following clear tracks. 
 As we were pushing on after having walked about ten miles, we 
 heard a roaring such as one hears in the Zoo when the animals 
 are to be fed. I inquired in a whisper from the Gond, who was 
 beside me, what it meant. He said, " It is bison. 1 ' The word 
 he used was " Gaur " ; for there are few sibilant sounds in the 
 jungle language of the Gonds. They use sounds that do not 
 travel. The noise was directly on our right, so I put two 
 Muhammadan Chaprasis* who were with me into trees to mark 
 the tracks we were about to leave, and, taking the two Gonds 
 with me, we pushed directly towards the noise. 
 
 After walking a very short distance, we came to a glade in 
 which I saw a sight which I shall never forget. Two great bison 
 bulls had their horns interlocked and were wrestling with one 
 
 * Menial servants or orderlies. 
 182
 
 A GROUP OF BAIGAS IN BALAGUAT 
 
 Cfl. Bloomficid 
 
 e . .,-' 
 
 9 , , -2* " ^ . 
 
 JOL^'m * T^J. .4-. 
 
 "" *X 5<r O. Hamilton 
 
 FISHING-BOATS IN THE SUNDERBANS AT THE MOUTH OF THE GANGES
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 another. The cows of the herd were dancing round in frantic 
 excitement with their tails in the air, and bellowing for all they 
 were worth. The conflict had lasted for some little time ; 
 suddenly without any reason apparent to me, one of the bulls 
 turned tail and fled, leaving his antagonist in possession of the 
 herd. In the middle of the glade there was a large tree ; nearer 
 the other side from where I was, there stood a smaller one : the 
 victorious bull went up to this and stood rubbing his horns 
 against it. He was facing me, and the tree was more or less 
 between us. I felt that I could not get a shot at him from 
 where I was. I therefore made a sign to the Gond that I was 
 going to creep through the long grass to the big tree in the 
 middle of the glade and take aim from there. He shook his 
 head, as indicating that the movement could not be carried out. 
 I went down as flat as I could, however, and on hands and 
 knees, holding my rifle close to me, I slipped through the grass till 
 I got to the tree. Then I raised myself behind it, and cautiously 
 putting my rifle round the corner of it, I fired at the bull. He 
 presented a fine target, probably not more than fifty yards off. 
 I felt that I had hit him, but he dashed off without a sound, the 
 whole herd galloping away with him. 
 
 The Gond was so excited that, contrary to custom, he 
 shouted, " Nahin lagla (You have not hit)." I held up my 
 hand to silence him, and pushed on after the herd. As I turned 
 a corner of a bamboo clump, not much more than a hundred 
 yards off, I almost tripped on the dead body of the bull. We 
 carried him to the tents, where the Gonds had a great feast. 
 I sent the head and neck in a cart into Chanda, taking care that 
 the carter was not a Hindu. My wife sent it straight on to the 
 station at Warora in charge of a Muhammadan Chaprasi, and 
 by eight o'clock in the morning it was with Johnson, the Kamp- 
 tee taxidermist, who preserved it with perfect success, although 
 it was the rainy season. Meanwhile, I suppose the defeated 
 bull resumed the mastership of the herd. 
 
 The bison is much more attractive in appearance than the 
 buffalo. He is even less offensive. The pleasure of pursuit in 
 
 183
 
 WITH TIGERS AND BIG GAME 
 
 the long tracking through the jungle, with the feeling that at 
 any moment you may come on the herd, is great ; but the satis- 
 faction of killing a bison is small except to our Gond com- 
 panions, who like exceedingly to have a great feast of bison 
 flesh. 
 
 The Gonds are wonderfully attractive people. They are 
 absolutely without fear, and are intensely loyal to any one 
 who associates with them in a friendly way. They expect to be 
 regularly paid, and also to receive a full allowance of their 
 ordinary food, while they are working with you. These con- 
 ditions being granted, there is nothing that they will not do, so 
 long as they do not suspect their European leader either of fear 
 or serious incapacity. I sent two of my Chanda Gonds over to 
 Burmah at the request of Captain Fryer, then private secretary 
 to the Lieutenant-Governor. They did splendid work even in 
 those, to them, unknown jungles ; and Captain Fryer sent them 
 home full of delight at his treatment of them, and with a hand- 
 some reward, which enabled them to buy a little land for them- 
 selves. It was touching to see the reluctance with which they 
 crossed the water to Burmah. I was then Home Secretary to 
 the Government of India in Calcutta. I received them there 
 and put them on board ship. It was nothing but their perfect 
 confidence in their old friend that induced them to go ; and it 
 was delightful indeed to see them return safe and sound, full of 
 gratitude for the kindness shown them by Captain Fryer and 
 his friends, and full of pride in his appreciation of their services. 
 He had quite won their hearts. A man must be a little more 
 than a good office man if he is to have real and permanent 
 influence over the jungle peoples. 
 
 184
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY AND DEBT 
 
 To know something about the agricultural community is to 
 know something about India, for the vast majority of the people 
 are agricultural. In the Central Provinces we used to go about 
 among them, and it was recognised as a duty to become 
 acquainted with them. The Collector had to keep himself in 
 touch with them, or he became, and was well known to be, an 
 inefficient officer. He had to know the character of cultivation 
 and the state of the crops in all parts of his District. The land 
 revenue was paid to him at his own, or at one of the subordinate 
 Treasuries. He was responsible for its prompt realisation, for 
 understanding the reasons for any default, and for treating 
 default leniently when the reasons for it were valid. The pay- 
 ments made by the Malguzar or Zamindar * are fixed not only 
 on his home farm, but on the rents of the tenants. The 
 condition of the tenants is therefore a matter of importance to 
 the Collector, as well as the condition of the proprietor ; and 
 there is no part of a Collector's duty more important than going 
 about among the people and, by frank talk with them and 
 personal inspection of the village lands, ascertaining their actual 
 condition. 
 
 This is also a duty which the people expect him to perform. 
 They do not resent the fullest and frankest discussion of their 
 affairs ; but they very deeply feel any manifestation of in- 
 
 * The Zamindar is literally the holder of the land ; and the Malguzar is 
 literally the man through whom the revenue is paid to Government Both 
 of these terms are used for the proprietor of a village or group of villages. 
 
 185
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 difference. The Government is expected to understand them, 
 and to be ready to help them when necessary. There are not a 
 few who prefer the ryotwari system, under which the Govern- 
 ment settlement of land revenue is made directly with the 
 cultivator himself. There is no middle man to consume some 
 of the revenue which ought to come to Government. But I 
 myself prefer the old Central Provinces system, in which the 
 settlement is made with the Malguzar, or village proprietor, in 
 full cognisance of the rents he realises. To have a local man 
 of some standing, to help the people over periods of temporary 
 difficulty and to take a lead in village life, is often a great 
 advantage. But it does not relieve the Revenue officer of the 
 duty of knowing the condition of the cultivators. He must get 
 beyond the Malguzar, and know the ryots as well. 
 
 The ryots like to be allowed to tell all their story. Any 
 trouble they have, or anything that interests them, and still 
 more any matter in regard to which they think that the 
 Revenue officer can help them, will be poured into his ears, if he 
 will listen. And he will be a very foolish person if, in the vast 
 majority of cases, he does not let them say all they have to say. 
 It sometimes may seem waste of time, but it is better and more 
 valuable work than much for which the time might otherwise 
 have been saved. To an earnest and sympathetic officer it is 
 always a pleasure to hear what the people have to say ; and to 
 them it is such a privilege to speak freely, that they will take 
 any order in good part provided that it is passed after they 
 have had a kindly hearing and full consideration has been given 
 to what they have said. Kindly and patient conduct towards 
 the people enables an officer to carry them with him in a truly 
 marvellous way. A missionary once said to me, " We may be 
 of great use to you : the Government officer does his work 
 righteously and conscientiously ; but he has not time to explain 
 things to the people. We go about among them and can 
 explain.' 1 '' Missionaries do help in this way ; but the Govern- 
 ment officer who fails to try to find time to " explain things " 
 makes a great mistake. 
 
 186
 
 AND DEBT 
 
 I recollect a case in which it became necessary to substitute 
 Government servants for the hereditary Village Accountants 
 who had become practically useless to the people. The measure 
 was undoubtedly a sound one, and the Government determined 
 to carry it out. Some of the old hereditary men fought for the 
 maintenance of the old system, though the orders gave as full 
 consideration as possible to their personal claims. One fine old 
 man fought hard for his family office and dignity. The Deputy 
 Commissioner, who was a man well known for a somewhat hasty 
 manner of doing business, had called the case in which this man 
 had petitioned urging his claim. Finding that there was to be 
 opposition he adjourned it; and then, taking it up one day 
 when the petitioner was absent, he struck it off in default. The 
 man was furious, and declared that he would fight the case 
 to the end, appealing " London tak." * I had succeeded to the 
 charge of the District, and sent for him and tried to show him 
 that he would gain nothing by all this expensive litigation. He 
 said that he would not submit to injustice, and that he had 
 a good case. I promised to come to his village and hear it. 
 
 I went soon after, and kept nearly a whole day free for it. 
 My friend came with a mass of books and papers. I made him 
 sit down on the floor of my tent surrounded with them, and 
 listened to him and took notes. After some hours with him, I 
 summed up the case to him, expounding the whole policy, and 
 explaining that policy as applying to his claim. He listened 
 quietly and respectfully. At the end he simply said to me in 
 Marathi, "Does Your Honour really think that I shall gain 
 nothing by fighting ?" I replied, " I am sure of it, my brother." 
 He unhesitatingly answered, " Then I shall sign "; and there and 
 then he signed the agreement accepting the Government Scheme. 
 He remained my friend till he died ; and his son was one of the 
 Indian gentlemen who pluckily stood by me years afterwards 
 when I was engaged in suppressing the Nagpur grain riots. 
 This is not a very exceptional case. 
 
 * " Even to London" i.e., to the Privy Council or to the Secretary of 
 State, as the case might be. 
 
 187
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 I cannot even now think without astonishment of a case 
 which moved me not a little at the time. When I was Sessions 
 Judge in Chhattisgarh, I had to sentence a poor man to death 
 for a savage murder. He was taken outside the court ; and I 
 heard great weeping and wailing. I ascertained that his women- 
 folk were giving expression to their grief. When I went out to 
 walk home they rushed at me, threw themselves suddenly at my 
 feet, and cried for mercy. The constables who were near like 
 so many of the low class of police when untrained and officious 
 attempted to drive them away by force. I forbade this. And 
 I asked the poor women what they wanted. They told me. 
 I explained to them that I was as powerless as they, that I 
 believed it was proved that the man had committed the murder, 
 and that the law required me to pass the sentence. I went on to 
 explain that the law gave them an appeal, that there was a higher 
 court than mine, the judge of which might alter my order if he 
 did not agree with my finding. I got a kindly Indian barrister 
 to draw up their appeal for them there and then. I heard after- 
 wards that the appeal was dismissed and the sentence carried out. 
 
 Some months later my wife and I were riding through a 
 village far from head-quarters. Several women came, some to 
 me and some to my wife, and touched our feet and said, " Peace 
 be to you." I said, " Who are you ?" Their answer was, " We 
 are the women to whom you were kind when the man of our 
 house was sentenced to death for murder."" They had no ill- 
 feeling to me for having passed the sentence ; but they remem- 
 bered with gratitude that I had listened to the story of their 
 grief, and had done what I could for them. It is not difficult 
 to win the hearts of these kindly, simple people ; and they have 
 a wonderful way of winning ours. It is worth while to get 
 among them and help to mitigate their sorrows or increase 
 their happiness. 
 
 Indeed, it is wonderful how happy their lives are. India is 
 not a country in which the climate is favourable to hard work. 
 I heard a fairly energetic European once say, " There are times 
 in India when I feel very much disinclined for physical exertion. 
 
 188
 
 AND DEBT 
 
 I like to sit and think ; and sometimes I only sit." The village 
 folk do not, as a rule, work harder than they are compelled to do. 
 Their standard of comfort is not high; and so long as their 
 urgent wants are satisfied they do not care to exert themselves. 
 They work hard enough when work must he done. At seed 
 time and harvest they give weary days to toil, ploughing and 
 sowing and transplanting and reaping, often in circumstances of 
 much discomfort from rain or irrigation ; but they do no more 
 than they must. Yet in all they are cheery, and one may often 
 hear the song of them that labour, as well as of those who see 
 the joy of harvest. 
 
 To me it was always a touching spectacle to see a band of 
 pilgrims on their way to Jaganath's temple at Puri.* They used 
 to pass through Raipur, before the railway to Puri made 
 pilgrimage more easy. They were going to fulfil some vow, to 
 give thanks for some special blessing. They would come some- 
 times, nearly a whole village together, for hundreds of miles 
 with their bullocks and carts and their families, and go singing 
 down the road the praises of their God. They had looked 
 forward to this pious journey for years, and expected much 
 blessing from it. Often they would return weary and wellnigh 
 stripped of all they had by the rapacious priests and temple 
 servants. Often some of them fell victims to cholera and other 
 ills incident to pilgrim life in India. Sometimes they had not 
 even obtained a satisfactory view of the strangely unlovely idol 
 they had gone to see. But they were going back to their old 
 life, loyal and patient as ever, not understanding why things 
 had not been made brighter for them, but not complaining. 
 
 St. Paul said f to the Athenians, " Ye men of Athens, in all 
 things I perceive that ye are somewhat superstitious (or 
 religious)."" This is emphatically a characteristic of the Indian 
 peoples. At the time of the great eclipse of the sun, in the last 
 decade of last century, I happened to be at home on leave. 
 
 * The temple of Jaganath (" the Lord of the World/' a form of Krishna) 
 at Puri is one of the principal places of pilgrimage in India. 
 
 t Acts xvii. 22 (Revised Version) : the margin reads " religious " for 
 "superstitious." 
 
 189
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 The late Professor Copeland, the Astronomer Royal in Scotland, 
 asked me to help him in respect of an expedition he was 
 organising to see it in India. I gave him letters of intro- 
 duction to some of the Central Provinces officers, and amongst 
 others to the Tahsildar of Katol, a town on the line of total 
 eclipse. When he came back he was full of the kindness he had 
 received, and especially of the unstinted help the country people 
 had given him. When I met the Tahsildar (a Brahman from 
 the Konkan of Bombay) I congratulated him on his having 
 made Professor Copeland's visit a success. He said, with a 
 smile, "The credit is not mine. The Professor has a most 
 venerable appearance, and I translated his title of ' Astronomer 
 Royal ' into Marathi as ' Astrologer to the Queen ""; so the 
 people received him with reverence, and gave him all the help 
 they could." 
 
 I was greatly moved by the following incident. I had 
 assembled many landlords and bankers to receive my thanks 
 for the help they had given to the people during the trials of 
 the famine which I had to fight as Chief Commissioner of 
 the Central Provinces. The famine seemed over, for the 
 Meteorological Department had given us good hope of rain ; 
 and I fixed my meeting for the beginning of July, feeling 
 confident that the monsoon would have burst by then. But 
 the rain had not come ; and the sky was clear when we went to 
 the meeting. Our hearts were full of anxiety. In speaking of 
 it at the end of a long meeting in which the work of all had 
 been detailed and many had received special marks of approval, 
 I said that perhaps we had another year of trial before us, but 
 that we prayed to the Merciful Father to deliver us from so 
 terrible a visitation. As I drove away from the meeting, the 
 sky was overclouded, and I had barely got under cover before 
 the rain came down. As my wife and I sat at lunch there was 
 shouting outside. Thousands were gathered with relieved and 
 thankful hearts. They shouted, " Victory to our Chief Com- 
 missioner ! He prayed for rain ; and it has come." I spoke to 
 them a few words of good cheer, and bade them go home and 
 
 190
 
 AND DEBT 
 
 give God the glory. The scene greatly impressed us. It was 
 full of gladness and of solemnity. They have the faith of little 
 children ; and " of such is the kingdom of God." 
 
 One of the greatest evils connected with agricultural life in 
 India is the indebtedness of the people, and the difficulty that 
 they have in obtaining command of capital on reasonable terms 
 for carrying on agricultural work and effecting improvements. 
 This has long attracted the attention of the Government and 
 of those who are in any way interested in the welfare of the 
 people. It is not easy to understand why there should be so 
 large a proportion of the agricultural community involved in 
 debt ; for there are so many careful and prudent persons among 
 the agricultural classes that many who know them would be 
 inclined to say that habits of prudence and thrift characterise 
 the people generally. The Hindu is certainly not necessarily 
 improvident and unthrifty; and yet it cannot be denied that 
 indebtedness is, to an extraordinary degree, characteristic of 
 the agricultural classes. 
 
 There is one reason for this which is manifest on the face of 
 it to any one who has practical experience of the life of the 
 people, namely, that it is almost impossible for any man or 
 any family that has once fallen into debt to recover. Therefore, 
 generation by generation there is a tendency for indebtedness to 
 increase. It is not the policy of the money-lender to sell up the 
 debtor except under special circumstances. He will sell him up 
 if he desires for himself, or for any one in whom he is interested, 
 the property which the debtor owns ; or he will sell him up when 
 the debtor has become so involved as to be unable to pay what 
 he regards as adequate interest for the money he has lent ; but 
 he will not ordinarily sell him up so long as he can extract from 
 him a good profit in the shape of interest. Then, again, there 
 is something in the climate of India that is against any great or 
 special effort. The routine of life is as much as most men 
 desire : special effort is irksome. Thus it is that, from generation 
 to generation, the debt descends, sometimes without increasing 
 in volume to any very appreciable extent, but without diminish- 
 
 191
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 ing. There is one thing the creditor does not like in a debtor 
 who has property such as to form anything like reasonable 
 security : that is repayment of the loan, and the conditions of 
 the debt are generally such as make the repayment of the 
 principal very difficult. 
 
 Certain exceptional demands of the debtor for more money 
 tend also to increase or, at all events, to maintain the amount 
 of the debt. A man may be repaying his debt steadily year by 
 year ; but suddenly a marriage is to take place, which must be 
 on a scale of expenditure such as will reflect credit on the family, 
 and be a subject of pride to the married couple in after years. 
 This expenditure may swallow up all that has been repaid, or 
 even more ; and the debt is left at least as heavy a burden as 
 before. Or there may be a temporary or local failure in crops, 
 from the direct consequence of which the agriculturist only 
 escapes by incurring fresh debt. With a people who find it 
 exceedingly difficult to get rid of debt when once incurred, and 
 who have many occasions in the course of their ordinary life on 
 which a sudden demand is made for money which they have not 
 at hand, it is only natural that indebtedness should tend to 
 increase. 
 
 It is an extraordinary thing also how difficult many natives 
 find it to keep money. They are very sensitive to the public 
 opinion of their villages. And that public opinion is frequently 
 unfavourable to the prudent use of money, especially if that 
 money is of the nature of a " windfall. 11 I had once a native 
 coachman who talked French. I forget how I discovered this 
 very unusual accomplishment, for he never boasted of it. I dis- 
 covered it one day by accident ; and then I ascertained on 
 inquiry that he had emigrated to the West Indies, where he 
 had spent some years. I asked him whether he had saved 
 nothing there. He told me that he had been very comfortable. 
 His employer had been kind to him, and had paid him well ; 
 but he had longed to get back to his home ; and, having saved 
 over five hundred rupees, he had returned. Such a sum would 
 in those days have kept him and his family in comfort for 
 
 192
 
 AND DEBT 
 
 five years ; or invested it would have made him a comparatively 
 rich man. I asked him how he had invested his savings. He 
 replied that he had not possessed them over two or three weeks. 
 There was a feast to be given to his caste-fellows on his return, 
 so that his position in the caste might be assured after his 
 journey ings beyond "the black water "; and there were presents 
 and entertainments to be given to his friends : how could he, 
 after a long absence, refuse such calls ? So all the savings of 
 his exile were gone ; and he had settled down to a life of work 
 for which he had acquired both the taste and the qualifications 
 during his absence. He was an excellent coachman, hard- 
 working and conscientious, and simply devoted to his horses. 
 
 Another case occurs to my mind. A good Gond cultivator 
 of great vigour and of no little intelligence had placed me under 
 considerable obligation by services rendered to me in the jungle. 
 As I was leaving that part of the country, I made him the present 
 of what seemed to him a very large sum of money. He at once 
 asked me to buy a little bit of land with it, and present that 
 instead. I advised him to look out for a piece of land and buy 
 it himself. He said that he feared that was impossible : his 
 friends would think it so selfish of him to keep all that money 
 to himself. So I got him to look out quietly for such a plot as 
 would suit him, and report privately to me. I then got a trust- 
 worthy Indian friend to buy it for me, and handed it over to the 
 Gond, who was allowed to enjoy it in peace. 
 
 Such incidents as these are quite typical. They indicate what 
 is well known to all who know the people well, namely, that it 
 is hard for the ordinary native of India to amass money. He 
 lives up to his income : he is expected to do that. He is 
 thrifty in that he can live on little ; but as a rule he cannot 
 save, unless he does it secretly : there are too many effective 
 demands on his purse from his relatives and friends. It is a 
 defect in social economy ; but it has this redeeming feature, 
 that it saves the country from a poor law : the people sup- 
 port their own poor : liberality is characteristic of the people. 
 
 The Settlement Officer soon learns this, and it greatly affects 
 
 193 N
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 the assessment made by wise and considerate officers. There 
 is nothing more disastrous to a district than a harsh, incon- 
 siderate, and heavy assessment. An assessment may be actually 
 just, and yet harsh and unwise. I remember having a talk, 
 when I was a Commissioner of Division, with a Malguzar of 
 many villages, a man of position and influence in that part of 
 the country. He complained of the great increase in his assess- 
 ment. I went over all the papers with him very carefully. It 
 was easy to show him that owing to the construction of the rail- 
 way and the general rise of prices, the assessments were perfectly 
 just. My friend, an upright and honest man, admitted frankly 
 that this was true. But he pointed out that he had saved 
 but little, and that it was very difficult for him to reduce 
 his expenditure at once within the limits of his reduced income. 
 I represented the matter to the Settlement Officer, and to the 
 Government, and his assessment was slightly reduced, and (what 
 was much more important) the increase was made progressive 
 over a term of years. This is a wise and reasonable procedure 
 sometimes adopted in such cases. 
 
 To return to the matter of indebtedness, what strikes one 
 as particularly noteworthy is the high rate of interest which 
 money-lenders all over the country are able to exact. Cases 
 are constantly brought to notice which actually appal one ; the 
 interest seems so extortionate. One is apt, from the experience 
 which he has of a large number of such cases to denounce the 
 money-lender and to regard him as one of the enemies of his 
 race. It would be unfair to take up this position, and to pass 
 a sweeping condemnation of the whole class. It is necessary to 
 consider the circumstances more carefully, and also to bear in 
 mind that there are many kinds of men with many different 
 characters engaged in this profession. At the same time, it 
 is undoubtedly true that a Government officer engaged in 
 Revenue work, or in the administration of civil justice meets 
 with a large number of cruel and rapacious men following the 
 occupation of money-lender. 
 
 In some villages I have known the good old hereditary money - 
 
 194
 
 AND DEBT 
 
 lender, whose family had followed this calling for generations 
 among people who looked up to him very much as to a father. 
 I remember one kindly old money-lender, with no very great 
 capital, but just enough to meet the wants of the village com- 
 munity. He had very few customers outside his own village ; 
 and the villagers never dreamed of going to any one else. 
 Their relations with him were very kindly. I do not think that 
 I ever heard of his being in court as a plaintiff. Any disputes 
 were settled by the village " Panchayat," * whose authority is 
 frequently exercised with great advantage. He gave the people 
 his money when they needed it ; they paid interest for it ; and 
 he was nothing but their _ kindly friend. This, however, is a 
 state of things that one does not find often nowadays, and then 
 only in the remoter villages in the course of a tour in the 
 interior. One finds somewhat more frequently a Malguzar who 
 lives on such terms with his own ryots, f He lends them seed 
 grain, and sometimes gives them also subsistence during the 
 time of ploughing and sowing and waiting for the harvest ; and 
 then he is repaid for what he has advanced, receiving in addition 
 to that the interest on his advance and his rent. In many 
 cases, I have found the relations between such a Malguzar and 
 his ryots to be of the most kindly character, though this also 
 is a phase of Indian life which is passing away with advancing 
 civilisation. 
 
 It is not only as an illustration of the more simple and kindly 
 past that one takes pleasure in such cases as I have indicated. 
 They also serve as an explanation of the state of things in 
 regard to indebtedness which has grown up largely under our 
 own civilisation. There was no doubt a considerable amount of 
 debt and of usury before our time ; and traditions come down 
 to us which show that the character and practice of the usurer 
 were often even worse then than we find them now. The high 
 
 * The Panchayat is the Council of Village Elders : the literal meaning 
 of the word is " Council of Five." The influence of these Elders, based on 
 their age, character, and local experience, was very great : it is in many 
 places now waning. 
 
 t The ryot or rayat is the tenant. 
 
 195
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 rate of interest then charged and the severity of the usurer's 
 attitude may in some cases have been due to the fact that the 
 remedy against a recalcitrant or negligent debtor was neither so 
 simple nor so prompt in those days as it is now, and that there- 
 fore the risk of loss was greater. It must also be remembered 
 that in those days there was much less capital. A loan was not 
 so easily obtained. When the usurer came in with his advance 
 of money he found a man, perhaps not a very satisfactory client, 
 whose need had become pressing ; and the transaction was one 
 in which his position of advantage enabled him to get almost 
 any return for the risk that he was running, and what he 
 demanded was often exorbitant. 
 
 The ordinary transactions between creditor and debtor were 
 mainly connected also with the advance of grain for subsistence, 
 and of seed to the agriculturist. These were repayable in kind 
 at the harvest. A very common rate of interest was siwai 
 (literally " one and a quarter ") : that is to say, the grain was to 
 be returned with 25 per cent, of interest. This seems at first 
 sight very high interest, especially as the debt had to be repaid 
 within about six months ; but when it is remembered that the 
 price of grain is high at the time of sowing and low at the time 
 of harvest, the rate does not appear to be so exorbitant. 
 
 Now, in India, custom, rather than either competition or 
 reason, regulates to a very large extent economic conditions ; 
 and the rate of interest has a very unfortunate connection 
 with this customary law. When, on the one hand, improved 
 communications made markets accessible, and, on the other 
 hand, the natural tendency of advancing civilisation substituted 
 payments in cash for payments in kind, there was introduced 
 that modification of the relation between creditor and debtor 
 which changed these old grain debts into money debts. But then 
 customary law prevailed to enable the money-lenders to extract 
 from their debtors the old rate of interest. We find, therefore, 
 that, even when the debts are contracted in cash, the rate of 
 interest at which the agriculturist is being financed varies 
 throughout India, in the great majority of cases, from 25 to 
 
 196
 
 AND DEBT 
 
 50 per cent. A man borrows money for seed grain for the rabi 
 or spring harvest, and for subsistence during the period of 
 preparation for that harvest. He may borrow the money 
 about June or July, and he repays it seven or eight months 
 later. He promises to repay it with <riwai, that is, with interest 
 at 25 per cent. Twenty-five per cent, for eight months is equal 
 to 37^ per cent, a year. 
 
 Even this is not the worst. Usury laws were introduced by 
 well-meaning but misguided authorities, with a view to benefit 
 debtors, but really to their injury. I need not discuss the many 
 ways in which usury laws are avoided ; but there is one habit 
 which is largely due to usury laws, and which has greatly in- 
 creased the burden of the agriculturist in regard to the interest 
 he pays : that is the habit of over-stating the debt and paying 
 interest in advance. When a debtor was hard pressed for money 
 and came to his creditor, the creditor found that the rate of 
 interest which the law allowed was just about one-half of what 
 he wanted. All that he had to do, however, was to double the 
 sum the debtor required, and compel the debtor to acknowledge 
 the receipt of that larger sum, while he only really received the 
 smaller. This secured for the creditor all that he wanted in 
 the way of interest, and for the debtor all that he wanted in 
 the way of cash. 
 
 The necessity for this has passed away with the usury laws ; 
 but a habit once learned is not easily forgotten in India. 
 Though an over-statement of the amount of the debt is still 
 sometimes made in the bond, it is not necessary now to resort to 
 this practice for the sake of securing a higher rate of interest ; 
 but the habit has been acquired of making a deduction from 
 the amount actually paid to the debtor. This deduction is 
 now made on the plea of having the first instalment of interest 
 paid in advance. If a man is borrowing Rs. 100 at 25 per cent, 
 and pays the interest in advance, he is actually receiving Rs. 75 
 at 33 per cent. If the debt is payable in six months it is not 
 less than 66 per cent. 
 
 Thus the high rate of interest prevailing so widely in agri- 
 
 197
 
 AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY 
 
 cultural communities throughout India is due in part to cus- 
 tomary rates for cash which took their origin in old days when 
 security was less sound than now, and when recovery was much 
 more difficult. It is also due to the maintenance, in respect of 
 cash, of rates of interest which were reasonable for grain in view 
 of the lower prices at harvest than at seed-time, but which are 
 exorbitant in respect of cash. It is also in part due to the 
 payment of interest in advance, a practice which appears to 
 have its origin in the unfortunate lessons taught by the usury 
 laws. The result is that the agricultural communities are 
 deeply involved in debt, and are unable to obtain capital for 
 the carrying on of their business and for effecting improvements 
 on anything like reasonable terms. 
 
 198
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 THE FINANCING OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 THE Government and its officers have had many a battle with 
 the usurer. But there is nothing more difficult than to defend 
 an ignorant peasantry against the consequences of their own 
 thoughtlessness. It is necessary that the law should, as far as 
 possible, be certain in its operation ; and it is impossible to 
 leave the laying down of the law entirely to the courts, especially 
 when the Judges live apart from the people, and do not under- 
 stand their circumstances. In older days the Judges lived more 
 among the people, and had much less judicial work. It was 
 wonderful how much of substantial justice was done in these 
 days by men who did not discriminate much between law and 
 fact, but were inclined to regard law as nothing more than the 
 correct interpretation and treatment of fact. All the same, the 
 idiosyncrasies of individual officers intensified the proverbial 
 uncertainty of the law; and experience tended to show that 
 attempts to interfere with contracts as made often resulted in 
 injury to the people generally, and that the astute usurer could 
 generally, by some means or other, get round such provisions of 
 the Acts of the legislature or of the case-law of the judges as 
 were framed for the protection of their debtors. 
 
 Early in my service I was employed as a Subordinate Judge 
 in succession to a man who was well known to be very per- 
 functory in his work. I found that this man had not noticed 
 a change in the Law of Limitation regarding the date in pro- 
 ceedings in Execution of Decrees from which the period of 
 limitation was to count. Formerly it had been the date of final 
 
 199
 
 THE FINANCING 
 
 order in the last Execution proceedings ; now it was the date of 
 institution of these proceedings. I found a case of Execution 
 pending against a Kunbi* Malguzar. I read the proceedings 
 carefully. It was plain that the court had given a decree with 
 great reluctance owing to the exorbitant nature of the demand. 
 The old debt, which had been contracted by the present 
 Judgment Debtor's father, had been paid off over and over 
 again by the excessive interest demanded, despite the good 
 security of the land ; yet the debt had increased in amount. 
 And now the Malguzar's village was to be sold. 
 
 I discovered that the usurer (who was well known as a 
 relentless Shylock) had instituted his Execution proceedings 
 after the period prescribed by the new law had expired. 
 I told him so, and intimated that I would strike off the case 
 and set the debtor free. I knew that it was necessary to 
 see for myself that the debtor understood this. So I directed 
 the Tahsildarf to order him to appear before me on the day 
 fixed for hearing the case. He came, and I explained to him 
 that as the debt had not been contracted by him, and had been 
 more than adequately repaid already, I had determined to 
 take advantage of a mistake in law made by his creditor and 
 dismiss the case : his village was now restored to him ; and he 
 had better keep out of debt in future. He could hardly believe 
 that the burden of years had rolled away. I record with 
 satisfaction that I knew him afterwards for a long time, and 
 that he kept free of debt. As for the usurer, he had many 
 similar cases ; and his mistake in law really broke his heart. 
 His son, though not altogether estimable, did not inherit his 
 father's ruthless disposition. By some such means as these, or 
 otherwise, one was able sometimes to save a worthy agriculturist; 
 but such efforts were sporadic and only affected individuals. 
 
 A far more extensive and systematic effort directly to relieve 
 indebted agriculturists was made possible in the Central 
 Provinces by the famine of the last years of the nineteenth 
 
 * The Kunbis are a good cultivating caste, 
 t Indian Local Land Revenue officer. 
 200
 
 OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 century. The Government is the great landowner. The 
 " proprietors " of land realise the profits of their home farms 
 and also receive the rents from the tenants of the other village 
 lands ; and out of these profits and rents they pay to Govern- 
 ment as revenue a sum fixed from time to time on well- 
 understood principles, retaining the balance as their own. 
 Many of the tenants again have certain rights of transfer, 
 which give their lands a marketable value. It is clear that this 
 system has two great advantages. It gives the landlord an 
 interest in the prosperity of his tenants ; for he cannot pay his 
 revenue unless they can pay their rents. It also gives the 
 Government a direct interest in the prosperity of both land- 
 lords and tenants, on which the realisation of the assessed 
 revenue depends. When agricultural trouble comes, the tenants 
 look to the landlord, and both look to the Government, for 
 sympathy and necessary assistance. This is the natural working 
 of the system. I have seen it in the Central Provinces ; and 
 I have seen the other system of a permanent settlement, in 
 which the payments to Government have no real relation to 
 present conditions ; there can be no doubt that under the latter 
 system there is no such bond of intimacy and sympathy between 
 the Government and the people as under the former. 
 
 Now when the famine came in the Central Provinces, the 
 severest famine in all our history, apart from the relief works 
 and other measures for the feeding of the people, it was necessary 
 to take steps to help the agricultural community through the 
 unparalleled crisis. Among these measures were the grant of 
 " takavi " loans and the remission of revenue. The loans were 
 given to Malguzars and ryots \vho needed them to enable them 
 to purchase seed and carry through their agricultural work. 
 The remission of revenue meant that the Government not only 
 suspended, but actually wrote off revenue which the failure of 
 the crops rendered it impossible for the Malgu/ars to pay. It 
 was at once seen that the interests of the people and of the 
 Government alike demanded that this liberality on the part of 
 Government should be accompanied by similar liberality on the 
 
 201
 
 THE FINANCING 
 
 part of other creditors. Government could not agree to give 
 advances or remit dues from the public funds merely to make it 
 easier for other creditors to realise their dues. The law rendered 
 it possible for Government to avoid this blunder, while helping 
 the people. 
 
 The revenue is the first charge on the land : every other 
 debt gives place to this ; and " takavi " is collected so far 
 like land revenue that it has a certain precedence. If the 
 Government chose to do so, it could realise its revenue by 
 selling up a defaulting Malguzar, no matter what the circum- 
 stances were that led to the default. Of course, Government 
 would never sell up a man whose default was due to scarcity or 
 famine, if he could be saved. But it would not abstain from 
 selling him up if by that act of clemency it could not save him, 
 but merely leave the creditor to sell him up, and realise for 
 himself the money which ought legally and rightfully to find its 
 way into the public purse. Therefore, the Government went to 
 the creditors and said, " We will not help your debtors unless 
 you also show them clemency, and place them in a position, 
 after paying you what they reasonably can, to live in a fairly 
 suitable way and carry on their agricultural work."" The 
 sensible or sympathetic creditor would have no desire to see his 
 debtor sold up for the Government revenue : that would be to 
 kill the goose that laid for him the golden egg. He would there- 
 fore naturally be willing to help the Government to set the 
 debtor, rendered bankrupt by the scarcity, on his feet again. 
 This was the basis of the great scheme of " debt conciliation " 
 in the Central Provinces. 
 
 It was wonderful how it succeeded. At first a good deal of 
 persuasion was required. But as the operations spread and 
 became well understood, " suspicion gave way to acquiescence, 
 and acquiescence to an apprehension lest one should be left out 
 of the scheme." Creditors petitioned for " conciliation " as well 
 as debtors. It was fine to see a " Conciliation Officer " at work. 
 We gave our best Indian officers to the scheme. Such an officer 
 would be seen sitting down quietly among the people, with the 
 
 202
 
 OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 creditors on one side and the debtors on the other. Beside him 
 were sometimes seated influential landlords and others, who 
 acted as assessors with him in his work. Around this group, or 
 in its vicinity, were other creditors and debtors awaiting their 
 turn. In quiet and confidential conference the " Conciliation 
 Board " ascertained all the assets and liabilities of each debtor. 
 Its aim was to bring the amount of each man's debts within his 
 paying capacity. It did not press wasteful remissions. If a 
 debtor were in a position to pay all, no remission was adjudged; 
 but solvent persons rarely applied. 
 
 Where its action was required, the Board not only arranged 
 for remission, but also settled the whole method of such pay- 
 ments as it found right to order. Sometimes the whole estate 
 was left with the debtor, suitable instalments being fixed for 
 payment of such a portion of the debt as was not remitted. 
 Sometimes part of the estate was given, and sometimes merely 
 nominal payments, in full satisfaction of all claims, enough 
 being left to the debtor to live on. The effect on the community 
 was wonderful. Enormous debts were wiped out. A million 
 of rupees of debt were remitted in the Saugor District, and 
 about six hundred thousand each in the Balaghat and Bhandara 
 Districts. The work was carried on in some other parts at the 
 same time. Creditors felt that they were better off than they 
 would have been by the mere ruin of their debtors. Debtors 
 were set free from an absolutely unbearable incubus which 
 had taken all heart out of them. I know of hardly anything 
 that made a greater impression on the people ; and the effect 
 on their condition and spirits was very noticeable. It is es- 
 pecially delightful, too, to think that the work was done mainly 
 by Indian officers, who threw themselves heart and soul into it, 
 and did it with sympathy, tact, and uprightness. Men like 
 Anant Lai, Ram Bhau and Ganga Singh showed what devotion 
 to duty animates some of our Indian officers. All of these 
 received from Government the title of Rao (or Rai) Bahadur. 
 
 Even such a measure as this, however, is temporary, and only 
 meets a special crisis. The evil of indebtedness among the agri- 
 
 203
 
 THE FINANCING 
 
 cultural community demands more permanent measures. These 
 have occupied the attention of the Government from time to 
 time. But the root of the matter was .never touched until the 
 idea of co-operative credit was taken up and worked out by the 
 Agricultural Department. The history of this measure is 
 interesting as illustrating the manner in which schemes are 
 framed in India. 
 
 The Agricultural Department owes its origin to the famines 
 and to the desire to make the people less dependent on the 
 amount and distribution of the rainfall. This Department 
 concerns itself with matters affecting the interests of the 
 agricultural community. It aims at assisting them in the 
 selection of seed, in finding the best markets, in ascertaining 
 the most marketable products, and in adopting new machinery 
 and methods suited to India, and in other ways improving 
 their cultivation and their staples. It also concerns itself 
 with carrying out, or assisting the people in carrying out, 
 permanent land improvements, designed both to improve agri- 
 culture in ordinary years, and also to make the people more 
 independent in years when the ordinary conditions do not prevail. 
 
 In 1882 I was appointed the first Director of Agriculture 
 in the Central Provinces, and entrusted with the task of in- 
 augurating the new Department there. I was sent to other 
 Provinces to see what had been done. The greatest progress 
 has been made in the North-west Provinces and Oudh (now 
 known as the United Provinces) ; and I remember the sense 
 of hopefulness with which I returned to the Central Provinces 
 to take the work in hand under my old Chief, Sir John Morris. 
 But I was withdrawn from the work by one of those accidents 
 which so often interfere with our plans in India, the sudden 
 illness of the Chief Secretary, to whose office Sir John Morris 
 transferred me. On my advice, Sir John sent for Mr. (now 
 Sir Bampfylde) Fuller, then Assistant Director in the North- 
 western Provinces, who had shown me over the work that was 
 being done there. 
 
 Sir Bampfylde came with that unbounded energy that has 
 
 204
 
 OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 always characterised him, and full of zeal for the new work with 
 which his association with Sir Edward Buck had inspired him ; 
 and the Department, in which Settlement work and Agricultural 
 work were then united, was soon in first-rate working order. It 
 was reserved, however, for the famine to turn more earnest 
 attention to the agricultural part of the work, especially in 
 regard to schemes for irrigation. But I must not allow myself 
 to be drawn into reminiscences of the tours over the Province 
 which I took with my old friend Sir Reginald Craddock, now 
 its Chief Commissioner, and Mr. Harriott of the Public Works 
 Department, now one of his secretaries, and of the great schemes 
 which we planned and which they have carried out. 
 
 One matter which has long attracted the attention of Revenue 
 officers and is now the special care of the Agricultural Depart- 
 ment is the question of financing agricultural improvements. 
 The lesson learned by the Government of India is well and 
 briefly expressed in the following sentence from the Report of 
 the Famine Commission, presided over by Sir Anthony (now 
 Lord) Macdonnell : " We attach the highest importance to the 
 establishment of some organisation or method whereby culti- 
 vators may obtain, without paying usurious rates of interest, 
 and without being given undue facilities for incurring debts the 
 advances necessary for carrying on their business." 
 
 The Agriculturists' Loans Act had been passed years before, 
 the object of which was to enable the Government to give cheap 
 loans in times of need. But it was too restricted in scope and 
 too rigid in method to be very successful. At the same time it 
 was distinctly contrary to the interests of the money-lender ; 
 and he made himself so objectionable to the cultivator in regard 
 to other debts, that he was able, very often, to induce him to 
 refrain from availing himself of the help of the Government. 
 It is to the Madras Government that we owe the initiation of a 
 system which seems more likely to meet the difficulty than any- 
 thing that has hitherto been attempted. 
 
 The very question stated in the extract from the Famine 
 Commission Report just quoted had engaged the attention of 
 
 205
 
 THE FINANCING 
 
 many philanthropists in Europe half a century before. And 
 when Sir Frederick Nicholson was, under the orders of the 
 Madras Government, making a special inquiry into the possi- 
 bility of establishing " Land Banks " and " Agricultural Banks " 
 in that Presidency, the scheme which had succeeded in Europe 
 attracted his attention. The Raiffeisen system is well suited 
 for country districts, and is therefore prima facie well suited 
 for an agricultural country like India ; while the Schulze system 
 is adapted to town life. The Government of India passed in 
 1904 " The Co-operative Credit Societies Act,"" which recognises 
 both these systems. 
 
 The Limited Liability Societies are confined to those estab- 
 lished among traders in towns, where want of intimate ac- 
 quaintance with one another renders the members unwilling 
 to accept unlimited liability. On the other hand, in rural 
 villages, where all the people are acquainted with one another, 
 where each can watch and know the doings of his neighbours, 
 unlimited liability is perfectly reasonable. Experience shows 
 also that it is the only possible foundation for successful work ; 
 and it is entirely consistent with the history and traditions 
 of village life in India. The Village Community has always 
 been regarded as a homogeneous body, and it is entirely in 
 accordance with Indian sentiment that the Legislature has in 
 this Act laid down the principle of unlimited liability for work 
 in rural tracts. 
 
 The Raiffeisen system is wonderfully adapted to the demo- 
 cratic character of the Indian Village System. Even now there 
 is a clear recognition of the common interest ; and it is an 
 essential feature of the old system that this common interest 
 should be safeguarded by the Fanchayat. Co-operation in the 
 advancement of this common interest is still a recognised duty, 
 although the recognition is not so strong as formerly. It is not 
 wealth only that gives influence and position in the Indian 
 village ; it is rather sound common sense and wisdom, and a 
 character for probity and uprightness. In their own villages the 
 majority of the people have a character for honesty, which would 
 
 206
 
 OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 much surprise those who know them only in the law courts. 
 This character for honesty, this mutual confidence in a com- 
 munity, is the best basis of any sound system of co-operative 
 credit. 
 
 There is not much capital among the villagers generally ; 
 but there is that which is more necessary than capital to 
 the unlimited liability of the Raiffeisen system. It demands 
 a restricted area of operation ; a thorough acquaintance of 
 the members with each other ; a consequent readiness to incur 
 unlimited liability in respect of the operations of the Society ; 
 no shares and no dividends, and consequently no private as 
 opposed to common interest; readiness to render gratuitous 
 service ; strong public opinion in favour of rectitude in dealings 
 with one another ; repayment of loans from the profits or savings 
 affected through the loan ; and an indivisible reserve fund. 
 These requirements are precisely what can be secured under the 
 Indian Village System. 
 
 One of the ultimate tests of the success of the movement 
 will be the ability of the banks to attract local capital. The 
 capitalists are to a large extent the money-lenders, who did 
 not at first look with friendly eyes on an institution which they 
 suspected as having a tendency, if not being actually designed, 
 to drive them from the field ; but the capital even from this 
 source is steadily increasing ; and in many places local capitalists 
 now readily deposit money in these banks. The money-lender 
 is not necessarily the enemy of the public interest. The bad 
 system which had grown up, as already described, had largely 
 thrown him into an unfriendly position towards the com- 
 munity ; but this is not consistent with the true spirit of Indian 
 village life. 
 
 Joint Stock Banks are also being gradually brought into the 
 movement as a financing agency. When I last examined the 
 matter in Bengal, about 50 per cent of the capital of the Village 
 Societies was already supplied by outside investors and Joint 
 Stock Banks lending them money on business terms. The 
 establishment of several central institutions has also greatly 
 
 207
 
 THE FINANCING 
 
 assisted individual societies in maintaining their own position. 
 Such institutions are ordinarily formed by a combination of 
 individual societies on the joint stock basis. They have more 
 easy access to the money market, and are able to raise money on 
 more favourable terms than individual societies. They have 
 also another very important function, that of inspection and 
 control. It is not to the advantage of the co-operative system 
 that the inspection and control of societies should be exclusively, 
 or even mainly, in the hands of Government : self-reliance and 
 self-help, which are surely among the main objects of the system, 
 must be encouraged. 
 
 The system appeals strongly to any one who has studied 
 with interest the traditions and practice of Indian life, and 
 who not only sympathises with, but also admires, the general 
 principles that underlie those traditions. It inspires such men 
 with enthusiasm and hope. In its initial stages, at least, the 
 history of its progress must largely depend on the personal 
 character and influence of the officer in charge of the scheme, 
 and of his subordinates. He must be a man of deep sympathy 
 with the people, well acquainted with their manners and 
 customs, able to go about among them in a kindly, frank, 
 cordial way, and to talk with them in their own vernacular; 
 and if, in addition to this, he has very considerable business 
 capacity, he is an ideal man for the post. 
 
 In Bengal, I was able to secure the services of just such a 
 man in Mr. William Gourlay, of the Civil Service, and he has 
 inspired his subordinates with his own enthusiasm. His work 
 has been very successful. The work has been going on in that 
 province for only five years ; yet when I last inquired there were 
 over five hundred societies scattered throughout its Districts, 
 including six central institutions, and the combined capital was 
 about six hundred thousand rupees. The movement has hardly 
 passed beyond the experimental stage ; but the experiment has 
 been most encouraging; and I trust that the zeal and energy 
 with which it has been so far conducted will be maintained. 
 
 Serious and excellent work has been done in the districts 
 
 208
 
 OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 where societies have been formed. Their effect is noticeable 
 already in the lowering of the rate of interest of the village 
 money-lenders, and also in the moral and material improve- 
 ment of the community. Co-operation has, however, merely 
 touched the fringe of agricultural indebtedness ; and it cannot 
 claim to have made any appreciable impression on this vast 
 Province as a whole. It has been necessary to proceed cautiously 
 and to confine work to certain selected areas. The aim is to 
 produce an organisation in which isolated societies, in compact 
 areas in different parts of a District, will be grouped into local 
 unions for the purpose of financial control, and then to link 
 these unions to a Central Bank at District head-quarters. 
 Ultimately it may be possible to establish a provincial bank to 
 which the District banks will be affiliated. Some such system 
 is necessary to enable the movement to stand alone, without 
 Government support. 
 
 Such an ideal can only be achieved by an organisation of 
 voluntary workers all over the Province. Mr. Gourlay has 
 been most successful in securing the co-operation of such 
 workers. There is perhaps no work in India that will conduce 
 more to the elevation of the people generally and to the im- 
 provement of their economic condition. As Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Bengal it was my privilege to acknowledge most 
 devoted and effective service rendered in this matter by one or 
 two of the most influential European merchants, by some of the 
 most devoted and successful missionaries, and by many Indian 
 gentlemen of position and capacity. There is no work that I 
 can commend more cordially and more confidently to those who 
 seek the good of the most important sections of the Indian 
 peoples. 
 
 A good friend of mine, who has studied the subject as much 
 as any man in India, estimates the indebtedness of the agricul- 
 tural community in India at five hundred millions sterling. 
 I understand that Mr. Gokhale accepts that figure ; and I know 
 European business men of much experience who do. Now I 
 have already said enough to show that the people are probably 
 
 209 o
 
 FINANCING OF AGRICULTURISTS 
 
 paying twenty per cent, as interest more than they would 
 pay if they were solvent. If so, they are overburdened every 
 year to the extent of a hundred million sterling, or the cost of a 
 South African war every two years. When we get to figures 
 like that we are beyond our depth ; and of course it is only an 
 estimate. But it is worth while trying to conceive what an 
 intolerable burden usurious interest on such debt is on agricul- 
 tural enterprise, and what the relief would be if the burden were 
 reduced by the demand of reasonable interest. To realise at the 
 same time that this relief would be accomplished through the 
 development of self-help and co-operation fills one with enthu- 
 siasm. Men, whether European or Indian, who are interested in 
 the future of the people, may well give themselves to this 
 endeavour ; and if the assistance of a sufficient number of such 
 men can be enlisted, success will unquestionably be attained. 
 
 210
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 GOING about among the people, one has so many controversies 
 and quarrels to settle, so many cases to hear either formally or 
 informally (the more informally the better) that he might be led 
 to believe that the native of India is especially litigious. One 
 very often hears this charge made against him ; but it is at least 
 doubtful whether it is not due to a superficial view of the case. 
 There is no doubt that there is a great deal of litigation, and 
 that, in view of the numbers of the population and of the wealth 
 and commerce of the country, there is more litigation than one 
 would naturally expect. This may, however, be due, partly to 
 the alteration in the habits of the people resulting from the 
 system which we have ourselves introduced, and to the passing 
 away of the local influences for peace and justice which used to 
 prevail before our system ; partly to the ignorance of our 
 system on the part of the great mass of the community, and to 
 the power which their knowledge of the system gives to the more 
 powerful minority ; partly to the centralisation of our law 
 courts and the ignorance of native habits, opinions, and feelings, 
 which far too frequently characterise the Judges ; and partly to 
 the improvidence of the people. 
 
 In the old days there was no elaborate system of Judicial 
 administration. There was no attempt on the part of the 
 Government to provide for the settlement of all disputes by 
 highly-paid courts. The great majority of the disputes, which 
 now arise among the people of the interior, either did not arise 
 at all on account of the force of public opinion, or were settled 
 
 211
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 locally by men of influence in the village. Our system has 
 undoubtedly tended to deprive public opinion of a great deal 
 of its authority, and has practically set aside entirely the 
 authority of the elders of the village. The result is that disputes 
 arise which would formerly have been impossible inasmuch as 
 public opinion would have condemned the raising of such dis- 
 putes ; and at the same time the settlement of such disputes as 
 arise is carried of necessity to the courts. The wrong-doer does 
 not now go to the elders of the village to press his claim : he is 
 not compelled, and he does not choose, to do so ; for he knows 
 that they would be able to take a just view of the case, and that 
 he would in all probability fail to secure his claim, and would, 
 at the same time, damage his reputation and influence among 
 his own people. Or, if the wrong-doer is the man who is resist- 
 ing a just claim, he declines to submit the case to the judgment 
 of public opinion or to the elders of the village, and compels the 
 claimant to go to court. I think it is largely on this account 
 that the courts have so many cases brought before them which, 
 under the ordinary circumstances of Indian life, would certainly 
 have been settled locally and privately, and which it is most 
 undesirable to have contested before the courts of law. 
 
 There is nothing more lamentable perhaps in the administra- 
 tion of India than the fact that the officers who preside in the 
 law courts are animated for the most part by a desire to do 
 right, and believe themselves to form the great refuge of the 
 people against injustice, while at the same time the work they 
 do is regarded by simple people in the interior as very much a 
 matter either of chance, or of the success of somewhat question- 
 able methods. It is a great help to those appointed to administer 
 justice, to conduct investigations into questions of fact, as far as 
 possible, on the spot, or to take advantage of local inquiries 
 conducted by competent and responsible persons. This is 
 exemplified in one of the most important branches of the 
 administration, namely, in the Settlement inquiry as to the 
 rights of the different sections of the agricultural community. 
 There is no officer of Revenue experience who does not know the 
 
 212
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 impossibility of anything approaching to moral certainty in 
 regard to Revenue cases, unless he has the parties before him, 
 and has them before him on the spot. When he is on the spot, 
 sees the matter in dispute with his own eyes, and hears the 
 evidence in regard to that matter in the presence of the villagers, 
 themselves, he has some ground to hope that the evidence given 
 before him is both truthful in itself, and also presented in a 
 manner not calculated to mislead. Otherwise he may be misled 
 by evidence which is deliberately false or which, though in its 
 language apparently truthful, is yet distinctly misleading. This 
 is, no doubt, true in any part of the world ; but in our own 
 country there is a strong force of public opinion which con- 
 demns, in the strongest and most emphatic manner, the giving 
 of false evidence, and does not approve of the deliberate mis- 
 leading of the court by the manner in which evidence is pre- 
 sented. In India public opinion is either indifferent or 
 perhaps even inclines the other way. Litigation is a form of 
 warfare ; and all is held to be fair in war. 
 
 The very simplest illustrations may be given of this. A Civil 
 Surgeon in a certain station in the Central Provinces told me 
 that a pariah (mongrel) dog used to give great trouble to his 
 servants by stealing their food, and often succeeded even in 
 carrying off the meat supply of his own kitchen. He gave 
 orders to his bearer * to let him know at any time when that 
 dog came for purposes of theft ; and he promised, for the sake 
 of his servants and for his own sake, to shoot it. One day he 
 heard the sound of a gunshot near his verandah. He was lying 
 down resting after a very long morning in the jail and local 
 hospital. Hearing the sound he sprang up and ran out. He 
 saw the dog lying dead, and his bearer holding a gun which had 
 just been discharged. The dog had lying beside him a small 
 joint of good " club mutton." All the other servants had gone 
 into the bazaar to buy their supply of food, and this servant 
 
 * The bearer is the valet : he is sometimes called " Sirdar." In the old 
 days of the palanquin, the Sirdar (headman) and bearers did household 
 work. 
 
 218
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 was alone in the compound. He told his master that, seeing 
 the dog carrying off the mutton, he had rushed into his study ; 
 but not finding him there, he believed that he had not returned 
 from his morning's work. He had accordingly himself seized 
 the gun and run out with it and shot the dog. 
 
 A day or two afterwards, his servant told the Civil Surgeon 
 that he was being prosecuted before the magistrate under one 
 of the sections of the Penal Code. I forget whether the charge 
 was one of mischief or of house trespass ; but the allegation 
 was that a valuable dog belonged to a resident of the town 
 and that the Doctor's servant had come to the house of the 
 owner, which was about three-quarters of a mile from his 
 master's house, and had, out of pure malice, entered the 
 premises of the owner of the dog and shot the animal. The 
 Civil Surgeon sent his servant to an Indian Barrister, who was 
 one of the leading practitioners in the small local court, and 
 requested him to undertake the defence. At the same time 
 he told his servant that he himself would be prepared to come 
 and give evidence as to the exact facts of the case. He heard 
 nothing more of the case for some time ; and then he asked his 
 servant when it was coming on for hearing. His servant replied 
 that the case had been already decided in his favour. The Civil 
 Surgeon inquired whether the owner of the dog had failed to 
 bring forward any evidence ; and he was told that, far from this, 
 the owner had brought several witnesses to prove his story ; 
 but the servant added, " I brought four witnesses who told the 
 truth." 
 
 The master inquired how it was possible that he could have 
 got this evidence, inasmuch as there was no one in the compound 
 at the time ; and the servant said that he had ascertained that 
 four men were willing to come and give clear statements as to 
 the facts for eight annas, that is to say, two annas (or at the then 
 rate of exchange, threepence) for each witness, and that the 
 court had heard their statement and had acquitted him of the 
 offence charged. The servant explained his conduct by saying 
 that, when he found that he could get the matter settled in this 
 
 214
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 way for eight annas, he thought it far better to do so than to 
 trouble his master to go to court. Soon after, the Civil Surgeon 
 met his friend the Indian barrister, and asked him about the 
 case. He expressed his fear that, though the true view had been 
 taken by the court, it was taken on the evidence of false wit- 
 nesses. The barrister replied that that was none of his concern ; 
 that he had received a statement of the facts from the Civil 
 Surgeon ; and that, though he had some doubt in his own mind 
 as to the truthfulness of the witnesses, he had no doubt as to 
 the facts to which they gave testimony. He, therefore, allowed 
 the court to follow its own judgment. 
 
 Here we have an illustration of the fact that false witnesses 
 can be secured to give evidence at an absolutely nominal price : 
 that no one seemed to be deeply interested in ascertaining the 
 truthfulness of the witnesses on the one side or on the other ; 
 and that the court was content to deal with the statements of 
 the witnesses by merely counting their heads and declaring that, 
 as there was evidence as strong on the one side as on the other, 
 the charge could not be held to be established. This may be 
 perhaps an exceptionally clear case of the fabrication of false 
 evidence ; but it is indicative, if not of the general practice of 
 the courts, at least of the danger to which the courts are exposed. 
 When a man has made up his mind as to what are his rights, he 
 often does not hesitate as to the means by which these rights 
 are to be secured, and is quite prepared to secure them by 
 foul means, if he cannot secure them by fair. 
 
 There is another feature of Indian life illustrated by this inci- 
 dent ; namely, that false evidence is often used to establish a 
 true story or a just claim. This is a very common thing. Many 
 a good case has been destroyed by it. The statement of one 
 witness is found to be false: it may be proved, for example, 
 that he was not present to see what he says he saw. This 
 discredits the whole case, and no doubt rightly so. But the 
 case may be true all the same ; and the other witnesses may be 
 honourable men. The ignorant or prejudiced critic of police 
 work is often among those who should be reminded of this. 
 
 215
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 Formerly the Executive officers, in the earlier stages of our 
 administration, were in the habit of deciding cases as civil 
 judges between parties with whom in their Executive capacity 
 they had become more or less acquainted, and of hearing 
 evidence of which their local knowledge and experience enabled 
 them fairly accurately to gauge the value. They may, no doubt, 
 have made mistakes in law which had to be put right by higher 
 tribunals, and they may sometimes have given way to personal 
 bias in favour of persons of good reputation ; but they were, at 
 all events, less susceptible to the mistakes into which courts are 
 led by false evidence at the present time. The old system was 
 unsound in principle ; and it was right to set it aside. But the 
 new system has very serious disadvantages. The men who 
 preside in the local courts now are too often men who have 
 little or no knowledge of the people among whom they are 
 dispensing justice ; and they are led, by the accepted principles 
 of the system which they are administering, to exclude from 
 consideration any little knowledge they may have, and to decide 
 cases entirely on the evidence presented before them, and on the 
 pleadings of counsel on both sides. 
 
 Counsel also are in the same way far too often men who have 
 been trained in the distant cities, and now reside at the head- 
 quarters of the courts, without having any such knowledge of 
 the people of the interior as would enable them to judge of 
 their integrity as parties or as witnesses. The ordinary idea of 
 an Indian practitioner is to win his case ; he is, as a rule, by no 
 means inclined to investigate the character of his own client 
 or witnesses ; and he has not, for the reasons above given, 
 the capacity for treating effectively the case for the other side 
 in cross-examination. The court is, therefore, in far too many 
 cases, left to decide what is truth amidst conflicting evidence of 
 which it is unable to determine the value. 
 
 A great remedy for this defect is local inquiry. Once, on 
 my return from leave, I was posted to a certain District in the 
 Central Provinces where there was a cantonment. There had 
 been some friction between the regimental authorities and some 
 
 216
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 influential and ill-conditioned persons in the town. A case had 
 a short time before been brought against a certain officer of the 
 regiment, and he had been convicted and fined. The opinion 
 strongly held by all those who knew him, was that the conviction 
 was erroneous ; but the evidence was undoubtedly such as could 
 not be got over. 
 
 Just as I arrived, a case was brought against two young 
 officers for having gone to a village to shoot snipe, having 
 assaulted certain villagers, and having been prevented from 
 using their weapons only by having them taken from them. 
 As I was the senior European magistrate, the case had been 
 sent to my court. It was fixed for a date about a week later. 
 On the day following my arrival, which happened to be a Hindu 
 holiday, I went out to the village to shoot snipe myself. I had 
 two or three people from that village and from the next to help 
 me to beat* They did not know me, as I was new to the District. 
 I talked away to them in a friendly way ; and we had a very 
 pleasant and successful morning together. At breakfast time I 
 paid the men who were with me, and told them I should resume 
 shooting after an interval of an hour or two, and that I should 
 be very glad if they themselves, or any others whom they chose 
 to send, would help me in the afternoon. They said that they 
 would themselves remain. I had a talk with them in a free-and- 
 easy way, and ascertained clearly the facts of the case which I 
 was about to try. 
 
 The two young officers had come to the village to shoot. 
 They had known nothing of the language, and had not been 
 able to explain their wishes to the people. The agent of the 
 non-resident Malguzar had happened to be in the village on 
 business, and had told the people that these young men had no 
 right to shoot there, that they would do mischief, that their 
 guns should be taken from them, and that they should be sent 
 about their business. The guns were handed over to certain 
 men to carry. They retained them, and by signs explained to 
 the young men that they must leave. There was no assault or 
 violence. I took down the names of several of those who told 
 
 217
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 me the story, not at the time they told it, but immediately 
 afterwards, and on the plea that I was willing when I came back 
 to have the same men again ; and we parted on most friendly 
 terms. 
 
 On the day fixed for the hearing of the case, I found that the 
 witnesses for the prosecution, who were not of my beaters, were 
 accompanied by the village servant, who was one of the men 
 who had been talking with me. So when they came into the 
 court and found that I was the magistrate, they did not tell the 
 story that they had come to tell. The result was that the two 
 young officers were honourably acquitted. The villagers remained 
 my friends, and helped me in sport on more than one occasion 
 afterwards. I did not make public my method of ascertaining 
 the facts. It was quite sufficient for everybody concerned that 
 the case had broken down, owing to the witnesses having an 
 altogether different story to tell from that which was expected ; 
 and at my suggestion the Malguzar's agent gave a handsome 
 donation to the local dispensary. A story like this, which is 
 very far from exceptional, indicates the difficulties with which 
 the courts have to contend, difficulties which, if known to the 
 judicial authorities generally, are in my experience not fully 
 realised by many of the Judges. 
 
 I shall discuss later on the work of the police, and shall refer 
 to the criticisms often hurled at them by irresponsible persons, 
 who are wholly ignorant of the constitution of the force and of 
 its methods of working. Sometimes such criticism is made 
 without due consideration by Judges who ought to know better 
 than to condemn men unheard. I do not propose, therefore, to 
 touch here on this subject at any length. But I should like to 
 say that there is one point in which the police have a great 
 advantage over the courts, viz., that they conduct their inquiries 
 on the spot. The whole question turns on the character and 
 capacity of the officer making the inquiry. This is never to be 
 forgotten. If a low class, unintelligent, and possibly corrupt 
 person is entrusted with an inquiry, it is not likely to be satis- 
 factory ; and the authority which would entrust an inquiry of 
 
 218
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 any importance to such a person is much to blame : the Police 
 Commission insisted on this most emphatically. But if an 
 intelligent, upright, and well-trained officer is conducting the 
 inquiry on the spot, the chances are that the inquiry is satis- 
 factory, and the conclusions are probably correct. There may 
 be mistakes made ; but the chances are in favour of correct 
 conclusions. 
 
 It is well that any police officer, however upright and capable, 
 should have to establish to the satisfaction of independent 
 Judicial authority any charge which he holds to be proved. 
 But, on the other hand, if the Judicial authority is not satisfied, 
 he should at least abstain from ill-considered denunciation of 
 the police officer, and recognise any good work he has done, 
 though not accepting his conclusions. I believe that one reason 
 why Judicial officers often fail to do this is, that they are 
 ignorant alike of the whole conditions of village life, and of the 
 constitution and practice of the police force. If they knew how 
 much easier it is to arrive at the truth on the spot, and how 
 earnest are the efforts now made to make police investigations 
 satisfactory, they would not indeed convict prisoners of whose 
 guilt they were not themselves convinced they could not do 
 that ; but they would hesitate to denounce the police on one- 
 sided statements made in court. 
 
 There is another branch of inquiry in respect of which the 
 ignorance of local circumstances and of general administration 
 very materially detracts from the efficiency of the courts in 
 administering justice. There is nothing more pitiable than to 
 see an officer with no Revenue experience deciding a case of 
 tenant right or of fixation of rent in a court at head-quarters. 
 He has never looked carefully at a field or examined a crop ; 
 and yet he is called on to decide as to the tenant's status and 
 the rent he should pay, on the evidence of contradictory wit- 
 nesses of whose evidence he cannot hope accurately to estimate 
 the value. The results are often most injurious to the district. 
 This can be best illustrated perhaps by reference to experience 
 of a definite kind. In the Chota Nagpur Division of Bengal, 
 
 219
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 when I first visited it, I found that the action of the civil courts 
 was operating to dispossess of their rights in the land that sec- 
 tion of the agricultural community which was the most deeply in- 
 terested in it, and at the same time the weakest and most ignorant. 
 It is for the defence of the rights of the weak as against the 
 strong that our courts exist ; and yet the action of the courts 
 in that Division was favouring the strong as against the weak, 
 and depriving the true cultivators of the soil of their rights and 
 interests in it, in favour of those who were many of them aliens, 
 and all of them powerful. 
 
 The cause of this was simply that these powerful persons were 
 able to secure good legal advice ; they understood the procedure 
 of the courts ; and they knew both how to present their claims 
 in a plausible way, and what kind of evidence was required 
 to support these claims. Their unfortunate opponents were 
 ignorant of the procedure of the courts, lax in their attendance 
 at court, and unable to secure proper legal advice. There was 
 one member of the Bar, who with great self-denial devoted him- 
 self, out of a desire to see justice done, to protecting the rights 
 of these ignorant cultivators. He encouraged them to come to 
 him, and took their cases either for nothing or at nominal fees, 
 although he was a man quite able to command a lucrative 
 practice. But, generally speaking, the members of the Bar 
 were naturally inclined to take up only the cases of those who 
 were able to pay high fees and to explain their cases 
 intelligently. 
 
 Meanwhile, the courts were passing decisions upon the 
 evidence submitted to them, without any regard to the real 
 facts of the case, although in many instances the facts might 
 have been easily ascertained. At the very time that such 
 injustice was being done in the courts as tended to excite dis- 
 content and unrest among the agricultural community, a Record 
 of Rights was being prepared by the Executive officers of the 
 Government at enormous expense. Experienced Revenue officers 
 were engaged in local inquiries, conducted on the spot, in the 
 presence of the people, with all parties represented. These 
 
 220
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 inquiries were designed to ascertain and record the rights of the 
 different sections of the agricultural community. Although the 
 Judges of the courts were meeting these Revenue officers in 
 society every day, and were perfectly well aware of the inquiries 
 that were being carried on, they closed their eyes to these 
 inquiries and decided their cases entirely on the evidence pro- 
 duced before them in court evidence which they ought to have 
 known to be a most unsatisfactory basis for their decisions. 
 
 The action I took was simply to appoint a careful officer, who 
 was admittedly one of the ablest lawyers of the Judicial Depart- 
 ment, but who cared at least as much for the substance of justice 
 as for its forms, to be Judicial Commissioner of that Division. 
 After he had taken over charge, he met the Revenue Com- 
 missioner, and the principal Settlement Officer at a conference 
 at which I presided ; and the whole matter of the rights of these 
 agriculturists and of the current Settlement operations was 
 thoroughly discussed. Mr. Carnduff, the Judicial Commissioner 
 to whom I refer (now a Judge of the Calcutta High Court), had 
 had a distinguished career as a Judicial officer in Bengal, and 
 as Unoler Secretary and Secretary of the Legislative Department 
 of the Government of India, and had the confidence of the 
 Judicial as well as of the Executive officers of Government, 
 owing to his soundness of judgment and his high legal attain- 
 ments. He made an arrangement whereby all the Judges 
 dispensing justice in the civil courts of that Division were in- 
 vited to attend a series of lectures by the Settlement Officer 
 on the principles and practice of Settlement work, so that they 
 might understand what was the nature of the inquiries that 
 were being made, and of the Record of Rights based on these 
 inquiries. The result was a vital change for the better in the 
 practice of the courts. 
 
 The same principle was, with the consent of the High Court, 
 applied to a considerable extent throughout the whole Province. 
 It was arranged that Judicial officers of original jurisdiction 
 should be placed on special duty with Settlement officers to 
 study settlement, when their services could be spared from their 
 
 221
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 own special work. I have no doubt that this will tend greatly to 
 the practical improvement of the administration of justice in 
 cases between landlord and tenant, and other cases affecting the 
 agricultural community. Surely the necessity for such action in 
 this particular class of cases is only an indication of the im- 
 portance of practical knowledge of the people, their customs 
 and their interests, on the part of the officers engaged in the 
 administration of justice. It is impossible without grave 
 injury to the interests of the people to leave the administration 
 of justice in the hands of men whose training consists only 
 in the study of law books, and who are without that knowledge 
 of men and of customs which intercourse with the people is 
 necessary to supply. 
 
 There could be no more fatal error in Judicial administration 
 in India than to suppose that the lawyer trained in English 
 law is ipso facto able to dispense justice in the Indian courts. 
 Yet it is an error that prevails far too widely, and is difficult 
 to eradicate. It is of great interest in this connection briefly to 
 recall the history of the formation of the High Court. Formerly 
 there had been two Appellate Courts existing side by side, an 
 arrangement which led to difficulties which are fully described 
 in Ilbert's " Government of India," as well as in the Parlia- 
 mentary Debates. In introducing in June, 1861, the Bill " for 
 the purpose of forming one instead of two Superior Courts in 
 India," Sir Charles Wood thus explained the position.* " There 
 is the Supreme Court, consisting of lawyers and Queen's Judges 
 sent out from this country, which has complete jurisdiction 
 over the three Presidency Towns of Bengal [i.e., Calcutta], 
 Bombay, and Madras, and exclusive criminal jurisdiction in 
 important matters over Europeans, in whatever part of India 
 they may be. There is also the Sadar (or Chief) Court. That 
 is a court of appeal for all the courts in the country, whether 
 they are presided over by natives or by Europeans (i.e., members 
 of the Civil Service) ; and it also exercises over these courts a 
 sort of superintendence, or what may be called the functions of 
 
 * Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Vol. CLXIII, p. 647- 
 272
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 a Minister of Justice. In the evidence which was given before 
 the Committee that sat on East Indian affairs in 1852-3, a 
 strong opinion was expressed by those most competent to give 
 an opinion, that it was desirable, with a view to the better 
 administration of justice in India, that those two courts should 
 be consolidated into one, which would unite the legal know- 
 ledge of the English lawyers with the intimate knowledge of 
 the customs, habits and laws of the natives possessed by the 
 Judges in the country." 
 
 This last clause is of immense importance. It was a wise and 
 accurate statement of the circumstances and necessities of the 
 case. It was reiterated in the following clear declaration of the 
 intention of the proposed change : " The present Supreme 
 Court consists entirely of Queen's Judges sent from this country, 
 while the Sadar Court consists entirely of members of the Civil 
 Service, who have risen through the successive stages of the 
 Service, but who have not necessarily had the slightest legal 
 training. With their great knowledge of local habits and 
 customs will be united the legal training and knowledge of the 
 English, Scottish and Irish Bars. Their knowledge of native 
 habits and customs will be of the greatest assistance in guiding 
 the opinions of the legal members of the court ; and the union 
 of these two classes of Judges will constitute a far better court 
 than would be formed by either separately ." 
 
 Fifteen was fixed as the maximum number of Judges under 
 the Charter, and the Bill provided that one- third of the Judges 
 should be barristers and one-third civil servants, leaving it to 
 the Government to choose the remaining third from either of 
 these two classes, or from natives or other qualified persons. 
 Sir Charles Wood opposed an amendment by Mr. Vincent 
 Scully to provide that one-half of the Judges (instead of one- 
 third) should be barristers. He said, " To insist on one-half of 
 the Judges being barristers would give the lawyers an undue 
 proportion"; and the amendment was negatived. 
 
 These principles are as important now as they were then. 
 A man trained in England is just as ignorant of local habits 
 
 228
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 and customs now as then ; and knowledge of these is as necessary 
 as ever. If modern conditions demand more of legal training 
 than formerly on the Bench, the necessity should be met not by 
 reducing the number of civilian Judges, but by improving their 
 legal training. Men with Indian and local knowledge are as 
 necessary as ever. 
 
 The Bill was also clearly explained by Earl de Grey and 
 Ripon ;* and there are two sentences in his speech which are 
 relevant to the matter I am now discussing, and well worth 
 quoting. " A very necessary and salutary provision was made 
 for sending Commissioners to try cases in parts of the country 
 distant from the ordinary courts ; and also for the exercise by 
 the High Court of a general supervision over the other courts 
 in the country, which would place the Chief Justice somewhat 
 in the position of a Minister of Justice. He believed that this 
 measure would improve the administration of justice in India, 
 strengthen the highest Court of Judicature in that country, and 
 elevate the character of the other courts by placing them under 
 its supervision." 
 
 In this connection, it is to be added that, in introducing 
 the Bill, Sir Charles Wood had stated as one of its objects,t 
 " that in important cases occurring in the various districts, 
 justice as in this country should be administered on the spot 
 by a trained Judge." He added, " At present, if an Englishman 
 commits a crime which may subject him to serious punishment, 
 he and all the witnesses must be brought to Calcutta, and the 
 case must be tried there. In future an English Judge going 
 into the country will be able to try these cases. At present 
 when a crime is committed up-country by a European, the 
 necessity of bringing him to Calcutta amounts in many cases 
 to an absolute denial of justice. It may be impossible in a 
 country like India to bring justice to every man's door ; but 
 at all events the system now proposed will bring it far nearer 
 than at present, and where criminal offences are committed by 
 a European happily such offences are rare the impartial 
 
 * Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Vol. CLXIV, p. 1060. 
 t Ibid., Vol. CLXIII, p. 653. 
 224
 
 LOCAL INQUIRIES 
 
 administration of justice on the spot will produce a most 
 desirable influence on the minds of the natives." 
 
 All this is to my mind of vital importance. It has been, how- 
 ever, in regard to certain points almost, and in regard to others 
 entirely, lost sight of. The personal supervision of the lower 
 courts had, at least in Bengal, entirely fallen to desuetude ; and 
 it has only been revived of recent years with great difficulty. 
 Even now any personal inspections are sporadic in character. 
 Control and supervision exercised only by means of tabular state- 
 ments and returns cannot but be imperfect and ineffective : the 
 systematic personal visitation of competent Judges is absolutely 
 necessary. Then, again, there is no such thing as going on 
 circuit, or trying cases on the spot. This is to be deplored on 
 the ground stated by Sir Charles Wood, that the impartial ad- 
 administration of justice on the spot greatly impresses the native 
 mind. It is also deplorable because it necessitates the transfer 
 of some important cases to Calcutta, and leads to the transfer 
 of many other cases on the flimsiest excuses ; and such transfers 
 are still too frequently nothing else than "a denial of justice." 
 A Judge ignorant of local conditions tries such a case with a 
 Jury equally ignorant ; and the spectacle cannot fail to be, in 
 not a few cases, far from edifying. Besides this, the present 
 system involves another loss, referred to in paragraph 29 of the 
 Despatch accompanying the first Letters Patent (1862), which 
 points out that the trial of cases by competent Judges on the 
 spot will be an object lesson to the local courts and "will 
 materially tend to their greater efficiency. 11 
 
 The despatch left the responsibility for carrying out this 
 important measure to the Governor-General in Council ; but 
 the Chief Justice was to be "habitually consulted in the matter." 
 Few men who are acquainted with the administration of justice 
 in the interior of Bengal will fail to regret that no action has been 
 taken to carry out this policy. The majority of the Judges of the 
 High Court are ignorant of the interior ; and the people of the 
 interior have no personal knowledge of the High Court. In India 
 such a state of things has only to be understood to be condemned. 
 
 225 p
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 THE POLICE 
 
 IN the last chapter I have made a brief reference to the police. I 
 shall devote the whole of this chapter to that subject, of which 
 I have had special experience. Perhaps the most interesting 
 portion of my service in India was the year (1902-3) in which I 
 travelled all over India, as President of the Indian Police 
 Commission. This Commission was described by Lord Curzon's 
 Government as a strong and representative Commission, and 
 was appointed to inquire into the state of the police throughout 
 India. At the time I was appointed President, I was Chief 
 Commissioner of the Central Provinces. My colleagues on the 
 Commission were Sir Edward T. Candy, a distinguished judge 
 of the Bombay High Court, the Maharajah Bahadur of 
 Darbhanga, the wealthiest and one of the most powerful of the 
 nobles of Bengal : Mr. S. Srinivasa Raghavaiyangar, a Madras 
 Indian of great distinction ; Col. J. A. L. Montgomery, a 
 Commissioner in the Punjab : Sir Walter M. Colvin, the leading 
 criminal barrister in Allahabad ; and Mr. A. C. Hankin, 
 Inspector-General of Police under the Nizam's Government, and 
 formerly a successful police officer in the British service. The 
 Judicial service was represented by Sir Edward Candy, and the 
 Bar by Sir Walter Colvin ; the Executive service by Col. 
 Montgomery, and the police by Mr. Hankin ; while the Indian 
 views and experience of police work was well represented by two 
 Indian gentlemen from Bengal and Madras. The Secretary to 
 the Commission was Mr. (now Sir) Harold Stuart. We had a 
 delightful time together. We had differences of opinion, of 
 
 226
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 course ; but we never had any discord. We were all anxious to 
 find out the truth and to state it plainly. 
 
 The plan of our operations was as follows. Under orders 
 from the Government of India, every Local Government had 
 been called upon to appoint a local committee to investigate 
 the state of the Police and submit a report. That Committee 
 consisted in each Province of a District Magistrate and a 
 District Superintendent of Police, with the addition of a 
 Sessions Judge for all the larger Provinces. That committee 
 submitted their report to the Government of India, through 
 their own Local Government, which stated its views on the 
 contents of the report and on police administration generally. 
 These reports, with the letters of Local Governments, were 
 forwarded to the Police Commission as soon as that body was 
 constituted. As soon as these reports were read by the mem- 
 bers, the Commission met and settled general lines of enquiry, 
 and drew up a series of questions to be issued to witnesses. 
 These questions were forwarded to witnesses who had been 
 designated by Local Governments, and also to a few who were 
 known to members of the Commission themselves. Witnesses 
 were also invited to add anything they thought worthy of the 
 attention of the Commission. At the same time a notice was 
 published in the English and vernacular newspapers of every 
 Province calling on any one who was desirous of giving evidence 
 to apply for a copy of the questions and to submit answers to 
 the Commission. Many availed themselves of this opportunity, 
 especially in the Province of Bengal. 
 
 All the replies received from these different classes of wit- 
 nesses were carefully examined by the Commission, who selected 
 for oral examination those witnesses whom it was desirable to 
 examine with a view either to the elucidation, or to the com- 
 pletion, of the evidence contained in their written replies. 
 These witnesses were examined, during the Commission's tour, 
 at convenient centres fixed in the different Provinces. Six 
 hundred and eighty-three witnesses sent in written replies. 
 Two hundred and forty-four of these, and thirty-five others, 
 
 227
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 were examined orally. In the course of its tour, the Commission 
 visited every Province in India except Beluchistan. It also 
 visited all the four police training colleges in India and many 
 police stations and offices. 
 
 As soon as the work in each Province was finished, there was 
 a conference with the Local Government. Certain local officers, 
 selected by the Government, were sometimes present at that 
 conference ; but ordinarily it was confined to the Head of the 
 Government and his Executive Council, if any, on the one side, 
 and the members of the Commission on the other. At that con- 
 ference the evidence which had been received in the Province, and 
 the impressions formed by the Commission on that evidence and 
 on its inspections, were fully discussed. And, finally, there 
 was a conference at Simla with all the Inspectors-General in 
 India to discuss certain questions of procedure, discipline, and 
 statistics. 
 
 The report was submitted on the 30th May, 1 903, and pub- 
 lished as a Parliamentary paper after the orders of the Govern- 
 ment of India on it, contained in Home Department Resolution 
 No. 248-259, dated 21st March, 1905, had been issued. The 
 Commission had inquired into the adequacy of the organisation, 
 training, strength, and pay of the police force in every Pro- 
 vince ; the arrangements for reporting crime, and the work of 
 village officers and the rural police ; the system of investigating 
 offences ; the suitability of the statistical returns ; the general 
 supervision of the magistracy over the police, and the control 
 of superior police officers ; the railway police and the inter- 
 provincial police arrangements ; and the attractiveness of the 
 service to the proper class of natives. The report was unani- 
 mous, except that the Maharajah Bahadur of Darbhanga 
 differed, to some extent, in regard to two questions, viz., the 
 relations between the District magistracy and the police depart- 
 ment, and the system of recruiting for the higher grades. As 
 to the former, his recommendation was that there should be no 
 connection whatever between the magistracy and the police. 
 His view was based mainly on misreading of the Indian law on 
 
 228
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 the subject, and a misconception of the state of things in 
 England ; and it was unanimously rejected after full considera- 
 tion by his European and Indian colleagues. The other point 
 on which he differed was that he proposed that the higher 
 ranks of the service in India should be recruited by open 
 competition, a view which did not commend itself either to 
 his colleagues in the Commission or to any of the Governments 
 concerned. 
 
 It was very striking to find in the course of our work in every 
 Province of India how thoroughly alive all the best officers of 
 Government were to the abuses which prevailed in the police, 
 and how eager they were to see them remedied. No one among 
 the non-official community who had suffered from police oppres- 
 sion or police blundering spoke more strongly about the necessity 
 of reform than many of the police officers and magistrates who 
 were examined. The Commission submitted a report which 
 certainly showed that the state of the police was in many 
 respects unsatisfactory, and proved the clear necessity for far- 
 reaching reform. But this report was based, not on ill-judged 
 or ill-informed statements made by prejudiced persons outside 
 the force, but mainly on the statements of experienced Magis- 
 trates and police officers as to the difficulties against which they 
 had to contend, and the evils against which they had constantly 
 to be on their guard. 
 
 There still remained about the lower grades of the force, 
 to some extent, the traditions of the old native system, where 
 extortion and oppression had flourished unchecked. In these 
 older days before our rule, village watchmen, and heads of 
 villages, and even higher officials had connived at crime, and 
 had harboured offenders in return for a share of the booty. 
 Immunity from robbery and theft had been purchased either by 
 a kind of tax paid to the criminal classes or by shelter afforded 
 to them on the condition that they confined their operations to 
 strangers. These things are not mythical stories of a forgotten 
 past. In the course of my own service I have known places in 
 which watchmen were employed who belonged to the criminal 
 
 229
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 classes : so long as their employer paid them, he was safe from 
 molestation. I have also known a case in which the ruler of a 
 Native State gave shelter to dacoits on condition that they 
 committed no robbery in his territory, but confined their opera- 
 tions to the neighbouring British Districts and gave him a share 
 of the spoil. Under British rule great improvement had taken 
 place ; but it is not easy to get rid of such traditions. 
 
 A Commission in 1860 had done much to improve the police, 
 and Local Governments and local officers had struggled more or 
 less persistently to effect further reform. But reform is not 
 easy to bring about in India ; and the old traditions affected the 
 work of the police in the most serious manner. The people are 
 patient and not very ready to complain ; and the low-paid 
 official is sometimes a great scourge to a country-side. None 
 but the officers well accustomed to go about amongst the people 
 fully understood the state of things. There were certain special 
 reasons also why the system introduced by the Act of 1861, 
 based on the report of the Commission of 1860, had not 
 succeeded. It was on the whole a wise and efficient system ; 
 but it had failed to accomplish what was expected. The 
 reasons are set forth in the Report of the Police Commission of 
 1902-3. 
 
 The question had been too big a one to be dealt with by 
 Local Governments. No Local Government could propose the 
 far-reaching reforms and the great expenditure necessary to 
 bring their police administration up to the standard of efficiency 
 which modern conditions demand. It was a brave and statesman- 
 like act on the part of Lord Curzon's Government, in view of the 
 strong representations made by Local Governments from time to 
 time, and specially by Sir John Woodburn, my predecessor as 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, to appoint a Commission, 
 and determinedly set themselves to face and deal with the 
 question. 
 
 There was no doubt left on the minds of the Commission as 
 to the principal abuses which prevailed, nor was there much 
 doubt or hesitancy as to the principal remedies which should 
 
 230
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 be recommended. The abuses were frankly and clearly indi- 
 cated, and the remedies were strongly insisted on. The subject 
 was far too serious to be lightly treated. The recommendations 
 of the Commission mainly affected the class of officers who 
 should be allowed to investigate offences ; the recruiting of such 
 officers, their training, and the supervision to be exercised over 
 them ; the constitution and treatment of the village police, that 
 is to say, of the village officers entrusted with certain police 
 functions ; the pay and position of the regular police ; the 
 investigation of offences, involving the establishment of a 
 Central Criminal Investigation Department for each Province 
 and for all India, to cope with the great developments of crime 
 in modern times ; and the pay and prospects, and general 
 attractiveness of the higher grades of the service, so as to secure 
 thoroughly competent Europeans and a much higher class of 
 Indians than there had been before. 
 
 Throughout the whole of their investigations the Police 
 Commission found that the lower grades of the police were 
 looked upon with suspicion by the people generally, and that 
 the officers of the lower grades, who had for the most part been 
 promoted from the ranks, were, to a large extent, men of low 
 position, inferior education, unworthy traditions, and inade- 
 quate training. The higher grades of the police were generally 
 regarded with much more confidence. It was particularly 
 pleasant to find that even the witnesses who spoke most frankly, 
 not to say bitterly, were always bound to admit that the 
 European superintendents* at least were, as a class, entirely 
 beyond the influence of corruption, though they might some- 
 times be, according to these witnesses, not careful and efficient 
 enough in their work, and too much in the hands of their sub- 
 ordinates. 
 
 The reforms which the Commission suggested involved 
 a very large increase of expenditure on establishments, due 
 to the necessity for giving much higher pay to the whole force, 
 
 * The superintendent corresponds to the chief constable of the county 
 at home. 
 
 231
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 from the lowest to the highest grades. It also involved the 
 recruiting of men of a much superior class for all appointments, 
 from inspectors upwards. The effect of such improvement in 
 the system of recruiting in other departments, notably in the 
 Judicial Department, had been found most excellent ; and their 
 proposals were made by the Commission in the spirit of hope. 
 They almost entirely commended themselves to the Government 
 of India and to the Secretary of State. The financial burden, 
 though enormous, was cheerfully accepted ; and the results 
 have been far more quickly realised than the most hopeful 
 of the supporters of these reforms ever expected. The diffi- 
 culties with which the police have had of late years to contend, 
 both in respect of sedition and of the extraordinary develop- 
 ment of crime adjusting itself to the development of civilisation, 
 have been enormous and unprecedented. These difficulties 
 would never have been successfully grappled with but for the 
 wise statesmanship which led to the thorough inquiry of 1902-3, 
 and to the acceptance of the necessary reforms notwithstanding 
 the great financial burden involved. 
 
 When the conduct of the police force is considered, and when 
 very unfavourable criticisms are made, it has to be borne in 
 mind that the men of the lowest ranks of the force, who have 
 been scattered all over the country, were of the poorest and most 
 ignorant of the people and had not a full living wage. This was 
 one of the evils to which the Police Commission drew particular 
 attention. This state of things has been already improved to 
 a considerable extent in every Province of India. It is not easy 
 to estimate the evil done by these ill-paid and inconsiderate, 
 if not often ill-conditioned, underlings in rural districts. The 
 experienced officer knows what mischief such men, clothed with 
 the authority of chaprasis* or constables, do in creating an 
 unfavourable impression of Government among the people. 
 
 On one occasion I was on tour in the Balaghat District, when 
 I was Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces. I found 
 in the remoter parts many complaints of the exactions and 
 
 * Orderlies, literally ' ' meu with a badge." 
 232
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 tyrannies of the constables and forest or Revenue chaprasis. 
 One ryot (cultivator) told me that at the beginning of the rains 
 he was ploughing his field by the road through the jungle. 
 A policeman came by, who wanted to have a companion and 
 guide on his way. He insisted on the ryot going with him, 
 and would not even allow him to take his bullocks to the village. 
 When the ryot returned he found that one bullock had been 
 killed by a tiger, and the other had broken its rope and fled. 
 Some time afterwards he found that it had been auctioned at 
 a distant cattle pound, and that most of the proceeds of the 
 sale had been utilised to pay pound fees and feeding charges. 
 He had made no complaint until now, when a European officer 
 came by. There were complaints all along the road of the exac- 
 tion of gratuitous services of an irksome and oppressive kind by 
 these officials. This is an illustration of what one finds too often 
 in the interior. Such acts of oppression create a most unfavour- 
 able impression, and sometimes lead to the desertion of villages 
 near the high road. Officers have to be constantly on guard 
 against them, and to put them down with a strong hand. 
 
 It has, however, to be remarked that, despite these acts of 
 oppression, which are not so rare as they might be, and despite 
 many petty exactions and occasional instances of gross mis- 
 conduct, it is not true that the people hate the police. It is a 
 singular fact, of which the Police Commission had evidence 
 in every Province, that when the transfer of a Thana* from one 
 place to another is proposed in the interests of the general 
 police administration of the District, the people of the neigh- 
 bourhood almost invariably petition against its removal. It 
 is recognised that, with all their defects, which must not be 
 underestimated but vigorously remedied, the police are effective 
 in preserving the peace and securing the safety of the com- 
 munity. With the material hitherto composing the force, it 
 would have been impossible to secure this feeling towards the 
 police but for the constant vigilance of the great majority of 
 District Magistrates and superior officers of police. These men 
 
 * Police station. 
 233
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 often get little credit from official and unofficial critics for work 
 of which they have much cause to be proud, and for which the 
 people and the Government have much cause to be grateful. 
 
 In doing their duty there is a very serious difficulty with 
 which police officers and magistrates have had to contend 
 besides the readiness to give false evidence in regard to any 
 story before the courts to which I have elsewhere drawn atten- 
 tion : that is, the ignorance of the common people of the interior, 
 and the manner in which the subordinate police very often 
 impose on that ignorance. This induces persons who are charged 
 with offences to make confessions, even when they are quite 
 innocent. The subordinate officer formerly entrusted with in- 
 quiries, would form his own theory, and then proceed to extract 
 a confession. He did not set himself to prove an innocent man 
 guilty, or to force him to make a false confession ; but he 
 thought he had got hold of the right man ; and he tried to 
 induce or compel him " to tell the truth." 
 
 Very early in my service, I was in quite temporary charge 
 of a District, in which Sirdar Bahadur Rattan Singh was the 
 District Superintendent of Police. Rattan Singh was prac- 
 tically as much a foreigner in the Central Provinces as I ; for 
 he was a native of the Punjab ; but he had been, during almost 
 all his service, employed in the Central Provinces Police. He 
 was well acquainted with the customs and manners of the 
 people, and had a great deal of natural intelligence ; and, 
 though not a highly educated man, he was a very efficient 
 police officer, and had a general reputation for trustworthiness 
 and conscientious discharge of duty. While I was in temporary 
 charge of the District, a murder was reported from a jungle 
 village about twenty-five miles off. The body of the murdered 
 man had been found, and was identified as that of a man who 
 had been going about giving advances to cultivators on behalf 
 of a firm of grain merchants in a neighbouring district. He 
 was known to have money with him for the purpose of these 
 advances ; and when his body was found it was manifest that he 
 had been robbed. The body had been sent by the police to the 
 
 234
 
 Civil Surgeon for post mortem examination. That officer found 
 that, though it was greatly decomposed and almost devoured by 
 jackals, he was able to certify that the skull had been smashed 
 by some powerful weapon, and that one of the shoulder-blades 
 had also been broken by some instrument, which, from the marks 
 on the bone seemed to have had a sharp point. 
 
 No clue to the discovery of the murderers was found for 
 some days. Day by day, as the law required, the reports of 
 the local police were submitted to the District Superintendent 
 and to me. In a day or two a report came, stating that two men 
 had been arrested ; that the evidence recorded against them 
 was that they were suddenly found to be possessed of a con- 
 siderable amount of money, and that they had confessed to the 
 crime. The District Superintendent and I talked the matter 
 over. We thought it was a case that, despite the existence of 
 urgent business at head -quarters, necessitated a visit to the spot. 
 
 The Sirdar Bahadur and I accordingly started off very early 
 the next morning and rode together to this jungle village. 
 There we found the local police with the two men in custody. 
 The police had added to their evidence the discovery in the 
 jungle of a lathi (or club) stained with blood, which lathi was 
 identified by some of the villagers as belonging to one of the two 
 men. There was, however, one very remarkable fact about the 
 club, namely, that the bloodstains were on the thin end, not on 
 the thick end. This aroused our suspicions ; for it did not seem 
 natural that a man designing to beat another to death would 
 use the thin end of his club. We asked the men about the cir- 
 cumstances ; and they told us that they had met the man in the 
 jungle, and that the lust of gain had led them to take his life 
 with the club and remove his purse. 
 
 Rattan Singh asked my permission to do something which 
 was not quite regular, namely, to examine the men on oath, 
 proposing to administer such an oath as the men would un- 
 doubtedly respect. After some hesitation I agreed, subject to 
 the condition that nothing that they said would be recorded 
 or used against them. They were then called and asked what 
 
 235
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 the circumstances were. No one was present with us at this 
 inquiry except the eldest son of each of the accused : the local 
 police had been sent to a distance. Rattan Singh asked the 
 men to place their hands on the head of these little boys, and 
 to swear by the boys' lives that they would tell the truth. 
 They immediately proceeded to repeat the confession which 
 they had already made; but they were observed to remove 
 their hands from their sons 1 heads, and were told immediately 
 to replace them. 
 
 They then saip 1 that they could not tell that story with their 
 hands on their sons' heads. We informed them that it would 
 be in their interest to tell the truth ; and they proceeded with 
 their statement. They said that they had come upon the dead 
 body of the deceased ; that it was covered with blood ; and 
 that they had observed a string purse so bound up in his loin- 
 cloth that only part of it was visible. They had been averse 
 to touching the bloody corpse ; and they had pushed the thin 
 end of the club belonging to one of them under the loin-cloth 
 so as to raise it and secure the purse without touching the 
 body. This, of course, explained fully the blood-stains at the 
 thin end of the club. They did not know anything about the 
 cause of death. They were told, however, by the subordinate 
 police officers investigating the case, that the evidence against 
 them was conclusive, and that they would be hanged on that 
 evidence, but that, if they confessed, the Government would 
 probably take a lenient view of the offence and would pass a 
 sentence of a short period of imprisonment. They had accord- 
 ingly confessed. 
 
 They took us to the place where they found the body. A 
 careful examination of the ground, for some distance round the 
 spot where the body had been found, led to the discovery of the 
 clothes of the deceased lying near a pool in a neighbouring 
 stream, and of the footprints of a tiger. The case was ulti- 
 mately established as one of death by a tiger, which, after 
 killing the man where he was about to bathe, had dragged the 
 body for some little distance, and no doubt intended to make 
 
 236
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 a meal of it later. The fact that these men had found the 
 body and interfered with it had probably roused the suspicion 
 of the tiger, which, with the natural shyness of its kind, 
 abstained from further concern with it. The end of the case 
 was the punishment of the police officers concerned for having 
 induced a false confession. In a way, one was sorry for them. 
 They were zealous officers, and there was little doubt in our 
 minds that they really did believe in the guilt of these two 
 unfortunate countrymen ; but they had deliberately, by false 
 statements as to the probable action of Government, led these 
 men to make a confession whereby their lives were imperilled. 
 
 This was by no means an exceptional case. I have in mind 
 the recollection of several cases which occurred later, in which 
 the innocence of a person who had made a confession under 
 similar inducements was clearly established. I remember the 
 case of one poor woman, convicted, on her own confession, of 
 killing her new-born child, being released by order of the Chief 
 Commissioner on account of the fact that a child was born to 
 her in the jail while she was still awaiting the confirmation, 
 or (not improbably) the commutation, of the death sentence by 
 the Judicial Commissioner. The personal experience which I 
 had with Rattan Singh was very early in my service, and made 
 a deep impression on my mind which has never passed away. 
 It has often led me to insist on careful local inquiry by 
 thoroughly trustworthy officers in such cases ; and it was many 
 such cases, which were brought to our notice on the Police 
 Commission, which led us to insist on investigations being 
 conducted by officers on whose judgment and integrity some 
 reliance might be placed. This is the only effective remedy for 
 such abuses. 
 
 There is undoubtedly a great tendency on the part of Indians 
 to confess with a view of escaping the punishment which, 
 through circumstances over which they do not see that they 
 have any control, seems likely to fall upon them. The wife of 
 a very distinguished officer of the Madras Civil Service told 
 me, when I was on the Police Commission, a story which she 
 
 287
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 thought was quite relevant to this part of our inquiry. It 
 was to the following effect. Very soon after she had come from 
 home, as a young lady, to reside with her parents in Madras, 
 she reached their house from the tennis ground barely in time 
 to dress for dinner. She went into the drawing-room and found 
 that her mother had not yet come downstairs, but was in her 
 own room preparing for dinner. She left the drawing-room in 
 a hurry to run and change her clothes. As she was leaving the 
 room she knocked down a little table with a valuable vase on it. 
 The vase was broken to pieces. She lifted the table and then 
 went upstairs, determining to tell her mother when she was 
 dressed. When she came down she found her mother in the 
 act of dealing with the servants about the broken vase ; one of 
 the servants had already acknowledged that he had accidentally 
 thrown it down. Before she had heard what was going on, the 
 young lady said to her mother : " I am very sorry about that vase. 
 It was very careless of me. I knocked it down as I was hurry- 
 ing off to dress for dinner. 11 " But, 11 her mother said, " Rama- 
 swamy, the bearer, has just acknowledged that he broke it. 11 
 
 It turned out that the mother had told the servants that, 
 if they would speak the truth, she would take into considera- 
 tion any circumstances that might be favourable to the person 
 who had broken it, but that otherwise she must insist on the 
 price of the vase being paid by the servants as a body. The 
 result was that, after some consultation amongst themselves, 
 they had decided that Kamaswamy, who was a very good and 
 favourite servant, should make the confession. He accordingly 
 did so. It may be mentioned by the way that this plan of 
 making a community responsible for the faults of a single 
 individual, who cannot be discovered, is one which is not 
 uncommon in India. It is one which is in accordance with 
 Oriental ideas ; but it is certainly one which ought to be 
 adopted with great care. My friend told me the story with 
 a view to showing how, from what might appear altogether 
 inadequate considerations, an innocent person may be induced 
 to confess to a fault. 
 
 288
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 The police in the past have greatly erred in attaching undue 
 importance to confessions. The result has been in two respects 
 injurious to their work. On the one hand, a confession made 
 to them, even if true, may be withdrawn before the court ; 
 or if it is made before a competent magistrate it may be with- 
 drawn before a higher court. The accused may have regretted 
 his over-frankness, or he may have learned, from persons whom 
 he has met while in custody, that he was mistaken in thinking 
 that a favourable impression would be created by confession. 
 In either case, he withdraws his confession; and, the police 
 having relied too much upon it, the case breaks down. On the 
 other hand, it has sometimes been very injurious to police work 
 to attach undue weight to confessions in that, satisfied with 
 having obtained the confession and accepting it without 
 careful inquiry, the inquiring officers have turned their atten- 
 tion entirely in the wrong direction. These lessons of experience 
 have now been fully learned by the police ; and in every part 
 of India clear instructions have been issued forbidding the 
 police to rely upon confessions except so far as they afford a 
 clue to the obtaining of indisputably sound evidence. In this 
 respect, as in many others, the police procedure is immeasurably 
 improved, and their work has become immeasurably more 
 effective. 
 
 All this indicates the difficulties with which those who are 
 responsible for the administration of justice in India have to 
 deal. These difficulties affect the police and the courts alike. 
 There are many confessions made by prisoners in the hope 
 of escaping from the meshes of the net in which they find them- 
 selves entangled, which are not prompted by the police, but by 
 ignorant and mistaken views in regard to consequences. There 
 is also much false evidence which is due to the desire of an 
 ignorant person to strengthen for himself a sound case or to fill 
 up the details of a true story. The police officer, however 
 capable and however upright, may be misled by such confessions 
 or such evidence, unless he exercises very special care. If he 
 does not exercise the necessary care, he may greatly injure the 
 
 239
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 cause of justice ; if he does, he has very special opportunity of 
 benefiting that cause, as his inquiry is conducted on the spot. 
 
 The Police Commission were supported by the sentiment of 
 all responsible officers throughout India in thinking that the 
 inquiry entrusted to them was one of vital importance ; that 
 their work must be done thoroughly and the truth told 
 unreservedly ; and that the opportunity for establishing the 
 necessity for the required reforms must be fully utilised. It 
 was reserved for critics at home to say that the Report was 
 injudiciously outspoken. These men at home did not realise 
 the evils that had to be obviated ; nor could they understand 
 how far mistaken economy might perpetuate these evils. We 
 had to show clearly what the people concerned whether officers 
 or private citizens found the police to be, and how far it was 
 possible to make the police what they should be. Due allow- 
 ance was made for exaggeration and over-colouring in the 
 picture presented by some witnesses ; but there was no mincing 
 of matters, or under-statement of the facts, in regard to any 
 abuse that was brought to light. Corruption and oppression 
 were freely charged against the lowest ranks of the police; 
 they were less freely attributed to the inspectors and sub- 
 inspectors ; while they were practically never alleged in connec- 
 tion with the higher grades. The force, as a whole, was prized 
 or feared mainly as the officers of the higher grades maintained 
 effective supervision and control. 
 
 To put the force on a thoroughly satisfactory footing and to 
 remove the principal causes of abuse (which were, under-paying 
 the lowest ranks, an unsound system of recruiting for the upper 
 grades, and employment of men on duty for which they were 
 not trained nor qualified) required an expenditure which had to 
 be very clearly justified. The necessity for that expenditure was 
 established ; it has been incurred ; and the results even already 
 are excellent. The Commission were encouraged to urge this 
 expenditure not only from Indian experience in other depart- 
 ments, but also from English experience in the police. Both in 
 India in other departments of the Government service, acd in 
 
 240
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 England in the police, courage in facing necessary expenditure 
 had led to the very best results. 
 
 English experience is well worth a few words. We obtained 
 and read the " Report of the English Constabulary Force Com- 
 missioners," presented to Parliament in 1839. It will repay 
 perusal by those who set no limits to their abuse of the Indian 
 Police. It will supply them with some choice phrases. Men 
 would not in those days prosecute a thief or even report a theft ; 
 for that involved "throwing away good money after bad." 
 They would not incur " the trouble and expense which are 
 sustained in pursuing and apprehending felons." " The expense, 
 trouble, and loss of time, in case of misdemeanours, are fre- 
 quently more mischievous than some felonies." These are 
 mentioned as " the motives to withhold information or abstain 
 from prosecution," and as the causes of the failure to secure 
 " the general support of the community in Police work." 
 
 We thought that if the police reform initiated by Sir Robert 
 Peel had in England converted the state of things, described in 
 that report as existing sixty or seventy years ago, into the state 
 of things now existing, earnest efforts to reform the Police of 
 India might in due time produce incalculable benefit. We have 
 not been disappointed. Already reform has begun to tell, 
 although some of the reforms are still in their infancy. The 
 practical necessity for corruption in the lowest ranks has been 
 removed by giving them a reasonable wage. An improved 
 system of recruiting is securing better men for the higher 
 grades. Men are not allowed to make inquiries and do other 
 work for which they are not qualified. They are being better 
 trained in all grades of the force ; and the supervision and 
 control are more effective. 
 
 It is true that the police are still sometimes harsh and even 
 oppressive towards the people. So they always will be unless 
 they are kept under control. The low-class Oriental official is a 
 miserable tyrant : there are other places besides the East where 
 this is the case. The Report which led to Peel's reforms is 
 somewhat appalling reading ; and there are places in Europe 
 
 241 Q
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 still where the police are worse than they are in many parts of 
 India. Wherever authority in the hands of low-class uneducated 
 men is unrestrained, it is abused. The only safety lies in super- 
 vision and control. But it is only those acquainted with the 
 working of the police in the interior who understand what 
 efforts are made to prevent abuse, how severely harshness and 
 oppression are generally dealt with, and how immensely the 
 police have improved of late years. Torture is a thing so rare 
 as to be almost unknown, and is dealt with in the severest 
 manner when it is discovered ; and in regard to their treatment 
 of the people generally the Indian Police are being trained on 
 the lines laid down for the police force at home. The training 
 schools and the constant instruction of their superior officers 
 have effected a great change in the character of Indian 
 constables. 
 
 Most of the denunciation of the work of the police that one 
 now hears is based on the traditions of the days of their most 
 defective work, on the too ready acceptance of tales invented by 
 the criminal classes to cast discredit on police witnesses, and on 
 complete ignorance of the present conditions of the force and of 
 the rules under which inquiries are now conducted and super- 
 vised by officers of high character and sound training. The 
 force is not immaculate : it is Indian and therefore human ; but 
 there are no well-wishers of India and its peoples who are more 
 anxious to correct error and prevent abuse than the Magistrates 
 of Districts and the responsible police officers of the higher 
 grades. It is as unfair to talk of the Indian Police as some 
 men talk of that force even in the House of Commons as it 
 would be to apply phrases from the Report of 1839 to the 
 London Police of to-day. The Government of India would not 
 have been able to deal with the troubles of the last two or 
 three years but for the splendid work done by the reformed 
 police. Supervision and control will always be necessary. But 
 with these, the Indian Police are capable of most valuable 
 work. 
 
 It seems to me very deplorable to see how often the officers 
 
 242
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 who preside in our courts are altogether unacquainted with, and 
 make far too little allowance for, the difficulties against which 
 the superior police have to contend. It is far too common for 
 a Judicial officer, when a case breaks down, to give utterance to 
 adverse criticism and even ungenerous abuse of the police, 
 without reflecting on the possibility of mistakes being made 
 innocently by men contending with the difficulties which the 
 circumstances of inquiries in India too often present, and 
 without any knowledge of, or consideration for, the efforts 
 which senior police officers have made to secure efficiency and 
 thoroughness in their investigations. 
 
 This is unjust to the police, who are not on their trial before 
 the courts, and who are thus, often even when innocent, exposed 
 to public obloquy and to such injury in their profession as 
 constitutes not infrequently a serious punishment. It also 
 tends to friction between the Executive and Judicial depart- 
 ments, which is inconsistent with the sound and efficient 
 administration of the country. These two departments have 
 one object, the maintenance of peace and justice in India ; and 
 they ought to pull together. 
 
 I should certainly be very far from discouraging Judicial 
 officers from criticising the conduct of the police in their judg- 
 ments, if these criticisms are made on good grounds, and with 
 a due sense of responsibility on the part of the officer making 
 them. Such criticisms are of great value, when their object 
 is to bring mistakes and misconduct to the notice of the 
 responsible officers with a view of improving the administration 
 of the police ; and they ought to receive most careful and cour- 
 teous consideration. On the other hand, the hasty condemnation 
 or denunciation of the police by Judicial officers is much to be 
 deprecated. When unfavourable comments are made on a one- 
 sided representation of the facts, without the police officer 
 concerned having any chance of defending himself, they are 
 unjust; and their most likely effect is to rouse a feeling of 
 resentment and to defeat the only object that a Judicial officer 
 should have in his criticism. 
 
 243
 
 THE POLICE 
 
 When in the course of a trial the conduct of a police officer 
 seems open to suspicion or to call for explanation or inquiry, it 
 is necessary that the circumstances should be definitely set forth 
 by the Judicial officer in his judgment or in a separate note, to 
 be referred to the Executive Government, or to the superiors of 
 the officer concerned, for such inquiry and subsequent action as 
 may be necessary. The appearance of unfairness and prejudice 
 in the utterances of Judicial officers is greatly to be deprecated. 
 And the constant, and often unnecessary pillorying of the police 
 by some of the courts is as mischievous in its effect on the ad- 
 ministration as it is unjust in principle. The heads of the 
 Executive and Judicial departments ought to be able to concert 
 measures to prevent friction between the officers of these depart- 
 ments. It is an old Oriental proverb that, if you want good 
 work and a straight furrow, you should " not plough with an 
 ox and an ass together. 11 * Men who are working for the same 
 object ought to be able to co-operate and help one another ; 
 and friction in public duty ought not to be tolerated. 
 
 * Deuteronomy xxn. 10. 
 
 244
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 EDUCATION 
 
 THE subject of education is one to which I have been led to give 
 considerable attention during the whole of my service. The 
 District Magistrate in the Central Provinces was in the old days 
 directly responsible to the Inspector-General of Education for 
 the primary schools of his district, and he was also expected to 
 take a very active interest in the higher forms of education. 
 He was assisted in this by any of his subordinates whom he chose 
 to place specially in charge of that department of work, and also 
 by an Indian officer called a District Inspector, who was in charge 
 of the primary schools. The system worked well. No doubt 
 in regard to higher education the department ought to be held 
 primarily responsible, though here also the Executive officers of 
 Government ought to render all assistance possible ; but in 
 regard to primary education nothing can compensate for a lack 
 of interest or a want of sense of responsibility on the part of the 
 District Officer. In the higher schools there are pupils, the 
 majority of whose parents have begun to attach considerable 
 importance to the education of their sons and will take an 
 interest in pushing them forward ; but if the primary schools 
 are to be well attended the great majority of the pupils will be 
 children whose parents require to be persuaded to send them. 
 My opinion is that, in view of the circumstances of the Central 
 Provinces and the condition of its peoples, education is far more 
 efficient there than in perhaps any other Province in India ; and 
 I think that this is due to the effective assistance rendered to 
 the Education Department by Revenue and Magisterial officers. 
 
 245
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 I was placed in charge of education by one of my earliest 
 Deputy Commissioners when I was a young assistant, and I 
 have always taken a considerable interest in this branch of 
 work. I do not intend, however, to write on the matter with 
 any assumption of superior knowledge ; because I consider that 
 the question is an extremely difficult one, and that the condi- 
 tions of the question have altered very considerably during 
 recent years. Not only has attention been drawn particularly 
 to the student class by certain very unfortunate events which 
 have occurred, but the particular aspects of education which 
 demand most attention now are not those which occupied us 
 most in former years. 
 
 I must say that that which occupied us most in the Central 
 Provinces was primary education. We felt a deep interest in 
 the village school, because we regarded it as of importance to 
 have at least some of the agricultural community as far as 
 possible in every village throughout the country educated enough 
 to be able to read their Village Papers and Accounts, and 
 understand their transactions with their landlords and money- 
 lenders. We regarded this as so desirable that we considered 
 it expedient to use all our influence to make the schools efficient 
 and attractive, and to get the people to take advantage of 
 them for their children. There is one point to which too little 
 attention is generally given, namely, the necessity for making 
 the primary schools more popular by closing them when the 
 parents need the help of their children during agricultural 
 operations. This is done in the glens of Scotland : it is more 
 necessary in the villages of India. 
 
 For a long time higher education was practically left entirely 
 to the Education Department. Although District Officers 
 visited the higher schools and colleges they did not, as a rule, 
 consider it their duty to form any particular opinion as to their 
 efficiency or suitability, but simply to encourage them. As, 
 however, the demand for secondary education increased and a 
 large number of boys and young men began to be gathered 
 together in central places, the necessity for taking some steps 
 
 246
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 to secure their physical and moral well-being was pressed upon 
 the attention. It was not enough that the educational officers 
 began to see this necessity. It was realised to be a matter 
 deeply concerning the welfare of the people generally and the 
 executive administration of the province. 
 
 It is sometimes said that education has been carried too far 
 in India, that we are educating too many of our Indian fellow- 
 subjects. In dealing with the limitations of unrest, I shall 
 quote figures which show that there is no foundation for such 
 a statement. We are not educating too many ; we are still 
 educating far too few. This is true in regard to higher education 
 as well as in regard to primary education. There is no part of 
 education that is being carried to excess. On the contrary, it 
 seems to me that the demand for education, which has most 
 naturally grown by leaps and bounds during recent years, has 
 not been at all adequately met. The result has been that the 
 education provided has become much less efficient than it used 
 to be ; the teachers have, as a rule, had to deal, each with far 
 more pupils than he could give attention to ; the inspectors and 
 deputy-inspectors have had more schools under them than they 
 were able properly to inspect and control ; and boys and young 
 men have been allowed to collect at educational centres without 
 any adequate provision being made for their physical and moral 
 welfare. In all respects the touch between teachers and pupils 
 has become weakened, and the personal influence of the teacher 
 has been less and less effectual for good. In many cases, too, 
 owing to the underpaying and overworking of the Educational 
 Staff, a spirit of discontent has been excited among them which 
 is very serious in its consequences on their work and on their 
 influence over the pupils. 
 
 Another great defect of our educational system in India of 
 which parents of all classes are beginning now to complain 
 bitterly, is the absolute want of religious instruction in the 
 Government schools which the majority of the people at least 
 still regard as the most suitable for their sons' education. It 
 does not appear to me that this defect is essential to the educa- 
 
 247
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 tional system as laid down by the Government, but rather that 
 it has arisen through a failure on the one hand to see the serious 
 nature of the evils involved until they pressed urgently on the 
 attention, and on the other hand to carry out consistently and 
 determinedly the principles on which the educational system 
 was based. 
 
 The Brahmans have always made a show of learning, and 
 have, indeed, claimed a practical monoply of it. Of course, very 
 many Brahmans are absolutely without education, many of them 
 are mere menial servants ; but it is the Brahmans as a class 
 who have in India regarded themselves as the depositaries 
 of learning. I have often thought that in this respect they 
 were not unlike the ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages. The 
 essential difference, of course, is that no one can be a Brahman 
 except by birth. It is not difficult to make out a strong case 
 against the Church of the Middle Ages in respect of the 
 arrogance of the ecclesiastics and their contempt for the laity, 
 as well as in respect of the vices of individuals or of groups 
 among them ; but, on the other hand, it is easy to see that in 
 many respects they were a powerful influence for good, and 
 that their education and training raised them in many respects 
 far above the great bulk of the people. But in the Middle 
 Ages the ecclesiastical monopoly of learning involved its neglect 
 by the great body of the people, and meant also the absence of 
 real progress. Even kings ruled who could not read nor write ; 
 distinguished soldiers travelled all over the world without 
 learning ; the great body of the people trusted to professional 
 help in anything connected with reading or writing; and the 
 general life of the world was wanting in intellectual vigour. 
 That is something like the state of India now. 
 
 A writer on Indian affairs has told us that " the Brahmans 
 of modern times are not in any degree more learned than their 
 ancestors of the time of Lycurgus and Pythagoras." If this be 
 true of the Brahmans themselves, it is more emphatically true of 
 the peoples of India generally. While other once barbarous 
 races have emerged from darkness, pressed forward into civi- 
 
 248
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 lisation, and extended their researches into the arts and sciences 
 in a manner of which the old world teachers and thinkers 
 of the ancient civilisation of India could not have dreamed, 
 her own peoples have stood still. They have made no moral 
 or intellectual advancement : they have been asleep throughout 
 these ages. As one travels about India one sees a strange 
 mixture of civilisation and barbarism. There are the remains 
 of the old civilisation, not only in wonderful buildings and works 
 of art, but also in the elaborate philosophies and laws which 
 have come down through many ages. But these remains are 
 more like the empty walls or crumbling ruins of castles and 
 palaces long deserted and falling into decay, while all around 
 there is gross ignorance and darkness. A beautiful simple life 
 is described as led by many of the people in the Indian Arcadia 
 of olden times ; and this is to be found in the villages of to-day. 
 That life is, however, generally characterised by want of 
 education ; and the corrupt religion, which has long held sway, 
 has been characterised by practices which our civilisation re- 
 gards as inhuman and compels the Government to put down 
 with a strong hand. 
 
 It is very interesting even now to go to some of the tols 
 or seminaries of Sanskrit learning and find the teachers and 
 the students living together precisely the kind of life that is 
 described in the old Sanskrit classics. I once spent a delight- 
 ful day with the teachers and pupils of the great School of 
 Sanskrit learning at Navadwip. I was most kindly received 
 in the good old way as " the illustrious model of all the Virtues, 11 
 and they gave me their degree of " Ocean of Logic and Truth," 
 and sent me on my way, after several hours of kindly fellow- 
 ship, with words of encouragement regarding my work. It 
 is interesting also to go to the indigenous village schools, 
 where a Guru or religious preceptor gathers his pupils round 
 him and teaches them sometimes a smattering of reading, 
 writing, and arithmetic all in the old way of learning by rote, 
 and committing to memory that which in the days when there 
 were no books would otherwise have been lost to the learner. 
 
 249
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 But interesting as such experiences are, they leave the clear 
 impression that there is little or nothing here of true education. 
 The education as given to any other than Brahmans under the 
 old system was exceedingly rudimentary, and while conveying to 
 a few traders and petty landowners a little useful instruction, it 
 really did practically nothing to educate and develop their 
 intelligence. 
 
 It was very much the same with the Muhammadans. The 
 Hindus form the great bulk of the population of India ; and 
 the Muhammadan system is in some respects foreign to that 
 country. The Muhammadans, however, must be carefully con- 
 sidered in respect of education, partly because of their numerical 
 importance, especially in the northern Provinces, and also 
 because of the memories and traditions which are bound up 
 with their history. Higher education among the Muhammadans, 
 like higher education among the Hindus, was available for a very 
 small section of the community. Men of learning devoted 
 themselves to the instruction of youth mainly in the Arabic 
 language and the sacred Koran ; and as the Hindu dealt mainly 
 with philosophy and law, so they dealt mainly with religion 
 and jurisprudence. Here and there, connected with mosques 
 and shrines, there were little religious schools in which the 
 Muhammadan teachers gave altogether disproportionate atten- 
 tion to the training of the memory and failed really to educate 
 their pupils. 
 
 It was with these systems among Hindus and Muhammadans 
 that the Court of Directors of the old East India Company 
 found themselves face to face, when they determined to deal 
 with the matter of education. At first the Company which had 
 become the rulers of India did not accept responsibility for 
 providing popular education. In those days the Home Govern- 
 ment did not even accept that responsibility in regard to the 
 inhabitants of Great Britain, but left education to be managed 
 or mismanaged by the people themselves. It was largely due to 
 the great pioneer missionaries, and to a few distinguished states- 
 men, that education was at last taken up by the Company. In 
 
 250
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 India it is of the utmost importance that the Government should 
 take the lead in such a matter. It is so still : it was even more 
 so over half a century ago. The people of India had not then 
 acquired they have not yet fully acquired the capacity for 
 action on their own account. In great matters they look to the 
 Government at least to lead them ; their tendency is to expect 
 the Government to do for them all that is to be done. 
 
 This is not always adequately realised ; but though much has 
 been done in educating the people in self-government, it will be 
 a long time before the races of India can be left to manage their 
 own affairs, even in regard to the matters which most concern 
 them, and with which they are best acquainted. There are a 
 great many Indians now, especially of the more intelligent and 
 educated classes, who have a very clear idea of certain things 
 that they want in regard to education. I am of opinion that 
 their views ought to be fully considered, and as far as possible 
 carried into effect. They expect this of the Government. They 
 do not expect to have the whole work left to themselves. They 
 want encouragement ; they want a lead ; the neglect to give it is 
 interpreted as indifference. 
 
 In the latter part of the first half of last century the atten- 
 tion of the authorities both in India and at home was seriously 
 directed to the moral and material condition of India ; and 
 there remains on record the Despatch of 1854 from the Court of 
 Directors of the East India Company, which laid down in clear, 
 though general, terms " the principles which should govern the 
 educational policy of the Government of India. 1 ' It set forth, 
 in the words of Lord Dalhousie, " a scheme of education for all 
 India, far wider and more comprehensive than the Supreme or 
 any Local Government could ever have ventured to suggest." 
 Before that there had been neither constancy of direction nor 
 breadth of aim. The annual expenditure upon public instruc- 
 tion had been insignificant and uncertain, and its control had 
 not been deemed worthy of the attention of any department of 
 the State. The Despatch of 1854 was a new departure. This 
 remarkable document starts with this noble declaration, 
 
 251
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 " Among many subjects of importance none can have a stronger 
 claim on our attention than that of education. It is one of our 
 most sacred duties to be the means, as far as in us lies, of con- 
 ferring upon the natives of India those vast moral and material 
 blessings which flow from the general diffusion of useful know- 
 ledge, and which India may, under Providence, derive from her 
 connection with England." 
 
 The object was not only to produce a higher degree of intel- 
 lectual fitness, but to raise the moral character of those who 
 should partake of education, to supply Government with servants 
 to whose probity offices of trust might be committed with 
 increased confidence, and to advance the well-being of the 
 people generally. The material condition of the great Empire 
 was to be advanced by the diffusion of the improved arts, 
 science, philosophy, and literature of Europe. The vernaculars 
 of the country were not to be neglected. They were to be 
 utilised as the media of communication of European knowledge 
 to the people generally, leaving the mastery of the English 
 language, as a key to the literature of Europe, to those who 
 aspired to a high order of education. 
 
 The responsibility for popular education was accepted both on 
 the general ground of the duty of Government to secure the best 
 interests of the people, and also on the particular ground that in 
 India Government effort was especially required. At the same 
 time, it was laid down that Government could not attempt to 
 supply popular education by its own unaided efforts. The task 
 was too great. It was indeed recognized that the people by 
 themselves could not obtain an education worthy of the name. 
 Government must, therefore, come to their assistance ; but the 
 work was not to depend entirely on its unaided efforts. History 
 had shown that throughout all ages both Hindus and Muham- 
 madans had given themselves to the work of teaching according 
 to their lights, and that munificent bequests had not infrequently 
 been made for the permanent endowment of educational institu- 
 tions. It was hoped, therefore, that Government would be 
 
 252
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 assisted by the people, and a Grant-in-Aid system was set 
 forth. 
 
 The details of the administration of the Educational Depart- 
 ment, and all the instructions of the Despatch regarding 
 scholarships, textbooks, technical institutions, and female 
 education need not be mentioned. Enough has been said to 
 show how comprehensive a survey was taken of the necessities of 
 the case, with what ability and forethought these were provided 
 for, and the earnest and lofty purpose which animated the 
 authors of this Despatch, the principles of which have again and 
 again been accepted by the Government of India. The 
 Despatch concludes by quoting with hearty concurrence the 
 words used long before by Sir Thomas Munro of Madras, to the 
 effect that any expenses which may be incurred in education 
 " will be amply repaid by the improvement of the country ; for 
 the general diffusion of knowledge is invariably followed by more 
 orderly habits, by increasing industry, by a taste for the com- 
 forts of life, by exertion to acquire them, and by the growing 
 prosperity of the people. 1 ' 
 
 This is a Despatch that fills me with admiration. It was 
 written by great men at a great crisis in the history of India. 
 I wish that it were better known to those who are making that 
 history now. I cannot deal with it here at length. There are 
 a few points to which I should like to draw attention ; but I 
 must pass unnoticed many that are important. Tempting as 
 the subject undoubtedly is, I do not think it necessary to enter 
 into any discussion concerning technical and scientific education. 
 That is being taken up vigorously by the Government of India. 
 There is only one thing which I feel it worth while to state in 
 this connection : that is the strong impression that has grown 
 up in my mind that technical and scientific education, such as 
 will fit men for ordinary technical and scientific work, ought to 
 be supplied in India itself. It will no doubt be necessary to 
 send men from India to Europe for the acquisition of high 
 expert knowledge in certain specialised departments, as it is 
 necessary to send men away from England itself for that pur- 
 
 263
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 pose. But it is not right that for ordinary education of a 
 technical and scientific nature lads should have to leave their 
 own country. This may be accepted as a general principle. It 
 is especially applicable to the conditions of India. Effort 
 should, therefore, be made to secure, as speedily as possible, a 
 sound technical and scientific system of education in India itself. 
 The people wish it ; they would assist the Government in secur- 
 ing it ; and it is emphatically in the interests of Government 
 that it should be secured. 
 
 Although I cannot take up time with a full discussion of the 
 Despatch, there are among its most important features, three 
 that demand brief attention. These are the high place given 
 to vernacular education, the Grant-in-Aid system and religious 
 instruction. 
 
 Firstly, then, the importance attached to vernacular educa- 
 tion. It has been humorously said that Englishmen have, to a 
 large extent, modified the great commission of the Founder of 
 Christianity, and have made it run thus : " Go ye into all the 
 world and teach the English language to every creature." 
 The English language is well worth knowing ; but the framers 
 of the Despatch were right in relegating it to higher education, 
 and in insisting on the teaching of the vernaculars. They 
 understood how absolutely necessary it was for sound govern- 
 ment to maintain touch with the people through their ver- 
 naculars, and also how imperfect English education itself must 
 be when the pupil, in all his home life and in all his surround- 
 ings, is separated from its spirit and true environment. Unfor- 
 tunately there has been a tendency, based largely on the views 
 enunciated by Lord Macaulay in 1 835, but contrary to the later 
 and sounder views of the Despatch, to starve vernacular educa- 
 tion, especially in the higher schools and colleges. The result 
 has been a want of touch between education and the life of the 
 country, which is very much to be deplored. At present there 
 is a revival, to a certain extent, of interest in vernacular educa- 
 tion ; and I earnestly trust that it may receive more attention in 
 future. To sacrifice the vernaculars to English is to sacrifice 
 
 254
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 the true interests of the vast majority of the people to the 
 doubtful advantage of the few. 
 
 Secondly, there is the Grant-in-Aid system. This is of the 
 very essence of sound educational policy in India; because 
 it means that Government will aid local effort and develop 
 self-help, while at the same time it secures the necessary 
 pecuniary assistance of the people in work, the cost of which 
 must be altogether beyond the unassisted efforts of Govern- 
 ment in a country where the taxation must of necessity be kept 
 as low as possible. It also enables the people to carry on 
 education on their own lines, so far as these are worthy and 
 efficient, their worth and efficiency being tested by a careful 
 system of Government inspection. I do not for a moment mean 
 to say that the manner in which Grants-in-Aid have been dis- 
 tributed by the Educational Department in the past has always 
 been wise and effective ; but the system itself is one which is 
 capable of excellent administration, and is entirely suited to the 
 circumstances of India. 
 
 The third point is the question of religion. The Despatch 
 declared clearly in favour of neutrality in regard to religion ; 
 but this neutrality was accompanied by a sanguine confidence 
 in the power of instruction in secular subjects alone to kindle 
 a moral ideal, and to touch the springs of conduct. There is 
 no doubt that there is some foundation for this belief, especially 
 as stated by the authors of the Despatch. But their sanguine 
 hopes have undoubtedly proved to be largely unwarranted. 
 There is no one acquainted with the facts who does not admit 
 that Government education in India has somewhat conspicu- 
 ously failed to influence conduct and character. As has been 
 well said, it has too much resulted in " the mere acquisition 
 by the memory, or superficial understanding, of a body of 
 information, much of it of a character alien to the real human 
 life of the country. 11 A good deal of this result, however, is 
 due not to the principles contained in the Despatch, but to 
 some neglect of them. 
 
 In speaking of Christian missions, I shall have to point out 
 
 255
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 how erroneously the doctrine of neutrality has been interpreted 
 by some officers of Government. Nothing could be more 
 ridiculous than some of the action taken by such officers with 
 regard to education. There was one Province in which at one 
 time some of our best English classics were expurgated of all 
 reference to the Divine Being and to Christianity. And, while 
 that was an extreme and exceptional case, something of the 
 same misconception has too often characterised the action of 
 the department regarding religion. The Despatch, on the 
 contrary, while distinctly laying down that no one is to be 
 interfered with in respect of his religious belief, and that 
 religious instruction is in no way to be taken into account in 
 the inspection of educational institutions, also lays down, not 
 only that grants may be given in respect of their educational 
 work to efficient institutions which also teach religion, but that 
 religious books may be placed in the libraries of Government 
 institutions, and that private and voluntary inquiries regarding 
 the Christian faith may be dealt with by the teachers in these 
 institutions. I reserve for my chapter on Christian missions, 
 some of the important sentences of the Despatch in this 
 connection. 
 
 The really great provision in the Despatch for religious in- 
 struction was, however, the provision of an efficient system of 
 Grants-in-Aid for secular education even to institutions teach- 
 ing religion. This enabled good Hindu and Muhammadan in- 
 stitutions to receive support, and has led to the establishment 
 of a large number of missionary institutions which receive 
 Grants-in-Aid from Government. These are distinctly mis- 
 sionary in their character. Dr. Duff wrote in 1834 : " I for 
 one would not lend myself as an instrument in wasting the funds 
 of the benevolent in Scotland, in teaching young men a mere 
 smattering of knowledge to enable them to become more mis- 
 chievous pests to society than they would have been in a state 
 of absolute heathenism. On the other hand, if out of every ten 
 who enter the school, even one were to advance to the higher 
 branches of secular and Christian education, were to become in 
 
 256
 
 ~a o 
 
 M" 
 
 V 5> 
 
 > rt 
 
 o ii 
 
 O a 
 
 -I
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 head and in heart a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and were 'a 
 number with minds thus disciplined, enlarged and sanctified to 
 go forth from the institution, what a leaven would be infused 
 into the dense mass of the votaries of Hinduism." 
 
 These words by the great leader of missionary education 
 who was also one of the most influential agents of educational 
 activity in India, are a true declaration of missionary policy in 
 regard to education. Missionary institutions have turned out, 
 as Christian men, some of the finest Indian characters that I 
 have known, men who were esteemed not only in the Christian 
 Church, but by the entire community. And the influence of 
 such institutions has been seen, not only directly in their con- 
 verts, and in the influence that these converts have exercised, but 
 also in those who, without formally accepting the religion of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, have been animated by its moral principles. 
 
 There are many now who attribute what is unsatisfactory in 
 the results of our educational system largely, if not entirely, to 
 the neglect of religious teaching. Dr. Duff" and some of the 
 early friends of education prophesied precisely such results three- 
 quarters of a century ago ; and the fore-knowledge of such results 
 undoubtedly influenced the high-minded statesmen who framed 
 the Despatch of 1854. But men in India did not then generally 
 realise the possibility of such results, and they were somewhat 
 careless on the matter. Now, however, among those who are 
 thoughtfully considering the present condition of affairs, there 
 adhere to these views hundreds and thousands among the best men 
 of India : Hindus, Muhammadans, and Christians, Zamindars, 
 and professional men, Government officials and business men. 
 We have recently seen clear and vigorous exposition of the 
 necessity for religious instruction in addresses presented to the 
 Viceroy of India by the Indian chiefs of Native States, and in 
 letters addressed to him by all the important princes whom 
 he consulted in regard to the present state of affairs. It is 
 pathetic to read how they describe " the absence of religious 
 instruction in the schools as a potent cause of wrong ideas." 
 
 In British India, also, there is the same feeling. A very 
 
 257 R
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 striking deputation was received by the Viceroy in the end of 
 1908. It was a large and influential deputation of orthodox 
 Hindu noblemen and gentlemen representing the Sri Bharat 
 Dharma Mahamandal, the great Society of orthodox Hindus 
 for all India. The sole object of their approach to the Viceroy 
 was to secure his Excellency's sympathy with their views regard- 
 ing religious education, so that " nothing will be wanting within 
 your power to help us in our efforts to guide the awakening 
 life of the Hindus throughout India by means of a spiritual 
 religious education until they form a truly compact and noble 
 religious nation, a loyal and peaceful and prosperous people." 
 Similarly strong declarations have been made by Muhammadan 
 associations as to the importance of religion in education. Dis- 
 tinguished individuals also have stepped forward, and strongly 
 stated their views in favour of religious education, discipline, 
 and moral training in schools. The Muhammadan representa- 
 tive of the old dynasty of Murshiabad, himself educated at 
 Rugby and Oxford, the Maharajadhiraj Bahadur of Bardwan, 
 the Maharaja Bahadur of Darbhanga, and others in Bengal have 
 spoken strongly on the subject. The same feeling is shown in 
 the remarkable movements for the establishment of a Hindu 
 University at Benares and a Muhammadan one at Aligarh. To 
 have religious education in a residential University is the main 
 object of these movements. It is a sound aim ; but I regret 
 that the Universities should be sectarian. 
 
 During my first two or three years of touring in Bengal as 
 Lieutenant-Governor, I was besieged by Indian parents occupy- 
 ing high positions of influence in the interior, such as land- 
 holders, lawyers, judges, district officers, and men of business, 
 pointing out to me that they could not obtain a sound education 
 for their sons at their own doors, and that they must, there- 
 fore, either train them at home under tutors, or send them to 
 Calcutta or some other educational centre, to colleges where 
 their moral and religious character ran the greatest risk of com- 
 plete perversion. They implored me to devise some means 
 whereby it might befpossible to provide a less dangerous system 
 
 258
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 of education for young men. They strongly approved of the 
 principle of religious neutrality on the part of Government; 
 but they urged that this was surely not inconsistent with 
 devising a system whereby religious and moral training would 
 not be altogether neglected. 
 
 This led me to propose the scheme known as " The Ranchi 
 College Scheme. 11 The object of this scheme was to have at 
 Ranchi, which was the most healthy place for Indians of all 
 parts of the Province of Bengal as then constituted, a college 
 far away from the temptations inseparable from life in a great 
 city ; to provide in that college a thoroughly sound secular 
 education in arts and sciences ; and to surround that college by 
 hostels, all of which would be built by private subscription, and 
 supported by fees and scholarships founded by the benevolent. 
 In these hostels the home life of the student would, as far as 
 possible, be perpetuated under authorities, who would be sub- 
 ject to the supervision of the college authorities, bound to 
 supply, not only physical comfort, but also moral education and 
 discipline, and such religious instruction as the parents might 
 desire. Hindus, Muhammadans, Brahmans, and Christians 
 would each have their separate hostel or hostels. In this way 
 Government would not be responsible for providing religious 
 instruction, but would not interfere with it, except in so far as 
 the maintenance of discipline within the college might require. 
 
 This scheme was cordially supported by private subscriptions 
 raised with great enthusiasm. It was accepted by the Govern- 
 ment of India and the Secretary of State ; but it has not been 
 carried out. The reason alleged for not carrying it out is the 
 want of funds. If, however, more funds were necessary, it would 
 have been easy to raise them ; for the people felt very strongly 
 the necessity for such an institution. There are men who feel 
 so strongly on the necessity for higher education for their sons 
 being accompanied by discipline and moral and religious train- 
 ing, that they do not hesitate to send them to this country not 
 for any specialised course of study but in the hope of finding that 
 training here. 
 
 259
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 I had a talk in 1910 with a Muhammadan friend who was on 
 a visit to this country. He was an old supporter of the Ranchi 
 College Scheme, and had determined to send his children to the 
 District school there, and then to the college. As the scheme 
 had, to his great disappointment, been given up, he had 
 brought his children, three sons and two nephews, to place 
 them at school in England. He told me that the actual cost 
 for schooling, apart from anything else, was ^200 a year for 
 each child. Besides that, he had clothes and other bills to pay ; 
 and he had also to make arrangements, at great expense, for the re- 
 turn of the children to India at least once every two or three years, 
 so that they might not become utterly out of touch with their 
 home. Something between ^1,000 and .2,000 a year is being 
 spent by this gentleman on the education of his children in 
 England, while he would far rather have had them educated in 
 a thoroughly sound Indian public school and college, such as 
 were proposed for Ranchi. He told me that he would be 
 willing to pay as much as that, if it could be done in accordance 
 with anything like principles of justice in the adjustment of 
 burdens, for the education of his children in Ranchi. 
 
 The most important Hindu perhaps at the present time in 
 India was also to have sent his children to the District school 
 at Ranchi, with the intention of letting them go forward in due 
 time to the college. He looked about in vain for a place to 
 which he could appropriately send them in India ; and he also 
 has now been compelled to incur the expense and the risk of 
 sending them to England for their education, as well as the 
 certain disadvantage of having them grow up out of touch with 
 India, and with the people among whom their life work must 
 be done. 
 
 There was another object which I had in view in proposing 
 this Ranchi College Scheme, which included, as my remarks have 
 already indicated, the idea of a good school at the same place. 
 That object was to secure for the noblemen and great land- 
 owners of Bengal a place where they could have their sons 
 educated, and also housed in a manner becoming their station, 
 
 260
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 without sending them to a Chiefs 1 College, and thus separating 
 them entirely from the traditions and influences by which they 
 will be surrounded in after life, and from the people with whom 
 they will have to do the business of life. 
 
 I know one particular case in which the son of one of the 
 most distinguished families in Bengal was to have been sent 
 to the Ranchi College. Instead of that it has been considered 
 necessary now to send him to a Chiefs' College, which is intended 
 for the Feudatory Princes of India. I do not propose to enter 
 into the discussion of the kind of education that is necessary for 
 the Feudatory Princes. The political department must be 
 responsible for the decision in such a case. But I have no 
 hesitation whatever in saying that to send a British Zamindar 
 to be educated along with the future Feudatory Princes of 
 India is an entire mistake. It puts him into a position where 
 he cannot fail to have great difficulty in maintaining his self- 
 respect. However great the position of a nobleman in British 
 India may be, it is different from the position of the member of 
 a ruling house in a Native State. 
 
 In respect of Bengal especially, I have not the slightest doubt 
 that to take a young nobleman away from all connection with 
 his own Province, and with those who are to do the work of the 
 Province in future years, is a blunder. In his home life, which 
 may be represented by the hostel in which he lives, he may be 
 apart from others. But in the battle of life he has to meet with 
 them on equal terms and hold his own with them ; and he 
 should be prepared for this by attending the same college. The 
 noblemen of Bengal themselves desire nothing less than to have 
 their sons educated in a manner which separates them entirely 
 from other classes, and trains them in associations with which 
 they will have no connection hereafter. 
 
 The Ranchi College Scheme was intended largely to provide 
 for the separate home life of persons who, by their position, 
 race, or religion, require a separate home life while attending 
 school or college. It was also designed especially to meet the 
 difficulty of religious education in institutions under the control 
 
 261
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 of Government. Government cannot yet at least separate itself 
 entirely from education ; and it is necessary, therefore, to devise 
 means whereby the education which it provides shall not be 
 divorced entirely from religion. But it must be borne in mind 
 that another and even more important means of providing 
 religious instruction is to do it through aided institutions. 
 Both these methods demand attention and should be fostered. 
 I am very strongly convinced that, unless we provide for 
 religious training as well as for secular instruction, we expose 
 the peoples of India to an unspeakable danger. We do more 
 than this. We educate the youth of India in a manner that is 
 strongly distasteful to their parents. 
 
 The people of India are naturally a religious people, and they 
 have a strong belief in the influences of religion and of home 
 life. If we fail to give religious instruction, we shall either 
 find the people of India becoming by our influence, and against 
 their will, agnostic and atheistic in their views, and wanting in 
 religious and moral character; or we shall have them full of 
 an altogether justifiable discontent with our system of educa- 
 tion. It may be that they will take education into their own 
 hands. It is not fair to compel them to do this ; for, as I have 
 said, the people need the assistance and the leading of Govern- 
 ment in a matter of this kind. And, if they do, the strong 
 feeling which at present urges them to appeal to Government 
 for help to supply them with religious education will, when 
 that demand is refused, lead them infallibly into a position of 
 discontent and opposition. I regard the matter, therefore, as 
 of the very highest importance in respect of the future of the 
 people of India. 
 
 There has been great advance made in respect of higher 
 education by the Universities Act passed by Lord Curzon's 
 Government. This was one of the special services rendered 
 to India by Lord Curzon. University Education was carefully 
 inquired into by a strong Commission presided over by Sir 
 Thomas Raleigh. On the Report of that Commission the 
 Universities Bill was framed. It became law after the fullest 
 
 262
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 discussion. It has not produced a perfect University system 
 in India ; no legislation can do anything of the kind. But it 
 has made it possible to make any improvement for which the 
 authorities have the pluck and the money. The new Regula- 
 tions framed under the Act have already accomplished much : 
 far more in the time than many of us thought possible. I was 
 the first Rector of the University. I was consulted at every 
 step by the Vice- Chancellor, the Hon. Sir Asutosh Mukerji, 
 Judge of the Calcutta High Court. I saw all his work, and 
 faced the difficulties with him. I have never seen more earnest, 
 devoted, and effective work. No one who was not engaged in 
 the work can understand the difficulty of getting the new 
 Regulations through the Senate. Sir Asutosh was on special 
 duty, and sacrificed his health to his zeal and his unremitting 
 labour. 
 
 At that time there was sore trouble with the students. They 
 were not wholly to blame; they had unprincipled and selfish 
 advisers, who took advantage of their youth and inexperience 
 to soil their best impulses by the most ignoble uses. It has 
 been publicly said in the Press that the University neglected 
 this matter. A prominent home writer deplored the fact that 
 the interests of the University were at that time " in the hands 
 of a Bengali Vice- Chancellor." This was an unjust judgment, 
 pronounced in ignorance. Sir Asutosh tackled this matter 
 with courage and wisdom. He and I worked together ; and 
 I approved all that he did. We put things right in scores of 
 colleges without making any fuss or martyrising anybody ; and 
 we tolerated abuse in no college whatever which was subject 
 to the University. 
 
 It is hopeless, however, to try to put things right merely 
 by Regulation and Rule. We must have a proper system of 
 Hostels, and a sound religious and moral training for Indian 
 youth. It will cost money ; but I believe that the money will 
 be forthcoming. Men are now alive to the danger. They will 
 help to provide the remedy. Government should be left mainly 
 to deal with Primary Education, receiving there also assistance 
 
 263
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 from the wealthy and benevolent. It is the latter who ought, 
 with the assistance of Government, to provide higher education. 
 The Despatch of 1854 says : "The higher classes will now be 
 gradually called upon to depend more upon themselves." If 
 the call had been made, it would have been answered. Govern- 
 ment has greatly erred in not calling on the wealthy and 
 public-spirited for their co-operation. It is traditional with 
 the great families to help education ; and much might have 
 been done had they believed that Government would appreciate 
 their help. I have never failed to secure a generous response to 
 any appeal. All they want is to be treated as honoured and 
 trusted fellow-workers. 
 
 264
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 I WAS fortunate in falling in, at the very beginning of my service, 
 with excellent missionaries, and in being thus led from the very 
 first to take much interest in their work. In Nagpur there is a 
 Scottish Presbyterian Mission which was founded under some- 
 what striking circumstances. In the Bhonsla days, in the 
 earlier half of last century, there were troops stationed at 
 Kamptee for the defence of the Resident, and among these 
 there were several Christian officers who felt deeply concerned 
 at the ignorance and superstition which prevailed around them, 
 among a people for whom they had begun to conceive much 
 affection. Some of these men set themselves to collect funds 
 and to use their influence to establish a Christian mission at 
 Nagpur. They applied to the Free Church of Scotland, which 
 was then wrestling with the difficulties caused by its recent 
 secession from the Church of Scotland as by law established. 
 Their request was sympathetically considered, and the Church 
 pluckily set itself to establish this new mission. 
 
 Mr. Hislop, who went out as the first missionary to Nagpur, 
 was a man of much culture and capacity. Sir Richard Temple, 
 when the task was committed to him of organising the ad- 
 ministration of the newly formed Province (called " the Central 
 Provinces'"), found Mr. Hislop a valuable coadjutor. Mr. 
 Hislop's intimate knowledge of local geology, and also of the 
 peoples and tribes of the Nagpur country, as well as his intense 
 interest in education and in whatever tended to the public good, 
 was recognised by Sir Richard Temple, who treated him as a 
 friend and helper in his work. 
 
 265
 
 In many respects Sir Richard acknowledged the obligation 
 under which he lay to Mr. Hislop. There is one interesting 
 fact which may be recorded. Sir Richard was organising the 
 educational department of the Provinces, on the lines laid down 
 in the Halifax Despatch of 1854 and the orders of the Govern- 
 ment of India thereon. In his scheme was included one high- 
 class institution in each District, to serve as a model. In 
 the Nagpur District Sir Richard placed this institution at 
 Kamptee, ten miles away from the capital. His reason for this 
 was that there was already an excellent missionary institution 
 in Nagpur, and that Government ought not to enter into 
 opposition with such an institution, but to use its limited 
 resources only where they were really required. When, much 
 later, a Government college was established for the Provinces, 
 it was, in accordance with the same policy, located at Jubbul- 
 pore ; and the Missionary College was left without a rival at 
 Nagpur, until the increasing demand for higher education led 
 to the establishment there of another aided college. The 
 Missionary College bears the name of Mr. Hislop, who had died 
 before a college department was founded. 
 
 When I went to Nagpur, the head of the Mission was the 
 Rev. John G. Cooper. He and his wife had no family, and they 
 lived entirely for their work and for the people of the town and 
 surrounding country. I never knew kinder people, or people 
 more generally beloved. Mr. Cooper's capacity for organisation 
 and his sound common sense and perfect tact enabled him to 
 bring the Mission, in all departments of its work, up to a high 
 state of efficiency ; and he and his colleagues were a great 
 power for good in the Central Provinces. One of these, Mr. 
 Whitton, was a great teacher, and under him the College 
 achieved very exceptional success. As Professor and Principal 
 he had great influence over the youth of the Province. It was 
 my duty for many years of my service to keep myself informed 
 of the state of education in the Province, and to watch the 
 career of the students of its educational institutions. I do not 
 think that any man was appointed to the Government service 
 
 266
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 merely because of his having been a pupil either of the Govern- 
 ment College at Jubbulpore, or of the Missionary College at 
 Nagpur ; but I have no hesitation in saying that some of the 
 best servants of Government that we had, were men trained in 
 the Missionary College. Even when they had not been led to 
 embrace Christianity, they had undoubtedly imbibed principles 
 of the greatest value to Government and to the people. 
 
 It was very remarkable to see the great affection that the 
 pupils and students of the missionary institution and college 
 had for their missionary teachers. On one occasion, when 
 Commissioner of Nagpur, I had to go out to see some famine 
 relief measures which were being carried out under the superin- 
 tendence of the Rev. John Douglas. He had been set aside by 
 the Missionary Council to village evangelistic work, and had his 
 head-quarters at Dhapewara I arranged to start in the afternoon, 
 as soon as my work in office was over, to drive Mr. Douglas in my 
 carriage as far as I could along the high road, and then to go with 
 him in his bullock tonga by the village roads to Dhapewara, where 
 I had sent my tent. When we got into the tonga it was very 
 late ; for I had been detained in office. We became so engrossed 
 in talk, that in the dark Mr. Douglas allowed his driver to miss 
 the road, and we found ourselves in a village about five or six 
 miles from Dhapewara. 
 
 A Commissioner is a somewhat important personage, and I 
 was entitled, under the rules framed under the Land Revenue 
 Act, to obtain a guide from one village to another in my route 
 when travelling in the District. I went accordingly to the 
 house of the Patel,* explained my position and the circum- 
 stances, and asked for a guide. The Patel at once called aloud 
 for the Kotwar f to guide me to a village which lay half-way 
 between his own and Dhapewara. Just then Mr. Douglas 
 happened to speak to me. The Patel, hearing the voice, peered 
 at him in the darkness and said (in Marathi, of course), " You 
 are my old teacher." Mr. Douglas asked his name, and remem- 
 
 * Patel is the Nagpur name for the head mail of the village, 
 f The Kotwar is the village servant. 
 267
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 bered him ; and they had a friendly talk, to which I listened 
 with great interest. As the Kotwar came up the Patel said, 
 u I will go with you myself to Dhapewara ;" and he walked with 
 us the whole way in the dark, talking cheerily and familiarly 
 with us both. He had been prepared to send the village servant 
 half-way with the Commissioner of Division as the law required ; 
 but he walked himself the whole way with us from love of his 
 old missionary teacher. I found also that my relations with the 
 people were much improved through my acquaintance with their 
 friend the missionary, and through his presence with me during 
 my inspection. 
 
 It is not easy to overestimate the importance of the beneficent 
 influence which missionaries have exercised in India. There are, 
 of course, missionaries and missionaries. There are some men 
 who mistake their vocation ; they are by nature unloving and 
 unlovable ; and the mere fact that they are missionaries does 
 not alter their nature. They are unsympathetic towards the 
 natives ; they are jealous, suspicious, and even hostile towards 
 their fellow-countrymen. Narrow, ill-educated, arxd wanting in 
 tact and judgment, they probably do more harm than good. 
 Such missionaries are exceedingly exceptional. The pity is that 
 one such man may prejudice an officer against missionaries and 
 their work throughout his whole service ; and, apart from the 
 direct mischief that such a man does amongst the people, he is 
 indirectly the cause of great evil by exciting such a prejudice. 
 
 There are certain missionaries who, although no doubt well- 
 meaning, forget that not all the information that reaches them 
 is accurate, and that not all the accurate information should be 
 passed on. This leads to much misconception, to friction, and, 
 I venture to think, to injury to the cause they have at heart. 
 It is easy, of course, for an officer to show that he disapproves 
 of such action on the part of the individual without losing his 
 interest in, and much more without opposing, the cause ; but it 
 is unfortunately natural with some men to extend to a whole 
 body the judgment passed on the individual. Sometimes, even 
 when one is most firm in declining the intimacy of a mischief- 
 
 268
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 maker, he does not escape the influence of that man's want of 
 judgment. I recall an occasion on which I was attacked bitterly 
 in the Calcutta press for having acted on information said to 
 have been brought to me by a missionary. I suppose that he 
 had given out that he was going to me. As a matter of fact 
 I had refused to receive any information from him, or even to 
 know the subject on which he was said to have come to see me. 
 I did not contradict the newspapers : it is not our habit to 
 defend ourselves from personal attacks. But the incident is 
 illustrative of the mischief which a tactless and thoughtless man 
 may easily do. 
 
 My experience, however, has been that the missionary who 
 too readily listens to an ill-report of people round about him 
 whether European or Indian or who could see no other view 
 of any set of circumstances than that which is based on the 
 information he receives, is comparatively rare, and that there is 
 much advantage to be derived from friendly intercourse with 
 the missionaries. To them, as a body, we owe the awakening 
 of the conscience of the Government to some of the old abuses 
 of Indian administration. We owe to them a representation 
 before the people of the Christian religion and of the British 
 character, which is higher and better than perhaps any other 
 class whatever has been able to give. We owe also to them 
 some of the best educational institutions in India, and some of 
 the finest Indian characters. I should like to see all missionaries 
 willing to enter fully and with kindly confidence into friendly 
 relations with the officers of Government. They ought not 
 readily to take up an unfavourable impression of the character 
 and conduct of officers of Government, and least of all when 
 these are their own fellow-countrymen. Officers of Government, 
 whether European or Indian, are for the most part animated by 
 a strong sense of duty. And, if the missionary is to exercise 
 any worthy influence on them whom he is as much bound by 
 his duty to his Master to influence, as to influence any one else 
 he must acknowledge this. 
 
 On the other hand, that officer is altogether unwise who 
 
 269
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 ignores the missionary. An officer who disregards any source 
 of information in respect to the customs and feelings of the 
 people is unwise ; and inasmuch as the missionary has special 
 opportunities of contact with the people, there is special un- 
 wisdom in keeping him aloof. The missionary, however, when 
 he is found to be a good and trustworthy man, ought to be 
 far more than a source of information to the Government 
 officer. He can be a most useful coadjutor. Not only his 
 educational work, but also the beneficent aims which animate 
 all his intercourse with the people, are such as to bring him 
 thoroughly into line with a devoted servant of Government. 
 To me it has always appeared intensely unsatisfactory to find 
 a Government officer and a missionary standing aloof from one 
 another and regarding one another with suspicion and dislike. 
 Such a state of things has seemed to me to indicate that one 
 or other of these two was in that respect at least unfitted for 
 the position which he occupied. Of late years, when the country 
 has been visited with plague and famine, the Government has 
 been under special obligation to the missionaries for the efficient 
 and devoted work which they have done ; and in not a few 
 cases the value of that work has been publicly recognised by the 
 Government of India and by the reigning sovereign. 
 
 In Nagpur, where I was stationed for many years, I joined 
 the native Church and became an office-bearer in the congre- 
 gation. I had regularly to visit a certain part of the congre- 
 gation, along with another member of the Kirk Session, who 
 was an Indian. This enabled me to know intimately the 
 Christian families of the place and their concerns; and I ac- 
 quired an admiration for the earnestness, simplicity, and high 
 character of many of the native Christians. Our first pastor 
 was the Rev. Mr. Timothy, who began life as a soldier in the 
 7th Madras Infantry, and looked forward to promotion in the 
 army, as young native soldiers do. At the age of sixteen or 
 seventeen, when a bright, intelligent lad, he was stationed at 
 Raipur, about a hundred and sixty miles from Nagpur. There 
 he met some native converts to Christianity. They told him 
 
 270
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 about the Saviour, and roused his interest in " the new religion." 
 They could not make things quite clear to him, so he decided 
 to travel to Nagpur to see the missionaries. There was no rail- 
 way; and he travelled by road. He had taken three months 
 leave of absence ; and by the end of that time he embraced 
 Christianity and was baptised with the name of Timothy. 
 He returned to his regiment, but became strongly possessed 
 by the desire to do religious work among his fellow-countrymen. 
 He took his discharge and returned to Nagpur, where he became 
 a teacher. Meanwhile the mission established their own train- 
 ing classes for the ministry ; and he was trained and duly 
 " licensed,"" after the Presbyterian manner, to preach the Gospel. 
 Then the Nagpur Christians, who had just been formed into a 
 congregation, called him to be their minister ; and he was 
 ordained. He was, for many years, a beloved and faithful pastor 
 of the native Christians. He lived a blameless and consistent 
 life, and was much respected by the whole community. 
 
 The elders of the congregation were all natives except one 
 missionary and myself. Some of them had very interesting 
 life histories. These rise before my memory as I write ; but I 
 cannot give space to record more than one. It is illustrative 
 not only of missionary work, but also of the most kindly rela- 
 tions that existed between Europeans and Indians about the 
 time that I went to the Central Provinces. When I first knew 
 him, Anant Singh was a contractor of good business capacity, 
 and considerable means and position in Nagpur. His father, 
 who was a Rajput, had been an officer in an Indian regiment. 
 There was in the same regiment a European officer, Major 
 Arrow, who was on the best of terms with the native officers, 
 and was loved and trusted by them all. When Anant Singh's 
 father was dying, he sent for Major Arrow, and committed 
 his three children and their property to his charge; for their 
 mother was dead, and he had no friends to whom he cared 
 to send them. Major Arrow sent them to Mr. Hislop to be 
 educated, making separate arrangements for their board as 
 their caste required. Anant Singh met with an accident which 
 
 271
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 imperilled his life. When in hospital and surrounded by 
 Christian kindness and care, he thought out the great question 
 of his relations with God, and decided to take his stand as a 
 Christian. After he left hospital he applied for baptism and 
 was received into the Church. 
 
 About this time I knew a young native who went to read 
 the Scriptures every Sunday with a young Government officer. 
 They talked over what they read ; and the observations made 
 and difficulties raised by the Indian, were often so frivolous and 
 puerile as to lead his British friend to doubt his sincerity as an 
 inquirer after truth. The young European officer fell ill and 
 was sent home with the sentence of death passed on him by his 
 medical advisers. He recovered, however, and went back to a 
 very different part of the Province. Some years after he was 
 present in the missionary church when his young Indian friend 
 was publicly baptised. It appeared that the latter had con- 
 tinued privately to study the Scriptures in a remote district, to 
 which he had been transferred, far away from any missionary 
 influence. Absolutely discontented with Hinduism, he joined 
 the Brahmo Somaj and became a Deist. This involved no 
 separation from his people or his caste, for so long as a Hindu 
 keeps himself from ceremonial impurity, he may believe what he 
 likes. Here, however, he found that he could not rest. The 
 Christ became more to him than merely one of many teachers, 
 and he accepted Him as Saviour and Master. 
 
 Still, for about two years he saw no necessity for making any 
 public confession of his faith, which would involve separation 
 from his caste and all the beloved and sacred associations of his 
 youth. But the conviction grew stronger within him that this 
 course involved disloyalty ; and with the quiet courage which 
 has distinguished so many Indian Christians, he determined to 
 sacrifice all that was dearest to him rather than be disloyal 
 to what he believed to be the truth. He applied to the nearest 
 missionary for baptism, and was received into the Church. For 
 years after, he lived a trusted servant of Government, unobtrusive 
 in his character and without reproach in his life. He served 
 
 272
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 under me some years after his baptism, and I had many a con- 
 versation with him. It was interesting to hear him tell, in a 
 very simple way, of his loss of faith in his old religion ; of his 
 struggle with the temptation to think that all forms of religion 
 were equally mythical and perhaps equally useful, in raising one 
 above the purely material and leading up to God, and that a 
 man's belief mattered little if he just tried to do his duty as far 
 as he could in the place given him in the world ; of the great 
 attraction which the character and teaching of the Christ had 
 for him ; and of the intellectual and other difficulties that he 
 had with the Bible, and how he often would have turned from 
 it altogether but for the Divine Son of God who spoke to him 
 in its pages. He told me how the bitterness of separation from 
 what he had loved and reverenced made him hesitate ; how 
 gladly he had found the apparent solution of his difficulties in 
 the acceptance of Brahamoism, receiving the Lord Jesus as one 
 of his many teachers ; how even here he had not found rest ; 
 how more and more loyalty to the Christ filled his heart ; and 
 how after years of conflict he had reached that important point 
 where he determined to enter the Church, a step which cost him 
 less than he had anticipated, and which he never regretted. This 
 case has special interest to me, because it is the story of a man 
 who for years studied our Holy Scriptures for himself, and was 
 led step by step into the Church of Christ. 
 
 I have known many Indian Christians very intimately ; and I 
 have seen the Indian Church grow from infancy, when it seemed 
 impossible to let it take a step alone and without guidance, into 
 a comparatively strong Church, more or less self-supporting, 
 self-governing and self- propagating. It is a high estimate that 
 I have formed of the character of many native Christians. I 
 recognise the power of the Christian religion to elevate in the 
 East as it has done in the West ; and I see a future for the Indian 
 Church the importance of which it seems to me impossible to 
 exaggerate. There are undoubtedly some natives who are only 
 nominally Christian, and who give an evil report to Christianity ; 
 but these are they who have been carelessly received, with- 
 
 273 s
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 out instruction and without proof, into the Christian Church. 
 The missionary bodies, as a rule, are careful in this matter ; and 
 we have no reason to be ashamed of our Indian brethren in 
 Christ. For myself, I have Indian Christian friends for whom 
 I have as high a regard as for my friends in the West, and 
 whose characters I have recognised as becoming more and more 
 Christlike as they submit themselves to His teaching and to the 
 influence of His Spirit. 
 
 Apart from their converts, the influence of missionaries has 
 been of the highest value. There are men who make no pro- 
 fession of Christianity, and who are animated all the same 
 by the great principles of Christian morality ; there are also 
 some whose profession of Christianity is clear and decided, 
 but not public. I remember a specially striking case. We 
 had an applicant for baptism in Nagpur, who had received 
 all his religious instruction while he was tutor in the family 
 of an Indian gentleman whom we did not know to be a pro- 
 fessing Christian. This gentleman had family worship in his 
 house which this young man attended ; and the latter was led 
 to inquire into the truth of Christianity and joined the Church. 
 His employer died some years afterwards still unbaptised ; but 
 several members of his family were received into the Church 
 not long after his death. I have known intimately many such 
 secret disciples. 
 
 To me the results of Christian missions are not small or dis- 
 couraging : they are important and of the highest promise. The 
 efforts that have been put forth by the Christian Churches 
 for the evangelisation of non-Christian countries are indeed 
 exceedingly inadequate. The command of the Christ in regard 
 to this matter was lost sight of for centuries. Modern times 
 have seen a revival of the missionary spirit, but by no means 
 a worthy response to the Lord's commission. Such efforts as 
 have been put forth by the Churches have, however, been 
 crowned with wonderful success. No one who has taken any 
 trouble to study the question, to see the work itself, to judge 
 the character of those who have been really won to the Christian 
 
 274
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 religion, can fail to recognise how wonderful the results have 
 been, both in regard to the numbers of true converts, and also 
 in regard to the elevation of their character. 
 
 Nor must it be forgotten that, in estimating the results of 
 missionary work, account must also be taken of the spread 
 of Christian principles, even where there has been no formal 
 adoption of Christianity. This forms a very important element 
 in missionary results. The sacrifices which the adoption of 
 Christianity still involve, and other obstacles to the ready pro- 
 fession of that religion by the people, have prevented many who 
 are intellectually persuaded of its excellence from embracing it 
 as their creed. I believe that in this respect what we must 
 look for is, that the Indian Church itself should awake fully 
 to its responsibility for the religious condition of the peoples 
 among whom it is set, and that there should arise great leaders 
 among the Indian peoples themselves to secure a really wide- 
 spread religious movement. In the elevating and civilising power 
 of Christianity the hope of India seems to lie ; but it must be 
 Christianity not as a foreign but as an Indian faith. 
 
 I am not here writing a plea for missions or a defence of 
 them ; I do not understand any argument on behalf of Christian 
 missions to Christian men stronger than the command and 
 commission of the Christ Himself, requiring that His Evangel 
 should be carried by the Church to every creature, even to the 
 uttermost parts of the earth. The commission given by Him to 
 the Church seems to me finally to settle the matter. Then 
 again, to us who have received the Gospel of Christ in this land 
 centuries ago, there is that other argument which rests on a 
 fine principle of human nature: " Freely ye have received, 
 freely give." Human nature when ungrateful and self-centred 
 is degraded, and certainly is not the humanity of the Son of 
 Man. It seems to me an almost impossible position to realise 
 at all adequately what we ourselves have received in Christianity, 
 and yet have no desire to impart that blessing. In the third 
 place, there is in the case of India a special call to missionary 
 effort, in the wonderful relations which have been established 
 
 275
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 between that great country and ours. These surely involve 
 great responsibilities, not only for its intellectual and economic 
 progress, but also for its moral and religious condition. In the 
 beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan, our Lord set forth 
 the simple principle that the neighbour whom we are to love 
 as ourselves is the man who is in need, and who is placed in 
 such near relation to us that we can help him. India stands 
 in this relation to Great Britain, and she ought to receive 
 of our best. The obligation is all the stronger as respects the 
 Church and the individual Christian, because the righteous 
 principle of Government neutrality precludes the use of official 
 influence on behalf of the Christian, or any other, faith. 
 
 These are among the arguments for missionary work in 
 India that most appeal to me from the point of view of the 
 Christian Church. There is a great lesson of Indian experience 
 which also makes me feel strongly on the subject. That is, the 
 universal need for the life that is in the knowledge of God, 
 and the suitability of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ to 
 meet that need. I have found, in every page of the book of 
 my experience, clearest evidence of the fact that human nature 
 is the same in the East as in the West, that when we get below 
 the surface we find that the desires and affections, the needs and 
 capacities of men are practically the same. And my experience 
 tells me that the power of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus to 
 cheer and purify the lives of men, and to elevate and trans- 
 form their characters, is the same in India as in England. 
 There may be flashes of light here and there in exceptional 
 cases ; but it is darkness that prevails among the non-Christian 
 peoples whom I have known ; and there is nothing more beauti- 
 ful than to see the light of the Gospel breaking in on this 
 darkness, not among the educated and more influential classes 
 alone, but among the poor and depressed. I could tell of bright 
 and worthy Christians in the humble homes of India, just as I 
 could tell of them among the humble homes of the villages and 
 glens of my own land. 
 
 I have referred to the righteous principle of Government 
 
 276
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 neutrality in regard to religion. It is a principle which has 
 ruled my conduct, I most earnestly believe, throughout all my 
 service in India. I have never consciously favoured Christian or 
 Hindu or Muhammadan for his creed ; and I have never used 
 my official influence in any way to undermine or change the 
 faith of any man. But I have never regarded the principle of 
 neutrality as involving indifference or opposition to religion. 
 Early in my service I had definitely to face this question. I 
 was stationed in a District where there was one solitary 
 European missionary. He had a service every Sunday morn- 
 ing in the Mission Church, which was attended by Europeans, 
 Eurasians, and a few Indian Christians. Some non-Christian 
 Indians also attended ; because they liked to hear the missionary 
 telling the story of Divine love. I attended the service regu- 
 larly. The missionary had to go out on tour to preach in the 
 villages. This necessitated his absence for a Sunday or two, 
 and he asked me to conduct the service. I complied with his 
 request. My superior, the Collector (or, as we called him in that 
 Province, the Deputy Commissioner), an upright English gentle- 
 man, informed me that, as Indians attended the service, it 
 was incompatible with my duty to Government to conduct it, 
 especially as some of these were Hindus ; and he requested me to 
 cease from taking any part in the service. I told him that I 
 could not accept his view of my duty, and that if he wished to 
 press it, I should like the matter referred to the Local Govern- 
 ment. He very courteously and kindly agreed to refer it " demi- 
 officially." The reply was that, so long as I merely took part in 
 a Christian service in a place to which no one was compelled to 
 come, and did not force my views on the attention of the people, 
 there could be no objection on the part of Government. I never 
 had any trouble again in this connection. 
 
 There are some who seem to forget that the people of India 
 are themselves distinctly religious, and they are far from having 
 any aversion to a religious man unless he interferes with them 
 in their own religion and its observances. It is also forgotten 
 that the declaration of neutrality in regard to religion has 
 
 277
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 been made by a Government distinctly professing to be a 
 Christian Government. The simple and beautiful profession 
 of her own faith made by Queen Victoria in the proclamation 
 in which, when taking over the government of her Indian 
 possessions, she declared the strict neutrality of her Govern- 
 ment in regard to religion, made a profound impression on the 
 Oriental mind and heart. There is also a very striking passage 
 in the great Educational Despatch of 1854, one of the wisest 
 and loftiest documents ever penned by British statesmen, which 
 is well worth quoting. " Considerable misapprehension appears 
 to exist as to our views with respect to religious instruction in 
 the Government institutions. These institutions are founded 
 for the benefit of the whole population of India ; and in order 
 to effect their object, it was and is indispensable that the 
 education conveyed in them should be exclusively secular. The 
 Bible is, we understand, placed in the libraries of the colleges 
 and schools ; and the pupils are able freely to consult it. This 
 is as it should be ; and, moreover, we have no desire to prevent 
 or discourage any explanations which the pupils may, of their 
 own free will, ask from the masters upon the subject of the 
 Christian religion, provided that such information be given 
 out of school hours. Such instruction being entirely voluntary 
 on both sides, it is necessary, in order to prevent the slightest 
 suspicion of an intention on our part to make use of the influence 
 of Government for the purpose of proselytism, that no notice 
 shall be taken of it by the inspectors in their periodical visits/ 1 
 It is in this way that I have always interpreted the principle of 
 neutrality. 
 
 There is another argument in favour of missionary work in 
 India by the Church which demands a moment's notice. Like 
 other non-Christian lands there is at the present time in India 
 an awakening from the slumber of centuries, the beginning of a 
 new life. All parts of India, so far as education and association 
 with the West have directly affected life, feel the unrest which 
 comes from intellectual awakening and the revival of national 
 spirit. There is an effective demand, which cannot be refused, 
 
 278
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 for the education, the industrial methods and the civilisation 
 of the West, to be applied in India on Indian lines. The peoples 
 of non-Christian lands, and the peoples of India among them, 
 are pressing forward to a place among the civilised nations 
 of the world ; and they will take that place. We have no right 
 to complain of this. It is the result of our own policy. We 
 have worked and striven for it. The best statesmanship of 
 Britain has realised that India is not under our control to be 
 exploited for our own advantage, but to be educated and 
 advanced in the interests of its multitudinous peoples. There 
 are elements in the present unrest which we deplore, elements 
 of anarchy and crime. But these are not to be accepted as 
 characteristic of the whole. The intellectual unrest, the newly 
 awakened ambitions and aspirations, are what we ought to have 
 anticipated and ought to welcome. 
 
 What, however, is the result ? These non-Christian races are 
 no more negligible. They were asleep and remote from our 
 civilisation. Improved communications have made them our 
 neighbours; and contact with our civilisation has awakened 
 them from the sleep of centuries. They already have their 
 influence on ourselves ; that influence will grow. As they 
 become more civilised and more conscious of their power, they 
 will, with their teeming millions and incalculable resources, 
 exercise an influence on the future of our race which it is 
 impossible to estimate. To me it seems that to give them 
 civilisation without Christianity is to withhold that to which 
 our civilisation owes all that is best in it, and by which alone it 
 can be kept pure and healthful. They cannot adhere to their 
 own religions ; they are breaking away from them ; and yet many 
 of the best of them realise the necessity of religion for worthy 
 and beneficent life. To leave them without religion may make 
 them a probable source of danger in the future history of 
 the race. 
 
 One of the greatest educationists of his day, one to whose 
 efforts India generally, but especially Bengal, owes more educa- 
 tionally than to any one else, made use three-quarters of a 
 
 279
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 century ago of these striking words : F' If in India you do give 
 the people knowledge without religion, rest assured that it is 
 the greatest blunder, politically speaking, that ever was com- 
 mitted. Having free, unrestricted access to the whole range 
 of our English literature and science, they will despise and 
 reject their own systems of learning. Once driven out of their 
 systems, they will inevitably become infidels in religion ; and, 
 shaken out of the mechanical round of their religious observ- 
 ances, without moral principles to balance their thoughts or 
 guide their movements, they will as certainly become discon- 
 tented, restless agitators." ^ These words, uttered nearly a 
 quarter of a century before the transfer of the Government of 
 India to the Crown, have been strangely fulfilled in our day. 
 
 It is felt, not by Christians only, but also by Hindus and 
 Muhammadans throughout India, that religion is necessary 
 to the healthy life of the people. This partly explains the 
 Hindu revival which has recently attracted considerable atten- 
 tion. There are those who regard this revival as the answer 
 of the non-Christian faith to Christianity. So far as it is 
 genuine, it seems to me to be just as much the protest of 
 naturally religious races against the secular education and 
 materialism now prevailing in schools and colleges. It is to 
 some extent the genuine expression of the reluctance with 
 which the orthodox Hindus see the religious beliefs of their 
 fathers dissipated by Western education and enlightenment, 
 while nothing is supplied in their stead to meet the moral and 
 religious wants of our common humanity. 
 
 Of course, it is also in some measure, especially perhaps in 
 the West of India, due to the more selfish objection of the 
 Brahmans to the subversion of their old influence and position. 
 It is also very largely due to an attempt on the part of men 
 who have no sympathy with any religion, and least of all with 
 Hinduism, to divert the religious sentiments of the Hindus into 
 a political channel. There are such men in all parts of India, , 
 but especially, perhaps, in Bengal. One effect of the influence 1. 
 of these sham supporters of the Hindu religion has been to 
 
 280
 
 CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 
 induce thoughtless, fanatical, and half-trained youths to asso- 
 ciate their religion with particular forms of violence and sedition, 
 which are really altogether inconsistent with its true teaching. 
 
 I do not think that this Hindu revival constitutes any 
 menace to the success of missionary work. I believe that the 
 influence of Christianity is growing in a most remarkable manner. 
 There is opportunity now such as never existed before. There 
 is a toleration, nay rather a welcoming, of Christian teaching 
 which is without precedent. For there is a desire for religion 
 growing up amongst all classes which makes them ready to 
 listen to any religious teacher whose life and character commend 
 his teaching. With this unexampled opportunity there is the 
 unprecedented urgency to which I have referred. I think that 
 this opportunity exists as much among the higher and more 
 educated as among the depressed and ignorant classes. 
 
 There has been some talk of dropping the educated and turning 
 exclusively to the lower orders, because the former have refused 
 the call.* I have no sympathy with this view. Some of the best 
 Indian Christians whom I have known have been educated in 
 our colleges, and have belonged to the learned professions ; and, 
 whether as laymen or as mission agents, they have exercised a 
 far more powerful influence in supporting and spreading the 
 Church of Christ among their fellow-countrymen than other 
 Indian Christians have been able to do. Let us by all means 
 have the gospel preached to the poor ; but let us also aim at 
 securing for the Church the learning and influence of the best 
 class of Indians. In our enthusiasm for the salvation of blind 
 beggars, let us not overlook the possibility of enlisting a 
 St. Paul. 
 
 I believe that the outlook of Christianity in India was never 
 so favourable as it is at present ; and I feel that the evangelisa- 
 tion of its peoples is assured if the Church in the West and the 
 Church in India are found alive to their responsibility and 
 faithful to their duty. 
 
 * Of. Acts xviii. 6. 
 281
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 INDIAN UNREST : ITS CAUSES 
 
 A GREAT deal of attention has been of late directed to India in 
 respect of the unrest which has forced itself so much on our 
 notice during recent years. My own impression is that this un- 
 rest is not widespread, but confined to a very small section of 
 the Indian community. The mass of the people are unaffected . 
 by it. The unrest itself is not by any means wholly evil. I do 
 not for a moment desire to under-estimate the serious incidents 
 which have recently occurred, or the state of unrest of which 
 they are the outcome. I do desire, however, that they should 
 be correctly interpreted, and that an exaggerated impression of 
 the state of things in India should not be created or fostered. 
 There is real unrest. Some of it is natural and inevitable ; 
 some of it is only wicked and deplorable. That which is evil 
 has also, no doubt, been strengthened by that which is natural 
 in the situation. 
 
 Among the natural causes of unrest may be taken the pressure 
 on life arising from the high prices which prevail. Trouble 
 more or less serious may at any time arise in India in scarcity 
 or famine, just as similar causes may produce trouble in any 
 other country. An illustration of this is contained in the account 
 I have given of the grain riots in Nagpur, which were due to 
 the holding up of grain supplies in anticipation of a rise in 
 prices expected from the demand from districts and localities 
 where scarcity prevailed. Under economic conditions which 
 suddenly make even the necessities of life almost unobtainable 
 by those who have fixed incomes, we may expect much distress 
 
 282
 
 INDIAN UNREST : ITS CAUSES 
 
 and dissatisfaction which may give trouble to the Government 
 in a country where it is believed to be able to do practically 
 what it wills. The economic changes which have taken place 
 in India of late years have most seriously affected what in 
 Bengal are called the bhadralog or respectable classes, people of 
 comparatively small means and fixed incomes. Among them 
 are middlemen amongst the land-owning classes, who receive a 
 fixed proportion of the revenue of the land, which they hold 
 under the larger Zamindars, who have managed to keep for 
 themselves any increased emoluments which result from the rise 
 in rents. Among them are also to be found many of the official 
 and professional classes, whose incomes have been fixed years 
 ago when prices were much lower, and are not easily raised to 
 meet the sudden rise in prices. 
 
 I know at least one district where, when I first went to India, 
 one could get as much as one hundred and fifty seers (three 
 hundred pounds) of grain for the rupee (then two shillings), 
 where a man would now consider himself very lucky if he got 
 fifteen. When it is realised how simple is the life of the Indian, 
 and how large a proportion of his expenditure is on the neces- 
 saries of life, it will be seen how very serious may be the effect 
 of such a rise of prices upon many classes of the community. 
 The change has been produced by the enormous improvements 
 in communication which have now brought Districts, at that 
 time practically inaccessible, into close touch with the markets 
 of the world. There can be no doubt of the great advantage 
 of this change to India generally ; and I am able to testify 
 strongly, from my knowledge of the people, that the standard 
 of comfort has been greatly raised throughout the country, and 
 that the condition of the people generally has vastly improved. 
 There are, however, classes which have been very severely hit ; 
 and they are classes of some consideration and influence. 
 
 A very intelligent Bengali friend of mine was talking to me 
 about the discontent which prevailed among many classes, 
 and which produced a distinct tendency to criticise the Govern- 
 ment adversely. In the course of conversation he told me that 
 
 283
 
 INDIAN UNREST : 
 
 families in his position had frequently found it necessary to cut 
 down their domestic establishments; that the ladies of the 
 family had to perform duties which formerly had been left 
 to servants ; and that many comforts of the home life to which 
 the members of the family had been accustomed had ceased to 
 be obtainable. He said, "This sends people out with loud 
 complaints against the Government. Dissatisfaction with our 
 circumstances produces political unrest. In fact," he added in 
 his Oriental way, " it is with us even as it is with the dogs. 
 When we are uncomfortable at home we come out into the 
 streets to bark. 11 
 
 It is no easy matter to say what, if anything, can be done to 
 assist the people under these circumstances. Economic changes, 
 which in Europe were carried out in the course of generations, 
 have been effected in India within a few years owing to its con- 
 tact with the West. I have long been of opinion that the 
 matter deserves the sympathetic consideration of the Govern- 
 ment ; and I am glad to see that the Government of India have 
 their attention seriously directed to this matter, and are making 
 the inquiry regarding it which many of the people demand. It 
 must not be understood that I attribute the worst forms of 
 unrest and political agitation to high prices and to the con- 
 sequent pressure on certain classes. I merely mention this as 
 one cause of dissatisfaction ; and in a country like India, with 
 so many incomes and salaries fixed by custom, it is by no means 
 a negligible cause. It in some measure explains the toleration 
 or even approval, with which the foolish and mischievous 
 babblings of professional agitators were long received by many, 
 by whom they would otherwise have been strongly condemned. 
 It was hoped, perhaps, that these wild utterances would draw 
 the attention of the Government to trouble and dissatisfaction 
 which were real, and in respect of which the sufferers, in accord- 
 ance with Oriental usage, looked to the Government for help. 
 
 Closely allied to this is the great depression among some of 
 the industrial classes. This also is due mainly to economic 
 causes. Manufactures have enormously developed in India of 
 
 284
 
 ITS CAUSES 
 
 late years. Not only has there been a great increase in the 
 import of manufactured articles ; but there have also been 
 innumerable mills and factories established throughout the 
 country. Many of these are now worked with native capital ; 
 and the labour employed is, of course, mainly native. There 
 is no doubt of the enormous advantage of all this to the Indian 
 community in general ; but the history of the introduction of 
 machinery in our own country should enable us to understand 
 how injuriously such changes must, for a time at least, affect 
 some of the labouring and industrial classes, how discontent 
 may easily spread among them, and how susceptible they may 
 become to the mischievous influences of thoughtless or un- 
 principled agitators. This, to a very large extent, explains the 
 success of what has been known as the " boycott movement " in 
 Bengal. With the desire to foster native industry the Govern- 
 ment and its officers have the greatest sympathy. But true 
 " Swadeshi"* has been perverted by unscrupulous agitators to 
 ignoble use, and has been degraded by selfishness, political 
 disaffection, and race hatred. 
 
 The industrial depression is a matter to which the Imperial 
 and Local Governments in India have now for some time been 
 giving anxious attention. All that is now being done to develop 
 local industries, and to introduce and stimulate technical educa- 
 tion, indicates the interest that Government takes in this matter 
 and the recognition of its great importance. In India such a 
 matter must be dealt with by the Government. The people 
 still look to the Government to help them in all kinds of 
 difficulties, and the lesson of self-help has to be learned, not only 
 by the common people, but even by those also who claim to be 
 the educated and enlightened classes. It is not easy for the 
 Government, especially where financial pressure exists, to meet its 
 
 * "Swadeshi" means "of the country/' "indigenous." Some of the 
 leaders profess that their object is merely to encourage indigenous 
 industry. But the impression that they have given to their followers is 
 sadly illustrated in the evidence of Ganesh Balvant Vaidya in the Nassik 
 Conspiracy Case. He mentioned " Swadeshi," and being asked what he 
 meant by it, he said, " I mean a movement for the collection of arms, the 
 preparation of material for making bombs, etc." 
 
 285
 
 INDIAN UNREST : 
 
 responsibility in this matter ; but it is necessary for the happiness 
 of the people, and for the stability of Government, that it should 
 find the means. It is in my opinion also of vital importance that 
 the measures taken to this end should be taken in India itself. 
 Not only must local industries be encouraged in India, but 
 technical and industrial education must be available there. It 
 is practically impossible, and also politically dangerous, to 
 compel the natives of the country, to any large extent, to go 
 abroad for instruction and education. The present compulsion 
 is destroying many of the best of the rising generation. It may 
 be necessary, no doubt, at least for a time, to send some young 
 men abroad for education, if only for the purpose of obtaining 
 duly qualified teachers ; and it will probably always be neces- 
 sary, in India as elsewhere, for specialists in any department of 
 intellectual or industrial work to come into contact with the 
 best workers abroad ; but our aim should be, as soon as possible, 
 to supply the necessary education in India, and to supply it in 
 great measure by Indians themselves. Only thus can the work 
 be done which the circumstances demand. 
 
 In connection with this subject of technical education I can- 
 not help referring to a philanthropic scheme recently inaugurated 
 in Bengal by one of the leading merchants of Calcutta. He 
 proposes that, in the interests of the young, an experiment 
 should be made with land reclaimed in the sundarbans, at the 
 mouth of the Ganges, in the way of holding out inducements 
 to young men of energy and of some education to devote them- 
 selves to agricultural pursuits. He offers generous support to 
 the scheme, which seems to commend itself to many right- 
 thinking people in Calcutta. It appeals to the Indian love of 
 agriculture and to the earnest desire of many young men to find 
 an honourable and worthy outlet for their energies. His object 
 is to give them a useful career, and to save them from the 
 injurious influences of selfish and unprincipled agitation. If 
 the experiment succeeds it may have very important results. 
 I do not see why it should not succeed, if the Government sees 
 its way to encourage it. The rules for settling cultivators will 
 
 286
 
 ITS CAUSES 
 
 have to be modified if this scheme is to go on. They are framed 
 to keep out land-speculation. But they might be modified to 
 meet the necessity of any well-considered scheme framed by men 
 who can be trusted. I mention this now as showing how the 
 situation impresses a large-hearted fellow-countryman engaged 
 in commercial work in India. His view, he explains, is that 
 such measures as this, as well as the enlightened measures of 
 political reform recently carried out by the Government, are as 
 essential as measures of repression in respect of the present 
 unrest. 
 
 I pass now to a phase in the unrest which is, perhaps, more 
 familiar to people at home than any other, the unrest of the 
 educated classes, the unrest which is due to the education which 
 we have ourselves given to the people of India. I shall have to 
 refer immediately to the small proportion of the people of India 
 who may justly be included among the educated classes. I have, 
 however, no desire to minimise the importance of these classes 
 or to refuse to pay earnest attention to their reasonable demands 
 and aspirations. We have created these classes ; and we have 
 given them their hopes and aims. We are bound, on that 
 account, as a matter of justice as well as of policy, not to ignore 
 their reasonable claims. 
 
 We are bound by the generous promise of the late Queen 
 Victoria, in Her Majesty ^s great proclamation transferring the 
 government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, 
 a promise which was solemnly renewed fifty years later by King 
 Edward VII. We are bound by this promise, as well as by the 
 principles of justice and sound policy, to see that, as far as may be 
 possible, His Majesty's " subjects of whatever race or creed 
 shall be freely and impartially admitted to offices in his service, 
 the duties of which they may be qualified by their education, 
 ability, and integrity duly to discharge." As I look back on 
 my thirty-seven years 1 service in India, I see little cause to be 
 ashamed of the manner in which this obligation has been met. 
 
 I do not propose to deal with the appointment of Indians to 
 the purely Judicial Service of the Crown. They have long held 
 
 287
 
 INDIAN UNREST: 
 
 some of the highest appointments in that Service. It was easy 
 to find men in India intellectually qualified for purely legal 
 work, and for judicial work, so far as that is purely legal, while 
 the publicity of the work in the courts and a system of revision 
 and appeal, sometimes perhaps too elaborate, made it, at a 
 comparatively early period, a safe and wise measure to place 
 judicial work largely in the hands of Indians. I propose rather 
 to look at the part taken by Indians in the executive adminis- 
 tration of the country, that is, at the number of executive 
 appointments held by Indians. Here I do not intend to 
 mention the lower classes of appointments, which are practically 
 all in the hands of Indians : there is no question about these 
 appointments ; there is no desire on the part of the educated 
 classes to hold them. What really demands consideration is 
 the progress made in filling the higher executive appointments 
 by Indian gentlemen. Although I have seen the great progress 
 made in this respect in the Central Provinces, where most of 
 my service was rendered, and also in other Provinces of India 
 which I have visited during my service on two important Com- 
 missions which took me to every Province in India, I prefer to 
 deal with the facts as they exist in Bengal. I do so for two 
 reasons, both because there has been more agitation of recent 
 years in Bengal than elsewhere, and also because I know the 
 figures well, as they had especially to be dealt with by my 
 Government in connection with agitation. 
 
 Before I came to India, in 1871, there were no members of 
 the Indian Civil Service in Bengal at all. Three Indians joined 
 the Service at the end of that year. All of them were drawing 
 Rs.400 a month. At the end of 1908, when I gave over charge 
 of the Province of Bengal, there were thirteen Indian civilians 
 in the graded list, drawing monthly salaries of from Rs.776 to 
 Rs.2250. Besides these there were ten Indians, not members 
 of the Indian Civil Service, holding posts which had ordinarily 
 been reserved for that Service. So that, as against three such 
 appointments in 1871, there were twenty-three in 1908. 
 Besides this, the Provincial Service in 1871 consisted of one 
 
 288
 
 ITS CAUSES 
 
 hundred and seventy-seventy officers employed as Assistant 
 Collectors and Assistant Magistrates, of whom forty-five, or 
 just over one-fourth, were Europeans. At the end of 1908, 
 there were three hundred and sixty-one members of that 
 Service, and only forty-five, or one-eighth, of them were 
 Europeans. The total addition to the Provincial Service, the 
 officers of which do the same work as the junior officers of the 
 Civil Service, by which addition the strength of the former 
 Service had been more than doubled, was composed of Indians. 
 These figures indicate the great progress that has been made 
 in the employment of Indians in the Executive Service of the 
 Crown in Bengal. 
 
 Perhaps, however, the earnestness of the Government in 
 seeking to carry out the royal promise is more clearly seen 
 when the importance of the offices now held by Indians is con- 
 sidered. In 1871 the highest position held by an Indian in the 
 Executive Service was the comparatively subordinate one of 
 Assistant Magistrate or Assistant Collector. There were no 
 Indians as District or Sessions Judges, or as Magistrates, or 
 Joint Magistrates. Recently we have had Indians employed 
 not only in these capacities, but also in the higher office of 
 Commissioner of Division ; and during my term of office as 
 Lieu tenant -Governor, I had an Indian officer holding the 
 Executive appointment of next highest rank in the Province 
 to my own, as Senior Member of the Board of Revenue. The 
 principle of appointing Indians to Executive offices, for which 
 they possess the necessary qualifications, has thus been steadily 
 kept in view. At the same time, they have been more and more 
 appointed to high office in other departments of the Govern- 
 ment Service, such as medicine, education, law, and engineer- 
 ing, and more recently in the police department. 
 
 His Majesty's recent proclamation to the chiefs and peoples of 
 India will doubtless secure the constant prosecution of this policy 
 in the future. It ought, however, to be distinctly laid down and 
 kept in view that it is just as unsound to appoint a man to ' 
 Executive office on account of his race or creed as to debar him 
 
 289 T
 
 INDIAN UNREST: 
 
 from office on the same account. For District Boards or 
 Legislative Assemblies, it is not only justifiable, but necessary, 
 to appoint a man because he represents a certain interest. It 
 is desired that he should speak and fight for that interest. For 
 an Executive Council, or for any Executive office, the very 
 opposite is the case. The man who comes to represent and 
 fight for a particular interest is ipso facto, and to that extent, 
 unfit. What is wanted is a man who can hold the scales justly 
 between conflicting interests and favour none. Subject to this 
 necessary condition, the policy above referred to should be 
 consistently pursued. 
 
 While all this has been going on steadily in regard to offices 
 under the Crown, efforts have, at the same time, been made to 
 secure, in ever-increasing measure, the co-operation of non-official 
 Indians in local self-government and in imperial and provincial 
 administration through the municipalities, District Boards, 
 and Legislative Councils. The Local Self-Government scheme, 
 introduced during Lord Ripon's viceroyalty, has not been so 
 successful as was hoped in securing the co-operation of the classes 
 whose co-operation is essential. This is due partly to the inertia 
 of the people, but mainly to the nature of the electoral franchise 
 which was created under the scheme. The constituencies result- 
 ing from that franchise were not such as to secure the best repre- 
 sentation of important interests, or to induce some of the 
 natural and most desirable leaders of the people to offer them- 
 selves for election. This was not the fault of the scheme, but 
 rather of the thoughtless and injudicious manner in which some 
 Local Governments applied it. 
 
 Bengal has, in my opinion, suffered most in this respect. 
 Remedies are now under consideration. They were placed 
 before the Government of India during my tenure of office ; 
 but the consideration of them was, perhaps unfortunately, 
 postponed owing to the measures which were under considera- 
 tion for the alteration of the Constitution of the Imperial and 
 Provincial Legislative Councils. The ridiculously low qualifica- 
 tion for the exercise of the franchise is one o^ the sad illustra- 
 
 290
 
 ITS CAUSES 
 
 tions of the evils of thoughtlessly introducing Western methods 
 into India, without full consideration of the circumstances, and 
 without that gradual and steady progress in political history 
 which has characterised our own country. The principle of 
 Lord Ripon's policy was sound ; the details of its application 
 in certain Provinces were not. 
 
 An effort was, indeed, made to safeguard the interests of the 
 people generally, by giving perhaps too great a representation 
 to official classes in the district and Municipal local bodies 
 and also by nominating a number of members selected as fit 
 representatives of the interests which it was felt must be repre- 
 sented. These could not be secured by election by the vast 
 numbers of really inferior and indifferent men who, without 
 any real stake in the country or intelligent appreciation of 
 public affairs, formed the electoral constituency. These nomi- 
 nated members were, for the most part, very suitable repre- 
 sentatives of the interests and classes which they were nomi- 
 nated to represent; but they had this grave disqualification, 
 that they were nominated. They were open to the reproach, in 
 the great majority of cases entirely undeserved, of having sold 
 themselves to the Government which nominated them. 
 
 It is clearly necessary to secure the presence on the local 
 bodies of such men, men with an intelligent appreciation of the 
 needs of their neighbourhood and of the interests of the people 
 generally, by election instead of by nomination. That is to 
 say, where an interest or a class clearly requires to be repre- 
 sented on the local body, a constituency of persons sharing that 
 interest, or belonging to that class, ought to be formed to elect 
 the representative. In this way the co-operation of all classes, 
 and especially of those who have an important stake in the 
 country, may be effectively secured. It can be secured in no 
 other way. Of course, we cannot disfranchise the people upon 
 whom the franchise has been conferred ; but we may break up 
 the electoral constituencies into sections, which will secure the 
 representation of the interests and classes which justice and 
 sound policy alike demand to have represented. If we can 
 
 291
 
 INDIAN UNREST : 
 
 secure this, we shall not only feel more confidence in the advice 
 which the local bodies give us ; but we shall also be able to put 
 much larger powers into their hands, and to get rid, by de- 
 centralisation, of much of the burden of administration, which 
 in these days of progress is becoming intolerable. 
 
 The principle which I have set forth above in regard to local 
 bodies has been applied to the Legislative Councils in the 
 scheme submitted by the Government of India, and adopted 
 with modifications by Lord Morley as Secretary of State. In 
 the main that scheme has my entire approval ; and I look 
 forward with interest and hope to its working. But this is not 
 enough. The principles which I have indicated must be applied 
 to local self-government throughout the country. I am inclined 
 to think, indeed, that to apply them to Legislative Councils 
 before they had been applied to local bodies was to begin at the 
 wrong end of the matter. The explanation is that though the 
 need was great, there was no loud demand, for reform of the 
 local bodies. The demand for political power was louder and 
 more effective. 
 
 Tradition and ancient usage in India have given the people 
 no small share in local affairs, and that was a fact of which much 
 use had long been made. In some Provinces Lord Ripon's scheme 
 was so applied that the old system was utilised and developed. 
 But in Bengal and elsewhere it suffered a reverse because a fran- 
 chise system was introduced which disgusted many of the best 
 men and most natural leaders, and deprived the local bodies of 
 their services. These natural leaders have been to a large extent 
 replaced partly by nominated members, and partly by unsuitable 
 men who represent little beyond their own interests. It is of 
 urgent necessity that this error should be corrected, not by 
 disfranchising men who have enjoyed the franchise, but by 
 subdividing the electorate so as to secure the representation of 
 different classes and interests by suitable representatives, some- 
 what on the lines of the scheme which has been adopted for the 
 Legislative Councils. 
 
 As to these recent reforms in the Imperial and Provincial 
 
 292
 
 ITS CAUSES 
 
 Legislative Councils, I believe that their general effect will be 
 to bring the central governments of India generally, and of the 
 Provinces in particular, into more perfect touch with the natives 
 of the country ; and they will tend to further developments 
 which the progress of civilisation and of political enlightenment 
 entitle us to expect and desire. I believe also that they have 
 given great satisfaction to moderate men of all classes. I have 
 received from many of my Indian correspondents strong expres- 
 sions of approval both of the spirit which has animated these 
 reforms, and of the manner in which they have been carried out. 
 On the other hand, I certainly do not believe that the adoption 
 of this scheme will be the end of our difficulties in Indian ad- 
 ministration. We have great difficulties to face. This in itself 
 is a great difficulty, that principles of Government are being 
 taught to the educated classes for which the vast body of the 
 people are yet altogether unfit. We must make up our minds 
 to associate the people of the country more and more in its 
 government in accordance with the royal promise to which I 
 have referred ; but we must never forget that we are in India for 
 the sake of the just and righteous government, not of small 
 classes, but of the whole body of the people ; and when I say 
 this, I am speaking of the many nations and peoples and tongues, 
 in all stages of political and social development, which have been 
 committed to our charge in that great Empire. 
 
 The task of governing India has never been easy. 1 believe 
 that it will probably grow increasingly more difficult. Certainly 
 the problems with which those who are concerned with the 
 government of India in the future, and especially the members 
 of the Indian Civil Service, will have to deal will differ in many 
 respects from those which have occupied attention in the past. 
 It will be at least necessary in the future to take pains not only 
 to do the best thing we can for the people, which has generally 
 been our sole aim in the past, but also to vindicate our action 
 before, and secure the concurrence of, an increasingly powerful 
 public opinion. This will call for the exercise of gifts and 
 qualifications which we have not so much required in the past. 
 
 293
 
 INDIAN UNREST: ITS CAUSES 
 
 We may reasonably hope, however, that it will be found that 
 the best and most moderate of the Indians will be thrown more 
 closely than ever into sympathetic co-operation with those of 
 more liberal mind and sounder judgment among ourselves, 
 to work together for the public good. If we continue to be 
 animated by the spirit of the great past, the difficulties may be 
 bravely and cheerfully faced ; for there is privilege as well as 
 responsibility in the burden of Empire. 
 
 294
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 INDIAN UNREST: ITS LIMITATIONS 
 
 To return to the unrest, we must not allow ourselves to take too 
 pessimistic a view of the situation. We must endeavour to 
 realise the limitations of unrest In this connection it is 
 necessary to bear in mind that the peoples of India are not a 
 homogeneous mass, so that what is true of one part of India 
 must necessarily be true of another. Nothing could be further 
 from the real facts. A man in one part of India may have no 
 conception of what is going on in another, or of the precise 
 difficulties which have there to be faced. There has been an 
 amount of mischief working for a long time in Bengal, which 
 led to a distinguished European officer saying to me before I 
 went there, " We have lost Bengal v an altogether exaggerated 
 statement. In Bombay there has been mischief brewing for a 
 quarter of a century at least, and the earliest repression of any 
 importance had to be effected there. In Madras, on the other 
 hand, where there is more of enlightenment than in any part of 
 India, there is apparently less cause to think of sedition. In 
 the Central Provinces there was nothing but loyalty until some 
 Beraris, tainted with the discontent of Poona, began to work in 
 Nagpur, and the colleges were infected with the poisonous stuff 
 which a section of the Bengal and Bombay Press had been too 
 long allowed to circulate. There was fortunately there a strong 
 man to deal with it, a man who knew the people of the Province 
 well. In the north of India, despite occasional trouble given 
 by people on whose religious feelings mischievous statements 
 had been working, there was practically nothing of what we 
 
 295
 
 INDIAN UNREST: 
 
 ordinarily know as sedition. The people there are not likely to 
 be led by Press writers in Bombay and Calcutta. They require 
 to be carefully guarded rather against irritation and discontent 
 arising from misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the 
 action of the Government in particular measures, than against 
 any foolish aim to supplant British rule in favour of some vague 
 dream with which they have no sympathy. They understand 
 the officers who go in and out among them, and are amenable 
 to kindly advice. 
 
 A fine Indian gentleman once told me how one of his boys 
 went all wrong at a local college, and began to air sentiments 
 which he could not bear to hear, and to take in the " Amrita 
 Bazar Patrika v and other papers even more unwholesome. He 
 determined to send him to Allahabad. The lad came back 
 within a short time quite cured. The strong air of Allahabad 
 had restored his mind and dispelled the poison. " He found," 
 said his father, " that the people there laughed at what he had 
 begun to believe to be manly and patriotic." 
 
 In estimating the limitations of unrest, I must speak mainly 
 of the part of India that I know best, that is, of Bengal. The 
 first limitation lies in the fact that India is an agricultural 
 country. It is clear therefore that while the economic changes 
 to which I have referred have undoubtedly pressed hard on 
 certain sections of the community, they have been fraught with 
 benefit to the great bulk of the population. The high prices of 
 grain have been greatly to the advantage of the cultivating 
 classes, which form the vast majority of the people ; and they 
 have brought with them a higher standard of living, greater 
 comfort and much prosperity, as anyone who has moved about 
 among the people will be able to testify. Similarly, the trouble 
 that has fallen on some of the industrial classes is due to a 
 reduction in price on wearing apparel and certain other neces- 
 saries of life, which has benefited the people generally. This 
 consideration leads naturally to the conclusion that, while there 
 is unrest among certain sections of the community, the great 
 mass are unaffected by it, and are as loyal as ever. 
 
 296
 
 ITS LIMITATIONS 
 
 The mass of the people are naturally loyal to the de facto 
 government. They are averse to change ; and if we do justly 
 and do not seek to tax them too heavily, they cheerfully accept 
 our rule. It often seems as though they were especially loyal 
 to the British Government. They appear generally to regard 
 it as more in accordance with the fitness of things that the 
 supreme Government should be in the hands of a power easily 
 distinguished from themselves, less known to them than their 
 own people, and not subject to the same impulses and moods. 
 However that may be, there is no doubt about this, that the 
 people have a great belief in the impartiality and justice of the 
 British Government and a very loyal personal devotion to the 
 officers who come among them, except where there is some 
 serious defect of character in any individual officer which tends 
 to make him unpopular. While the loyalty of the great mass 
 of the community in every Province may be, as I think, still 
 accepted as a fact, there is always this at the same time to be 
 borne in mind, that the people are generally ignorant, super- 
 stitious, and excitable. A baseless rumour, a mischievous mis- 
 representation, or a suggestion of interference with what they 
 hold dearest, may create a panic which may develop into very 
 serious mischief. This does not, however, alter the fact referred 
 to above, that the economic causes of unrest affect only a very 
 small portion of the community. 
 
 As to the unrest amongst the educated classes, it is necessary 
 to look at the facts and not to be misled by vague impressions 
 or disproportionate clamour. I have already indicated that I 
 consider it necessary to pay full attention to the reasonable 
 claims of the educated classes ; but it is at least equally necessary 
 to bear in mind how small a proportion of the community are 
 educated at all, and that the educated classes are not all affected 
 with unrest. Bengal is often spoken of as a Province in which 
 a fairly high standard of education has been reached by a large 
 proportion of the population. Education is comparatively 
 widespread in Bengal, though in my opinion the teaching in 
 most of its educational institutions is undoubtedly less efficient 
 
 297
 
 INDIAN UNREST : 
 
 than in some other Provinces. This is a matter which is 
 engaging the earnest attention of Government, of the educa- 
 tional authorities, and of the best leaders of thought among the 
 people themselves ; and its importance cannot be overrated. It 
 is not necessary, however, to dwell on it here. What is to be 
 pointed out here is, that, even in Bengal where education is 
 comparatively widespread, it is only a very small proportion of 
 the people that can be regarded as educated. 
 
 Statistics are not all important and do not always convey an 
 accurate impression ; but a few figures on this point may tend 
 to correct misapprehension. When we hear of the educated 
 classes as being animated with such and such a feeling, or as 
 desiring such and such a measure, those who think of the 
 matter in the light of conditions prevailing in this country are 
 very apt to believe that practically the whole population of 
 India share this feeling or demand this measure. This is very 
 far from being the case. The census figures of 1901 for the 
 most advanced division of Bengal showed as " literate " a total in 
 the Presidency Division of 15'64 per cent, of males, and 1'52 of 
 females, or 8'9 of both classes, while for the Bardwan Division 
 the percentages were 18'82, *82 and 9'8 respectively. For the 
 whole of Bengal the percentages k of "literates" were 11 '06 for 
 males, '57 for females, and 5.77 for both classes.* Let it be 
 borne in mind that to be included under the term " literate " in 
 the census figures requires no more than to be able to read and 
 write. The term includes any one who is able to sign his name 
 in any one language. Education is not very widespread, when 
 under this definition the highest proportion of " literate " males 
 in any District was 20 per cent. 
 
 The last Quinquennial Report on education in Bengal throws 
 further light on these figures. It shows that the percentage of 
 school-going children among those of a school-going age is 
 somewhat higher ; than the percentage of " literate " among the 
 whole population. This is partly due to the steady though 
 
 * The percentages for the province in the census of 1911 are 11 '36 for 
 males, '83 for females, und 6 '27 for both classes. 
 
 298
 
 ITS LIMITATIONS 
 
 slow progress of education, but also to the fact that some who 
 have acquired in early youth a small amount of education lose 
 it from disuse in later years. At the same time the Report 
 shows how small a proportion of the children in the primary 
 schools go on to higher education. In the primary schools 
 of Bengal the figures show 27'8 boys and 3*1 girls, per cent, of 
 the population of school-going age, as under public instruction. 
 But while there were 1,027,377 pupils in primary schools there 
 were only 156,958 in secondary schools, and 7,253 in the arts 
 and professional colleges combined. These figures indicate how 
 far we are from being able to say that education is really wide- 
 spread in Bengal. 
 
 Something has been done during the last fifty years ; but the 
 task before the Government is still enormous and demands its 
 utmost efforts, supported by the earnest co-operation of all who 
 have the welfare of the country at heart. For the present 
 purpose I quote these figures to show how necessary it is care- 
 fully to guard against the mistake of considering the interests of 
 the educated classes as necessarily identical with those of the 
 vast communities committed to our charge, or the demands of 
 the former as necessarily expressing the requirements of the latter. 
 As a fact, the educated classes are, to a large extent, to be found 
 gathered together in the cities ; and they are, generally speaking, 
 altogether out of touch with the great mass of the community. 
 They can make themselves heard ; but they cannot safely be 
 accepted as giving voice to the feelings of the people generally. 
 
 Again it must be borne in mind that it is not all the edu- 
 cated classes that are affected by unrest. Few in number as 
 the educated classes are, we have still to make a very consider- 
 able deduction for those who are in no way affected by the 
 unrest which, perhaps, characterises the majority. There are 
 many well-educated chiefs, noblemen, bankers, merchants, and 
 officials, and not a few highly educated professional gentlemen, 
 who have no sympathy whatever with the unrest of which we 
 have recently heard so much. Indeed, they think and speak of 
 it with a greater intolerance than will be found among Europeans 
 
 299
 
 INDIAN UNREST: 
 
 or among what are called the ruling classes. The stake that 
 they have in the country, and their intelligent grasp of the real 
 facts of the situation, combined with their lack of personal 
 ambition in regard to offices under the Crown, separate them in 
 interest altogether from agitation. They have not, until quite 
 recently, considered it necessary to make themselves heard on 
 this matter ; for their Oriental sentiment has led them to leave 
 it entirely to be dealt with by the Government. But now that 
 unrest has begun to be associated too much with sedition, 
 anarchy, and crime, their attitude has very greatly changed; 
 and it may be hoped that the worst features of the unrest will 
 pass away under the influence of repression by the Government 
 and the loyal co-operation of the more moderate men amongst 
 our Indian fellow-subjects. 
 
 Intellectual unrest in India is undoubtedly to be expected. 
 We have ourselves sought to bring before the people our 
 Western civilisation, our industrial methods, our education, 
 and even our political ideas. We have sought to awaken the 
 intellectual powers of the people; and at the same time we 
 have aimed at securing their assistance in bearing the burden 
 of public administration which becomes ever heavier and heavier. 
 We are bound to expect that there will be an awakening from 
 the sleep of centuries, that political thought and ambition, 
 desire after progress and reform, a sense of national life and 
 energy, will be awakened in the minds of the peoples of India. 
 This change is taking place among all the non-Christian nations 
 with which the West has been brought into contact; and it 
 would be a strange thing, and scarcely creditable to us, if it did 
 not take place among the nations of India, with which we have 
 been brought into very intimate and close connection. These 
 nations are demanding, and they are acquiring, our education, 
 our industrial methods, and our civilisation. These we could 
 not withhold if we would, and we certainly would not if we 
 could. If we can at the same time imbue them with the ethical 
 principles of our religion, we need not fear the consequences. 
 
 I have said enough to show that the unrest to which attention 
 
 300
 
 ITS LIMITATIONS 
 
 has been so much drawn of late is distinctly limited in its area 
 and scope ; and it is necessary for us to bear this well in mind, 
 not only that we may not be unduly despondent regarding the 
 future, but also that we may realise that the measures to be 
 taken in view of this unrest ought not to be such as will meet 
 the demands which are clamorously made, without due regard 
 to the very often conflicting interests of the vast, though more 
 silent, multitudes under our care. The demand for employ- 
 ment in the administration of the State made by the educated 
 classes is one which is distinctly reasonable and entirely in 
 accordance with principles with which we have ourselves imbued 
 these classes and which cannot righteously be neglected. At 
 the same time we have to bear in mind that, in giving to the 
 Indians, that is to the educated classes of Indians, a share in the 
 Government of the country, we must consider not the interests 
 of the educated classes alone, but the interests of the whole 
 community. In other words, we must see to it that in 
 accordance with the language of Queen Victoria's proclamation 
 those only are appointed to office who " may be qualified by 
 their education, ability, and integrity duly to discharge," the 
 duties of that office. 
 
 Here I desire again to emphasise more clearly the distinction 
 to be drawn between appointment to Executive office and 
 appointment to a local body, or a Legislative Council. In the 
 latter case, what is ordinarily wanted is a man to represent a 
 particular class or interest, and to press, within reasonable limits, 
 the interests of the section of the community which he repre- 
 sents. Therefore, a man may reasonably and very properly be 
 appointed to a local body or a Legislative Council because he is 
 a Hindu, or a Muhammadan, or a landowner, or a banker. He 
 will represent the interest of his own section of the community ; 
 and that is what is desired. It is the very opposite with a man 
 who is to be appointed to responsible Executive office. He is 
 not qualified merely because he represents a particular interest. 
 That fact may, indeed, be a serious disqualification. What is 
 required of him is capacity to rule justly, the power of consider- 
 
 301
 
 INDIAN UNREST: 
 
 ing all interests and balancing one against another, a training 
 in impartiality and in administration. He ought not to be 
 appointed because he is a Hindu or a Muhammadan or a member 
 of a particular class, but only because he has, as far as can be 
 ascertained, proved himself fit for the office in question. No 
 man ought to be excluded from Executive office on account of 
 any racial or religious consideration ; but on the other hand, he 
 ought not to be appointed to it merely on account of any such 
 consideration. For example, it is a right thing to put a man 
 into a Legislative Council because he is a Hindu ; it is not a 
 right thing to put him into an Executive Council for that 
 reason. In the former he is to represent a particular interest, 
 in the latter he is to hold a portfolio and administer a depart- 
 ment in the interests of all. The recent appointment of the 
 Hon. Mr. Sinha, to the Viceroy's Executive Council as Legal 
 Member had my hearty approval, not because Mr. Sinha is a 
 Hindu, but because he had proved himself in his past history to 
 be fitted for that high office. I heard with great regret of his 
 having made up his mind to retire. His successor, Mr. Ali 
 Imam, is an old Behari friend of mine. He also is a barrister. 
 I believe him fit; and therefore I am able to rejoice in the 
 appointment of my friend. It is no disqualification that he is a 
 Muhammadan, though I hope that this was not the ground for 
 his appointment. The first and almost the only considerations 
 are education (or training), ability, and integrity. 
 
 I do not intend to dwell upon the sad features of the unrest, 
 which have tended to lead people to identify it with anarchy 
 and crime. I believe that the anarchical conspiracies, the 
 existence of which has been discovered, are very limited in their 
 extent. Mischievous wire-pullers, some of whom are well known 
 to the police, though they cannot be brought before the courts, 
 have been able to exercise an influence over a limited number of 
 the young, which has led some of the latter to give their lives, 
 without reserve, to the practice of assassination. Some of these 
 wire-pullers themselves are known to have a strain of insanity 
 in their blood ; they are also sometimes stirred by personal 
 
 302
 
 ITS LIMITATIONS 
 
 grievance and desire for revenge, as much as by anything 
 approaching a patriotic motive ; and the wretched lads whom 
 they have influenced are frequently found to be of unstable 
 character, unsuccessful in their prosecution of education, and 
 liable to that form of moral weakness which makes in India the 
 half-brained and fanatical fakir or sanyasi. 
 
 Undoubtedly the soil has been prepared by an irresponsible 
 and ill-conditioned section of the Press ; but the direct cause of 
 anarchy is education in political crime received abroad and 
 applied in India. Nothing will save the country from this, 
 except severe repression by the Government and cordial co- 
 operation in that repression on the part of the Indian com- 
 munity. Anarchy is fraught with danger to the landlord, to 
 the money-lender, even to the teacher, against whom the spirit 
 of lawlessness may instigate a discontented tenant, client, or 
 pupil to turn the hand of crime ; and the interests of the people 
 and the safety of society are involved as much as the interests of 
 Government. The evil is not yet widespread. There may, indeed, 
 be many more acts of violence. A score or two of even weedy 
 youths, guided by one or two able and unscrupulous men and 
 determined to devote their own lives to violence, may succeed in 
 committing a few deplorable crimes. Even this would not show 
 that the evil was widespread or deep-seated. I believe that it 
 is not. I do not by any means believe that we have seen the 
 end of it ; but I do think that the Government and the people 
 combining together may well prevail to eradicate the evil. 
 
 I think that I can best illustrate this point by briefly de- 
 scribing one of the last incidents of my life in India, to which 
 reference has already been made in a former chapter. On the 
 7th November, 1908, less than a month before I gave over 
 charge of the office of Lieutenant- Governor of Bengal and left 
 India for good, I was invited to preside at the Overtoun Hall in 
 Calcutta at a lecture to be delivered by Professor Burton, of 
 Chicago, on " University education in the United States." 
 The Overtoun Hall is a fine building, in charge of the Young 
 Men's Christian Association (College Branch) in Calcutta. The 
 
 303
 
 INDIAN UNREST: 
 
 lecture was to be delivered to students and graduates of the 
 Calcutta University. My young friend, the Maharajadhiraja 
 Bahadur of Bard wan, who is deeply interested in education 
 and in all good work, drove with me to the lecture. We arrived 
 punctually at the appointed hour, to find that the lecturer, 
 whose carriage had broken down on the way, had not yet 
 arrived. On the landing at the top of the stairs outside the 
 platform door of the hall, I was met by Mr. Barber, an American 
 gentleman, who is secretary of the Young Men's Christian 
 Association. We entered the hall and stopped just inside the 
 door, while Mr. Barber informed me that the lecturer had not 
 arrived, and asked me whether I would await him on the plat- 
 form or in the waiting-room. Before I could reply, a student, 
 who was seated in the chair next the door on my right, clad in 
 the white chaddar (or shawl) often worn by Bengalis, stepped 
 quietly past Mr. Barber and standing in front of me presented 
 his revolver at my breast. 
 
 It happened that, at that time, I was engaged in filling up 
 vacancies in the Provincial Service of Bengal ; and the thought 
 occurred to my mind that this might be a student who was 
 taking advantage of this opportunity to press his claims to an 
 appointment. I did not notice the revolver. Looking him in 
 the face, I asked him what he wanted. At the same moment, 
 I heard the click of the falling trigger, which had been pulled 
 without effect, owing to causes afterwards ascertained. All the 
 other chambers of the revolver were loaded and exploded readily 
 when tried subsequently by the authorities. Mr. Barber, who 
 was standing on my right, with great presence of mind seized 
 the hand of the assassin which contained the revolver. The 
 web of Mr. Barber's hand, between the thumb and index finger, 
 came under the trigger, and so prevented the next barrel from 
 exploding. 
 
 Simultaneously the Maharajadhiraja, who is a very stalwart 
 man and was standing behind me, suddenly threw one arm round 
 my neck and another round my arms, and thus pinioning me 
 turned me round so that his own body came between me and the 
 
 804
 
 ITS LIMITATIONS 
 
 would-be assassin. At my request the Maharajadhiraja released 
 me ; but meanwhile the student had been knocked down by his 
 own fellow-students and others, and Mr. Barber was in possession 
 of the revolver, of which he had not let go his hold. The 
 young man was handed over to the police, and was subsequently 
 tried and sentenced by the High Court. The lecturer arrived 
 very soon after the lad had been handed over to the police. 
 There were some who urged that the lecture should be postponed 
 or abandoned ; but I knew the audience better than that ; and 
 we ascended the platform. The large audience of students and 
 graduates accorded me a most enthusiastic reception ; and the 
 lecture was delivered. An hour later I passed with the 
 Maharajadhiraja through the streets on our way home. All 
 the way home I was engaged in acknowledging the cheers of the 
 crowd who gathered under every lamp-post to see us pass. 
 
 These are the facts. I think that they are very instructive. 
 The following points demand special attention. The miserable 
 young man, at the direct or indirect instigation of some one who 
 had obtained influence over him, but who remained concealed, 
 had undoubtedly determined to take my life, from no personal 
 enmity against me, but, as he pompously said, " to encourage 
 Bengal by showing that even the Lieutenant-Governor was 
 vulnerable and mortal." He had clearly also made up his mind 
 to sacrifice his own life in the attempt ; for he had no chance of 
 escape. The police were powerless to prevent the crime. Apart 
 from the protection of Divine Providence which was universally 
 recognised, there was no safety against such an attack, unless 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal had been ready to abdicate 
 his functions and abstain from meeting with the people, which 
 is unthinkable. The accusation of remissness made in some 
 quarters against the police was unjust and unwarrantable ; and, 
 on the contrary, it should be remembered that the existence of 
 these anarchical conspiracies would not have been discovered but 
 for the great improvement in police administration effected 
 during recent years. The audience and the outside public were 
 wholly out of sympathy with the assassin and hailed my escape 
 
 305 u
 
 INDIAN UNREST 
 
 from peril with great enthusiasm. Finally, an Indian nobleman, 
 the senior Hindu nobleman of Bengal, animated by loyalty to 
 our Sovereign and devotion to his own friend, was willing to give 
 his life to save mine. It has been a great pleasure to me that 
 the devotion of the Maharajah and the promptness and courage 
 of Mr. Barber were recognised by His Majesty King Edward VII., 
 who was graciously pleased to bestow on them distinguished 
 marks of favour, appointing the Maharajah to be a Knight 
 Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, 
 and bestowing on Mr. Barber the Kaisir-i-Hind medal of the 
 first-class. 
 
 The main facts in this case, I repeat, are these : that 
 a young man of unbalanced mind, with no personal grudge 
 against me, was willing to give his life in attempting to take 
 mine ; that a brave Indian gentleman was at the same moment 
 offering his life to save mine ; that the would-be assassin was 
 knocked down and arrested with the active assistance of some 
 of his own fellow-students ; that the whole meeting was against 
 him ; and that the people everywhere rejoiced in my escape 
 without injury. These facts are well worthy of special attention. 
 They seem to me to illustrate the true state of things in regard 
 to recent unrest in Bengal, and, I believe, in India generally. 
 Anarchists and men inclined to such deeds of violence are very 
 few ; but they are implacable, and ready to make any sacrifices 
 to achieve their objects. The mass of the people are loyal ; and 
 the loyalty of some of them is devoted and ready for any 
 sacrifice. The people generally must not be condemned for the 
 crimes of the few ; and officers of Government must take care 
 that these crimes are not allowed to prevent them from free 
 intercourse with the people, or to make their sympathy and 
 touch with them less real and effective. The incitement to, or 
 commission of, such crimes ought to be dealt with in the sternest 
 manner; and all measures of repression that are necessary ought 
 unhesitatingly to be adopted. But, at the same time, a strong 
 Government will not allow itself to be turned aside from a 
 righteous and large-hearted policy by such incidents as these. 
 
 306
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 MEASURES OF REPRESSION AND REFORM 
 
 THERE is one cause of unrest in its worst forms that demands 
 notice, that is the writings of a section of the Indian Press. 
 Several of those who have recently committed crimes of violence 
 with a political object have mentioned these writings as having 
 incited them to these offences. There was an excellent article 
 published by the late editor of the " Indian Nation " not 
 long before his death. He was a Bengali gentleman, highly 
 esteemed among his own fellow-countrymen, of sound education, 
 robust character, and self-sacrificing patriotism. Though duly 
 qualified as a barrister-at-law, he had given up what would have 
 been a most lucrative practice to devote himself to the instruc- 
 tion of youth. In this article he pointed out that the Press is 
 not in India an indigenous institution, but that it has there 
 developed peculiarities of its own. A portion of the Press 
 is conducted by men of ability and character, who aim at main- 
 taining the best traditions of the English Press. But there 
 is another portion of the Press, he said, written in English or 
 vernacular, which seems " only to keep itself going by things 
 sensational.'" The most sensational thing in writing is piquant 
 abuse. Therefore the stock-in-trade of some journalists comes 
 to be abuse either of the Government or of individuals. He 
 characterised these journalists as " worthless, characterless men, 
 unable to turn an honest penny,"" who think that a newspaper 
 offers them a livelihood and a certain status, and who do not 
 hesitate to indulge freely in falsehoods and to devote themselves 
 to abuse. " It is these wretched pests of society," he added, 
 
 807
 
 MEASURES OF 
 
 " that are responsible for the present state of public feeling. 
 They pose as authorities with the ill-educated. 11 It is useless, in 
 his view, to hope that the law can wholly eradicate a curse 
 of this kind ; there must be improvement in the tone of society 
 itself. This writer, however, was clearly of opinion that all that 
 the law can do to suppress such writings should be done, in the 
 interests of the public and especially of youth. 
 
 We found in Bengal that the criminal law as reasonably inter- 
 preted was adequate for dealing with the offender when he could 
 be distinctly indicated. Section 124A of the Penal Code provides 
 for the punishment of any person who by words, either spoken 
 or written, or by signs or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring 
 into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite dis- 
 affection towards, the Sovereign or the Government established 
 by law in British India. Section 153A of the same Code 
 similarly provides for the punishment of any person who by 
 such means promotes or attempts to promote feelings of enmity 
 or hatred between different classes of His Majesty's subjects. 
 Besides these, there is Section 505, dealing with persons who 
 make or circulate statements, rumours or reports conducing to 
 mutiny in the Army or Navy, or to the commission of offences 
 by any person. These provisions seemed to deal adequately 
 with seditious and mischievous writing, provided that responsi- 
 bility for the offence can be fixed, and that these provisions are 
 reasonably interpreted by the courts. Both of these points, 
 especially the former, presented difficulty. 
 
 It was with this fixing of responsibility that the Government 
 of Bengal had particularly to deal. This is a matter of great 
 moment. We had a number of prosecutions ; and they may at 
 first sight be regarded as successful. They invariably ended in 
 convictions ; no sensational speeches were delivered in the courts ; 
 and the cases attracted little or no interest. Further considera- 
 tion, however, shows that it would be a very great mistake, for 
 these reasons only, to regard the prosecutions as successful. 
 They did not reach the persons really responsible. This was 
 due to a manifest defect in the law : proprietors and editors of 
 
 308
 
 REPRESSION AND REFORM 
 
 newspapers are not registered under the law as it at present 
 stands, and they are therefore able to evade responsibility. It 
 is only the printer or publisher that is registered. Any person 
 may appear and declare himself printer or publisher of a news- 
 paper. He may be merely a compositor, and have no interest 
 in the paper at all. He gets a high salary for the kind of man 
 he is, to compensate him for any risks he runs. In 1907, in the 
 case of the notorious " Yugantar " newspaper, the seriously 
 mischievous consequences of this were exemplified. Convictions 
 were obtained ; but they were against uneducated compositors. 
 Surely it might be enacted that the person registered as printer 
 shall be the actual printer, and actually in possession of the 
 press, the magistrate having power to inquire into the truth of 
 the allegations made. This would prevent the law from being 
 manifestly and ludicrously ineffective in this respect. 
 
 Then again, as I have said, editors and proprietors of news- 
 papers are not registered at all. The first prosecution of an 
 editor that we undertook in Calcutta was successful ; but the 
 second was frustrated by the accused taking advantage of this 
 defect of the law. In that case, which the Government took up 
 against the " Bande Mataram " paper, Arabinda Ghose, whose 
 name had been mentioned as editor in the paper itself, and who 
 was generally accepted as the editor, denied that he occupied 
 that position, and left a so-called printer, who was nothing but 
 an uneducated coolie, to bear the brunt of the prosecution. 
 Witnesses from among the Press establishment came forward 
 to give evidence that there was no editor, and that contributors 
 merely laid down their articles on the table and left them to be 
 taken up and printed. The magistrate felt compelled to regard 
 the evidence against Arabinda Ghose as inconclusive. His judg- 
 ment showed that he had little doubt that Arabinda Ghose was 
 the editor, but that the prosecution, "contending against a 
 policy of silence and suppression,"" had failed to establish this 
 legally to his satisfaction. In disposing of the so-called printer's 
 appeal, two Judges of the High Court said, "It is unfortunate 
 that the person or persons really responsible for these seditious 
 
 809
 
 MEASURES OF 
 
 utterances remain undetected. ... It is evident that, if the 
 law cannot reach the more guilty persons, it should be, and we 
 have little doubt it will be, amended." This defect of the law 
 was at once brought to the notice of the Government of India. 
 But it is not yet amended. 
 
 The difficulty has been met, for the present at least, by the 
 law giving power of confiscation of presses and suppression of 
 papers. But no Act should be allowed to remain so ineffective 
 in itself as this law of registration of 1867 has been proved 
 to be. The Government is responsible for taking the necessary 
 measures to prevent ignorant people from being incited to 
 crimes which must tend to convert wise and gracious govern- 
 ment into a series of acts of repression which may involve, and 
 have involved, bloodshed, loss of property, and serious injury to 
 innocent and irresponsible persons, not to speak of the possi- 
 bility of the temporary subversion of government altogether in 
 certain tracts. It is not severer measures against the Press that 
 are necessary : the existing law is adequate in that respect. 
 What is required is to fix responsibility on the right persons. 
 It is most undesirable to make the law more strict than is 
 necessary, for it is very important to India to have the means 
 of ventilating grievances, exposing abuses, and giving expression 
 to the opinions even of small sections of the community. But 
 it is, on the other hand, as experience has now fully shown, 
 absolutely essential to restrain the licentious section of the Press 
 from the dissemination of such literature as has poisoned the 
 minds of not a few, and brought about a state of things which 
 tends to separate the officers of Government from the people, 
 and make effective administration hardly possible. The best 
 way to do this is not by devising exceptional procedure, but by 
 making men realise their responsibility under the ordinary law. 
 The men really responsible should have their responsibility 
 fixed ; and the lesson of responsibility should be taught in a 
 way that will make it clear to everybody. 
 
 I am of opinion that wise statesmanship demands in India 
 at the present time, and indeed always, a firm and con- 
 
 310
 
 REPRESSION AND REFORM 
 
 sistent policy. The experience of the last few years seems 
 specially to indicate the necessity for firmness in the suppression 
 of incitements to race-feeling and sedition. It is true that 
 undue severity and repression are never necessary or desirable. 
 Measures of undue severity are not the mark of calm and plucky 
 statesmanship ; they are rather the sign of panic and unwisdom. 
 What the true statesman will aim at is the least amount of 
 severity and repression which will adequately meet the case. 
 There can be no doubt whatever of the full importance of 
 putting an end to the anarchy and crimes of violence which are 
 an incalculable evil in the administration of the country, and 
 tend to a deplorable state of feeling, not only between the 
 people and the Government, but between different races and 
 classes. For the preservation of society and the efficiency of 
 Government, it is incumbent to take whatever steps may be 
 necessary for their repression ; and in doing this the Govern- 
 ment will undoubtedly have the support of all well-disposed 
 and reasonable persons, even though some of these may, from 
 causes not difficult to surmise, not give their support in a very 
 active or public manrier. But on the other hand, the Govern- 
 ment must approach this task with a sense of grave responsi- 
 bility, and must make up its mind to limit its repressive 
 measures to what the case clearly and undoubtedly requires. 
 
 While holding that more severe measures than are required 
 should not be adopted, I am at the same time most strongly of 
 opinion that anything like want of firmness in carrying out the 
 measures decided on, or anything like want of continuity of 
 policy in respect of repression, is most unwise and deplorable. 
 I do not profess to be now behind the scenes in regard to the 
 administration of India ; but there are two things which have 
 struck me recently as seeming to indicate a tendency to dangerous 
 weakness in this respect. One of these was the sudden release 
 of all the men who were deported in the cold weather of 1908-9. 
 There was in my mind, when I demitted office, no doubt of the 
 wisdom of deporting certain persons, in regard to whom there 
 was good reason to believe that they were a source of great 
 
 311
 
 MEASURES OF 
 
 mischief in the community, and that they were largely responsible 
 for the miserable outrages which have cast a stain on the Indian 
 people, without in any way advancing their interests. I have 
 no intention of discussing the propriety of the order of the 
 deportation in each individual case. The orders were passed 
 after I left. I accept all the responsibility that a Local Govern- 
 ment can have regarding the measure of deportation itself, though 
 I cannot now say whether in every case the order was an accurate 
 one. That is a matter for which my successor must share the 
 responsibility with the Government of India and the Secretary 
 of State. I say this, not because I desire to indicate any doubt 
 in any of the cases, but because no one has a right to assume 
 responsibility in such a matter who is not at the time that it 
 occurs the responsible adviser or officer of the Government. 
 
 The power of deportation is a special one which is entrusted 
 to the Government for the preservation of peace and order by 
 the country, which relies on the Government using the power 
 with discretion when necessary. The very use of the power 
 indicates that the grounds on which it is used in any particular 
 case are of a strictly confidential nature. It is essential not 
 only that the Local Government should be thoroughly satisfied 
 in each particular case, but also that it should be able to place 
 the case before the Government of India in a way that will 
 thoroughly satisfy that Government also, and will enable the 
 Secretary of State to inform the House of Commons that he, 
 as a responsible officer of the Crown, has been fully persuaded 
 of the necessity for the order. When a case is thus complete, 
 and not otherwise, the order of deportation may be passed under 
 circumstances which demand it ; and an order of deportation 
 so passed should not "be rescinded until the state of things in 
 the country clearly indicates that the necessity has passed away. 
 
 When certain proposals for deportation were submitted to 
 the Government of India, just before I left the country, I was 
 strongly of opinion that, while these proposals were rendered 
 necessary by the circumstances of the case, they should not be 
 accepted unless it was distinctly determined that the deportation 
 
 312
 
 REPRESSION AND REFORM 
 
 should last for some considerable time. The object of deportation 
 is to remove a man from the scene of his mischievous activities, 
 and to obviate his influence for evil. At first there is some 
 feeling of sympathy for him on the part especially of foolish, 
 misguided, or irresponsible persons ; but that passes away ; 
 and if he is kept out of mischief for some time, it may be hoped 
 that he will return, shorn of his influence for evil, to a state of 
 things where he may be safely trusted to do no harm. But 
 if he is away only for a short time, and if he returns under 
 circumstances which give clearly the impression that a con- 
 cession in his favour has been wrung from the Government, 
 either by him or by others on his behalf, the result is only 
 unfortunate. He comes back to pose as a martyr and as a 
 successful worker in the evil cause which he has adopted as his 
 own. He comes back with greater bitterness on his own part 
 and with enhanced influence among those whom he desires to 
 lead. Deportation is a good weapon only if it is used under 
 circumstances of clear necessity and with a firm and unfaltering 
 decision. 
 
 Another instance which seemed to me to indicate a re- 
 grettable want of sense of the necessity for continuity in policy, 
 was the temporary character given to the legislation against 
 seditious meetings. The necessity for that legislation was 
 clearly established. The measures adopted were certainly 
 reasonable and not more than the circumstances required. 
 These circumstances had not changed. What could show more 
 clearly that the legislation was still required than the discussion 
 which took place in August, 1910? Yet it was proposed to 
 continue the Act only up to March, 1911, a matter of about 
 eight months. It was indeed hoped that this extremely mild 
 proposal to continue this legislation for so short a period, so as 
 to allow the measure to come up before the Government of the 
 new Viceroy, would be accepted without discussion. It was not 
 so accepted ; speeches were made by certain members of the 
 Council which represented the state of things in India as so 
 altered in character as to show that such a measure was no 
 
 313
 
 MEASURES OF 
 
 longer required. These speeches led to statements by the 
 responsible members of the Government of India which clearly 
 indicated the absolute necessity for continuing repression. There 
 are those who believe that the state of things in India is as bad 
 as ever it was, if not worse. I am not myself of that opinion. 
 With my knowledge of what occurred while I was still in India, 
 I am of opinion that the crimes which are now being brought 
 to light, and the arrests which are now being made, are merely 
 the result of the continued activity of the police in respect of 
 matters of which they had more or less information and evidence 
 at the time when the Seditious Meetings Act of 1907 was passed 
 into law. But of this there can be no doubt, after what has 
 been said by the responsible members of the Government of 
 India, that the state of things at present is not such as to justify 
 the removal of the restrictions on seditious meetings which were 
 then considered necessary. It is therefore, in my opinion, dis- 
 tinctly unfortunate that discussion of this question should again 
 and again be renewed, and that there should appear to be any 
 want of determination to keep this measure in force as long as 
 there is any necessity for it whatsoever. 
 
 The condition of things in India has undoubtedly changed 
 for the better. There is the fullest evidence of it in the Press 
 and in private letters from men of all classes in India. It may 
 be attributed, as one of my Hindu correspondents says, to the 
 " gracious measures of reform," or as another Hindu says, to 
 the " vigorous prosecution of seditious persons." It is also 
 attributable to a revulsion of feeling caused by the outburst 
 of outrage and crime which has recently characterised the 
 operations of the extremist section of Indian politicians. Murder 
 and dacoity, even when political, are not yet popular in India. 
 And many who were indifferent, or sitting on the fence, have 
 in view of recent events stepped down with vigorous intention 
 on the right side. For myself, I think that the principal cause 
 of the diminution of political crime is the repressive legislation. 
 
 Local Governments were greatly handicapped in their action 
 against sedition and anarchy by the utterly ineffective weapons 
 
 314
 
 REPRESSION AND REFORM 
 
 of repression which they possessed. It took a great deal of 
 pressure from below, and a great deal of sad experience and 
 anxious consideration, to induce the Government of India to 
 pass adequate measures. The necessity for the Indian Explosive 
 Substances Act and Summary Justice Act of 1908, and the 
 Press Acts of 1908 and 1910, was clearly established. There 
 is no doubt that the credit for the subsidence of crime and law- 
 lessness is due mainly, if not exclusively, to the operation of 
 these Acts. These Acts gave both precision and promptness 
 to the courts in dealing with the offences to which they refer. 
 Both the uncertainty and the delay which had characterised the 
 action of the courts had been deplorable. And I am bound to 
 say that the administration of justice in India demands that 
 measures should be taken to enable the courts to deal more 
 promptly with criminal work. The delays that are at present 
 allowed to occur are often scandalous. 
 
 To return to the Acts, I do not mean that the improved 
 feeling in India is due mainly to them, but merely the diminu- 
 tion in crime and lawlessness. The reforms do not touch or 
 influence those who are given to murder and political dacoity. 
 Murders are still attempted and dacoities committed. But those 
 who are connected with these crimes run now a far greater risk 
 of being brought to justice ; and the incitement to these crimes 
 is, to a large extent, prevented by this repressive legislation. 
 It must not be supposed that the minds and sentiments of 
 anarchists and political criminals have in any way altered. 
 They never directed their violence against particularly un- 
 popular officers : the instructions were distinctly to aim rather 
 at the more popular and influential officers ; for the object was 
 to render government difficult by preventing friendly relations 
 between the officers of Government and the people. Therefore 
 there should be no change of policy. India is " as quiet as gun- 
 powder"; but mischievous and irresponsible persons should 
 not be allowed again to scatter sparks. 
 
 At the same time, there can be no doubt that, so far as the 
 results are up to the present apparent, the measures of reform 
 
 315
 
 REPRESSION AND REFORM 
 
 adopted by the Government of India, with the sanction of the 
 Secretary of State, have been of great benefit. I am proud of 
 the Government of India, in that it was able to persevere with 
 its wise and liberal measures of reform, in spite of the existence 
 of anarchy and of the anxiety and work involved in dealing 
 with it. 1 always urged that the Government should persevere ; 
 and the reforms have given satisfaction to thoughtful and 
 moderate men throughout India, and have so far been fully 
 justified by their successful working. 
 
 In a sense it is a mistake to talk of this policy as having been 
 initiated either by Lord Minto or Lord Morley. I do not pro- 
 pose to touch the unfortunate controversy as to whether the 
 Viceroy or the Secretary of State is primarily responsible for the 
 precise character and shape of the reforms. But I think that 
 it is not accurate to speak of the policy of these reforms as 
 having been initiated by either. The policy is old. The reforms 
 constitute a step forward an important step in a policy which 
 has been in operation for many decades. They go further than 
 the Government had ever gone before ; but that is of the nature 
 of all progress. A new policy might have been dangerous : it 
 might have been unwise. It was experience which justified men 
 in believing that this advance was wise and safe. The step that 
 has been taken is a great step ; it alters the position of things 
 in India in some important respects ; it will make it more diffi- 
 cult in some respects, but more simple in others, to deal with 
 Indian questions. I believe that, under the altered conditions, 
 the dignity and interest of the work of administration in India 
 will remain ; it will be as worthy of the best men as ever ; and 
 if the old principles of rectitude, firmness, and sympathy pre- 
 vail, it will be as full of hope and of reward. 
 
 816
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 THE PARTITION OF BENGAL " 
 
 SOME have attributed recent unrest in Bengal mainly, if not 
 exclusively, to the partition. I am decidedly of opinion that 
 this is a mistake. The records of the Government of India will 
 show that the Local Governments of more Provinces than one 
 had drawn the attention of several successive Viceroys to exist- 
 ing unrest. In Bengal there had been for years a conspiracy 
 for the promotion of sedition and anarchy, of which documentary 
 evidence came into the hands of the police. We found that 
 lads had been under training in the manufacture and employ- 
 ment of explosives for years, and that the worst crimes had 
 been planned long before partition was heard of. The agitation 
 against partition was mainly due to causes which can easily be 
 pointed out ; and the comparative success of that agitation was 
 really an indication or symptom of the existing spirit of unrest 
 of which the partition was certainly neither the origin nor the 
 cause. I do not think that it is necessary or desirable to revive 
 this controversy ; but I do think that the whole story of the 
 agitation against the partition is illustrative of certain features 
 of Indian life and work which it is worth while to mark and to 
 remember. 
 
 In the first place, let us see what was the object of the " par- 
 tition," as it is called. It was a readjustment of the boundaries 
 of the Province of Bengal. It consisted of three different parts. 
 Two of these have little or no connection with the agitation 
 against partition. The first part was the constitution of a 
 large Uriya Division by the addition to the existing Orissa 
 
 317
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 Division in Bengal of the District of Sambalpur and five 
 Feudatory States from the Central Provinces. This was a 
 measure of great importance, though it attracted but little 
 attention. Sambalpur and these five Feudatory States had 
 been connected with the Central Provinces from the formation 
 of that Province half a century ago. The Feudatory States 
 were governed by their own chiefs under the general supervision, 
 in more recent years, of the political agent for the Chhattisgarh 
 Feudatories. The Sambalpur District was under a Deputy 
 Commissioner, who was subordinate to the Commissioner of the 
 Chhattisgarh Division, with his headquarters at Raipur. The 
 language of that District is Uriya, and it was the only Uriya 
 District in the Central Provinces. TJie^jcIifficulty of adminis- 
 tering it properly was immense. Any officer transferred to that 
 District from any other part of the Central Provinces had to 
 acquire the Uriya language. The Police, Revenue, and other 
 departments had to be manned either by men belonging to the 
 District itself, or by Uriyas imported from the Orissa Division 
 in Bengal, or by men unacquainted with the language and 
 traditions of the Uriya people. 
 
 This in itself was manifestly an evil. The District did not 
 produce its own staff of all grades ; the men brought from 
 Bengal were generally very inferior in capacity or character, 
 or they would not have moved from home for anything that 
 Sambalpur could offer ; and the men of other races regarded 
 Sambalpur as a penal settlement, being altogether out of touch 
 and out of sympathy with its people. Worse than that was 
 the fact that it was almost impossible to transfer men from 
 Sambalpur to any other part of the Province. The separate 
 services had therefore a tendency to become exceedingly lax in 
 their work and in their morale. The evil was so great that one 
 of the Chief Commissioners of the Central Provinces obtained 
 the sanction of the Government of India to make Hindi the 
 court language of Sambalpur, as it was the court language of 
 the rest of Chhattisgarh. A beginning was made in teaching 
 Hindi as the District vernacular in the village schools. The 
 
 318
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 Revenue and Police Records were kept in Hindi ; and the work 
 of the courts was done in that language. Immediately after 
 these orders were given effect to, showers of petitions came 
 in protesting against the practical abolition of the true language 
 of the people ; and soon after this I had, in the course of my 
 first tour as Chief Commissioner, to visit the Sambalpur Dis- 
 trict. I found the state of things exceedingly distressing. 
 
 I found cases of men who had been summoned to court forty 
 or fifty miles. They could not themselves read the summons, 
 nor could they find any one in their village to read it. They 
 were merely told by the illiterate officer that brought it that it 
 necessitated their appearance at the court. Fearful of the con- 
 sequences of absenting themselves, they went to the court, and 
 there inquired what it was that was wanted. Then they had to 
 apply for an adjournment to enable them to bring up their 
 papers or their evidence ; and they had to take their weary 
 journey back again perhaps fifty miles on foot or in a country 
 cart to obtain these. Or again, a man went up to the police- 
 station and laid information before the police regarding some 
 offence which it was his duty to report. This report, which he 
 gave in Uriya, was taken down in Hindi and read over to him in 
 that language. He was called on to sign it, without being 
 able to read it for himself or understand it when it was read 
 to him. Or again, in regard to that which interests the people 
 most, the Patwari (or Village Accountant) kept the village 
 records in Hindi. The cultivator or tenant went to look at 
 the entry, or received the Parcha (or paper containing details 
 of his holding), and found it in Hindi, which neither he nor any 
 of his friends could read ; and it was of little or no use to him. 
 Again, his children were beginning to learn to read Hindi ; but 
 they could not read anything to him of all that he had been 
 accustomed to regard as of sacred or pleasant association. He 
 could not afford to teach them two languages; and \m own 
 beloved vernacular and Uriya is a very pleasant language to 
 hear or to see in writing was lost to him. No wonder that 
 the people were grievously stirred. 
 
 319
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 An attempt was made by some officers to produce the im- 
 pression that after all Hindi was fairly well understood by the 
 people generally. Fortunately, however, we had very clear 
 proof that this was not the case. At that very time prepara- 
 tions were being made for a census, and the Census Commis- 
 sioner found that he could not get men to do the work in Hindi, 
 although there was a great rush for employment on census work 
 at the liberal terms offered by the Government. He had of 
 necessity to get almost the whole of the work done in the Uriya 
 language and then translate it into Hindi for abstracting. 
 Finding things in this condition, I obtained the sanction of 
 the Government of India to restore the Uriya language to the 
 District ; and at that time I urged that the true remedy for the 
 difficulties of administering the District was to hand it over to 
 the neighbouring Division of Orissa in the Bengal Province. 
 This suggestion was the official initiation of the "partition 11 
 movement. 
 
 Some time after this, I had again to visit the Sambalpur 
 District; and it was a most touching thing to see how the 
 people turned out, at every village through which I passed with 
 my camp, and at every railway station where my train halted, 
 to return thanks for the restoration of their language. One 
 of the striking features of the case was that the priests of all the 
 temples everywhere, who rarely if ever come to take part in any 
 public function, were found in the forefront of these crowds, 
 singing some of their sacred songs and pronouncing upon me 
 their blessings. The deep and universal distress of the people 
 at the attempt to deprive them of their vernacular, the in- 
 calculable and far-reaching vexation and inconvenience caused 
 by the substitution of Hindi for Uriya, and the rejoicing with 
 which the restoration of the latter was hailed, formed a valuable 
 lesson on the importance of working among the people in their 
 own vernacular. 
 
 When I reached the headquarters, I was met in the usual 
 way by the Deputy Commissioner, who was an Indian, and the 
 European and Indian officers and members of the local bodies, 
 
 320
 
 and had a formal reception from them. The Deputy Commis- 
 sioner warned me that about half a mile farther on, on the 
 outskirts of the town, I should meet a large crowd who desired 
 specially to return thanks for the restoration of their vernacular. 
 When I came to this crowd I stopped my carriage. I was 
 received with enthusiasm, which arose to a degree which I could 
 not approve. I had great difficulty in restraining the people, 
 who came with sacred fire and offerings, from paying me some- 
 thing of the nature of divine worship. I explained to them 
 why I could not receive this, but that I greatly appreciated 
 and sympathised with their sentiments of joy in that the 
 Government of India had fully considered and rightly dealt 
 with their case ; and so we parted. 
 
 During the years that I was in the Central Provinces, the 
 enthusiasm of these people lasted, and when the Sambalpur 
 District was added to Bengal, at the time of the partition, 
 and I visited it as Lieutenant-Governor of the latter Province, 
 I found that that enthusiasm had not abated. We cannot too 
 highly estimate the regard that the people have for their own 
 language and their own traditions, and the enormous advantage 
 that is to be derived from going about among them and knowing 
 them intimately. The correct solution of the language difficulty 
 was found in adding Sambalpur to the Orissa Division of Bengal. 
 This was not because the people objected to be a part of the 
 Central Provinces : if anything, they much preferred the Central 
 Provinces Government to that of Bengal. But they could not 
 tolerate the loss of their mother tongue ; and as they could not 
 retain it and remain part of the Central Provinces, they much 
 preferred to go over to Bengal. 
 
 The second part of the partition scheme which may be briefly 
 noticed was the transfer to Bengal of the five Uriya Feudatory 
 States above referred to, and the transfer from Bengal to the 
 Central Provinces of five Hindi States, on the other side of the 
 Province. This measure was dictated by something of the same 
 feeling as led to the transfer of the Sambalpur District to the 
 Orissa Division. By being transferred to Bengal, the five Uriya 
 
 321 x
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 Feudatory states were brought into association with the adjoining 
 Uriya States of Bengal, a change which greatly improved the 
 chances of their efficient administration. On the other hand, 
 the five Hindi States were added to adjacent Hindi States in 
 the Central Provinces, the result being that the political agent 
 of Chhattisgarh had under his control a more compact body 
 of Feudatory States, the official language of all of which was 
 Hindi. 
 
 A very interesting incident occurred in regard to the transfer 
 of the five Uriya States to Bengal. The chiefs of these States 
 had known me as the Chief Commissioner of the Central Pro- 
 vinces. They came to me as a friend and presented to me a 
 petition in which they stated that they had three objections to 
 the proposed transfer to Bengal. The first was that their 
 powers and status as Feudatory chiefs were higher than those 
 of the Feudatory States of Bengal, and that they feared that 
 they might be reduced to the same level. The second was that 
 Orissa had twice been under the charge of an Indian officer as 
 Commissioner, and that it was the only Division in Bengal of 
 which, up to that time, an Indian officer had been Commissioner. 
 They strongly urged that they preferred very much to be under 
 the supervision and control of a European officer. The third 
 reason was that they had had for years in Chhattisgarh a 
 Political Agent, who had been their kindly adviser, and had 
 often assisted them in difficulty and saved them from trouble 
 with their people or with the Government. They looked upon 
 him as their friend. There was no such officer in Bengal ; and 
 they would prefer therefore to remain as they were. 
 
 It was easy for me to assure them that their powers and 
 privileges and status would be clearly and fully defined and 
 recorded, and that no reduction of any of them would occur ; 
 that there was a European Commissioner in Orissa now, and 
 that there was neither more nor less chance of an Indian Com- 
 missioner being in future appointed there than in Chhattisgarh. 
 I also assured them that I would ask the Government of India 
 to give me a Political Agent for the Orissa Feudatories. This 
 
 822
 
 THE " PARTITION OF BENGAL " 
 
 promise I kept, to the great satisfaction of all the chiefs of that 
 large Agency, and to the great advantage of the administration 
 of the States in smoothness and efficiency. It is interesting and 
 important to observe the desire of these chiefs to be under 
 European supervision and control, and the personal regard and 
 attachment that they had for their European Political Agent. 
 
 As I have said, neither of these items of the partition scheme 
 was in any way connected with the unrest. I pass now to the 
 partition as it affected the Bengali portion of the Bengal 
 Province. I regard the adjustment of the boundaries between 
 the old Provinces of Bengal and Assam as a wise and statesman- 
 like measure. It was passed after the fullest consideration, 
 after public and private discussion with representatives of all 
 the interests concerned, and from no other motive than the real 
 and permanent benefit of the people of the two Provinces. I 
 have never known any administrative step taken after fuller 
 discussion and more careful consideration. It is not accurate to 
 describe the change as " the partition of Bengal,"" inasmuch as 
 there had already, many years before, been handed over to the 
 Assam Province one or two of the Districts of Eastern Bengal. 
 Eastern Bengal is a tract well known in the history of the 
 Province, and of that tract part already belonged to the Assam 
 Province. The transfer of the rest of it to that Province was, 
 in my opinion, exceedingly desirable, if not absolutely necessary. 
 
 In Bengal, as it was constituted before the partition, there 
 was an area of nearly two hundred thousand square miles, with 
 seventy-eight and a half millions of people. It had been grow- 
 ing increasingly difficult, until it had become practically im- 
 possible, to conduct efficiently the administration of this great 
 Province. It was not a matter only of the burden of work laid 
 on the Lieutenant-Governor, but rather of the impossibility of 
 efficient working of the various departments of the Government. 
 No head of a department was able efficiently to deal with the 
 great charge committed to him. The result of this was that 
 many of the Districts of Eastern Bengal had been practically 
 neglected. There were many reasons which led the ordinary 
 
 828
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 head of a department, when he found that he could not over- 
 take efficiently his whole charge, to give to Orissa and Western 
 Bengal such time as he had at his disposal ; and the Districts of 
 Eastern Bengal suffered most from the undue pressure of work. 
 
 On the other hand, the neighbouring Province of Assam was 
 too small for efficient administration. It was impossible to have 
 an adequate body of officers permanently settled in the Province, 
 and the consequences were that discipline was weak, and that the 
 officers did not take that interest in their work which an officer 
 ordinarily does in the work of his own Province. I fully concur 
 in the statement made by the Government of India that " the 
 evils which these proposals seek to cure, the congestion of work 
 in Bengal and the arrested development of Assam, are of the 
 gravest kind ; and every branch of the administration in these 
 important Provinces suffers from them in an increasing degree." 
 It is gratifying to find that after very few years 1 experience the 
 local officers and the Government of India were able to point to 
 vastly improved administration of the transferred Districts, and 
 that many of the people of these Districts who formerly opposed 
 the partition had by that time given it their hearty approval. 
 
 The opposition to the transfer was mainly engineered from 
 Calcutta ; and a consideration of the character and methods of 
 that opposition cannot fail to be in some measure both interest- 
 ing and instructive. There were undoubtedly many Bengalis 
 who were at first honestly opposed to the partition of Bengal, 
 with whose views one could not but feel full sympathy. Their 
 objections were patiently heard and fully considered. In most 
 cases they were entirely removed. Among these objections were 
 such as the following. 
 
 Some thought that when the Districts of Eastern Bengal were 
 transferred to the Province of Assam, they would cease to be 
 under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Calcutta, and would 
 come under that of a Judicial Commissioner such as had existed 
 in the Central Provinces when that Province was small and some- 
 what remote. They had been taught to regard the High Court, 
 a certain proportion of whose Judges come from home, as a 
 
 324
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 security of their liberty, and of their civil rights. The strength 
 of this feeling was great. It influenced some men of the highest 
 intelligence in all walks of life. It was a great relief when the 
 Government of India gave the fullest assurance which a Govern- 
 ment can give, that the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court 
 would remain as long as possible, and that if in the future it 
 should ever become necessary to give the new Province a separate 
 Supreme Court of its own, that court would be a High Court 
 and not a Chief Court. A similar objection was the fear that 
 the Board of Revenue in Bengal would be abolished so far as the 
 transferred Districts were concerned, and that they would be 
 left in revenue matters to a final appeal either to the Head of 
 the Province or to a Finance Commissioner. The Government 
 of India met them on this ground also and gave a Board of 
 Revenue to the new Province. A third objection was that they 
 would have to go with their appeals to the remote and compara- 
 tively inaccessible hill station of Shillong, which was the sole 
 head-quarters of the Assam Chief Commissioner. They were 
 reassured on this point also ; for they were to have a Lieutenant- 
 Governor in the new Province, and his head-quarters were to 
 be at Dacca, the historic capital of Eastern Bengal. 
 
 I well remember how, when I summoned a conference of all 
 who felt that they were in any way interested in this matter, 
 many attended who raised these objections. On finding that 
 these difficulties were removed, they generally expressed their 
 satisfaction. The result, however, was that some of the native 
 papers urged the people not to attend these conferences at 
 Belvedere, on the ground that in doing so they simply 
 "showed their hand," and enabled us to meet their objections 
 without giving up the project of partition. The fact was that 
 the opposition of these particular papers to the partition was 
 due to motives and reasons altogether different from such as I 
 have indicated. It is worth while looking at the character and 
 features of their opposition. It casts light on the methods 
 which are sometimes adopted in Indian politics, and affords 
 a lesson which ought not to be forgotten. 
 
 325
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 The character of the permanent opposition to the partition 
 may be judged from the fact that those who publicly expressed 
 their approval of the partition were often pilloried in the Press 
 and boycotted so that they were practically ruined. I recall the 
 case of a member of my own Council, who was a native of one 
 of the Districts of Eastern Bengal which had long belonged to 
 the Assam Province, and who represented, as a High Court 
 practitioner, one of the Bengal constituencies sending up a 
 member for nomination to the Bengal Council. He prepared 
 a confidential memorandum for me, setting forth the advantages 
 of the partition as they appeared to him, and to those who 
 thought with him. Unfortunately, when the papers were 
 published by the Government of India, that memorandum was 
 published with them. He was immediately boycotted by the 
 majority of the Bengali Bar ; and his practice before the High 
 Court fell to about one-third of what it had originally been, that 
 one-third being mainly supplied by others than Bengalees. He 
 had been a respected and successful practitioner ; but, so far as 
 these members of the Bengali Bar could, they deliberately ruined 
 him, because he had differed from them in opinion on this 
 question. It is easy to understand how difficult it is, in such 
 circumstances, to induce men to speak out their views publicly : 
 we must be ready to make allowance for this. 
 
 There is no doubt that there were some, among the pro- 
 fessional classes especially, but also among the non-resident 
 Zamindars, belonging to the transferred Districts, who did not 
 like the separation from Calcutta ; but even their feeling on the 
 subject, which was certainly not wholly unselfish, was not very 
 . strong, until they were stirred from Calcutta into vehement 
 opposition. Among the common people generally there was 
 absolute, complete and universal indifference, until agitators 
 coming from Calcutta circulated misleading statements and 
 roused certain sections of them. It is instructive to note this 
 fact. The strength of the opposition lay in the excitability of 
 the people, the imputation of bad motives to the Government, 
 and the raising of scares among the ignorant. The history of 
 
 326
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 this agitation indicates a general danger to India which ought 
 not to be overlooked or forgotten. We have in the masses 
 ignorant and excitable peoples to deal with ; and mischievous 
 men have only to go among them with false stories to produce 
 dangerous disquiet and to rouse them to violence. 
 
 The opposition was mainly confined to two great parties 
 whose interests were, not unreasonably, regarded as to some 
 extent threatened by this scheme, and whose voice is avery 
 powerful voice in India. One of these is the<^a1cutta Bar^> 
 I do not intend to bring any railing accusation against the Bar. 
 I am myself a barrister, and am free, I think, of the prejudice 
 which not a few Executive officers sometimes show against that 
 profession. But there is no doubt that it is only natural that 
 members of the Bar, and especially those of second-rate character 
 and practice, should be very jealous of anything that seems to 
 interfere with their professional prospects. Now it is clear that 
 the transfer of a certain number of Districts to a new Province, 
 whose head-quarters would no longer be Calcutta, would tend to 
 diminish the business of the Calcutta Bar. They felt this, and 
 their voice was raised with no uncertain sound against the 
 measure. They adopted exaggerated language in regard to it, 
 ignored the advantages which it was intended to produce, and 
 did all they could to prejudice the people against it. They 
 engineered with great skill, through the agency of the local 
 Bars which had been long connected with the central Bar in 
 Calcutta, a violent opposition to the scheme throughout the 
 transferred Districts and throughout the Bengali Districts which 
 were not transferred. 
 
 The other strong agency in engineering the opposition was a 
 section of the Native Press. There are some native newspapers 
 which have a high aim and a good tone ; but the Native Press 
 as a whole is not characterised by either good tone or high 
 purpose. It has become to a large extent truculent and offen- 
 sive. It is well known that a certain section of it exercises its 
 influence and maintains itself partly by what it regards as spicy 
 writing, and partly by a deliberate or perhaps occasionally 
 
 327
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 unconscious terrorism. An officer on whose conduct the 
 Government is bound to keep its eye, or a Zamindar who cannot 
 but live a public life, is compelled to support the Press lest it 
 should attack him. I have myself seen the following letter, 
 which was addressed by the editor of a newspaper to a promi- 
 nent public man : " As you are much before the public, it is 
 our intention to write an article about you on such and such 
 a date. Perhaps you would like to become a subscriber to our 
 paper so that you may see that article when it appears ?" The 
 recipient of this letter, rightly or wrongly, believed that the 
 character and tone of the article would be greatly influenced by 
 his decision in regard to becoming a subscriber. Whatever the 
 intention of such letters may be, there is no doubt that among 
 Indian officials and gentlemen in the interior there is an impres- 
 sion that any attack made on them in y public newspaper tends 
 to injure them with the Government/ Now in the transferred 
 districts the Government would no longer be the Government 
 of Bengal, with its headquarters at Calcutta, where the news- 
 paper was to be published. It would be a Government at 
 Dacca, in another Province, where these newspapers were not 
 read. The loss of influence and prestige, and the loss of clientele 
 was one of the causes which led some at least of the native Press 
 to oppose the partition scheme. Others were led into it by their 
 normal inclination to oppose anything which the Government 
 advocated. In the usual way they misrepresented the motives 
 and intentions of Government, and poured forth vituperation 
 upon the measure it was carrying out. Only one or two were 
 honest in their opposition. 
 
 The opposition was largely characterised by absolute want of 
 principle. False stories were circulated to rouse the fears and 
 indignation of the people. The Government, which only desired 
 effective administration of the two Provinces concerned, was 
 abused as being animated by a determination to break up and 
 so destroy the influence of " the Bengali nation." All sorts of 
 false statements were made in speeches delivered and in leaflets 
 scattered throughout the country. There was, for example, 
 
 328
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 maliciously and falsely attributed to the Government, in leaflets 
 scattered among the common people throughout the villages 
 of the transferred Districts, the outrageous motive of wishing 
 to place the cultivating and labouring classes of these Districts 
 at the disposal of the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam, 
 so that that Government might be able to remove them against 
 their will from their own homesteads to a position of practical 
 slavery in the tea-gardens of Assam. The mercantile classes 
 were told in public speeches that the object was to injure the 
 Port of Calcutta, a statement the ridiculous character of which 
 may be seen from the fact that the Bengal Chamber of Commerce 
 supported the partition scheme. Furthermore, inasmuch as the 
 Districts transferred to the new Province had all of them a 
 majority of Muhammadans in the population, a wicked attempt 
 was made, by insinuations of an intention to place the Hindus 
 under the heel of the Muhammadans, to set the professor's of 
 these two religions against each other, and to produce those 
 religious animosities which are so real and constant a danger 
 in India. 
 
 By such means, a violent opposition was raised against a 
 measure, the administrative value of which was so abundantly 
 established that the agitation against it rapidly died out in 
 Bengal. Unfortunately, that agitation was again and again 
 stirred into new vigour by incitements from the floor of the 
 British Parliament. It was satisfactory to find these evil 
 influences weakening, as the people really concerned began to 
 see the advantages which they had derived from the measure 
 and to be convinced of the good intention of the Government 
 in carrying it out. 
 
 I cannot but recall a conversation which I had with a highly 
 esteemed Indian friend, who was one of my colleagues on the 
 Bengal Council. He was an Indian merchant of considerable 
 distinction, and had had an honourable connection with public 
 affairs. He made a public attack on the partition scheme, based 
 mainly on the impression as to the intentions of the Government 
 in regard to the High Court to which I have referred. I asked 
 
 329
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 him to come and see me, and explained to him his mistake. He 
 expressed himself fully satisfied on the point ; and I suggested 
 to him that perhaps he might withdraw his remarks. He 
 replied that he could not do so, as he was in full sympathy 
 with the opposition to the partition. I asked him what were 
 his grounds for his opposition. He said that he was perfectly 
 sure that one result of the partition would be very much to 
 develop the Port of Chittagong, and that this could not be done 
 without injuring the Port of Calcutta. I asked him whether he 
 really believed that the drawing of an imaginary line between 
 the two Provinces, and the declaration that the Districts on the 
 one side of that line were under the government of one Province 
 and those on the other side under that of another, would really 
 divert the course of trade ? " No," he said, " but Chittagong 
 will be under the government of the new Province ; efforts will 
 be made to improve it; the natural communications between 
 the transferred Districts and Chittagong will be developed, and 
 trade will therefore take its course to Chittagong which is the 
 natural port for that part of the country."" I pointed out that 
 this surely meant that trade would be benefited by the change ; 
 and I asked him whether he would not state that view in public. 
 He said he would not ; because he was a Calcutta man and he 
 himself would be injured. I pointed out to him that Govern- 
 ment must take a higher view than that, and must consider the 
 general interests of the country. His reply was characteristic- 
 ally honest, but at the same time very discouraging. He said, 
 " I do not blame you for supporting a measure which un- 
 doubtedly appears to be to the advantage of the Districts 
 concerned ; but I am bound to fight for my own interest." 
 
 The whole history of this agitation indicates some of the 
 difficulties of Indian administration. A measure may be sound; 
 but it may be influentially opposed by those who believe that 
 their own private interests are at stake. That opposition may 
 be easily exposed as regards its character ; but it is not on that 
 account overcome. Sometimes again the opposition adopts 
 measures most dangerous to the interests of sound administra- 
 
 330
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 tion. These consist of the circulation of misrepresentations in 
 regard to motive and intention, and of stories which an ignorant 
 people too readily receive. In time, the motives of Government, 
 if they are pure, will undoubtedly be vindicated ; but that time 
 may be delayed and the injury to sound administration may be 
 great. It may also be intensified by thoughtless or malignant 
 encouragement given to the opposition by those who are 
 animated too often by a desire to embarrass the Government. 
 Such encouragement is sometimes given, more or less innocently, 
 and more or less effectively, by Members of Parliament. 
 
 I remember the late Sir Curzon Wyllie telling me that he 
 was on one occasion walking, at the Indian Civil Service garden 
 party in London, with a nobleman of considerable standing and 
 distinction in India. One of the so-called " Indian members " 
 of the House of Commons came up to this nobleman and 
 claimed acquaintance with him. He said to him, " I hope that 
 you have come to throw your weight into the scale on behalf of 
 the cause of India to which we are devoted ?" The nobleman 
 replied that he did not quite understand what he meant. The 
 Member of Parliament entered into a brief explanation. The 
 nobleman replied, "I do not quite understand your position and 
 your objects ; but there is one thing that I do understand, 
 namely, that you are drawing a pension of ,1,000 a year from 
 the Government of India, and you are doing all that you can to 
 make the government of India impossible. That does not com- 
 mend itself to my Oriental ideas. 1 ' The Member of Parliament 
 did not seem to have ready on his tongue an adequate rejoinder 
 to this remark ; and they parted. The view expressed is a 
 thoroughly Indian one: the high-toned Oriental does not 
 understand that disloyalty to the salt which seems to be indi- 
 cated by persistent and unfailing opposition and cavilling 
 criticism ; and there are not a few men of Western birth and 
 education who share this feeling. 
 
 For the sake of the lessons which it teaches, it has seemed to 
 me well worth while to record the whole history of this measure 
 and of the agitation against it, although it has already been 
 
 331
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 greatly modified in detail by the administrative changes 
 announced by His Majesty the King at the Delhi Durbar on 
 the 12th of December, 1911. I do not propose fully to discuss 
 these changes here, as they have taken place after the severance of 
 my connection with India. Perhaps the greatest objection that 
 can be taken to them is the manner in which the Government 
 brought them about. None of the Local Governments or 
 responsible officers concerned appear to have been consulted by 
 the Government of India or the Secretary of State, nor were 
 the public in any way taken into confidence in the matter. 
 Under all the circumstances, however, there is much justification 
 for this. Public discussion before the announcement of the 
 scheme would have been surrounded with difficulties ; and the 
 scheme itself would probably not have been accepted without 
 bitter opposition in many quarters had it not been announced 
 by the King ; and such an announcement could not have been 
 made after prolonged public discussion. The circumstances, 
 therefore, may be held to justify the particular procedure which 
 would otherwise form a most dangerous precedent. 
 
 There is no doubt that the weight of public opinion is in 
 favour of the removal of the Indian capital from Calcutta to 
 Delhi. With my experience as Lieutenant Governor of Bengal 
 for five years, I have no hesitation in saying that the presence 
 of the Government of India in Calcutta rendered the administra- 
 tion of the Province of Bengal very much more difficult than it 
 otherwise would have been, and was no source of strength to 
 the Government of India itself. As to the selection of Delhi, 
 I have no strong views ; but I most certainly consider it of 
 great advantage that the headquarters of the Government of 
 India should not be placed alongside of the headquarters of any 
 Local Government. 
 
 In respect of the modification of the partition of 1905, as 
 regards the boundaries of Provinces, it may be briefly stated 
 thus : (1) The old Province of Assam is restored precisely where 
 it was before that partition. (2) All the eastern districts of 
 Bengal have been restored to their connection with the western 
 
 332
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 districts ; and all of them, forming the five Bengali divisions, 
 have been , constituted the Presidency of Bengal under a 
 Governor-in-Council. (3) The three sub-provinces of Patna, 
 Chota Nagpore and Orissa have been severed from the 
 old Province of Bengal and constituted a new Province by 
 themselves. I do not intend to enter into a full discussion 
 of these changes. It is clear that the object of the old partition 
 in respect of Assam has been abandoned. The Government of 
 Lord Curzon aimed at curing " the arrested development of 
 Assam " ; and there is no doubt that the measure they proposed 
 was calculated to accomplish that object. The Government 
 of Lord Hardinge, however, have proposed to sacrifice any 
 advantage in this respect for the sake of having a small frontier 
 Province on the north-east of India, similar to the frontier 
 Province which Lord Curzon considered it necessary to form on 
 the north-west, for the purpose of dealing more satisfactorily 
 with troubles on our Indian border. The Government of India 
 are entitled to have their view on this matter received with 
 respect and consideration ; and I do not think that there is 
 ground to believe that any serious mistake has been made in 
 this respect. 
 
 The propriety of this change being granted, the other 
 changes almost follow of necessity. The need for reducing 
 the area of the old Province of Bengal had been so clearly 
 established, that it could not possibly be restored. Some 
 division had to be made; and that adopted is in the main 
 as good as any other that is at all possible. The newly consti- 
 tuted Province of Bengal will, in regard to the climate of its 
 districts, be somewhat undesirable ; but it will have the great 
 advantage that there will only be one vernacular language to 
 acquire. The three sub-provinces which have been formed into 
 the second Province are just precisely such tracts of country as 
 may well be administered together. The great object of Lord 
 Curzon's partition (apart from its relation to Assam) was to 
 divide the Province of Bengal into two manageable Provinces. 
 This object has not been abandoned ; but it has been carried 
 
 333
 
 THE "PARTITION OF BENGAL" 
 
 out on a different method from that adopted then because 
 of the change of view in regard to the political necessity for 
 having a small Province on the north-east frontier. Whatever 
 difference of opinion may exist in regard to these changes, it 
 is, at all events, a satisfactory thing that they have been made 
 in a way which has commanded their acceptance on all hands 
 and has prevented undesirable agitation in regard to them. It 
 is to be hoped that all the three new Provinces will be left 
 undisturbed to work out their own destiny, and that they will 
 make steady advance in prosperity and enlightenment. 
 
 334
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 I CANNOT close these reminiscences of my Indian life without 
 reference to the visit of the Ameer of Afghanistan to India in 
 the beginning of 1907, which was an event of great interest. It 
 was not a political visit, and the subject of politics was, I believe, 
 avoided throughout the whole period. We were all enjoined, 
 indeed, to remember that the Ameer is a sovereign ruler of a 
 friendly State, that he was to be addressed as " His Majesty," 
 and that he was everywhere to receive royal honour. But his 
 visit was that of a friendly neighbour coming to see India, to 
 make the acquaintance of some of the principal officers of the 
 British Government, and to study the manners and customs of 
 the country. The Ameer was a most intelligent observer, and 
 was evidently inclined to enter on those frank and friendly 
 relations with the people whom he met which would facilitate 
 his obtaining some insight into the things which he wished to 
 know. 
 
 I did not see His Majesty until he came to Calcutta. My first 
 opportunity of talking to him was on Wednesday, 30th January 
 (1907), when I met him at a dinner given in his honour by Lord 
 Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief. It was not a large or 
 formal dinner, being given to him on the very day of his arrival 
 in Calcutta. He was evidently on the best of terms with Lord 
 Kitchener, whom he had met in the north of India. He spoke 
 of him to me after dinner in terms of the deepest admiration, 
 having been fascinated evidently, not only by the strength, but 
 also by the courtesy and friendliness, of the Commander-in- 
 Chief. 
 
 335
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 At this dinner, to which the mess dress uniform of all the 
 officers present gave a very bright appearance, the Ameer sat on 
 Lord Kitchener's right and I on his left. On my left was one 
 of the sirdars who accompanied the Ameer, Brigadier Muham- 
 mad Nasir Khan. The latter conducted his conversation with 
 me mainly in Hindustani, though he was far from ignorant of 
 English. He showed himself deeply interested in all that the 
 party were seeing of India and its administration. My con- 
 versation with the Ameer himself was partly conducted in 
 Hindustani. He was, however, rapidly acquiring a colloquial 
 knowledge of English, and quite liked to use that tongue. 
 
 His Majesty's determination to acquire English, and the 
 manner in which he used what he knew of it very much 
 impressed me. He had got hold of some very colloquial phrases 
 as the following incident shows. I overheard him talking to 
 Lord Kitchener about the British Nation. The Commander-in- 
 Chief was explaining to him that there are three great divisions 
 of the British Isles, and that the inhabitants differed in many 
 respects from each other, but yet were equally devoted to and 
 eligible for the service of His Majesty the King. By way of 
 illustration he pointed to Sir Henry M'Mahon, a fine Persian 
 scholar, who was the Political Officer in attendance on the 
 Ameer, and was seated on the Ameer's right so as to render him 
 any assistance that might be required in conversation. Lord 
 Kitchener remarked that Sir Henry was an Irishman. " I 
 myself," he said, " am an Englishman ; and the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, who is on my left, is a Scotsman. The Scots have a 
 dress of their own. Probably," he added, as he noticed that I 
 was listening, " because it is economical, they only wear a cloth 
 twisted round their loins which they call a kilt." 
 
 The Ameer looked across at me with a smile ; and I said, " I 
 think that Your Majesty has seen some of our Scottish regiments 
 in the north of India." He replied, " Yes, I have seen them. 
 I like Scottish regiments, and" (turning to Lord Kitchener) 
 " they do not wear kilts because they cannot afford trousers, but 
 because the kilt leaves the legs freer and stronger for going up 
 
 336
 
 & Shtfhe 
 
 THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 His signature is in the corner of the illustration
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 and down the hills." I remarked, " Your Majesty and I being 
 hill men understand one another." The Ameer laughed heartily 
 and, with a very humorous glance at Lord Kitchener, added, 
 " Wrong box, Your Excellency !" 
 
 The next time we met was when the Ameer dined with us at 
 Belvedere on Friday, the 1st of February. When his carriage 
 drove up at the door I received him at the bottom of the steps, 
 and taking his hand in mine, according to Oriental custom, 
 I conducted him into the drawing-room. The company were 
 standing about the room. As we entered, the Viennese band 
 played the Afghan National Anthem, of which the music had 
 been obtained through the military authorities of the Punjab. 
 As the first chord was struck His Majesty stood fast ; and, with 
 his hand to his hat, he took the salute. When the Anthem was 
 over he turned round and courteously thanked me. He and I 
 then led the way to dinner, hand in hand in Oriental manner, 
 Lady Fraser being taken by a member of my staff to her 
 place next to His Majesty, and the lady whom I ought to have 
 brought to dinner being taken to her place by the Private 
 Secretary. I placed Col. Sir Henry M'Mahon on the other 
 side of the Ameer so that he might act as interpreter for His 
 Majesty when required ; but there was also an Afghan inter- 
 preter standing behind his chair. Three sirdars of his staff 
 were at table ; and two pages who had accompanied him were 
 given their dinner elsewhere. 
 
 The Ameer was most cheery throughout the dinner. He 
 talked to Lady Fraser partly in English and partly through the 
 interpreter in Persian, breaking out now and again into Hin- 
 dustani, of which he has some little knowledge, so as to see how 
 far she could speak the language, a matter in which he appeared 
 to be considerably interested. His conversation was of the 
 frankest character, and every now and again he broke into 
 jest and laughter. His face is a very difficult one to photograph, 
 because it is so very different when it is at rest from what it is 
 when lighted up and animated in conversation. He expressed 
 very freely his views on the different dishes that were served to 
 
 837 Y
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 him, and was much interested in all our cooking. We had been 
 careful, of course, and he knew that we were careful, to avoid 
 having any forbidden food placed on the table, so that he was 
 quite able to partake of everything without asking any questions 
 for conscience 1 sake He did not take any wine ; nor was any 
 wine passed round the table in front of any of the guests. He 
 and his sirdars had decanters of water and non-alcoholic drinks 
 placed for their use ; and all wine to the other guests was served 
 from behind. 
 
 When at the end of the dinner I proposed His Majesty the 
 King-Emperor's health, the Ameer stood and drank to it in 
 soda-water. When we had resumed our seats, he leaned forward 
 and said to me across the table, " Your King is very kind. He 
 has issued the order that his health may be drunk in water. 
 But for this I could not drink it ; for I cannot touch wine. 
 But I drink it very gladly in water with your King's royal per- 
 mission."" I replied that His Majesty's order had been prompted 
 also by a desire not to force on any of his own subjects, many 
 of whom do not approve of the use of wine except medicinally, 
 the alternative of using wine or forbearing from this particular 
 form of expression of their loyalty. Immediately after this I 
 proposed that we should drink the Ameer's health, and assure 
 His Majesty of the warm welcome which we gave him to 
 Bengal, and to Calcutta, a compliment which he courteously 
 acknowledged. 
 
 Immediately after this toast, the ladies left the room, and I 
 went over and took my place where Lady Fraser had been 
 seated between the Ameer and the then Foreign Secretary, Sir 
 Louis Dane. I asked His Majesty whether he would like to 
 smoke or join the ladies at once. He said he would prefer to 
 smoke one or two cigarettes first. In the course of conversation 
 he alluded to several matters which had struck him in the course 
 of his present visit. One was the immense number of objects 
 of interest which were to be seen in Calcutta; and he gave 
 expression to the wonder that filled his mind as he drove round 
 the city and saw its teeming population and its busy life, with 
 
 338
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 its varied forms both of activity and of pleasure. He declared 
 that he had not seen half of what he wanted to see, and stated 
 strongly his inclination to postpone for a few days his departure 
 from Calcutta, which had been fixed for the following Monday. 
 This, he said, would involve giving up an arrangement which 
 had been kindly made to show him some tiger shooting in the 
 Sohagpur jungles of the Central Provinces ; but, much as he 
 would have liked to see such sport, he felt more deeply interested 
 in the great shops and depots of Calcutta. He told me that 
 the Army and Navy Stores and other large shops had greatly 
 fascinated him, and that he was purchasing a number of things 
 which would be most useful to him in Afghanistan, and of the 
 very existence of which he had up to then been ignorant. 
 
 He was much struck with the magnificence of the military 
 displays which he had seen in the north of India ; but he said 
 that he was at least as much struck with the fact that in 
 ordinary life the troops are kept entirely in the background, 
 and have no manifest connection with the preservation of the 
 public peace or with the maintenance of His Majesty's authority 
 in India. The police arrangements, the regulation of the city 
 traffic, and the order that prevails, had made a great impression 
 ,011 him. He mentioned also several of our customs which he 
 had observed. Amongst these was the custom of standing at 
 attention and uncovering the head at the National Anthem, 
 indicating our constant respect for, and loyalty to, the throne, 
 though we were so far away on the other side of the world. 
 Another custom which he incidentally mentioned was that of 
 giving photographs to friends with autograph signatures ; and 
 he told me that he had volunteered to give one to Lady Fraser, 
 and that he would, as soon as possible, have a good one taken 
 for the purpose. All his conversation was courteous. There 
 was nothing in it inconsistent with his dignity ; yet it was bright 
 and lively and often jocular. 
 
 When we went to the drawing-room he was greatly delighted 
 to hear English music and songs from some of our guests. 
 M. Bastin, the Belgian Consul, sang one or two French songs 
 
 339
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 which greatly interested him ; then one or two English songs 
 were sung; and he asked Lady Fraser to let him hear one of 
 the songs of her own country. To each singer he courteously 
 returned thanks; and after the Scottish song had been sung 
 he himself sat down at the piano and played on that instrument 
 with both hands, but in unison, some Persian and Afghan airs, 
 one of which was a national dance. He explained to us how 
 this dance was performed. It required seven dancers. The 
 band was in the middle, and the dancers were outside and swayed 
 their bodies to and fro, and moved backwards and forwards 
 from and to the band, in a manner which he indicated. He 
 then asked for some Scotch music, which my wife played, and 
 four of our guests showed him a portion of a Scotch Reel. 
 After another Scottish song, he again sat down at the piano, 
 and, playing his own accompaniment in unison, he sang an 
 Afghan song in the quaint tones of the hill music. He entered 
 into it with his whole soul, and sang with great vigour. Leaving 
 the piano, he stepped up to my wife and me and spoke of his 
 love for the hills of his own country and how he missed them on 
 the plains of India. I told him that I believed all hill men have 
 the hills of their native land near their hearts ; and he stretched 
 out his hand, with Oriental enthusiasm but an English gesture, 
 and said, " Shake hands."" He added, " I have much enjoyed 
 myself, Lady Fraser, I have felt as though I were in my own 
 country among my own friends."" 
 
 He laughingly told us that although Hastings House, which 
 the Government of India had placed at his disposal, was so 
 close to Belvedere, the escort had in the dark misled his 
 carriage on the way to dinner, and had taken him round 
 to the Kachahri (or Magistrates 1 Court House), which he said 
 was fortunately closed, or he did not know when he might 
 have arrived at dinner. He hoped that he would get home 
 without any such mishap. As a matter of fact, however, the 
 escort, who were strangers, led him out of the Belvedere grounds 
 by the wrong gate, and took him out to Tollygunge, so that he 
 was about half an hour in reaching Hastings House, which was 
 
 840
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 not more than five minutes' drive from Belvedere. I am told 
 that he took this misadventure in the best of humour, having 
 been engaged in pleasant conversation with Sir Henry M'Mahon, 
 for whom he evidently has a great regard. 
 
 I saw a good deal of the Ameer after this ; but I shall not 
 allow myself to recall many of the incidents of his visit. I may, 
 however, say that he did postpone his departure from Calcutta ; 
 and on Tuesday, the 5th, he suddenly sent to inquire whether 
 I should be able that afternoon to fulfil a promise I had made 
 to show him the Industrial Exhibition which had been opened 
 just a short time before in Calcutta. I at once agreed and 
 started off. I observed that the Ameer did not fall in with the 
 European habit very generally adopted by advanced Indians 
 of shaking hands. With perfect courtesy, but with equally 
 perfect determination, he declined, as though not observing 
 them, the hands held out to him by the Exhibition officials. 
 He told me that he thought it was better rigidly to observe that 
 rule with strangers. He noticed also that I was not returning 
 the salutes of the people, and suggested that I should do so. I 
 said, "They are meant for your Majesty." He replied, "No. 
 You are the Governor. I am here only as your guest. You 
 must take them." And he insisted on this. 
 
 He spent well over an hour looking at jewels and goldsmiths' 
 work, educational exhibits, machinery, and cloths of cotton and 
 silk. His conversation was addressed at least as much to the 
 exhibitors as to me ; and his remarks indicated the great 
 interest which he took in everything which he saw. It was 
 amusing to see the emphasis with which he declined to purchase 
 any of the gold and jewelled ornaments for men. He was 
 shown some of these, and said they were more suitable for 
 women. He was told, however, that they were much worn by 
 rajahs ; and he suddenly broke out into a remark more plain 
 and less courteous than usual. He said, " Are, then, your 
 rajahs women ?" He immediately recovered, however, and 
 turned the matter into a jest. 
 
 It was interesting to see the useful objects on which he fixed 
 
 341
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 his attention and spent some of his money, and the business-like 
 care with which he insisted upon price lists being sent over to 
 him accompanied by samples and indicated the way in which 
 he desired these price lists and samples to be prepared. As 
 he was leaving he was offered one or two presents. He very 
 courteously thanked those who offered them ; but touching the 
 presents in Oriental manner with his hand he added, "I do 
 not accept. It is not my custom." He interrupted the pro- 
 ceedings at one time to offer prayer at the prescribed hour. 
 He asked one of the maulvls on his staff to find out a suitable 
 place, and declined to use a room in which there were some 
 pictures hung. A suitable place having been found, he had 
 a prayer-carpet spread, and proceeded with his devotion, with- 
 out paying any regard to those who were looking at him from 
 a respectful distance. 
 
 The Ameer visited the Medical College Hospital in Calcutta. 
 He was deeply interested in all he saw; and his questions to 
 Col. Lukis, then Principal of the College and Superintendent of 
 the Hospital, evinced great intelligence and much sympathy 
 with the objects of the Hospital. As he was leaving, he stood 
 for some time talking to Col. Lukis at the door of the Principal's 
 house. A large number of crows were making a great chattering 
 in the tree under which he was standing. He moved away to 
 a little distance from the noise, saying, "The Calcutta crows 
 are like many people whom I know. Their chattering prevents 
 reasonable conversation." 
 
 He spoke very happily to me about his visit to India. He 
 said, " While the door is shut you cannot tell whether the man 
 within is a jeweller or only a worker in glass ; even so I did not 
 know my neighbours in India until the door was opened and 
 I was able to pay this visit." He added that many of his 
 people had very erroneous impressions about the English ; that 
 he himself had feared when he came that he would always have 
 to watch every word lest he should commit himself on any 
 political question ; but that he had found nothing but friend- 
 ship, brotherliness, and hospitality. No one had desired to 
 
 842
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 get anything out of him or to make him commit himself to 
 anything. He had been simply welcomed in the heartiest and 
 frankest manner as a friend, and he would be able to tell his 
 people, when he went home, of the great kindness which he had 
 received. 
 
 On one occasion at Belvedere after dinner, he showed a little 
 irritation with a servant who was attracting attention and 
 disturbing conversation by carrying round cheroots. He 
 turned to him and said in an undertone, " Go. 1 " The man 
 did not understand English, and did not carry out the order. 
 The Ameer, quite quietly and with no roughness of manner, 
 took the box from him, placed it on the table, pointed 
 to the door, and said "Go." The man understood the 
 gesture and went. The incident had only taken a moment, 
 and there was no time to have interfered. The Ameer turned 
 round to me and said half apologetically, " You do not mind ? 
 I did not like him dancing round us like a crow among the 
 peacocks." 
 
 On two other interesting occasions I met the Ameer. One 
 was at the Viceroy's State Ball, a scene of great brilliancy, and 
 the other was at the Calcutta races, where the crowd was, I 
 suppose, greater than anything the Ameer had ever seen. 
 His interest was untiring, and he spoke freely of all that he 
 thought about both. I need not, however, dwell further on 
 such subjects. A farewell dinner was given to him by Lord 
 Kitchener on Friday, 8th February, and he left Calcutta by 
 special train that night. After dinner he spoke again very 
 strongly about the great advantage which he had derived 
 from his visit to India, in having set right the vague and 
 erroneous impressions the reports brought to him had produced 
 on his mind. He said, " In a certain city there dwelt a people 
 who had never seen an elephant. It was felt that their ignorance 
 was great, so arrangements were made that a deputation of them 
 should go and see an elephant and report. They went, and in 
 a somewhat dark place an elephant was pointed out to them. 
 They could not see the elephant clearly, but they felt that they 
 
 343
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 could not tell their people so. They went up to it and touched 
 it with their hands that they might carry to their people some 
 report of what it was like. One man felt its legs, another felt 
 its trunk, and a third felt its ear. They went back and reported 
 to their people : one that the elephant was like a great pillar 
 on which a house might rest, another that it was like a great 
 serpent or sea- monster, and the third that it was like a great 
 sheet with which a man might cover himself and keep warm." 
 Even so, he said, erroneous reports had been brought to him by 
 persons of imperfect observation ; but now he had come to see 
 for himself. He was very glad he had come, but sorry that he 
 would have to part from the many friends he had found in 
 India. He did, indeed, seem greatly to feel his departure. 
 
 In the beginning of March, just before leaving India, the 
 Ameer was received at the Islamia College at Lahore and laid 
 the foundation stone of the new building. He received an 
 address from his co-religionists, the authorities of the College. 
 When he rose to reply, the whole audience, of course, also rose. 
 He waved to them to resume their seats, and standing alone 
 before them he delivered an impressive extempore oration in 
 sonorous and musical Persian. His utterance is worth recording. 
 
 He said, " First thanks to God, praise to His prophet. My 
 brothers, I speak to you, the Muhammadans of the Punjab in 
 India, who are present here to-day. You have read me your 
 address. I have understood your thoughts. This is my reply. 
 Mark it : it closely concerns your welfare. Before all else I 
 want, at the outset, to say how deeply I appreciate the tolerance 
 and the beneficence of the Government of India in allowing 
 my innumerable Muhammadan brethren in this great country 
 perfect liberty to perform their religious duties where and when 
 and how they desire. That acknowledgment being paid, which 
 lies foremost on my conscience, I come to the pith and marrow 
 of my message to you and to the millions of Muhammadans 
 whom you represent. 
 
 " In a single sentence I give you my whole exhortation. 
 Acquire knowledge. Do you hear me ? Acquire knowledge. 
 
 844
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 I say it a third time ! Acquire knowledge. Oh, my brothers, 
 remain not ignorant, and, what is worse, remain not ignorant 
 of your ignorance. There are those who utter solemn warnings 
 in your ears, who urge that Muhammadans have nothing to do 
 with modern philosophy, who declaim against western sciences 
 as though they were evil. I am not among them. I am not 
 among those who ask you to shut your ears and your eyes. 
 On the contrary I say, pursue knowledge wherever it is to be 
 found ; but this also I declare with all the emphasis at my 
 command, science is the superstructure. Do not mistake it 
 for the foundation. The foundation is, and must always be, 
 religion. Begin, then, at the beginning. Ground your children, 
 before everything else, in the eternal principles of their glorious 
 faith. Start with the heart. When that is secure go on to the 
 head. 
 
 " Some would like to finish with the heart, they are afraid 
 of the head. They are wrong. I must speak plainly to you. 
 You cannot earn your bread by religion alone. Religion will 
 not give you raiment. It will not build a roof over your 
 head. If you turn away from education, you turn away from 
 the means of raising yourself to prosperity and power. I will 
 be more plain still. Pinch your head and you will feel the pain 
 in your belly. But do not lose sight of my other injunction. 
 It is your duty to infuse into the hearts of your children, when 
 they are young and impressionable, such a love for their holy 
 faith that nothing can ever eradicate it. You must so bind 
 their hearts to it, that neither the influences of other religions, 
 nor those new influences which are antagonistic to all religions, 
 can weaken their loyal adherence to the tenets of Islam. Do 
 not think that my two injunctions are incompatible. I tell 
 you that if you place your feet firmly on the sublime teachings 
 of your holy prophet, you may let your mind wander over the 
 other forms of knowledge in the world without losing your 
 balance. If the light of religion be truly entered into a man's 
 inner being, it will never afterwards leave." 
 
 After referring to the work of the College, to the interest of 
 
 845
 
 THE AMEER OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
 the Government of the Punjab in Muhammadans, and especially 
 in Oriental education, he made a gift to the College, and con- 
 cluded by saying, " Now I pray God that He may keep Islam 
 in good countenance before the eyes of the whole world, and 
 that we and our faith may retain the respect of the nations."" 
 The Muhammadans of India have shown a good example in 
 their efforts to teach the young the elements of their faith 
 and to train them in the practice of religion ; but, in their too 
 general suspicion and even rejection of modern science and 
 education, they have greatly injured their position and influence. 
 They have fallen behind the Hindus in the march of progress, 
 and it will be well for them if they take to heart the earnest 
 exhortation of the Ameer. 
 
 846
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 THE HUMOURS OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 I DO not think that there has been any time in my service when 
 I have found my work light except, perhaps, when, many years 
 ago, I was Excise Commissioner of the Central Provinces, before 
 that office was amalgamated with several other miscellaneous 
 departments, and before Berar came under the Central Provinces 
 administration ; but though our work has generally been qufte 
 sufficient for each day, it has been varied work ; and as a great 
 deal of it had to be done outside the office, in the town or among 
 the villages, it has been both interesting and healthy. There 
 have also been incidents occurring every now and again, which 
 have been of a more or less humorous character and have 
 relieved the monotony of our work. Many such incidents crowd 
 on my memory now. But I shall only relate a few of them. 
 The homely character of our life in the Central Provinces led to 
 many private little jests which were pleasant at the time, but 
 would seem almost silly if set down in print. I shall therefore 
 confine myself to a few incidents more or less connected with 
 work. 
 
 On one occasion, when I was a District Magistrate, I exposed 
 myself to severe censure from the European ladies of the station 
 on account of the version which got about of a decision in my 
 court. I was reported to have judicially ruled that, according 
 to the law prevailing in India, a husband had a right to beat his 
 wife, and that she had no remedy in such a case. It will be 
 understood that this was not a very popular decision with the 
 ladies. The facts of the case were a little interesting. There 
 
 847
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 had been a long-standing feud between two small Zamindars 
 (or landowners) in a certain village ; and they had been in the 
 habit for some time of taking all manner of means to annoy one 
 another. At last one of them got an opportunity of which he 
 promptly availed himself. His rival Ramparshad was heard 
 speaking in strong terms to his wife in the verandah of their 
 house ; and the sound of a slap was heard. Gangaparshad 
 either heard the quarrel or was told of it ; and he got hold of a 
 friend to take a document to Ramparshad's wife on which she 
 was asked to make a mark, and was informed that by doing so 
 she would receive considerable benefit. Trusting to the friendli- 
 ness of Gangaparshad's messenger she made the mark. 
 
 The document stated that Ramparshad very frequently 
 assaulted her, entered in detail into an exaggerated recital of 
 the events of the quarrel above referred to, and ended by asking 
 the protection of the Magistrate. There is no doubt that 
 Gangaparshad thought that Ramparshad would suffer very much 
 in dignity by this attack on his character, and by the necessity 
 for having his wife called as a witness in court; and Ganga- 
 parshad being a relative of the lady was able to appear as her 
 friend and quasi guardian in the case. A very careful inquiry 
 on the spot showed the triviality of the incident, and the enmity 
 which lay at the bottom of the complaint. 
 
 The case came up for hearing when I was in camp near 
 the village where the parties resided. Ramparshad was advised 
 by his counsel to allow his wife to appear, closely veiled, as 
 a witness for the prosecution. She admitted that her husband 
 had spoken roughly to her and had given her a slap in a fit of 
 temper, for which she proceeded to make an elaborate apology. 
 In cross-examination by the accused she spoke of the excellent 
 terms on which she lived with her husband ; and I allowed 
 villagers to appear to corroborate her evidence. I was entitled 
 under the law to compel Gangaparshad to make compensation 
 to Ramparshad for a frivolous and vexatious complaint ; and 
 I did so. The effect was not unsatisfactory. It did not indeed 
 make Gangaparshad more friendly to his rival ; but it made him 
 
 348
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 a little more cautious in his conduct. It is very curious how 
 much we see, even in very serious cases, of the use of the courts 
 for purpose of private enmity. Cases have been well known in 
 which even a charge of murder has been trumped up by a man 
 against his enemy. 
 
 Another matter which, though very serious, has its more or 
 less humorous side, is the practice of trial by jury, as we not 
 infrequently find it in India. Every country has experience of 
 the difficulty of persuading men to find a verdict against the 
 accused in certain cases where political or faction feeling is 
 involved; and this, of course, is found in India as elsewhere. 
 There is, however, a case peculiar to India which is of very 
 common occurrence, that is, the difficulty of persuading jurors 
 or assessors to find a verdict against a Brahman, especially in 
 cases involving capital punishment. Assessors differ from jurors 
 in that their opinion has not the weight of the verdict of a 
 jury. Assessors are there to advise the Judge, not to decide 
 with any finality even questions of fact ; and in the more back- 
 ward tracts we have much more of trial with assessors than trial 
 
 b y jury- 
 As a young officer, I was once called on to inquire into a case 
 of murder and to prosecute it before the Court of Session. It 
 was as clear a case as ever had been. The murder was cruel ; 
 and the eye-witnesses were beyond suspicion. There were two 
 assessors ; and both of them returned a verdict of " not guilty." 
 The Judge, differing from the assessors, sentenced the Brahman 
 accused to death, and he paid the penalty. Some time after- 
 wards, one of the assessors came to visit me. He was a fairly 
 influential landowner, and himself a Brahman, well educated 
 in the vernacular, but without knowledge of English. I asked 
 him how he could find a verdict so contrary to the evidence ; 
 and he frankly said to me in the most friendly way, " I could 
 not possibly find a verdict that would lead to the death of a 
 Brahman. You know that it is grievous sin for any Hindu 
 to cause the death of a Brahman ; and it does not matter 
 whether you do it with your own hand or indirectly by the 
 
 349
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 hand of another." " But, 11 I said, " it is a serious thing for you 
 to violate the trust which is reposed in you by the Government 
 on behalf of the public ; and you cannot help regarding this as 
 most blameworthy failure of duty." He replied with some 
 emotion, "It is you really who are to blame. You are not 
 ignorant of our views in this matter. Why, then, should you 
 put us in a position where we might be called upon, as I was on 
 that occasion, to choose between the sin of saying what I believed 
 to be untrue, and the infinitely awful sin of causing the death of 
 a Brahman ?" The strong feeling with which the old man spoke 
 to me on the subject made a great impression on my mind ; 
 and I have often thought that we do not know, or at all 
 events do not fully consider, what grievous injury we inflict on 
 the people of India by forcing on them customs and duties 
 which are altogether inconsistent with their traditions and 
 beliefs. 
 
 I remember another case in which an Honorary Magistrate 
 tried a Hindu belonging to a religious order for habitually 
 receiving stolen property. As in this country so in India, the 
 receiver of stolen property ought to be severely dealt with 
 because of the demoralising effect of his occupation on the 
 community. The evidence was clear and conclusive; and the 
 Magistrate felt himself bound to convict ; but there is a provision 
 of the law whereby the period of police custody after conviction 
 is included in the period of imprisonment. The worthy Magis- 
 trate therefore set himself to calculate how long it would take 
 to march the prisoner, from one police station to another, to the 
 head-quarters of the District where the jail was situated. He 
 calculated that it would take a week ; and he sentenced the 
 sacred receiver to a week's imprisonment. I well remember how 
 he could not conceal from me afterwards his disappointment 
 that he had forgotten that there was an indirect road to head- 
 quarters which included a considerable stretch of newly made 
 railway line ; and the prisoner arrived at the jail in time to 
 undergo three days 1 imprisonment. The washing off of the 
 sacred ashes and filth which he had, perhaps for years, allowed 
 
 850
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 to accumulate, was a terrible blow to the criminal ; and he very 
 vigorously cursed the Magistrate. 
 
 Another curious case may be recorded. When I was Com- 
 missioner of Chhattisgarh I had appellate jurisdiction over 
 certain civil courts. In one of these subordinate courts a certain 
 plaintiff had brought a suit against a debtor. The debtor's plea 
 was that he had certainly incurred the debt, but that he had 
 also repaid it ; and he challenged the plaintiff to take an oath 
 to the effect that he had not been paid. The law allows a case 
 to be decided in this way with the consent of parties. The 
 party agreeing must take an oath which he regards as most 
 certainly binding upon him, and the obligation of which on him 
 the opposite party is also prepared to admit. The parties in 
 this case agreed that the plaintiff should take his oath with his 
 hand on the tail of the sacred cow at the great temple of the 
 goddess Samlai in Sambalpur an oath of great solemnity in 
 these parts. The plaintiff took the oath and declared that he 
 had not been paid ; and decree was accordingly passed in his 
 favour. That night the plaintiff died ; and the ground of 
 appeal to me was that the gods had manifested their displeasure 
 at the false affirmation by taking the plaintiff's life, and that 
 therefore the decree ought to be reversed. I have very little 
 doubt that the plaintiffs oath was false ; but I was, of course, 
 unable to alter the decision ; for the law makes such an oath, 
 when taken by consent of parties, final in the case. 
 
 A more amusing decision in a civil case came to my notice. 
 A certain officer was trying a case in which the facts were very 
 similar to the above. The plaintiff was a usurer well versed in 
 the law. The defendant was a Gond, a member of a jungle 
 tribe, improvident in habits, but well versed in jungle work. 
 The plaintiff sued for a debt of Rs. 100. The defendant stated 
 that he had only received Rs. 10. The usurer produced a book 
 entry showing payment of Rs. 100, and called two witnesses, 
 who in cross-examination admitted that they were employed 
 habitually by the usurer to witness payments to his clients who 
 could not read nor write ; and that they had seen a payment 
 
 351
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 made to the defendant, but could not precisely say how much 
 had been paid. The Judge, who was trying the case in camp 
 (as was not uncommon in those days), pointed to two trees in 
 front of his tent and said that whoever should first reach the 
 top of either of these trees would obtain a decree, and that the 
 plaintiff should have his choice of trees. Of course, the plaintiff, 
 poor man, after toiling violently for a time, gave up the enter- 
 prise to find that the Gond had been to the top of his tree and 
 down again, and was awaiting the decision. The judge gave 
 the decree for the plaintiff for Rs. 10 only. The plaintiff, how- 
 ever, told him that he would appeal from that decision, as it 
 was entirely contrary to law. When he came to ask for a copy 
 of the judgment to append to his memorandum of appeal, he 
 found that it was a reasonable and well -stated discussion of the 
 evidence, showing that the plaintiff had failed to establish the 
 payment of more than the sum awarded. The Judge, who was, 
 on the whole, a very sound and fairly popular officer, received 
 in connection with this case an admonition with which he was 
 more or less familiar, that such humorous treatment was to be 
 deprecated as leading ignorant people to suppose that the courts 
 of justice depended for their decisions on something else than 
 legal evidence. 
 
 I remember accompanying a distinguished officer in an in- 
 spection of plague hospitals in a city which I was visiting. 
 Some of these plague hospitals were supported entirely by 
 private charity. The inspecting officer was walking round one 
 of these private and temporary hospitals with the promoters. 
 I was behind with an officer who was largely responsible for 
 plague work. We passed through a ward in which we were 
 shown a number of convalescents. One man attracted my 
 attention from his clear eye and healthy appearance. I drew 
 the attention of my companion to his condition ; for I had 
 never before seen a man who had so thoroughly recovered in 
 apparently so short a time from the terrible effects usually 
 resulting from a case of plague. I happened to know the 
 vernacular of this town, though it was in a different Province 
 
 352
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 from my own. I asked the man how long he had been ill ; and 
 in the simplest way he told me that he had never been ill, but 
 had been ordered to lie in bed quietly while the distinguished 
 inspecting officer was going his round. He also said that all 
 the malis * and other servants had been similarly put to bed for 
 that morning. 
 
 This is an illustration of two things against which one has 
 very carefully to guard in Indian inspection. The one is what 
 we know as " eye wash,"" that is, a regular preparation for the 
 inspection by arranging places and things as one would like the 
 inspecting officer to find them. The other is the tendency that 
 some Indians have to strengthen a really strong case by false 
 evidence. There could be no doubt whatever that this private 
 and temporary hospital was meeting a real need and doing good 
 work ; and yet its promoters were not above putting healthy men 
 into the beds of a selected convalescent ward for the purpose of 
 strengthening the impression of the usefulness of the institution. 
 
 In this same institution there occurred that morning an 
 incident which gave me really a thrill of horror. The inspect- 
 ing officer, who was deservedly beloved for his deep interest in 
 the people, and for the courage and devotion with which he 
 fought the terrible battle he had to fight against the plague, 
 was passing through a ward in which some plague patients 
 were lying in more or less serious condition. One of these was 
 requested by the chief promoter of the institution to place a 
 garland of flowers round the neck of the inspecting officer. 
 The patient rose from his bed and, standing beside it, placed 
 the garland as requested. The inspecting officer, with surely 
 a reckless courage, bowed his head and received it. The pro- 
 moters were fatalistic in their faith, and gave no consideration 
 to the possible consequences of their act. 
 
 The fatalism of Muhammadans and Hindus alike, militates, 
 to a very large extent, against sound sanitary arrangements 
 throughout the country. When I was Commissioner of Chhattis- 
 garh, we had a series of lectures on Saturday evenings in the 
 
 * Mali is a gardener. 
 
 353 z
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 Raipur Town Hall on social, sanitary, educational, and moral 
 subjects. The Civil Surgeon was lecturing one evening on 
 "sanitation," and delivered a very clear and popular address 
 which, some of us thought, must have made a great impression. 
 What was our surprise when we found a member of the Bar, an 
 orthodox Hindu but very fairly versed in English, rising and 
 delivering an English speech in defence of the opposition or 
 indifference of the people to sanitary measures. I remember 
 that one point which he made was this, " The Civil Surgeon 
 has spoken to us strongly of the insanitary condition of the 
 great tank in the middle of the city, and of the impurities 
 which analysis has found in its waters. We could see that he 
 even shuddered as he spoke of people drinking that water. 
 Now I and my family have drunk that water for years and have 
 never drunk anything else. On the other hand, I have no doubt 
 that the Civil Surgeon sometimes eats beef at his dinner. As 
 for me, on account of the traditions of my people, and my 
 hereditary views in regard to the cow, I cannot think of eating 
 beef without shuddering in a similar way. It is all a matter of 
 tradition and training. The Civil Surgeon has no more right 
 to call upon me to give up the water which I have been in the 
 habit of drinking, than I have to call on him to give up the 
 beef of which his religion allows him to partake. 11 
 
 Somewhat different from this was the case, a very exceptional 
 one indeed, of an officer well up in the Service, under whom I 
 had once to serve. He was a man by no means wanting in 
 courage or in pluck ; and he had often faced unmoved great 
 danger in the jungle ; but there was one thing of which he was 
 always in deadly fear: that was cholera. When there was any 
 cholera visitation that required the personal attention of a 
 Magistrate, he always sent out one of his subordinates. In 
 sending me out on one occasion he said to me quite frankly, 
 "I send you out because I really feel absolutely unfit to go 
 myself. I recognise that with reasonable precautions, which I 
 know you will take, the risks of infection are minimised ; but I 
 cannot reason about cholera. I can only feel." I had too much 
 
 854
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 respect for his character to consider him a coward on account 
 of this idiosyncrasy ; and I went willingly to my duty to save 
 him. The fatalism of the Hindu or Muhammadan very often 
 saves him from such fear; but on the other hand, there is 
 nothing more awful than the panic which a severe visitation of 
 cholera sometimes brings to the country villages. I have already 
 described an experience of this kind. When such a panic seizes 
 the people, they cannot reason, they can only feel. 
 
 Talking of sanitation reminds me of an amusing incident 
 which I once met with in a certain town in the Madras 
 Presidency. The Sanitary Commissioner had just been round 
 inspecting, and had prepared a note on the sanitary conditions 
 of the town. One copy of this note was in the usual way sent 
 first of all to the Indian Deputy Magistrate in direct charge of 
 local sanitation, that he might make any remarks or suggestions 
 in regard to the criticisms of the Sanitary Commissioner. A 
 brief paragraph in the Sanitary Commissioner's note contained 
 the words, " I have specially noticed the absence of any cesspool 
 near any house in the parts of the town that I have been able to 
 visit." The Deputy Magistrate apparently regarded it as the 
 sole function of an inspecting officer to point out faults ; and 
 as the Sanitary Commissioner had added no comment to this 
 statement, he wrote in the margin, " One can easily be supplied. 11 
 As the cesspool is one of the most dangerous of insanitary con- 
 ditions, this remark indicated a strange ignorance of the subject 
 on the part of an Indian officer more or less directly responsible 
 for sanitary work. The incident illustrates the fact that sanitary 
 science is still a thing which we have to teach the natives of 
 India. 
 
 I remember an amusing but somewhat instructive incident 
 illustrative of the simplicity and superstition of the jungle 
 peoples. The Government had ordered certain selected fields 
 of defined area to be sown with certain crops, so that the out- 
 turn might be carefully ascertained. An officer responsible for 
 these crop experiments was going round inspecting. He came 
 to a field which had been selected. The crop was all on the 
 
 855
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 ground, and a number of Gond women had been gathered to- 
 gether to cut it as soon as he gave the order. A certain 
 practical joker, who had much local influence, was present. Out 
 of thoughtless mischief he said to the reapers, " This man," 
 (referring to the inspecting officer) " is a magician ; you will 
 see that he will first of all take a chain in his hand ; he will 
 then stride all round the field dragging the chain after him; 
 and when he has completed this movement he will turn round 
 suddenly and cry, ' Abhi kato P* If he does so, do not cut ; 
 for, if you do, there will be no children in your houses." The 
 inspecting officer acted exactly as was anticipated ; and as soon 
 as the two fatal words were uttered, the reapers fled into the 
 jungle; and the experiment was held in abeyance. This ill- 
 timed jest indicates the danger that may be caused by foolish 
 and mischievous statements made to ignorant and credulous 
 villagers, a danger which can hardly be overestimated. 
 
 In this connection there occurs to my mind a strange petition 
 which was solemnly presented to me by a large number of the 
 inhabitants of the Bhandara District during a great cholera 
 epidemic. The cruel amusement of cock-fighting was illegal. 
 This petition informed me that the great goddess, under whose 
 orders cholera was sent, demanded blood. If but a little blood 
 could fall to the earth, the cholera would abate : therefore they 
 besought me to suspend temporarily the operation of the law. 
 I formally passed order that no action could be taken on this 
 petition. At the same time I privately gave orders that if a 
 cock-fight took place, to soothe the feelings of the people and 
 put heart into them, the police were not to take proceedings. 
 There is no doubt that there are many among the ignorant and 
 superstitious residents both of town and country who believe that 
 the abolition of some even of the horrid cruelties of olden days 
 has evoked the wrath of the gods. 
 
 I have noticed elsewhere how the Khonds in Bastar revived 
 all the formalities of human sacrifice in their attack on the 
 Kultas, so as to appease the goddess of the soil. I remember 
 
 * "Now cut!" 
 356
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 also being present at the great observances of the Dassara festival 
 in the Raipur District and seeing self-immolation practised in a 
 manner which greatly shocked me. Amongst other observances 
 there were men who danced the whole length of the route of the 
 procession with steel spits thrust through their protruded tongues. 
 I was told that they did this in accordance with vows that they 
 had made to the gods when asking for special favours. There 
 is clear evidence to show that, though our legislation for the 
 suppression of murder and of cruelty in the name of religion 
 has commended itself to the intelligence of Indians and to the 
 acceptance of the people generally, there are times of distress and 
 panic when the people are very much inclined to revive them. 
 
 On one occasion when Commissioner of Chhattisgarh I was 
 travelling through certain very jungly districts, preparing the 
 minds of the people for the coming of the new railway. The 
 jungle people were a little disturbed at rumours of the unknown 
 power that was coming among them ; and, as I knew them 
 well, I went out to soothe them and to win their confidence. 
 Rails had been lightly laid down along the track for the carriage 
 of materials and a light engine with a first-class carriage was 
 placed at my disposal. I ran down to the end of the line to 
 meet the Chiefs, whom I had often met before in the course of 
 my tours. I had a talk with them on the evening on which I 
 arrived ; and we then retired to rest. I was awakened in the 
 night by the weird sound of jungle music. I knew that the 
 tribes were at worship. Next morning I asked the local Chief 
 where the shrine was at which they had been worshipping. 
 After some hesitation he told me that there was no shrine, 
 but that his people had been offering a goat to my engine. 
 He apologised for having disturbed me, and hoped that I would 
 not mind this liberty having been taken with the engine by 
 these simple people. I found the engine sprinkled with blood, 
 and beside it the signs of the sacrificial feast which had been 
 held. These superstitious people had wished to conciliate the 
 unknown power ; and I was thankful that their ignorance 
 prompted that desire, and not the smashing of the engine to 
 
 357
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 pieces and vengeance on all connected with it, as it might have 
 done. 
 
 To return to lighter subjects, I remember an old Feudatory 
 Chief who was very punctilious about all forms of ceremonial. 
 When as Commissioner I entered his State, he always met me 
 on the border. During the marches to his capital he sometimes 
 asked me to sit with him in the howdah of his elephant and 
 discuss the business of his State as we went along. I occasion- 
 ally accepted his invitation for a part at least of the march. He 
 always placed me, as a distinguished guest, on his right hand. 
 At the same time he was strongly of the opinion that neither 
 he nor I should descend first from the elephant ; for whoever 
 should first reach the ground and stand awaiting the other was, 
 in his view, to be regarded as distinctly occupying the position 
 of the inferior. He recognised the feudal superiority of the 
 British Government, but he regarded the Commissioner rather 
 as his guest and friend than as his superior. Accordingly he 
 always had two ladders placed on the near side of the elephant. 
 With some difficulty he scrambled to the farther away ladder, 
 leaving the nearer ladder to me. We descended our ladders 
 pari passu ; and we paused for a moment on the last rung of 
 the ladder, balancing ourselves each on the one foot, with the 
 other ready to place on the ground. We stepped to the ground 
 simultaneously, and thus succeeded in avoiding any question of 
 precedence. 
 
 A quaint correspondence came to my notice when I was in the 
 Central Provinces Secretariate. An officer, able but of a somewhat 
 peculiar style of humour, and holding the position of head of a 
 department, was once encamped within a cantonment. There is a 
 rule that tents may not be pitched in certain parts of a canton- 
 ment without the consent of the officer commanding. The 
 officer in command in this case was a Brigadier-General, who 
 was well known to be somewhat of a martinet. As he rode 
 round with his Brigade-Major (as it was in those days) he 
 noticed the tents, and asked that officer whose they were, and 
 whether his sanction had been obtained for pitching them. 
 
 358
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 The Brigade-Major replied in the negative, and was ordered 
 to find out whose the tents were. Galloping up to the tents he 
 found out that the officer in question was absent. He reported 
 that he was the head of a certain department. The General 
 said, " Then tell him that he has no right to pitch his tents 
 in cantonments without my permission, and that I cannot have 
 this rule broken. He must either strike his tents or obtain 
 my permission.'" The Brigade- Major carried out the order too 
 literally, and wrote a letter in almost these very words. The 
 head of the department replied as follows : 
 
 " My dear Sir, I am in receipt of your letter of this date. 
 You ought to have known that I could not be aware of the 
 order requiring the General's consent to pitch my tents in the 
 cantonment ; or I should have asked for it. 
 
 " 2. As the matter now stands I shall neither ask for that 
 consent nor strike my tents ; for they are already pitched at a 
 place called Ganeshpur, seventeen miles off. 
 
 " 3. I propose to bring out a new edition of a useful publica- 
 tion known as the ' Polite Letter-writer ' ; and I am indebted 
 to your courtesy for a gem. 
 
 " I am, yours faithfully, 
 
 " A.B." 
 
 The General sent the correspondence to the Chief Com- 
 missioner. The latter directed the civil officer to withdraw 
 the third paragraph of his letter as needlessly offensive, and 
 forwarded a copy of that order to the General Officer com- 
 manding the cantonment, with the remark that he thought the 
 Brigade-Major's letter to the civil officer was scarcely courteous 
 to a man of his official position. We heard nothing of the 
 matter for some time. After a few weeks the civil officer wrote 
 to me, " I daresay you will like to know the end of the corre- 
 spondence between the General and me, which was submitted 
 to the Chief Commissioner for orders. Immediately on receipt 
 of the Secretariate letter, I wrote to the Brigade-Major saying 
 that I had received an order from the Chief Commissioner to 
 
 359
 
 THE HUMOURS 
 
 withdraw the third paragraph of my letter to him ; that as the 
 letter was of no importance I had kept no copy ; that I was 
 very anxious to carry out the orders promptly ; and that I 
 should therefore be much obliged to him if he would send me a 
 copy of my letter that I might withdraw the third paragraph. 
 I have received no reply."" 
 
 I conclude this chapter with an account of a very curious 
 case which I had to decide early in my service. One of the 
 officers of the station, who was exercising the powers of a civil 
 court, had a sweeper in his employment. This sweeper had 
 a quarrel with his fellow-craftsmen in Jubbulpore. It appeared 
 that this class, which is generally regarded as altogether without 
 caste, has still, or had then at least, some caste feeling. The 
 sweeper to whom I refer had been guilty of some breach of 
 caste law, and his fellow-craftsmen turned him out of the caste. 
 They managed, however, to patch up a peace, and they agreed 
 to receive him back into fellowship. This was to be done, as 
 usual, by his giving a feast and their partaking of it, so as 
 to show practically that the caste barrier in his case had been 
 removed. 
 
 The sweeper prepared the feast ; and the members of the 
 caste came together. Unfortunately, however, they renewed 
 their quarrel before they had sat down to the feast provided ; 
 and the guests refused to partake of it at all. He sued them 
 for the cost of the provision he had made. His master reported 
 to superior authority his relation to the plaintiff, and recom- 
 mended that some other judge should be appointed to hear the 
 case. I was accordingly solemnly gazetted with special civil 
 powers of a subordinate court, for the trial of this case of Jangi 
 Mihtar vs. Bhangi Mihtar and others. 
 
 It was an extraordinary experience to have a court full of 
 sweepers. My Sharistadar (or Clerk of the Court) was a Brah- 
 man ; so was my Court orderly. Their feelings at being brought 
 into close contact for a whole day with a large number of 
 members of this untouchable community were such as it is 
 difficult for a European to realize. They seemed to shrivel 
 
 360
 
 OF ADMINISTRATION 
 
 with horror and try to sink through the wall or floor. Papers 
 had to be handed to the Court containing statements of the 
 parties. My Brahman Sharistadar would not touch them with 
 his fingers. I doubt if he would have picked them up with 
 a pair of tongs. I had to take them with my own hands, and 
 then to peruse them with my own eyes: he would not even 
 look at them. 
 
 It was curious to hear these people telling, in their quaint 
 way, of their controversy, of their would-be reconciliation, and 
 of the manner in which that reconciliation came to nought. 
 Then it was curious to have to decide that such caste disputes 
 were hardly for the intervention of the Government or the 
 courts, and that while a man was fully justified in preparing 
 a feast for his friends if he chose, he had hardly a claim at law 
 for the expense of that feast if they failed to partake of it. It 
 was also experience of some value to see, on the one hand, the 
 terrible antipathy and aloofness of the high caste Brahman from 
 these unfortunate outcasts, and, on the other hand, the fact 
 that the European's want of any share in or sympathy with 
 these feelings did not in any way injure his prestige with his 
 Brahman fellow- workers. 
 
 361
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 THE LAST 
 
 IN the course of these reminiscences I have only very occasion- 
 ally referred to other Services than my own, or to any other 
 matters concerning that Service than its relations with the 
 people of the country. This is because my intention has been 
 to deal chiefly with that which is peculiar to India and not with 
 that which is easily imagined by residents in this country. For 
 the same reason I have not had much to say of European 
 society, or of the life of the European except where it comes 
 into contact with his Indian fellow-subjects. It is not that 
 I have not most pleasant memories of my relations with non- 
 official Europeans or with European officers of all Services, but 
 merely that these memories do not form part of those im- 
 pressions of Indian life that I desire to convey. 
 
 I have, of course, been much brought into contact with officers 
 of the Army in India. I had some most interesting work with 
 Lord Kitchener immediately after his arrival, when he was 
 working out his scheme of more scientific disposal of the troops 
 under his command. I was then President of the Police Com- 
 mission ; and we had to discuss together personally how best to 
 employ the police for the maintenance of the peace, which is 
 surely their legitimate work, when troops were removed from 
 some of the places where they had been scattered abroad over 
 India. I found him, as might have been expected, a delightful 
 man to work with. 
 
 I have had to work with military officers of all ranks : rarely 
 has there been anything but pleasure in so doing. But of all 
 
 362
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 my experiences in this respect, the best was that of co-operation 
 with them in famine work. I confess that I was surprised 
 beyond measure to find dashing young fellows caring, with all 
 a woman's tenderness and care, for the cholera-stricken man or 
 the poor emaciated famine baby. I could have foretold with 
 confidence the energy and courage which these officers dis- 
 played ; but I could not have imagined the depth of their 
 tenderness and sympathy with distress. It was a fine experience 
 of the peculiar gentleness which often characterises the brave 
 and manly. 
 
 With the Medical Service I was brought much into contact 
 in the ordinary work of the Province. This service has much 
 improved during the last forty years. When I went to India, 
 it had in its ranks some splendid men, worthy in every way of 
 the great traditions of the profession to which they belonged, 
 men of zeal and capacity and kindliness which endeared them to 
 Europeans and Indians alike. But the Indian Medical Service, 
 as a whole, is higher now than formerly in its appreciation 
 of the opportunities of usefulness in India, and in the sense of 
 responsibility for the discharge of its duties. I have often been 
 struck with the devotion to professional study and medical work 
 shown under very trying circumstances. 
 
 We have some stations in which the Civil Surgeon leads 
 a lonely and weary life. In the early morning he spends hours 
 in the work of the local jail, of which he is the Superintendent, 
 enforcing discipline, working like a shopkeeper among the jail 
 stores, dealing with the sick or the malingering, and often 
 weary with the drudgery of his clerical work. He passes on to 
 the Dispensary and Hospital, and gives to the poor of other 
 races than his own the best of his skill and attention. And 
 then, when the long round of morning work in small and some- 
 times crowded rooms, or within the hot enclosures of the prison 
 walls under the Indian sun, might reasonably have been pleaded 
 as an excuse for rest, he has turned to reading intended to keep 
 him abreast of modern science, or to research as to the causes 
 and cure of tropical disease. 
 
 863
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 I have been filled with admiration sometimes to see a man in 
 a remote station, with a laboratory and instruments of his own, 
 working steadily, with no sympathetic colleague to encourage 
 him, doing his duty as best he could, not with eye-service but 
 from devotion to the cause of suffering humanity. The Civil 
 Surgeon has his reward. Not only is there intense interest in 
 his professional work ; but he wins, more fully than perhaps any 
 other, the love of his fellow-men. His help comes when we 
 need it most ; and we cannot forget it. 
 
 The Forest Officer has a delightful sphere of activity. For 
 myself, I have enjoyed no part of life in India more than the 
 life in the jungles. Nature is so rich and beautiful. The air is 
 generally so cool and fresh. The people are so simple and 
 primitive. I do not wonder at the love of his profession which 
 I have seen in almost every Forest Officer I have known. I 
 shall never forget the pleasure it was to have a short tour 
 through his forests with Colonel Doveton, the first Conservator 
 with whom I was well acquainted. It was amusing to see his 
 indignation when a tree, in the forest or out of it, was ruthlessly 
 lopped, or prematurely cut down. It was the cruelty of the 
 deed that galled him. The tree was to him a living thing, 
 whose beauty had been marred or limbs injured by the pitiless 
 act of a wicked or thoughtless person. He lived in the forests 
 for months together ; he knew the trees individually, and 
 watched them with kindly interest ; he knew the wild beasts, 
 and could lead you to them without fail ; and, more than all, 
 he understood the simple forest folk, and could get work out of 
 them as no other could, for they trusted him and regarded 
 him with respectful affection. The one thing that the Forest 
 Officer generally has especially to guard against is the danger of 
 not giving adequate consideration to the requirements of the 
 neighbouring villages in regard to jungle produce. He seldom 
 knows these villages as he knows the forests ; but the best 
 Forest Officers do what they can to acquire the necessary know- 
 ledge ; and the Revenue officer will help to keep them mindful 
 of this part of their duty. 
 
 364
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 It would be a strange thing if I were to forget my years of 
 co-operation with the Public Works Department. The Chief 
 Engineer of a Province is also Secretary to the Local Govern- 
 ment in that department. When I was Chief Secretary in the 
 Central Provinces, my colleague was my old friend James Glass, 
 C.I.E., whom I had known intimately during nearly all my service, 
 a man who made his mark throughout the Province, and left 
 behind him many monuments of his skill and energy, among 
 which the water works in Jubbulpore hold, perhaps, the first 
 place. I cannot even now recall without emotion the unselfish 
 and unsparing devotion to duty which wrecked the health of one 
 of the best officers I ever knew, Edmund Penny, whose health 
 was shattered by his labours in the great Central Provinces 
 famine, and who has not yet fully recovered what he freely 
 sacrificed. 
 
 Memories arise of many others who have left their permanent 
 mark in the Provinces in which they served. The Public Works 
 officers have this great advantage over us all, that their mark 
 does remain. We may think we have done some service they 
 can point to material evidence of their work. If they have a 
 defect, it is that they seem sometimes to forget that they are 
 building for time and not for eternity : they are sometimes too 
 solid, too slow, and too expensive. It seems to me also that 
 sometimes they are engaged on matters too small for them and 
 on works which, though great enough, might be as well and 
 more cheaply carried out by non-official agency. Where private 
 contractors exist they should be utilised. 
 
 There is one fact about the Public Works Department that 
 may be mentioned as very encouraging, viz., the considerable 
 number of exceptionally good men that have been produced 
 by Indian Schools of Engineering. I regard it as of the utmost 
 importance to utilise in such departments as Engineering, 
 Medicine, and Law, as far as possible, the men who have been 
 trained in Indian schools, and to make these schools so efficient 
 that they will produce men with the necessary training, capacity, 
 and integrity. 
 
 365
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 Non-official Europeans are apt to be forgotten when talking 
 of Indian work. Yet they do some of the most important 
 work. They are bringing capital into the country ; and they 
 are engaged in developing its resources. Some of them are 
 selfish enough ; but many of them are animated by a high sense 
 of duty. There is a good deal of ill spoken of the men " of the 
 dispersion," the Europeans scattered abroad over India, some- 
 times in lonely places, as merchants, planters, or mechanics. 
 This is, to a great extent, due to misunderstanding and to 
 exaggeration. Of course they are not all what they ought to 
 be. They do not all live as we should like to see Europeans 
 live in the presence of the peoples of India. But even if they 
 were not as good as their brethren of the same position and 
 occupation at home, some allowance would have to be made for 
 the different character of their surroundings, and for the great 
 neglect of them by the Churches at home, and by many of the 
 servants of the Church in India. My experience is that most 
 of them appreciate fully any efforts to help them to maintain in 
 India the traditions of the fatherland, by providing them with 
 religious ordinances and their children with education. 
 
 Sometimes, when they come home, they talk a good deal of 
 nonsense about work in India in which they have taken little 
 interest while there. This comes of a too natural inclination to 
 talk without any knowledge about things with which one feels 
 that he is expected to have some acquaintance. This should be 
 discounted. It is not a very difficult thing to guage the value 
 of a witness and his capacity to speak with authority. Ascertain 
 what opportunities he had of knowing that whereof he affirms, 
 and how far he was likely to use these opportunities well. As 
 for the men themselves, I need only say, in a word, that some of 
 my best friends in India were non-officials, and that I have 
 always found such men willing to co-operate in any enterprise 
 which they saw to be for the good of the people. 
 
 The domiciled community, partly European, but mainly 
 Eurasian, has been too much neglected in the past. One does 
 not realise the importance of this community, nor the serious 
 
 866
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 consequences of this neglect, until he comes to live in a city 
 like Calcutta. We owe much to America for its co-operation 
 in educational and missionary work in India. We owe much to 
 that country also for its work among the domiciled community. 
 There are some earnest British clergymen and laymen who have 
 devoted themselves to such work ; but the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church of America has done very special service in this respect. 
 Its servants have laboured hard and successfully. I am glad to 
 find of recent years a great increase of the sense of responsibility 
 for the intellectual and moral training of the children of this 
 community. And I earnestly trust that the scheme which 
 is now being inaugurated by zealous men in all the Churches 
 largely through the influence of Sir Robert Laid law, a wealthy 
 and benevolent business man in Calcutta, will be successful 
 throughout India. It is of the utmost importance to save this 
 community from a position which would make it a scandal 
 in the country. 
 
 What I have aimed at in these reminiscences has been to 
 convey some idea to the ordinary British imagination of the 
 life we live in India, and of the peoples among whom that life 
 is spent. I have not aimed at giving either a scientific or 
 statistical account of India and its affairs, but merely at com- 
 municating in a simple way some impressions of life and work. 
 I hope that I have made it clear that India is not a mere " land 
 of exile." It is the scene in which a man finds his life-work 
 work honourable and delightful, the place where he has friends 
 whom he loves and ties which it is hard to sever. Its peoples 
 and its ways become very dear to him. At the same time, he 
 must not forget that, though his life is there, he belongs all the 
 time to that little Island in the far-off Northern Seas whose life 
 in its great essentials he has to bring with him to his work. 
 He must not forget the traditions and principles of his father- 
 land. He does not adopt the ways and customs of the peoples 
 to whom he goes. In a sense he remains apart : he is not of 
 them. He must maintain touch with the Home-land. He 
 must take the best books, magazines, and papers that he can 
 
 367
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 afford to get, so as not to fall out of sympathy with its life and 
 thought. To this end he must keep up constant correspondence 
 with his friends at home ; and the arrival of the English mail, 
 though a weekly event, can never lose interest. 
 
 The man who sinks to the level of the East is not the man 
 for India, where he is expected to help to benefit and elevate 
 its peoples. He ought to aim at fellowship with the people of 
 his own race, and to join with them in every effort to make 
 life brighter and better. Though he may be months among the 
 people of the country without seeing a fellow-countryman or 
 talking a word of English, and though he enjoys such life among 
 them, he is glad to get back among his own people, every now 
 and again at least, to talk of the things, the scenes, and the 
 friends that they have in common. He never can forget he 
 never ought to forget his fatherland. 
 
 Yet he must come among the people without haughtiness or 
 aloofness. He will soon learn, if he cares to know them, that 
 they are not to be despised, that they are worthy of his respect 
 and of his most kindly feeling. The Government officer must 
 specially remember that he is there in their interest, that he has 
 been entrusted, by their Sovereign and his, with work to be 
 done for them, that if he can win their trust and affection he 
 has done the highest part of that work. He will, as far as 
 possible, live among them, and he will find the deepest pleasure 
 in that life. He may be fortunate enough in time to find true 
 friends among them ; and he will then know their worth not 
 till then. 
 
 There are men fortunately very few who never care for 
 India. They are constantly looking out for leave and im- 
 patiently counting the years that must elapse before their 
 service is completed. We have no use for such men. It is well 
 to keep in touch with the life and thought of the mother-country ; 
 and men wisely take leave for this purpose, as well as to preserve 
 or restore health. But the man who despises his life-work, 
 especially when it is work such as the officer of Government has 
 to do in India, is a fool and an unworthy servant of the Crown. 
 
 368
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 He is a fool, for he loses the happiness of his life : he is unworthy, 
 for he crushes out of his heart the true motive for earnest and 
 efficient work. The Government wants officers of whom the 
 people may say, as they said of the old Roman centurion, " He 
 loveth our nation ": men whose work is a delight to them. I 
 can hardly believe that any man that gives himself with a broad 
 mind and kindly heart to his work in India, will fail to merit 
 that description, whatever men may say of him, and however 
 they may misrepresent him. And I believe that we shall always 
 have such men ; for the people win affection, and the work is 
 fascinating. 
 
 I once had the pleasure of receiving in India a friend from 
 Scotland, who was a great authority on agriculture. I was on 
 tour in the Nerbudda Division of the Central Provinces. He 
 joined my camp for several days. He rode the march every 
 morning either with me, or with one of my staff, who acted as 
 interpreter for him. He talked to the people about their 
 agricultural methods ; and he watched with the greatest interest 
 all our work among them. One day he said to me, " Is it true 
 that you were thinking of retiring from the service ?" I replied 
 that, a year or two before, my health had rather broken down, 
 and I did think then of retiring. He said, with strong feeling, 
 " Man, if I were in your position, I would never retire ; you are 
 a king !" Yes, one's power and influence are great, and the 
 work is worth doing. 
 
 I went to India in 1871 with a good deal of British enthusiasm 
 for the work which lay before me ; but I confess that my feelings 
 of love to the country and its peoples, and my pride and pleasure 
 in my work, have intensified year by year. I know more of the 
 country probably than most men. I have not only served for 
 many years in one Province, and for five years in another; 
 but I have also visited every Province in India twice, on Govern- 
 ment Commissions, and seen almost every important Native 
 State. I cannot tell of the depth of interest with which I have 
 studied the manners and customs of the people, the various 
 forms of their faith and practice, and the characteristics of their 
 
 369 2 A
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 life in town and country. I have had experiences which are 
 practically impossible for any man outside of India : experiences 
 sometimes of difficulty, sometimes of anxiety and even distress, 
 but almost always experiences such as ought to tend to elevate 
 the mind, to strengthen the. character, and to enlarge the belief 
 in human nature. I have found among the people of India 
 multitudes who have elicited my kindliest feelings, and who 
 have shown the kindliest feeling towards myself, and I have 
 found not a few whom I value as among the worthiest of my 
 friends. 
 
 I am very proud of India. My imagination is enthralled by 
 her lofty mountains, her mighty rivers, her historic cities, and 
 her sacred groves. I love the virgin forests and the primitive 
 villages where my happiest days have been spent. I am proud 
 of her possibilities and of the great opportunities she gives of 
 work and influence. I am proud of her people, whose patience 
 in suffering and response to kindness have won my love : 
 excitable they sometimes are, and too easily misled ; but their 
 instinct is the instinct of loyalty, and their gratitude is far more 
 than for favours to come. 
 
 Not long after our arrival in Calcutta, my wife and I went to 
 see the place where lies my old friend and chief, Sir John Wood- 
 burn ; and my wife took with her some flowers to lay on his 
 grave. We found the grave covered with beautiful flowers. I 
 inquired who had placed them there. It was an Indian gentle- 
 man who still came, week after week, to show his gratitude to 
 one who had been his friend, though it was then more than a 
 year since that kind heart had ceased to beat and that willing 
 hand was powerless to help. This incident read me a lesson 
 worth the learning. Courtesy, justice, and freedom from caprice, 
 are among the qualities that win the love and gratitude of our 
 Indian fellow-subjects. 
 
 He is a poor man who comes to India without a deep feeling 
 of pride in the mother-country, and of loyalty to the King that 
 reigns there ; and there is no more worthy object of ambition 
 for a man, who is animated by such sentiments, than to maintain 
 
 370
 
 THE LAST CHAPTER 
 
 the high traditions of British rule in all his dealings with the 
 people of India. If the life is worthy, it is also unspeakably 
 pleasurable. To call it up before one^s memory is itself a 
 delight ; and I can hardly tear myself away from these reminis- 
 cences, so interesting to me, whatever they may be to others. 
 
 " Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes, 
 
 And fondly broods with miser care ! 
 Time bat the impression deeper makes, 
 As streams their channels deeper wear." 
 
 371
 
 INDEX 
 
 ADDITIONAL Commissioners, 57 
 Administrative changes announced by 
 
 His Majesty at Delhi, 332 
 Administrative or Executive functions, 
 
 61 
 
 Age of entrance, 16 
 Agricultural Banks, 206 
 Agricultural communities and debt, 185 
 Agricultural Department, 204 
 Agriculture, 186 
 Agriculturists, financing of, 199 
 Agriculturist's Loan Act, the, 205 
 Agyaram, Seth, 124 
 Allahabad, 1 
 Amarkantak Hill, 155 
 Ameer of Afghanistan, 335 
 " Amrita Bazar Patrika, " the, 296 
 Auant Lai, 203 
 Anant Singh, 271 
 Anarchical conspiracies, 302 
 Appeal " to London," 187 
 Arrow, Major, 271 
 
 " Asia and Europe," M. Townsend's, 72 
 Assam, the province of, 323 
 Assassination of an officer, 48 
 Assessments, unwise, 194 
 Assessors and juries, 349 
 Astronomer Royal, 190 
 Asutosh Mukerji, Sir, 51, 263 
 Attempt on my life, the, 72, 304 
 Aulad Hussain, 4, 41, 68 
 
 "Babu,"166 
 
 Badmashes, 118 
 
 Baigas, the, 171 n. 
 
 Balaghat, 111 
 
 Balwaspur, Khond meeting at, 138 
 
 " Bande Mataram," the, 309 
 
 Baniyas, 120 
 
 Bapu Rao Dada, 132 
 
 Bapu Rao Patwardhan, 44, 48 
 
 Barber, Mr., 304 
 
 Bardwan, Maharajadhiraja of, 70, 71, 
 
 304 
 
 Bardwan, Maharani of, 113 
 Bar "Libraries," the, 64 
 Barter, Dr. J., 29 
 Basan, 159 
 
 Bastar State, the, 173 
 Bearer, 213 n. 
 Bengal, education in, 297 
 Bengal, incident at a station in, 88 
 Bengal, partition of, 317 
 Beraris, seditious, 295 
 Bernard, Sir Charles, 20, 79 
 
 Berry, Mr. F., 137, 146 
 
 Bhadralog, the, 63. 283 
 
 Bhandara, 67 
 
 Bhargo Rao, 47, 132 
 
 Bhonsla Dynasty, the, 67 
 
 Bible and conversion, 272 
 
 Bible, the, 278 
 
 Biddulph, Captain, 128 
 
 Bipin Krishna Bose, Sir, 69 
 
 Bison, 182 
 
 Blenkiusop, Mr., 120 
 
 Bombay officers in Central Provinces, 44 
 
 Bombay, unrest in, 295 
 
 Boons, the Royal, 326 B. 
 
 Boundary dispute, A, 147 
 
 Boycott movement in Bengal, 123, 285 
 
 Brahamoism, 273 
 
 Brahmans and Christianity, 280 
 
 Brahmans as the depositaries of learn- 
 ing, 248 
 
 Brahmo Somaj, the, 272 
 
 Bribery and corruption, 47 
 
 Brigadier-General and the civil officer, 
 358 
 
 Brooke, Colonel Saurin, 12 
 
 Buck, Sir E., 205 
 
 Budhwari Bazar, the, 120 
 
 Buffalo, 178 
 
 Burton, Professor, 303 
 
 Calcutta, India notto bejudged from, 73 
 
 Camp life, 95 
 
 Carnduff, Mr., 221 
 
 Caste, offices filled by men of one, 49 
 
 Central Provinces, early days of the, 44 
 
 "Central Provinces," the, 133 
 
 Cesspool, story of a, 355 
 
 Change in public feeling, 314 
 
 Chapman, Mr. , 172 
 
 Chaprasis, 232 . 
 
 Chatterjee, Mr., generosity of, 29 
 
 Chhattisgarh Division, the, 133 
 
 Chhattisgarh, Feudatory States of, 146 
 
 Chhattisgarh, the Rajahs of the States 
 
 of. 143 
 
 Chisholm, Mr. J. W., 10, 79, 133 
 Chitnavis, Madho Rao, 67 
 Chitnavis, Shankar Madho, 69, 111 
 Chitnavis, Sir Gangadhar M., 69, 121 
 Chitnavis, wife of Mr., Ill 
 Chittagong, 330 
 Cholera, 355 
 
 Christianity, 278 ; effects of, 276 
 Chuni Lall, 124 
 Church, the Indian, 270, 275 
 
 372
 
 INDEX 
 
 Civil cases, the burden of, 56 
 
 Civil courts, distrust of, 60 
 
 Civil surgeon, the, 363 
 
 Civil surgeon, the, and the mongrel 
 
 dog, 213 
 
 Cleveland, Sir Charles, 130 
 Climate, the effect of, 192 
 Commissioners, the work of, 38 
 Competitive examinations, 17 
 " Conciliation Board," the, 203 
 Conferences, the value of monthly 
 
 "week-end," 41 
 Confessions, false, 234, 237 
 Constables, oppression by, 232 
 Co-operative Credit Societies Act, the, 
 
 206 
 
 Cooper, Rev. J., 80, 266 
 Copeland, the late Professor, 190 
 Corruption and oppression amongst 
 
 the native police, 240 
 Corrupt officers, 47 
 Council Reform, 316 
 Courage and devotion among the 
 
 natives, 48 
 
 Courtesy, the value of, 13, 38 
 Cow-killing riots, 123 
 Coxon. Mr., 124 
 Craddock, Sir Reginald. 98, 205 
 Criminal cases, 56 
 Criminal courts, 63 
 Crosthwaite, Sir 0., 79 
 Cruelties, religious, 356 
 Curzon, Lord, 51 
 
 Dalhousie, Lord, 67, 251 
 
 Darbhanga, the Maharajah of, 228, 258 
 
 Dassara festival in the Raipur District, 
 
 357 
 
 Debt, 192, 200 
 "Debt Conciliation," 202 
 Debtor and creditor, 197 
 De Grey, Earl, 224 
 Delhi Durbar, 1877, 136 
 Deportation of offenders, 312 
 Deputy Commissioners, 38 
 District Magistrate, the, 42, 60 
 District Officer, the prestige of the, 66 
 Diversity of peoples in India, 84 
 Douglas, Rev. J., 267 
 Duck, novel method of capturing, 170 
 Dugari Majhi, the Gond tracker, 178 
 
 Early work, 14 
 
 Educated classes, unrest of the, 182 
 
 Educated proportion of the people of 
 India, 62, 298 
 
 Education, 245 ; among the Brahmans, 
 243 ; in Bengal, 61 ; in the Central 
 Provinces, 50 ; of Indian women, 
 
 the, 111, 114 ; vernacular, 254 ; 
 
 religious, 255 
 
 Elephant, narrow escape from a mad ,168 
 Elephants, hunting wild, 156 
 Elliott, Sir Charles, 20 
 Employment of natives, 286 
 Engine, sacrifice to an, 357 
 English in the Law Courts, 14 
 English Law in the Indian Courts, 222 
 Epidemics, 29 
 
 Erroneous ideas about India, 85 
 European and Eurasian education, 367 
 Executive and judicial functions, 19 ; 
 
 separation of the, 62 
 Excitability of the people, 297 
 
 False evidence and false cases, 58 
 
 False witnesses, 213, 215 
 
 Famine in the Central Provinces, 190 ; 
 
 in the Jubbulpore division, 118 
 Famines, 97 
 Fanatics, 303 
 Female education, 115 
 Feudatory States, 133 ; chiefs, 135 
 ' ' Field of the Cloth of Gold," the, 149 
 Forest Officer, the, 364 
 Forsyth's " Highlands of Central 
 
 India," 159 
 
 Franchise, low qualifications for the, 291 
 Fryer, Captain, and the Gonds, 184 
 Fuller, SirB., 204 
 
 Ganga Singh, 203 
 
 General, the martinet, 358 
 
 Girdlestone, Mr., 12 
 
 Girls' schools, 115 
 
 Glass, James, 365 
 
 Gokhale, Mr., 210 
 
 " Gola" at Patna, the, 97 
 
 Gond and tiger, 177 
 
 Gond and usurer, 351 
 
 Gond reapers, 355 
 
 Gonds, the, an attractive people, 184 
 
 Gopinath Guru, 141, 169 
 
 Gourlay, Mr. W., 208 
 
 Government religious neutrality, 277 
 
 Grain riots, 118 
 
 Graves, Major, 128 
 
 Halliday, Mr.. 99 
 
 Harriott, Mr., 205 
 
 Health, the preservation of, 15 
 
 Hemp Drugs Commission, 11, 84 
 
 High Court, 222 
 
 Hindu revival, 280 
 
 Hislop College, 50 
 
 Hislop, Mr., 265 
 
 Hostels for students, 259 
 
 Humours of administration, the, 847 
 
 373
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ignorance of manners and customs, 
 danger of, 93 
 
 Ilbert's "Government of India," 222 
 
 Imperial Durbar at Delhi, 136 
 
 India a land of agriculturists, 73 ; not 
 a country of great cities, 91 ; fascina- 
 tion of, 368 
 
 Indian children, 104 ; Christians, 273 ; 
 ladies, 101, 110 ; loyal officers, 45 ; 
 peoples, 83 ; Village System, 206 
 
 Indian Explosive Substances Act, 315 
 
 " Indian Nation," the, 307 
 
 Indian nation, there is no, 91 
 
 Indian Police Commission, the, 226 
 
 Indian questions, 78 
 
 Indians and religious observance, 46 
 
 Intellectual unrest, 299 
 
 Interest, high rate of, 196 
 
 Ishwar Gaontiya, murder of, 138 
 
 Islamia College at Lahore, the Ameer 
 at, 344 
 
 Itwari Bazar, the 119 
 
 Jaganath, the temple of, 189 ?t. 
 
 Jatga, 159 
 
 Jeffcoat, Lieutenant, 125 
 
 Joint Stock Banks, 207 
 
 Jones, Mr. W. B., 26, 68 
 
 Jubbulpore, my start at, 11 
 
 Judges, Divisional and Sessions, 57 
 
 Judges ignorant of people, 210, 213 
 
 Judicial and Executive appointments 
 of the Provincial Service, 50 
 
 Judicial and Executive functions, 54 
 
 Juma Darwaza, the, 125 
 
 Jungle life, 170 
 
 Jungle people, simplicity and super- 
 stition of the, 356 
 
 Juries and assessors, 349 
 
 Justices of the Peace, 60 
 
 Kalahandi, Rajah of, 136 
 
 Kalamgaon, murder of Kultas at, 138 
 
 Kaltaki, satti in the village of, 107 
 
 Kamptee, 129 
 
 Katol, riots in, 130 
 
 Khan Bahadur Aulad Hussain, 47, 79 
 
 Khapa, riots in, 130 
 
 Ehariar, 178 
 
 Khonds, the, 137 ; rising in Kalahandi, 
 
 133 
 
 King's visit, 100, 326 B. , 332 
 Kirk Session at Nagpur, 270 
 Kitchener, Lord, 335, 362 
 Knowledge and religion. 280 
 Koshtis or weavers, 120, 128 
 Kotwali, the, 126 
 Kotwar, 267 
 Kudri, 159 
 
 Kultas. the, 137 
 Kunbis, the, 200 n. 
 
 Laffa Ghat, the, 167 
 Laffa, Zamindar of, 155 
 Laidlaw, Sir R., 367 
 Land Banks, 206 
 Lathiyals, 123 
 Law and fact, 199 
 
 Law Courts, English in the, 14 ; train- 
 ing in the, 16 
 Law of Limitation, 199 
 Lawyers, 65 
 
 Legal Profession, jealousy in the, 59 
 Liberality a characteristic, 194 
 
 "Literates," 114, 298 
 
 Local inquiries, 211 
 
 Local Sclf-Government Scheme, 290 
 
 " London tak," 187 
 
 Loyalty of the people of the interior, 
 99 ; of the Native Chiefs, 154 ; of 
 the people, 296 
 
 Lukis, Surgeon-General, 14 
 
 Lyall, Sir Alfred, 20 
 
 Lytton, Lord, 68 
 
 Macdonnell, Lord, 205 
 
 Mackay, Aberigh, and his conundrum, 
 
 82 
 
 Mackenzie, Sir A., 152 
 McMahon, Sir H., 336 
 Madho Rao Chitnavis, 67 
 Madras, enlightenment in, 295 
 Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Bijay Chand 
 
 Mahtab, the, 70 ; and the attempt 
 
 on my life, 72, 304 
 Maharajah of Darbhanga, the, 65 
 Maharajah of Sirguja, the, 157 
 Maharajah Sir Prodyot Tagore, the, 66 
 Maharani Adhirani of Bardwan, the, 114 
 Malguzar, 185 //.. 
 Malguzari system, 186 
 Man-eaters, 177 
 
 Man-eating tiger, killing a, 173 
 Manufactures, 285 
 Matin Zamindari, the, 157 
 Medical College Hospital at Calcutta, 
 
 the Ameer at, 342 
 Medical Service, the, 363 
 Meiklejohn, Mr., 159 
 Memorial, a misleading, 61 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of 
 
 America, 367 
 "Military Deputy Commissioner," 
 
 the, 22 
 Military officers, co-operation of, 362 ; 
 
 the work of, in the Provinces, 20 
 Minto, Lord, 114 
 
 374
 
 INDEX 
 
 Miscarriage of justice, frequent form 
 
 of, 59 
 Missionaries, the help they can give, 
 
 186, 268 ; their influence, 274 
 Missionaries and the Zenana, 115 
 Missionary colleges, 268 
 Missions, 275 
 Mitchell, Mr., 124 
 Money-lenders, 191, 195 
 Morley, Lord, 292 
 Morris, Sir John, 20, 24, 39, 78, 79 
 Mother in the Indian household, the," 
 
 111 
 Mother-in-law in the Indian household, 
 
 the, 111 
 "Mouse," 166 
 Muhammadans, education among the, 
 
 249 
 
 Muhammad Nasir Khan, Brigadier, 336 
 Mulakats, 96 
 Munsif, the, 64 
 Murders and dacoities, 315 
 Musamat Sari, story of, 140 
 
 Nagpur, 10, 111, 118 ; panic in, 131 
 
 Nagpur Hislop College, the, 50 
 
 Nagpur, the Rajah of, 67 
 
 Naib Tahsildars, 56 
 
 Napier, Mr. A. B., 28 
 
 " National Congress," the, 57 
 
 " National opinion" and the Indian 
 
 chief, the, 90 
 
 Native Chiefs, loyalty of the, 153 
 Natives, courage and devotion among 
 
 the, 48 
 
 Navadwip, Sanskrit learning at, 249 
 Nedham, Mr. W. A., 12, 120 
 Neill, Mr. J. W., 79 
 Neill, Mr. Lindsay, his.consideration, 26 
 Nicholson, Sir F., 206 
 Nominated members, 291 
 Non-officials, 366 
 " Non-regulation Province," a, 79 
 
 Oath on cow's tail, 351 
 
 Officers, the training of young, 32, 33 
 
 Offices and caste, 49 
 
 Oriental, reserve of the, 75 
 
 Paldi, riots in, 129 
 
 Palki, or palanquin, a, 105 
 
 " Panchayat," the, 195 n 
 
 Panther, capture of a, 178 
 
 Parda, the, 101, 106 
 
 Parda iiashin, interviewing a, 113 
 
 "Partition of Bengal," The, 322 
 
 Patel. 267 n. 
 
 Patna, the State of, 143 
 
 Penny, Edmund, 365 
 
 Permanent settlement, 89 
 
 Personal influence of Government offi- 
 cers, 92 
 
 Petiapali, 178 
 
 Pigeons, Baiga method of capturing, 171 
 
 Pilgrims, 189 
 
 Pioneer missionaries, influence of the, 
 250 
 
 Plague hospitals, 352 
 
 Police, the, 131, 219, 228, 235, 238, 244 
 
 Political crime, 314 
 
 Poona, discontent in, 295 
 
 Posting young officers, 33 
 
 Prayer, 189 
 
 Precedence, a question of, 358 
 
 Presidency of Bombay, officers of the, 44 
 
 Presidency towns and the country, 
 difference between the people of, 86 
 
 Press, seditious section of the, 295 ; 
 defect in the Criminal Law with 
 regard to the, 309 ; character of the, 
 327 
 
 Primary education, 246 
 
 Probationers, neglect of, 15 ; the train- 
 ing of, 18 
 
 Proprietors of land, 201 
 
 Public Works Department the, 365 
 
 Raiffeisen System, the, 206 
 
 Rai Gopinath Guru Bahadur, 141, 169 
 
 Railways, 134 
 
 Rairahkol people, the, 147 
 
 Rajah of Kalahandi, the, 136 
 
 Rajah Raghoji Bhonsla, 133 
 
 Rajah, reforming an obstinate, 151 
 
 Rajahs, powers of the, 145 
 
 Raleigh, Sir T., 262 
 
 Ram Bhau, 203 
 
 Rambhaji Rao, 45, 48 
 
 Ramtek, riots in, 130 
 
 Ranchi College Scheme, 259 
 
 Rani, the parda nashin, 106 
 
 Rao Bahadur, 47, 132 
 
 Rao Bahadur Bapurao Dada, 132 
 
 Rattan Singh, 235 
 
 Receiver, the sacred, 350 
 
 Record of rights, 220 
 
 Reform, 307 
 
 Religious instruction in Government 
 
 schools, 247 
 
 Religious neutrality, 277 
 Religious observance, Indians' regard 
 
 for, 45 
 
 Religious training, 262 
 Repression and reform, 307 
 Rewah State, 155 
 Riots in Nagpur, 118 
 Ripon, Lord, 290 
 Ryots, 186 
 
 Ryotwari System, the, 186 
 376
 
 INDEX 
 
 Salaries of Indian officers, 50 
 
 Sambalpur, 318 
 
 Sanderson, Mr., 157 
 
 Sanichari Bazar, fracas in the, 119 
 
 Sanitary science, advance of, 29 
 
 Sanitation, views of, 354 
 
 Sanskrit learning at Navadwip, 249 
 
 Sati, 107 
 
 Savings, dissipation of, 186 
 
 Schools, Primary and Secondary, 240. 
 
 299 
 
 Scottish Missionaries, 51 
 Scully, Mr. Vincent, 223 
 Secondary education, 247 
 Secretary of State, the, 42 
 Seditious meetings, legislation against, 
 
 313 
 
 Sentence of death, a, 188 
 Separation of the Executive and 
 
 Judicial functions, 62 
 Seth Agyaram, 124 
 Settlement work, 76 
 Settlements, progressive, 195 
 Shukrwari Bazar, disturbance in the, 
 
 123 
 
 Simla, conference at, 228 
 Sinha, the Hon. Mr. , 302 
 Sirdar, 213 n. 
 
 Sirdar Bahadur Rattan Singh, 235 
 Sirguja, Maharaja of, 157 
 Sitabaldi Fort, the, 124 
 Sonpur people, the, 147 
 Staff Corps, the, 20 
 Stockade for wild elephants, 163 
 "Stops," 177 . 
 Stuart, Mr., 123 
 Summary Justice Act, 315 
 Sundarbans, scheme to reclaim the, 286 
 Superintendents, European, 230 
 Suspicion, the dangers of, 24 
 "Swadeshi," 285 n. 
 Sweeper and the feast, 360 
 
 Tagore, Sir Prodyot, 66 
 
 Tahsildar, 55, 200 n. 
 
 " Takavi " loans, 201 
 
 Technical and industrial education, 286 
 
 Temple, Sir Richard, 20, 134, 265 
 
 Thrift and extravagance, 193 
 
 Tigers, 170 ; a trap for, 173 
 
 Tigress, a man-eating, 174 
 
 Timothy, Rev. Mr., 270 
 
 Tobacco, the use of, in epidemics, 30 
 
 Tonga, a, 111 
 
 Touring the country, delights of, 96 
 Town and country life, 79, 91 
 Townsend, Mr. Meredith, 72 
 Trade, effect of partition on, 329 
 Training, early, 15 
 Traps for wild animals, 171 
 Travel in India, 11 
 Tree-marking disturbances in Behar, 
 123 
 
 Umrer, riots in, 130 
 
 Unrest and the influence of women, 
 
 117 
 "Unconscious bias," blunders arising 
 
 from, 59 
 Universities' Act, the, 262 
 University education, 17 
 Unrest, its causes, 282 ; its limitations, 
 
 295 
 
 Uriya country and language, the, 318 
 Usurer, the, 199 
 Usury laws, 197 
 
 Vakil Raj, the danger of the, 64 
 Vernacular in the Law Courts, 15 
 Vernaculars, the, 16 
 Viceroy in Council, the, 43 
 Village Accountants, 187 
 Village folk, the, 189 
 Village or rural life, 92 
 Villages, honesty in the, 207 
 Violence on the part of Europeans 
 should be repressed, 94 
 
 Wales, the Prince and Princess of, 99 
 
 Ward, Colonel H., 79, 138 
 
 " Week-ends," as opportunities of 
 
 monthly conference, 41 
 Whitton, Rev. David. 266 
 Wife-beating, 348 
 Wild animals, traps for, 171 
 Wilson, Lady, 15 
 Women of India, 101 
 Women, the education of, 114 
 Wood, Sir C., 222 
 Woodburn, Sir J., 230, 370 
 Wyllie, Sir C., 331 
 
 Young, Sir Mackworth, 11 
 
 " Yugantar " newspaper, the, 309 
 
 Zamindar, 135, 156, 185 . 
 Zenana, the. 101, 104, 105 
 " Zid," on showing, 32 . 
 
 BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, OUILDFOKD
 
 A Catalogue of Books for Young 
 People, Published by 
 Seeley, Service &P Co Limited, 
 38 Great Russell Street, London 
 
 Some of the Contents 
 
 The Library of Romance . . . . .13 
 
 The Library of Adventure . . . . .13 
 
 The Heroes of the World Library ... 8 
 The Olive Library . . . ; ; .10 
 The Pink Library . . . . . . n 
 
 The Prince's Library . . '. . . .12 
 
 The Scarlet Library . . . . . 14 
 
 The Wonder Library . . . . . .16 
 
 Sunday Echoes ....... 2 
 
 Stories by Professor Church 3 
 
 Stories by Mrs. Marshall ..... 9 
 
 Stories by Miss Beatrice Marshall ... 9 
 Books by Miss Giberne ..... 7 
 
 The Publishers will be pleased to send post free their complete 
 
 Catalogue or their Illustrated {Miniature Catalogue 
 
 on receipt of a post-card
 
 CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
 
 Arranged alphabetically under the names of 
 Authors and Series 
 
 AGUILAR, GRACE. 
 
 The Days of Bruce. With Illustrations. Extra crown 
 8vo, is. (SCARLET LIBRARY.) 
 
 ANDERSEN, HANS. 
 
 Fairy Tales. With Illustrations. 28. and 38. 6d. (SCARLET 
 and PRINCE'S LIBRARIES.) 
 
 ALCOTT, L. M. 
 
 Little Women and Good Wives. With Illustrations, zs. 
 
 (SCARLET LIBRARY.) Also Little Women, Extra crown 8vo, is. 6d. ; and 
 Good Wives, Extra crown, is. 6d. 
 
 Amadis Of Gaul. See KNIGHT-ERRANT. 
 
 Arabian Nights' Entertainments. With Illustration!. 2*. 
 
 (SCARLET LIBRARY.) 
 
 BALLANTYNE, R. M. 
 
 The Dog Crusoe and His Master. With Illustration! 
 
 by H. M. BROCK, R.I. Extra crown 8vo, 2s. 
 
 BERTHET, E. 
 
 The Wild Man of the Woods. With Illustrations. i. 6d. 
 
 BLAKE, M. M. 
 
 The Siege of Norwich Castle. With Illustrations, 53. 
 
 BRAMSTON, M. 
 
 The Wild Lass of Estmere, and other Stories. Cr. 8vo, js. 6d. 
 
 BROCK, Mrs. CAREY. 
 
 The Bird's Nest, and other Songs for Children, is. 
 
 Dame Wynton's Home. A Story Illustrative of the Lord's 
 Prayer. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, is. 6d 
 
 Home Memories. Crown 8vo, 51. 
 
 My Father's Hand, and other Stories. Crown 8vo, 2s. 
 
 Sunday Echoes in Weekday Hours. A Series of Illustra- 
 tive Tales. Seven Vols. Crown 8vo, 33. 6d. each. 
 
 I. The Collects. 
 II. The Church Catechism. 
 
 HI. Journeying-sof the Israelites. 
 
 V. The Epistles and Gospels. 
 VI. The Parables. 
 VII. The Miracles. 
 
 IV. Scripture Characters. 
 
 Working and Waiting. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 BROWN LINNET. 
 
 The Kidnapping of Ettie, and other Tales. With Sixteen 
 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 51. 
 
 2
 
 Seeley, Service &P Co Limited 
 
 BUNYAN, 
 
 The Pilgrim's Progress. With Illustrations. Extra crown 
 8vo, is. (SCARLET LIBRARY.) 
 
 CARTER, Miss J. R. M. 
 
 Diana Polwarth, Royalist. A Story of the Life of a Girl 
 
 in Commonwealth Days. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 33. 6d. 
 
 CHARLESWORTH, Miss. 
 
 England's Yeomen. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Oliver Of the Mill. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 
 
 is. 6d. 
 
 Ministering Children. 
 
 I. With Sixteen Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, gilt edges, js. 6d. 
 z. Olive Library. Cloth gilt, is. 6d. 
 
 3. Scarlet Library. Cloth, is. 
 
 4. With Four Illustrations. Cloth, is. 6d. 
 
 Ministering Children: A Sequel. With Illustrations. 
 
 Cloth, is. 6d. Also with Eight Illustrations. Cloth 2s. and is. 6d. 
 
 The Old Looking-Glass. Crown 8vo, is. 
 
 The Broken Looking-Glass. Crown 8vo, is. 
 
 The Old Looking-Glass and the Broken Looking- 
 
 Glass ; or, Mrs. Dorothy Cope's Recollections of Service. In one volume. 
 With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 Sunday Afternoons in the Nursery. With Illustra- 
 
 tions. is. 6d. 
 
 CHATTERTON, E. KEBLE. 
 
 The Romance of the Ship. With Thirty-three Illustrationi. 
 
 Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 CHURCH, Rev. ALFRED J., formerly Professor of 
 Latin in University College, London. 
 
 " Professor Church's skill, his overflowing knowledge, and above all, that 
 cultured simplicity of style, in respect of which he has absolutely no rival among 
 contemporary writers for boys, enable him to overcome all obstacles." SPECTATOR. 
 
 Extra crown 8vo, 5/- each. 
 The Children's ^Eneid. Told for Little Children. With 
 
 Twelve Illustrations in Colour. Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 The Children's Iliad. Told for Little Children. With 
 
 Twelve Illustrations in Colour. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Children's Odyssey. Told for Little Children. With 
 
 Twelve Illustrations in Colour. Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 The Crown of Pine. A Story of Corinth and the Isthmian 
 Games. With Illustration in Colour by GEORGE MORROW. Ex. cr. 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Count of the Saxon Shore. A Tale of the Departure 
 
 of the Romans from Britain. With Sixteen Illustrations. Crown 8 vo, 58. 
 
 The Faery Queen and her Knights. Stories from Spenser. 
 
 With Eight Illustrations in Colour. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Stories of Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers of 
 
 France. With Eight Illustrations in Colour. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 3
 
 Seeley, Service & Co Limited 
 
 CHURCH, Rev. ALFRED ]. Continued. 
 
 The Crusaders. A Story of the War for the Holy Sepulchre. 
 With Eight Illustrations in Colour. Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 Stories from the Greek Tragedians. With Illustrations. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 Greek Story. With Sixteen Illustrations in Colour. Crown 
 
 8vo, 55. 
 
 Stories from the Greek Comedians. With Illustrations. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Hammer. A Story of Maccabean Times. With Illus- 
 trations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Story of the Persian War, from Herodotus. With 
 
 Coloured Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 Heroes of Chivalry and Romance. With Illustrations. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 Stories Of the East, from Herodotus. Coloured Illustrations. 
 Crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 Helmet and Spear. Stories from the Wars of the Greeks and 
 Romans. With Eight Illustrations by G. MORROW. Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 The Story Of the Iliad. With Coloured Illustrations. Crown 
 8vo, 55. Also Thin Paper Edition, cloth, is. nett; leather, js. nett. 
 Cheap Edition, 6d. nett; also cloth, is. 
 
 Roman Life in the Days of Cicero. With Illustrations. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 Stories from Homer. With Coloured Illustrations. Crown 
 
 8ro, 55. 
 
 Stories from Livy. With Coloured Illustrations. Crown 
 8vo, 55. 
 
 Story Of the Odyssey. With Coloured Illustrations. 59. 
 Also Thin Paper Edition, cloth, is. nett; leather, 38. nett. Cheap Edition, 
 6d. nett. Also cloth, is. 
 
 Stories from Virgil. With Coloured Illustrations. Crown 
 
 8vo, 58. Cheap edition, sewed, 6d. nett. 
 
 With the King at Oxford. A Story of the Great Rebellion. 
 
 With Coloured Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 3/6 each. 
 
 The Fall Of Athens. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 38. 6d. 
 The Burning of Rome. A Story of Nero's Days. With 
 
 Sixteen Illustrations. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo, 38. 6d. 
 
 The Last Days of Jerusalem, from Josephus. Crown 8ro, 
 
 38. 6d. Also a Cheap Edition. Sewed, 6d. 
 
 Stories from English History. With many Illustrations. 
 Cheaper Edition. Revised. Crown 8ro, 38. 6d. 
 
 4
 
 Seeley, Service fiP Co Limited 
 
 Extra crown 8vo, 2/6 each. 
 
 To the Lions. A Tale of the Early Christians. With 
 Coloured Frontispiece and other Illustrations, is. 6d. 
 
 Heroes of Eastern Romance. With Coloured Frontis- 
 piece and Eight other Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the 
 
 Great. With Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 The Chantry Priest. With Illustrations. 
 
 Three Greek Children. Extra crown 8vo, zs. 6d. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 1/6 each. 
 
 A Greek Gulliver. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 Heroes and Kings. Stories from the Greek. Illustrated. 
 
 Small 41-0, is. 6d. 
 
 The Stories of the Iliad and the JEneid. With Illustra- 
 tions. i6mo, sewed, is. ; cloth, is. 6d. Also without Illustrations, cloth, is. 
 
 To the Lions. A Tale of the Early Christians. With Illus- 
 trations. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 CODY, Rev. H. A. 
 
 On Trail and Rapid. By Dog-sled and Canoe. A Story of 
 
 Bishop Bompas's Life among the Red Indians and Esquimo. Told for Boys 
 and Girls. With Twenty-six Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 COOLIDGE, SUSAN. 
 
 What Katy did at Home and at School. With Four 
 
 Illustrations in Colour by H. M. BROCK, R.I. Crown 8vo, is. (SCARLET 
 LIBRARY.) 
 
 What Katy did at Home. Extra crown 8vo, is. 6d. (PINK 
 
 LIBRARY.) 
 
 COUPIN, H., D.Sc., and J. LEA, M.A. 
 
 The Romance of Animal Arts and Crafts. With 
 
 Twenty-five Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 COWPER, F. 
 
 Caedwalla : or, The Saxons in the Isle of Wight. With Illustra- 
 tions. Extra crown 8vo, 33. 6d. (PRINCE'S LIBRARY.) 
 
 The Island Of the English. A Story of Napoleon's Days. 
 With Illustrations by GEORGE MORROW. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. 
 
 The Captain of the Wight. With Illustrations. Extra 
 crown 8vo, 35. 6d. 
 
 CRAIK, Mrs. 
 
 John Halifax. Illustrated. Extra cr. 8vo, zs. (SCARLET LIBY.) 
 
 DAVIDSON, N. J., B.A. 
 
 A Knight-Errant and his Doughty Deeds. The Story 
 
 of Amadis of Gaul. With Eight Coloured Illustrations by H. M. BROCK, R.I. 
 Square extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 5
 
 Seeley, Service ftP Co Limited 
 
 DAWSON, Rev. Canon E. C. 
 
 Heroines of Missionary Adventure. With Twenty-four 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo. 58. 
 
 Lion-Hearted. Bishop Hannington's Life Retold for Boys 
 and Girls. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, zs. 6d. (OLIVE LIBRARY), and if. 6d. 
 (PiNK LIBRARY). 
 
 In the Days of the Dragons. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 DEFOE, DANIEL. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe. With Illustrations. Extra crown 8to, 
 
 2s. and 3$. 6d. (SCARLET AND OLIVE LIBRARIES.) 
 
 ELLIOTT, Miss. 
 
 Copsley Annals Preserved in Proverbs. With Illustra- 
 tions. Crown 8vo, 35. 6d. 
 
 Mrs. Blackett. Her Story. Fcap. 8vo, IB. 
 ELLIOT, Prof. G. F. SCOTT, M.A., B.Sc., F.R.G.S., F.L.S. 
 
 The Romance Of Plant Life. Describing the curious and 
 interesting in the Plant World. With 34 Illustrations. Ex. crown 8vo, 51. 
 
 " Popularly written by a man of great scientific accomplishments." THK 
 OUTLOOK. 
 
 The Romance of Savage Life. With Forty-fire Illustra- 
 tions. Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 The Romance of Early British Life : From the Earliest 
 
 Times to the Coming of the Danes. With 30 Illustration!. Ex. crown 8vo, 5!. 
 
 EVERETT-GREEN, EVELYN. 
 
 A Pair of Originals. With Coloured Frontispiece and Eight 
 other Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, as. 6d. 
 
 FIELD, Rev. CLAUD, M.A. 
 
 Heroes of Missionary Enterprise. With many Illustrations. 
 
 Extra crown 8 TO, 58. 
 
 GARDINER, LINDA. 
 
 Sylvia in Flowerland. With 16 Illustrations Cr. 8vo, 38. 6d. 
 GAVE, SELINA. 
 
 Coming; or, The Golden Year. A Tale. Third Edition. 
 With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Great World's Farm. Some Account of Nature's 
 
 Crops and How they are Grown. With a Preface by Professor BOULOKR, 
 and Sixteen Illustration*. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 GIBERNE, AGNES. 
 
 The Romance of the Mighty Deep. With Illustrations. 58. 
 
 "Most fascinating;." DAILY NEWS. 
 
 Among the Stars ; or, Wonderful Things in the Sky. With 
 Coloured Illustrations. Eighth Thousand. Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 Duties and Duties. Crown 8vo, 55. 
 The Curate's Home. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 6
 
 Seeley, Service & Co Limited 
 
 GIBERNE, AGNES Continued. 
 
 The Ocean Of Air. Meteorology for Beginners. Illustrated. 
 Crown 8vo, 5*. 
 
 The Starry Skies. First Lessons on Astronomy. With 
 
 Illustrations. Crown 8 TO, is. 6d. 
 
 Sun, Moon, and Stars. Astronomy for Beginners. With a 
 Preface by Professor PRTTCHAHD. With Coloured Illustrations. Twenty- 
 sixth Thousand. Revised and Enlarged. Crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 The W Grid's Foundations. Geology for Beginners. With 
 
 Illustrations. Crown 8 vo, 58. 
 
 GIBSON, CHARLES R., F.R.S.E. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Electricity. Describing in 
 
 non-technical language what is known about electricity and many of its 
 interesting applications. With Forty-one Illustrations. Ex. crown 8vo, 5$. 
 "Admirable . . . clear, concise." THE GRAPHIC. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Photography. The Discovery 
 
 and its Application. With many Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Manufacture. A Popular 
 
 Account of the Marvels of Machinery. With Twenty-four Illustrations 
 and Sixteen Diagrams. Extra crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 How Telegraphs and Telephones Work. Explained in 
 
 non-technical language. With many Diagrams. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 
 GILLIAT, EDWARD, M.A. Formerly Master at Harrow School. 
 Forest Outlaws. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Heroes of Modern Crusades. With Twenty-four Illustra- 
 tions. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 In Lincoln Green. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 The King's Reeve. Illustrated by SYDNEY HALL. 38. 6d. 
 Wolfs Head. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 38. 6d. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Sieges. With Sixteen Illustra- 
 tions. Extra crown 8vo, 35. 
 
 Heroes of the Elizabethan Age. With Sixteen Full-page 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 Heroes Of Modern Africa. With Sixteen Illustrations. 
 Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 GOLDEN RECITER, THE. See RECITERS, THE GOLDBN. 
 
 GREW, EDWIN S., M.A. (Oxon.). 
 
 The Romance of Modern Geology. A popular account 
 
 in non-technical language. With Twenty-four Illustrations. Extra 
 crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES. With Illustrations. Extra crown 
 8vo, is. and 33. 6d. (SCARLLT AND PRINCE'S LIBRARIES); also PINK LIBRARY, 
 is. 6d. 
 
 7
 
 Seeley, Service fiP Co Limited 
 
 HEROES OF THE WORLD LIBRARY 
 
 Each Volume lavishly Illustrated. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 Heroes of Modern Africa. By Rev. EDWARD GILHAT. 
 Heroes of Missionary Enterprise. By Rev. CLAUD 
 
 FIELD, M.A. 
 
 Heroes of Pioneering. By Rer. EDGAR SANDERSON, M.A., 
 
 Scholar of Clare College, Cambridge. 
 
 Heroines of Missionary Adventure. By Rev. CANON 
 
 DAWSON, M.A. 
 
 Heroes of Modern Crusades. By Rev. EDWARD GILLIAT. 
 Heroes of Modern India. By Rer. E. GILLIAT. 
 Heroes of the Elizabethan Age. By Rev. E. GILLIAT. 
 
 HUGHES, THOMAS. 
 
 Tom Brown's Schooldays. With Illustrations. Extra 
 
 crown 8vo, 28. and zs. 6d. (SCARLET AND OLIVE LIBRARIES.) 
 
 HYRST, H. W. G. 
 
 Adventures in the Great Deserts. With Sixteen Illus- 
 trations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Adventures in the Great Forests. With Sixteen 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 Adventures among Wild Beasts. With Twenty-four 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 Adventures in the Arctic Regions. With Sixteen Illus 
 
 trations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Adventures among Red Indians. With Sixteen Full- 
 page Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 KINGSLEY, CHARLES. 
 
 Westward Ho ! With Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 2s. & 
 28. 6d. (SCARLET AND OLIVE LIBRARIES.) 
 
 KNIGHT-ERRANT AND HIS DOUGHTY DEEDS. 
 
 The story of Amadis of Gaul. Edited by N. J. DAVIDSON, B.A. With 
 Eight Coloured Illustrations by H. M. BROCK, R.I. Square extra crown 
 8vo, 58. 
 
 LAMB, CHARLES and MARY. 
 
 Tales from Shakespeare. With Illustrations. Ex. crown 
 
 8vo, 2s. (SCARLET LIBRARY.) 
 
 LAMBERT, Rev. JOHN, M.A., D.D. 
 
 The Romance of Missionary Heroism. True Stories of 
 
 the Intrepid Bravery and Stirring Adventures of Missionaries in all Parts 
 of the World. With Thirty-nine Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 5*. 
 
 Missionary Heroes in Asia. Illustrated. Cr. 8vo, is. 6d. 
 Missionary Heroes in Africa. Illustrated. Cr. 8vo, is. 6d. 
 Missionary Heroes in Oceania. Illustrated. Cr. 8vo, is. 6d. 
 LEA, JOHN, M.A. (Oxon.) 
 
 The Romance of Animal Arts and Crafts. See COUPIN. 
 The Romance of Bird Life. With Twenty-six Illustrations. 53. 
 Wonders of Bird Life. Extra crown 8 TO, 2. 
 
 8
 
 Seeley, Service Cf Co Limited 
 
 LEYLAND, J. 
 
 For the Honour of the Flag. A Story of our Sea Fights 
 
 with the Dutch. With Illustrations by LANCELOT SPEED. Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 MACPHERSON, HECTOR, Jun. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Astronomy. With Twenty-four 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 MARSHALL, BEATRICE. 
 
 His Most Dear Ladye. A Story of the Days of the Countesi 
 of Pembroke, Sir Philip Sidney's Sister. Illustrated. Extra crown 8vo, 5*. 
 
 The Siege Of York. A Story of the Days of Thomas, Lord 
 Fairfax. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 An Old London Nosegay. Gathered from the Day-Book 
 of Mistress Lovejoy Young. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 Old Blackfriars. In the Days of Van Dyck. A Story. With 
 Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Queen's Knight- Errant. A Story of the Days of 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. With Eight Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 MARRYAT, Captain. 
 
 Masterman Ready. With Illustrations by H. M. BROCK, 
 
 R.I. is. (SCARLET LIBRARY. ) 
 
 MARSHALL, EMMA. 
 
 " Mrs. Marshall's imaginative pictures of the England of other days are in 
 reality prose poems." LITERATURE. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 5/~ 
 
 In Colston's Days. A Story of Old Bristol. With Illustra- 
 tions. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 In Four Reigns. The Recollections of Althea Allingham, 
 1785-1842. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 In the Choir of Westminster Abbey. A Story of Henry 
 
 Purcell's Days. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 In the East Country with Sir Thomas Browne, 
 
 Knight. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 A Haunt Of Ancient Peace. Memories of Mr. Nicholas 
 Ferrar's House at Little Gidding. With Illustrations by T. HAMILTON 
 CRAWFORD. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Kensington Palace. In the Days of Mary II. With Illus- 
 trations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 The Master of the Musicians. A Story of Handel's 
 
 Day. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 The Parson's Daughter, and How she was Painted by Mr. 
 Romney. With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Penshurst Castle. In the Days of Sir Philip Sidney. With 
 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. CHEAP EDITION. Demy 8vo, 6d. 
 
 Winchester Meads. In the Days of Bishop Ken. With 
 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. CHEAP EDITION. Demy 8vo, 6d. 
 
 9
 
 Seeley, Service Sf Co Limited 
 
 MARSHALL, EMMA Continued. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 5/~ 
 
 Under Salisbury Spire. In the Days of George Herbert. 
 With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. CHEAP EDITION. 6d. 
 
 Under the Dome of St. Paul's. In the Day* of Sir 
 
 Christopher Wren. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 
 Under the Mendips. A Tale of the Times of Hannah More. 
 With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 Constantia Carew. Crown 8vo, 53. 
 Crown 8vo, 3/6 
 Castle Meadow. A Story Now-a-days. 
 
 of Norwich a Hundred On the Banks of the 
 
 Years Ago. Ouse. 
 
 An Escape from the The White King's 
 
 Tower. Daughter. 
 
 Joanna's Inheritance. Winifrede's Journal. 
 
 Life's Aftermath. 
 
 Extra crown 8vo, 2/6 
 
 The Old Gateway. Violet Douglas. 
 
 Millicent Legh. Helen's Diary. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 1/6 
 Brothers and Sisters. Up & Down the Pantiles. 
 
 i/- 
 
 The First Light on the Eddystone. 
 
 THE OLIVE LIBRARY 
 
 STORIES BY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORS 
 Extra crown 8vo. With Coloured and other Illustrations, zs. 6d. each. 
 
 MULOCK, Miss. 
 
 John Halifax. 
 CHARLESWORTH, Miss. 
 
 Ministering Children. 
 
 A Sequel to Ministering Children. 
 
 England's Yeomen. Oliver of the Mill. 
 
 CHURCH, Prof. A. J. 
 
 The Chantry Priest. Three Greek Children. 
 
 Heroes of Eastern To the Lions. A Tale 
 
 Romance. of the Early Christians. 
 
 A Young Macedonian. 
 DAWSON, Rev. E. C. 
 
 Lion-Hearted. The Story of Bishop Hannington's Life told 
 
 for Boys and Girls. 
 
 EVERETT-GREEN, EVELYN. 
 A Pair of Originals. 
 
 IO
 
 Seeley, Service flP Co Limited 
 
 THE OLIVE LIBRARY Continued. 
 
 HUGHES, T. 
 
 Tom Brown's Schooldays. 
 KINGSLEY, CHAS. 
 
 Westward Ho! 
 MARSHALL, Mrs. 
 
 The Old Gateway. Helen's Diary. 
 
 Violet Douglas. Millicent Legh. 
 
 STOWE, Mrs. BEECHER. 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin. 
 WILBERFORCE, Bishop. 
 
 Agathos, The Rocky Island, and other Sunday Stories. 
 
 PHILIP, JAMES C., D.Sc., Ph.D. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Chemistry. With Twenty- 
 nine llustrations. Extra crown Svo, 53. 
 
 THE PINK LIBRARY 
 
 STORIES BY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORS 
 Crown 8vo. With many Illustrations, is. 6d. 
 
 CHURCH, Prof. A. J. 
 
 To the Lions. The Greek Gulliver. 
 
 MARSHALL, Mrs. 
 
 Brothers and Sisters. Brook Silvertone. 
 
 CHARLESWORTH, Miss. 
 
 Ministering Children. 
 
 The Sequel to Ministering Children. 
 
 The Old and the Broken Looking- Glass. 
 DAWSON, Rev. E. C. 
 
 Lion-Hearted. 
 LAMBERT, Rev. J. G. 
 
 Missionary Heroes in Asia. 
 
 Missionary Heroes in Oceania. 
 
 Missionary Heroes in Africa. 
 WILBERFORCE, Bishop. 
 
 Agathos and The Rocky Island. 
 ALCOTT, L. M. 
 
 Little Women. Good Wives. 
 BERTHET, E. 
 
 The Wild Man of the Woods. 
 SEELEY, E. 
 
 The World before the Flood. 
 ANDERSEN, HANS. 
 
 Fairy Tales and Stories. 
 
 ii
 
 Seeley, Service &P Co Limited 
 
 THE PINK LIBRARY Continued. 
 GRIMM, The Brothers. 
 
 Fairy Tales and Stories. 
 COOLIDGE, SUSAN. 
 
 What Katy did at Home. 
 
 BY VARIOUS AUTHORS 
 
 The Life of a Bear. The Life of an Elephant 
 Only a Dog. 
 
 THE PRINCE'S LIBRARY 
 
 With Coloured Frontispiece and other Illustrations. 
 Extra crown 8vo, 33. 6d. 
 
 The Vicar of Wakefield. By OLIVER GOLDSMITH. 
 
 The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. 
 
 Andersen's Fairy Tales. 
 
 Caed walla. By FRANK COWPER. 
 
 Grimm's Fairy Tales. 
 
 The Wolf's Head. By the RCT. E. GILLIAT. 
 
 The Last of the White Coats. By G. I. WHITHAM. 
 
 Diana Polwarth, Royalist. By J. R. M. CARTER. 
 
 The Fall of Athens. By Professor A. J. CHURCH. 
 
 The King's Reeve. By the Rev. E. GILLIAT. 
 The Cabin on the Beach. By M. E. WINCHESTER. 
 The Captain of the Wight. By FRANK COWPER. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe. By DANIEL DEFOE. 
 
 RECITER, THE GOLDEN. A volume of Recitations & 
 Readings in Prose 19* Verse selected from the works of RUDTARD KIPLING, 
 R. L. STEVENSON, CONAN DOTLK, MAURICE HEWLETT, CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, 
 THOMAS HARDY, AUSTIN DOBSON, A. W. PINERO, &c., &c. With an Introduc- 
 tion by CAIRNS JAMES, Professor of Elocution at the Royal College of Music 
 and the Guildhall School of Music. Extra crown 8vo, 704 pp., 33. 6d. Also 
 Thin Paper Edition for the Pocket, with gilt edges. Small crown 8vo, 58. 
 "An admirable collection in prose and verse." THE SPECTATOR. 
 
 RECITER, THE GOLDEN HUMOROUS. Edited, and 
 
 with an Introduction by Cairns James, Professor of Elocution at the 
 Royal College of Music. Recitations and Readings selected from the 
 writings of F. ANSTEY, J. M. BARRIE, S. R. CROCKETT, MAJOR DRURY, 
 JEROME K. JEROME, BARRY PAIN, A. W. PINERO, OWEN SEAMAN, G. B. SHAW, 
 &c. Over 700 pages, extra crown 8vo, cloth, 33. 6d. Also a Thin Paper 
 Edition, with gilt edges, small crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 ROBINSON, Commander C. N. 
 
 For the Honour of the Flag. A Story of our Sea Fights 
 
 with the Dutch. With Illustrations by LANCELOT SPEED. Crown 8vo, 5*. 
 
 SANDERSON, Rev. E. 
 
 Heroes of Pioneering. True Stories of the Intrepid Bravery 
 and Stirring Adventures of Pioneers in all Parts of the World. With 
 Sixteen Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 12
 
 Seeley, Service ftf Co Limited 
 THE LIBRARY OF ADVENTURE 
 
 With many Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. each. 
 
 "Delightful books of adventure, beautifully printed and tastefully got np." 
 
 EDUCATIOXAL TIMES. 
 
 Adventures among Trappers & Hunters. By E. YOUNG, B.Sc. 
 Adventures in the Arctic Regions. By H. W. G. HYRST. 
 Adventures among Wild Beasts. By H. W. G. HYRST. 
 Adventures on the High Seas. By R. STEAD, B.A. 
 Adventures in the Great Deserts. By H. W. G. HYRST. 
 Adventures on the Great Rivers. BY RICHARD STEAD. 
 Adventures in the Great Forests. By H. W. G. HYRST. 
 Adventures on the High Mountains. By R. STEAD. 
 Adventures among Red Indians. By H. W. G. HYRST. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF ROMANCE 
 
 Fully Illustrated. Bound in blue, scarlet, and gold. 
 Extra crown 8vo, 58. each. 
 
 " Splendid volumes." THE OUTLOOK. 
 "Gift books whose value it would be difficult to overestimate." STANDARD. 
 
 The Romance Of Aeronautics. An interesting account of 
 the growth and achievements of all kinds of Aerial Craft. By CHARLES C. 
 TURNER. 
 
 The Romance of the Ship. The story of its origin and 
 evolution. By E. KEBLE CHATTERTON. With Thirty-threa Illustrations. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Astronomy. By HECTOR MAC- 
 
 PHERSON, Jun. With Twenty-four Illustrations. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Chemistry. By J. C. PHILIP, 
 
 D.Sc. , Assistant Professor of Chemistry, South Kensington. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Manufacture. By C. R. 
 
 GIBSON, F.R.S.E. 
 
 The Romance of Early British Life. From the Earliest 
 
 Times to the Coming of the Danes. By Prof. G. F. SCOTT ELLIOT, M.A., 
 B.Sc. With 30 Illustrations. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Geology. By E. S. GREW, 
 
 M.A. (Oxon.). 
 
 The Romance of Bird Life. By JOHN LEA, M.A. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Photography. Its Discovery 
 
 and its Application. By C. R. GIBSON, A.I.E.E. With 63 Illustrations. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Sieges. By the Rev. E. 
 
 GILLIAT. With ^l t Illustrations. 
 
 The Romance of Savage Life. By Professor G. F. SCOTT 
 
 ELUOT, M.A., B.Sc., &>c. With 45 Illustrations. 
 
 The Romance of the World's Fisheries. By SIDNEY 
 
 WRIGHT. With 24 Illustrations. 
 
 13
 
 Seeley, Service V Co Limited 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF ROMANCE Continued. 
 
 The Romance of Animal Arts 6 Crafts. BY H. COUPIN, 
 
 D.Sc., and J. LEA, M.A. With 24 Illustrations. 
 " Extremely fascinating." LIVERPOOL COURIER. 
 
 The Romance of Early Exploration. By A. WILLIAMS, 
 
 B.A., F.R.G.S. With 16 Illustrations. 
 
 " We cannot imagine a book that a boy would appreciate more than this." 
 DAILY TELEGRAPH. 
 
 The Romance of Missionary Heroism. By JOHN C. 
 
 LAMBERT, B.A., D.D. With 39 Illustrations. 
 
 " About 350 pages of the most thrilling missionary lives ever collected in one 
 volume." METHODIST TIMES. 
 
 The Romance of Plant Life. By Prof. G. F. SCOTT ELLIOT, 
 
 B.A. (Cantab.), B.Sc. (Edin.). With 34 Illustrations. 
 
 " Besides being entertaining-, instructive and educative." LIVERPOOL COURIER. 
 
 The Romance of Polar Exploration. By G. FIRTH 
 
 SCOTT. With 24 Illustrations. "Thrillingly interesting." LIVERPOOL COURIER. 
 
 The Romance of Insect Life. By EDMUND SELOUS. 
 The Romance of Modern Mechanism. By A. WILLIAMS. 
 
 ".Genuinely fascinating-. Mr. Williams is an old favourite." L'POOL COURIER. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Electricity. By CHARLES R. 
 
 GIBSON, F.R.S.E. "Admirable . . . clear and concise." THE GRAPHIC 
 
 The Romance of the Animal World. By EDMUND SELOUS. 
 
 "A very fascinating book." GRAPHIC. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Exploration. By A. WILLIAMS. 
 
 " A mine of information and stirring incident." SCOTSMAN. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Invention. By A. WILLIAMS. 
 
 ''An ideal gift book for boys, fascinatingly interesting." QUEEN. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Engineering. By A. WILLIAMS. 
 
 "An absorbing work with its graphic descriptions." STANDARD. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Locomotion. By A. WILLIAMS. 
 
 " Crisply written, brimful of incident not less than instruction. Should be as 
 welcome as a Ballantyne story or a Mayne Reid romance." GLASGOW HERALD. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Mining. By A. WILLIAMS. 
 
 " Boys will revel in this volume." CITY PRESS. 
 
 The Romance of the Mighty Deep. By AGNES GIBERNI. 
 
 " Most fascinating." DAILY NEWS. 
 
 SCARLET LIBRARY, THE ILLUSTRATED. Large 
 
 crown 8vo, cloth, gilt. With Eight original Illustrations by H. M. 
 BROCK, LANCELOT SPEED, and other leading Artists. Price zs. per volume. 
 
 The Pilgrim's Progress. 
 JOHN BUNTAN. 
 
 The Wide, Wide World. 
 SUSAN WARNER. 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin. 
 BKECHEK STOWE. 
 
 By 
 By 
 By H. 
 
 Ben Hur. 
 WALLACE. 
 
 By General LEW 
 
 Westward Ho ! By CHARLES 
 
 KlNGSLET. 
 
 John Halifax. By Mrs. CRAIK. 
 Robinson Crusoe. By DANIEL 
 DEFOE. 
 
 Little Women and Good Wives. 
 By L. M. ALCOTT. 
 
 The History of Henry Esmond. 
 
 By W. M. 1 HACKERAY.
 
 Seeley, Service & Co Limited 
 
 SCARLET LIBRARY, THE 
 
 The Swiss Family Robinson. 
 
 Grimm's Fairy Tales. A New 
 
 Translation. 
 
 Poe's Tales of Mystery and 
 
 Imagination. 
 
 Don Quixote. By CERVANTES. 
 
 Gulliver's Travels. By JONATHAN 
 
 SWIFT. 
 
 The Days of Bruce. By GRACE 
 
 AGCILAR. 
 
 Tom Brown's Schooldays. By 
 
 THOMAS HUGHES. 
 
 Tales from Shakespeare. By 
 
 CHARLES LAMB. 
 
 The Old Gateway. 
 
 Continued. 
 
 Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales. 
 The Arabian Nights' Entertain- 
 ments. 
 
 The Scalp Hunters. By Captain 
 MAYNE RIID. 
 
 Ministering- Children. By Miss 
 CHARLJESWORTH. 
 
 Ministering Children. A Sequel. 
 The Dog Crusoe. By R. M. 
 BALLANTYNE. 
 
 Masterman Ready. By Captain 
 MARRYAT. 
 
 What Katy did at Home and at 
 School. By SUSAN COOLIDOE. 
 By EMMA MARSHALL. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 
 SCOTT, G. FIRTH. 
 
 The Romance of Polar Exploration. 
 
 Extra crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 " Thrilling-ly interesting:, excellently illustrated." LIVERPOOL COURIER. 
 
 SEELEY, A. 
 
 This Great Globe. First Lessons in Geography. is. 6d. 
 
 SEELEY, M. 
 
 The World before the Flood. Stories from the Best Book. 
 
 With Illustrations by G. P. JACOMB HOOD. Crown 8vo, u. and is, 6d. 
 
 SELOUS, E. 
 
 The Romance of the Animal World. Illustrated. Ex. 
 
 crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 "A very fascinating book." GRAPHIC. 
 
 The Romance of Insect Life. Illustrated. Ex. cr. 8vo, 53. 
 
 " Mr. Selous, the well-known naturalist, writes in purely informal style." 
 THE GLOBE. 
 
 WARD, E. 
 
 Fresh from the Fens. With Illustrations. Cr. 8ro, 33. 6d. 
 
 WICKS, M. 
 
 To Mars via the Moon. An Astronomical Story. With 
 Eight Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 WILBERFORCE, Bishop S. 
 
 Agathos. With Illustrations. Fcap. 8vo, sewed, 6d. ; cloth, it. 
 Agathos, The Rocky Island, and other Sunday Stories. 
 With Sixteen Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, is. 6d., zs. 6d. 
 
 The Rocky Island and other Similitudes. With Illus- 
 trations. Fcap. 8vo, sewed, 6d. ; cloth, is. 
 
 WINCHESTER, M. E. 
 
 Adrift in a Great City. Illus- 
 trated. Crown 8vo, 5$. 
 A City Violet. Crown 8ro, 55. 
 The Cabin on the Beach. 
 
 Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 33. 6d. 
 
 A Nest of Skylarks. 
 
 A Nest of Sparrows. Crown 
 8vo, 58. 
 
 Under the Shield. Crown 8*0, 58. 
 A Wayside Snowdrop. Crown 
 8vo, zs. 6d. 
 
 Chirps for the Chicks.
 
 Seeley, Service & Co Limited 
 
 WILLIAMS, ARCHIBALD, B.A. (Oxon.), F.R.G.S. 
 The Romance of Early Exploration. Illustrated. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 53. 
 
 "A companion volume to 'The Romance of Modern Exploration,' and if 
 possible, more full of Romance." EVENING STANDARD. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Exploration. With 26 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8 vo, 5$. 
 
 " A mine of information and stirring: incident." SCOTSMAN. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Mechanism. With 25 Illua- 
 
 trations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 " Mr. Williams is an old favourite ; a genuinely fascinating book." LIVERPOOL 
 
 COURIER. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Invention. With 24 Illustrations. 
 
 "An ideal gift book for boys, fascinatingly interesting." QUEEN. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Engineering. Illustrated. 
 
 "An absorbing work with its graphic descriptions." STANDARD. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Locomotion. Illustrated. 
 
 "Crisply written and brimful of incident." GLASGOW HERALD. 
 
 The Romance of Modern Mining. With 24 Illustrations. 
 
 " Boys will revel in this volume." CITY PRESS. 
 
 The Wonders of Modern Engineering. Ex. crown 8vo, 2$. 
 WHITHAM, G. I. 
 
 The Last of the White CoatS. A Story of Cavalien and 
 Roundheads. Illustrated in colour by OSCAR WILSON. Ex. crown 8vo, 31. 6d. 
 
 THE WONDER LIBRARY 
 
 With Eight Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo. Price 28. 
 
 The Wonders of Animal Ingenuity. By H. COUPIN, D.Sc., 
 
 and JOHN LEA, M.A., Author of "The Romance of Bird Life," f^c. &>c. 
 
 The Wonders of Mechanical Ingenuity. By ARCHIBALD 
 
 WILLIAMS, B.A., F.R.G.S., Author of "The Romance of Engineering." 
 
 The Wonders of Asiatic Exploration. By ARCHIBALD 
 
 WILLIAMS, B.A., F.R.G.S., Author of " The Romance of Early Exploration." 
 
 The Wonders of the Plant World. By G. F. SCOTT 
 
 ELLIOT, M.A., B.Sc., <Src., Author of "The Romance of Early British Life." 
 
 The Wonders of Modern Railways. By ARCHIBALD 
 
 WILLIAMS, B.A., F.R.G.S., Author of "The Romance of Modern 
 Locomotion." 
 
 The Wonders of the Insect World. By E. SELOUS, 
 
 Author of " The Romance of the Animal World." 
 
 The Wonders of Modern Engineering. By ARCHIBALD 
 
 WILLIAMS, B.A. (Oxon.), author of "The Romance of Modern Invention." 
 
 The Wonders of Bird Life. By JOHN LEA, M.A., joint 
 
 author of " The Romance of Animal Arts and Crafts," We. We. 
 
 WRIGHT, SIDNEY. 
 
 The Romance of the World's Fisheries. With many 
 
 Illustrations. Extra crown 8vo, 58. 
 
 YOUNG, ERNEST. 
 
 Adventures among Trappers and Hunters. With Sixteen 
 
 Illustrations. Ex. crown 8vo, 55. 
 
 16
 
 _L 
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 
 
 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed.
 
 3 1158 00247 3600 
 
 A 001 017 259 1