Ebook Speeches Documents on Indian Policy, 1750-1921

Prejudices of the native population; with whom, nevertheless, they must be subject to laws passed by the legislative body in India. I have always thought that the gravest question in modern times is the relation between civilized and less civilized nations, or between civilized portions of nations, when they came in contact. The difficulty is seen in America, in Africa, in New Zealand, but nowhere in the widely extended dominions of Her Majesty has it reached such a magnitude as in India. And in this particular case the difficulty is aggravated by the circumstance that the English, who form a portion of those who are to be subjected to this legislation, are not a permanent body. They go there for a time. Officials, when their term Of service has expired, and persons engaged in commercial or agricultural pursuits, when they have made a fortune, return to this country, and, though the English element In India Is permanent as belonging to a nation, it is most transitory when we come to consider the individuals who compose it. Such are the circumstances under which we are to legislate, and I regret to say that the recent mutiny has aggravated these difficulties. The unlimited confidence which a few years ago was felt by the European population in the natives of India has given way to feelings Of distrust. Formerly there was, at all events, no feeling Of antagonism between the higher portion of Official persons and the great mass Of the population. The. Latter looked up to the Government as to a protector, and if any feeling of antagonism or jealousy existed it existed only between them and those members of the service or the English settlers who were brought into' antagonistic contact with them.